POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 BY TRACEYHAYLES@OPTUSNET.COM.AU This week my daughter discovered that “one book”.
What is that “one book?”
It is that one book, that moment, when the realize that they can read a chapter book, a real chapter book on their own. No more decodable readers, or those beginner chapter books. Well, to be honest it is probably somewhere between a beginner and intermediate chapter book but more importantly it is that “one book” that captured her that she sat down and just read because she really wanted to read and finish it. Yes, 80 pages in a night.
Miss 7 is a dyslexic reader, she has had explicit, structured multi-sensory literacy from day dot. Hey, she has me as a Mum. She is a successful dyslexic reader, but she is still a dyslexic reader. She works to decode words, she needs books that have line spacing that work for her and sometimes she still needs support.
Work for her and sometimes she still needs support. This week she was super excited to move up to a PM level 30 (If you are in Australia lots of schools use PM benchmarks and PM 30 is the highest level). It just happens that on the same day one of my lovely clients gave her a book. It was a thank you as she had lent one of her special (in Miss 7 world that means super favorite and well loved books) to her daughter.
Most afternoons the kids and I walk home from school. On, Wednesday she ran to meet me, oozing happiness, super excited that she was on level 30. Arriving home I passed on the wonderful gift from a client and she beamed and found a comfy spot to read. She started reading and didn’t stop. It was that moment, that moment for her when the reading stars align and shine brightly.
Star 1. She was decoding, effectively and efficiently.
Star 2. Automatically and fluency were really starting to kick in.
Star 3. She was brimming with confidence.
Star 4. The book had great text size and line spacing.
Star 5. She got that “one book” that she opened up, started to read, realized she could do it all on her own and loved the story.
So, from eighty pages in a night to a finished chapter book the next day and of course a Mummy trip to the book shop to pick her next book (yes we are lucky and live in Queensland so no COVID lockdown for us), she has found “that one book” that helps her fall in love with reading.
Here is her “one book” and her next book pick.
P.S. As I write this on a Saturday morning sitting in bed she is sitting beside me reading and has just said, “I think I might finish this today. If I do can we go the book shop tomorrow and get the next one.”
P.S.S. Do you remember your “one book?” Does your child have a “one book”? Tell us what it is/was in the comments and we will make a list to share.
Hi, I'm Tracey!
My mission is simple : to make the science of reading easy. Can you imagine what it felt like as a qualified experienced teacher when I realized my child wasn’t learning to read like other kids. He loved books, we read books together everyday. Seriously, somedays it felt like we read dozens of books, but he just wasn’t learning to read like other kids. Rather than waiting and seeing like the education system wanted me to, I decided to take it into my own hands. I learnt, researched and trained in the science of reading. Now, Imake the science of reading easy
for every parent who want’s to support their child.
