[Oe List ...] More on literacy
Lifeline248 at aol.com
Lifeline248 at aol.com
Fri Oct 26 22:48:18 EDT 2007
Cynthia and other colleagues,
Since you got me going, a word of context. I usually respond to
individuals, not the whole listserve. But, as I did to you earlier today, I am very
deliberately sending this to all, especially now that I am getting feedback
from interested colleagues who want to share what they are doing. I applaud
their interest in literacy and yours.
Dr. Fuller's website (ballstickbird.com) will introduce you to her
accelerated methods. Except for primary graders, when I introduce her books to any
child, youth, or adult who cannot read fluently, instead of addressing their
deficiency, I tell them that I was once a teacher who didn't know how to teach
a child to read. And I tell them that once I learned and taught my own
sons, I resolved to pass on very simple methods that can turn anyone into a tutor
eventually--IF (and only IF) they so choose because we have a very serious
problem in this country: 39 million Americans cannot read fluently. (UNESCO
stats, 2002) It gives hesitant readers a very different context for
improving their own skills and allows me to start from scratch where they can review
what they have learned or should know, without the stigma of feeling
ignorant. Believe me, it works.
When I was on the LVA Camden County Board, and before I wrote my last
book, I was invited to teach Fuller's methods to some 50 maximum security inmates
at NJ State Prison (formerly Trenton State) who were already tutoring fellow
inmates using the methods of Literacy Volunteers of America. They wanted an
alternative for peers who were not responding to the LVA approach. I was
astounded at how seriously the guys took it all in, never balking at the
materials, as childish as Fuller's books look. LVA, incidentally, has joined with
Laubach LIteracy and they are now called ProLiteracy Worldwide, and in this
country, ProLiteracy America. Their website is on my website.
My own approach is to use all kinds of stories from the learner's own
life experience, which I write down in caps for them on ruled paper. From those
stories come many sight words, words from the gut. As I learned from
Fuller, I start exclusively with sans serif (no little lines added) CAPITAL LETTERS.
Once new readers know all 26 capitals they will automatically know all but
11 of the lowercase letters. You thus forestall the problem of reversals,
saving for last 4 of the 5 confusing bugbears made with a simple circle and line
(to the left or right, above or below the line--ugh!!!) which early readers
are often prone to confuse and reverse: b d g q . (The 5th one, of course,
is p, identical to P which they've already learned if you start with uppercase
only.)
You asked for resources. You will also find, on my website, a long page
of all kinds of books plus websites, and, on my website's last page, sample
pages you can download from my 3rd book, You, Yes YOU, Can Teach Someone to
Read: A Step by Step How-to Book.
Keep the questions and comments coming. I promise not to swear.
Lucille
Lucille T. Chagnon, M.Ed.
Literacy Acceleration Consultants
6448 Arbor Lane - P O Box 438
Chincoteague Island, VA 23336-0438
757-336-5047 fax -1391
cell 302-561-4575
e-mail: lifeline248 at aol.com
www.teachtwo.net …check it out!
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