TEACH THE SOUNDS & WORDS USING THE
PHONICS DESK -
We have purchased 5 of these hands on products for our school which have shown to be
highly effective for helping children to memorize all the sounds and words used in our
phonics worksheets (available at Toys R Us and other retail outlets for about $45). Have the child sit down at the Phonics Desk
and complete all the cards in a LESSON. The 20 cards in each Phonics Desk Lesson will
teach the beginning - middle - and final sounds in the word and begin the process of word
learning. Average completion time is 15-20 minutes.
PRACTICE THE LESSON SOUNDS & WORDS
USING THE SKILL WORKSHEET
After completing the set of LESSON cards using the Phonics Desk, the sounds have been
placed in the child's short term memory. To lead to a better memorization of the
LESSON sounds and words, the next step is to have the student complete the SKILL 1
Worksheet for that particular LESSON. (There are multiple SKILL LEVELS for each Phonics
LESSON). The first SKILL LEVEL WORKSHEET is the easiest, providing immediate reinforcement
to the sounds and words just heard in the PHONICS DESK LESSON. This is accomplished
by using a memorizing strategy known as "RECOGNITION MEMORY." Recognition
memory is a technique which generates immediate success for the child while efficiently
contributing to the memorizing/learning process. For example, all exercises in the
Skill 1 Level give the child two choices for the beginning consonant sound - 2 choices for
the vowel sound - and 2 choices 
for the final consonant sound. By limiting choices to only
2, this greatly improves the child's memory "search" capabilities and allows for
a non-frustrating and successful activity that even very low and non-readers can attempt
successfully. Children who are low readers can benefit from our "Talking
Tutor" Worksheets. It's like having a full-time tutor doing the worksheet with
them. To hear the "Talking-Tutor," simply have the child "click"
on any picture and a voice will teach the proper "sounding-out" letter decoding
process.
CORRECT ERRORS IN JUST COMPLETED WORKSHEET
Some of the best learning occurs when we identify the incorrect areas and then have the
child immediately go back and correct the errors. Using a colored marker - place a
mark next to each word the child answered incorrectly. Do not tell the child which
column was incorrect, but rather, have them now go back to the "Talking Tutor"
to click on the picture, thereby forcing the child to listen closely to all three sounds
to find the correct answer.
ACHIEVE MASTERY OF SKILL 1 - ATTEMPT
WORKSHEET AGAIN
Before moving onto the Skill 2 worksheet, it is
necessary that the child achieve 100% mastery on the Skill 1 worksheet without the help of
the "Talking Tutor." This can often take 4, 5, 6, 7 or for some LD
children, even 9 or 10 attempts at the worksheet. The teacher can choose to either
have the child complete the entire worksheet again or have them just complete the words
which were answered incorrectly. When the student can complete the worksheet
successfully, the teacher can then record the progress on any self-made Record Keeping
Chart (Kids love to be see their progress!!!).
BEGIN SKILL 2 WORKSHEET
After SKILL 1 mastery, the child then begins working on the SKILL 2 worksheet. The
SKILL 2 worksheet is identical to the SKILL 1 worksheet except that the child must
remember the 1st sound without having to look at two choices. When this sheet is
successfully completed the teacher again records the child's progress on the Record
Keeping Chart.
BEGIN SKILL 3 WORKSHEET
After SKILL 2 mastery, the child begins the SKILL 3 worksheet. Again, similar to
SKILL 2 worksheet, however, this time the final sound is missing. When this sheet is
successfully completed the teacher again records the child's progress on the Record
Keeping Chart.
BEGIN SKILL 4 WORKSHEET
After SKILL 3 mastery, the child begins the SKILL 4 worksheet. Again, similar to
SKILL 3 worksheet, however, this time the final sound is missing. When this sheet is
successfully completed the teacher again records the child's progress on the Record
Keeping Chart.
SKILL 5 - FINAL LESSON TEST
Once the child has successfully completed the previous skill lessons, we're ready to check
for true mastery by giving the child the Final Phonics Desk Lesson Test. This sheet
shows the Phonics Desk Lesson Picture Word and provides a blank writing space underneath
the picture. The child now uses his/her phonics skills learned from the previous
SKILL worksheets to spell the word correctly. There are no clues in this exercise so
spelling the words correctly heret typically demonstrates a successful ability in being
able to read the word.
BEGIN NEXT PHONICS DESK LESSON
After completing the all the SKILL Level Worksheets for a Phonics Desk "LESSON,"
the student can then begin the 20 new words and sounds in the next Phonics Desk LESSON.