Tuesday, May 21, 2024

 Tuesday, May 21, 2024

    I mowed the lower lawn. Darby was right; the lawn gets thicker the more you mow it. For the first time, I could see where I had mowed in the grass. Before this, the only evidence of my efforts was fewer seed stalks.

   I think I found a way to work with twenty-six-year-old S that won’t torture us both.  I used the original Phonics Discovery System approach. We analyzed each word in the text for its phonemes and the letters representing them.  using the sentence above as an example: ‘What is the first sound in we?”  /w/. “What letter represents that sound?” w. What is the second sound in the word we?”  the long /e/. “What letter or letters represent that sound?” e.  I do that with every word in the sentence, whether a word is regular or not. If students have difficulty with it, I may model the process. I always start modeling. Often, students start doing it with me or take over.  This develops phonemic awareness, the best indicator for reading success.  She responded well to this exercise. 

   I suffered a bout of anxiety today.  I described it to Jean as feeling like I have a racing motor inside me when the rest of me is neutral. When I was young, that was my constant state. I solved the problem by talking and moving as fast as my anxiety.  I didn’t notice it that way.  Sitting still in the bad ole days was torture.  

  It was a Ulu Wini day. Fifth-grade ML asked to work with me. She’s been asking almost every day I’m there. She sees improvement in her reading comprehension.  I think her reading fluency has improved. I’m teaching her how to form questions as she reads. We read a passage on how police use footprints to identify criminals.  She identified footprints immediately. I had taught her to look for the most oft-repeated word or words (pronouns or descriptive words) that referred to it to determine the main idea of a passage.  I asked for other words that stood out. She came up with police, investigate, criminal, and identify.  I asked how these words fit together. Reading comprehension is figuring out how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.  She did two passages with me on grade level. 

   While I worked with ML, third grade SP passed and said, ‘I’m next.”  Wow! That’s some change in attitude. Of course, when I was through with ML and called him, he was nowhere to be found. He passed me when he went to the bathroom. I asked him if he wanted to work then. No, he was involved in something else.    

   I saw second-grade MV.  I grabbed her. She was reluctant to work with me.  My objective for the day was for her to learn to count by fives using the pattern.   I wrote a column of alternating ones and fives: 05050505050,,,, what comes next? That was hard for her when we started. I was shocked. Then, we put the numbers in the tens place. What was that pattern?   It required some repetition, but she got it. She could count from 5 to 95 without a hitch. She got caught at 100.

   I also reviewed counting-on.  When I gave MV the first addition problem, she didn’t use it. But she used it in all subsequent problems.  She produced those answers quickly. Then, she wrote a few subtraction problems for herself.  I was concerned she would write a subtraction problem requiring regrouping or, worse yet, an undoable one. But, no, she did well and solved them well.  She only blanked out on me once.  Her brain freezes when she gets scared; she gets scared whenever she doesn’t understand something immediately.  I asked her if she was doing better in class?  She admitted that the teacher had commented that she was improving and was proud of herself for her improvement. 

   First-grade JM asked to work with me on math. Come to find out, she’s good at math. She just wanted to show off. I gave her a pen and paper and told her to show me what she knew.  She did about 15 simple addition problems.  If that’s her best, I think she’s below grade level. I’ll have to check.

    It was Store Day when the kids buy items cheaply or get them for free if they accumulate enough points. They get points for working with me or helping others. The kids are excited about this monthly event. The noise was deafening, and the sun was beating down on me because we were seated at the edge of the overhang. I moved the table against the wall, tucked into a corner by the bathroom. We were protected from the sun and the noise. Perfect! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?