19/09/2023
Transforming Pineapples into explorers…
"How will you know I’ve done a good job of supporting you?" I asked during our first session. “I don’t want to be a pineapple,” he said. The pineapple reading group defined this intelligent, grade 3 boy as “not yet capable” in his mind.
Initially, he wrote some letters backward, mixed up the /e/ and /a/ sounds and was confused about the sounds the vowels made when they were influenced by an e. He didn’t know what sounds ar, all, ay and oi made among other more complex patterns. He found spelling confusing.
Gratefully he was happy to apply himself. Sessions were attended regularly by him and his Dad. They coupled their in-session engagement with consistent, weekly practice for the program's 9 months. As we began to explore the spelling and reading together though, his curiosity was ignited. He had questions! He had great questions.
He was thinking about things and to do that he had to be noticing.! This thrills me. Attention is learning. We can’t learn what we are not noticing, whether academically or as we strive to move forward on a personal goal. Awareness is key.
“Why don’t we read ‘give’ as if it rhymes with ‘thrive’?
“How do I know when to use a c or a k at the beginning of words?”,
”Can “oi “go at the end of words?,
”Shouldn’t ‘bus’ have a double ss?”
At his initial reading test he had an indicative reading age of 6yrs and 9 months and he progressed to 8 years and 6 months a year and 9 months improvement in 9 months of instruction. He also developed a deeper understanding of the structure of words, resulting in a significant leap in his indicative spelling age from 6 years 8 months to 8 years 8 months.
This was not what delighted his parents though. His father marveled, during sessions, at what his son knew and could explain. His mother’s email, at the conclusion of the program, reflected her gratitude, but more importantly her heartwarming observation. He “is now his happy, confident and determined self, and is enjoying going to school.”
Seeing a child transform their self-view in such a short time, driven by their own efforts, is awesome. "I can't" turned into "I can if I work at it." This is why it’s imperative that we provide children with effective methods for reading and spelling. Ensuring they have access to the tools and guidance they need to thrive in reading and spelling gives them more than great skills. It gives them the evidence that they can conquer a challenge, that they are supported, and that we delight in the success that comes from their hard work. We don’t want them to decide anything else!!
