Hallelujah!

I am beginning to update my major assessments that I am using to measure progress. One is the Literacy First Phonics Assessment test. BD has made so much progress! He only has 6 more sections to master! They are *beginning consonant digraphs *vowel dipthongs *closed multisyllabic words
*open multisyllabic words * List B and C

There are a total of 22 sections. BD started the year not knowing his long or short vowel sounds and of course struggled reading CVC words!

FP has made more progress than the Lit First test shows. He would have more of the test mastered if it wasn't for those nonsence words. He just can't seem to apply the skills when the words don't make sense. My old reading coach works at Rusell Cave where they have a very high Spansih speaking population and she said they adapted the test and took out the nonsense words. I know it is important for them to be able to apply the phonics skills but ESL students struggle to understand REAL words, let along NONSENSE words.

EP just hasn't made much progress. The ESL teacher and I are discussing our next steps for her.  :(

I feel safe to say that BP and FP have benefited from multisensory learning. In an article I read for this research, Learning Styles vs. Multiple Intelligences (MI) Two Concepts for Enhancing Learning and Teaching, Prashnig (2005) explains that learning styles (LS) “can be defined as the way human beings prefer to concentrate on, store and remember new and/or difficult information” and MI as “a theoretical frame work for defining/ understanding/assessing/developing people’s different intelligence factors”. (p. 8) LS is the input of information being taught and MI is the output of what was learned. When these two concepts are understood and used correctly in the classroom, Prashnig (2005)  says, “teaching strategies become more useful and effective and learning becomes more enjoyable for students who struggle in traditional classrooms”. (p. 9)