See the Sound/Visual Phonics: An Essential Strategy for Connecting Sound and Print Dave Krupke, M.A. CCC Speech-Language Pathologist See The Sound/Visual Phonics Resource Specialist & Trainer

The greater danger is not that our hopes are too high and we fail to reach them... It’s they are too low and we do. Michelangelo

Teaching Students to Read Research has shown that direct instruction in these areas, not necessarily in this order, results in successful readers of all ages. Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Text Comprehension Judy Montgomery

The Alphabetic Principle The ability to associate sounds with letters and use those sounds to read words Letter-sound knowledge is pre-requisite to effective word identification A primary difference between good and poor readers is the ability to use letter-sound correspondence to identify words. Students who acquire and apply the alphabetic principle early in their reading careers reap long- term benefits The combination of instruction in phonological awareness and letter-sounds appears to be the most favorable for successful early reading Wendy Robinson

Phonological Awareness Patterns of language – rhymes, songs, poems, sentences, words, and syllables The ability to manipulate the sounds of spoken language, AKA - word play Oral skill without a print component Provides the groundwork for future success in decoding and comprehending written language

Phonemic Awareness the understanding that the spoken word is made up of individual sounds Phonemic awareness is absolutely essential in learning to read and spell The lack of phonemic awareness is the most powerful determinant of the likelihood of the failure to learn to read Children with underdeveloped phonemic awareness skills in preschool and kindergarten are among the poorest readers in later years

Phonemic Awareness Phonemic awareness skills are not innate – they must be acquired The two phonemic awareness skills closest to reading and spelling are sound blending and sound segmentation Reading instruction that includes sound blending results in better reading ability than instruction that does not Sound segmentation is the strongest predictor of reading and spelling skills in the first years of school among the phonemic awareness skills. Wendy Robinson

Phonics Patterns of print Oral and visual skill Instructional approach, or method, of teaching the sound/symbol correspondences used to write a language A system of rules that we teach and model Not necessary to memorize the rules, but to recognize the patterns and apply them Phonics rules do not work universally – sight words!

Sound, not the alphabet, is the root of language

Letters do not have sounds! Most phonics programs teach the alphabetic principle backwards Letters represent the sounds of a language Letters are arbitrary and abstract representations Sounds are the concrete form of language – they are “real”, consistent and stable Letters are “the code”: unreal, arbitrary, and in English spelling, unstable Diane McGuinness

When you change the way you look at things... the things you look at change. Wayne Dyer

Visual Phonics is consistent with the literacy principle that: sounds have a visual representation vs. letters have sounds.

What is See The Sound/Visual Phonics? Multisensory technique for teaching phonological awareness, phonemic awareness and phonics Consists of a handshape and a written symbol that depicts each of the 45 speech sounds of English Mimics what the mouth, teeth, and tongue are doing when sound is produced The sound, handshape, and written symbol facilitate a multisensory connection between alphabet letters and their corresponding sounds

Invented by a mother of a deaf child A powerful tool for anyone struggling with literacy Not a curriculum – rather a flexible technique which can be used with existing curricula Used in a wide variety of educational and therapeutic settings Visual Phonics is copyrighted by ICLI (International Communication Learning Institute), a non-profit volunteer organization formed in 1982

Why Visual Phonics Works VP breaks the “code” – it makes the connection between sounds and letters clear and understandable – the symbols are meaningful and natural VP integrates visual, kinesthetic, and auditory support for the decoding process – it provides a visual and kinesthetic “bridge” to sound for kids who need a little extra help VP bombards all learning modes VP involves muscle memory – very powerful for children

Why Visual Phonics Works VP enables a slow, halting reader to practice fluent reading in age and interest appropriate materials VP is based on sound, not the alphabet, and enables a slow learner to start at the very beginning and work systematically through the irregularities of the English language system VP makes sound (the foundation of spoken/written language) concrete and specific, and provides a solid perceptual base for removing the abstractions of the alphabet system

Tidbits About Visual Phonics The Visual Phonics program starts with sound, not an arbitrary alphabet letter VP has worked successfully for students with articulation problems, language problems, LD students, MD students, ESL students, students with hearing impairment, students in remedial reading programs, adult non-readers, preschoolers, typical kindergarteners & first graders With VP, hand shapes represent the actual productions of the sound by the articulators

Tidbits About Visual Phonics Because VP is connected naturally and logically to the production of sound, the slower or “handicapped” learner is given a redundancy of cognitive information – not an overload With VP, it is best to pair the written symbol with the sound AS MUCH AND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. This will help later when the children are learning to read and spell When using VP with older children, it is often wisest to teach the vowels and vowel digraphs first, since this is usually where the major problem lies VP is very flexible – the student is given as much or as little of what is needed to connect sound and letters

VP symbols at work great late rain sleigh play hey A A A A A A givelivehive i i Iread E e

The law of successful learning will not be determined by the contemplation of the failure of things

Attitude is everything! Teachable moments Moments of brilliance Valuing and devaluing effort

It’s not what you teach... It’s what you believe about what you teach

Use your head as an educator.. your knowledge, experience, and creativity But teach from your heart

Do what you love and love what you do Wayne Dyer