Phonics and Spelling go Hand-in-Hand :)

Phonics and Spelling go Hand-in-Hand 

On Tuesday, October 24, Nina did a Facebook Live on the subject of spelling. She began by sharing how our amazing brains process written language. We know more and more about how our brain works because of fMRIs that neuroscientists are using to study how it functions. She continued by explaining how reading and spelling are connected, 2 parts of the whole for understanding written language, like two sides of a coin. (Here's the link to the video.)

Let’s pull those thoughts together here.

The first thing to understand about spelling instruction is that it must be taught concurrently with phonics instruction. While your young ones are learning a particular phonics rule and utilizing it in learning to read, they need to be applying that very same phonics rule in learning to spell. When they learn both at the same time, both reading and spelling make sense. They have confidence in both areas.  
Here is why reading and spelling need to go hand-in-hand:

• They are like two sides of a coin forming written language.

• They both represent sound-symbol relationship—reading on one side of the coin and spelling on the opposite side of the coin.

• Reading is a decoding skill; spelling is an encoding skill.

Decoding is translating printed words to sound and meaning; whereas encoding is the opposite—using sounds to create printed words.

Let’s make a point of this again. Their spelling instruction must correlate with their phonics instruction.
Unfortunately, many spelling programs often introduce a new phonics rule and the exceptions to that rule in the very same lesson.

And worse, often there is no correlation between phonics (reading) instruction and spelling instruction, because they are seen as two totally different subjects.

This lack of correlation between reading and spelling and the introduction of the rule and the exceptions in the same lesson creates confusion for all children.

It’s worse for a dyslexic learner or any struggling or multi-language student who is working hard to comprehend an abstract phonics concept. It almost makes it impossible for them to internalize and master the phonics rule being taught, much less understand the exceptions. And spelling, the other side of that coin, can sort of drop out of sight in the confusion.

This is why Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ teaches reading and spelling together. We understand how the brain reads and spells.

With Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™, you’re able to relax and expertly teach each abstract phonics rule through sequentially organized, multi-sensory, whole-body lessons guiding your young ones to a concrete understanding of each phonics rule for reading and spelling.

You’ll watch your kids feel so confident in their understanding of a phonics rule that they will eagerly accept the challenge to spell words that follow that rule.

Since Silent Elephant “e”™ was created so all learners could learn spelling along with reading, we provide you with lengthy leveled word lists (Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3) moving from simple to complex for every phonics lesson. These word lists for reading, spelling and vocabulary development are an integral part of each phonics lesson in Silent Elephant “e™. They provide you with NUMEROUS words focused on each phonics lesson’s objective—words to use for word recognition, for vocabulary development and for individualized spelling lists.

Spelling is important and all children, struggling or not, can be successful when we connect it to their reading and teach it the way their brains learn.

Join us on our Facebook page, Silent Elephant e, LLC Group, for more discussion on teaching spelling and everything reading related. 

Contact us at silentelephante@gmail.com or nina.silentelephante@gmail.com

Have You Ever Had This Experience? I Bet You Have! :)

Have you ever had this experience? I bet you have!

For a couple minutes, think about when you were in school--whether your school was a public school, or you were homeschooled.

Think about a subject, concept or skill you were taught that just did not connect with you. It was something you learned, but it never had any real meaning for you or to you.

You learned it because you were taught it, and so it became an isolated fact for you that sort of floated around in a sea of other isolated facts or factoids. It had no real connection for you. You really didn’t care about it. It just floated around with all the other disconnected facts.

Then later, maybe a long time later, as you lived your life, you suddenly realized this floating subject, skill or concept was beginning to take on meaning for you. It began to “come alive” for you because of something you had or were living through that began to connect it with other subjects, other skills, or other concepts you knew about, understood fully, and had interest in.

Suddenly this isolated floating concept moved out of your sea of nebulous facts and became not just something you learned but knowledge that you could use and wanted to use.

What were some of those floating facts that became important for you?

I ask you to take this goofy little journey with me because we ALL have this sea of floating nebulous concepts and facts. Some of us have larger seas than others of us. 😊 It depends on how we were taught, how we connected what we were learning.

Another reason for our goofy journey is this:

It’s OK for some concepts to become floaters without real harm to our learning. You probably have the dates of wars floating around. 😊

BUT, it’s very detrimental for some concepts to become floaters! In fact, if some concepts become isolated facts with no connection, then other learning is halted!

Some concepts need to be taught to ALL children in ways that activate and integrate the learning immediately. Some concepts can’t wait for months or years to become a part of our children’s working knowledge.

Phonemic awareness and all phonics concepts are such concepts.

Phonics concepts can be vague and yet it is absolutely important that they are learned in a precise sequential order to ensure true learning at the time they are taught. They must be taught so the concept becomes useable knowledge immediately.

That can sound like a BIG job! 😊
It’s not as big a job as it is a process that needs to be well thought out to ensure their success.

It was one of my students who made me think of sharing this with you.  He was having a very difficult time writing words that contained new phonics concepts IF he was asked to write the word in isolation. To this day, words in isolation hold no meaning for him.

Yet, 😊, when he wrote these same words in sentences, the phonics rules he needed totally made sense to him, and he spelled the words correctly and wrote the entire sentence correctly. The words had meaning and made connections to his prior knowledge.

For ALL children, words must be connected to their prior knowledge for the words to have meaning so they can easily learn to read, write and spell.

Think about how important phonics concepts are and how ALL children need them to be taught in a systematic, sequential, progressive, sensory engaging format for them to be easily learned. Phonics concepts need to be connected to all their previous learning—RIGHT NOW, not later. They cannot join the “floating facts seas”. If one joins the sea of floaters, learning to read becomes instantly difficult.

This is why when you explore Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™, you will find a progressive order that totally engages children in learning every concept. We just can’t have any “phonics floaters”.

Contact me to learn more about how I structured Silent Elephant “e” so every child can easily learn to read, write and spell.

4 Factors to Consider when Teaching a Learner with Learning Differences

Sharing 4 Factors to Consider when Teaching a Learner with Learning Differences during the Top Picks Back to School Bash was a blast!

Here are some highlights we covered in the workshop:
When teaching a learner with learning differences, we want to consider these four factors and make sure that we are meeting all of them as we teach.

Factor 1 – Immersion and Engagement – Your learning difference learner needs to be totally immersed and totally engaged in whatever they are learning. Ask this question, “How many ways can we have fun using their five senses, their voice and their body to learn this concept and connect it to what they already know?” 

To internalize the new concept that you're teaching and connect it with all other concepts that they've learned previously they need to be totally engaged with the concept in ways they enjoy. This total engagement and immersion in the fun of learning will activate all parts of their brain and make it possible for them to easily internalize, learn new concepts, and connect the new with what they already know.

Factor 2 – Embedded - To engage all parts of the learning different brain in learning to read, write and spell you want to teach them together. In other words, you want to embed their writing and spelling into their learning to read.

What does that look like? When they are learning a new phonics concept such as /ea/, or even a short vowel sound, they learn to read, write and spell words with those phonics concepts at the same time they are learning to read them. Then they immediately begin using their new words in reading and writing sentences.

Learning writing and spelling at the same time they learn to read makes sense to their learning difference brain that does not separate reading, writing and spelling into 3 separate subjects. 😊

Factor 3 – How the curriculum is set up matter. Is it sequential, systemic, progressive and logical? Does it teach all skills and concepts simple to complex?

This is not only important for them, it’s important for you. If the curriculum you are using doesn’t move sequentially simple to complex as it progressives logically and systematically through the skills and concepts, it will be not only be frustrating to you but chances are high that they will not learn easily or readily, maybe not at all.

Factor 4 – Predictability – For your learning difference learner to learn easily and readily to read, write and spell, you want their program and the way you are teaching to be predictable to them. It is very important to the learning difference brain to NOT have to wonder about how you will be presenting new concepts and skills or about what their worksheets look like.

Their brain needs to relax into the predictable so it can focus on what’s important – the new concept and how that concept relates to everything they have already know.

There’s actually a Factor 5 – This one is also important, maybe the most important. Believing they are going to read, write and spell and have fun doing it! They need to KNOW that YOU KNOW they will learn and enjoy their learning process.

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ was written around these factors which is why we are watching our students with all kinds of learning differences become completely independent readers, writers and spellers enjoying their freedom to learn new concepts in every subject.

Yes! They still have learning differences, but they don’t struggle with reading, writing or spelling. There’s such freedom in that and it’s such a pleasure to watch their success!

If you have any questions about these 4 factors or Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™, call (208-859-4406) or email here silentelephante@gmail.com or nina.silentelephante@gmail.com

They Said She Would Never Catch Up in Comprehension

Silent Elephant “e” Has to Disappear!

 A smile brightens my face as I recall the day “Kimberly” excitedly shared her experience of teaching her class my phonics lesson about when and why Silent Elephant “e”™ has to disappear at the end of Silent Elephant “e”™ words when you add a suffix that begins with a vowel.

She beamed as she told me, “My teacher loved the Silent Elephant “e”™ puppet! She thought it totally made sense that you couldn’t make SILENT Elephant “e” talk by putting ‘two vowels walking’ next to each other when you add a suffix that begins with a vowel!”

You might be confused, so let me give you some examples. Let’s take the word “poke”. If you want to add the suffix -s which begins with a consonant, you can just add it on to the end of the root word to make “pokes”. The consonant “s” will not make “two vowels go walking” in the word.

However, if you want to add the suffix -ed which begins with a vowel, you cannot just add it on the end of the root word as it will make “pokeed. Silent Elephant “e” has to disappear, or you’ll have “two vowels go walking” and the first vowel will have to say its name.

If you want to add the suffix -ing which begins with a vowel, you cannot just add it on the end of the root word as it will make “pokeing”. Again, if Silent Elephant “e” doesn’t disappear you’ll have “two vowels go walking” and the first vowel will have to say its name.

This sweet girl is now a 5th grader. She began tutoring with me in late October of her 3rd grade year. She was at an instructional 3rd grade reading level in word recognition but frustrated at a 1st grade reading level in comprehension.

She has dyspraxia. Dyspraxia is a chronic neurological condition where the wiring in the brain is mixed up. People with dyspraxia display different symptoms. Kimberly can easily find and remember details when she reads, but she was struggling putting the details together to make sense of sentences, paragraphs, and lengthy pieces of writing. She struggled to find the main idea in any piece of writing. The educational psychologist that diagnosed Kimberly told me that Kimberly would probably never catch up in reading comprehension.

After completing only 14 months of instruction with me using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™, last March during her 4th grade year, this bubbly, energetic little girl tested out at a 9th grade instructional reading level in word recognition AND comprehension using the Fleishman Oral Reading Inventory!

This is such a joyful example of the power of Silent Elephant “e”™ that teaches each child the way they learn. My heart sings knowing Kimberly is a successful reader. Her world has opened up for her.

Contact me here to explore how you can teach your kiddos with Silent Elephant “e”™ to give them the freedom of a solid reading, writing and spelling foundation that will set them up for life.

"Sh" is a Digraph, not a Blend, She Taught Her Class

 “Sh” is a digraph because when “s” and “h” are together
they make one new sound of /sh/.

 It always makes me giggle and burst with pride when one of my kiddos becomes so confident in their skills that they become the teacher. It’s such a good feeling, for them, for me and certainly for their parents.

Silent Elephant “e”™ is THE program that teaches reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, and comprehension), writing and spelling in a precisely organized, systematic, complete auditory, visual and kinesthetic way that ALL CHILDREN NEED, especially dyslexic and struggling learners.

It is THE program that makes the teaching and learning to read, write and spell interesting, fun and a sure thing. It engages their whole brain and all their senses every moment of every lesson.

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” is tried and true and that became apparent again when “Kathy”, the proud mom of “Julie”, one of my students, excitedly shared this wonderful story.

At the time, Julie was in second grade and because of Covid was on the computer for her reading class with her teacher and classmates. Her teacher told a child who was struggling to read the word “shade” that “shade” started with the blend “sh”.

Julie raised her hand and her teacher called on her. Julie politely explained to her teacher and classmates that “sh” is not a blend.

“If “sh” was a blend, it would make the Kindergarten sounds of /s/ and /h/ blended together smoothly. Then “shade” would sound like /s/ - /h/ - /long “a”/ - /d/.

“So, “sh” is a digraph, because when “s” and “h” are together they make one new sound of /sh/.

Julie continued teaching, “My tutor says that the letters in blends sound just the same as the sounds we learned for the letters in Kindergarten.

“But the letters in digraphs make new, different sounds, not at all like the sounds we learned in Kindergarten. Mrs. Jones and I say the digraphs are magical, because the letters magically change their sounds to become digraphs.”

Julie’s teacher was amazed, “Wow Julie, you explained that very well, very clearly. We’ll never get blends and digraphs mixed up again! Good job!”

Kathy beamed with pride and shared, “I was so impressed by how politely and meticulously Julie taught her teacher and her classmates!

“Everything she’s learned from you completely makes sense to her.” (Julie often said during a lesson, “Oh, that makes sense.” 😊)

Kathy smiled with pride and continued, “Julie teaches Silent Elephant “e” to anyone who will listen: me, her dad, her little sister, her grandma, her friends—everyone! Maybe she’ll grow up to be a teacher.”

I, too, felt so much pride!

Julie is a completely different girl than the one who began Silent Elephant “e”™. She is severely dyslexic and had already been placed in special education in the early part of first grade.

But there she was completely successful in her reading class, even on the computer. What Julie needed to become confident in her reading, writing and spelling was a precisely organized, systematic, complete auditory, visual and kinesthetic program, aka, Silent Elephant “e”™.

Students becoming a teacher is a common theme when you teach with Silent Elephant “e”™. It teaches them the way they learn, so reading, writing and spelling “makes sense” and it is easy for them to explain to others what they understand, even if they are severely dyslexic. Explaining why they know what they know is an integral part of the program.

Being severely dyslexic did not stop Julie from learning to read, write and spell. She is a confident student, never looking back, thanks to being taught the way her dyslexic brain learns. Thanks to Silent Elephant “e”™.  Within 3.5 years, Julie, as a first grader, went from frustrated at a Kindergarten level to an instructional 11th grade reading level at the end of her fourth-grade year of school! She is at the top of her class instead of the bottom of her class. She used to struggle with anxiety and depression. Today my heart is filled with joy seeing how proud and confident she is of herself!

Contact me here to explore how you can teach your kiddos with Silent Elephant “e”™ to give them the freedom of a solid reading, writing and spelling foundation that will set them up for life.

Reading and Writing Go Together - Her Essay Shares Her Solid Foundation

In my last post (here's the link), I shared my student Rachel’s success and how the deep foundation in reading, writing and spelling she received from Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ is showing in all parts of her life.

Her mom, Jennifer, had mentioned in her letter that Rachel had written a report on a special person as a school assignment.

I’m eager to share it with you. 

“My Special Person
By Rachel 3-3-23

My special person is my mom. Do you want to know why? (I have lots of reasons I meen lots.). I love my mom because she takes care of me when I’m sick. She gets mad when I pass the sickness along to her, but she still loves me. When I was learning to ride my bike she pushed me forward (theoreticly not physically). I remember when I was in seattle, and it was Covid, she was are teacher at home. Every day for recess we would bounce on the trampoline. I loved those days. My mom helped us move. And when I was born she quit her job just like with Rebecca (my older sister). my family went to Plymouth. I got a fever and even then, my mom took care of me. I think you can see how important my mom is to me.” 

This is delightful and an amazing story for a second grader!

As I look at her story to see how she is doing, I notice her content is relevant and flows beautifully.

There are just three spelling errors: mean, theoretically (What an amazing vocabulary word and spelling attempt! She was so close you knew exactly which word she was using.), and our.

She needed to capitalize Seattle and the beginning of one sentence, plus she needed a couple of commas for adverbial phrases. That’s another thing! She is using adverbial phrases!! Also, her use of parenthesis within her story is outstanding!
 
Plus, her handwriting is beautiful!

This is exceptional writing for an eight-year-old and it’s so fun to share this with you. 

Her story illustrates two points that Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ provides us all:

First, with Silent Elephant “e”™, it doesn’t take 6 years to be a successful reader on a 6th grade level. She’s in second grade writing an essay like this one!

Second (maybe the most important, as it frees our students to read and learn freely), with Silent Elephant “e”™, they achieve a SOLID, STABLE foundation in reading, writing and spelling that is theirs for the rest of their life. Rachel is now reading and comprehending above 6th grade level and her writing and spelling is above age level as well.
 
This is why I wrote Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ -  so ALL children and adults feel the freedom of reading and writing.

Contact me here to explore how you can teach your kiddos with Silent Elephant “e”™ to give them the freedom of a solid reading, writing and spelling foundation that will set them up for life.
Or call me here Linda Smith-Jones 208-859-4406 

Keep a song in your heart!

17 Months to 6th Grade Level with Only Twice a Week Instruction!

This seems to be the season for up-dates.

In my  March 8th email, From Failure to Scoring 104% on Her Spelling Test, I had the pleasure of sharing how my student Rebecca has been acing her spelling tests plus spelling the majority of her surprise extra credit words correctly. She has been scoring 100% or above for weeks.

Her mom also shared how Rebecca clearly understands syllabification because of how Silent Elephant “e”™ taught her and that she helped her teacher with the word “temperature”.

When Rebecca graduated from Silent Elephant “e”™ she was reading on an 11th grade level and has continued to progress though she is profoundly dyslexic. She is now in the  5th grade and, as her mom shared, confident and eager. She can read anything she wants and write delightful stories.

NOW – I get to share an update on Rebecca’s sister Rachel.

Rachel is not dyslexic like her sister. She began Silent Elephant “e”™ just before entering Kindergarten. She had been in preschool for a bit, but then Covid hit. Rachel’s mom wanted her to have the same foundation that Rebecca was getting.

Rachel finished Kindergarten reading on a 4th grade level. She went on to finish first grade decoding words on a 6th grade level. She is now in the last part of her second-grade year and Jennifer, her mom, sent this wonderful update and photos.

“Rachel is doing great! She's so far advanced in her class.  Her classmates write short sentences and Rachel writes paragraphs. They are finishing up a book they are writing about animals.  Rachel chose the mountain lion. Her teacher is going to email it to me when they are finished. I can forward a copy to you.  I volunteered and helped the other students, so I saw a good comparison of her writing verses her classmates.  She also wrote a paper on her special person, me (!). 

“Rachel loves researching, science and math. Her teacher told me that they (she and the class aide) were blown away recently when Rachel started talking about Malala Yousafzai.  Rachel knows who she is because she talks to Rebecca about her and she can read the "I Am", the "Who Was?” and the “Who Is?" book series.  I'm not sure what level these books are, but definitely not 2nd grade!!” Jennifer proudly wrote.

“Rachel has read almost all the "I Survived" book series.  She absolutely loves them!!

“Rachel reads ALL the time.  We've been tracking it the last couple of weeks for a read-a-thon at school and she reads around 390 minutes a week. She really loves learning all things, but she especially loves math.  As of now, she wants to be a mathematician when she grows up.  Her teacher told me to email her when Rachel goes to Harvard! :-)

Love, Jennifer” 

Rachel is flying because she has the stable foundation in reading, writing and spelling that Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ provides for every learner: dyslexics, those with other learning differences, or like Rachel, no learning differences.

What Silent Elephant “e”™ did was teach Rachel the way she learns - through fun, active activities, and as her success is showing, just like with her dyslexic sister, it does not take 6 years to be reading on a 6th grade level, dyslexic or not.

Further, Rachel was reading on a 6th grade level in 17 months with just 20-25 minutes of Silent Elephant “e”™ instruction just twice a week in Kindergarten and only 25-40 minutes twice a week in first grade. She is now easily comprehending on a 6th grade level after 2.75 years.

Now, as her mom shared, second grade Rachel is free to read anything she wants and write wonderful stories about what she enjoys reading.

Just like her dyslexic sister Rebecca, Rachel feels not bound to what she can learn.

This is the freedom that Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ provides. It teaches children to read, write and spell the way they love to learn, and they never look back.

Contact us here to explore how you can teach your kiddos with Silent Elephant “e”™ and give them the freedom of a solid reading, writing and spelling foundation for the rest of their lives. 

Linda Smith-Jones

Imagine My Surprise As I Opened the Box

Imagine My Surprise

Imagine my surprise as I opened a package to find this beautiful quilt hidden inside.

I had no idea who had sent it and as I admired the beauty of the quilt, I searched for a card. I eagerly opened the one I found to find these wonderful words from my former student “Sean”: “Thank you for all the help you gave me. It has helped so much! Thank you for everything!” (It wasn’t too wordy, he is a 14-year-old boy 😊, but I could feel the relief and pride in his words.)

His grandma wrote, “You are an amazing woman touching so many lives—you are a God send to ‘Sean’. You were exactly what he needed!! This will make a difference for the rest of his life! We can’t thank you enough!”  

As Sean’s grandma said, he is set for life. He can relax and learn anything he wants to learn. 

It’s always both joyful and a little hard when one of my students graduates from Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.

Sean’s grandparents are the ones who contacted me about tutoring Sean a little over 2 years ago. They were very worried because he was struggling in school and was not progressing in reading, writing and spelling. He was way behind his age level peers and was becoming more and more frustrated and embarrassed. Sean was in 6th grade and reading independently at a 2nd grade reading level.

2 years later with Silent Elephant “e”™ under his belt, Sean graduated from me and headed off to his 8th grade classes with the knowledge that he was now reading at an instructional 9th grade reading level!

I am so proud of him.

This exquisite quilt is a thank you from his grandmother. I am in awe of its beauty and the craftmanship and talent it shows. I barely had it out of the box before I began trying to decide which wall to hang it on so that I could see it throughout my day.  😊

With Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ we are changing lives. We are setting our kiddos on a new trajectory—one of success and fun.

No child should struggle to learn to read, write or spell.

Every child should have fun learning to read, write and spell.

Contact us here if you know of anyone who is struggling in reading, writing or spelling. They don’t even have to be children. 😊

Linda Smith-Jones  silentelephante@gmail.com          

From Failure to Scoring 104% on Her Spelling Test! She Understands How Phonics and Spelling Works

 Today, I get to share this wonderful update that makes my heart sing!!

It’s from Jennifer, the mom of my student Rebecca, who graduated from Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ 9 months ago.

These are Jennifer’s proud words:  
“All the extra hours of studying and practicing and tutoring paid off! 104%!! When Rebecca started spelling in first grade, it was so stressful for her that she took her test alone and untimed. Now Rebecca understands phonics and why words are spelled the way they are, and she tests with the class. She just did three weeks in a row with 100%, 102% and now this 104%! She gets the twenty-word spelling list to study, but the extra credit ones are a surprise on test day.

People with dyslexia CAN spell. They just need someone to teach them how and to believe they can!”

On another day, Jennifer shared an experience Rebecca had during the past week in school. Rebecca had a reading assignment to circle all the words on the paper that had 3 syllables. When she was working on it, her teacher stopped by her desk and said, “You forgot to circle ’temperature’.” Rebecca politely replied, “Temperature has 4 syllables, so I shouldn’t circle it. Every syllable has one vowel sound. You need to say it correctly to spell it correctly.” She truly has learned phonics!

Rebecca’s grandma, a retired teacher, said, “I am so grateful that Jennifer insisted that there had to be a solution and then researched until she found Mrs. Jones and Silent Elephant "e", LLC ! Rebecca is amazing !!!”

This is even more joyful news when you realize that Rebecca is profoundly dyslexic.

When she began Silent Elephant “e”™ with me as a first grader, she didn’t have any phonemic awareness and was failing in reading, writing and, as Jennifer shared above, spelling. Rebecca’s school had staffed her into special education with an IEP. To that point, nothing that had been tried had helped her learn.

School was painful for her, and Jennifer set out to find someone who understood her as a dyslexic learner and could teach her the way she learns as a dyslexic.

Skipping ahead to today, Rebecca is a completely successful 5th grader reading on an 11th grade level, writing amazing creative stories and poems, and as you saw, understands spelling because she KNOWS and UNDERSTANDS phonics because she was taught phonics the way her brain learns.

She is free to happily explore her world, and she is.
I’m so proud of her!
 
If you have a child who is struggling with reading, writing or spelling, please contact me.
If you know someone whose child is struggling, send them this email and encourage them to contact me.

No child should struggle with reading, writing or spelling.

In Jennifer’s wonderful words, “They just need someone who can teach them how and believe they can.”

With Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ YOU have the HOW to teach them the WAY THEY LEARN, and you are the one who loves and BELIEVES in them. 

Contact me here silentelephante@gmail.com

Keep a song in your heart!

To Her the Words Looked Like They Were Under a Magnifying Glass

Not every dyslexic learner experiences the words and letters moving around. Some do, and in those who do, they don't see it the same. Interesting. 

I’ve shared how Josie and one of my seven-year-old students opened my eyes by sharing what happens to the words and letters when they read. Since this revelation, I’m feeling even more joy in my teaching. (Here are links to the last two emails. Josie. Sweet seven-year-old) 

My meeting each and every student exactly where they are is even more astute, because I’m listening more intently, asking the right questions and teaching them how THEY learn using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.  

I’m continually amazed and very pleased that Silent Elephant “e”™ alone has made such a difference in their lives and that my asking the right questions has sparked a different awareness in me, making me an even better teacher.    

A few days after my little seven-year-old student shared that the letters jump around on the page, I asked one of my ninth-grade dyslexic students to explain what she saw on a page of printed material.

I had been trying many teaching techniques to help Ahva develop smoothness (fluency). When she read aloud, she would physically tense up and her breathing became extremely labored. Her anxiety and tenseness were palpable. It contributed to her choppy reading.

I had her read sentences several times stretching out vowel sounds to give her more time to think about what the ending sound in a word was and more time to contemplate the next word in the sentence.

She unconsciously began bobbing her head slowly with every word. I had her put her hand under her chin so she could feel the bobbing.

When the bobbing subsided, we began working on phraseology. I taught her how to find prepositional phrases in sentences.

As she is in Part 14 now, I had her read the following sentence: “The lanky man in the dark blue suit was hurriedly walking toward the cashier at the counter to deposit money in his savings account.”

We discussed that our brains always strive for meaning. Our brains naturally break sentences into phrases: “The lanky man - in the dark blue suit - hurriedly walked - toward the cashier - at the counter - to deposit money - in his savings account.”

I taught her to focus on the questions her brain would naturally ask as it sought meaning in what she was reading:

• What about the lanky man?

• What is he wearing?

• Where did he walk?

• Where is the cashier?

• Why did he go to the bank?

• Where is he depositing his money?

 She did begin to read with more fluently, smoother, but she couldn’t read a phrase that was longer than three or four words smoothly, even though I encouraged her to try to smoothly combine two short phrases in one breath.

I would have her read each sentence several times to practice. After reading a sentence several times, she ultimately read it smoothly as if in conversation.

However, I was still concerned that she needed multiple repetitions of a sentence to reach conversational fluency.

Thinking of Josie, I asked this awesome, conscientious ninth grader to explain what she saw on a page of printed material.

She explained that she could see a space of about 1.5 to 2 inches clearly and all around that space of clarity everything was distorted and stretched!

I sat stunned!

I asked her, “Is that why you only read three or four words smoothly and then have a long break before the next three or four words, and after practicing the sentence several times you appear to read it smoothly, because you have it memorized?”

She smiled at me a little shyly, and said, “Yes. Now you understand.”
Wow!
Ahva’s brain focuses on printed materials in a hyper focused way, much like a magnifying glass, where the center is super clear, but the periphery is distorted.     

I sat admiring this young woman for her tenacity and positive mindset. I was in awe. I shared with her how Josie and my seven-year old saw print. I could see the relief on her face when she realized I understood and that she wasn’t alone seeing words differently. She was relieved there was help.

Here is Ahva’s story in her own words:  
“Before I first came to tutoring with Linda, I just avoided ever reading on my own or in front of people. If I ever did read, within an hour I would get dizzy and have to stop. It was hard for me.

I would panic if I were called on to read in class. I’d feel sad about it afterwards and think I was just dumb or not trying hard enough.

I would try to read. It felt like the words were always moving depending on where I looked on the page.

Due to that, I would start to read and get two or three words read and get stuck on each group of 3 words that followed.

Now that I’ve been working with Linda, I have improved hugely. I can now get through sentences without freezing. My head hurting when reading has almost completely gone away. I am now willing to read in front of people!

I am VERY happy with where I am now in reading, and I am very thankful for having Linda help me through it! Not to mention she is a very good and kind woman whom I am very happy to call my friend!”
Ahva, 14 years old
This is amazing. I am so proud of her for being able to share her story with us!

Even though I wrote Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ to teach dyslexic learners the way they learn, I’m still happily amazed at how the strategies and activities written into every component of every lesson also takes care of the letters and words moving and shifting. 

Silent Elephant “e”™ does the trick because of continual engagement of every part of their brain, in every SINGLE thing they do throughout EVERY lesson. It’s sort of magic. But really, Silent Elephant “e”™ teaches them the way THEY learn.

If you are questioning whether someone in your life is dyslexic and you’re not sure what to do, feel free to contact us here silentelephante@gmail.com. 

And last, your child (children) may not be struggling to learn to read, but you may know someone who is, please share this blog post. 

Contact us here - silentelephante@gmail.com Linda Smith-Jones 208-859-4406

For the First Time Ever, She Felt Brave Enough to Read Aloud in Class (Even Science!)

For the First Time Ever, She Felt Brave Enough to Read Aloud in Class (Even Science!)

“Mrs. Jones, can I tell you what happened to me at school today?” This question came from my student Becca at the beginning of our tutoring session.

 
“Of course!” I quickly replied.
 
Becca started sharing, “My 504 Plan says I’m not supposed to be called on in class to read aloud. It makes me extremely nervous. But my science teacher called on me to read aloud today. I thought I’d try because the typing was on light blue paper. The light blue paper made it easier for me to read the words.”
 
I asked her, “How do you feel you did reading aloud?”
 
“I think I did pretty good. I read quickly and smoothly,” she happily replied.
 
“That’s wonderful to hear! You’re becoming a better and better reader every day! Do you think the light blue paper helped?” I questioned.
 
“Yes. My science teacher copies our work on pastel papers – pink, light blue, mint green and lavender - so we can organize them in our folders. The pastel papers make reading easier for me. It helps the letters in paragraphs – big chunks of sentences – to stop tilting back and forth so much.”
 
That gentle statement started my brain racing, “Tell me more about the letters tilting back and forth in paragraphs.”
 
I also smiled at myself and thought, “How could I be surprised when yet another one of my dyslexic students shares with me how the letters and words on the page move around for them?”
 
Becca continued, “When I look at a paragraph - a large chunk of sentences - the whole chunk tilts and rocks back and forth from side to side until I blink and refocus. This tilting motion used to make me dizzy until I got blue light lenses in my glasses.
 
“Also, when I try to read a sentence within a paragraph, the words blur, and the letters scrunch together with no space between the words. Then I blink and the words will usually become clear and move apart. I may need to blink a few times.”
 
Becca went on softly sharing her experiences, “Often, I lose what line I’m on and what word I’m on when reading silently or aloud, so I use my finger (finger tracking) to keep my place. If I lose my place, I try to refocus. When I’m reading aloud and try to refocus, I usually accidentally read the word above the word I’m supposed to be reading. Then I must try refocusing again until I find my place.
 
She smiled gently and shared as if an afterthought, “I’ve found that if I use pastel pink and aqua pens to write answers on my school papers it’s easier for me. I can’t use black because the black answers will blend in with the black text printed on the worksheet and then I don’t know where I am.”
 
Letters and words moving as they are reading is not uncommon for dyslexic learners, but not all dyslexic learners experience this either. Further, the letters and words moving is quite individual to the dyslexic learner. Many of my dyslexic students have shared how the letters and words move for them in completely different ways. (Click here to read other blog posts that describes how some of my dyslexic learners perceive the printed word. It's very interesting.)

 In Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ I teach decoding words using multi-sensory activities, colors and symbols that stimulate and activate the parts of the dyslexic brain that aren’t easily activated for dyslexics. Silent Elephant “e”™’s symbols and colors have specific meanings that my students learn to help them as they decode and comprehend what they are reading. 
 
It has been my experience with my dyslexic students who have letters and words moving (even racing off the page) that the techniques they learn in Silent Elephant “e”™ begins to “control” the movement of words and letters. This makes it so much easier for them to learn to read and to read both out loud and silently. They begin to read quickly and smoothly and with great comprehension.
 
I was curious about Becca’s experience with the words and sentences moving. Had Silent Elephant “e”™ changed this for her like my other students? Was it Silent Elephant “e”™ that had helped her read aloud quickly and smoothly in class for the first time? I want her to use the tools that are helpful for her, but foremost I want her to rely on her knowledge of decoding.
 
Since she was sharing her experiences, I asked her to reflect on what she had learned with Silent Elephant “e”™ and how it helped her read smoothing and quickly.
 
A big smile spread over Becca’s face as she explained, “A while after I started tutoring with you, I began noticing  that I’m reading faster and smoother. I also don’t have to read things 5 to 8 times before I can understand what I read. I used to read something 3 or 4 times just to figure out what the words were. Then I would read it 2 to 4 more times to try to understand what I was reading. Now I just read something 2 or maybe 3 times and I feel good! I know what I’ve read!
 
“I feel that if I keep learning more with you (through Silent Elephant “e”™), I’ll be able to read something quickly and smoothly just once and completely understand what I’ve read,” she contentedly said.
 
“I totally believe that will happen,” I said.
 
“What do you think is helping you the most?” I asked.
 
Becca thought for a while and then said, “I can hear single sounds in words now (Phonemic Awareness, Part 1). Using the colors in phonics helps my brain focus on the parts of the words and keeps the letters from moving so much on the page. Spelling makes sense now too. Everything is just making so much more sense!”
 
I smiled. I could feel her joy and relaxation! “I’m so happy for you! We’ll keep working with Silent Elephant “e”™ and you’ll keep blazing along in reading!” We giggled with delight and anticipation.
 
I’ve talked several times with Becca’s mom over the last 7 months. Her mom tells me, “After just 6 hours of tutoring with you, I’m seeing so many differences in Becca. I asked her last night how she felt about tutoring. She said that she loved it.
 
Mom continued, “Hearing individual sounds in words was new for her. I never knew she couldn’t hear the individual sounds!
 
“Becca said that when you teach her, you teach in a way that makes everything make sense.”
 
When I talked to her mom last week, Mom said, “I don’t know how to explain this to you, but I’ll try. In the past, I’ve always worked with Becca on her spelling - trying to help her spell phonetically and trying to help her memorize sight words. Nothing worked.”
 
Mom continued, “I’ve tried to help her with her writing, because when she wrote, nothing really made sense. Her thoughts seemed disjointed and incomprehensible. I’d read back to her what she wrote and ask her if it made sense. She’d say, ‘No.’ But she had no ideas for how to fix her writing. I knew Becca had wonderful thoughts inside her. We could verbally discuss a story or book she’d read, but somehow Becca couldn’t get these awesome thoughts down on paper.
 
“But now, since tutoring with you,” Mom paused and emotionally told me, “Becca’s thoughts are flowing from her brain unto paper! The girl I knew that was inside is coming out for all to see! Becca’s spelling is remarkably better! Her sentences are coherent, making good sense and revealing her emotions!
 
“I just never knew how much Becca was struggling to achieve all that she did accomplish! I can never thank you enough!” Mom exclaimed.
 
“Thank you for telling me this. It means a lot to me to know that Becca is developing and advancing significantly in her reading writing and spelling. I’m so proud of her and happy for her!” I humbly said.
 

This is why I am a teacher. This is why I wrote Silent Elephant “e”™. Children need to be taught the way they learn best – the way they love to learn.
 
Here are a few general suggestions of tools that may help your dyslexic students if the letters move around when they read. These are also helpful when sending assignments to dyslexic students on the computer.

• First, use simple, clear font such as Century Gothic.

• When handwriting for them, use large clear letters

• Use larger font size

• Double space the text

• Print on light pastel colored paper

• Check into colored overlays

As Becca shared, there are tools that are very helpful to her. But what really changed Becca’s life and led her to feel brave enough to read aloud in science class was being taught to read the way HER brain learns.
 
This is what Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ does -
it teaches dyslexic learners the way they learn – through multi-sensory, whole child, whole brain, whole body activities throughout every single concept. Therefore, every one of my students have become successful readers and students, even in college.
 
If you are concerned about your dyslexic learner, contact me. We’ll put our heads together and come up with the best path for your young one.
 
To further learn about and to try to imagine what it is like for Becca to read print, you might wish to watch a video by Googling “What do dyslexics see in print when trying to read?” Again, I have to mention that my experience has been that they all experience it differently so this is just an example of what they could possibly be experiencing.

Contact us here -

Linda Smith-Jones silentelephante@gmail.com

Nina Henson nina.silentelephante@gmail.com

COOKIE SCIENCE!

COOKIE SCIENCE!

Hello Friends,

Woah! Here we are in the midst of the holiday season and things are speeding up.

Sometimes it feels like our kiddo's learning can get pushed to the back burner at this time of the year, but it’s so important to keep their learning active. Long periods not focused on what they have learned and are learning makes it hard for them to retain the information, especially if they have dyslexia or any other learning difference.
 
Here are ideas centered around the fun of baking holiday cookies which takes the fun of learning into life knowledge areas as it keeps what they’ve learned active and growing.

    THE SCIENCE OF COOKIES    

The science of cookies is both yummy and “Wow, so that’s how cookie dough becomes cookies in the oven? I didn’t realize all of that!” 

1. This video brings all the steps happening in the oven from cookie dough to yummy cookie into view with simple explanation and art. It’s fun for every age. I enjoyed it.

1. This article adds to the info in the video. It goes into greater depth about exactly what is happening in the oven to that cookie. It gives you a lot of background info and will be perfect for your older kiddos.

1. Practicing reading and phonics –
   When your dough is becoming cookies in the over, you could use this article for reading and phonics instruction. Have your kiddos mark the vowels, digraphs, blends and syllables, then read the article.

1. The science -
   Comparing and contrasting the information on the video with the article sets their new science knowledge more firmly in their brains.

1. The next exploration into cooking science could be, “How does it get from raw ground beef to a hamburger on my bun?” or “How does is get from raw turkey to something we can’t WAIT to enjoy.” This exploration opens so much more science. 😊

 We’ve done science and reading, let’s take cookie baking into math. 

1. This recipe gives you both the standard and metric measurements for making the cookies.

2. This opens wonderful discussions and comparisons between the two.

Now let’s think Social Studies -
This recipe also opens comparison of cultures and countries. It’s from Great Britain, and the cookies are referred to both as biscuits and cookies for both countries. This opens the doors for learning about another culture, another country and how their customs are different from ours even though they are English speaking.
 
Have fun with these three. It’s been fun finding them for you.
I can’t wait to hear about your experiences.
 

Enjoy your children’s bright-eyed eagerness as you make memories this Holiday season. 

Contact us here with questions and thoughts. I’m eager to hear about your adventure with cookie science.

Keep a song in your heart!

Why Syllables are NOT a Mystery to Silent Elephant “e”™ Readers

Why Syllables are NOT a Mystery to Silent Elephant “e”™ Readers

Is the skill of dividing words into syllables a mystery to you? Do you really understand why dividing words into syllables is important?
 
This is for sure, it’s not mysterious to children learning to read with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.
 
When they reach Part 13, Level 1, they are typically at an instructional 6th grade reading level and have mastered the phonics rules for one syllable words.
 
They’re ready to dive into Parts 13 and 14. There they will learn how to divide multisyllabic words into syllables and learn why understanding how to divide words into syllables is important to their reading success.
 
In Parts 13 and 14 children become totally immersed in their learning of the 8 syllable rules because they are taught them using fun, whole body, multi-sensory activities that engage all their senses and multiple parts of their brain.
 
As they progress through Parts 13 and 14, they begin each day’s lesson by sharing all the syllable rules they’ve learned up to that point. At the end of Part 14, they easily and successfully share all 8 rules, how they use them and why.
 
Their knowledge of all 8 rules is tucked firmly “under their belt” ready to “move into action” whenever they need them. They are confident and clear about all syllable rules and easily begin to decode any new multisyllabic word they come upon.
 
At the end of Part 14, Level 1, children will be able to read any genre they’d like to read and apply their skills for dividing words into syllables to decode unknown words. Their reading vocabulary will continue to grow and grow, as will their reading ability level!
 

For you and your young learners, here’s the list of the 8 rules with clues that Silent Elephant “e”™ uses to support their fast progress in learning the rules and using them successful in their reading.
Rule 1: Every syllable has one vowel sound.
Clue: Rule #1 begins with “Every".

Rule 2: Compound words
Clue: “Into” is one of the easiest compound words at Kindergarten and first grade level.
 
Rule 3: Twins in the middle
Clue: Think of yellow.
 
Rule 4: Prefix/Root word                                             
Clue: Think of green first and then brown.
 
Rule 5: Root word/Suffix                                              
Clue: Think of brown first and then green.
 
Rule 6: VCCV & VCCCV
Clue: Use your fingers. (First, they’ll put up 4 fingers and then wiggle one at a time to show VCCV & then they’ll use all 5 fingers to show VCCCV.)
 
Rule 7: VCV                                                                             
Clue: The hardest syllable rule!
 
Rule 8: VV                                                                      
Clue: A bit tricky in the beginning, because your brain will always want to think of “two vowels go walking” first.
 
To further support you helping your young learners, here are some clues for accenting syllables:

• The first syllable of a root/base word is accented most of the time in English. ie: mon’e tar y, vig’il ance, hon’or ar y

• Prefixes and suffixes are never accented. ie: bond’age, re turn’, green’er, im plant’

• An ending syllable in a multi-syllable word ending with a “y”, “ie”, “ey” making a long “e” sound is never accented. ie.: dad’dy, cook’ie, kid’ney

• When there are twin/double consonants in the middle of a word, the unaccented syllable has the silent twin. ie.: funny = fun’ y, account = a count’

• When the twins in the middle are “c” or “g”, the syllable with the “c” or “g” making the hard sound will be the accented syllable. ie.: ac’ cent, sug’ gest, ac’ cept

Because Silent Elephant “e” learners review and share their knowledge of the rules at the beginning of each lesson and because of the multi-sensory activities that helped them learn the rules, they’ll have ALL the rules completely mastered at the end of Part 14.
 
From that point on they are free to pick up any book and feel successful. They have their knowledge of decoding multisyllabic words to help them decode any words they come across
 
When your young learner has completed Silent Elephant “e”™ Level 1, Parts 13 and 14, they will be at least at an instructional 7th grade reading level. This means they will be able to successfully read anything at a 6th grade reading level.
 
Typically, if children don’t have dyslexia or other learning differences, getting to this 6th grade level takes less than two years. If they have learning differences, it may take longer, maybe two years or more, but my experience has been with Silent Elephant “e”™, learning differences or not, they always get there.
 
They always become successful readers who love to read.
 
This is the important point, they always get there!
 
Every single student I’ve tutored has become a successful confident happy reader AND they’ve had fun along the way. They love reading and are eager and ready to read. Most of my students began Silent Elephant “e” way below grade level and were considered to always be a non-reader. With Silent Elephant “E”™ They ALL got there!
 
That, after all, is our vision!

Every child deserves to learn to read AND have fun doing it.

In this video I share a thorough overview of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “E”™.  

If your child is dyslexic or has other learning differences, check out these blog posts.  
Of course, contact me at silentelephante@gmail.com and visit our website at silentelephante.com and our blog.  Both have TONS of info for you on teaching reading, writing and spelling.

OK! It Only Took 2 Years for Them to be Reading on a 6th Grade Level, Now What?

After my last blog post when I shared how my data and my experience shows that it only takes 2 years with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ for kids to be reading words at a sixth-grade level, I could hear some of you wondering, “After my 8-year-old is reading 6th grade level words, what do we do in reading, writing and spelling?”

Well, the fun continues. It just shifts a little.
 
Comprehension is an integral part at every stage of learning with Silent Elephant “e”™, but once your child is decoding at an instructional 6th grade reading level, your main focus will shift to comprehension.
 
Of course, you’re never going to leave out phonics instruction totally, as children need continual review and more practice with higher level vocabulary words and sentence structure. Silent Elephant “e”™ has you covered there, too.
 
Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ provides you with an excellent review of all phonics rules using higher level vocabulary in Level 2, which brings your child’s word recognition skills to 9th grade reading level. Then, even higher levels of vocabulary and sentences in Level 3, brings your child’s word recognition to a 12th grade reading level readying them for college.
 
As they are learning these higher-level words they’ll always be mentally referring back to their initial whole body, multi-sensory learning of that phonetic concept. They will also continue using all the Silent Elephant “e”™ markings and colors that connect to those initial multi-sensory activities.
 
Once a child has the basics of what I call the “mechanics” of reading under their belt, they can decode anything they’d like to read.
 
Imagine the freedom your child will feel being able to phonetically read whatever he/she would like to read.
 
With Silent Elephant “e”™, little 7- and 8-year-olds can pick up a book of their choice and fluently read it. They will read smoothly and quickly! Their fluency will aid their comprehension as they won’t be focusing on decoding as much. They will focus on comprehension skills – understanding and remembering what they’ve read.
 
You, as their teacher and parent, can use Bloom’s Taxonomy to guide your questions as you discuss what they’ve read. You’ll be able to develop their accuracy and their maturity in comprehension. You’ll be able to enjoy reading and discussing wonderful books together and there are SO MANY wonderful books to read and love: picture books, chapter books, the classics.

Last week’s email shared my experience with students with learning differences whose parents had been told their child would never read. These are heartwarming stories. Their lives are changed forever. Thank you Silent Elephant “e”™! Here's the link for your convenience - It Only Takes Two Year!
 
This week let’s take a look at a couple of young ones who began learning to read with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™. The best way for me to introduce you to these two lovely young readers is with their blog posts. 😊
She Was Reading on a Fourth Grade Level at the End of Kindergarten
2600 Pages in One Month! She Beams With Pride
 
In far less than 2 years, these happy young readers were flying, and they are only 2 examples of the success of learning with Silent Elephant “e”™. 

Contact us here -

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson

It Only Takes 2 Years!!

It Only Takes 2 Years!

Today I’d like to share more of my experiences with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™  and continue my thoughts on why I am realizing it shouldn’t take 6 years for a child to be able to decode 6th grade reading words.
 
Over the last 10 years that I have taught reading, writing and spelling with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ it’s been my experience that children master phonemic awareness and learn all the phonics rules and are able to apply the phonics rules to fluently decode 6th grade words by the end of their 2nd grade year, about 8 years old. In other words, it takes about 2 years to achieve reading 6th grade words. 

Further, Silent Elephant “e”™ was written so this goal can be achieved with only 2 hours of instruction per week. Again, that’s what my data is showing because I only meet with my students for 2 hours a week. Of course, if they spend an hour per day learning with Silent Elephant “e”™, they will be decoding words at a 6th grade level even sooner.
 
Why would this be true? Why is this my experience over and over?
 
Well, they learn so easily and quickly because they are learning the way they learn best, through whole child/whole brain, multi-sensory activities that stimulate all parts of their brain for both learning and retaining what they have learned. These whole child/whole brain, multi-sensory activities are embedded into every moment of their instruction in Silent Elephant “e”™. My experience and data share the results.

I can hear some of you thinking, “But my child struggles with reading. It’s so difficult for them!”
 
If your child has a learning difference, multiple learning differences or any learning struggles, it may take longer for him/her to reach that 6th grade word recognition level.
 
But, you can rest assured that he/she will attain that level with Silent Elephant “e”™ faster, more steadily and with more fun than with any other reading program. This is because they will be learning using all their senses (multi-sensory) therefore connecting their learning in all parts of their brain. In the case of dyslexic learners, it activates under stimulates parts of their brain and makes learning and retention of learning much easier. 
 
This has been my experience with Silent Elephant “e”™, it may take them longer if they have learning differences, but they get there and they have fun getting there.
 
Let me share an example. I have been tutoring an ELL boy for 2 ½ years who has multiple learning differences and speech and language processing disorders (one can barely understand his English or his native tongue). He is also considered to have a low IQ.
 
When he came to me halfway through his 3rd grade year, he wasn’t reading at all. He didn’t know letter sounds or letter names. He was illiterate and basically non-verbal.
 
Today as I write this, he has mastered phonemic awareness and knows all letter sounds and letter names. He fluently reads simple to complex words, such as: so, ran, sphinx, lush, squint: words with single consonants, consonant digraphs and/or consonant blends. He knows how to read and write (spell) words with the suffixes -s, -es, -ed, and -ing. He has also mastered the first 425 words on the Fry Word List of the most common words. Further, he is formulating answers to high level thinking questions. 
 
When this beautiful boy, who has a goal of becoming a police officer, first came to me, his teachers were sure that he’d never learn to read.
 
That thought crossed my mind from time to time also when we first began, but I knew I couldn’t give up on this sweet, hard-working boy. He certainly isn’t giving up! Like I said, I knew he WOULD take longer than 2 years because of his learning differences and his language processing difficulties, but I had faith he would get there because of my experience with Silent Elephant “e”™. We started out very slowly and have slowly picked up speed. 
 
He’s now reading early readers’ books. You should see the smile on his face as he shows me a book he’s read: one about veterinarians, one about astronauts, one about dinosaurs. He beams with pride! He is feeling the freedom and joy of reading.
 
His dad, who had been told his son would never read, says over and over to me, “You, Mrs. Jones, you are really teaching him to read!”
 
I humbly thank his dad and I think to myself that I’m so glad I wrote Silent Elephant “e”™. It has been the steady, consistent, multi-sensory instruction his son needs to understand language and learn to read.
 
From my experience with other students, I know that now that he’s almost finished with Part 6 of Silent Elephant “e”™ his reading growth will speed up! I can’t wait, I can already see his face beaming with both pride and relief. He realizes he is succeeding. He is feeling the joy of reading.
 
This Fall he headed off into middle school with more of a feeling of confidence and that he has a future than he has ever felt. He’s still not reading on grade level yet, but he knows he is moving there, however long it takes.

This young success story has not been my only student whose parents were told their child would never read. Recently I had a fun experience with one of my 9th grade boys admitting to me with both embarrassment and pride that he got caught red-handed reading his mom’s text messages. A year ago, he was a nonreader.
 
He hadn’t meant to snoop into his mom’ phone, he just started reading, got caught up in what he was reading, didn’t even realize that he was reading so effortlessly, and didn’t even think about the fact that he really shouldn’t be reading his mom’s private messages. 😊
 
His mom told me later that she didn’t know whether to be excited and happy, because he was actually reading and engaged in reading or to be upset because he was reading things she hadn’t planned on him reading. In the end, she was thrilled!
 
He shared, “I wasn’t trying to snoop. I just started reading and I got so excited that I couldn’t quit. My mom was stunned!” He asked me immediately to give him a reading assessment to see what reading level he was on which, of course, I did. We celebrated the growth he’s made in ONLY 9 MONTHS.
 
Let me go back to where I started today, it’s been my experience with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ over and over these past 10 years that when you teach children, especially struggling children, the way they learn best with whole child/whole brain, multi-sensory activities embedded into every moment of learning, it doesn’t take 6 years to be reading at a 6th grade level. The average is 2 years, and that’s the average!
 
Those who don’t have learning differences learn more quickly but EVERY SINGLE ONE will succeed. That’s been my experience. I have many, many success stories. And I LOVE it!
 
Check out this blog post to enjoy a young one who flew - She Was Reading at a Fourth Grade Level at the End of Kindergarten.  There are also many more success stories here on my blog.
 

Contact us here – Linda Smith-Jones                   Nina Henson