“The Words and Letters Move Faster and Faster
Around the Page like a Racetrack!”
To my surprise, recently another one of my students shared how he sees words on a page of print.
I shared with you how Ahva, a ninth grader, sees words stretched and compacted and how only 3 or 4 words are clear to her at any one time. When Ahva shared how she sees words, I completely understood her fluency struggles as she painstakingly, yet steadily improved her smoothness and reading rate while learning to read with Silent Elephant “e”. She is now reading and comprehending above her grade level.
I shared with you how Josie, a seventh grader, saw words scrambled and jumbled. Random letters from other words on the page would combine with the actual letters within a word she was trying to read. Through instruction with Silent Elephant “e”, Josie learned how to break down words by imagining the colors used for each rule. She doesn’t see scrambled or jumbled words anymore and is also reading and comprehending above her grade level now.
I shared how surprised I was when one of my second-grade students said, “I would be able to read better if the letters would just stop jumping around the page.”
I shared how I gently began to question her to understand what she meant.
Our conversation opened my eyes, and from that moment on, I began to carefully question all of my students.
I wanted to know what they saw. I was careful not to ask leading questions, so I questioned in a way they would feel safe and confident to express what was happening for them on a page of print.
Most of my students gave me a look of, “Well, the words on papers are just words sitting there!” (Sigh of relief on my part!)
But a few began to feel safe enough to share just how they saw the words and just what the words were doing.
These students OPENED MY EYES. They have helped me become a better teacher!
To bring home again that we need to ask questions of our students who are not progressing as we feel they should, I want to tell you about Jacob.
Old day during tutoring, 11-year-old Jacob expressed to me, “My brain is broken. I just have to deal with it.” My first response was to assure Jacob that he IS a bright, intelligent boy! I went on, “ Jacob, you are one of the most thoughtful, compassionate, caring young people I have ever known! Your brain isn’t ‘broken’ at all. You just learn to read differently than most people.“
But I heard his pain and confusion.
He was adamant, “Yes, my brain is broken! I know other people don’t see words on paper like I do.”
I gently began to ask questions to understand what he meant.
Below is what he described.
(I know it is a lot to ask of anyone to read my precisely detailed notes of exactly what Jacob sees on a page of print, but I wanted Jacob’s parents to take him to an ophthalmologist and show the doctor my notes and I wanted to share my notes with you, an educator.)
“When I first look at a written page, I see clear typing.
As I begin looking at the sentence I am supposed to read, the words begin to slowly blur from the margins inward until only about 2½ inches of space has clear typing in the middle of the line.
That clarity lasts for about 1 to 1½ seconds.
Then the whole sentence gets blurry.
The rest of the typing on the entire page blanks out to just be the color of the paper, however, the blurred sentence I’m focusing on stays in the same place and stays blurry.
Then that whole sentence shifts by moving up one inch on the paper, and then it becomes clear.
Then the letters in the sentence form a “follow the leader” single file line moving straight out to the left edge of the paper. There is a tiny bit of space between each letter, but no additional space separating words.
When they reach the left edge, they begin to move in the single file line directly to the top of the paper. (The letters do not flip over from top to bottom or appear backwards.)
When they reach the top edge, they continue to move clockwise in the single file line directly to the right edge of the paper.
When they reach the right edge, they continue moving clockwise in the single file line directly to the bottom edge of the paper.
When they reach the bottom edge, they continue moving clockwise in the single file line directly to the left edge of the paper.
When they reach the left edge, they continue moving clockwise in the single file line directly to the top edge of the paper, etc.
This movement forms a line of letters moving clockwise around the edge of the paper.
The spinning motion increases its speed with each “race track loop” as it passes its original starting position.
The speed the letters move around the loop is between about .8 to .5 sec./loop with the speed increasing with every cycle.
Also, the space between letters decreases as the speed increases, so by the fourth time around I just see a blur of black racing letters in an oval shape. (No longer do the letters reach the corners of the paper.)
If there are other people around me when I’m reading, people can help me stop the spinning by talking to me or touching me or I need to hear loud noises.
If I am alone when I’m reading, I try to blink my eyes, shake my head, rub my face, adjust my clothing, and/or look somewhere else on the page.
If those things don’t work, I try to drop the paper or book, but I’m unable to let go of either. I feel like I’m a statue. I’m frozen. I’m unable to move.
When I began experimenting with the colored Irlen overlays with Mrs. Jones and my dad on June 19, 2019, I discovered that the dull side helps prevent the letter “racetrack”. The letters stopped racing around.
However, with the Irlen overlay, the letters become a little bit shaky and the shakiness increases a little bit the longer I look at the words. It stays that way, until I look away.
Also, with the Irlen overlay, instead of the blurred line of typing moving up an inch, the clear line of typing moves down about a half inch.
The letters land directly on top of the letters in the sentence that is about a half-inch below.”
Isn’t that amazing!
Understanding how Jacob is seeing the letters and what they are doing helps me to help him.
After Jacob shared, I sat amazed that he was learning to read at all. I am struggling to comprehend what it must be like to watch the letters race around the page faster and faster.
I am very pleased to share that all my students who have expressed that they see the words on the page differently are successfully learning to read using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.
This affirms my research and the techniques I developed to ensure that ALL CHILDREN LEARN TO READ.
It is their right.
It also affirms our need to ask questions and listen to our children.
If you are questioning whether someone in your life is dyslexic and you’re not sure what to do, feel free to contact us.
Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson