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Attempted solutions have often included a "whole word" approach,
"phonic generalizations" (rules), "find
the little word in the big word", and
the so-called "linguistic" approach.
 Whole Word Approach
If vowels are so inconsistent, then why not teach reading using
a whole-word approach? Initially the whole word approach will work well, but
unless the learner discovers the consistencies in the language, memory overload
will produce severe problems, often around fourth or fifth grade.
| Rules
(another attempted solution) |
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At a level
above the single letter, vowels in our
language are much more consistent. To take advantage of this consistency,
educators have long relied on rules. But to be useful rules must be both simple
and consistent. Few are both and many are neither.
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Find the Little Word (another attempted
solution) |
 
Since whole words are consistently pronounced, then perhaps
finding the little word in the big word would be useful. But little words that
are parts of larger words often are not consistent. Consider "at"
in "battle"
and in "foundation." |
"Linguistic
Approach"
(another attempted solution)
This approach typically began by teaching the elements "at"
in "cat", "fat", "hat", "mat",
etc. and "in"
in "bin", "din", "fin", "pin",
etc. Neither element is pronounced consistently when it is a part of a larger
word.
Higher-order Units--Our
Solution
and the best solution to date!
The Caldwell Reading Program uses higher-order units that
are
at least 90% consistent in our language, e.g. "ail",
"est", "oa".
These units were generated from a computer analysis of the most frequently
occurring 44,000+ words in our language.
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A
Powerful Program
The Caldwell Reading Program is very powerful. After completing
ten lessons, which may take eight to twelve weeks, the learner can read over
1100 words completely and over 2500 more except for one vowel in each. |
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Click here to go to the
beginning of this section.
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