"First Graders Offended By School News Article!"... An Exercise in Persuasive Writing

"First Graders Offended By School News Article!"

Last month, I shared a post (here) written by first grade teacher, Renee McAnulty from Hesperia, California. Her candid description of the challenges she faced with her class at the beginning of the school year generated TONS of questions, comments, and emails from teachers with similar classroom situations and experiences.

I'm excited to share this second post by Mrs. McAnulty about the "unexpected consequences" of having taught the Secrets to her first grade class!

"First Graders Offended By School News Article!" 

An Exercise in Persuasive Writing

By Renee McAnulty & Her 1st Grade Munchkins

The day started just as any day would. My happy, joyful, busy, and near-the-end-of-the-school-year kids were getting ready for Daily 5. They grabbed their Daily 5 folders, bookmarks, and went to pull out their book bags... but wait…they had no books!!! Being the end of the year, we had to return them back to the library. Great.

Well, if there is one thing I have learned in my years of teaching, it's that great teachers improvise. So I calmed my panicked babies and told them I had something incredibly special for them to read during "Read to Self" and "Read to Someone" and that they were going to flip out.

So they began high-fiving each other and shouting cheers of joy and celebration while I frantically searched around the classroom for something, anything, that they could read... they didn't know that I was winging it... there had to be something they could read that was still in the classroom.

Then I spotted it, shining down from the heavens above… a stack of hot-off-the-press school newspapers. “The Howler! It's perfect," I thought. "They can read this. They will love it!" So I gasped loudly so my students sensed my excitement. I told them I had the most wonderful thing in the entire world that they would be able to read… their very own, big kid SCHOOL NEWSPAPER!

“Boys and girls, because of SECRET STORIES, you now know how to read big kid things. This is a perfect opportunity for you to use your newly found super powers and read this paper.” One would have thought that I passed out ice cream at that moment. The kids started screaming and yelling with excitement, anxious to read this mysterious, and previously 'intimidating', big-kid newspaper.

I started passing them out and the kids got even more excited because pictured on the front of the newspaper was a picture of our beloved school mascot, Rocky the Coyote. “I can’t wait to read about Rocky," some of my students shrieked. And I’m thinking to myself, "I'm amazing! I can't believe I thought of this on such a whim. And I can’t believe my first graders can read an actual newspaper! What could possibly go wrong?" At this point. I am so high on my cloud and nothing could bring me down… or at least I thought.

I turned my kids loose for Daily 5 and they knew exactly what to do. I watched in awe as my sweet babies were traveling to “Word Working” centers, “Work on Writing” centers and “Listening Centers”. I watched with tears of happiness as my “Read to Selves” are grabbing their Nooks and pulling up their texts INDEPENDENTLY and reading right away.

When I glanced over to the “Read to Someone” group, the had their newspapers clenched tightly in their sweet, little fingers. The excitement is radiating through their faces as they read their newspaper. I can hear the others say, ”Oh, I cant wait until "Read to Someone" so I can read my newspaper”.

This is a teacher’s dream. We had come so far this year, and it's always good to enjoy the fruits of our labor. As the kids worked feverishly, it was time for me to get down to business. I was a 'free' teacher right then, and I was all set to finish up my end of the year DRA's in peace as the kids were happy. Life was perfect.

So I sat down at my reading table and called over the first child. Now, my kids know my Golden Rule during Guided Reading and/or DRA’s, and that is, "Unless you are bleeding, or your head has suddenly popped off your body, you do not interrupt me... at all!!"

So there I sat, testing away happily thinking how amazing these kids were when I started to hear a small ruckus developing from the "Read to Someone" kids. I thought nothing of it at first, but noticed that group had started to recruit other kids over to their group. I noticed that "Word Workers" and "Read to Selfers" were sneaking back to their desks to retrieve their newspapers, too.

I quickly called for order, “Boys and girls! My goodness, this is so sad. Get back to your stations until you hear the chimes. Then you can switch to your next station.” Disappointed, the kids get back to work. They know to not argue when Mrs. Mac is testing.

Well, the chimes rang and it was time to rotate. I got a bit suspicious when I noticed how fast the kids were switching to the next rotation. Especially, the "Read to Someone" group. They zoomed to their desks and grabbed their articles and immediately found their partners, which was becoming more of a mini-mob instead of partners, but you pick and choose your battles. They were reading and on task, and I had DRA’s to do.

About 7 minutes into this rotation, I started to hear a commotion coming from the "Read to Someone" s again. This time I looked up and saw kids in complete chaos. Kids from all rotations were literally crying and pointing to an article in the newspaper. Kids were consoling and embracing each other. “Don’t worry,” said one of my munchkins, “Mrs. Mac is almost done with this DRA, we'll get to the bottom of this.” Needless to say, they officially had my attention now.

I jumped from my seat and raced over to the hysterical kiddos. “Oh, babies, what’s wrong?!” With tears streaming from down their cheek, and anger in their voices, they proceeded to tell me that they were “offended” by this "horrible article". (Exact words) “How can they say such lies about our Rocky?!" another child yelled. “They are nothing but fibbers!” said another. What on earth were they talking about? 

At that moment, my students grabbed me by the hand and led me to a spot on the carpet. “You better sit down, Mrs Mac, this is awful news.” They started reading, in unison, this article to me. They were crying and emphasizing the parts that were upsetting them. It was the cutest, yet saddest, yet most exciting moment of my career. THEY WERE READING... and reading well, with inflection in their voices.

The article was about our school mascot Rocky. He is a lovable coyote who shows up at all of our school's events. The kids love him and he is a huge part of our school. The school news team had written an article, "Who is the REAL Rocky?” insinuating that our mascot was not really a coyote, but a person in a costume!

Now, one might think, "Hey, what’s the big deal about that?" But when you are 6 and 7 years old, and have magical elves, gingerbread men, and leprechauns visit your classroom on a regular basis, you see Rocky as Rocky... He's a coyote— our coyote. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Sure, Rocky can be anywhere from 5’4” to 6'2", but my babies never noticed those details. They just cared that he showed up when they needed him.

The article made accusations that maybe Rocky was our former Assistant Principal, or even Batman, or a ghost. “We need to bring this to Mr. Mauger (our principal) immediately!" yelled several students. So, we sent over a few representatives to bring this to his attention.

Meanwhile, I ended Daily 5 and called the kids back to their seats to have a discussion. They expressed their concerns and how “offended” they were. We then talked about how they could appropriately address this situation, being the highly educated first graders that they were now. One of the student’s raised their hand, “We can write letters to the editor!” ..... “YES!!! Let’s do that right now!" the kids shouted.

I’m sorry, did my six year olds just ask to write letters to the editor, or was I dreaming? At this point, they had taken over completely. My paper passers took the liberty to pass out papers to each of the students. Team leaders started giving directions to underline offending sentences in the article. And I’m just standing there in utter amazement, watching this unfold before my eyes.

These same kids could not read the word "the" at the beginning of the year, let alone a sentence. Now they were analyzing a newspaper article and responding to the editor... ON THEIR OWN!! Was this the Twilight Zone? No, I was witnessing the power of SECRET STORIES. Because they now knew how to read, they actually enjoyed reading. They can sit back and focus on the words, and what they mean, rather than trying to figure out "What does this letter say?" and "What is this word?" It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

Then, in walked my principal. He had just finished up his emergency meeting with our upset first graders in his office and wanted to address the class. The students immediately read their responses that they had just finished writing. They proudly showed him the underlined sentences that were “offensive.”

Mr. Mauger and I were fighting to hold back smiles, since this was a very serious matter to them. He calmed them down and explained that the article was an "opinion piece" and that, of course, we all believe that Rocky is Rocky. As their little faces slowly started to smile again, the tears started to dry, and faith was once again regained in our society, Mauger looked at me said, "This is amazing." My response? "I wish I could take credit, but this was all them."

This amazingly perfect lesson was never planned, was not in any teacher's manual, and probably will never happen again, as it was driven by learners and their passion to read. I'd done nothing but give them the tools they needed to be successful. They used those tools and in turn, created something amazing that I never in a million years would have never thought possible from a class of 6 and 7 year olds. And that is why SECRET STORIES will always play an important role in my classroom.

A quick word from my principal, Chris Mauger, regarding the "tragic" incident....

Our class representatives requesting an emergency meeting with our principal, Mr. Mauger

A Principal's Perspective

As I'm sure Renee has covered, our first graders were very upset by the implication in our school newspaper that our mascot Rocky is anything other than an actual coyote. The sixth graders who wrote the article about our mascot theorized that perhaps Rocky was a former school employee in a costume. Or maybe a ghost. Naturally, the first graders were appalled and felt the need to express their displeasure by writing letters to the editor. The simple fact that six-year olds would WANT to write in the first place is impressive, let alone view it as an authentic, everyday strategy to make your opinions heard. And did they ever! Because of the SECRET STORIES and our first grade teachers' emphasis on applying the stories to writing, the kids' letters were not limited to simple statements like "We are mad." No indeed, our first graders were tossing around words like unacceptable, offended, and apologize, and even if the spelling wasn't perfect, their message rang out loud and clear. By writing what they wanted to say, without limiting themselves only to words they knew they could spell, our first graders proved that they are well on their way to becoming highly proficient writers down the road. They also have charm and compassion, as evidenced by one little girl who, after writing five sentences of complete disgust and disdain for the slanderous journalists, closed her letter with a simple, "Love, Kaylee." Because it's possible to be really, really mad and someone and still love them. Kind of makes you want to say "aw" .... or is it "au?"                            

             
My little first graders with the "offending" article...

Posing with the upsetting article.  Just look at that passion on their faces.

Students underlining and writing their responses to the article.

And just look at these faces.....

Some "letters to the editor" written by some of my babies.... 

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our crazy classroom!

Love,

You Can't Fight the Brain— It's the Ultimate Pattern-Making Machine!

The Brain is the Ultimate Pattern-Making Machine!  

In a previous post, I explained how to get the most brain-BANG for the buck when using Secret Stories® to sound-out unknown words and help learners to "think through" or pattern-out the most likely sound options. While that post focused on how to think like a doctor, this post will focus on why!

Engaging with unknown text in this way transforms daily reading and writing into a virtual playground for critical thinking and deeper learning, and is far more beneficial from a brain-based perspective than rote memorization of sight words, as evidenced by recent Stanford University Brain Study on Sight Words, referenced in this post. 

Patterning IS Thinking

When it comes to learning, our brain's core belief system is comprised of everything that's already known to be true. Our brain is the ultimate pattern-making machine.  It is continually engaged in two primary functions— seeking-out patterns and creating new ones. Whether deciding what to eat for lunch or solving complex mathematical equations, our brains remain on a perpetual hunt to both find and make new patterns! 

Once identified, our brain will attempt to connect the new information its perceived to that which it already owns, so as to create a new pattern. And this pretty much sums up the brain's core learning process! With each new pattern connection that is made, our thinking network continues to grow... and the more connections made, the easier it will be to identify new ones. Acquiring knowledge in this way is both easy and effortless, with no memorization or repetitious practice required! 

The following excerpt is taken from 12 Design Principles Based on Brain-based Learning Research by Dr. Jeffery Lackney

Pattern making is pleasing to the brain. The brain takes great pleasure in taking random and chaotic information and ordering it. The implications for learning and instruction is that presenting a learner with random and unordered information provides the maximum opportunity for the brain to order this information and form meaningful patterns that will be remembered. The brain, when allowed to express its pattern-making behavior, creates coherency and meaning. 

Research shows those considered to be the most intelligent among us, based on IQ testing, are actually the best pattern makers, as they are able to see patterns where others see only randomness. 

Author Michael Michalko (author of Thinkertoys, Cracking Creativity, and Think-Pak) wrote in a recent blog post, How Geniuses Think, that "When confronted with a problem, a genius will ask,  "How many different ways can I look at it? How many different ways can I solve it?" 

Beginning and struggling readers must employ this same diagnostic thinking when using the Secrets to sound out unknown words in text, asking, "What else can it be?....  What else could I try?"  Engaging in this type of analytical, problem-solving is often referred to as "thinking outside the box," but to do it effectively, you have to know what's in it! And this is why knowing the Secrets is so important for beginning and struggling readers, as they equip learners with everything that's in the box so that they are empowered to think outside it!  

According to Michalko, it is the ability to "connect the unconnected" that makes one some capable of "seeing things to which others are blind." Einstein, Mozart, Edison, Pasteur, Picasso....some of history's most prolific thinkers who were also great pattern-makers! Research shows that it's about teaching students how to think, not what to think.So what does this mean for teachers? It means that we can teach thinking by teaching patterning!  

It means that regardless of students' personal strengths or weaknesses, inclinations or academic interests, teaching them how to pattern-out new information makes them better thinkers ... and more intelligent!  That's right!  The research shows that by helping learners to foster new connections, we have the power to increase physical brain mass, maximizing learner-potential and better preparing them for future learning!

It also means that kindergarten teachers can't just say that the letter T will say "tuh" and then pretend to ignore the fact that it almost never actually does when kids see it in real words (i.e. this, they, them, those, them, that, there, those, etc... outnumber words like turtle and Toronto 10 to 1!) versus ignore all of the times that it doesn't (i.e. the, this, they, those, them, then, than, these, etc...)

The Brain is a "Pattern-Making" Machine!

When the odds are 10 to 1 against a letter actually making the sound that learners expect it to, trying to read words can feel like a wild goose chase! But for learners who know the letters' Secrets!

Download the Secret Stories® Mini-Poster "Appetizer" Anchor Pack FREE!

Effective instruction should align with the brain's natural learning process, not against it, and this can be extremely difficult when teaching letter sounds and phonics. Teaching phonics is not intuitive, and most teachers in early classrooms today have received little to no training on how to do it effectively. So how does one teach something that doesn't seem to make sense in a way that actually makes sense? They know the Secrets, of course!

Click here for Vlog#1— Teaching Reading with the Brain in Mind

Secret Stories® is not like traditional phonics, nor is it like any phonics program. The Secrets simply put meaning where there would otherwise be none, and thereby shifting instruction from brain antagonistic to brain compatible. Secrets empower teachers to break down the grade level walls of traditional phonics skill introduction that limit early learner-access to the code (and what are often letters' most likely sounds!)

Breaking Down the Grade Level Walls that Limit Early Learner Access to the Code

The ability to classify incoming information quickly into categories (based on patterns that we know) means that the brain can use easier rules to deal with the new input, which is less stressful than always having to deal with things that haven't been seen before. 

In other words, our brains are hardwired to look for patterns, and the Secrets are patterns— not abstract letter patterns, but patterns of behavior that are designed to mimic learners' own behavior. Knowing these patterns (i.e. Secrets) equips learners to more easily deal with new information (i.e. unfamiliar words) and better identify the best course of action (most and next most likely sound options to try). In contrast, inexperienced early grade and struggling upper grade readers who don't know the Secrets must constantly deal with things (i.e. words, phonics patterns) they have never seen before, and are usually told, "It just is... It just does... You just have to remember...." when they can't read or spell a word.

Seth Godwin, author of Looking for Patterns (Where they don't Exist!) writes, "Human beings are pattern-making machines. That's a key to our survival instinct— we seek out patterns and use them to predict the future. Which is great, except when the pattern isn't there, then our pattern-making machinery is busy picking things out that truly don't matter." 

The brain science cuts a clear path for teachers today, and understanding how we might better align our instruction with the brain science is critical information for those in early grade classrooms, as well as those working with struggling readers at the upper grade levels. For more, click here to subscribe free to my YouTube Channel and check out the video clip below to find out why "Cheating the Brain is Like Robbing a Bank!"

Until Next Time,

Katie Garner :-)

---

Breaking down the grade level walls of phonics introduction— one "Secret" at a time!

Secret Stories® accelerates learner access to the code by fast-tracking individual letter sound skill mastery to just 2 weeks to 2 months (via muscle memory) while simultaneously targeting learners' earlier-developing, affective (social-emotional) "feeling" networks with Secrets for accelerated phonics skill mastery. 

Secrets account for WHY letters don't always "do what they should" when they get together in words in a way that kids easily understand, making them easy to remember with no memorization or skill-based practice required! By working with the brain rather than against, Secret Stories® breaks down the traditional grade level walls of phonics skill introduction that limit learner-access to the code and increases momentum in both reading AND writing! (Note: Secret Stories® is not a program, but intended to underscore any existing reading curriculum/instruction, serving as a teacher "took-kit" to make phonics make sense!) 

Try a "taste" of the Secrets with YOUR class 
and see the difference they make!
Click to Download the FREE Secret Stories® Mini-Sample Poster Pack!

For a list of upcoming conferences, or for information on scheduling a school or district professional development workshop, click here. 

---

www.TheSecretStories.com

---

    

                                                     

Thinking Like a Doctor and "Working Through the Options"

Did you know that if you had a fever and cough, it could be the plague, 

or pneumonia...

or maybe just the flu?

Actually, it could be a lot of things.

Click for MORE on Thinking Like a Word Doctor!

Because doctors know that the plague is the least likely cause of your symptoms, and that the flu is the most likely, they will probably go with the flu first, and then work their way through the alternative options, as needed. 

As medicine is not an exact science, doctors must often work through a series of options to determine what treatment will be most effective with their patients. They make these decisions based on a hierarchy of likelihood to determine what is most likely, next most likely, and least likely to be successful.

Like medicine, the English language is not an exact science, and neither is phonics. However, we can "treat" unknown words in much the same way that doctors treat their patients, and by doing so, a logical, thinking-construct begins to emerge— one that greatly empowers learners and their decision-making when working with unfamiliar text. 

First, it's important to realize that there are only so many different sounds that a letter or letter pattern can make, and their not random, even though they may sometimes appear so. Just like the saying, The apple won't fall too far from the tree," letters won't stray too far from their sounds! For example, you will never see the letter q say "mmm," or the letter k say "duh," or the -tion pattern say "-ing!"  

Contrary to popular belief, letters don't just lose their little 'letter-minds' and run amok! All they do (and it's usually the vowels that do it!) is make sounds that they are perfectly capable of making— but it just might be their next most likely ones! (Watch the video clip below to see what I mean!) 

When working with patients, doctors must ask themselves, "How many different ways can I look at this? How many different ways can I solve it?" Beginning and struggling readers must also employ this kind of diagnostic thinking when attempting to sound out unknown words, asking themselves, "What else can it be?....  What else could I try?" Engaging in this type of analytical, problem-solving is often referred to as "thinking outside the box," and the key to doing it effectively is to first know what's IN the box!

This is why knowing the Secrets is so important for beginning and struggling readers, as the Secret Stories® equip them with everything that's IN the box so that they are more easily able to think outside it— something that working with text demands!  

                                                                    The ou/ow Secret

Ou & ow play really rough and someone always gets hurt and says— "Oooowww!" 

(as in words like: our, round, how, now)

But, flying overhead is Superhero O, who happens to be ow's all-time, favorite superhero, ever!

If ow ever spots Superhero O flying overhead, they stop dead--in-their-tracks and yell—

"O! O! O!" 

...which is why ow can also say O! (It's "default" sound)

(as in words like: blow, flow, glow, mow)

The Secret (and default sound for ow) makes sounding out most words with this common pattern easy, even for kinders, which means that words like: how, now, about, around, etc, commonly found on sight word need NOT be memorized! As with the Secret, kids can just READ them! Plus, kids can learn the ou/ow Secret in an instant, even if they haven't mastered all of the individual letter sounds yet, as it still makes sense. Memorizing a sight word however, can take some students forever... especially those with little to no home support, as they are less likely to use it enough to make it stick. And even more importantly, knowing a sight word allows learners to read one word, whereas knowing a Secret empowers them to read and write thousands!  

Now let's consider a word like you. The ou isn't doing what it should, according to the Secret. Still, the sound it IS making in the word hasn't really strayed too far away... at least not so far that a good word doctor couldn't easily figure it out! And here's how...

A "Hierarchy of Likelihood" Approach to Decoding (if a Secret doesn't work

1.  First, try the most likely Secret Stories sound for ou (as in house)..... NOPE, it didn't work!

2.  Next, try the individual sounds for the letters o and u ..... BINGO!!! We got the word!!

In this case, we got it on the second try. 

Now, had we not struck gold on our first "out-of-the-box" attempt, we could have worked our way further down the list of possible sound options and turned this puzzle into a sort of problem-solving/critical thinking game....

The OO Secret

3.  Try the sounds of other Secret Stories patterns with o or u, like the Secrets for oo, oi/oy or ous. For example, in the word could, the ou is making the default-sound for oo (as in book) and kids who know the oo Secret might try that sound as one more possible option. That's not to say         that some words, like could, aren't just easier to memorize than to work through, but it's nice to know that we have the power, should we need it!)r, should we need it!)

4.  It's the PLAGUE!  It requires a specialist! When we've exhausted all options and have no more

     tricks up our sleeve, we must surrender to the word, which means we have to memorize it! 

So why should we go to all that trouble to figure it out? Why not just memorize it, instead?

Here's why— because it is within this "figuring-out," (a.k.a. analytical/diagnostic thinking) process that true learning lies! Not just learning how to read, but learning how to think! Our brain is a pattern-making machine, and this patterning process of thinking-through all available options is its natural way of doing things. "If not this, then that..." Our brain is continually patterning-out the best  available options in everything that we do.

We think— "I'll park in the front, but if I can't find a space, I'll try the back, and if that doesn't work, I'll try the next lot over. If I can't find anything there, then I'm giving up and going home, as I'm too tired to walk that far."

We don't think— "I'll park in the front, but if I can't find a space, then I don't know what I'll do!" (This is similar to the way in which kids often handle words that are exceptions, which is to throw their hands up in surrender the minute that letters don't do exactly what they should in a word.)

Seth Godwin, author of Looking for Patterns (Where they don't Exist! writes,"Human beings are pattern-making machines. That's a key to our survival instinct— we seek out patterns and use them to predict the future. Which is great, except when the pattern isn't there, then our pattern-making machinery is busy picking things out that truly don't matter." 

Our brains are hardwired to look for patterns, and the Secrets are patterns— not abstract letter patterns, but patterns of behavior that are designed to mimic learners' own behavior.  The ability to classify incoming information quickly into categories (based on the patterns we know) means the brain can use easier rules to deal with the new input, which is less stressful than always having to deal with things that haven't been seen before. Knowing the Secrets equips inexperienced beginning and struggling learners to identify the best course of action when sounding out new words, and not knowing the Secrets means having to say, "It just is... It just does... You just have to remember...." when they can't read or spell a word.

Another benefit to reading words rather than just memorizing them is that it sparks more optimal brain circuitry, as evidenced by numerous studies, including a recent one by Stanford University Professor, Bruce McCandliss, which you can read more about here. 

Stanford Brain Study on Sight Words Post

Just to be clear, some words are just better to memorize, as mentioned when discussing the word could, up above. But most are not, especially if they now the Secrets and can easily read them! Consider that every sight word that a learner memorizes is one less opportunity to reinforce their "sounding-out" (decoding) skills that you work so hard to teach, and more importantly, one less opportunity to flex their "critical thinking/problem solving" muscles!

Now before you read any further, watch this short video.

It's easy for teachers to empathize with Ricky's struggle to read words like: boughs, through, rough, cough and enough. Like many students in our guided reading groups, Ricky diligently attempts to decode what seem to him to be 'un-decodable' words and becomes understandably frustrated in the process. Ultimately, Ricky just closes the book and gives up, convinced that the sounds letters make just don't make sense. Many of our students feel the same way.

So now, let's get back to "Thinking Like a Doctor"

In the same way that a doctor works through various options to heal a patient, we can do the same to "heal" the words that are stumping Ricky.... or at least to help make them more  'figure-outable!' ( I know it's not a word, but I really like it!)

 First, we need to know another Secret...

Click to hear the GH Secret

The gh Secret

Gh will make different sounds, depending on where they are in line (i.e. in a word)

When they are at the FRONT, they're glad! 

There, they make the hard g sound, saying....

 "Gosh, this is Great!  We're going to Get to Go first and Get in before anyone else Goes! 

(ghost, ghoul, ghastly, etc...)

When they are in the MIDDLE, and surrounded by lots of other letters, 

they are silent and are too afraid to say anything and make no sound at all

(sight, thought, straight, etc...)

When they are at the END, they're not at all happy and they always complain.

Here, they make the f sound, saying....

"This is no Fun! We're so Far away it'll take Forever For us to get to the Front!"

(rough, enough, cough, etc...) 

Now let's play "Word Doctor!"

bough

No problem with the ou as it is doing just what it should (see ou/ow poster up above) 

But gh is a different story, as it is not making the sound that it should, which is "fff."  So let's try one of the only TWO other sounds that it can make, and voila! We got it! 

The gh is silent! The gh Secret is everything that's IN the box when it comes to all of the possible sounds that gh can make, making it easy for learners to deduce the next most likely options when it doesn't do exactly what it should!

rough

Like in the word you (mentioned at the top of the post), ou is not making the sound that it should, but by simply trying the individual sounds for both o and u, we can easily get the word! In this case, ou is making the short u sound.

And thankfully, gh is doing exactly what it should when it's at the end of a word!

cough

Just as with the word rough,  ou is not making the sound that it should, but is making one of their individual sounds, instead. This time, it's the short o sound. 

And again, the gh is doing exactly what it should.

enough

Once more the ou is not making the sound that it should, but it IS doing the next most likely thing, based on our "hierarchy of likelihood" (way up above at top of post), just as it did in the words you, rough and cough.  In this case, it's making the short u sound.

And once again,  gh is doing what it should.

through

Now this one's a little trickier— bordering between being "fun to figure out" and "just easier to memorize,"  I would probably go with the latter, but it is gratifying to know that with a little "out of the box" thinking, we CAN crack this word, should we chose to!  

The ou is not making the sound that it should, nor is it making the o or u sound, but just like the word you that was mentioned at the top of this post, it is making the most likely sound of its cousin, oo ... and by cousin, I mean another similar Secret that looks like it could be a possible relative, as it shares a common relative, which is o.  (The sound for oo can be seen in the oo poster way up above.)

And then we have the same problem with gh that we had with a couple of the other words up above— nothing that a good word doctor can't fix, as gh is just being difficult and refusing to talk, as is his prerogative. However, it does require an extra analytical step to crack the word, which may be one too many to make it worthwhile. Thus, it merits the time, energy and space in the brain that's required memorize.

This video clip shows a group of first graders playing "Word Doctor" and applying some critical analysis and diagnostic thinking to the word light. While they can already read the word, they bothered by the fact that i is bothering to say his name when there Mommy E® or Babysitter Vowel® in sight!

Patterning IS Thinking

The following excerpt is taken from 12 Design Principles Based on Brain-based Learning Research by Jeffery Lackney, Ph. D.

Pattern making is pleasing to the brain. The brain takes great pleasure in taking random and chaotic information and ordering it. The implications for learning and instruction is that presenting a learner with random and unordered information provides the maximum opportunity for the brain to order this information and form meaningful patterns that will be remembered. Setting up a learning environment in this way mirrors real life that is often random and chaotic.  

The brain, when allowed to express its pattern-making behavior, creates coherency and meaning. Learning is best accomplished when the learning activity is connected directly to physical experience. We remember best when facts and skills are embedded in natural, spatial memory, in real-life activity, in experiential learning. We learn by doing. facilitated in an environment of total immersion in a multitude of complex interactive experiences.   

Hmmmm.... that sounds a lot like the class in the video!  

And the last little doctor tool that I want to share before signing off is about the vowels, as they are the most likely culprits when words just won't sound-out correctly! Vowels are the eyes, ears, nose and throat of a word, which is why good word doctors should always check them out first! They offer the best window into what's most likely wrong. Sometimes it's an issue with a Secret (as with the words we've seen in this post) but other times fixing the problem requires having a few "vowel-fixing" tricks up your sleeve— something that every good word should have! You can find them here!

Learn the "Secrets" of the Superhero Vowels®!

And to learn MORE Secrets that you can start
sharing with your class tomorrow, click the video clip, below!

Secret Stories® Classroom Kit (book, posters & CD)

And if you don't have the Secret Stories® Classroom Set but would like to get started with the basic "meat and potatoes," which are the vowels, I would suggest you start with Secrets of the Superhero Vowels Bundle® on TpT.  It's a great place to start!  And if you are already using Secret Stories® in your classroom, this digital vowel pack is a super handy supplement, as it offers multiple sizes of the graphics for various uses within the classroom and at home!

Secret Stories Superhero Vowels® Digital Bundle

Until Next Time,

Katie Garner :-) 

Never Miss a Secret! Subscribe to the Newsletter!

---

Secret Stories® Makes Phonics Make SENSE!

Try a "taste" of the Secrets with YOUR class 
and see the difference they make!
Click to Download the FREE Secret Stories® Mini-Sample Poster Pack!

For a list of upcoming conferences, or for information on scheduling a school or district professional development workshop, click here. 

---

www.TheSecretStories.com

---