The Phonics Plus Five BlogThe Phonics Plus Five BlogDr. Marion Blank's weblog covering the Phonics Plus Five reading method, tip for parents and teachers on learning to read and write, as well as thoughts on education. 
Articles
The Rules of Reading? The Ones that Confuse and the Ones that Matter
2007-03-21 11:25:00 Everyone knows that reading and spelling English words is far from simple. If only our language were as reasonable as a language like Spanish where there is one sound for one letter. But our mother tongue refuses to follow that kind of simple system. Instead, it takes even the simplest of words and makes them inaccessible to ?sounding out.? Take words like done, bread, love, and said and see where you end up when you put a sound to each letter. So classrooms across the nation devote lots of time to helping young children cope with the complexities. The long-held, dominant view is that ?rules? are the way, indeed the only way, for children to get a handle on the system. That ?s why early grades focus on having children memorize rules, lots and lots of rules. In fact, almost 600 are offered just to get through the demands of third grade reading. More About: Reading , Matter , Rules , Matt
A Sampling of Mark Twain
2007-03-19 11:16:00 Mark Twain, one of the great humorists in our nation, had lots to say about reading, learning, and just about any aspect of life you can think of. Here is a sampling: The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. Heroine: Girl in a book who is saved from drowning by a hero and marries him next week, but if it was to be over again ten years later it is likely she would rather have a life-belt and he would rather have her have it. Hero: Person in a book who does things which he can't and girl marries him for it. It takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt. It is wiser to find out than to suppose. Between believing a thing and thinki... More About: Mark Twain , Mark
Math Problems: A Useful Resource
2007-03-16 11:04:00 Dyscalculia (or problems in arithmetic) rarely receive the attention or concern that reading problems evoke. However, math is another key area that children need to master. If you want to get information on this topic, you might want to turn to http://www.k12academics.com/dyscalculia.h tm More About: Tips , Problems , Math , Problem , Resource
?Yippee, I CAN READ?
More articles from this author:2007-03-14 11:13:00 This young child says it all: "It just happened one day and suddenly it felt like 'Yippee, I CAN READ, and it made me feel different inside my tummy. I felt kind of powerful." You can almost feel the joy that this child is feeling at his new found ability. Even in this high tech age, there are few things more exciting than learning to read. For what has seemed endless time, the squiggles on the page are an impenetrable mystery. Then suddenly, the confusion vanishes and it is all so clear. The code has been cracked! It is exactly the way the child puts it??It just happened one day.? Happily, this is an experience many children have. And once they have it, the reading experience is transformed. The stumbling over words, the slow sounding out, the hesitations?all gone. In their place is smooth, accurate reading. Unfortunately, for many children, this is not what happens. And the numbers for whom that is the case are unbelievably large?about 40% of the population. Yes, you read tha... More About: Reading , Read 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
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