They All Thrive When Taught The Way They Learn

Want to Feel Like You’re Making a Life Changing Difference in a Child’s Life? 

Consider Teaching with Silent Elephant “e”! 

I am honored and blessed that parents entrust me with such a valuable part their child’s life and education! 

I am humbled by my students and “parents” expressions of thanks as in the following letter I received from one of my “parents” last week: 

“When we first met Linda in the fall of 2016, my daughter was 2 years below her reading grade level. 

I knew she struggled with reading, but I didn't realize she was dyslexic. 

I wasn't aware that dyslexia is not just mixing up d's and b's.  Dyslexia has a myriad of ways to make learning to read difficult. 

Linda not only has helped my daughter, she also helped me to understand how dyslexia affects the way she processes information. 

Linda has a passion for helping kids learn to read. Linda’s patience and teaching techniques make the lessons not only enjoyable for my daughter, but most importantly, she remembers what is being taught!  

My daughter’s self confidence has blossomed since Linda came into our lives. She no longer fears being called on to read out loud in class, as she is now reading one and a half years above grade level!  

My eyes fill with tears, as I can't recommend Linda or her program strongly enough. She has changed my daughter’s life.”          

Emily C.  

My footnote: 

When this delightful, sweet girl came to me, she was unable to successfully complete my Phonemic Awareness Part 1 assessment, so I didn’t give her Part 2. She was definitely not hearing the individual sounds within words! 

For ten to fifteen minutes of her twice a week tutoring session for fourteen weeks, she completed lessons in Part 1 of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.  

At that time, I assessed her progress. She completed Phonemic Awareness Part 1 assessment and Part 2 assessment with 100% accuracy! She now has a strong, solid foundation with which to continue building her reading skills. 

My acquired knowledge from teaching 44 years and my concern and compassion for each child is compiled within Silent Elephant “e”. 

My main objective for writing Silent Elephant “e” is to provide an engaging, highly effective, multi-sensory reading program for teachers and parents to guide students to quickly and painlessly learn to read without years of struggling, humiliation, and self-deprecation. 

Added to this objective is my knowledge, from personal experience and from helping other parents, that for every child struggling to learn to read (one in five), there are twice as many parents anxious and worried about their child’s progress in reading, writing and spelling; their child’s self-confidence and self-pride; and their child’s happiness. 

The truth is every person WANTS to read. People innately know they need to be able to read to succeed in our culture. Therefore, EVERYONE can benefit from Silent Elephant “e” as it quickly guides him or her to successfully acquire excellent reading skills.  

My program is “the way all people learn and appreciate being taught. The dyslexic thrives, the ELL/ESL thrives, AND all others thrive. Everyone benefits,” concluded my editor Nina Henson. 

My reading program makes a difference in dyslexic readers’ lives, in struggling readers’ lives, in ALL readers’ lives! 

Join me in truly making a difference in students’ lives!

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program you’d like to purchase, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Two Fluent Readers and One on the Way!

Two Fluent Readers and One on the Way! 

For the past couple of years, I’ve had the pleasure of watching Wendy’s girls blossom into happy confident readers and now her young son is having fun with phonemic awareness.  

I asked Wendy if she would write a testimonial for me to use on Amazon, it was so heartfelt I just had to share with everyone.   

“Silent Elephant “e” is a great reading program!!! We started it when our oldest was a kindergartner struggling with identifying letter sounds. Part 1, Phonemic Awareness, helped her isolate sounds and easily learn them. She is now reading 3rd grade chapter books! 

We homeschool our 3 children and have used this program for all of them. It now engages our 4-year-old with the color association of letter sounds. He is having so much fun he doesn’t realize he is learning.  Our 2nd grader who has never struggled enjoys the creative phonetic rules. She especially likes the cupcake story with the colorful poster that explains the different sound variations for the suffix -ed:

I wanted a cupcake. (-ed makes /id)

I called the bakery. (-ed makes /d/)

The baker baked me a cupcake. (-ed makes /t/) 

We started with the first three parts of the program. Upon completion of Part 3, we sequentially continue purchasing the next parts. 

I highly recommend this reading program for all learners and teachers. I do not have an education degree, yet I easily understand the instructions and have been very successful with the results. 

We now have two fluent readers with a third on his way. Mrs. Jones has been available for questions every step of the way and has sent encouraging notes to the kids. Please consider this program if you have a struggling reader who thinks outside the box or if you have a regular reader who has hit a plateau.” 

I’ve enjoyed conversations on Zoom with the girls about their Silent Elephant “e” work and books they are reading, and though they have very different personalities they both have thoughtful questions and insight. They are proud readers.  

This is what Silent Elephant “e” is ALL about: proud readers.

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program you’d like to purchase, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Developing Thinking Skills in Our Children— One of Our Most Important Jobs

Developing Thinking Skills in Our Children—

One of Our Most Important Jobs  

Thinking—remembering information, understanding it, applying it, analyzing it, synthesizing it, evaluating it and creating new ideas with it—is a natural part of being human.  

Developing and strengthening these natural thinking skills of our students is an important part of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 

In fact, developing and strengthening thinking skills is an important part of our “jobs” as parents, teachers and grandparents.  

As parents, teachers and grandparents we always want to stimulate the thinking of those we love to explore their world near and far. We constantly want to be helping them understand their world at deeper levels.  

What does it take to be ready to take on the “job” of helping our children and our students develop their thinking skills? 

The simple answer is: ASK QUESTIONS! 

We need to think of ourselves as one of the people in their lives who asks them questions—questions that cause them to reflect, think critically, and reflect on their thinking.   

We want to be one of the people in their lives who is wondering about the world with them and asking them questions about their world—questions that will stimulate awareness, curiosity and deep, critical thinking.

Our questions don’t always have to have complex answers. Our intention is to stimulate awareness, curiosity and thought at whatever their age and at whatever concept development learning stage they are in.   

Since developing thinking skills is so important, Silent Elephant “e” promotes discussion of the content being studied by utilizing all thinking levels of questions. Children are asked questions to show they recall what they have read and understand what they have read. Then they are asked higher-level questions to guide them to apply their new knowledge, to analyze their new knowledge, to synthesize their new knowledge and to evaluate their new knowledge. Finally, they are asked questions to guide their thinking to create new ideas with their new knowledge. 

Let me share a little about Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking. Benjamin Bloom was an educational psychologist who in 1956 developed a questioning order for educators. The intent of his question order was for educators to promote thinking skills within their students beyond just remembering facts. He wanted educators to guide their students to practice their ability to apply, to analyze, to synthesize and to evaluate knowledge.   

Bloom shared that although remembering facts about what we read is important (we have to know what we read), to truly utilize a concept we are reading or learning, we need to take that information into deeper levels of thought. 

In other words, we need to think about what we are learning and think critically about our thinking about our learning. We need to analyze and evaluate how our new learning fits into everything else we know and how it changes what we already know.  

We need to analyze and evaluate in order to make sense of the new content and be able to utilize it in our lives and to create new thoughts from it.  

Here are two ways of looking at the levels (stages) of thinking that Bloom shared:  

This form gives us words at every level to guide our questions. These words help us develop an understanding of our student’s stage of learning—concept development. All levels are important, as they build upon each other. We have to have knowledge and understanding of a concept before we can apply it, analyze it, synthesize it or evaluate it.

This is another way of looking at the stages of thinking. This form focuses on experiences within the stages. These questions also help us think about where the learner is now when processing the new concept. Can they recall, explain, illustrate, operate, question, defend, and/or design? 

Even after teaching many years, I refer back to my light bulb grid to make sure I am asking questions to stimulate my students’ thinking.

In my next blog post, I will share how I use questioning to stimulate deeper thinking skills as I teach. It’s so fun to watch my students begin to realize their natural abilities to contemplate what they know and are learning. Their eyes sparkle with the power of this understanding.

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

Guiding Learners to OWN Their Learning

Guiding Learners to OWN Their Learning and

Create New and Original Thoughts with Their Knowledge 

In my last blog post (Developing Thinking Skills in Our Children, One of Our Most Important Jobs), I shared that one of our important “jobs” as parents, grandparents and teachers is asking our kiddos questions using questioning strategies that promote and strengthen thinking skills. 

I shared background information about Bloom’s Taxonomy. I gave you two forms of Bloom’s Taxonomy to help guide your questioning strategies.  

Lets’ look more closely at working with Bloom’s Taxonomy when we are teaching, parenting or grandparenting.  

Every level in Bloom’s Taxonomy is important. Learners must have knowledge of a new concept and be able to recall or remember the knowledge before they can further develop their thinking skills. Knowledge is the basis of learning.  

When learners remember facts and concepts, they can begin to deeply think about their new knowledge. They understand it and begin to apply it in their thoughts and lives.  

Once they have that solid basis developed, they can analyze their new knowledge, evaluate their new knowledge and create new and original thoughts with their new knowledge.   

Being able to apply, analyze, evaluate and create are very important life skills—ones that we always want to be strengthening and promoting in our kiddos’ education and life. 

Let’s think about this: when learners are learning a new concept and they apply, analyze, evaluate and create an answer to a question, they can explain their reasoning behind their answer.  

When they can explain their reasons behind their choice, they KNOW the content fully.  

They are working far beyond comprehending what they have learned (the Knowledge/Remembering level). They actually “own” the content. They can use this content knowledge as they move forward into new concepts.  

As I teach, I model questioning at the application, analyzing and evaluating levels at all times and the children begin to use this same type of questioning during partner work.  

Examples of questions I continually ask in phonemic awareness are:

·       “Shelly, why did you decide to put 2 squares on the line?”

·       “Grace, what sound does the orange square stand for?”

·       “Josie, why did you put 2 yellow squares on just one line?”

·       “Which sound in our new word changed from our last word?”

These seem like simple questions, but I want them to think about why they did what they did—to think about their thinking. I want them to KNOW the REASON why they choose the answer they choose.  

Examples of questions I continually ask in phonics are: 

·       “Thomas, what picture did you make in your mind when you read that sentence?”

·       “What does _____ mean?” (I ask this question or partners ask each other this question for every word on the practice papers in which they are marking the sounds they hear for each phonetic part of a word. I want them to express their knowledge about each word’s meaning(s).) 

Watching their thinking and listening to their answers is great fun.

Watching their faces beam with pride and clarity as they realize that they know why they know is a never-ending pleasure.  

Whenever children read a story to me, I ask questions using Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy as my guide.  

I love the “light bulb” design and all of the suggested question starters to help form questions that meet our Bloom’s Taxonomy teaching level objective(s). 

As an educator, I carefully listen to my kiddos answers while taking note of their thought processes and their use of content vocabulary.  

As you ask questions that cause your children to think at deeper levels about their learning and their world, you are guiding them to develop the skill of approaching all subjects in their lives with thoughtful application, analysis, evaluation and an understanding that they can be creative with their new knowledge. You are strengthening their natural thinking abilities. Being able to answer questions at all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy of comprehension develops maturity in their thinking.

In my next blog post, I’ll give you some examples of how to apply Bloom’s Taxonomy in the stories of Hansel and Gretel and Goldilocks.

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 

“Should Hansel and Gretel be Angry with Their Father?”

“Should Hansel and Gretel be Angry with Their Father?”  

In my last two blog posts, I shared Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking and why it is important for us as teachers, parents and grandparents to be aware of how our questions are promoting and strengthening the natural thinking skills within our children. 

I am going to share a simple example of using all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy to compare the fairy tales of Hansel and Gretel and Goldilocks. 

                              Hansel and Gretel                     Goldilocks 

Knowledge         (recall) Why did the father      (list) What 3 things did

leave the children alone in     Goldilocks touch in the

                              the woods?                                 bears’ home? 

Comprehension(explain) Why did                      (predict) How will the

                              dropping breadcrumbs           bears feel when they

                              not help the children                get home?

                              get home?                                         

Application        (apply) What would you do   (sketch) Draw three

                              if you were lost in the                pictures: Baby Bear’s

                              woods?                                        bowl, chair and bed. 

Analysis               (diagram) Draw detailed        (analyze) How come

                              pictures of the witch’s              Baby Bear can sit in his

                              house: outside and inside.      chair without breaking it?

Let’s experiment. 

Synthesis             (plan) What plan did                (relate) How are                       

                              Gretel think of in order to  Hansel’s and Gretel’s

save Hansel from being manners similar to

eaten by the witch? Goldilock’s manners?

Evaluation           (judge) How would you           (defend) Do you think

                              feel if your parents left             the bears had a right to

                              you alone in the forest to        be angry with                              

                              die?                                               Goldilocks?

The above questions are just some examples of questions I ask children about these two stories. 

I am guiding them to become critical thinkers, to use all their thinking skills, and to interact with their knowledge. I am guiding them to make the stories “their own”. I am guiding them to apply this thinking in multiple situations throughout the rest of their lives.  

Asking critical thinking questions of our children as we read with them, watch a show or movie with them and experience life with them provides us the opportunity to share our thoughts and values with our children. This is both a joyful and important part of our job as teachers, parents, and grandparents. 

In my next blog post, we’ll explore promoting and strengthening children’s thinking skills outside of “formal” education. I’ll share why my grandson exclaimed, “Grandma is EVERYWHERE!”

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

“Grandma is Everywhere!”

“Grandma is Everywhere!” 

“Your oldest grandson just exclaimed, ‘Grandma is everywhere! I can’t be anywhere, look anywhere, or do anything without Grandma there asking me questions!’” 

I had to smile when my husband shared that comment with me. I thought to myself with pride, I’m doing just exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.  

Want to know how I have the capabilities to be anywhere and everywhere? Read on! 

First, let’s remember this important fact: our time spent with our children is extremely important! In just the first three years of life they lay the foundations for comprehending the world around them. Their environment affects their lifetime of learning.  

Memory; language development; self-awareness; emotions; cause and effect; understanding past, present, future; drawing conclusions; sequencing; understanding consequences for behavior; and much, much more learning takes place from birth to 36 months. 

Still curious to find out how I can be everywhere? 

Think back for a moment to my last blog posts about Bloom’s Taxonomy and questioning strategies that help our kids develop deeper understanding of their world and what they are learning.  

I love asking questions that stimulates their thinking at all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. I love asking questions no matter where we are or what we are doing. I love asking questions! 

I love seeing the excitement and joy of learning in children’s eyes! I love the surprise and pleasure that beams from their faces when they realize they understand something new with deeper understanding.  

Why did my grandson exclaim in exasperation to Grandpa, “Grandma is everywhere”? It’s all because “Once a teacher; always a teacher!” and because understanding Bloom’s Taxonomy and how to ask questions to elicit different levels of thinking is a gift we need to give to all our children.  

When we understand how to ask questions that guide our interactions with our children throughout our day, our children will think beyond what is right in front of them. We will experience that awesome feeling of watching their eyes sparkle and their faces beam, as they understand their world better. 

I’ll share some examples of me “being everywhere” that demonstrate how Bloom’s Taxonomy can play out in our day-to-day lives: 

At home: Once I cut apart a disposable diaper and put the polymers from inside the diaper into an opaque cup. Later, I asked my grandsons to come in the kitchen with me to get a drink of water. I filled the cup holding the polymers with water and then pretended to lose my balance and dump the cup over my oldest grandson’s head. Of course, he was shocked when no water spilled out onto his head and he immediately began to ask questions about where the water was since he had just watched me fill the cup. I ran with his questions (How did that happen? Where is the water? etc.). His questions led to research and more questions from me, such as, “Why is it wonderful to have polymers in diapers?” 

At the store: I ask questions that get my grandboys to think about what is around them—questions that get them exploring their surroundings, such as: “What is that thing? What does the sign say it is? (For example, an eggplant.) What shape is it? Could it be a combination of shapes? What food group is it in? Would you like to taste it? Let’s find recipes for this when we get home. Do you think we can eat it raw or should we cook it? Maybe both?”

“Maybe dip it in a dip!” exclaimed my youngest grandson. He’s always game for trying something new. 

Hiking in the mountains: Wow, that tree is growing right out of that boulder! How in the world could it do that? I thought plants needed to grow in soil.   

At home: Why does the wooden front door open into the house? Why does the screen door open out from the house? 

At school: Why do we have to walk on the right side of the hallway? 

In an auditorium: Last fall my oldest grandson and I were waiting for his seventh-grade friends’ play to begin. He was excited about what he was learning in his beginning physics class. (And I was excited about the teachable moment!) I asked him to find examples of pulleys as we looked around the auditorium. I asked him to imagine what was behind the curtain. 

I then asked him why he thought the hanging amplifiers were tilted in different directions. He looked at me not wanting to answer another question, but just as he said, “Grandma, . . . “, the curtain began to rise. I whispered, “We’ll have to talk about that later.” 

He really was “saved by the bell”! Although we never did get back to discussing that topic that evening, you’d better believe that I got him thinking about it. It was only a matter of time before he dropped by at the end of a school day and said, “Grandma, remember when we were talking about the hanging amplifiers in the auditorium at my friends’ play? Well, I’ve been thinking . . . “ 

When traveling: My husband and I asked our then 21-year-old daughter to go on a vacation with us. There was a long pause. “Okay, but . .  . “

“But what?” I asked.

“I’ll go under one condition. “

“What condition?” I queried.

“That we do not visit any museums and there are no teachable moments!”

“WHAT?????

No teachable moments!?!?

How can you have a vacation without teachable moments?” 

I now have a 3-year-old granddaughter. We are having so, so, SO much fun discovering, learning and questioning! The possibilities are endless, and the learning is exhilarating! Her eyes sparkle as she gathers each morsel of knowledge and understanding of the world around her. 

My grandchildren (and children) may not always want to answer my questions, but I always want to be asking them. It’s an important part of being a parent, grandparent and teacher.  

We are guiding those we love to be critical thinkers in all parts of their lives using all of their natural abilities of thinking. It is a wonderful gift to give our children, grandchildren and students.

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

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

Students Becoming Teachers!

Students Becoming Teachers!  

I am continually delighted by the self-pride and self-confidence my students quickly attain when being taught using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”! It shows up in all parts of their lives.  

One of the powerful components of Silent Elephant “e”’s program is its home-school connection. 

The children teach each lesson to their parents as soon as possible after tutoring. This teaching mode is much different from the learning mode they just left. When they are the “teacher”, they have to clearly express what they themselves have just learned in a way that another person can understand it and learn it. This teaching mode integrates their own learning to a much deeper level.  

To support this powerful component, Silent Elephant “e” provides parents with:

·       Lesson material explaining the goals and objectives of each lesson

·       The teaching vocabulary specific to the lesson

·       The content of the lesson

·       Questions to ask their child to guide their child to successfully teach the lesson to them at home 

It’s no wonder that after a child has successfully taught their parents each lesson at home, they are perfectly comfortable teaching others. 

They actually speak up in their classrooms and offer to teach their teachers and classmates what they have learned with Silent Elephant ”e” and me.

In my next blog posts I will share examples of my students becoming teachers in their classrooms. I’m so proud of them! My buttons are popping! 

If you have further questions about partner work and the home-school connection in Silent Elephant “e”, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

“I taught my whole class the “C” and “G” Game!”

“I taught my whole class the “C” and “G” Game!” 

I’d like to begin telling you about my incredible students becoming “teachers” in their classrooms with “Mark.” Mark is a hard-working boy that I have been tutoring for 2½ years. He has finished Levels 1 and 2 and is currently working on Level 3 of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 

Before he began tutoring with me, he had completed 4 years of public school education, which included 1½ hours of daily personal instruction from a certified special education teacher. He was also receiving services from a speech and language therapist and from an occupational therapist. 

When he came to me, he was frustrated in phonemic awareness (67% on the Part 1) and frustrated in word recognition and comprehension at a Pre-Primer reading level. Mark was a non-reader. His self-confidence and belief in himself were at rock bottom. 

Speed ahead to today where he is receiving special education services in reading for only ½ hour a day and has been staffed out of speech, language and occupational therapy.  

AND he is now reading at a 9th grade reading level!  

He has a completely different picture of himself then he did 2½ years ago. He is now confident knowing that he will always succeed in all of his endeavors in the future.  

Mark is usually quite serious, but one day he came bounding into tutoring with a huge smile on his face! He almost shouted, “Guess what I did today! I taught my class!”

He continued enthusiastically, “We were studying the Geneva Convention. A boy in my class asked my teacher why the “g” in Geneva made /j/. “I don’t know,” she answered, “It just does.”

 “Since my teacher couldn’t explain why the “g” in Geneva made /j/, I told her that I could teach everyone the “C” and “G” Game that you taught me, and then no one would wonder about when to use the hard or soft sounds for “c” or “g” ever again.  

“She said I could, so I did! 

“When I was finished, she said that the was one of the best lessons that she’d ever learned! The kids loved it too! Everyone thanked me! 

“Can you believe it?” 

I looked this bright, enthusiastic young boy in the eyes and said, “Yes, I certainly can believe it! You are extremely intelligent, and I know you are an amazing teacher for your parents! Now I know you are an amazing teacher for your classmates and for your teacher too! I’m so proud of you!” 

For your information:

The complete lesson plans for teaching the “C” and “G” Game are in Part 8.

If you have further questions about partner work and the home-school connection in Silent Elephant “e”, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

He said nicely, “Actually “ou” makes 6 sounds.”

He said nicely, “Actually “ou” makes 6 sounds.” 

Just last week, “Mark”, my budding young teacher’s mom said, “You need to tell Mrs. Jones how you helped your class and teacher learn all 6 sounds of “ou” yesterday.” 

He looked up at me with pride and sureness. “I did teach everyone the 6 sounds of “ou”, because my teacher said that “ou” only makes the /ou/ sound like in “count”. I nicely told her that actually “ou” makes 6 sounds, and that I could teach her and the class the other 5 sounds if she would like me to. 

“She said I could be the teacher, so I listed the 6 sounds of “ou” with the diacritical markings on the white board. I drew each of the 6 pictures you have on the “ou” poster so everyone could use the pictures to help them remember the sounds. 

“My teacher said I did an excellent job teaching again! Everyone learned the other 5 sounds so now they won’t be confused.” 

He was beaming from ear to ear as he shared, “Everyone thanked me again too!” 

His mom said, “Mark, I think you should be a teacher. You always do an excellent job teaching your lessons to Dad and me. You’re awesome!” 

The student becoming the teacher is just one of the many powerful components of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.  

You as their teacher can relax knowing every one of them will feel the confidence and freedom that they know how reading works, and they know it so well they can teach it. 

The complete lesson plans for teaching the 6 sounds of “ou” are in Part 12. 

The /ou/ poster Mark reproduced from memory on the white board is one of the 44 colorful, instructional posters that are used throughout Parts 1-14 and are also available for purchase.  

As you can see from Mark’s teaching, Silent Elephant “e”’s posters give students a tangible reference point in their learning. One they will be able to use all of their lives.

If you have further questions about partner work and the home-school connection in Silent Elephant “e”, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

She taught, "“Sh” is a digraph, together they make one new sound /sh/."

She taught,

““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 become 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.  

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

Julie is in second grade and 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 says 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” 16 months ago. She is severely dyslexic and had already been placed in special education in the early part of first grade.  

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 the way they learn, so reading, writing and spelling “makes sense” and it is easy for them to explain to others what they understand. Explaining why they know what they know is an integral part of the program.

If you have further questions about partner work and the home-school connection in Silent Elephant “e”, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson