Help me plan my 'learning to read' summer :)

[TheAttachedMama]

Yes, if you join the yahoo group you can talk with this guy named Dick who I believe is the original creator of the series.   He can explain things much better than I can.   Plus, there are lots of tutors / teachers who have been using these books for years and years that can offer insight.  They can also help with placement and give specific advice if you are stumbling over a particular part of the books, etc. 

 

BUT, here is the basic guidelines as far as I understand it----

 

Student:

1)  Say the sounds and read the word.
2) When you know the word, just say it; there is no further need to say
the sounds.
3) No guessing! None! Read through the word.

 

Instructor:

1)  Find a quiet place free from distraction and noise.

2)  Sit across from the student at a table (not a couch or a bed ;)  so that you can see their face and monitor for the first signs of fatigue

3)  Make sure that the child follows the rules above without exception. 

4)  KEEP QUIET and allow the child to think!  (This is the biggest thing I have learned.)  

 

The creator of the books told me to ignore all of the instructional material that the "I See Sam" website has put in their printed versions.  He (and a few of the teachers) said that they hardly ever teach words or sounds in isolation like they ask you to do in the front of the printed books.  They teach them in the context of the story.  (The only exception to this would be a BRAND new reader.  They would need to know a few basic sounds and how to blend sounds before starting.  See below where I talk about that more.) 

 

SO----When the child encounters a sound in a word that they haven't seen before, you just give them the sound.  It is as simple as this.  In other words, when they get to the word "See" and they don't know what sound 'ee' makes in that word, you just make the sound for them ("eeeee")  and then they make the sounds and read the word.   "Ssssseeeeee"    The sound will then be reviewed over and over again in subsequent stories giving the child plenty of chances to practice it.  And they slowly drip feed in alternate correspondences, and the entire alphabetic code through the course of these stories.

 

AND, another thing that guy told me:

Keep instructions to a minimum.  Let the child do the thinking.  So in other words, don't go into some lengthy discussion on all of the various 'rules' of the English language.  For some children, they get so preoccupied trying to think of these rules that they can't concentrate on what they are reading.  And they never get fluency down.  So-- DON'T go into some long explanation on all of the sounds that particular vowel team can make in different circumstances.  Or even discuss long vs. short vowel sounds.   Or start discussing the various sounds the letter 'a' can possibly make, etc. etc.  Just point to the letter(s) and model the sound that the letters make in that particular word and have the child 'say the sounds, and read the word'.

 

Also, don't 'push' for automaticy in the words.  Allow the child to 'say the sounds' as many times as they need to.  (Actually that is encouraged!)   Automaticy will be accomplished eventually and naturally because there is so much review built in. 

 

If a child forgets a sound, first give them a chance to try to remember it on their own.  If they can't, then just model the sound for them again and ask them to 'say the sounds, and read the word' and move on.  The sound will be reviewed many times.

 

If a child makes the wrong sound, allow them to self correct first before helping.  (Again, the instructor is going to try to talk as little as possible that way the child has a chance to do some thinking on their own.)   So lets say taht they read the word "ball" with the short 'a' sound.  Hopefully they hear that the word doesn't sound right and back up and to try again.  If they don't, that is a sign they aren't thinking about what they are reading.

 

There are also lots of built in checks in the story to make sure that child isn't guessing or using picture clues.  They put a lot of similar looking words and letter correspondences in.  When a child does guess, just say, "Say the sounds please" and have them back up and say the sounds again. 

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If your child has no idea how to read before you start these books, they WILL need to be taught the first few sounds in the first books in isolation.  They will also need to be taught some basic blending procedures.    (Example:  They can read the word SAM by making the letter sounds and blending them together). 

 

THEN, after that, you just read the books. 

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[ExcitedMama]

Thank you so much for all the information!