tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post7148123830271288460..comments2024-03-26T04:19:38.862-07:00Comments on kitchen table math, the sequel: Who am I?Catherine Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-32689639773148292302008-02-12T12:53:00.000-08:002008-02-12T12:53:00.000-08:00Fran--Thanks for the kind words. Yes, God does wo...Fran--<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the kind words. Yes, God does work in strange ways. Looking back, I can see a pattern but sometimes we don't realize why things are happening as they happen.<BR/><BR/>You can teach most of those sight words phonetically!<BR/><BR/>I'll write a post about that later, explaining how they came about, the harm I've seen from teaching too many of them even in an otherwise good phonics program (especially if used in speed drills!) and how to teach all but 2 of the 220 sight words by sounding them out. You can read my sight word page in the meantime, I do explain how to teach 218 of them using phonics: <BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html" REL="nofollow"><B>Sight Words</B></A><BR/><BR/>http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.htmlElizabethBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06128884454595561057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-37059334355300635852008-02-12T09:56:00.000-08:002008-02-12T09:56:00.000-08:00Welcome Elizabeth,I grew up on Air Force bases, so...Welcome Elizabeth,<BR/><BR/>I grew up on Air Force bases, so I understand about the moving around. <BR/><BR/>The thing that bothers me about critics of Dick and Jane is that they act as though we only had "look-say" as our guide. My teachers taught phonics in the early/middle 60's and spelling bees were a daily thing for years. Even if you were bad at spelling, you welcomed the chance to get out of real work.<BR/><BR/>Susan S.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-59375043731331475202008-02-12T08:40:00.000-08:002008-02-12T08:40:00.000-08:00Hi, Thanks for all of the info and insight. I will...Hi, <BR/><BR/>Thanks for all of the info and insight. I will follow some of your links when I find the time later this week. Your blog came up on one of my "alerts" that I have set up. <BR/><BR/>You may be interested to know that I am a tutor - by profession. <BR/><BR/>It is interesting that you were at first interested in tutoring math, but became a literacy tutor and phonics coach when you recognized the need. It was a roundabout way of finding your calling, but as the (very true) saying goes, God does work in mysterious ways. <BR/><BR/>Much appreciated was your account of how teaching "sight" words DOES NOT WORK as a means of teaching language recognition and reading! <BR/><BR/>I have been a proponent of phonics- forever. As a child, I loved to read - and that love has helped me in all areas of life. I often tell my students' parents that reading is the cornerstone of learning; if students have difficulty in this area, it is almost impossible to be and feel successful in school and beyond.<BR/><BR/> I was taught phonics and learned to read with "Dick and Jane." I wonder WHY we cannot have similiar books NOW.. updated, of course, to reflect our nation's diverse population, but with the same basic repetition and easy to follow story lines. <BR/><BR/>By the end of my 6th grade year, I could read any novel in my community's library and tested at the 11th grade level in reading on standardized tests. <BR/><BR/>But, I was not unique. The majority of my classmates were on "the honor roll, and while there were a couple of kids in my classes who were academic disasters, they were few in number. <BR/><BR/>Obviously, there should have been, at that time, (the sixties)specific intervention for these students, but at least, at that time, the needs of MOST of our students were met. <BR/><BR/>And, of course, this has implications for more than these individual students. The far reaching consequences of our not meeting the needs of children threaten society as we know it and bring the stock of America down in the eyes of the world. <BR/><BR/>So, I, like you, am on a mission. My hope is that all parents become pro-active and insist that their children be given adequate instruction in phonics. That being said, I am not against some sight word instruction. I do go over the Dolch word list with my students. But, I take along my phonics workbooks and give each student at least 5 or 10 minutes of "extra" instruction in each session. <BR/><BR/>And, I advise parents, (and suggest that you do the same) to read to and with their children daily. Children need so much that they cannot (and should not) learn in school. Parents should explain the world - ideas - such as time, money, what the horizon is, and non- tangibles such as friendship, loyalty, joy, grief, and the idea of a conscience.... and this can be done by committed parents if they take the time to talk with their children for a few minutes each and every day. <BR/><BR/>Fran Magri-Delgado<BR/>San Antonio, TexasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com