3 ways phonics helps children with platypus words and spelling

Did you know that with phonics the spelling rules and platypus words make sense to a child?

        But there are questions, you say. What about the fact that not all words can be read using the phonics rules? Actually, about 80% of English words are phonetic, if you know the rules. Proper phonics instruction would be the key, here. Also, when words are sounded out phonetically, they are close to the right word, but just sound like someone speaking with an accent. It is really easy for a child to hear herself say it the wrong way and quickly know the right way. Children’s minds make these wonderful leaps that aren’t possible with guessing at sight-words.

        What about the fact that the English language is neither intuitive, natural, nor phonetic in spelling? Not true. Those that don’t think the English language is mostly phonetic must have been taught with a lot of sight-reading or the inability to see root words and languages. It is really easy to see that ‘said’ was originally the past-tense of ‘say’, therefore written and spoken as ‘sayed.’ It’s easy to see that ‘sayed’ could have slipped into ‘said’ when spelled phonetically. Then over the years, we grew lazy and pronounced it ‘sed.’ American English has changed the pronunciation of British English with such relaxations in many words. See Platypus Words in Vol. 4 & 5 of It's Not Rocket Surgery!

        Continuing with the knowledge that almost any child can become much more intelligent with the proper phonics method early in life, let’s discuss irregular spellings.

        Sounding-out words phonetically helps children remember how to spell them. When I was learning to spell, I would say a word the way it looked first, then I could remember how to spell it. For instance, the word ‘bicycle’ is really two (bi) wheels (things that rotate in a cycle). Even though we pronounce the word as ‘bi-sickle,’ saying it out loud as ‘bi-cycle’ helps one remember how to spell it and WHY. If a child heard you say ‘bi-cycle,’ she would immediately know it was a ‘bi-sickle.’

        As for my youngest son, he has an individual temperament of perfectionism (OCD) that many children may not have. However, most children have their self-esteem deeply shaken by the constant guessing game in whole-language sight-reading. Despite his OCD, if my son sounded-out ‘great’ as ‘greet’, or ‘beard’ as ‘bird’ (rhymes with "heard" right?), he wouldn’t fall to pieces nor lose his confidence. Proper phonics instruction has taught him the rules of ‘ea’ combinations having three possible sounds.

        Once the WHY is known, it is much easier to remember which words use which sounds for the spelling. It is also easier to learn to spell which homonym has ‘ea’, and which has ‘ee’ by saying them strictly phonetically on purpose. Looking for "context and meaning" should only be done after the letter sounds (and later- diphthongs & blends) are understood first.

        What about the fact that, at some point, we have to confront irregular spellings and words that are so common in our language? The other thing proper phonics instruction does is to help a child look for the root words within the prefixes and suffixes. I show my children how strange spellings have a root from another language. Then it is easy to learn which of our words have a German, French, Spanish, or another origin. It becomes a game and a fun puzzle to see common German spellings or French spellings, or whichever. For example, once a child knows that ‘eau’ is usually a French spelling for the long ‘o’ sound, it makes sense (beau, bureau). Or that the German sound for ‘ei’ is the long ‘i’ sound (stein), not the long ‘a’ sound (weigh) we commonly use.

        Children also understand the idea of platypus words, or those that “don’t follow the rules.” The platypus animal does not follow the rules of taxonomy (is it a bird or a mammal?). But pronouncing a word phonetically still makes it easier to spell and remember. The connection between the sounds of the letters and the accepted pronunciation make a sensible link in the child’s mind that sight-reading does not.

        For example, why do we say ‘was’ like ‘wuz’? I would tell my child to say ‘wass’ first, then explain we’ve become lazy and say ‘wuz’ now. I would also have my child look for other words where the letter ‘a’ sounds like the short ‘u’ (above, around, among, etc.) and for words where the letter ‘s’ sounds like a ‘z’ (surprise, uses, busy, etc.). Phonics rules allow for alternate sounds, teach those sounds, and help a child recognize their use.

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/BeingaWiseOwl3waysphonicshelpschildrenwithplatypuswordsandspelling 

When the educational world threw out the baby with the bath water

Did you know that the educational community thinks it is exempt from the scientific method in educational research? Or so say the university PhDs and educational philosophers. Continuing from my last few blogs, much of Mr. House's and Mr. Glass's critiques (of Project Follow Through) were based on a rejection of the use of experimental science in education, saying that for education, “the rationality of science [is] largely irrelevant." 

        Since when? The science and engineering worlds laugh at such ludicrous arrogance, which ignores the true data and embraces the false dogma.

In the scientific world, one forms a hypothesis, sets up an experiment, analyses the results, and adjusts the hypothesis to fit the data. 

In the educational world, one forms a hypothesis, experiments on children for almost 30 years at a cost of over a billion dollars to the government, then throws out all data which disproves the hypothesis, and continues down the wrong road. Absurd. The educational community threw out the baby with the bath water, causing our current educational decline.

        Take it from a scientist and mother of 15 - me - phonics is the only scientifically-proven, healthy method of reading for children.

        It is only phonics that can take a language that uses symbols, such as Chinese, and convert the words into the English alphabet. One has to know the sounds of each letter to convert the sounds of the words into English words. Sight-readers, or whole language advocates, cannot do this. 

        Someone with a knowledge of phonetics had to do the conversions so that we can read Chinese names and words in English. This is also true for translating the Polynesian and other languages into words written with the English alphabet. The world would be at a great disadvantage if everyone read the way the current proponents of sight-words are teaching.

        I am ever grateful that some schools have refused to jump on the whole language bandwagon, although the majority have (causing a major upsurge in dyslexia). I am also thankful that most of the home-schooling world has stuck with phonics for their children, a very wise choice. Done properly, reading should be hearing with your eyes. And only phonics can cure dyslexia.

        Parents who really care about the future of their children will make sure that they learn early reading the right way - The Godfrey Method - whether their children attend public, private, or home school. It's important to start at home long before school age, if possible, to ensure children can overcome the faulty teachings and educational decline in this nation.

        We have to change what universities are teaching the teachers to teach, and what legislators are mandating that they teach. Regardless, with early phonics the right way, parents can place their children on the launch pad of life and watch them soar! You can reverse the educational decline for your child.

        A final note: Stay away from sight-words, at all costs. If your baby can read by sight-words now, s/he may struggle with reading later. Adult sight-readers cannot decipher unfamiliar words, which is embarrassing.

        Give your child the best chance to be ready for the jobs of the future.

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/SeeingtheEmperorsNewClotheswhentheeducationalworldthrewoutthebabywiththebathwater

3 important reasons to stick with phonics

Change is not always better. If it isn't broken, don’t fix it. Stick with phonics!

Most Americans are very concerned about our educational decline. Reader’s Digest® took a poll about what issues are most important to our country. The vote was overwhelmingly for better education and literacy. In fact, RD sponsored a “Make It Matter Day” on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2010, as a national volunteer day of reading, writing, and learning. Liz Kennedy wrote a wonderful RD article called, 5 Ways You Can Promote Reading, (Find out how you can foster a love of reading at home, in school and in your own community), which begins, 

“We asked you to choose the cause that matters most to you. Your votes are in and the winner is literacy and education. On October 3rd, 2010, Reader’s Digest will rally behind this cause on Make It Matter Day. In the meantime, here are 5 simple ways you can promote reading and literacy.” See back issues on www.rd.com 

RD supported events across the country on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2010, participating in educational and literacy activities at libraries, schools, YMCAs, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. They gave several ideas for people to get involved. 

So, what’s the point, here? All change is not an improvement, as our educational decline shows. PFT was supposed to create a Great Society with educational excellence in the 1960s-70s, yet in 2010 we were more backwards than ever! Still are. The changes made were NOT an improvement, as time has shown, yet as a country we persist with faulty reading methods. 

Even those with good intentions, such as RD and its readers, know there’s a huge problem, but don’t know what’s wrong with the current system or where to look for help. Too often we follow the propaganda for “change” without understanding the cost of bad change. All change that glitters is not golden. Truth is eternal and unchanging. 

As discussed in Vol. 3 of "It's Not Rocket Surgery!", did you know that there is a world-wide gender gap in reading, especially with whole language or sight-reading methods? Science has shown that boys are very different from girls in fetal development, emotional response, brain differentiation, and such. The multi-focus teaching methods above favor girls in academic achievement. However, when the single-focus approach of systematic phonics is used, the sex differences are eliminated, with the boys even outperforming the girls sometimes.

One of my Examiner.com articles discussed the Visual Attention Span (VAS) Theory, which explains why sight-reading doesn't work well. VAS is the number of letters (not sounds) that can be held in short-term [visual] memory and, as children mature, their VAS increases. The more letters a student can hold in his or her short term memory, the better he or she will fare with whole language/[sight-word] methods (which involve a lot of memorization). 

Out of the VAS clinical practice has come the results that since boys mature more slowly than girls, boys tend to have lower VAS scores and do worse at reading in whole language/balanced literacy classrooms. But in systematic phonics classrooms, where children are required to process sounds as opposed to memorizing letters, VAS is not a factor and there is no gender gap. The creators of VAS Theory use systematic phonics, succeeding in teaching 100% of their students to read, with data based on their study of more than 3000 children. http://www.vasresearch.com/index.html 

Did you know that many speed-readers are usually sight-readers? Speed-reading is easier when you have a limited vocabulary because you only have to pick up a small percentage of the words on a page and contextually fill in the blanks in your mind. Speed-reading is a terrible way to read (unless you’re scanning a large legal document). 

My father, a very gifted genius who taught me to read phonetically when I was 3, hated speed-reading because a person misses the flavor of the language, the nuances and style of the writer that way. In fact, when I didn't get an “A” in a high school speed-reading class, my father praised me for NOT excelling at speed-reading! 

And consider that when Japanese is translated into its phonetic sounds and written with the alphabet, it’s easier and faster to read than the traditional pictograms. It becomes more universally understood as well. One example is when Japanese names are translated phonetically and written on a TV screen during the Olympics. Everyone can sound them out reasonably.

Again, knowing that boys fall behind with whole language or sight-reading methods, a wise parent will make sure that her son or daughter has systematic, synthetic phonics taught as his/her method of reading! Since reading is the foundation of everything else, s/he will have a much better chance to be his/her brightest self. 

(Note: I can’t stand it when people mix singular nouns with plural pronouns, such as, ‘your child will be their best self’. “Their” (more than one) does not describe “child” (only one). Hence, my use of the "his/her".)

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/SeeingtheEmperorsNewClothes3importantreasonstostickwithphonics

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 4

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 4 - Learning the Secret Codes of the first spelling rules from the list. Discussing ‘platypus words’ again; English vs. American pronunciations; local accents. ‘consonant+h’ sounds of sh, th, ch, ph, and other blends. Phonics Charts 17a-17b, 18. Rules 6 – 10.

Spy Game – The Secret Codes:
                Spy Mission 4: Uncover the secret world of the first spelling codes, starting with ‘consonant+h’ blends.
                You (child) are the world-famous spy, Cody Breaker! Your fourth mission is to find words of consonants blended with the letter h. You will crack the code of the magic “h”, (ch, gh, kh, ph, rh, sh, th, wh). You will decipher how the letter “h” changes the other consonants, especially at the beginning of a word (some, like gh, may sound different at the end of a word).

                Use the Phonics charts 17a – 117b, & 18 in the appendix. Learn how to de-code new words by sounding out each ‘consonant+h’ blend as one sound, joining them together. Have the Spy Chief (parent) demonstrate how to do this with you. Have him explain the meaning of the words, if needed.

                Look for ‘consonant+h’ blends in the signs, books, and the world around you. Report to the Spy Chief regularly about what you have found. Your next Spy assignment is to practice the sounds often:

·         Try ch-ch-ch-ch for a choo choo train. Pretend to be a train while saying the sound, walking around saying, ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch -choo-choo, and pretending to pull the train whistle cord down as you say the ending choo-choo. Repeat.

·         Or sh-sh-sh-sh for “shush (be quiet).” Put your finger to your mouth while saying it (be sure to have your teeth shut first).

·         Or ph-ph-ph-ph for the sound an elephant makes when it is spraying water from its trunk. Pretend you’re the elephant (with your arm in front of you, spraying like a trunk) while saying this sound.

·         Or soft th-th-th-th for thunder (wind during a thunder storm). Run around the room with your arms out, like thunder clouds blowing around th-th-th-th.

·         Or hard th-th-th-th for the sound that the Wright Brothers’ airplane made (stress all the hard th sounds in that description). Run around the room with your arms out like an airplane while sounding like the plane’s engine th-th-th-th.

Spy Tools:
                Spy Chief, use phonics charts, found in the appendix, with your child. You can start introducing the corresponding words as you present each concept with the Spy Code Rules 6-10 below, so that s/he understands how these consonant blends are put together. You might not want to do all of them in one sitting. Have your little Spy search for new examples in books, signs, etc. Practice. Again, introduce how to use the dictionary. Also show him/her an online dictionary to search. Be creative! Have joyous fun with it!

The Spy Code Rules: (just do one or two at a time)

Spy Code Rule 6: The sh rule: sh usually says ‘sh’ (ship).

Spy Code Rule 7: The th rule: th can say a soft ‘th’ (thin) or a hard ‘th’ (this).

Spy Code Rule 8: The ph rule: ph usually says ‘f’ (phone).

Spy Code Rule 9: The ch rule: ch usually says ‘ch’ (chat), but can say ‘k’ (choir) or ‘sh’ (chiffon).

Spy Code Rule 10: The wh rule: wh usually says ‘w’ (when), but can say ‘h’ (who).

Spy Code Book:
                The Spy Code Book is the charts and rules found below in the appendix. The Spy Chief must follow them for vital mission success.

Spy Reporting:
                Show your Spy (child), Cody Breaker, how to report what s/he has found by writing down the words s/he has found so far. And/or practice a few from Chart 17a in the appendix. To truly understand the code, s/he must master writing the code him/herself. Practice two or three words each session, or more if the child desires. Use the Century Gothic font (lower-case) as your letter-shape guideline. For example, a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z is the easiest style to learn to write. Remember to print each letter in its left-to-right sequence, and in its proper bottom-to-top or top-to-bottom orientation, like cursive does, as explained in the Chapter 1 HELPS.

                Help your little Spy enjoy making and looking for the blended sounds in words. Keep It Simple For Success (KISS your child). Keep it happy!

APPENDix

HELPS – Action plans – Spy Code Rules

Phonics Charts 17a-17b, 18, 13.

Chart 17a: ‘consonant+h’ ~ ch, gh, kh, ph, rh, sh, th, wh

ch blends	sh blends	th 2 - soft
chad	shabby	thatch
chaff	shack	theater
chaff	shad	thebe
champ	shaft	theme
chant	shag	theory
chap	shall	thesis
chapter	sham	thick
char	shanty	thief
charm	shard	thieves
chart	shark	thimble
chat	sharp	thin
cheap	Shasta	thing
cheat	she	think
cheats	sheaf	third
cheek	shear	thirst
cheep	sheath	thirty
cheer	sheen	thistle
cheese	sheep	thither
cheetah	sheer	thongs
chick	sheet	thud
chief	sheik	thug
chili	shield	thumb
chill	shift	thump
chimney	shill	thunder
chimp	shim	thrash
chin	shin	three
chink	shingle	thrift
chintz	ship	thrill
chip	shirt	throb
chirp	shiver	thrum
chisel	shock	thrush
chomp	shod	thrust
chop	shop	wh blends
chub	shot	whack
chubby	shuck	wham
chuck	shucks	whammy
chug	shudder	whap
chum	shuffle	wheat
chump	shun	whee
chunk	shunt	wheedle
chutney	shut	wheel
much	shirk	wheeze
gh, kh blends	shriek	which
ghastly	shrill	whiff
khaki	shrimp	whim
ph blends	shrink	whinny
phantom	shrivel	whip
phenol	shrub	whir
phlox	shrug	whirl
Phillip	th 1 - hard	whisk
philosophy	than	whisper
phoenix	that	whist
phonics	thē	whistle
pamphlet	thee (you)	whit
rh blends	these	whiz
rhesus	this	whopper
rhombus	thus	whump

Chart 17b: Consonant blends ~ found at beginnings and/or ends of words. Most can be found in middles of words, too.

Consonant Blends &
Blend:	Word-location:	Examples:
ck	end	back, luck
ght	end	right, ought
ks	end	ranks, forks
lb	end, middle	bulb, album
lc	end, middle	talc, falcon
ld	end	gold, bald
lf	end	elf, shelf
lk	end	milk, bulk
lm	end	calm, film
lp	end	scalp, pulp
ls	end	fills, boils
lt	end	colt, fault
mb	end	comb, lamb
mn	end	column, hymn
nd	end	sand, kind
nt	end	bent, pant
rb	end	curb, suburb
rc	end	arc
rd	end	yard, bird
rf	end	surf, turf
rg	end	iceberg, burg
rk	end	cork, park
rl	end	curl, snarl
rm	end	worm, farm
rn	end	horn, yarn
rp	end	harp, burp
rs	end	cars, hers
rt	end	fort, part
ts	end	bats, hits
bl	start	blend, black
br	start	broom, brave
cl	start	close, clever
cr	start	crop, crumb
dr	start	drip, dram
dw	start	dwell, dwarf
fl	start	flop, flame
fr	start	fruit, fresh
gl	start	glad, glory
gr	start	grow, great
kl	start	klutz, Klondike
kr	start	krylon, krill
pl	start	place, plot
pr	start	proud, prince
rh	start	rhyme, rhythm
sc	start	scat, scare
sl	start	slip, slack
sn	start	snack, snore
sp	start	spine, sport
squ	start	squeal, squeeze
str	start	strap, strong
sv	start	svelte, Svengali
sw	start	swell, swift
tr	start	truth, trip
tw	start	twelve, twins
wh	start	whale, which
wr	start	wrong, write
ch	start/end	chat, such
gh	start/end	ghost, tough
ly	start/end	lyrics, truly
ph	start/end	phone, graph
sh	start/end	short, mash
sk	start/end	skill, risk
sm	start/end	smile, chasm
st	start/end	stop, most
th	start/end	thin, with
sr	start	sro, Sri Lanka
tch	end	match, notch
spl	start	splash, split

Have your Spy look for more examples of each of these blends. For more great word ideas, get the book, “A Handbook for Reading – The New Blue-Backed Speller,” by A Beka Book Publications.

Chart 18: Games to play with picture-letter cards and small-words cards

Games to play with picture-letter cards:

·         Memory – Find the Letter Matches (requires 2 sets of picture-letter cards)

·         What Else starts with this Sound?

·         Find the Vowels

·         Make & Bake Letter Cookies

·         Spell Your Name with Picture-Letters (picture-letter stickers also available)

·         Matching lower-case letters to their capitals (see A Nutty Man Was Uncle Upton capital-letter phonics cards)

Games to play with small-words cards:

·         Memory – Find the Rhyming Matches (or use 2 sets of small-word cards)

·         Make a Silly Sentence (ad-libs with parts of speech)

·         What Else Rhymes with this Word?

·         Find the Silent Letters in the Words

·         Make & Bake Word Cookies

·         Memory - Find the Homonym Matches

Make anagrams of your name on Brendan's On-Line Anagram Generator- http://www.mbhs.edu/~bconnell/cgi-bin/anagram.cgi?

Platypus words reminder from Chapter 3~

Phonics Chart 13: Common Platypus Words – How to Handle a Few Common Sight Words
Say the words phonetically (how they look), then say them the platypus (traditional) way. This helps children remember.

ā     again    are   been   both   brother   come   do  done  father     from    give    gone

have   Ī    is     live      love    mother   none   once   one              said  says     some  thē

thought   their   there   to   two     want   was     were   what   when  where   who why

you     your    ton      eye     of

                We’ve all heard an English accent. What’s different about English vs. American pronunciations? It’s the vowel sounds. In the U.K., “been” sounds like “bean”, not “ben”. It’s the same for local U.S. accents, such as the difference between West Coast, East Coast, Southern, and Midwest accents – it’s in the vowels.

                And don’t forget the influence of immigrants and other languages. The Scandinavian vowel pronunciations have helped shape Wisconsin and other northern accents. German, French, Italian, Polish, Hispanic, Jewish - Yiddish, Japanese, Chinese, Latin, and African languages, to name a few, have all had some bearing on different American localities.

                We can all understand each other, even with different accents. To opponents who argue that English is not phonetic, I say hogwash. They just have a shallow understanding of language. We’ve taken English and Americanized it, relaxing many of the vowel sounds and making it our own. Once the roots become familiar, it all makes sense, even the exceptions.

http://thegodfreymethod.com/blog/home-early-learning-play-school-helps-4