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A Sample Instructor and Learner Interaction for Lesson 1

These pages "walk" you through Lesson 1 with a fictitious but fairly typical learner who knows some of the letter names. If a learner has had less experience with letters and sounds, you should expect to move more slowly and play the games more often. If, however, s/he has had more experiences with letters and sounds, s/he will probably move through the materials much more quickly. It's possible that the learner will move quickly enough to go through the entire first lesson at one time, but not very likely. We have marked some good stopping places, but you should stop before the learner loses interest. Stop at a successful place, not an unsuccessful one. If you come to a point where the learner seems frustrated, go back to a part where s/he has been successful; go through it, giving lots of praise and then stop while on a successful note.

Find the "Lesson 1 Stimulus Sheet" on page 26 of this book and follow along. Instructions are in parentheses ( ); tutor comments are in UPPER CASE LETTERS, and learner responses are in quotation marks "".

1. (Showing the learner the "m" card) WHAT SOUND DOES THIS LETTER MAKE? "That's an 'em'.

2. RIGHT. THAT IS AN "EM". DO YOU KNOW WHAT SOUND IT MAKES? "No."

3. THIS LETTER SAYS "MMMMMMMM". WHAT DOES IT SAY? "mmmmmmmm"

4. GOOD. LOOK AT IT AGAIN AND TELL ME ONCE MORE. "mmmmmmmm"

5. VERY GOOD. ONCE MORE. "mmmmmmmm"

6. GOOD. (Show the unit card "an".) WHAT SOUND DOES THIS UNIT MAKE? "That's an 'en'. That's in Nancy's name."

7. VERY GOOD. THAT IS THE LETTER "EN." THIS UNIT SAYS "AN." WHAT DOES IT SAY? "An"

8. GOOD. LOOK AT IT AND TELL ME ONCE MORE. "An"

9. (Show the letter "m" again.) WHAT DID WE SAY THIS LETTER SAYS? That's an 'em'.

10. GOOD, THAT IS THE LETTER "EM". DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT IT SAYS? "No, I forget."

11. THAT'S O.K. IT SAYS "MMMMMMMM." LOOK AT IT AND SAY IT. "mmmmmmmm"

12. GOOD. ONCE MORE. "mmmmmmmm"

13. (Show the unit "an".) DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THIS UNIT SAYS? "An"

14. RIGHT. VERY GOOD. WHAT DOES IT SAY? "An"

15. (Show the letter "m" again.) WHAT DOES THIS LETTER SAY? "I forget."

16. THAT'S O.K. IT SAYS "MMMMMMMM. WHAT DOES IT SAY? "mmmmmmmm"

17. (Point to the letter "m".) ONCE MORE, AND LOOK AT IT CAREFULLY. "mmmmmmmm"

18. GOOD. (Show "an".) DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THIS SAYS? "An"

19. GOOD. WHAT IS IT? "An"

20. VERY GOOD.

(Since the learner has not quite mastered the "m" and the "an", you should play the Picking-Out Game. Place the "m" and "an" cards in front of the learner.) WHICH ONE SAYS "AN"? (Since s/he seems to know "an", start with that one; being right is fun.) The learner points to "an".

21. RIGHT. VERY GOOD. NOW WHICH ONE SAYS "MMMMMMMM"? The learner points to "m".

22. RIGHT. WHICH ONE SAYS "AN"? The learner points to "an".

23. RIGHT AGAIN. WHICH ONE SAYS "MMMMMMMM"? The learner points to "m".

24. (Now use the recall part of the Picking-Out Game.) VERY GOOD. WHAT DOES THIS ONE SAY? (Point to the letter "m".) "mmmmmmmm"

25. GREAT. WHAT DOES THIS ONE SAY? (Point to the unit "an".) "an"

26. VERY GOOD. AND THIS ONE? (Point to "m".) "mmmmmmmm"

27. VERY GOOD. (Now put the "m" card to the left of the "an" card.) WHAT WORD DOES IT MAKE WHEN WE PUT THESE TWO SOUNDS TOGETHER? No response from the learner.

28. (Point to the letter "m".) WHAT DOES THIS LETTER SAY? "mmmmmmmm"

29. GOOD. AND WHAT DOES THIS UNIT SAY"?

30. GOOD. NOW SAY THEM TOGETHER. "mmmmmmmm" "An"

31. GOOD. SAY THEM AGAIN. "mmmmmmmm" "An"

32. GOOD. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT WORD IS, "MMMMMMMM" "AN"? "mmmmmmmm" "An"

33. GOOD, NOW LISTEN AND TELL ME WHAT WORD I AM SAYING. (Say "mmm" "an" several times making the interval between the two parts shorter and shorter each time and making it sound more like the word "man" each time. Eventually s/he will say the word "Man.")

34. VERY GOOD. YOU JUST READ THE WORD "MAN". VERY GOOD. LET'S LOOK AT THE PARTS AND DO IT AGAIN. WHAT DOES "MMMM" "AN" SAY? (Point to the two parts.) "Man"

35. GREAT. ONCE MORE, "MMMM" "AN"? "Man"

36. VERY GOOD. (Show him/her the letter "r".) WHAT SOUND DOES THIS LETTER MAKE? "That's the letter 'are'."

37. RIGHT, THAT IS THE LETTER "ARE", AND IT SAYS "RRRRRR". (Make a sound like the "er" in "sister".) WHAT DOES IT SAY? "rrrrrr"

38. GOOD, ONCE MORE. BE SURE TO LOOK AT THE LETTER. "rrrrrr"

39. GOOD. (Show the letter "m".) WHAT SOUND DOES THIS LETTER MAKE? "mmmmmmmmm"

40. VERY GOOD. WHAT DOES THIS UNIT SAY? (Show the unit "an".) "An"

41. VERY GOOD. YOU'RE DOING GREAT. WHAT DOES THIS LETTER SAY? (Show the letter "r" again.) That's an 'are'."

42. RIGHT, THAT'S THE LETTER "ARE". DO YOU KNOW WHAT SOUND IT MAKES? "rrrrrr"

43. VERY GOOD. THAT'S RIGHT, IT SAYS "RRRRRR". WHAT DOES IT SAY? "Rrrrrrr"

44. GOOD. WHAT DOES THIS ONE SAY? (Show the letter "m".) "mmmmmmmm"

45. VERY GOOD, AND THIS ONE? (Show the unit "an".) "an"

46. GOOD. YOU'RE REALLY DOING A GOOD JOB. (Place the "r" before the "an".) WHAT WORD DO THESE SOUNDS

MAKE WHEN WE PUT THEM TOGETHER. Rrrrrr" "an"

47. VERY GOOD. DO YOU KNOW WHAT WORD IT IS? SAY THEM AGAIN. "Rrrrrr" "an"

48. GOOD. AGAIN. "Rrrrrr" "an"

49. GOOD, WHAT WORD IS IT? "man"

50. NO, LISTEN WHILE I SAY THE PARTS, "RRR" "AN". (Keep saying the parts more and more like the word until s/he says "ran".) "ran"

51. GOOD, ONCE MORE. "ran"

52. GOOD. NOW TRY THIS ONE. (Place the "m" before the "an".) "mmmmmm" "an"

53. GOOD. THOSE ARE THE PARTS. CAN YOU PUT THEM TOGETHER AND MAKE A WORD? "man"

54. VERY GOOD. "MMMMMM" "AN" IS "MAN". WHAT IS IT? "man"

55. GOOD, NOW TRY THIS ONE AGAIN. (Present "r" and "an".) "rrrrrr" "an"

56. YES, THOSE ARE THE PARTS, BUT DO YOU KNOw WHAT WORD THEY MAKE? "rrrrrr" "an"

57. RRRR AN; RRR AN; RR AN; R AN. "ran"

58. GOOD. RRR AN IS "RAN". WHAT IS IT? "ran"

59. VERY GOOD. NOW TELL ME WHAT WORD THIS IS. (Present "m" and "an".) "mmmmmm" "an; "man"

60. RIGHT. WHAT IS IT? "man"

61. RIGHT. WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE? (Present "r" and "an".) "rrr" "an", "man, no, ran"

62. RIGHT. YOU GOT IT. "RR" "AN" IS "RAN". WHAT IS IT? "ran"

63. TRY THIS ONE. (Present "m" and "an".) "man"

64. YOU'RE DOING GREAT. CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THIS IS? (Present the whole word "the".) "That's a 'tee'."

65. THAT'S RIGHT, THAT IS THE LETTER "T"; THIS WORD SAYS "THE". NOW YOU SAY IT. "the"

66. GOOD. WHAT IS IT? "the"

67. RIGHT. WHAT DOES THIS LETTER SAY? (Present "r".) "rrr"

68. GOOD. WHAT DOES THIS SAY? (Present "m".) "mmmmmm"

69. RIGHT AGAIN. AND THIS ONE? (Present "an".) "an"

70. RIGHT, NOW I WANT YOU TO READ THIS SENTENCE. STORIES ARE MADE FROM SENTENCES, SO IF YOU CAN READ SENTENCES, SOON YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ STORIES.

(Present the sentence "the man ran" with the cards.) WHAT DOES THIS SENTENCE SAY? "I forgot that one," the learner responds while pointing to "the".

71. O.K. THAT WORD IS "THE". "The an mm an the man ran."

72. VERY GOOD. CAN YOU READ IT ONCE MORE FOR ME? "The mm an rrr an; the man ran."

73. VERY GOOD. THE MAN RAN. YOU DID A GOOD JOB WITH THAT SENTENCE. NOW LET'S TRY THIS WORD AGAIN. (Present "the".) "the"

74. VERY GOOD. WHAT IS IT? "the"

75. WHAT DOES THIS LETTER SAY? (Present "r".) "rrrrrr"

76. GOOD. AND THIS ONE? (Present "m".) "mmmmmm"

77. VERY GOOD. AND THIS UNIT? (Present "an".) "an"

78. O.K., NOW CAN YOU READ THIS SENTENCE FOR ME? (Present "the man ran." on cards.) "the man ran."

79. GREAT. WHAT IS IT? "the man ran."

80. (Open Book 1 Stories to page 1 and use the first column of words under "Find and Say". Place the "an" card in view of the learner and place a card or other suitable cover over the words below the word "landing".)

NOW I WANT YOU TO FIND THE UNIT IN THIS WORD. POINT AT THE UNIT IN THIS WORD RIGHT HERE. (Point to the word "landing".) "What?"

81. (Point to the "an" stimulus card.) CAN YOU FIND THIS UNIT IN THIS WORD? The learner points to "an" in "landing".

82. VERY GOOD. WHAT DOES IT SAY? "an"

83. RIGHT. (Point to the word "landing". When you say the word "landing", emphasize the "an" part.) LISTEN WHILE I SAY THIS WORD WITH THE UNIT "AN" IN IT. SEE IF YOU CAN HEAR THE UNIT "AN". "LANDING", HEAR THE "AN" IN "LANDING"? "yes" DO YOU KNOW WHAT A "LANDING" IS? "Yea, like an airplane."

84. VERY GOOD. (Move the card down so the word "mansion" is visible.) FIND THE UNIT IN THIS WORD. The learner points to the "an" in "mansion".

85. GOOD, THAT'S IT. NOW, WHAT DOES IT SAY? "an"

86. RIGHT. THAT WORD IS "MANSION". HEAR THE "AN" SOUND IN "MANSION"? "yes" DO YOU KNOW WHAT A "MANSION" IS? "Is it like a ghost?"

87. SOME TIMES PEOPLE THINK GHOSTS LIVE IN OLD MANSIONS. A MANSION IS A BIG, HOUSE.

There is probably no reason for us to continue further here, since no new procedures are introduced until we introduce UPPER CASE LETTERS.

88. (Present the lower case "m".) WHAT DOES THIS LETTER SAY? "mmmmmmmm"

89. GOOD. (Present the upper case "M".) WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS ONE SAYS? "It looks like 'em'".

90. O.K., WHAT DOES IT SAY? "mmmmmmmm"

91. (Point to both upper and lower case letters.) GOOD. THESE BOTH SAY "MMMM". (Present lower case "r".) WHAT DOES THIS LETTER SAY? "rrrr"

92. GOOD. WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS ONE SAYS? (Present upper case "R".) "I don't know that one."

93. O.K. THIS ONE SAYS "RRRR" TOO. LOOK AT IT CAREFULLY. WHAT DOES IT SAY? "rrrrrr"

94. GOOD. ONCE MORE. "rrrrrr"

95. (Present lower case "is".) WHAT IS THIS WORD? "is"

96. GOOD. WHAT IS THIS WORD? (Present upper case "Is".) "Is that 'is' too?"

97. RIGHT. VERY GOOD.

Go through this part until the learner has pretty well mastered all of the elements presented. Next comes the REVIEW SENTENCES, the VOCABULARY PREVIEW and the STORY. The instructions for these are presented in the User's Guide.

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