Several times throughout the course of earning my reading endorsement, there were moments when I wondered when everything would “click” together. I had a ton of information that I was trying to process, and process it did, but in bits, when what I was looking for was the big “Aha!” moment. I had many small epiphanies, as I made my way through understanding what how to take all these facts that I knew and piece them together in a meaningful way, but perhaps, the biggest moment of “Eureka!” came to me only when I became certified in learning the Spalding method.
The Spalding Method takes the two subjects most dear to me –English and Reading—and combines them in such a way that knowing how to read (the act of putting sounds together to make words and to understand those words so that they have meaning and connection) becomes impossibly easy to do. If you have a reader at home that struggles with any aspect of reading, the Spalding Method will be a beacon of hope and success for your child, and I am not one to exaggerate.
First, the Spalding Method believes in going back to the basics, so the first thing a student masters is all 70 sounds of the phonograms (letters and letter combinations that make up one or more sounds). Not only do they learn all of the sounds, but they also learn the rules of when the phonogram can and cannot be used. And, we’re not talking about just older kids – have you ever seen a class of second graders repeat sounds and rules with absolute certainty? Let me tell you, it’s a sight to see!
The Spalding Method also ensures that the print and sound connection is solidified in the student’s mind. Handwriting is practiced, and while being written by the student, the student says all the sounds of that particular phonogram. Talk about semantic encoding (learning in such a way that keeps information in the long-term memory).
What follows (very succinctly) include vocabulary instruction, reading comprehension instruction, writing instruction (grammar, too!), and assessments that track the progression of reading growth. I hate to say something is fail proof, but folks, some things just are ….
Melissa M. Loukas
Excellence in Academics Tutoring, LLC.
"We work with parents, so their children excel."
480.882.8933
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