Imagine My Surprise As I Opened the Box

Imagine My Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I am so proud of him.

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

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

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

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

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

Linda Smith-Jones  silentelephante@gmail.com          

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No child should struggle with reading, writing or spelling.

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

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

Contact me here silentelephante@gmail.com

Keep a song in your heart!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• What about the lanky man?

• What is he wearing?

• Where did he walk?

• Where is the cashier?

• Why did he go to the bank?

• Where is he depositing his money?

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

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

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

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

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

I sat stunned!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• When handwriting for them, use large clear letters

• Use larger font size

• Double space the text

• Print on light pastel colored paper

• Check into colored overlays

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

Contact us here -

Linda Smith-Jones silentelephante@gmail.com

Nina Henson nina.silentelephante@gmail.com

COOKIE SCIENCE!

COOKIE SCIENCE!

Hello Friends,

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

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

    THE SCIENCE OF COOKIES    

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep a song in your heart!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contact us here -

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson

It Only Takes 2 Years!!

It Only Takes 2 Years!

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

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

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

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

Contact us here – Linda Smith-Jones                   Nina Henson

Every Child Deserves the Joy and Freedom of Reading - gift for you!

Every Child Deserves the Joy and Freedom of Reading

With all my heart I extend to you this thank you gift! 

I truly appreciate that you are with us on our Silent Elephant “e”™ journey to ensure that EVERY CHILD experiences the JOY and FREEDOM of READING.
 
That is my passion. That is my WHY!
 
EVERY CHILD experiencing the FREEDOM and JOY of READING has been my passion, my why, for as long as I can remember, even before I realized my daughter was dyslexic. That realization just added fuel to the fire inside me.
 
I’ll say it again – EVERY CHILD DESERVES THE FREEDOM OF BEING ABLE TO READ, whether they have learning differences or not. (See my blog post It Shouldn’t Take 6 Years)

As you know, reading opens up every child’s world. It gives them the ability to explore and choose like nothing else can. It provides options. It paves their way.
 
I have had the privilege of watching student after student fly free because of Silent Elephant “e”™.  I am proud of Silent Elephant “e”™. I am even more proud of these confident and happy young people whose lives were completely changed because of Silent Elephant “e”™, such as the young 16-year-old who is starting college early. (More about her later.)
 
Now, back to your thank you gift!
 
I wanted to give you something to show how much I appreciate you for sharing my passion for EVERY CHILD HAVING THE FREEDOM OF READING.
 
My thank you gift is a PDF of Silent Elephant “e”™ ‘s  Lesson 51 - Vowel Digraph “ui” makes a long /oo/” also called Juicy Juicy.
 
I named my Silent Elephant “e”™ lessons with names that strike curiosity and interest in our students and also tells them what they will be learning. This name makes them giggle and it begins their multi-sensory process of learning “ui” and of having that knowledge at the ready for the rest of their lives when they come up against an unknown ”ui” word.
 
Juicy Juicy gives you a clear idea of how Silent Elephant “e”™ teaches a new phonics concept by activating all parts of the brain through fun whole child/whole brain activities. In Juicy Juicy these fun activities stimulate their senses as they learn that “ui” makes a long /oo/ sound.
 
Your gift includes the entire 7-page Juicy Juicy lesson beginning with your directions and their introduction using their sense of sight, smell, and taste. The lesson then continues with learning “ui” words, their meanings and using those words in sentences to develop comprehension. You will also see how we use Silent Elephant “e”™ markings to indicate phonetic concepts. This is another way multi-sensory learning is integrated throughout Silent Elephant “e”™. Each color and symbol has particular meaning which activates the parts of the brain involving symbology and color.
 
Since Juicy Juicy is a 7-page PDF please email Nina at nina.silentelephante@gmail.com to let her know where you would like her to send your thank you gift.
 
Again, THANK YOU so much for being a part of this wonderful EVERY CHILD GETTING TO LEARN TO READ journey with us! We look forward to hearing how you and your kiddos enjoyed Juicy Juicy.
 
As always, we love hearing your thoughts and answering your questions. Contact us at silentelephante@gmail.com or nina.silentelephante@gmail.com, or call me at 208-859-4406 or Nina at 208-860-3125.

At 10 Years Old, Micah Felt Defeated

At 10 Years Old, Micah Felt Defeated

Being a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor is about changing lives – it’s helping someone realize they can achieve their dreams.
 
In my last email I shared that my sweet neighbor had asked me the question, “What do you look for in a Silent Elephant “e”™ tutor?”
 
I shared that first and foremost I look for a person who genuinely cares about people and a person who wants to build a positive relationship with their Silent Elephant “e”™ students. I’m looking for a person who wants to change lives.
 
I shared that a Silent Elephant “e”™ tutor is fortunate to develop a beautiful relationship with a child or another adult while helping him/her learn to read, write and spell. Silent Elephant “e”™ tutors truly change their students’ lives! I’ve experienced this joy over and over. A beautiful example of this joy I’ve experienced as a tutor is the story of Micah, whose life was completely changed by Silent Elephant “e” ™.

Micah is one of my students who recently graduated from me after 5½ years. He walked away from me that day completely different than when he arrived for his first day of tutoring.

I never doubted for a second that I would be able to teach Micah to read, write and spell. I always believed in him. He just needed Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.
 
I won’t pretend it wasn’t difficult for Micah. It was! I also won’t pretend it wasn’t difficult for me because it was. It was difficult to watch him struggle and feel so defeated. I knew I had to stay positive and let Silent Elephant “e”™ do its magic.
 
When Micah walked in my door 5½ years ago, he was a defeated 10-year-old who found every moment in school difficult or undoable.  He was in the fourth grade and was a non-reader. He had multiple learning differences and was staffed in special education for reading, math, speech and occupational therapy at his elementary school.
 
But more than anything, Micah was defeated. Every time he tried to read, he failed.
 
When he began tutoring with me, he would painfully sound out the first word of a sentence, run up the stairs in my home, grab a pillow I had put up there for him and roll on the floor saying the word multiple times.
 
After that he would slowly walk down the stairs, stand by our shared desk to look at his paper, say the word again and painstakingly struggle to sound out the next word in the sentence. Then he would repeat his stress relieving process of running up the stairs, rolling on the floor repeating the word over and over trying to memorize it. Although it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch, I patiently waited. He needed me to give him that time and space. I praised every little effort he made.
 
Little by little with much encouragement and patience, Micah was able to stay in my office. He would just grab a pillow from the love seat, roll on the office floor once or twice, and pop right up to try to read the next word without repeating the last word.
 
It was a long, long process. But Micah never, never gave up; neither did I. He knew he was learning and was beginning to feel a little confidence. His parents saw it. Soon his teachers began commenting on how well he was doing in reading as they saw his progress too!
 
It was such a pleasure to watch him relaxing into knowing he was a reader. His confidence grew and grew. Everything in his life began to show his newfound confidence.
 
After tutoring for three years doing tutoring twice a week for one hour each time, Micah had caught up to his peers and was staffed out of special education. He was in regular 7th grade classes at his middle school! (I must add that he was sick a lot our first year together. I think school was so difficult and stressful for him.)
 
He was proud of himself when he caught up with his peers! His parents and I were extremely proud of him! This is what his mom wrote as a testimonial for me to put on my website:
 
“We found ourselves feeling alone on our journey to find the right help for our son. We tried numerous private, big name tutoring centers. We didn't have any results until we met Linda Jones and started sending our dyslexic son to see her for tutoring. We started noticing improvements in our son’s reading and spelling very quickly. His spirit was higher; he finally had enough confidence to want to try to read. We are grateful to Linda. Her program has made a world of improvement in our lives.”
 
Remember I said that Micah was with me for 5½ years? Well, even though Micah had caught up to his peers, we continued tutoring for 2½ more years but only 1 hour per week. We would work together on reading, writing, math, science and/or social studies assignments that he felt he needed help completing correctly. Micah’s mom said, “You are his life preserver. He needs you.” She said that I gave him the confidence to believe in himself that he could do his schoolwork successfully and achieve excellence.
 
This past Thanksgiving, Micah’s mom called me to tell me what she called “bitter-sweet” news. Micah had talked to his parents the previous week and told them that he felt he could do his schoolwork by himself now and did not need tutoring with me any longer. Mom shared, “He said to tell you that he loves you and will miss you, but he feels confident that he can do his schoolwork and get good grades now thanks to you! So, his last tutoring session will be the week before winter break.”
 
I had to stop for a moment to take in her words. I was deeply sad that I wouldn’t be seeing Micah every week! I love him as I love my grandchildren!
 
But then my sadness turned to pride. Micah was feeling so confident in himself that he knew he no longer needed my support. I was proud of him! He had grown into a highly capable, confident, successful person! Learning to read enabled him to excel in every subject area in school. He could now relax and enjoy learning in ALL aspects of his life.
 
This past Christmas, Micah and his mom came over to my home to give me a gift, and I gave Micah a book – one I knew he’d love and could easily and comfortably read.
 
As we stood at the door after our visit saying our goodbyes, I studied this handsome young man, who now towers over me and is so proud of it – giggles. When he first came to me, he was a ten-year-old boy who used to love to scurry up the tree in my front yard to release his constrained energy that he’d stored up while working so hard during tutoring. Now he is a strong, confident young man. Oh, how I’ll miss him!
 
I asked Micah and his mom to keep in touch with me to let me know all the wonderful things that will come to pass in Micah’s life. They promised they would, and they are doing just that.  I promised I’d be checking up on him from time to time too.

Yes, it was a bitter-sweet time, however, I’m so blessed to have been a part of Micah’s life. What a gift being a tutor is to me! What a gift Silent Elephant “e” ™ was for Micah.
 
A lot of people need help learning to read, write and spell. If you’ve ever considered being a tutor, I’d love for you to consider being a tutor with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.
 
If you consider being a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor, know that you will have our support all the way. I have developed a nine-hour workshop that gets you started with every aspect of your tutoring business. Check it out on our website here. If you can get a group of friends together that would like to take the workshop with you, all of you can share the cost and have lots of fun together becoming a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor!
 
You could be fortunate to develop a beautiful relationship with a child or another adult while helping him/her learn to read, write and spell. You’ll change their life! And you’ll love every moment of it.
 
Being a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor is about changing lives – it’s helping someone realize they can achieve their dreams.

Contact us here with questions about becoming a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor.

Knowing What They Know Makes All the Difference!

Knowing What They Know Makes All the Difference!

As a sweet fifth grade girl and I began tutoring this past week on ZOOM, I heard her mom remind her, "Tell Mrs. Jones what ‘Mrs. Hartman’ told you."

 
Carol said, “Oh, yah, Mom!” Then she turned to me. “Do you know what Mrs. Hartman told me yesterday?"
 
“No,” I replied, “but I’m excited to hear!”
 
“She said I improved 69 points in my i-Ready Reading Test since the last time we took it. I made the greatest improvement of anyone in my class! I’m at a fifth grade reading level now! I’m caught up! But now, I even want to get higher!”
 
“Oh, my gosh!” I said. “I’m so, so proud of you! You’ve been working so hard with such a positive attitude! From our last assessment, I knew you’d caught up to fifth grade reading.”
 
I smiled at her. "And, what’s this I hear? You want to get even better in reading? That’s wonderful, let’s go for it!”
 
Carol began tutoring with me 9 months ago at the end of her fourth-grade year. She was struggling in reading, writing and spelling and was beginning to feel more and more defeated and behind.
 
When I assessed her, she didn’t understand phonemic awareness at all and was frustrated at a third grade reading level. Until fourth grade she had appeared to have foundational reading skills but had been memorizing all the words and had finally reached that place where she just couldn't memorize everything being taught.
 
Now she is reading on grade level and is eager to learn more. She has mastered phonemic awareness, the 700 High Frequency Fry Sight Words and has caught up with her classmates! 
 
She is very proud of herself and eager about her future. 

Every time I can help a child learn to read using Silent Elephant “e”, I am thrilled! I’m one step closer to helping ALL children know the joy of reading.
 
I have a concern though. I’m concerned that there are many more children with or without learning differences who for whatever reason did not pick up phonemic awareness when they were younger.
 
These children begin to think that you their parent and their teacher have just memorized the words in the books being read to them. This makes sense to them, because they can memorize short books. They make the assumption as they observe their classmates and siblings read fluently, that reading is about memorization. They try hard to memorize everything.
 
This works for them until, like Carol, they reach that age when there is too much information to memorize. At that point, they begin to realize something isn’t right and become more and more frustrated. You become more and more concerned as you watch them.
 
Even worse, they begin to question themselves as a learner and doubt their own abilities to succeed.
 
Sadly, this frustration occurs because no one realized that they, like Carol, simply do not have phonemic awareness, and do not understand phonics concepts. No one assessed their reading skills.
 
This is why I strongly recommend that there is no time like right now to assess your kiddos to make sure their reading foundations of phonemic awareness and phonics skills are truly solid. This is especially true if your kiddos are struggling or becoming resistant to reading, writing, spelling instruction in any way. Frustration of any kind is a clue that assessments are needed.
 
When you have assessed them, you will KNOW they have the skills they need to succeed, or you will know exactly which skills you need to teach them. You won’t be wondering, hoping or guessing.
 
Of course, Silent Elephant “e”™ has you covered.

• Part 2 provides you with all the assessments you will need pre-k through high school beginning with phonemic awareness.

• Part 1 is the 47 phonemic awareness lessons.

• Part 3 teaches phonics skills through the end of second grade.

At this time, Parts 1-3 are 25% OFF!
In fact, all Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ program books and videos are 25% OFF!
 
Click here to visit our store, read our blog posts, and learn more about how Silent Elephant “e”™ supports the success of your kiddos and your success as their educator.
 
As always Nina and I love visiting with you, answering your questions about Silent Elephant “e”™, reading writing and spelling and supporting you as you teach your young ones! Please contact us anytime!
 
Linda Katherine Smith-Jones  208-859-4406                Nina Henson  208-860-3125

Silent Elephant “e”™-ing is FUN!

Silent Elephant “e”™-ing is FUN!  

The more I teach with Silent Elephant “e”™ the more I’m beginning to feel like Silent Elephant “e”™ is a verb. 😂

I know that sounds a little crazy, but it’s true, the more I teach with Silent Elephant “e”™, the more I feel like I’m Silent Elephant “e”™-ing. 😂😂
 
Let me give you a little background to where this happy, but little bit goofy, feeling is coming from.
 
“Learn – to learn” is a verb, an action word.
This means learning is an active process.
To learn, action must be happening.

It’s true that part of the activity or action of learning is happening in the brain unseen, but for our brain to engage in the process of learning, our senses must get involved.
 
Let’s look at this.
Obviously, our senses of sight and hearing are a major part of learning to read, write and spell, but actually our other senses of touch, taste and smell all have a part in our learning process. Furthermore, when ALL our senses, and movement, get involved, learning happens faster, is deeper and is more easily transferred into other concepts and subjects.
 
There’s just added power when we involve the whole-child/whole-person, all our senses, in the learning process.

Now, let’s go visit that sweet young man Xander again. (See last email HERE)
 
As you will remember, I shared Xander’s interaction with Silent Elephant “e”™’s Phonemic Awareness Caterpillar Game that uses color and movement to identify sounds in words. There was a moment when Xander had such a firm grasp on identifying individual sounds in spoken words that he transferred his knowledge into a new way of showing his comprehension.
 
Remember how he jumped up and shot off to bring his toy cars in on the learning. He had mentally processed, comprehended, that individual sounds make up our words and that in this game, the sounds could be represented by colored squares, or toy cars, but it didn’t change the individual sounds in the word.
 
Let’s look at what Xander was doing, how he was active and interacting with his knowledge, and how his senses were involved to activate his brain. Xander was:

• using his sense of hearing as he listened intently to each sound his mom said.

• using his sense of sight as he watched his mom’s mouth move as she said each sound.

• using his sense of hearing as he carefully listened to his own voice saying and identifying each sound he heard.

• using his sense of touch, and movement, as he slid his colored squares in place to indicate the sounds he heard, and

• using his senses of sight and hearing to decide that his game board was correct, whether his answers were indicated with colored squares or toy cars.

True, he didn’t use his senses of smell or taste in Silent Elephant “e”™’s Phonemic Awareness Caterpillar Game, but these two senses are also integrated throughout Silent Elephant “e”™. True deep learning that transfers easily and swiftly into other concepts and subjects involves ALL the senses; It involves the whole learner.
 
Now do you see why I giggle to myself when I find myself thinking that I am Silent Elephant “e”™ -ing as I sit down at the computer to meet one of my students? Every one of the lessons in Silent Elephant “e”™ is centered around the whole-child in front of me and how they learn.
 
Furthermore, Silent Elephant ”e”™-ing is just plain FUN!  Cont
 
Gentle reminder - 25% off on Silent Elephant ”e”™ Parts 1-14, click HERE.

Contact us at:

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones 208-859-4406 Nina Henson 208-860-3125

Phraseology! It's a Game Changer!!! Part 2

Phraseology Is a Game Changer!!! Part 2

How to Teach the Silent Elephant “e” Hands On Approach 

In my last post in this series, I shared how to begin instruction on phraseology. Phraseology is a very important reading strategy that is often overlooked. Our students need us to teach them to focus on how phrases work in our language to improve their comprehension and their fluency.  

After my students have a clear understanding of phraseology in our spoken language and how our brain is always asking questions and searching for meaning, I introduce the following simple technique in their written language.

 “Let’s look at our sentence on paper: The soft, yellow duck will swim to me to get my bread.  

“I’m going to draw curved ‘rainbow lines’ above our words to show us where our phrases begin and end.” (Although I am using the word ‘rainbow’, I just use a regular, black pencil, but I draw bow-shaped lines.)  

“Watch me draw the rainbow lines as we read our sentence. The soft yellow duck…will swim…to me…to get my bread. 

“Let’s read our sentence together as our eyes and voices follow my finger that’s shadowing the rainbow lines.” 

“Notice that at the end of each rainbow line, we naturally make a very tiny pause in our reading by taking a tiny breath. To show that we take that very tiny pause, I will lift my finger quickly. Then just as quickly, I will put my finger back down so we can read the next phrase.  

“Let’s read our sentence together again and notice our very tiny pauses. This time you trace the rainbow lines with your finger making sure you lift your finger quickly at the end of a phrase and quickly put it back on the paper so we can read the next phrase.”  

I watch my students’ happy “ah-ha” moments as they begin using this technique.  

At first, I draw the rainbow lines to ensure that my kiddos truly understand phraseology. When I feel they are ready, I encourage them to draw their own phrasing rainbow lines. (Some children like the rainbow lines under the sentence.) 

I share with them that from this point on in their Silent Elephant “e” sessions, we will be practicing phraseology in everything we read. I also share that THEY will notice their reading getting smoother and faster. Their reading will sound more like conversation and they will understand what they are reading more easily and more quickly.  

Here are a few more sentences you can use for your introduction of phraseology and for practice: 

1.       I slid down the hill on a sled. (Children will notice that the word “I” immediately has meaning and that their brain will want to know more about what “I” is doing.)

2.       A spruce tree sprouted from the rich soil on the mountainside. (They will notice that “A” doesn’t hold meaning alone.)

3.       Three frightening dragons drooled all over me during my scary dream. (They will notice that “three” has meaning but can mean three of anything at this point.)

With my 6th through 12th graders, I teach them to note prepositional phrases, adverbial phrases, phrasal verbs, expressions, conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions, which instantly improves their comprehension and fluency. 

You will notice that the more children practice phraseology, they will naturally begin to combine two or three small phrases into one before taking that tiny breath and they will rely less and less on the rainbow lines. This will automatically increase their smoothness in reading and their fluency and reading rate. Their reading will sound more like conversation. 

As we continue to focus on phraseology, we talk about how their fluency is developing because of connecting the tiny phrases. At this point I stress:

 ·       Reading as if speaking in a conversation

·       Noting end marks at the end of sentences

·       Placing stress on different words within a sentence

·       Listening to me read the sentence or passage and mimicking the way my reading sounds

·       Recording themselves reading sentences and paragraphs

·       Playing their recordings back and analyzing their reading with their parents with this question in mind, “Does this sound like me talking to you?”

·       Re-recording the same sentences and paragraphs while listening and analyzing them again

·       Noticing their improvement

·       Celebrating what an awesome reader they are! 

Teaching phraseology is the best way to increase a reader’s fluency: smoothness, accuracy, proper expression and speed. Phraseology also improves comprehension because their reading flows like conversation and their brain easily finds meaning.   

I do want to add one VERY important last thought.

EVERY child needs instruction in phraseology and EVERY child needs to practice phraseology in their reading to improve comprehension and to develop smoothness and fluency.  

That said, I NEVER recommend timed tests for struggling readers! They will not be successful (at first) with timed tests, and it only makes them question their ability to read, read smoothly and comprehend. Timed test can be a blow to their fragile self-confidence.  

My wish is for you to enjoy teaching phraseology as much as I do and for your kiddos to fluently read with comprehension: to feel THE JOY OF READING in their heart!

If you have further questions about teaching phraseology, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

Phraseology! It's a Game Changer!!! Part 1

Phraseology Is a Game Changer!!!  Part 1

 Here’s How I Teach It 

It is such an exciting time for me as a teacher when I know that one of my students is ready to begin learning phraseology! Understanding how phrases work in our spoken and written communication kicks their reading into a higher gear. 

Phraseology has many definitions. In general, it means the way in which language is used: especially in how words and expressions are chosen and put together to convey meaning. Simply put, phraseology is the study of word groups that have meaning and how we read them to gain greater comprehension of the text.  

When we teach phraseology, we are teaching our students to read as though they are telling a story—to read the passages as though they are sharing them in conversation. 

As we teach phraseology, we teach our children that their brain is always trying to connect words into phrases in its search for meaning and greater understanding.  

I usually begin teaching phraseology to students sometime after they have successfully learned short vowel sounds (Part 3), “h” consonant digraphs (Part 4), beginning and ending consonant blends (Part 5), and are about midway through instruction in Part 6 of Silent Elephant “e”.  

Their first lesson in phraseology might sound something like this: 

“Since you are such a strong reader, I’m going to teach you (and Mom and Dad if they are at tutoring) something new. It’s called phraseology. Phraseology is a BIG word that just means you are going to learn how to read in phrases today. 

“Phrases are two or more words that begin to form meaning in your brain. 

“If I say to you, ‘The’, and that is all I say, can you begin to make a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about? Could you draw a picture of ‘the’?” 

My confused students always answer, “No,” while wondering why I asked such a ridiculous question. 

I continue, “If I say, ‘The soft’, can you begin to make a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about? Could you draw a picture of ‘The soft’?” 

They most likely answer something like, “No, but I’m thinking of something soft like my pillow.” 

“Wonderful! 

“What happens when I say, ‘The soft, yellow’? Can you begin making a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about?” 

This is when their eyes begin to light up as they are getting a hint of what I’m teaching. “Yes!” they say with more certainty. 

“What new picture(s) do you have in your brain? Could you draw something soft and yellow?” 

We share lots of possibilities—real and nonsense. “Could a car be soft and yellow? Why or why not? Could an elephant be soft and yellow? Why or why not? Could pudding be soft and yellow? Why or why not?” 

We take plenty of time playing with the possibilities of soft and yellow before I continue the lesson. 

“Your brain is always trying to find meaning from what you’re listening to and from what you’re reading. 

“As your brain searches for meaning, it will begin asking YOU questions such as, ‘What is one thing that is soft and yellow?’ 

“If I say, ‘The soft, yellow duck’, your brain just received more information and will immediately form a picture or pictures in your mind about the meaning. Can you make a more detailed picture in your mind about what I’m talking about?” 

Now my kiddos are really catching on and enthusiastically answer, “Yes!” 

“Draw a picture(s) to show me exactly what’s in your mind.” 

As they draw, we talk about the picture(s) coming to their mind about ‘The soft, yellow duck’.  

“Your picture is awesome—such a beautiful, soft, yellow duck! Your brain really found meaning when we added that one word. 

“What are you thinking right now?” I ask them. “Does your brain want to know more about the soft, yellow duck?” 

“Yes!” exclaim my excited children. They are into finding meaning.  

“What questions is your brain asking about the soft, yellow duck?”  

Brainstorm with them things they might want to know about the duck: Is the duck somewhere? Is the duck doing something? What’s around the duck? 

Continuing to build a solid foundation in the understanding of why we learn about and use phraseology I explain further, “I just told you a phrase that was 4 words long: ‘The soft, yellow duck’. Some phrases are as short as 2 words, like ‘The cat’; some phrases are longer, like ‘on the old wooden door’. 

“A phrase is made of words that create a picture in your mind because the words make sense. 

“Let me add more words to help you answer the questions in your mind about our duck: ‘The soft, yellow duck will…’ 

“Did the addition of the word ‘will’ help you with your picture? Did adding ‘will’ help you understand where our duck is, where it’s going, or what it’s doing?” 

They may take a minute to think, but will answer, “No, not really.” 

“No, not really. You need more information—more words to finish the phrase. 

“If I say, ‘The soft, yellow duck will swim’, what instantly happens in your brain? What picture instantly begins to come into your mind that shows you know more than you did before? Are you making a more detailed picture in your mind? How will your drawing change?” 

They will be very eager to share how just adding the word “swim” to the phrase creates many pictures in their mind.  

“Draw a picture to show me exactly what you are seeing in your mind and tell me about your drawing. 

“Your picture is amazing! It’s showing me that your brain is finding meaning from phrases.

“Does your brain want to know more? 

“What questions is your brain asking now? Does it want to know even more about our soft, yellow duck? Perhaps it’s asking questions like: When is the duck swimming? Where might the duck swim? Does it have any friends?” 

After taking ample time for my kiddos to absorb how longer phrases create more meaning, I continue explaining phraseology,   

“I’ve just told you two phrases. The first phrase was 4 words long: ‘The soft, yellow duck’. The second phrase was 2 words long: ‘will swim’.  

Do you want to know more?” 

They will always answer, “Yes!”

 “Why do you want to know more?” 

We continue this lesson adding more words one at a time to make the complete sentence: ‘The soft, yellow duck will swim to me to get my bread.’ With each new word we add, we spend time talking about how the new word added meaning or not. 

When we have completed the whole sentence and have drawn a picture sharing its meaning, I have them listen to me read the sentence as they point to the parts of their drawing that indicate the phrase I’m reading.

 I have them listen carefully to how I am saying the sentence in phrases, “The soft, yellow duck…will swim . . .to me…to get my bread.” I have them say the sentence with me while paying attention to the phrasing. We talk about how natural it sounds for us to say the sentence in phrases because it sounds just like we are talking since we naturally talk in phrases.  

In the next post in this series, I will share how Silent Elephant “e” moves the study of phraseology from the spoken word into printed text with a simple tool to help develop both comprehension and fluency in reading.

If you have further questions about teaching phraseology, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Phraseology! Two Fledgling Readers Take Off

 Two Fledgling Readers’ Hearts Soar,

Mom’s Heart Soars and

My Heart Soars! 

I received a beautiful, heartwarming response to my two blog posts on phraseology from a parent educator who is teaching her two young daughters to read with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. Wendy said I could share her email and her daughters’ drawings with you. 

Hi Miss Linda, 

The girls and I enjoyed learning about phraseology. Here are their pictures as they got more words in the phrase.  

FYI the numbers on their pictures represent the number of words they used to explain their picture. For example, when given only “The soft” Zoya added “Panda” and then drew that idea (3 words). When given “the soft yellow” Audrey added “Towel” to explain her picture (4 words).

 Your steps really helped them understand why they wanted more words to give fuller meaning to the phrase given.  

Then we played around with reading the final sentence with different emphasis and different pauses. This was especially helpful for Audrey as she has more of a tendency to read with even voice and level.  

I also wanted to let you know about my oldest daughter’s progress. Last we spoke on the phone, she had just taken the reading test. She took the reading test (STAR 360) in early Jan. and then again mid Feb. (about 6 weeks apart). During those 6 weeks, we focused most of our school time on reading—especially reading a chapter book from the Box Car Children series that was on a topic she enjoys a lot, the ocean. It was around a level 3 on the library AR, which I think loosely correlates to 3rd grade level. It was challenging for her, but she enjoyed it a lot. It took her about 10 min. to read a page when she was really focused.  

After the 6 weeks, her results on the test were so improved! The results said she had improved almost 6 months in 6 weeks!!! It says in Jan. she was testing similar to a 1st grader in the 1st month of the school year. She is in 2nd grade. When she retook the test at the end of Feb., it said she was now reading similar to a 1st grader in the 5th month of the school year!!! 

 I am so thankful for your encouragement and ideas when we spoke in Jan. I continue to see her progress.

 Today she was easily able to read her math instructions without me, understand them, and complete the problems correctly without complaining that the words were too hard for her to read. 

 I’m so glad to see her confidence building--especially with her 1st grade sister testing at a level similar to a 2nd grader in the 7th month of school.

 They both really enjoy writing letters and notes to people while we drive, and they ask me how to spell words. However, they are able to get very close to the correct spelling when I challenge them to sound out words for me.

 I’m so thankful for the solid foundation your program has given them and their continued progress. 

 Thanks again for your encouragement and support. 

Wendy

You can image the joy in my heart as I read Wendy’s email. My heart sings with her daughters’ progress. 

Aren’t their drawings sweet, and very meaningful?  

When you have your children draw a picture that explains a phrase, suddenly the words in the phrase become pictures in their mind and their comprehension grows quickly.

 Add to that, practicing reading as though in a conversation, both their comprehension and fluency flourish together.  

As your children begin using phraseology in their reading, they begin to see and hear a difference, and they begin to feel more confident in their reading and their comprehension.  

They begin to see themselves as a competent reader and a competent learner.

 Watching their progress will make your heart sing.

Keep a song in your heart,

which is easy to do when your children feel so good about themselves.

If you have further questions about teaching phraseology, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson