YES, They Learn Differently AND Teaching THEM is FUN! ON SALE NOW.

Dear Friends,

Yes, our creative and talented dyslexics do learn differently so we as their teachers have to teach them differently. We have to teach them to read, write and spell the way THEY learn.

It turns out that teaching them to read, write and spell the way they learn is EASY and FUN for US as well as for THEM. 😊

It ALSO TURNS out that the fun and easy way we have to teach our dyslexics to read, write and spell is the BEST WAY FOR ALL OUR CHILDREN TO LEARN to read, write and spell.

Our dyslexics have to be completely involved using all their senses and their body as they learn the vague concepts of phonemic awareness and phonics.

Learning through their senses and their bodies as they learn to read, write and spell at the same time creates new neuro pathways in their brains that are not created otherwise. These new neuro pathways make learning to read, write and spell easier and easier for them.

AND, when we teach our non-dyslexic children to read, write and spell using all their senses and their bodies, WOW do they ever learn FAST!!

Plus, ALL OF THEM have a great time learning to read, write and spell.  

 This Spring, through June ’25, Parts 1-14, the Educational Posters and My Awesome Grandma are 25% off.
Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”® is your complete reading, writing and spelling curriculum preschool through high school. It’s the only curriculum you will need for ALL you kids, dyslexic or not.
Silent Elephant “e”® is THE curriculum that teaches reading, writing and spelling together preschool through high school which is the way ALL OUR CHILDREN learn them best.

I am leaving this sale on through June, so you don’t feel rushed. Silent Elephant “e”® is your curriculum for your kids through high school.

Go to silentelephante.com/store and contact me at silentelephante@gmail.com or 208-859-4406.

Last thought, all your kids deserve to have fun learning to read, write and spell and YOU also deserve to have fun teaching them. Teaching with Silent Elephant “e”®  IS fun. I have fun everyday as I tutor my students.  😊
  
Keep a song in your heart!
Linda

What is Happening in Our Creative Dyslexic's Brain When They Are Learning to Read

As a tutor of dyslexic children, I’m often asked by the parents of my students, “What exactly is dyslexia?”

First, I reply, “Dyslexia is a language processing difference in the brain.” I also like to share Dr. Sally Shaywitz’s definition, “Dyslexia is defined as an unexpected difficulty in learning to read.”

I explain that the “unexpected difficulty in learning to read” is probably how they’re feeling about their child. They know their child is bright, clever, understands things and learns quickly, but for some not understandable reason, reading is very difficult for their child, if not impossible.

They often nod because they do know that feeling.  Their next question usually is, “What is happening in their child’s dyslexic brain when they are trying to read?”

I’ve been studying dyslexia research for almost 4 decades. I feel the real breakthroughs in research in how the brain learns to read began with Stanislas Dehaene’s first book How We Learn published in 2001. Then Sally Shaywitz’s book Overcoming Dyslexia followed in 2003. Her findings were so exciting to me and others. Using fMRI’s, she was able to prove there is a difference in how the dyslexic brain functions from the non-dyslexic brain when trying to read.

There’s still so much we need to learn about our brains, but more and more research is being done every day, and our knowledge of how the dyslexic brain processes information is continually growing. Again, this is so exciting.

Here’s what we do know now and what I share with my parents.

The first step in reading is for the reader to look at and focus on printed letters and words. The eyes send the letters and words off to the brain as energy messages. Messages from the left eye are sent to the right hemisphere of the brain while messages from the right eye are sent to the left hemisphere of the brain.

The visual symbols of individual letters, letter groupings (root words, prefixes, suffixes, blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs/phonograms), and letters forming whole words will be recognized and stored in the “word box area” in the left hemisphere of the brain. Instant recognition of all the letters, letter groupings and whole words is necessary for a person to achieve fluency and automaticity in reading.

The visual messages that are originally sent to the right hemisphere, must be immediately sent through the corpus callosum (a thick bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres of the brain) to the “word box area” in the left hemisphere for the brain to quickly and accurately decode the words.

(Please see our previous blog post here on how the brain learns.)

For a dyslexic, these processes don’t always run so smoothly. Often, the transfer of visual messages from the right side to the left side of the brain may not be done efficiently. The dyslexic brain may then attempt to recognize the letters, letter groupings and whole words in the right hemisphere, but that’s not really it’s function and this is best done and more effectively achieved in the “word box area” in the left hemisphere.

The dyslexic brain may also begin sending messages to other locations within the right and/or left hemispheres in search of help in processing the information more quickly. Unfortunately, this leads to further delays in fluency because of the time it takes to send the information and the fact that the other locations are not as efficient at recognizing letters and words as the “word box area”.

Probably you, just as parents of the kiddos I teach, are beginning to picture what is happening in their dyslexic child’s brain.

You may be visualizing how if the “word box area” isn’t able to immediately process the letters and words and isn’t immediately receiving help from the right hemisphere, their brain begins sending messages to other parts of the brain that might be helpful, sort of like rabbits running haphazardly through tunnels in a rabbit warren. 😊

Like my parents, I know you are also feeling just how frustrating this would feel to a bright young learner who understands so many things so easily and yet is completely mystified, and sometimes totally stopped, when trying to read.

Now I know you can probably guess the next question I’m asked – “How will Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”® help my child learn to read, write and spell when nothing else has?”

Let’s start at the beginning here. Silent Elephant “e”® is based on research of Dr. Sally Shaywitz, Orton/Gillingham, Lindamood Bell, Louisa Cook Moats, Pleasant T Rowland, International Dyslexic Association and many others.

This research includes my own personal research with my students for thirty-six years teaching in the classroom. I wanted and NEEDED to know how ALL my students were learning, what they were learning and how what I was doing helped them or didn’t help them.

To this end, after I taught a lesson, I asked, “What did I do that helped you learn, what did I do that confused you, what could I do differently to help you even more?” I took careful notes. I repeated the same questions a day later, a week later, and a month later. I took careful notes each time.

I modified my instruction to meet the needs of each of my students. It was always my intent to do better and help EVERY child learn quickly and easily.

When I wrote Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®, I reflected on all the knowledge I had gained from my students and all the research on teaching of reading, writing and spelling and dyslexia.

Silent Elephant “e”® is a comprehensive reading program based in the science of reading and all the latest research in and about the dyslexic learner.

Silent Elephant “e”® teaches ALL learners the way they learn to read, write and spell best! For our dyslexic learners, Silent Elephant “e”®, teaches them the only way they CAN learn to read, write and spell easily and quickly.

Silent Elephant “e”® provides total immersion in a precisely organized, multi-sensory phonemic awareness and phonics program using visual stimulation, auditory stimulation, and kinesthetic stimulation—in other words, using “the whole body”—to learn. 

This immersion is THE WAY our dyslexic children activate their “word box area” so that their brain immediately and effectively learns to identify letters and words. This immersion is THE WAY they learn to read fluently and successfully. On top of that, it’s fun!

This total immersion is also THE WAY EVERY child learns best to learn to read, write and spell, and it’s FUN.

All children, including our dyslexics, who learn to read with Silent Elephant “e”® quickly become independent readers achieving automaticity and fluency in reading, writing and spelling. They become so confident and self-assured they don’t question that they’ll be successful.

These are the answers that help the parents of my dyslexic kiddos relax and begin to enjoy their children becoming successful, happy readers.

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”® is a wonderful win/win/win for everyone, dyslexics, non-dyslexics AND their parents.

Contact us at silentelephante@gmail.com 

TikTok silent.elephant.e

BIG SAVINGS SALE ON NOW!

Big Savings Sale! 

 Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”® Parts 1-14 and the Educational Posters are 25% off through May 31st.

Click here to explore each part of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®. The check out code is LKAV6ZT. Afterpay is available. You can also purchase on Amazon here, or search Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.  

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®  is your reading, writing AND spelling curriculum pre-school through high school skills.

It’s your WHOLE curriculum, 14 years of reading, writing AND spelling skills – preschool through high school.

When Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®  is your reading, writing and spelling curriculum you’ll have everything all your kids need preschool through high school skills even if they have learning differences like dyslexia.

You can relax and breathe deep knowing you won’t have to think about which reading, writing or spelling curriculum to use ever again.

Click here to explore each part of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®. The check out code is LKAV6ZT. Afterpay is available.  

In Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”® every concept begins with an imaginative creative activity that is the foundation of that concept for the rest of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®, and their life. These activities include puppetry, song, art, acting, drawing, color, symbols, writing, using their 5 senses in their learning and many other activities.

Each of these creative activities activates all parts of the brain which is important for every one of your children as they’re learning to read, write and spell, but especially important for your dyslexics or other learning difference child.

You can purchase Parts 1-14 individually or purchase the packages to save money. The packages include Parts 1-14, Parts 1-3, and Parts 4-14. 

Click here to explore each part of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®. The check out code is LKAV6ZT. Afterpay is available.   

The Educational Posters are also 25% off through May.

The posters are an integral part of each phonics concept they're learning. Throughout each phonics concept, your kids will continually refer back to the posters.

They will draw the posters ensuring the concept is processed in all parts of their brain. This is especially important for your dyslexic child, but is a powerful tool for every child. When they have drawn the poster for a concept, their brain will pull up that image when they come up to a word they don’t know that has that phonics concept.

Those are the basics, Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”® Parts 1-14 and the Educational posters 25% off through May.

Click here to explore each part of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®. The check out code is LKAV6ZT. Afterpay is available. You can also purchase on Amazon here, or search Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.  

When you are exploring the store you will notice 3 other items we have created to support you as you teach reading, writing and spelling with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®. 

1. The picture book My Awesome Grandma is a book that leaves their imagination wondering. :) It introduces consonant digraphs and goes with Parts 4-14.

2. We recorded over 100 Instructional Videos that take you lesson by lesson through all of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®. If you’re not sure how to teach a lesson, you have the video at your fingertips.

3. We offer a 9 hour on-line Personal Training - our Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”® class for homeschool parents, tutors and teachers is very helpful.  You’ll see the price goes down depending on how many people attend the class.

Click here to explore each part of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”®. The check out code is LKAV6ZT. Afterpay is available. You can also purchase on Amazon here, or search Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.  

Again, this sale ends on May 31st which gives you time to explore Silent Elephant “e”®, and get any questions answered.  Email us at silentelephante@gmail.com or nina.silentelephante@gmail.com

Who Wouldn’t Want to Practice Spelling in Pudding!

Who Wouldn’t Want to Practice Spelling in Pudding!

I received a fun, fun email from Wendy, a homeschool educator, after she read the blog post entitled “Ten Fun Spelling Activities”. (link here)

“We had a fun time practicing our spelling in pudding. Even Xander who is only 2 and a half years old was able to join in the fun. Thanks for the great ideas.

They all licked their fingers! Each ended up liking a different flavor. We had chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch.

We were practicing the words from the end of Part 4 (Silent Elephant “e”®.) First, they copied the spelling words from the board where I had written them. Then they worked as partners reading a word and sounding it out for the other to write.

The last 2 words were challenging for them, but I think the pudding partnering will help them remember “phone” and “phonics.”

Even Xander learned how to draw a circle in his pudding. 
It was great fun for all!”

Isn’t that a fun, lovely story—extremely educational, too! The children were learning using all their senses: seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and listening to Mom and their partner—their whole body involved!

I loved how Wendy included her young son in the activity! What a wonderful idea to have him draw shapes in the pudding.

Young children can draw lines that curve; lines that squiggle; lines that go up, down, or across; lines that are straight; lines that zigzag, etc.

I included “phonics” and “phone” in that relatively early phonics lesson on consonant digraphs because children need to be able to read those words early on in first grade. I know they are challenging, but I agree with Wendy that writing in pudding, or another medium will aid in their retention of meaning and spelling of their words.

These pictures of Zoya, Audrey and Xander giggling and laughing while having so much fun learning together, brings joy to my heart!

I hope you try it with your kiddos and send me pictures!

Any questions, contact us here: silentelephante@gmail.com       nina.silentelephante@gmail.com

Sentence Dictation - a POWERFUL Tool in Spelling, Here's How to Use It :)

I Love Learning to Spell using Sentence Dictation!

Spelling can be fun! And when we connect their spelling with their phonics, ALL students, struggling and non-struggling, connect both sides of the sound/symbol relationship coin! Reading and spelling makes sense. (In my last post shared the connection between spelling success and their phonics. Here’s the link.)

Connecting spelling to their phonics applies to ALL learners:

• struggling learners,

• non-struggling learners, and

• gifted learners.

  ALL children deserve to understand how reading and spelling are connected.

As mentioned in my last post, it is essential that their spelling instruction correlate with phonics instruction. They need to understand the connection of decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling the words they’ve learned to read as they use them in their writing).

One of the most important spelling components I included in Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”® is sentence dictation.

In Silent Elephant “e”®, sentence dictation connects decoding and encoding with comprehension in one meaningful activity that they enjoy and that is consistent throughout Parts 3-14.

As I have mentioned before, this consistency in instruction of connecting phonics, spelling and comprehension is vital for dyslexic learners but truly important for ALL learners.

To make sure your kids connect the relationship of decoding and encoding, sentence dictation does not occur in Silent Elephant “e”®  until children are fluently reading the sentences on their Partner Practice pages and have discussed what the sentences are about with you or their partners.

This ensures that they are not trying to learn to spell/write a word that doesn’t have meaning for them. This is so important, because if they are trying to spell/write a word they don’t know the meaning of, it will only cause them confusion and frustration, and they will find spelling difficult if not impossible.
 
When your kids fluently read and comprehend the sentences on their Partner Pages in each phonics lesson, they are ready to move into the encoding (spelling) part of the lesson—sentence dictation.

Here are a few steps that will ensure your child’s success in sentence dictation when working with their partners or you. Teach these skills before jumping into sentence dictation:
 

• Take turns reading a sentence to their partner. You may be their partner. This necessary step works on decoding and promotes active listening. If you are their “partner”, have them read the sentence to you and then you read the sentence to them having them actively listen as you read.

• Discuss the meaning of the sentence by sharing what they are picturing/imagining in their brain—comprehension. They could even draw the sentence, as drawing will activate more parts of their brain thus promoting greater comprehension.

• Take turns reading the sentence one more time.

• Have them turn their Partner Practice page over.

• Take turns repeating the sentence from memory, first together, then separately. Have them think about what the sentence and words look like when they say the sentence and listen to you say it. This works on both auditory and visual memory. If they need to review the sentence again, they can turn their Partner Practice page over.

• Only now do they begin writing. This, of course, is encoding as they are thinking, “What sound am I hearing and what letter(s) do I use for that sound when I’m writing?”

• If you are their partner, have them dictate the sentence to you and you write it. You are modeling for them.

• When you’ve finished writing a sentence, have them first proofread their own work and then proofread their partners/yours. They proofread by:

• Checking for space between words

• Checking for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence

• Checking for an end mark—a period, question or exclamation mark

• Checking for capitalized names

• Checking for spelling accuracy

• Last, have them proof their work for accuracy by looking at their Partner Practice page. Celebrate with a high-five for their good work. Smiles all around!

  As you can see, decoding and encoding skills utilized in sentence dictation engage numerous parts of the brain:

• Visual processing, visual sequencing, and visual memory

• Auditory processing, auditory sequencing, and auditory memory

• Tactile handwriting skills

• Comprehension of text

• Analytical thinking--comparison of decoding and encoding

 Sentence dictation is a fun activity that children enjoy doing together without being completely aware of all the elements enhancing their learning—they just have fun and learn to share and support each other as they read and write.

I encourage doing sentence dictation several times a week. You and they will see the difference in reading, spelling and comprehension very quickly.

If you have further questions about spelling the Silent Elephant “e”® way, contact us at silentelephante@gmail.com or nina.silentelephante@gmail.com.

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

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!

Prints! Leaf, Foot, and Maybe Hand

Remember our main objective?
To keep their skills strong and growing in FUN and ACTIVE ways!

I’m pretty sure you and your kiddos are still in the process of writing and developing their skits or plays. Do you have any fun photos to share of the process?

What about photos from vacation adventures? I would love to see your photos and hear about how their skills stayed strong even when they were on vacation 😊.

Do you have other activities that have kept their skills active and growing that you would like to share with everyone? Send them to silentelephante@gmail.com and we’ll get them out for others to enjoy.
 
I have traveled back to Idaho for the months of July, August and most of September. Idaho’s dry climate is so different from Seattle’s that I always have to readjust to the weather. Thank goodness for air conditioning!
 
I do get to do three of my favorite activities when I’m in Idaho – working in our yard, having lunch with friends I haven’t seen in 9 months and huckleberry picking. I’m hoping the huckleberry crop is a big one, as I’m eager to get in the mountains and very eager for huckleberry apple pie. 
 
Would you like a few more fun and engaging ideas? 😊 

1. Study your own back yard—plants.

• Explore the plants in your yard or in your neighborhood in books and on the Internet.

• What do these plants need to thrive?

• Which plants are "friends", and which don't like to be around each other? There's a good deal of fun information out there about how plants communicate and how they help each other.

• Which plants are native to your climate, and which have been brought in?

• Write and draw a “How to Care For” booklet that includes the plants in your yard or in your neighborhood. Include what they need to thrive, how large they grow and who are their "friends".

• Explore YouTube for “how to” videos demonstrating how to make leaf prints, so your kiddos can include beautiful leaf prints in their “How to Care For” booklet.

 2. Study your own back yard—animals.

• Write and draw a booklet exploring the animals that are native to your environment, wild and domestic. Include where these animals live and what they need to thrive. Also include their friends. :)

• Get a book about animal footprints and/or research them on the Internet. Yesterday morning I saw racoon footprints! I love their little “fingers”. I’m including a photo.

• Include drawings of footprints in their animal booklet. Or, if you are lucky to see footprints like I was, include photos in their booklet.

• It’s also fun to extend this exploration into learning about their own fingerprints and how they are like no one else’s. 😊 They can include their hand or fingerprints in their booklet. They could also include all the handprints of those in your family and compare them.

3. Review the previous year’s reading, writing and spelling skills.

• If Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ was their reading program last year, review the skills they learned and analyze with them how those skills have made their summer explorations easier.

• If they didn’t learn with Silent Elephant “e”™ last year, do the same reviewing and analysis of the skills they learned and how their skills have grown through the summer.

HAVE FUN WITH THESE NEW IDEAS!  LEARNING WITH FUN IS IMPORTANT!
Fun is an integral part of Silent Elephant “e”™!
 

If you missed the last three emails with summer fun ideas, here are the links to the blog posts: 

• It's Summer - Whole Child/Whole Brain Ways to Keep Spelling Skills Strong

• Keeping Skills Sharp During the Summer - It's Important!

• Having Fun While Keeping Their Skills Strong

If you have further questions about summer activities that keep their skills growing, or wondering about how Silent Elephant “e”™ supports your teaching and their learning, contact us HERE or email us at silentelephante@gmail.com.

It's Summer - Whole Child/Whole Brain Ways to Keep Spelling Skills Strong

It's Summer - Whole Child/Whole Brain Ways to Keep Spelling Skills Strong

It's summer and everything always looks a little different in the summer, even our schooling. 

Let's look at some different multi-sensory techniques that activate the whole child, the whole brain, and will keep spelling skills strong through the summer (or any season 😊).

1. When children are writing spelling words with a regular pencil, have them write the letter(s) that are tricking them or challenging them in a bright red color. This analysis of what is tricking them takes the word and its meaning into another part of their brain enhancing their retention of the word. The red color helps stimulate visual memory. 

2. Have them practice their words with two fingers (pointer and middle) in pudding spread on a rimmed cookie sheet. As you can imagine, this is a very popular way to practice spelling words. The tactile sensations of the coldness and smoothness of the pudding plus the sweet smell activates multiple parts of the brain. (Have them wash their hands first because you know they are going to lick their fingers. 😊) 

3. Using two fingers to write their words in red aquarium sand spread out in cold water on a rimmed cookie sheet stimulates both tactile and visual parts of the brain. The tactile sensations of the sand and the cold water plus the red color of the sand activates multiple parts of the brain. 

4. Shaving cream is also fun. Like the pudding and aquarium sand the tactile sensations and the smell of writing their words in shaving cream on a cookie sheet activates multiple parts of the brain at the same time. (I buy shaving cream for this purpose at a dollar store.) 

5. Writing their spelling words in the bathtub using bathtub crayons always brings giggles. It also stimulates many parts of the brain and is, of course, just fun and oh so pretty. 

6. Take their words outside! Let them write spelling words with two fingers or using a stick in sand or mud. When your kids move outside to focus on spelling, their brain connects their learning with all environments. Spelling isn’t just a school related skill. 

7. Another tactile stimulus that helps them feel the writing of their words through their fingertips is writing them on sandpaper. Have them write the words first in bright colors and then trace them with their fingers. This activates visual parts of the brain as well.  

8. Then there is "Rainbow Writing". :) "Rainbow Writing" is writing their spelling words using multiple crayons, colored pencils or colored markers at the same time.  Kids love this and the colors activate the visual part of the brain as they form the letters of their words. 

9. Get a strong, sturdy large rectangular cardboard box about 12” x 10” x 1.5” with a lid. Line it with red duct tape. Pour two to three boxes of table salt into the box. Now, have them practice their spelling words with two fingers in the salt. This stimulates both tactile and visual memory with the roughness of the salt and the color of the box.

10. Pretend that your child’s back is a writing board and write their spelling words with two fingers on his/her back. You may need to write slowing as they will be intensely figuring out the word you are writing.  After they have figured out the word you're writing “erase” the word by gently rubbing their back. This is especially important if they are dyslexic or a struggling with spelling. “Erasing” helps their brain “let go” of what they were just intensely figuring out and get ready for a new word. 

• Writing on their back takes their words into so many parts of their brain. They must activate multiple parts of their brain that help them identify the letters in a completely different way. They are not using their sight at all. Their brain must connect the letters they have identified through the touch on their back into a word that has meaning to them and that they can identify by sight. 

• Now, switch places with them and let them write on your back. You'll both get the giggles. 

• IMPORTANT - Do this activity only after they have written the word in other tactile activities and have both a solid knowledge of the word's meaning and visual memory of the word.                                                             

Have fun “playing” with your kiddos as they keep their spelling skills strong this summer. You’ll enjoy their smiles and feelings of success!

If you have used other multi-sensory spelling activities that you have enjoyed and found successful, please send it our way. (silentelephante@gmail.com) We'll get them out to everyone to use this summer.  
If you have questions about spelling the Silent Elephant “e”™  way, feel free to contact us.
Keep a song in your heart!

Dyslexics Can Struggle More With Spelling Than Reading

Most Often SPELLING is MORE DIFFICULT for Dyslexics Than READING! 

Think about this for a moment:

Most often spelling is even more difficult for dyslexics (and other struggling students) than reading! 

It’s easy to become so focused on the struggling reader’s reading struggles, that spelling gets left behind. Spelling gets a little bit “ignored”. And yet, the truth is, spelling IS more difficult than reading for dyslexics and many other struggling students.  

There’s an underlying unproductive thought: “Spelling will come along. They’ll get it!” 

This way of thinking contributes to struggling students’ continuing feelings of inadequacy.  

Now that you are expertly teaching phonics with Silent Elephant “e” and seeing amazing growth in reading in your children, you will be able to knowledgeably and successfully teach spelling too!  

The first thing to understand about spelling instruction is that it must be taught concurrently with phonics instruction. While students are learning a particular phonics rule and utilizing it in learning to read, they need to be applying that same exact phonics rule in learning to spell. When learners do this, 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 the same coin.

·       They both represent sound-symbol relationship—just on the opposite side of the coin.

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

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

Decoding and encoding use different parts of the brain. Since different brain parts are constantly communicating with each other, it’s imperative that your skillful teaching of reading runs parallel to your skillful teaching of spelling. 

Let me say that again—

Spelling instruction must correlate with phonics instruction. 

Unfortunately, many basal reading and 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 two different programs from two different publishers are utilized within one classroom. 

The struggling learner is led to feel like there is no connection between the reading they are trying to learn and the spelling they are trying to learn.  

This lack of correlation between the two and the introduction of the rule and the exceptions in the same lesson compounds the confusion that dyslexic people or any struggling student is feeling when trying to comprehend the abstract concept of a phonics rule.  

This confusion makes it almost impossible for them to internalize and master the rule being taught, much less the exceptions to that rule. 

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” teaches reading and spelling together. 

When teaching with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, you will be able to expertly teach each abstract phonics rule through sequentially organized, multi-sensory, whole body lessons guiding students to a concrete understanding of each phonics rule. 

Your children will feel so confident in their understanding of a phonics rule, that they will eagerly accept the challenge to spell words that follow that rule. 

Because I created Silent Elephant “e” so that all learners could learn to read and spell at the same time, I included lengthy, leveled word lists (Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3) moving from simple to complex as an integral part of each phonics lesson in Silent Elephant “e”.  

These word lists 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. 

I’ll address individualized spelling lists in my next blog post. 

If you have further questions about spelling the Silent Elephant “e” way, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Freedom of Individualized Spelling

The “Oh So Good Feelings” Individualized Spelling Tests Bring 

Now that you know that you can easily and quickly create spelling lists, please take the following into consideration: 

As educators, we must always be cognizant of our students’ needs. Students should never feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or unintelligent in their educational settings. We must impart peacefulness and happiness in our students while watching their self-confidence grow. We must teach them in a way that quickly ensures their success.  

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” does just that! 

With our perfectly created leveled spelling lists in hand (which include no exceptions to the lesson’s objective), there is just one more thing for us to be mindful of: 

Our children need individualized spelling lists that contain just the right number of words to grow and develop their skills while offering a bit of a challenge. 

In the beginning, dyslexic learners, struggling learners and ELL learners might need you to shorten their spelling lists, so they can truly be successful in spelling. You might need to begin by giving them a list of only 3 words. 

When a child consistently spells the required 3 words correctly, add another word. Continue this pattern of adding an additional word as a child’s spelling skills grow. 

When children reach that “Oh, I get it!” awareness that the phonics rule needed in reading is exactly the same as the phonics rule needed in spelling, you will be able to add many more spelling words to their lists and they will easily learn to spell the new words.

 But first, you must start with where they are.

You must relax with them only having a few words in the beginning, if that is what they need.  

With Silent Elephant “e” you are on your way to developing strong, self-assured, capable students in reading, writing and spelling!  

In my next Spelling blog post, I will share several more relevant teaching ideas for spelling instruction. Teaching ideas that have worked for ALL LEARNERS!! 

If you have further questions about spelling the Silent Elephant “e” way, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Spelling Powerhouse - Sentence Dictation

I Love Learning to Spell using Sentence Dictation! 

Spelling can be fun!

And now when we correlate spelling with phonics instruction, ALL students, struggling and non-struggling, connect both sides of the sound/symbol relationship coin! Reading and spelling makes sense. 

It’s important to realize that this applies to ALL learners:

·       struggling learners,

·       non-struggling learners, and

·       gifted learners.  

ALL learners deserve to understand that reading and spelling are connected. 

As mentioned in my last blog post, it is essential that spelling instruction correlate with phonics instruction.

One of the most important spelling components I wrote into Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” is sentence dictation.  

In Silent Elephant “e”, sentence dictation connects decoding and encoding with comprehension in one meaningful activity that is consistent throughout Parts 3-14. As I have mentioned in other blog posts, this consistency in instruction is vital for dyslexic learners and truly ALL learners.  

To make sure students connect the relationship of decoding and encoding, sentence dictation does not occur until children are fluently reading the sentences on their Partner Practice pages and have discussed what the sentences are about with their partners. 

This ensures that students are not trying to learn to spell/write a word that doesn’t have meaning for them, as that would only cause them more confusion and frustration.  

When students fluently read and comprehend the sentences on their Partner Pages in each phonics lesson, they are ready to move into the encoding part of the lesson—sentence dictation.

 To ensure children’s success in sentence dictation when working with their partners, teach these skills before they begin: 

·       Children take turns reading a sentence to their partner. This necessary step works on decoding and promotes active listening.

·       They discuss the meaning of the sentence by sharing what they are picturing/imagining in their brain—comprehension.

·       Each child reads the sentence one more time.

·       They turn their Partner Practice page over.

·       Both children take turns repeating the sentence from memory, first together, then separately. This works on both auditory and visual memory. If they need to review the sentence again, they can turn their Partner Practice page over.

·       Only then do they begin writing. This, of course, is encoding as they are thinking, “What sound am I hearing and what letter(s) do I use for that sound when I’m writing?”

·       When they have finished writing their sentences, they first proofread their own work and then proofread their partners. They proofread by:

o   Checking for space between words

o   Checking for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence

o   Checking for an end mark—a period, question or exclamation mark

o   Checking for capitalized names

o   Checking for spelling accuracy

·       Last, each child proofs their work for accuracy by looking at their Partner Practice page, and then high-fives their partner for their good work. Smiles all around! 

As you can see, decoding and encoding skills utilized in sentence dictation engage numerous parts of the brain:

·       Visual processing, visual sequencing and visual memory

·       Auditory processing, auditory sequencing and auditory memory

·       Tactile handwriting skills

·       Comprehension of text

·       Analytical thinking--comparison of decoding and encoding 

Sentence dictation is a fun activity that children enjoy doing together without being completely aware of all the elements enhancing their learning—they’re just having fun and learning to share and support each other as they read and write.  

Because sentence dictation is such an important component in Silent Elephant “e”, when classroom teaching or tutoring, encourage parents to dictate sentences at least once a week (of course, more is better) with their children at home. To inform parents of your expectations of how to do sentence dictation, send home the sentence dictation skill list above. Parents will recognize the importance of sentence dictation and the decoding and encoding skills that sentence dictation strengthens.

My next blog post will provide you with a list of ten additional activities to further promote spelling achievement. Children will enjoy these fun, challenging activities! 

If you have further questions about spelling the Silent Elephant “e” way, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Ten Fun Spelling Activities

Ten Fun Spelling Activities! 

In my last post in this series, I shared how sentence dictation is a powerful tool for mastery of spelling skills for learners of all ages, especially for struggling students. It’s such a powerful tool for learning that I made sure I included it as an integral part of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 

I also shared some important “how to’s” when you use sentence dictation in the teaching of spelling.  

Of course, children also need to practice their spelling words outside of sentence dictation, but only after they are familiar with the words they are being asked to spell and can read and comprehend them. I cannot emphasize this enough! They must be totally familiar with the words they are learning to spell or they will become more confused and frustrated.

Below are some FUN multi-sensory techniques for children to use when they practice their spelling words: 

1. When children are writing spelling words with a regular pencil, have them write the letter(s) that are tricking them or challenging them in a bright red color. This analysis of what is tricking them takes the word and its meaning into another part of their brain enhancing their retention of the word. The red color helps stimulate visual memory.   

2. Write spelling words with two fingers (pointer and middle) in pudding. Spread the pudding out on a cookie sheet that has an edge around it. As you can imagine, this is a very popular way to practice spelling words. The tactile sensations of the coldness and smoothness of the pudding plus the sweet smell activates multiple parts of the brain. (Have them wash their hands first, because chances are, they will lick their fingers. Yum!) 

3. Write spelling words with two fingers in red aquarium sand that has been spread out in cold water on a cookie sheet that has an edge around it. The tactile sensations of both the sand and the cold water plus the red color of the sand activates multiple parts of the brain.

4. Write spelling words with two fingers in shaving cream that is spread out on a smooth surface, such as their desk or a cookie sheet. Again, the tactile sensations of the shaving cream along with the smell activates multiple parts of the brain at the same time. (I buy shaving cream for this purpose at a dollar store.) 

5. At home, children will enjoy writing their spelling words in the bathtub using bathtub crayons. This stimulates many parts of the brain and is, of course, just fun and oh, so pretty.

6. Write spelling words with two fingers or using a stick in sand, in mud and/or in snow. When students move outside the “normal” school setting to “work” on spelling, their brain connects their learning with all environments. Spelling is not just a school related skill.

7. Write spelling words with two fingers on coarse sandpaper. This tactile stimulus helps them feel the writing of their words through their fingertips. 

8. Write spelling words using multiple colored crayons, colored pencils or colored markers at the same time. This is sometimes called “Rainbow Writing”. Children love this activity and the colors activate the visual part of the brain as they form the letters of their words. 

9. Get a strong, sturdy large rectangular cardboard box about 12” x 10” x 1.5” with a lid. Line it with red duct tape. Pour two to  three boxes of table salt into the box. Write spelling words with two fingers in the salt. This stimulates both tactile and visual memory.

10. Pretend that your child’s back is a writing board. Write their spelling words with two fingers on his/her back. It’s important to “erase” (by gently rubbing their back) after each word, especially for a dyslexic or struggling student. This helps their brain “let go” of what they were intensely focused on and be ready for the next word.  

    When you are writing on their back, they must activate multiple parts of their brain that help them identify the letters in a completely different way. Their brain then must connect the letters they have identified through the touch on their back into a word that has meaning to them.  

    Switch places—let your child write on your back.  

    Do this activity after they have written the word in other tactile activities and have both a solid knowledge of the word’s meaning and visual memory of the word. 

Have fun taking turns spelling your children’s words as you explore spelling with these multi-sensory activities.  

Enjoy their smiles and feelings of success!  

Enjoy YOUR feeling of success!

If you have used a multi-sensory activity that you would like to share with all of us, please send it to me by email.  

Happy spelling to you! 

If you have further questions about spelling the Silent Elephant “e” way, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Who Wouldn’t Want to Practice Spelling in Pudding!

Who Wouldn’t Want to Practice Spelling in Pudding! 

I received a fun, fun email from Wendy, a homeschool educator, after she read the blog post entitled “Ten Fun Spelling Activities”. 

We had a fun time practicing our spelling in pudding. Even Xander who is only 2 and a half years old was able to join in the fun. Thanks for the great ideas. 

They all licked their fingers! Each ended up liking a different flavor. We had chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch. 

We were practicing the words from the end of Part 4. First, they copied the spelling words from the board where I had written them. Then they worked as partners reading a word and sounding it out for the other to write. 

The last 2 words were challenging for them, but I think the pudding partnering will help them remember “phone” and “phonics.” 

Even Xander learned how to draw a circle in his pudding. 

It was great fun for all! 

Isn’t that a fun, lovely story—extremely educational, too! The children were learning using all of their senses: seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and listening to Mom and their partner—their whole body! 

I loved how Wendy included her young son in the activity! What a wonderful idea to have him draw shapes in the pudding.  

Young children can draw lines that curve; lines that squiggle; lines that go up, down, or across; lines that are straight; lines that zigzag, etc.  

I included “phonics” and “phone” in that relatively early phonics lesson on consonant digraphs, because children need to be able to read those words early on in first grade. I know they are challenging, but I agree with Wendy that writing in pudding or another medium will aid in their retention of the words.  

These pictures of Zoya, Audrey and Xander giggling and laughing while having so much fun learning together, brings joy to my heart! 

I hope you try it with your kiddos and send me pictures!

If you have further questions about spelling the Silent Elephant “e” way, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson