Education-Plus, Tutoring

05/09/2022

Making a difference!


🌐 www.behaviorflip.com

01/12/2020

Picture of Schuler Instructional Materials, completed 10/31/2020.

02/11/2020

Finally! I wrote my first Schuler Phonics Textbook in 1981. On 10/31/2020, I published my last Schuler Phonics Textbook and the 5th of 5 Companion Books for Schuler Phonics. My Schuler Instructional Materials (SIM) now include:
1. Dyslexia: Before and Beyond Reading
2. DVD Schuler Brain Tune-Up Exercises
3. Schuler Phonics PRIMER
4. Schuler Phonics CORE
5. Companion Book: Combination 1-6 Short Vowels with Single Consonants, Blends, and Digraphs
6. Companion Book: Combination 7-8 Silent e Rule and Compound Words
7. Companion Book: Combination 9-12 Vowel Reference Card
8. Companion Book: Combination 13-15 Multisyllable
9. Schuler Phonics MASTERY
10. Companion Book: Combination 16-17 Halloween Edition Advanced Consonant Sounds
11. Schuler Basic Math Facts
12. Schuler Fractions
13. Schuler Fractions Sample Problems and Little Jonah's Flashcards

All the textbooks are available through Amazon.com. The DVD is available through Amazon Media on Demand (MOD).

YEAH!!!

21/06/2020

Learn to Read Phonetically Combination Collections 1-6, 7-8, and 9-12 are now available on Amazon as paperbacks and Kindle (significant reduction in price).

13-15 almost completed!

07/05/2019

READING REVIEW: See Joseph’s video at www.parentreadingcoach.org
SEE: Joseph’s Column of Words below.

Before reading, with the Vowel Flashcards arranged in columns by initial letter (not by sound), Joseph circled the common vowel sounds and wrote how many sounds for each. Then Joseph, in the video, reads the column of words (below) with help from his mother. His mother points to Joseph’s Vowel Reference Card, one-by-one, as he says the common sound or sounds and finally reads the word.

IMPORTANT: I have always been asked by parents and by teachers, when I taught this individually or as a class through the University of Idaho: “Why do you make the students say ALL the possible sounds? Why don’t they just say the correct sound for that word, and then read the word?”
My response:
1. Sounding out words in English is a guessing game. When you don’t know how to read a word, you try one sound and then another, maybe even a third before you get the correct sound to read that word.
2. If you knew how to read the word, you wouldn’t need phonics to help you.
3. If you knew the one and only sound the vowel letter/letters made in that specific word to read that word correctly, you wouldn’t need phonics.
4. I have the students say ALL the possible common sounds first so they practice and master those common sounds. Then when they try to sound out an unknown word, they can recall those common sounds quickly and try them in the word --- guessing until they get the right one!

30/04/2019

Jack’s Video: See at www.parentreadingcoach.org
Steps to the Introduction of the Vowel Reference Card (VRC) via the common Vowel Flashcards

IMPORTANT:
When using a flashcard, always have the student find and point to the VRC at the same time.

1. Silent e Rule:
I always start with the Silent e Rule when introducing the Vowel Reference Card because that is the last concept taught before this and taught using the flashcards, and it is easy to find the Silent e Rule on the VRC.
I introduce all 5 of the Silent e Flashcards, one by one, having the student find that specific flashcard on the VRC. I point out that the other single letters/teams on that same line make the same long sound, showing the flashcards as I do that. I quiz, showing one of the flashcards on that same line, asking, “So what sound does this make?” I do NOT point out any additional sounds a flashcard could make at this point in time.
2. Single Letter Short and Long Vowel Flashcards (a, e, i, o, and u but not y)
I then pull out the single letter short vowel flashcards, which the students have already seen and mastered. Discussing those short vowel sounds, I refer to the long sounds at the same time:
The “a” flashcard will now have three sounds, the short sound, the long sound, and the schwa sound. Have the student touch the “a” in each place on the VRC while saying the sound.
The “e” flashcard will now have two sounds, the short sound and the long sound. Have the student touch the “e” in each place on the VRC while saying the sound.
The “i” flashcard will now have two sounds, the short sound and the long sound. Have the student touch the “I” in each place on the VRC while saying the sound.
The “o” flashcard will now have three sounds, the short sound, the long sound, and the schwa sound. Have the student touch the “o” in each place on the VRC while saying the sound.
The “u” flashcard will now have three sounds, the short sound, the long u sound, and the u sound like “oo” in food. Have the student touch the “u” in each place on the VRC while saying the sound.
3. Additional short vowel sounds: ea (noting it also says long e), and au, aw, al, all. Have the student touch the ea in each place on the VRC while saying the sound.
4. R-Controlled: ar, or, er, ir, ur
5. Miscellaneous: oi, oy, ou, ow (two sounds), oo (two sounds). Have the student touch the ow and oo in each place on the VRC while saying the sound.

Finally, mix all the flashcards and go through the entire pile, having the student point first to the VRC as each different sound is pronounced. I always start this practice of drilling the common Vowel Flashcards by having them say the entire VRC, top to bottom, without a mistake!!!
I do continue having students practice the flashcards in this manner, pointing first, then saying the sounds, each lesson, until they master that skill. Then I’ll flip the card over, allowing them to peek if necessary, but aiming for 100% mastery of all the common Vowel Flashcards without the use of the VRC.

29/04/2019

Below is my Vowel Reference Card. I introduce this card once a student has mastered, in words, sentences, and stories, the single letter short vowel sounds (apple /ă/, elephant or Ed /ĕ/, igloo or itch /ĭ/, octopus /ŏ/, and umbrella or up /ŭ/) and the Silent e Rule (“The e makes the a say /ā/, The e makes the e say /ē/. The e makes the i say /ī/. The e makes the o say /ō/, and The e makes the u say /ū/ or /ü/.")

The children’s stories in LEARN TO READ PHONETICALLY, Collections 9-12, the third of three combination collections at www.parentreadingcoach.org, are written with these most common sounds in bold to help the students spot them.

These vowel sounds were chosen from Anna Gillingham’s and Bessie W. Stillman’s, Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship, Seventh Edition, 1960, because they were the most common vowel sounds, as demonstrated in the book in both lists and graphs, showing frequency of use.

I developed this Vowel Reference Card for a four-year-old speech-impaired child as I attempted to teach her how to read. I discovered I needed to group the sounds for her, rather than introduce them as flashcards, one by one. After she learned the sounds on the Vowel Reference Card, I was able to go back to the flashcards and drill them individually. Not only did she learn to recognize all these sounds on the flashcards and in words, but her knowledge of these vowel sounds transferred to her speech!

My other students were greatly rewarded because I learned that it was so much easier and faster to teach the Vowel Reference Card first, once I’d created it, and then drill all the sounds individually on flashcards afterwards. The time required to learn all the sounds for each flashcards, introduced one by one, could be a difference of needing at least a month of lessons for my best students to being able to introduce all the flashcard sounds in one lesson.

Mary M. Schuler
6389 South Tall Pines Road
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814-7043
(208) 664-6253
[email protected]

29/03/2019

The Silent e Rule
My most favorite way to teach the Silent e Rule is to compare and contrast short vowel words with Silent e words as it reviews the short vowel sounds and adds the new Silent e concept simultaneously.
1. at vs. ate
Have the student say, “Apple, /ă/” then read the word “at.”
Have the student say, “The e makes the a say /ā/” then read the word “ate.”
2. bit vs. bite
Have the student say, “Igloo or Itch, /ĭ/” then read the word “bit.”
Have the student say, “The e makes the i say /ī/” then read the word “bite.”
3. not vs. note
Have the student say, “Octopus, /ŏ/” then read the word “not.”
Have the student say, “The e makes the o say /ō/” then read the word “note.”
4. cut vs. cute
Have the student say, “Umbrella or Up, /ŭ/” then read the word “cut.”
Have the student say, “The e makes the u say /ū/ or /ü/” then read the word “cute.’
5. them vs. theme
Have the student say, “Elephant or Ed, /ě/” then read the word “them.” Note: th is voiced.
Have the student say, “The e makes the e say /ē/” then read the word “theme.” Note: th is unvoiced.
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I understand that the Silent e at the end of a word, makes the previous vowel letter long or makes it say its name. However, to me, that’s kind of long and confusing to students --- so I just have them say (skipping the explanation):
“The e makes the a say /ā/.”
“The e makes the e say /ē/.”
“The e makes the i say /ī/.”
“The e makes the o say /ō/.”
“The e makes the u say /ū/ or /ü/.”
I do talk about the e being mean and kicking the a, e, i, o, or u, actually kicking u so hard, the u’s eyeballs pop out (see those little dots above the u) and the u holds its stomach and say oooooo. Once when teaching this at the University of Idaho, one of my students said, “Do we have to be so mean? Couldn’t we just sprinkle fairy dust or something?” I said, “Sure. No problem! Whatever works so the students understand what the Silent e does!”
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Mary M. Schuler
6389 South Tall Pines Road
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814-7043
(208) 664-6253
[email protected]

p.s. If you’d like a list of short vowel words contrasted with silent e words, go to the Practice Application in www.parentreadingcoach.org. Sign up (It’s FREE.) and sign in as a parent. Choose Mastery Assessments, Level 6. An arrow pointing down will appear at the top right. Open that file to see and print the list from Schuler Phonics Core. If you have any trouble, please contact me at [email protected].

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16/03/2019

Short Vowels e and i: elephant /ě/ or Ed / ě / contrasted with igloo /ĭ/ or itch / ĭ /.

In my book, Schuler Phonics: Primer, following the sequence of introduction of the short vowel sounds from Anna Gillingham’s Phonic Word Cards: Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship (“The Jewel Box”), the short a and short i are the first of the two short vowel sounds introduced. Short e is the last of the short vowel sounds introduced.

That sequence has proven, as far as I’m concerned, to be valid and effective. In all my teaching and tutoring over the years, except when in Pennsylvania, whether preschool age children through adult teachers, the two short sounds of elephant /ě/ or Ed / ě / and igloo /ĭ/ or itch / ĭ /, pronounced alone and especially when contrasted with each other, have always caused the most difficulty.

Short i, when contrasted with short a, is fairly easy to teach. The problem of hearing and saying the sound of short i only arises once short e is introduced; those two sounds are very similar.

Discussing and demonstrating mouth positions for each sound helps some. Practicing HEARING the difference between the sounds is of much more value: With all five vowel letters (a, e, i, o, and u), spread out randomly on a flat surface, reordering them periodically, say the different sounds, one at a time, randomly, and have your student touch the sound heard, only saying the key word first, then once mastered, saying both the key word and the sound.

Contrast the short e and short i by first saying one, then next the other, mixing those two with the other short vowel sounds (a, o, u). I, also, recommend repeating a sound, whether correctly identified or missed, two times, even three times in a row; students seem to believe that a teacher just couldn’t be saying the exact same sound again but must be saying one of the other four. That technique forces the student to listen very, very carefully!

Mary M. Schuler
6389 South Tall Pines Road
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814-7043
(208) 664-6253
[email protected]

p.s. The short sound of u vs. the short sound of o can, also, be confused, at times. There, I just teach the student, when pronouncing the short o sound, to form the mouth and throat into a ball and elongate the sound. In contrast, the short u sound is clipped, cut off, almost as soon as it is pronounced.

p.s.s. Sometimes, not very often, I’ve found students who confuse a and e. Again, teach the student, when pronouncing the short a sound, to form the mouth and throat into a ball and elongate the sound. In contrast, the short e sound is clipped, cut off, almost as soon as it is said.

23/02/2019

Short Vowel: u or the schwa (ǝ)
Short u, umbrella or up /ŭ/, is one of the most common short sounds. It is so common, it has its own name --- the schwa --- and is represented as an upside-down and reversed e (ǝ) in dictionary pronunciation keys.
The schwa sound can actually be found in English, written with a, e, i, o, AND u. However, because my vowel reference card only teaches the most COMMON vowel sounds as noted in Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship by Anna Gillingham and Bessie W. Stillman, Seventh Edition, 1960, I only show the three most common possibilities for the short vowel sound u:
the letter u as in run, fun, and sun;
the letter a as in away, around, and about;
and
the letter o as in son, from, season, wagon, and wisdom.
Those three are the most common spellings for short u.
One other comment: The letter a as in a book, a rug, a snake, a horse, and a tree, should be pronounced as umbrella or up /ŭ/, not as a long a. The same goes for the e in the word the; it should be pronounced as umbrella or up /ŭ/, not as a long e.
Mary M. Schuler
6389 South Tall Pines Road
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814-7043
(208) 664-6253
[email protected]

P.S. Just like when you play Hangman, because the letter e is the most common letter in the English language, you always guess e first, when reading, and the most common sounds don’t work, try the schwa sound; that might be the answer!!!