The Action Reading FUNdamentals program was designed to enhance reading instruction by using phonics. Its goal is to help students and adults improve their reading skills and develop a passion for reading. This course offers college students the opportunity to teach the program to a student named Jake, who is an eight-year-old white male living with both parents and two siblings, in just four weeks.
His family currently receives government assistance because his father was honorably discharged from the United States Army last year. His father has an average IQ and earned a high school diploma before enlisting. In contrast, his mother did not graduate and encountered challenges in school. Jack has faced speech and hearing difficulties due to recurring ear infections, which necessitated multiple sets of ear tubes. Regrettably, Jack lacked access to early education and is now in third grade. Consequently, the school administered a standardized test to evaluate his reading skills.
The test results indicated that Jack has below-average skills in reading and writing. He requires accommodations as part of his Individualized Education Program (IEP) to address these weaknesses. These accommodations should be implemented in all regular education classes. Jack and other students will be divided into smaller groups and given extra time for assignments. They will also be instructed to read questions and directions aloud, have a scribe available, and take frequent breaks. The first and second discs of the Fundamentals-Phonics Tutorial: Action Reading program offer extensive information.
During week one, Jack started using the workbook and flashcards for his introduction to the curriculum. However, his use of the modules on the discs has been limited due to the instructor’s decision to tailor the curriculum specifically for Jack. Nevertheless, with the instructor’s assistance, Jack was able to use the target sounds to sound out his nightly reading assignments. Despite the limited time, Jack managed to produce most of the alpha mobile sounds. The instructor then introduced disc two which focused on shortcuts and 2:4:1 sounds. Jack continued to practice the Aah, Bah, Cuh alpha mobile sounds aloud with the help of flashcards. Additionally, Jack started noticing the sounds in songs that align with the Action Reading program. This program teaches phoneme-grapheme correspondence and utilizes the power of phonemic awareness to aid children in their reading journey.
One side of Phonics Online focuses on distinguishing sounds in words, while the other side focuses on starting with the letters that represent these sounds (phonemes) and moving towards reproducing the spoken sounds the letters represent. The following morning, Jack was quizzed on the sounds; suh, tuh, ouh, puh spells STOP, cuh, aah, nuh spells CAN as he was driven to school. He was able to identify twelve out of fifteen words. According to Phonics Online, using grapho – phonemic cue Letters represent sounds and enable readers to sound out words towards recognition.
Jack has been diligently practicing with the workbook and has now begun the introduction of some games. In the second week of the Action Reading Program, disc three and four were introduced. The workbook included twenty-three new pages, focusing on Consonant Digraphs (combinations of two consonants representing one sound, such as sh, ck, th, ch) and Vowel Digraphs (two vowels together representing one sound, with the first vowel typically having a long sound and the second vowel being silent, such as ai, ea, oa). Additionally, there were shortcuts such as ar, or, er, ir, and ur involved in the program (Phonics Online).
The instructor started the week by going over the alphabet sounds and using the songs on disc eight, including “Aah is for Apple” and “Engine sounds.” New songs were introduced, such as “Where have you been Billy Green?” and “The Muscle Song (Bingo),” which focused on vowel sounds. The instructor and Jack have been working on action reading fundamentals. Jack has been practicing analytic phonics, where he is taught sight words and then breaks them down into separate phonics elements.
Jack appears to be responding well to synthetic phonics, which involves teaching students the letter sounds and combinations so they can blend them together to read words and recognize patterns (Phonics Online). Jack practiced these skills by completing activity sheets, such as tic-tac-toe on page twenty-five where he used two for ones instead of X’s and O’s. He had to write the letters that made the specified sound, say the sound out loud, circle the corresponding combination, and provide an example of a word that contains that combination. For the sound “ch,” Jack used the words “chair,” “lunch,” and “much.” In the second game, he used the sound “wh” and the words “wheel,” “when,” and “what.”
He continued to work on two-for-ones throughout the remaining pages, underlining shortcuts and marking changes in vowel sounds from weak to strong. Jack participated in several games, including cards numbered thirteen, twelve, eight, and five. The game on card number twelve, which involved a dart board, proved to be excellent practice for Jack because he was able to provide numerous examples of words that utilize a combination of those consonants. Specifically, he correctly identified words like “whoosh” that contained a transition from the “wh” to “sh” consonants. This impressed the instructor, who has already noticed a significant improvement in Jack’s reading skills. Prior to starting this program, Jack would not even attempt to decode words.
Previously, Jack used to read rapidly and skip words, anticipating that they would be different and reading simply to finish rather than understand. He would give up and admit, “I don’t know that word.” However, Jack now appears to be slowing down, taking his time, and comprehending what he reads. His ability to decipher words is improving significantly. Just this week, Jack had the assignment of reading a book for school called “Froggy and his baby sister,” which was at a third-grade reading level. Although it did take him thirty minutes to complete, he successfully read it and was able to provide the teacher with feedback on the book’s theme.
Jack took his time, carefully pronouncing words, blending sounds, and combining shortcuts. When he encountered unfamiliar words, the instructor provided a few hints to help Jack get back on track. Surprisingly, Jack remained calm and composed throughout the process. He successfully completed his book and displayed satisfaction with his work. In the third week, the Action Reading program introduced discs five and six. The instructor continued to assist Jack in reviewing the sounds of the Aah, Bah, Cuh alphabet, as well as the shortcuts, two-for-one combinations, and vowel sounds. To further practice his sounds, Jack continued to utilize the song CD.
The instructor has continued with phonics instruction as Phonics Online states, “Children learn to master the sounds and letter blends that make up words through drills and analyses.” This week’s lessons started on page forty-nine and went until page ninety-eight in the workbook. In addition, there were forty-nine practice sheets, six new songs, and three new games introduced. The instructor and Jack are taking their time to work through these new lessons. Jack demonstrates a strong understanding of several new lessons, including cousin Y, the ability to pronounce I or E, long I, long O, and the letter C’s ability to pronounce Kuh or Suh.
To assist Jack during the week, the instructor heavily relied on disc exercises. These exercises included practicing vowel sounds through activities like jumping jacks and toe touches. Jack greatly enjoys participating in singing along with various songs. Among the songs played, Sheriff Kindly – Outlaws, I am a Pirate – Surprise Sounds, and the Aah, Bah, Cuh race were particularly enjoyable for Jack. The race amused him, and he attempted to match the speed of the individuals on the disc. Although Jack understands the alphabet sounds and can go fast, he is not nearly as quick as the participants on the disc. Jack and the instructor successfully engaged in three new games: nine, ten, and fifteen.
Game card fifteen, called Ringing Sounds, was one of Jack’s favorites. He quickly caught on to the game, especially when playing it along with song twenty-one. The Chinese-sounding words in Ringing Sounds made Jack feel like he was speaking a different language. However, he did not enjoy game nine, The Surprise Ship, because it used vowel digraphs and vowel diphthongs. Jack found game ten, Pot of Gold, more challenging as he struggled to remember the new sounds and differentiate them from the ones he already knew. With the help of the instructor, Jack managed to do well. It seems that Jack excels in word recognition for smaller words that he is comfortable with.
The instructor has high hopes that Jack will start applying the decoding skills he is learning through this program with more practice. This week, Jack appeared to be greatly overwhelmed by the vast amount of new material presented to him. His overwhelm was so intense that he refused to utilize his newly acquired skills to read the assigned book for school. The book titled “Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type” was specifically chosen for second grade readers. Jack displayed resistance towards sounding out words, using shortcuts, or even blending sounds together. Despite his reluctance to read aloud, there seemed to be a positive shift in Jack’s attitude towards the end of the week.
During the final week of the Action Reading program, Jack and the instructor focused on disc five, disc six, and disc seven. Disc seven introduces the last four pages of the workbook, which cover silent letters such as wr, kn, ps, gn, gh, ph = f, tion, sion, tial, cial, tient, cient, cious, tious, ough= ow, = uff, = auff, = oo, and augh= aff. Through this program, Jack has been able to practice extensively and develop a strong foundation in reading. The information presented has been beneficial and has helped Jack experience a sense of accomplishment.
The instructor has noticed significant improvement in Jack’s decoding skills after using this program for just a few weeks. Recently, Jack was thrilled when he started his school homework and confidently proclaimed, “I can read the directions!” He proudly came over to the instructor and successfully read the directions, needing assistance only with the word “symmetry”.
The fluency, referred to as “Achieving speed and accuracy in recognizing words and comprehending connected text, and coordinating the two” (Phonics Online), is still a work in progress. Jack’s word recognition, defined as “the ability to recognize a previously learned word and its meaning without needing to sound out the word first” (Phonics Online), has started to show significant improvement. In conclusion, FUNdamentals, a research-based phonics tutorial program, is a well-designed program that is user-friendly and suitable for children with reading or learning disabilities.
Jack, an eight year old, third grader with a diagnosed learning disability, has shown significant improvement in the last few weeks using this program. However, since the instructor is not part of the school system, Jack cannot be evaluated to determine his progress. The instructor believes that some progress has been made based on Jack’s statement “I can read the directions!” (References: Phonics Online (unknown, N. D.) pasted from http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/phonics/glossary/a_c.html. Retrieved 01/31/2011).
