See the Beauty in Dyslexia
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Decoding Dyslexia MI
  • Resources & ...
    • Books
    • Math
    • Technology
    • Tutors Nationwide
  • SWI
    • SWI Classes
    • SWI Info
    • Blogging About SWI!!!
  • ELC Tutoring
    • Tutoring with Structured Word Inquiry
  • Blog

transforming a resource room teacher

2/9/2016

11 Comments

 
Picture
     About a year and a half ago I was heavily engrossed in continuing to research the best ways to teach my struggling students to read.  I had oodles of programs at my disposal in my Resource Room and had tried them all with only mediocre results, at best.  Some of my students had stagnated, their skill development flat-lined.  I had also tried Orton-Gillingham methods with small groups only to find the individualized nature of the lessons difficult to reach all the varying skill sets of the group especially when new students joined.  It was effective, but took far longer to teach than I kept the students (most OG-style programs recommend 2-3 years of individual tutoring-- a far cry from the Resource Room experience).  I had recently discovered and been trained in an evidence based literacy method that promised faster results even in a group setting.  I was eager to try it with my students and so I began.  However, as excited as I was with how the students were responding to this new phonetic method, there was still a huge gap in the fullness of this approach.
 
     Somewhere along the way, I'd stumbled upon a webcast in which a gentleman, Pete Bowers, was giving a presentation on Structured Word Inquiry (SWI).  I was intrigued by the very nature of Inquiry Based instruction since we were, at the time, an IB World School and his method of teaching the structure of words appealed to my small group environment, but I was too immersed in the new training and teaching with my students to put a lot of energy into understanding more about SWI. I did however, identify with the concept that many words were built on a base word and so I taught my phonics-based units along with the concept and fun sing a-long phrase of, "It's all about the BASE, 'bout the BASE, no trouble", to the tune of a very popular song of the times.  My students were engaged and intrigued with finding the base of many multi-syllable words--that were obvious to us at the time.  
 
     For the next few months, I enjoyed seeing the gains my students were making with the combination of these two types of instruction --phonics and meaning of bases.  One major problem with the phonics lessons we kept encountering however, was spelling. While some people are fortunate to have a large memory-fund for spelling, most of my students do not.  I didn't realize how much I, myself, had built my own skills on "tricks and memorization" until I learned this new phonetic method of developing literacy skills. I had always "said" words in my head the way they should look-- for instance, if I wrote <sincerely>, I would say, /sin--cer--e--ly/ to remember the letter <e> before the  <l y> or I'd say, /ques-t-i-on/--while quickly imagining the last place I'd see that word written in a book or something. Although this method seems quite lengthy--it served me well at a rapid pace--I had a large visual memory. I actually took pride in my ability to remember spelling patterns and mneumonic trickery with words.  But, soon after the phonics training, my own spelling began to decline. Because  they taught us, in their unique approach, that there are 7-8 ways to write the long vowel sound /e/ and 17 ways to write /sh/, I had too many options in my repitoire to draw from! It became taxing and unreliable.  If this was causing me problems, I knew it was not going to help my students enough and I feared it would cause them more harm in the long run.  And so the search for a better method of teaching literacy skills continued.  

     During this same time, I found myself immersed in an epic battle with researchers, educators, professors and scholars from around the country in an online Listserve group who were debating the merits of teaching English as a phonetic vs. a morphophonemic language.  I was enjoying the view from several perspectives; and as I sided with the phonics crowd, I was very intrigued by the morphology arguments.  It was within this battle that my mountain of knowledge and research about the phonetic system began to crumble.  

 
      Outside of that listserve, a very nice lady named, Gail, had begun a conversation with me about SWI and my phonics theories; she asked very pointed (and poignant) questions of me and my evidence-based phonetic method.  I answered them, wisely I thought.  She asked for evidence to support the phonetic theories of words or letter patterns.  I had consistent answers with rhyming words or so-called 'word families' but many times, the only answer I had was the one I'd heard echoed across many lips, "Well, English is crazy!"  She led me to some interesting queries of my own and to a trail that if I chose to follow, promised a deeper understanding of the structure of English orthography.  It felt a bit like Hansel and Gretel being led by a trail of bread crumbs, only very welcoming, kind and open-minded.  I trusted this new friend and the trail she led me on so I spent the long, early morning hours while my children slept, researching these trails she'd led me on. Wow--was I amazed at what I learned:  English is NOT crazy! It is very orderly, well structured and deep ingrained in connection of meaning and history. I was shocked, dumbfounded, and baffled at how this understanding could have been kept from me and my teaching & tutoring friends around the country for so long.  
 
       At one point along the way, an epiphany struck that caused my 20+ year career in the world of explicit, systematic phonics to shift.  I could finally see that SWI fully embraced the importance of  sound in our language -- only placing it where it belongs, AFTER morphology, meaning and history. So I decided to fully immerse my students in SWI without the explicit, systematic phonics lessons -- this was a gamble because I was alone on this journey. There were a few small pockets of teachers approaching literacy with SWI around the country and world, but not in my district or school, maybe not even anywhere in my state! I could find no others.  I am used to being the one out on a limb but if this failed, the kids would be the ones to lose, not just me.  I didn't take this decision lightly and lost a lot of sleep over it, but I couldn't be happier that I did!  My students are soaring.  They are making gains in their reading and writing abilities and their confidence in their own ability to use the brains God gave them to think - not be told an answer or to memorize something without purpose.  
 
     Structured Word Inquiry has been the single most effective way of teaching orthography and reading with my students.  It is not a program or a method per se, it is an understanding of how the written word works that propels an educator to be able to teach effectively, the skills necessary for spelling and reading.  This understanding is what empowers students (of any age) to apply logical, meaningful connections within orthography while reading & spelling.  
     
     As an educator, I am expected to remediate my students skills as well as provide avenues in which students converse with their peers, regardless of skill-set, developing communication skills for explaining themselves, their thinking and to defend a stance they are taking with clear ideas.  This has seemed like an impossible task in a resource room in years past.  However, SWI is helping kids discover their own abilities to think, reason and defend the orthographic system because we've discovered that "English is NOT crazy".  It is built on structure and meaning.
    
     In a traditional phonics-based instructional setting, we teach phonemes and their grapheme correspondences which, unfortunately, fails quite often.  
Think about these words:  <ear>  <great>,  <learn>, & <react>,   all of them have the vowel letters <ea>  in them, but, they all sound differently. Students have much to memorize without any meaning attachment or connections to other words whose structure and meaning make sense.  In a phonics-based approach, we would have spent a lot of time teaching word families with each of these words.  We would have studied <ea> words that rhyme and categorized them into charts to discover which spelling or pronunciation was more frequent.  We would have looked for quantity vs quality.  Spending time with traditional word families focuses on building a phoneme-grapheme relationship only, which is just a memorization task.  For those who have great visual memories for orthographic patterns, this works.  For those who do not have such a large bucket in their brain, this is a nightmare.  
 
     The difference in teaching with SWI, is that it's approach is to teach connections words have with each other via their meanings, history and morphological structures first, then look at its pronunciation.  With SWI, we look at how words are related in meaning and history (etymology) to find trails and nuggets of knowledge that lead to a deeper well of meaning and connection.  We would study the words that share a quality relationship with one another such as with <ear>, our word list would be:  ear, hear, hearing, heard, ears, earring.  We would find that the structure, history and meaning connect.  We would discover affixes such as <-ing> in <hear> + <ing> but how <earring> does not share that same suffix, it is a compound word:  <ear> + <ring> and that the two <r>'s exist to preserve the meaning that an earring is a ring that is placed on the ear.  In words such as <react> we would learn that a phoneme does not cross a morphological boundary. The <ea> is not functioning as a digraph in this word.  It is made of a prefix and a base word:    
<re> + <act> --> react. 
 
     There is so much more depth and quality going on in a SWI lesson than memorization.  Kids (and adults) begin to make connections to many other words.  Their spellings begin to unveil themselves.  Think of the way this word sounds:  /reeakshun/  
If you were a beginning speller, spelling by the sounds you hear, you'd probably spell it something like the way it is pronounced: <reeacshun>  or <reeackshin> but when kids are taught that structure of words is based on the meaning and morphological structures, they are likely to recognize the word's relationship to <act>, plus the affixes to build the word in this way:
          <re> + <act> + <ion> -->  reaction
 
     Programs do not offer what exceptionally well-trained teachers can offer our students (struggling through advanced).  There are thousands of dollars of wasted programs buried in the cupboards of many classrooms.  With SWI, there is no need for big business to sell a program – teachers just need exceptional training in understanding how the written word works.  The classes I’ve taken through Real Spelling and the sources below have minimal costs with maximum education.  The hardest part of this transformative journey has been recognizing the fettered years spent in my previous research of teaching students with dyslexia, professional development and university classes and the students who did not benefit the way my current students are. 

     I am grateful for this community to learn from.   This past month I started running a mini-workshop with my colleagues to help others bring this to their classrooms for all students to advance to their potential. This Spring/Summer I will begin teaching educators how to get started with SWI, I am enthused by the growing numbers of educators beginning their learning journeys by attending the classes, presentations and workshops offered by the best scholars in the world.  The Whole-Language World has been turned upside-down and the Phonics World is about to be as well – all for the good of the student –to bring up a more literate society.  All along, I've been on a journey of transformation in my teaching, only I didn't know it until now, as I watch my students free themselves from the cocoon they've been in and transform into beautifully, literate butterflies.  

 

​

                               “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance,
                                       it is the illusion of knowledge.”

                                                                              -Stephen Hawking

edited for clarity May2016

To learn more about SWI, the following websites and scholars offer amazing resources and a wealth of knowledge.  

 
 
Word Works Kingston by Dr. Pete Bowers
LEX: Linguist-Educator Exchange by Gina Cooke
DTI: Dyslexia Training Institute by Kelli Sandman-Hurley


     


​

11 Comments
Linda
2/9/2016 10:38:08 pm

I am just learning about SWI and my first question is how does it work with early elementary students who have limited vocabulary?

Reply
Lisa Barnett
2/10/2016 08:36:04 am

Linda,
Great question Linda! SWI works very well with early elementary students with any fund of vocabulary. Instead of studying traditional word families that rhyme, try building word families that have morphological connections such as <play>: playful, plays, playing, played, playdate, etc.; build word sums such as <play> + <ful> + <ness> --> playfulness; discuss the differences and similarities of nouns and verbs -- how some of these can function as both; draw pictures to go with them; make a word matrix; write sentences; read stories and highlight the words from your list; there are endless ways to build vocabulary with young children and SWI is a wonderful way to do this while building on structure and meaning.

There are several blogs by teachers who have been teaching this way for much longer than I have, I also have an additional blog dedicated solely to teaching SWI in my classroom.

Lyn Anderson's blog is top-notch for early elementary education:
http://wordsinbogor.blogspot.ca/

Skot Caldwell's archived blog from the early grades (he has a new one since moving to gr 4/5), I love the title of this blog:
https://smallhumansthinkbig.wordpress.com/

Jen Munnerlyn's videos help us see a lesson on <love> for gr 1:
http://wordstudypd.wikispaces.com/Vertical+Spiral+in+Action

Word Works Kingston has a wealth of resources and a great place to start on this site is to scroll to the section called KEY LINKS, in there is a gold button with links to Getting Started:
http://www.wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Home.html

Good luck Linda! Keep us up-to-date with your learnings -- I love to hear more about other's journeys and how they are incorporating SWI into the classroom.

Lisa Barnett

Reply
Bryn Brown
2/12/2016 11:07:20 am

Thanks so much for this! This makes a lot of sense to me and will help me in my quest to help my daughter and perhaps others!

Reply
Lisa Barnett
2/12/2016 01:40:32 pm

So glad you found this helpful Bryn. Best wishes to your daugher, let me know how its going as you/she digs into this more.

Reply
Mary Beth Steven link
2/12/2016 01:04:11 pm

Great piece! I am continually surprised that other educators don't see this stuff and in the blink of an eye realize the value of it. That's how it was for me when I spent a weekend reading everything I could and even meeting Michel for the first time!

In the four years since, I have come to accept that it is hard for some to let go of what they have been doing for so long. It is even harder for some to realize that a boxed program that claims it is research based, isn't referring to having researched the content, only the "program". I questioned one such company and was politely told that this is how spelling has always been taught.

You have described the transition and reasons for it beautifully. I remember feeling that same sense of freedom that your butterfly analogy creates. I hope that many other educators read this!

Reply
Lisa Barnett
2/12/2016 03:03:29 pm

Thank you Mary Beth! You are part of the community I am grateful for! Your story and classes are an inspiration to me and my class.

I agree that it is hard for some to accept that the programs they are using are an illusion of knowledge. They don't know what they don't know, even when it is shown to them. Others though, are ready for change but are over-burdened with so many tasks that seeking training on their own is too time consuming (not even speaking of cost). School systems have less money for quality PD and even worse-- are not investing time into seeking PD that is not commercially sold. Businesses have this game figured out. They simply spout off a few words like Common Core & Differentiated Instruction that fit the tiny window of PD legislative perameters and they win a contract for millions.

Several weeks ago the lottery was up to an astronomical amount -- I was secretly planning how I use my winnings-- unfortunately, I did not win, but there's always another shot at it! My dream is to create a foundation geared soley to providing SWI training and linguistics for educators that would be free for those who are serious. Like a second tier to a certification that wouldn't cost a seasoned veteran teacher or a fresh-out-of-college/up-to-their-eyeballs-in-debt newbie any money to get what their university program should have taught them about the English orthographic system. Our schools are filled with hard-working teachers who would give their eye teeth to be as effective as they could be if they had the time, energy and money to learn what they didn't know they were missing. Those are the people who be recipients of these foundation grants.

It is so hard to see and acknowledge how shallow some of our programs & training really are/have been. As fate would have it, I had the opportunity to teach my dyslexic son and another opportunity to teach a small group of students for 2-3 years and could track their data over time to see that the programming was ineffective. I sought more training and better programming and saw a bit of an upward trend. However, I also had the unique lens of seeing my son's slow growth AFTER he left my school to go on to middle school, his fluency scores declined greatly. Teachers rarely get to see their students beyond a single year. I knew that what we were teaching was not sticking so I continued to search for more meaningful methods.

Showing students that English is built on a trail of history and structure is like illuminating invisible ink on a treasure map for them. The gratitude I feel from my students for this gift brings me to tears at times. While its a great feeling, I know, and they know that they will move on to the next building and their opportunities may not continue. That's what drives me to write a blog about this -- in hopes of planting a seed or dousing a sprout with just the right nudge to get other educators to wonder if the knowledge they possess or the program they are using is really just an illusion of knowledge. As I said, I was fortunate to have a longitudinal view of my students and my own 4 children -- 3 of which were not gifted with my visual memory for orthography -- and I took a serious look at what I and their teachers were using and unveiled the illusion.

As I type this lengthy response to your comments Mary Beth, I have a vision in my mind of the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradburn -- while we aren't burning books by any means, our society is receiving far too much information at warp speeds to filter out the junk. We are too accepting of what's given to us and we accept it at face value when much of it is worthless along with being far too busy to take notice. When the main character, Montag, goes against the grain and finds enjoyment from learning and thinking on his own he finds a world beyond his town's borders. This world is freeing from the hidden constraints he was under. Understanding how the written word works will not create a bunch of rogue employees or students -- that's not what I am saying -- but it will foster growth in thinking skills and finding evidence to back up a theory. I see things differently today than I did a year ago -- even 6 months ago. I've always believed that knowledge was not meant to be kept, but to be given; therefore, I write about it in hopes that this spark lights another educator, tutor, parent or person who needs it.

Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Reply
Mary McBride
5/16/2016 07:50:09 am

A wonderful piece, thanks for writing. Glad you found Gail, Pete and this community of scholars! The beauty is that students enjoy learning, asking questions and seeking the real spelling and meaning of words to help them understand and soar, building critical thinking along the way.

Reply
Tyreese link
11/26/2020 11:24:52 pm

This was great to read thank you

Reply
Fireproofing Bakersfield link
8/31/2022 09:09:43 am

Helloo nice blog

Reply
Kenneth Clarke link
10/18/2022 05:17:38 am

Agreement western carry individual marriage. Create staff drug. Campaign age travel question.

Reply
Robert Brandt link
10/20/2022 10:13:04 pm

Rich take so single exist short north sport. Fast culture discussion baby prepare.
Police continue federal serve hear word fall our. Back training meet individual number small enter.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Special Education Teacher by day, Parent & wife of dyslexics by night.... 

    Archives

    January 2019
    December 2017
    November 2017
    February 2017
    February 2016
    August 2015
    February 2015
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014


      Enter Email

    Subscribe to Newsletter

    RSS Feed

    Lisa Barnett
    " > View my profile on LinkedIn

Proudly powered by Weebly