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Phonetics - Spelling - Whole Language:
How We Put Them Together for the Best of Both Worlds
(reprinted with permission from the College of Education, University of Oregon's
1994 Annual Conference Monograph, 1994)
Editor's note:
In 1999, The Riggs Institute revised the phonograms to bring them into somewhat
closer compliance with Merriam-Webster's 10th Collegiate Edition and added plural
and syllabication rules. The links used will reflect.
- Myrna T. McCulloch
Numerous research articles in recent years have examined the merits of phonics instruction
versus a "whole language" or integrated approach to teaching language skills to
primary students. Indeed "the great debate" has grown increasingly shrill and pointedly
insistent that the two theories must remain mutually exclusive. Only more recently
a few researchers and synthesizers of research have suggested that at least portions
of these two approaches to reading instruction could, and probably should, be combined
for the ultimate advantage of the student.Our proposition here is to show precisely
how this can be accomplished even within the ever-decreasing availability of instructional
time in today's busy classrooms. I have chosen a question and answer format for
clarity, practicality and conservation of space.
Q. Why do you believe these two seemingly divergent theories of reading instruction
can be combined?
- First, because it is makes sense to be certain that all students acquire the skills
they need to accomplish the work expected of them. Whole language programs do make
serious demands. Adding basic skills, including phonics, simply adds to the probability
of realizing the defined goals of whole language programs for every student. It
does not change those goals.
- Second, because I have had personal experience in administering such a program for
primary and remedial instruction in an inner city, minority-populated student body.
Composite class averages, grades 3 through 8, were raised approximately 32.2 percentile
points, a 65.6% increase, in the first 14 months of such instruction (see the line
graph chart below). Grades 1 and 2 ended that period, respectively, at the 87th
and 96th percentiles. The classic "Orton" method, The Writing Road to Reading
(Spalding, R. & W., 1957, 1991), was implemented in what could be called a whole
language program although we did not call it "whole language" at that time but rather,
"integrated" language arts. We wanted students able to read with comprehension,
write creatively and think, but also to possess specific basic skills: the complete
phonetic code for correct spelling, the ability to write legibly, spell correctly
and analyze, for grammatical content, what they had written.
- We took an additional 18 students at the beginning of our second year. These had
been diagnosed with various types of learning disorders in other schools, both public
and private. Unlike most special education students, we gave them standardized tests
and the scores were averaged in. Language and reading scores were somewhat higher
than these composite averages. We operated under the thesis that if language skills
could be improved, other subjects would also follow. We still believe general educational
reform must begin with improvements in language skills if it is to be effective.
Q. When you added phonetics to whole language, how did you know what phonics to
teach or when and how to teach it?
- There was no research at the time to help us. Since the most recent and well-known
compiled research (Anderson, et al, 1985 and Adams, M. J., 1991) still fails to
define the precise subject of "the great debate" -- what kind of phonics is under
discussion -- I include below a phonetic code known as "the Orton phonograms." The
use of this system has been widely shown (empirically), to enable most K-4 students
to correctly encode (spell) the vast majority of words which they can speak and
understand. I submit that a student's ability to "encode" is the missing prerequisite
for success in the early composition work required of whole language students. Correct
spelling, from the outset, without sacrificing creativity, takes on even greater
significance for teaching phonetics, with rules, when one realizes that primary-level
spoken/understandable vocabularies range from 4000 to 24,000 words (Chall, J. 1967,
Seashore, R., 1940). We must enable children to use their entire spoken vocabularies
to encode words they understand as quickly as possible. These skills free them for
real creativity.
These consonant phonograms were formerly taught (prior to the 1930's) in
most reading methods though perhaps not "explicitly" as compiled research now recommends.
In this method, two sounds for the letters c, g and s are taught immediately and
q is taught with u with which it is almost always used. Only the sound(s) are dictated
as the letters (or symbols) for them are written; the key word shown here is for
the teacher to determine the correct
pronunciation only. Key words and pictures are not used to teach explicit phonics:
Glossary As Used In This Method Of Instruction:
Phonogram - Is a combination of phoneme and grapheme. When these phonograms
are spoken, they are phonemes; when they are written, they are graphemes.
Phoneme (sound) - An elementary sound of English speech.
"Elementary" Sound - One which cannot be further divided (these are never
blends such as str, bl, or nd which simply combine two or more elementary sounds).
Grapheme (letter/s) - A written symbol (letter or letters) which represents
a phoneme on paper, i.e., the phoneme /oo/ is commonly written with food,
do, dew, due, fruit, through, you, shoe,
neutral, two, lieu
The following consonant phonograms were formerly taught in most basal reading
methods though they were not taught "explicitly" as compiled research (BNR)
has recommended since 1985. In this method, two sounds for the consonants c, g and
s are taught immediately and q is taught with u with which it is always used. Only
the sound/s (phonemes) are dictated as the letters (graphemes) for them are written;
students see, hear, say and write these phonograms (letter/sound combinations)
using multi-sensory instruction to address all "learning styles"; the key words
shown here are for the teacher to determine the correct sounds only. Key words,
pictures, upper case letters and letter names are never used to teach
"explicit" phonics:
b (bat) c (cat, cent) d (dog) f (fed) g (got,
gentle) h (hot) j (jog) k (keg) l (lid) m (mop)
n (no) p (put)
qu (quit) r (run) s (sit, days) t (top) v (vase)
w (wag) x (box) y (yet) z (zip)
Next are the vowels. The multiple phonemes (sounds) as shown in the key words are
taught immediately and together, i.e., the letter a becomes aaah, long a, ah and
aw. Generally, the sounds of all of the phonograms are taught in the order of their
frequency of use in English. The third sound of i and the fourth sounds of a, o,
and u are needed early for both spelling and reading of simple words.
Note: Vowel y takes the place of i for spelling, and is used as both a vowel and
a consonant:
a (at, ate, want, talk) e (end, we) i (it, silent, radio) o
(dot, open, do, cost)
u (up, music, blue, put) y (myth, my, baby)
These common combinations are not consistently taught in most methods though they
are needed for correct spelling. Very often the letter, "r" is taught as "er" or
"ruh" which is incorrect. Spelling errors, poor auditory discrimination/processing
and impaired phonemic awareness are already common, but seriously deteriorate by
mispronouncing the 42 elementary phonemes as they are taught. The key words are
taught only with this group since it is the only way to designate which grapheme
is meant:
er [the er of] (her) ur (nurse) ir (first) or (works)
ear (early) oa (boat) oe (toe)
This grouping is taught in pairs (top to bottom listing) to illustrate their uses
for spelling:
ay (pay) oy (boy) aw (law) ew (grew,few) ey (they,key)
[used at the end of words] ai (paid)
oi (boil) au (fault) eu (neutral,feud) ei (veil, receive)
[not used at the end of words]
The common spellings of sounds - "sh" and "zh" - are taught before the tenth week
of instruction in this method:
- sh [used at the beginning of a word (shut), at the end of
a syllable (push) but not at the beginning of any syllable after
the first one (na tion) except for the ending "ship." (friendship).]
- ti (nation)
- si (session,vision)
- ci (special)
- [all used to spell "sh" or "zh" (session, equation) at the beginning of any syllable
after the first one].
The next group are 2, 3 and 4-letter spellings of sounds more commonly represented
by only one letter. Children can fail to learn to read or spell because they don't
know these very commonly-used alternate spelling patterns:
- ck (neck) 2-letter "k"
- dge (badge) 3-letter "j"
- tch (catch) 3-letter "ch"
- [all used after a single vowel which says the short sound of a, e, i, o, u.]
- kn (knee) 2-letter "n" [used to begin a word]
- gn (reign,gnaw) [used to begin & end a word]
- ee (feel) e - double e says "e"
- igh (high) 3-letter "i"
- eigh (eight) 4-letter "a"
- wr (write) 2-letter "r"
- ph (phone) 2-letter "f"
These phonograms are rarely taught and practiced but are essential phonetic information
for accurate spelling and fluent reading. Again, each sound is illustrated here
in the order of its frequency of use, using this spelling pattern, in English words.
|
ow (now, low)
|
th (think,this) |
ch (chin,school,chef) |
|
ng (ring) |
ea (eat,head,break) |
ou (out,four,you,country) |
|
ar (far) |
ie (field,pie) |
ed (started,loved,missed) |
|
wh (when) |
oo (boot,foot,floor) |
ui (fruit, guide, build) |
|
or (for) |
ough (though,through,rough,cough,thought,bough) |
TEACHING HINTS:
Teach the sound(s) as they are given in the key words, in the order shown, and with
any instructions. It is not necessary to teach letter names at this point
since they are not heard in English speech except for (sometimes) the vowels. At
first, you are trying to establish the unknown symbols (letters) for the known sounds
children have been using in conversation. We sound, "k" "
"
"t" for "cat" - not "see-a-tee."
Since spellings are considerably more uniform than are pronunciations throughout
the English-speaking world, I have arranged this phonetic comparison chart with
key words [these are not taught to students with the phonograms] to show the need
and applications for correct spellings. The compiled research in Becoming a Nation
of Readers (BNR) states that phonics instruction, preferably, "should be
completed by the end of grade two." Our experience, and considerable empirical evidence,
has shown that it is both practical and possible to do this even sooner if a multi-sensory
teaching technique is used to teach the sound/symbol relationships "explicitly"
as BNR also favors. This can be done in a few short weeks in a "reading readiness"
(or hand-writing, phonetics, spelling) phase before students are expected to read
from either classic literature or the newer, vocabulary-rich whole language texts.
Q. What is meant by "explicit" phonics and please describe your application of this
teaching strategy in teaching the phonograms?
A. "Explicit" refers to the how and when of phonics instruction, not the
what and why. It simply means to teach the sound/symbol relationships, in isolation,
first, then apply these learned relationships to words. We do this by beginning
with the students' facility with speech when they enter school [English-speaking
students are already saying the 45 sounds of English speech in their daily conversation].
To speed the process, and ensure mastery for all students, we use multi-sensory
instruction to teach the 70 phonograms [phonograms are letters and combinations
of letters which stand for one sound in any given word]. For example, the word,
light, has five letters but only three voiced sounds - "l" "
"
"t" - because igh has but one voiced sound though it is three letters. Stressing
acute listening skills, we teach each phonogram in isolation (explicitly, as previously
described), without key words or pictures. A card, which has igh printed
on it, is held up; the students see these three printed symbols (letters),
the teacher says, "This is ''
"i- 3-letter i''"; the students hear this and
repeat (say), aloud, "
"i- 3-letter i." and then write its symbols - igh.
They thus learn the information through four avenues into their minds: sight, sound,
and, kinesthetically, through voicing, and writing. Perception and
kinesthetic's reinforce each other. They have been taught through their stronger
avenues which, simultaneously, remedies any weaker avenues. Children who
experience any difficulty are placed in the front row, immediately in front of the
teacher's teaching station. Erasers are removed from pencils for quality control
to ensure that the teacher knows what mistakes these students are making and can
therefore help them to correct their difficulties.
Q. Isn't it difficult to teach both handwriting and the sounds together?
A. On the contrary, it saves time, is beneficial for the student's cognitive
development, and encourages children and parents because it shows how much can be
accomplished in a relatively short time. On the first day, we begin practicing the
seven letter strokes, with which all letters are made, along with learning the position
of the eight reference points: 2, 10, 8, and 4 on a clock face, a base line, top
line and two dotted-middle lines. These six strokes, a circle, and 4 line positions
are practiced, and then, both the sounds and symbols for the letters of the alphabet
are taught using detailed, dictated instructions to "touch the checkpoints." Listening,
processing, proper seating, pencil/paper positions, directionality, spacing and
margins are stressed.
Students learn to make the letters using the eight reference points. They develop
excellent listening skills and quickly learn margins and proper spacing for the
words which they will need very soon for early composition work. This is done through
dictation, listening and writing, not copying or tracing. To save time and frustration
for both teacher and student, and establish correct neurological patterning, nothing
is taught which must be untaught or re-taught later.
Fifty-four of the 70 phonograms are taught in the first three weeks, an average
of four each day. Students are learning the "print symbols" (letters) for the sounds
they have put into words they regularly and routinely pronounce and understand long
before they enter school. Letter names are not taught at this stage since
they are not heard in speech except for, sometimes, the vowels. We prepare students
for the next phase which is to begin the spelling of 1700 hundred of the most commonly-used
English words.
Q. Why teach spelling first and why does this particular organization of phonetics
work for accuracy in spelling?
A. Spelling is more difficult than is reading because the letters (and applicable
phonograms) must be called up from a memory base (the sound/symbol relationships
previously learned); our phonetic linguistic base, and the application of 28 rules,
is much more exacting and reliable than a simpler phonics approach for pronunciation
of words which are already on paper. Regardless of results of memorized weekly
spelling tests, this is what students must prompt themselves to do accurately when
writing compositions independently. Its correlation in math is memorizing
multiplication tables before being held responsible for completing multiplication
and division problems.
After the first 54 phonograms are learned -- relatively well -- we begin the spelling
process by again using dictation to teach the words. The first word is me.
It is used in a sentence and then each sound is asked for, i.e. "What is the first
sound you hear when I say, me?" The students, together, answer "m" (the sound)
and are requested to write m (the symbol) on their paper. Accurate spacing,
margins, etc., are again stressed, but this is now easier because of the previous
practice when the phonograms were taught. Then, "What is the next sound?" Again,
they answer together, "
" and are then asked, "Which e
will you use?" (At this point, they have already been taught three ways to spell
the sound "e") They decide it is "
-
" -- meaning a single e phonogram -- and write
that next to their "m." The students then dictate back to the teacher who writes
the word on the board (or overhead), going through the same questioning process,
and the students compare their me to the teacher's. The teacher then tells
them, "I am going to teach you how to underline (the vocabulary of instruction is
illustrated and defined here as we always do with any words we are using in the
instructional process). We are going to underline the e in this word because,
'Vowels a, e, o, u usually say, "
" ""
"
" "
" at the end of a syllable'."
Together, they begin to learn the fourth of twenty-eight spelling rules as they
are taught the application of it in this particular word. This is the first of three
ways that a vowel says its name in English words. They learn the other two very
quickly and these are illustrated in their student-prepared resource notebooks.
The "visual" here lists the 28 rules of English orthography
which we have referenced. Though the wording of rules used in The Writing Road to
Reading are slightly different than those in a 1910 McCall Speller, the
meanings remain unchanged.
The phonetic organization shown in the Phonics Comparison Chart is certainly not
the only workable model, but it elegantly incorporates the correct spelling patterns
for the 45 sounds of speech sufficient to say over one-half million English words,
and facilitates teaching the application of the rules of the language. Phonemic
segmentation and auditory processing skills (the basis for two currently-popular
diagnoses for learning disorders) can be more precisely and efficiently taught through
spelling applications than haphazardly through "implicit" phonics applications in
pronouncing words for reading only.
Phonics for reading applications alone gives only approximate pronunciations for
many words. The goal, of course, is automatically and accuracy. "The mind 'frees
up' for comprehension operations only after decoding operations become automatic"
(Farnham Diggory, S., 1986). Picture and word associations -- which slow the mental
process for mastery of the sound/symbol relationships -- are eliminated for a few
weeks while the phonograms are taught and initially applied. Strange as it may sound,
children who enter school without having learned the names of the letters
or capital letter formation (two more interferences), learn these sound/symbol
relationships more easily. They have nothing to unlearn. Early mastery of spelling
patterns allows primary students to write with precision, and develop creativity,
avoiding programming their minds with misinformation, such as "invented" spellings.
Conversely, they can then read at their interest and speaking vocabulary levels
and enjoy quality literature early which helps further to enhance vocabulary.
Q. What about the teaching of blends? I notice your phonetic organization does not
include these familiar consonant clusters and also mentions 45 sounds rather than
the more traditional 42 sounds.
A. We do not teach consonant clusters or blends [there are hundreds of these]
as part of the phonetic system since they merely combine two or more of the original
45 sounds but retain those individual sounds within the combinations. These
clustered consonants do need to be practiced as they are blended to form
words for both spelling and reading, but we believe it is counter-productive to
teach them, in isolation, as separate sound/symbol relationships. In fact, the too-common
practice of "collapsing" these consonant clusters (i.e., str, spl, nd, cl, etc.)
together, as blends, may be one of the great difficulties many children have in
developing good auditory processing skills. Because they have been taught these
"collapsed" sounds as phonemes, our experience shows that non-auditory learners
may very well have a more difficult time "hearing and spelling" the separate
sounds of the consonant blends or clusters when they are prompting themselves to
spell accurately during creative writing.
Note that the 2-, 3-, and 4-letter phonograms shown in the Phonics Chart fall into
two categories: 1) they form a new sound, or sounds, by having been combined (au,
oi, ch), or, 2) they spell a sound more commonly represented by only one
letter (r/wr, f/ph, n/gn). These are important facts to know for correct
spelling. Two of the "Orton" phonograms, ng, and the third and fourth sounds
of ough, "f" and "off," each incorporate two of the conventional "42 sounds
of English" to create three additional sounds. This organization created a more
workable linguistic base for spelling applications and explains the variance. This
"working set" of phonograms incorporates, for teaching purposes, the phonetically
significant (as opposed to merely the phonemically significant) single-voiced sound
units used in spelling.
Q. What about saying the consonant sounds "in isolation"? I was taught that
this is nearly impossible to do.
A. Yes, it is unless one simply holds the breath as the sounds are said.
This way one can isolate the separate sounds, and will not produce a
"c
h" - "bh" -"dh"
- "fh" or "wh," etc.
This is a critical point for accurate blending and spelling later. If one teaches
that b says, "bh," and then tries to put it with "read,"
we get
"bh - read."
For many children, this will never yield bread because the extra "uh" or
"schwa" sound is there. Later, we may diagnose this same child with auditory processing
problems. We should mention here that one cannot accurately sing consonant
phonograms because we sing on the breath, not by holding it. Some other sounds are
frequently taught incorrectly such as r saying either "rh"
or "er" which are both incorrect. We do not say, "er
de" or "er
se" or "rh - ide" or
"rh - ose."
The correct sounds for both r and l are called subvocals. They come primarily from
the throat, but the tongue must be correctly in place to cause a deliberate, partial
obstruction of the vocal cords.
Q. Can you elaborate further on the "schwa" sounds you mentioned? I find that this
frequently causes spelling errors.
A. We find it most productive to call special attention to the "schwa" (the
up-side-down e added to most American dictionaries in the 1940's which made it legitimate
to sound, "h," for the vowels a, e, i, and o in unstressed
syllables), but to teach around it for correct spellings. For instance, the
word against is now legitimately pronounced, "genst"
in this country, but, in this program, the student would think, write and
spell,
ga
nest, just as our British friends still say it. The word, button would be
pronounced, "butn" or "butun" as we hear and say it normally, but students would
think, write and spell, "but" "t
n", sounding both
t's for spelling and which "o"? It would be,
"--
," the phoneme students have learned for the phonogram, o. This way they are specifically
taught which vowel to use in the unstressed syllable, and are thus aware of the
schwa pronunciation but, conversely, the correct spellings involved. It is really
the use of a mnemonic device or memory aid.
Various regional pronunciations are treated the same way such as Bostonians saying
"Florider" - "Cuber" - "ider," etc. It is similar to what many think of to spell
a word like Wednesday. We think, Wed ness day, but say, "Wenzday." These
types of mispronunciations need to be addressed for correct spelling applications,
recalling that spelling is relatively uniform whereas pronunciations have become
a provincial potpourri in some areas of this country as well as the world.
This problem was specifically addressed by the International Reading Association's
Dr. Drew Cassidy at a June 7, 1984 hearing before the Subcommittee on Education,
Arts and Humanities, page 216, on the subject of reading as a major problem
if one teaches "phonics." Her testimony, however, made it abundantly clear that
she apparently had never taught "phonetics" specifically for spelling. The misunderstanding
of what "phonics" we're discussing and how to teach it is the crux
of the matter, and probably accounts for many teachers believing that phonics is
no longer a reliable decoding tool. The pro-phonics spokespersons at the same hearing,
incidentally, had no plausible explanations for how this issue should be addressed.
The great debate should begin again with the premise that, for beginning children,
"pronunciations" are already known whereas spelling needs to be specifically taught
with careful attention to phonetics, rules, syllabication, prefixes, suffixes, and
origins which often account for the diverse spelling patterns we find in English.
Q. How long does it take to teach the sound /symbol system and what do you after
teaching the beginning spelling words?
A.We teach the first 54 phonograms in the first three weeks of instruction
while teaching listening skills, letter formation, spacing, margins, etc. Simultaneously,
we are teaching many cognitive sub skills such as auditory and visual discrimination,
sequencing, memory, and association and visual/tactile spatial relationships, directionality,
linear eye movements, comparative analysis, etc. Articulation, rhythm, inflection
and enunciation are stressed for correct speech. Our daily lesson plans show the
specific activities used for these cognitive developmental processes.
Spelling, with the application of the rules and a mnemonic marking system has begun
in the fourth week. Children are read to daily to pique their interest, enhance
their vocabularies and expose them to proper voice inflections, phrasing and proper
modeling of articulate English speech, but they are not held responsible
for reading themselves at this point. They also learn some poetry, but are
primarily engaged in learning the sub skills they need for legible handwriting,
spelling, composition and reading.
Together, they first sound and then read six new spelling words from the board each
day (reading words in isolation) for mastery and automaticity after each day's spelling
lesson. The goal is to develop an automatic "sight" vocabulary but one arrived at
through phonetic analysis and the application of rules rather than a whole-word,
rote memorization process. They then volunteer to give oral sentences, using these
specific words, and in the seventh week, begin to write simple sentences, using
these spelling words, which they then read aloud to the class. This is their very
first reading in context! They must write their own sentences because only then
can they, their teachers and parents be assured that they will be successful in
their first attempt at reading -- an accomplishment critical to their self esteem.
In the tenth and eleventh weeks, they can be given interesting literature, to accommodate
their beginning speech and interest vocabularies, i.e., their whole language selections,
etc. The more difficult words, which present pronunciation or spelling problems,
can be added to their spelling list to facilitate automaticity and comprehension.
We have found this particularly critical for bilingual or ESL transitional students.
As the program progresses, it becomes more and more individualized which nicely
handles the various ability levels in a normal classroom without the specific use
of ability groupings.
Q. How is vocabulary developed and do you correct oral or written errors in spelling,
grammar and syntax?
A. Vocabulary is developed through using spelling words in context, with
words from literature being read to and by students, from their own compositions,
the "language of instruction" vocabulary lessons and speech which is modeled in
class by their teacher. Exercises specifically geared to vocabulary include making
homograph, homophone, and antonym wall charts as well as charts designed for their
independent use in composition, i.e., subject and object pronouns, irregular verbs,
formation of past tenses, kinds of sentences. etc. All concepts are first defined,
then illustrated, and the charts are constantly added to and referred to as needed.
Spelling rules, and the use of the phonetic system, are also illustrated on wall
charts to aid students in correctly completing their own work, and/or in making
corrections after teachers have checked their work and noted errors. For corrections,
we always make note of the number correct rather than incorrect and ask students
to find answers to correct their own work. In this way, students feel responsible
for and confident of the work they are doing because they are taking direct responsibility
for its accurate completion. They maintain their own portfolios of work, their spelling
and composition notebooks and post work of their own choosing on "their" bulletin
board daily. The original composition shown here is the work of a grade one "average"
student who was tested as achieving at the 5.1 grade equivalency six months into
his first grade year. He was the lowest achieving student in his class and his was
the shortest composition.
Grammar and syntax concepts are introduced as they are needed for the composition
work involved. Each step carefully builds upon the one previously taught. Our spelling
and usage dictionary is introduced in the ninth week. It is not diacritically marked
since the grade K - 2 child already can pronounce its 4832 words. Its purpose is
to further aid the student with vocabulary development, usage, grammar, syntax,
punctuation, capitalization, and ideas for creative writing. Whole language activity
books give additional ideas for composition projects and in working the language
lessons "across the curriculum" thereby saving or making the direct instructional
time needed to successfully develop this skill-based whole language curriculum.
If the assignment is to write a report, it can as easily be about yesterday's science
project as something less useful. Children also learn that language skills are valuable
tools with which they are enabled to do "real" work -- a great motivator.
Q. What curriculum materials are available to assist the teacher to teach the method
you have described for a skills-based whole language approach. What is the cost
and how does a teacher obtain the necessary training to do this?
A. Materials recommended by and available from The Riggs Institute consist
of: Spalding's The Writing Road to Reading; America's Spelling & Reading with
Riggs' (McCulloch, M., (1990) teacher's edition, a set of phonogram cards
and audio tape with sounds, spelling rules and handwriting instructions, a primary
spelling and usage dictionary, daily and weekly lesson plans and a taped self-study
course; and from other publishers, a primary-level grammar text and key, comprehension
booklets, and a notebook. These materials are priced at $168.90 plus shipping, a
one-time-purchase per teacher, for use with any number of students, year after year.
Students use a composition notebook each year, appropriate practice paper, and red
and black pencils. Though comprehension is stressed throughout the course, the McCall-Crabbs
Standard Test Lessons in Reading, published by Teachers College Press, are
recommended and are available for additional practice and ongoing evaluation.
Teachers now train themselves to use this method, preferably in small groups, using
the taped self-study course as they implement the daily/weekly lesson plans. This
approach follows the dictates of compiled research in effective teacher in services
(Joyce, B., Showers, B., 1980) which outlines the five steps required for effective
training in services:
- theory
- demonstration
- practice
- application
- feedback
Our taped study course and other materials, including the daily and weekly lesson
plans, have been approved for an in-depth 360-hour practicum by which enrollees
may earn 6 semester hours of graduate credit through Southern Arkansas University.
Group study, using a Riggs certified mentor, is recommended for highest mastery.
Follow-up classroom in service is always desirable but not mandatory when the cooperative
group study plan is adopted. Please see details on page 3.
Q. Does the multi-sensory teaching technique of this method make it adaptable for
remedial classrooms and other upper grade levels where better language proficiency
is needed to accomplish whole language goals?
A. BNR did not discuss the benefits of using a multi-sensory teaching technique
at early primary levels though Reading, Writing and Speech Problems in Children
(Orton, S. T., 1937), had been available for many years. Most learning disability
professors, teachers and other specialists are aware of these important findings,
and of the organization which bears Dr. Samuel T. Orton's name, The Orton Society
for Dyslexia. Dr. Orton, a neuropathologist, spent almost his entire career studying
how the brain functions in learning language. Supervising teachers Anna Gillingham,
Nina Traub, Romalda Spalding and others who taught organically-impaired individuals,
he devised a specific system of teaching through four neurologically-proven avenues
of learning. He discovered that teaching through these pathways, if done as a simultaneous
process, not only successfully remediated but also made early intervention for the
prevention of learning disorders a proven option. The Writing Road to Reading
(Spalding, R., 1957/1991) reflects his final conclusions. It follows that the method
can be, and has been, successfully and widely adapted for nearly every type of remedial
need though it was written originally as a program for normal primary-level students.
The late Dr. Hilde L. Mosse, (1982) former head psychiatrist with the New York City
Public Schools, wrote the encyclopedic 714-page The Complete Handbook of Children's
Reading Disorders in which she chronicled 1000 case histories of emotionally-disturbed,
psychotic and disabled children whom she personally taught to read using
The Writing Road to Reading. She describes why the WRTR method worked with
these students, psychologically, neurologically and, of course, from the pedagogy
itself. The late Dr. William Cruickshank enthusiastically endorsed her "compendium
of significant information" which is available through our Institute, your library
or Teachers College Press. Oregon's own Dr. Barbara Bateman writes a foreword in
the one-volume paperback edition which our Institute published in 1987. She says,
"This is the one source that is essential. One cannot be fully informed about reading
disorders without it. A monumental contribution."
Q. What recognition has The Riggs Institute received in support of their materials
and training programs as described in this paper?
A. We were recognized in a federal study (Groff, P., 1987) as one of twenty-seven
private sector organizations "having a proven track record of success in assisting
teachers in translating recommendations for reform in reading instruction into reality."
Our materials are favorably reviewed in the current research (Stein, M., 1993),
have garnered "out-of-compliance" approval status with the California State Department
of Education, and are included in the current ASCD Materials Directory. Our standard
training seminars have been accredited through twelve universities and colleges
throughout the U.S. during the past ten years, with an ongoing and current accredited
status with the Unversity of Oregon's Department of Continuing Education. Our affiliation
with Southern Arkansas University accredits the 360-hour teach-as-you-learn training
practicum.
References
Adams, M. J. (1991). Begining to read: Thinking and learning about print.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Anderson, R.C., Hiebert, E.H., Scott, J.A., & Wilkinson, I. A. G. (1985). Becoming
a Nation of Readers.
Champaign: Center for the Study of Reading, University of Illinois.
Cassidy, D. (1984) Hearing before the Subcommittee on Education, Arts and the Humanities
of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate Ninety-Eight
Congress Second Session (p.216). Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Chall, J. (1967). Learning to Read, The Great Debate.
New York: McGraw Hill.
Farnham-Diggory, S. (1990). Foreword. In R. Spalding & W. Spalding (Ed.s), The Writing
Road to Reading (p. 15).
New York: William Morrow
Groff, P. (1987). Private Sector Alternatives for Preventing Reading Failure.
(Study sponsored by National Advisory Council on Educational Research and Improvement,
Order #403147700271).
Portland, Oregon: Educational Research Associates, pp. 66-68.
Joyce, B., Showers, B. (1980). Improving In service Training: The Messages of Research.
Educational Leadership, 37, 379-385.
McCulloch, M. T. (1991). America's Spelling & Reading with Riggs.
White, South Dakota: Riggs Institute Press.
Mosse, H. L. (1987). The complete handbook of children's reading disorders:
You Can Prevent or Correct Learning Disorders.
>White, South Dakota: The Riggs Institute Press.
Orton, S. T. (1937). Reading, Writing, and Speech Problems in Children.
Baltimore: The Orton Society for Dyslexia.
Seashore, R. (1940). The measurement of individual differences in general English
vocabularies.
Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 31. January, 14-38.
Spalding, R. & W. (1957, 1991). The Writing Road to Reading.
New York: William Morrow.
Stein, M. (1993). The beginning reading instruction study. Study to fulfill requirements
of PL 99-425, sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Office
of Research,
U.S. Department of Education, #G0087C1001-91A,91-184. Washington: U.S.Government
Printing Office.