Dennis Brooks, One-To-One Reading Teacher
The Automatic Reading Teacher
Title: Teach Children to Read Faster
Author: Dennis Brooks
Illustrator: N/A
Publisher: Lulu
ISBN: 9781105152313
Review:
Teaching someone to read can be a difficult task. For some individuals reading can be picked up quickly. For others who struggle with the sound of words and speech daily, learning to read can be cumbersome. As a result, the enthusiasm for learning to read is non-existent. Dennis Brooks has created a fun way to teach reading with simple phonetics.
In the 1930’s schools were introduced to the “Dick and Jane” reading series. New words were easy to learn and were taught through diacritical markings or the teaching of phonics through spelling. By the time the 80’s and 90’s came around, institutions were using the “Whole Language” method which incorporated word recognition by sight not necessarily by sound. The debate continues as to which method is the best for teaching students to read.
Instead of waiting around to see who will decide which method works best, do it yourself. Dennis Brooks has created a quick, easy and fun workbook to help anyone learn to read quickly and comprehend and pronounce words. This guide can be utilized by a teacher, parent or tutor. Students and adults who have difficulty learning to read will reap the benefits of this easy to use learning tool. The books opening chapter introduces readers to the “say-spell-say” approach. An example of this is:
- To start, have students read, study, and learn only the phonetic words: shep.
- Next, have them study the alphabetic words with the say-spell-say drill: shep –s.h.e.p – shep.
Sounds like this: (shep=es.ach.e.pe=shep)
- Then, teach the students to read the phonetic words on their own without help. If necessary, have them use their finger as a point to help read the sounds of the words.
- Next, teach the students to read and spell the alphabetic words: sheep.
- Use both versions of the words to teach t hem to associate the phonetic words with the alphabetic words.
There are a few more steps with this lesson along with a list of practice words with lessons and instructions to help readers learn and understand phonetic pronunciations.
The Fonikz Teacher/Student Training section covers the phonetic and rhyming pronunciation patterns. The importance of blending sounds and practicing reading short sentences is incorporated into this section as well. Some examples are:
Early sentences:
I want to play now.
The ball is in the yard.
I see you, Mommy.
Daddy is going bye-bye.
Overall, this is the book I plan to utilize as a part of my advocacy for reading and writing at Kristi’s Book Nook and The Neophyte Writer. This is a great way to introduce the structure of reading and writing for anyone one whether they are a student who is having difficulties or an adult who never had the opportunity to learn to read.
About the author:
Dennis put all study-words on lists and arranged them from smallest to largest and did the same thing with the poems and short stories. This made the reading program a self-teaching course for most students. Those who have a high aptitude for languages, regardless of their age, can teach themselves to read without constant one-to-one tutoring. Those who struggle with learning to read simply need basic instructions and reading assignments, which can be given as homework. At some point, students will learn to recognize the phonetic core of the common words and use those skills to sound out and read many of the 600,000 words that make up the English language.
Dennis has dyslexia and has used the program to improve his reading skills as well. Since dyslexia hindered his ability to read, write, and spell; developing, teaching, and testing this program took place over a span of 20 years. Nevertheless, since developing and testing the program, he has more than quadrupled his reading speed.
To purchase this book please find it at: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/dennisbrooks
