SUCCESS STEP 9: On to REAL BOOKS!

Success Step 9

Welcome to Step 9 on our start-to-finish journey of teaching reading to our children. While most school systems haven’t yet caught up with best practice for teaching our children to read, we’re forging ahead: our kids get older each day,  so we can’t wait.

If you’re just joining me and missed Steps 1-8, no problem. Look to your right to find a “search this blog” box and type in “Success Step.” It will pull everything up for you.

In SUCCESS STEP 9, we introduce real books to our children which are both funny and have required word lists built in. We want to move them along steadily to Second Grade reading readiness, where they can move more easily into using standard classroom materials. Today’s resource can help do that.

The Next Resource: Real Books

Over the last year-plus, I’ve recommended many resources to you, including: Downs Ed’s “See and Learn,” DS Foundation of Orange County’s “Learning Program,” “Love and Learning,” Woodbine House Publishing, Starfall.com, various books, flash card resources, apps, and much more as needed along the way.

Today’s blog will be a rare spotlight onto my own Special Reads resource. That’s because we have lots of emergent reader materials now, including the resources I just mentioned. But where is the reading bridge between these early Down syndrome-friendly materials and the Common Core materials that we our kids need to be able to segue into?

Currently, the only bridge I know of is the little publishing house I founded, Special Reads for Special Needs. I’m sure that one day in the future, many other publishers will jump in to fill that gap. As long as no one else is providing these types of books,  I’ll keep pedaling my Special Reads bike over the reading bridge…

I’m wondering if, even after a year of pointing parents toward other resources, some may object to my giving my own materials as a resource. If that is the case for you, and you prefer to search for other materials like the ones I’ll describe today, go for it! Another option is to create them yourself. But if you’re down with me explaining Special Reads materials as yet another resource, let’s go…

Have Some Pizza, Spaghetti, or Ice Cream

Our emergent readers need two elements in any reading materials we use: FUN and REQUIRED word lists. (Do you know any children with Down syndrome who don’t have “Fun” as their middle name?) We’re not going to get them in the front door if fun isn’t involved, along with Down-syndrome friendly layouts; but we need to be teaching them concrete word lists, fluency, and decoding as well.

Sample Interior Page, I Want Pizza

Materials like that didn’t exist when I taught 5-yr-old Jonathan to read (he’s 29 now.) Frustrating! So 14 years ago I started publishing. (Being a graphic designer and illustrator helped.)

These books emphasize FUN and target a universal topic: kid foods. Book bundles for Emergent Reader, Primer, and First Grade include heavy servings of pizza, spaghetti, ice cream, and peanut butter.

Word List Book Interior Sample

Sample Word Book Cover

For mastering the  REQUIRED word lists, I designed kid-friendly Dolch-word-list books on printable CDs (printable books, flash cards, tabletop cards, instructions). I’ve made it super easy for parents to use, because “Frankly, my Dear,” you don’t have time for anything else.

Which One First?

Ask your child. If you decide to use these materials, give your child the choice of which FUN Real Book to learn first. For Emergent Reader level, my bet is on “Spaghetti!” or “I Want Pizza,” both included in the FUN component of the Emergent Reader Bundle.  Each book has its own interactive CD (designed by an SLP) which includes printable flashcards, interactive games, and the kitchen sink.

So if you decide you’d like to teach with these particular Real Books, teach Fast Flash and  Sandwich Style as you’re already doing with your homemade Personal Books.

Which One Second?

Now you stealthily introduce the first of the REQUIRED Word List Books. These are designed to play to Down-syndrome-typical learning strengths (great visual learners) and overcome typical weaknesses (distractibility, focusing difficulties).

First Grade Bundle

You’ll use these Word List Books, along with their corresponding cards, to lead your child step-by-step through successive word lists. This will keep you both busy for a looooooong time as your child progresses,  gradually mastering all the material through First Grade.

Your Current “Success Steps” Tool Kit

So far in our Success Steps, this is what you’re working with: Personal Books (see Links 1, 2, 3) , Fast Flash method (See Links 1, 2, etc.) for teaching sight words, Sandwich Style teaching structure, Lotto Games, a commitment to teaching 5 Minutes Twice a Day (which will naturally expand), and now Real Books and Required List Books.

More Real Books Ahead

Soon I’ll move you on to include other Real Books, which will be trade books (Frozen, Super Heroes, etc.) that you’ll modify yourself and include in your growing library of Real Books. Your child will LOVE reading the same (but modified) books that their peers are reading.

But there is more ground to cover in our Success Steps first…

See you at Success Step 10!