Reading
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| What is Phonics Coach? |
| Phonics Coach is a web-based literacy training program which
drastically improves reading and spelling skills
in students of all ages. We use customized interactive exercises
and modules that are tailored to each student’s individual
learning needs.
While using Phonics Coach students will experience a drastic
improvement in their reading speed, reading
comprehension, spelling ability, auditory comprehension, and concentration.
This will directly translate into a more confident, motivated,
and prepared student, and of course, better grades in school.
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| Who can benefit from Phonics Coach? |
| Phonics Coach was designed for those children, ages 8-18,
who have trouble reading and spelling. This site
can help everyone from students with diagnosed learning disabilities
(e.g. dyslexia) to students who area simply slow readers (e.g.
cannot keep up with their classmates and/or have trouble with
homework).
Although Phonics Coach was originally designed for youth we have
had users as old as 67 who have experienced great results from
the program. Adults with learning disabilities, or anyone who
struggles with the basics of reading and spelling
english (e.g. ESL) will benefit greatly from this site.
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| How do I know if my child or student
can benefit from the program? |
| If you have observed your child/ student struggling to read or
spell, or have been so informed by an education professional (or
even by the child her/himself), then Phonics Coach is for you. If
you are still unsure, we have compiled a list below of some traits
that are commonly observed in students that suffer from learning
disabilities. If one or more of these traits applies to your child
or student, she or he may have a reading disability.
My child/ student:
has trouble recalling details about what she/he has just read
gets hung up on individual words when reading
has difficulty with auditory discrimination
has trouble following directions
does not entirely complete activities or assignments
skips over words when reading
reads at a slow pace
has to re-read sentences to understand them
has trouble remembering what was just heard or seen
continues to make the same errors (even when corrected)
has trouble concentrating, sitting or standing still
is easily distracted or simply cannot focus
struggles to complete homework/ schoolwork
acts immature for his/her age
is at times overly aggressive
Note: This is not in any way an official diagnosis of a learning
disability, but rather a list of common traits seen in those that
have been officially diagnosed. For an official diagnosis, it
is important to consult professionals/ specialists in the field;
talk to teachers at your child’s school for more information.
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| How is Phonics Coach different than
other educational software on the market? |
There are two major problems with other software and games that
are out on the market:
They do not have the ability to find the specific problem(s) that
are causing the student frustration when reading
and spelling, and
They do not have the ability to tailor a lesson plan that will correct
these problems.
Other educational software and games are static – they do
not have the ability adapt to the student. All lessons on these
programs are pre-set; and does not have the capability to customize
lesson plans for each student. These programs may be fun for a while,
but they cannot actually solve the core problems that are holding
back the student.
The Phonics Coach program is state-of-the-art. It took over four
years to develop this revolutionary program that is unlike anything
else out there. We came up with the name Phonics ‘Coach’
because the program truly acts like a personal coach for the student.
It first surveys the student’s current abilities, discovering
everything it can about the his/her language skills while keeping
track of all the problem areas. Then Phonics Coach creates a customized
lesson plan, unique for each student, that focuses on correcting
these problems. Unlike many teaching tools out there, our program
is constantly monitoring the child’s progress every step
of the way, continuously providing the perfect customized lesson
plan for each child.
With Phonics Coach, the parent, tutor, or teacher also can view
their student’s progress reports online at any time they
wish.
Every learner has unique needs; we recognize this. That’s
the Phonics Coach difference.
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| How long does it take to complete this
course? |
| Each student moves through the course at their own pace. Once
becoming a member you have unlimited access - you can take as many
lessons as you want each month - there is no limit. In terms of
expected results, after 35-45 hours of using the program, a student
should see a one grade level improvement in reading
speed and comprehension. This translates to taking four to five
30-minute lessons per-week, for 4-6 months.
The final results are up to you; the longer that the student
uses the software, the more overall improvement he/she will witness.
Our goal is to have the student reading and
spelling every word in their vocabulary, while experiencing a
substantial increase in their reading speed,
reading comprehension, spelling abilities, and
auditory comprehension.
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| How do you report results? |
| Here's the greatest advantage to using our program to learn to
read and spell. We will give you answers that are exact! No more
wishy-washy explanations such as 'Johnny seems to have trouble with
some of the vowels...' That doesn't tell you anything nor does it
provide you with any solutions.
We'll tell you exactly what's going on and exactly what we're
going to do about it. For example, if Johnny has trouble spelling
words with the schwa-vowel "a" sound (as in spa), then
we'll find this problem and it will be one of the things we work
on.
We've got reading and spelling down to a science
and you can follow along in the charts and graphs section to monitor
your progress.
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| Our Mission... |
It is the belief of Phonic Coach Inc. that reading/
literacy education and related resources should be accessible and
affordable to anyone, at any age. Thanks to the Internet, we are
able to provide the highest standard of material without the expense
of private educational institutions.
Phonics Coach was founded to provide excellent individual literacy
training to students of all ages and those with special needs. Through
custom-tailored lessons we hope to create a learning system that
will enable students to meet and exceed their literacy goals. |
| Our Philosophy... |
| Our philosophy is simple. People learn language by using it,
so one has them using it as soon as possible. Reading
is one skill that everyone will need, no matter what one chooses
to do in life. It is our belief that an underdeveloped reader will
never be able to truly reach their lifes full potential.
Commonly, teachers are unable to fully ensure that learning disabled
students are fluent in the basics of the English language before
moving on to more complex curriculums. This causes more students
than ever before to fall behind in school and fail to learn in
general. Imagine teaching someone calculus who doesn't fully understand
the basics of addition - impossible. Yet it happens all the time
in literacy. By teaching phonics and syllables, we give students
the information needed to build a solid foundation for learning
language. We start at the base of the English language - phonics
- and carefully structure the sequence of learning making sure
that we cover everything along the way.
After the basic skills are in place, students can focus on sentence
structure, punctuation, and writing style - all of which will
be evident in their written work.
All exercises and modules in this program are based on the student's
individual abilities and growth. Your student will never fall
behind, and will never feel overwhelmed. The root of most language
difficulties stems from trouble with the basics. Mastering phonics
and syllabication will lead to better reading
and spelling skills, allowing individual learners to become the
best they can be in life and to achieve greatness in whatever
they choose to do.
We want to see you flourish in life. Send us your success stories
- we'd love to read them. |
| Do I still need to keep my current tutor? |
| The best way to correct a learning disability is by attacking
it from as many angles as possible. Phonics Coach is a proven program
to significantly improve the reading and spelling
abilities in frustrated readers; but (if you can afford it), having
a private tutor as well will greatly enhance the learning process
and may speed up the results of the program. Bluntly speaking, the
more a student exposes him/herself to corrective exercises, instruction,
and even just general reading, the better that
student will be prepared for a life of reading
ahead.
There have been several studies conducted that link one's reading
abilities to success in life (in terms of career, salary, and
overall happiness). The more you can do to correct a reading
problem early on in life, the better.
We do understand that many tutors, learning centers, and programs
are very expensive, and their costs can add up. We at Phonics
Coach strongly believe that money should not determine whether
a child or adult has access to the learning resources that they
need. If the monthly subscription fee is preventing you from partaking
in the Phonics Coach program, please contact us about our Bursary
Program to help subsidize some of the costs.
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| What is phonics? |
| Phonics, basically put, is the correlation between symbol and
sound. We familiarize students with 147 commonly found letter groupings
at a rate controlled by individual performance.
Phonics and syllables combine to make the reading
and spelling words easy.
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| What are syllables? |
| Syllabication is the breaking up of words into smaller pieces.
We introduce the six kinds of syllables and use special spelling
exercises to implement them in the breakdown of words.
Phonics and syllabication combine to make the reading
and spelling of words easy. |
| A Phonics Coach Lesson... |
| Rather than read all this, you should sign up for a free trial
account.
Reviewing Known Phonics
Once the course gets underway, each lesson starts out with a
review of some known phonic items. By reviewing this letter/sound
information each day, students build a solid foundation for reading
and spelling words.
Priority is given to letters and sounds your student finds most
difficult, as part of our Rapid Readiness program.
Reviewing Known Syllables
All the different types of syllables that your student has been
taught will be reviewed in each lesson.
Covering New Material
New material usually falls under one of two categories. We will
teach you either; more phonics, or a new kind of syllable.
Each student moves through the course at their own pace. New
material is presented when past material has been mastered. The
flow of new material is controlled separately for each student
by our Rapid Readiness program.
Spelling Exercises
These exercises encourage students to apply their knowledge of
phonics and syllables.
Spelling words are chosen based on each student's strengths and
weaknesses. The words we select will help your student master
past material so that they will be ready to move on to new material
as soon as possible. This method is both effective and efficient.
(Part of our Rapid Readiness method.)
Spelling exercises are also one of the tools we use to assess
problem areas and plan future lessons.
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| A brief history... |
| The curriculum is derived mainly from a very successful method
used at The Gow School. A small private school catering to students
with language difficulties, Gow has boasted a 100% college and/or
university acceptance record for over 70 years.
Tarek, our staff professor and designer of this course, was a
student at Gow for six years and later returned as an instructor.
He has also studied Orton-Gillingham, Reconstructive Language
and Fluent Reading as a professional tutor.
Tarek's goal in designing this course was to discard all the
"hocus-pocus and busy work" to use only the most effective
and results-orientated aspects of each method he studied.
After years in development, the Phonics Community has a highly
effective language training product to be implemented over the
Internet. Our application takes the challenge out of reading
and spelling the individual word, thus enabling students to focus
on the content of the material they read and the style in which
it is written.
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| For best results... |
| Make Phonics Coach part of your daily routine. For the first
month, try to do five lessons a week. Start at the same time each
day, and do one lesson, followed by reading or
writing. To truly take advantage of this course students should
read or write after each lesson. We suggest alternating -- one day
reading, the next day writing. Note that imposing
time constraints on a reading and writing routine
can be unhelpful. Students should always read to the end of the
chapter or write to the the point where they finish their thought.
This ends the exercise with a feeling of accomplishment. After the
first month, you can start adding to the routine, to further accommodate
your student's specific language needs. |
| Natural Growth in Literacy |
| If your student is having difficulty with punctuation, your first
instinct may be to tell them everything you know about punctuating
a sentence. If you force them, they might be able to memorize the
information, but it will be a long time before they really understand
it. Keep in mind that the object here is not to "transplant"
information. Natural growth occurs when you plant a seed. For instance
you can say "you're using too many commas," and then the
next time you are reading together ask the student
to pay special attention to the author's use of commas. Now you
have planted a seed that can grow naturally as the student continues
to read and write, making observations and applying them to written
work. |
| Reading |
THE RIGHT MATERIAL For the purposes of this course, the intellectual
content of reading material does not matter. Encourage
students to gather knowledge about topics which interest them, even
if it's gossip about their favorite band in Rolling Stone magazine.
Keep in mind that if material has been published, it has been past
an editor. Therefore exposure to published sentence structure and
writing style will be useful even when the intellectual content
is low.
A Feeling of Accomplishment It is important that each time you read
with your student they feel as if they have accomplished something.
Do not stop halfway through an article or chapter. This will rule
how reading material is selected. If together you
choose to read a novel, flip through to make sure the chapters are
a suitable length to read in one sitting. When Selecting What to
Read Every student has different interests. Rather than you selecting
what you think they'd like, ask them to give you some options. You
can still make the final decision. If selecting a novel, have them
read the back of the book to you. If they can read the back of the
book reasonably well, the book may well be at a suitable reading
level. (Don't forget to check the length of the chapters.) Just
So You Know Most mainstream magazines and newspapers are written
at a grade 6 to 8 level, so that most people can enjoy them. Publications
that specialize in one field, such as The Financial Post or The
Medical Examiner, market to a very well-educated audience and are
at a higher literacy level.
Reading Together It is best to sit side by side
and take turns reading aloud. When it is your turn
to read make sure your student follows along. If you and your student
are not comfortable seated side by side, then use two copies of
the material for both of you to read and follow. Check periodically
to ensure your student is following along because it is very beneficial.
Most notably it will help them understand how punctuation affects
the way things are read. Tackling Big, Nasty Words Do not help!
We cannot stress this enough. When a student encounters a difficult
word, tell them to sound it out one syllable at a time. In english,
the really intimidating words are generally comprised of perfectly
phonetic syllables. Unfortunately there is an exception to the "do
not help" rule. If your student is becoming discouraged by
the number of big words, you may need to make an agreement. For
example, arrange ahead of time that you will help them with a certain
number of words per page. This kind of co-operation will take some
pressure off the student so they can enjoy the book they have chosen.
Reading Alone When reading alone,
students may read out loud or to themselves. This reading
can be assigned by you or assumed to be something that occurs in
regular schoolwork. If your student is reading
alone and comes to you for help with a difficult word, encourage
them to sound it out loud.
READING OUT LOUD vs. SILENT READING
What follows could be thought of as the abridged version of a very
brief summary. For the purposes of this course, tutors need only
acknowledge that these exercises have different benefits and should
both be implemented.
Reading Out Loud Oral reading
will act as a strong reinforcement to the phonics portion of this
course, and have a tremendous impact on spelling. It is also the
time punctuation will be most apparent to your student, as you will
be taking turns reading and they will follow along
to your example. Silent Reading Silent reading
will exercise a student's ability to focus and may be more enjoyable
than oral reading. This is because there is no
pressure when nobody is listening. It is also a time students will
be trying to catch their own mistakes, thereby building independence
in learning. Again, difficult words should be attempted by sounding
them out loud. |
| Spelling |
| The nemesis for most of our students is spelling. Though it is
an integral part of our program, it is often where progress comes
the most slowly. Spelling words used in our Phonics Coach spelling
exercises should not be memorized. Instead they should be examined
first for their syllabic make-up, and then for the phonetic composition
of those syllables. If the spelling-words are memorized, the spelling
exercises will lose their value. Consequently, instead of understanding
syllables and phonetics -- which can aid in reading
and spelling many words -- the student will understand, and be able
to spell, just the one word. |
| Miscellaneous Literacy Problems |
It is perfectly natural to have problems while acquiring or developing
a skill. Literacy skills are no exception. Our course is designed
to take the struggle out of reading and spelling
words. Once a student can read and spell words easily, they can
focus on punctuation, sentence structure, and other tasks. The objective
is to get students reading and writing independently
because those are the exercises that will be of greatest benefit.
By reading they will be exposed to how things are
written. By writing they can apply all relevant pieces of information
they have absorbed. As a guide, you should inform the student of
what they need to pay special attention to. For example, when students
first discover the comma they may over use it. So the next time
you are reading together tell them to pay extra
attention to the author's use of commas. This will not correct the
problem immediately, but over time it will correct it naturally.
(See Natural Growth in Literacy for more information.)
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