learning to read

learning to read with the solomon method

 

 

Current Concerns

We must be disturbed by the ubiquitous reports that education systems in the developed countries are seeing pupils leave the school system without the capacity to read, write and spell effectively. Whether or not we believe that this has detrimental effects on the economy  or that it only affects insignificant others who are not our responsibility, two issues at least are difficult to ignore.

One is  that many, if not the majority,  of teachers in school systems are confused about how to teach reading and how to assess the outcome of what they do teach.

The second is that parents are confused about what their children are learning in regard to literacy.  Parents are alarmed at statistics which show that at the beginning of the twentieth century, in a school educated population,  a two percent illiteracy rate was expected. The expectation for English literacy as we move into the twenty first century,  has dropped to fifty percent.  Populations are becoming polarised in literacy attainment. The opportunity to become competent in the international language of communication seems likely to be reserved for scholars while the remaining population is at risk of illiteracy.

Parents have little idea as to whether their children will be amongst the possible fifty percent of the school population who, in the foreseeable future,  may not read, write or spell in any recognisable way.

There  is happily a growing trend for teachers and parents to seek and try their own solutions for ensuring that children acquire literacy at the appropriate time; that is, by the time they are eight.

Concerned educators which includes most parents are discovering two important factors that underpin literacy acquisition.

  • that literacy education begins with appropriate learning in infancy
  • that literacy instruction demands an alternative methodology to the ‘whole language’ belief system that has prevailed in western education systems for six decades.

Reading for Sure™   is about delivering systematic English instruction which is based on the evidence that reading is a developmental process governed by the maturation of the human brain in the first eight years of life. It is therefore about the tutor’s understanding of the brain processes which must be activated if children are to learn to read. On the basis of this intensive research evidence,   Reading for Sure™, with the following features,  qualifies as the most effective alternative for reading instruction.   

  • Reading for Sure™ is about helping students learn to read English in a simple, failure-free way.
  • It is a proven method for making English reading possible for those students who have not been successful with any other approach to reading instruction.
  • It is about reversing the experience of pupils who inexplicably struggle or fail to read, and is contrary to all their other achievements.
  • Reading for Suretm takes the guesswork out of English reading by applying a pronunciation code to existing text.
  • It begins with a teaching system based on the understanding of the speech sounds in English pronunciation.
  • It is about making English reading easier for the child who is showing readiness for reading in the early childhood years but is daunted by the difficulties in pronunciation.  These difficulties disappear with Reading for Sure™,  so that accurate and independent  reading can begin as soon as a child exhibits interest and ability in identifying the sounds of the English alphabet letters, usually between the ages of three and four.
  • It is about making reading easier for anyone learning English as a foreign language.
  • It is structured with goals and sub-goals that can be applied effectively as classroom instruction as well as with individuals,  from infants to adults.
  • Its effects are measurable as each sub goal in the scheme is achieved and recorded.
  • It can be taught successfully to adults who wish to learn or improve English literacy.
  • Its teaching materials and resources are produced to be fully compatible with the underlying rationale, theory and teaching techniques of the system.

Testimony to its effectiveness is in its twenty year success record and in unsolicited comments from those who have seen the results, some of which are illustrated in the testimonials page.