FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What are the SECRET STORIES?

Simply put, the SECRET STORIES are the ‘reasons why’ the letters make the sounds that they do- and particularly, why their sounds ‘change’ so often in certain sequences. Disguising critical phonemic skills as SECRET STORIES further serves to prompt ‘learner-inquiry’ with regard to observed ‘textual inconsistencies,’ thus motivating them to always be on the ‘look-out’ for letters not making the sounds that they should, as this implies that there is a ‘new’ SECRET STORIES they have yet to discover!

2. How does the SECRET STORIES differ from ‘traditional’ phonics instruction?

Simply put, the SECRET STORIES is a brain-based ‘bag-of-tricks’ for teachers to create a comprehensive, phonemic ‘tool-kit’ for learners- one from which you can grab ‘whatever you need, whenever you need it,’ and, even more importantly, whatever learners need, the moment they need it!’

The SECRET STORIES is not a collection of phonics rules, nor does it contain any skill practice. There is no need for ‘repetitive and isolated practicing of skills,’ as this is unnecessary when learners have actual meaning attached to a concept, and are able to logically ‘understand’ it. As it is not necessary to ‘practice-repeatedly’ that which is already understood, learner-practice can instead, occur within the context of more meaningful and authentic reading and writing activities, as they occur naturally throughout the instructional day.

Additionally, unlike traditional phonics programs that adhere to a ‘pre-determined’ scope & sequence for skill-introduction, the SECRET STORIES follows the course of existing instruction, with introduction of skills (i.e. ‘sharing of a SECRET’) based on ‘learner-need,’ and always in-context of on-going, daily instruction and activities.

3. Are there SECRET STORIES for every ‘phonics’ rule?

A SECRET STORIES has been created for any phonemic pattern occurring approximately five-times or more in the English language. This ‘original-SECRET-formula’ is built upon a similar premise to that of old adage- ‘Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the pot!’ In other words, confusion is most likely to occur when there are ‘too many rules, serving too little purpose.’ And this is absolutely the case with ‘traditional’ phonics- with ‘too many rules,’ and even more exceptions!

The SECRET STORIES are designed to give learners the most ‘bang for their buck’ with regard to ALL the letter/sound skills needed for successful, independent reading and writing. Sharing the SECRET STORIES in the context of daily instruction provides learners with an easily accessible ‘phonemic-framework’ through which ALL learners are easily able to acquire a comprehensive base of skills. In this way, it becomes possible for even early, primary-age learners to effectively OWN everything ‘in the box,’ and thus, be able to successfully ‘think outside of it!’ (i.e. learners are best able to deal effectively with ‘exceptions’ when able to ‘readily identify and manipulate’ all of the various sound-options for a given phonemic pattern.)

4. For what grade levels are the SECRET STORIES most appropriate?

The SECRET STORIES targets all learners at the elementary grade levels, pre-K through 5th- providing everything needed to work easily and effectively with text!

At the earliest pre-primary levels (pre-K-Kindergarten), this translates to building a solid foundation upon which learners enjoy almost immediate ownership of individual letters and sounds via motor-memory, while simultaneously acquiring phonemic patterns in the form of SECRETS throughout the instructional day. Thus, a ‘buffet’ of skills begins to be established, thanks to our new motto- ‘EVERY letter, EVERY sound, EVERY DAY!’

At the primary and early intermediate grades (1st-3rd grade) learners are actively and independently engaged in reading and writing activities that rely on existing skills already in place. The SECRET STORIES enables learners without these skills to chew them up and swallow them down FAST, and without impeding the momentum of those learners that are ‘on-grade level’ or above. All learners can ‘take’ what they need, when they need it- using the SECRET STORIES to create within the classroom a reading and writing ‘skill-smorgasbord-‘ as opposed to making learners ‘wait’ for the ‘formal introduction’ of a phonemic sound-skill that they might need NOW!

At the upper intermediate grade levels (4th-5th grade) and beyond, the SECRET STORIES serves perhaps the most important purpose of all- to effectively ‘plug’ the gaping holes in struggling learners’ reading and writing-skill ability, so that they ‘plow-through’ unfamiliar text successfully, and with ease! Learners ‘on-grade level’ and above enjoy improved spelling-ability, and more accurate and effective word-attack of higher-level vocabulary. And equally important at these grade levels, the SECRET STORIES are ‘tossed-out’ as needed, and without interruption to the ongoing, grade-level instruction.

5. What is the research-base behind the SECRET STORIES?

YES! The SECRET STORIES strategies and techniques are built upon the most current brain research on memory and the way we learn. (a.k.a. ‘the way we learn best!’)

Through interpretation of phonemic patterns through visual, auditory and kinesthetic means, learners are able to make personal connections to otherwise ‘meaningless and abstract’ skills. Predictable ‘character behaviors and associated actions’ naturally prompt learner-production of the ‘most-likely’ sound options, as well as other, ‘less-likely,’ or default sounds, for each phonemic pattern combination.
By way of integrating complex phonemic skills with authentic life-experience, the SECRET STORIES creates a highly effective ‘diagnostic-framework’ in which learners enjoy accelerated skill-mastery in both reading and writing.

6. How does the SECRET STORIES teach the ‘individual’ letters and
sounds? Should I wait to teach the SECRET STORIES until they are mastered?

Unlike the phonemic patterns, which are taught as SECRET STORIES, the individual letters & sounds, specifically the consonants, are acquired through engagement of the learner’s muscle ‘motor-memory’ (i.e. ‘over-exaggeration of mouth-muscles’ involving the lips, tongue and teeth) or ‘body intelligence.’ An early learner’s body intelligence provides an ideal, alternative ‘route’ for individual letter sound-skill acquisition, especially at the primary and pre-primary grade-levels. Unlike traditional letter-sound instruction, acquisition via ‘muscle-memory’ does not require that a learner attain a certain level of ‘cognitive-readiness,’ or processing-ability in order to successfully acquire these skills. For this reason, comprehensive mastery of the ‘individual letters and sound-skills occurs at almost exactly the same rate in both Pre-K and Kindergarten- ‘approximately two-weeks to two-months.’

In contrast to the consonants, the vowel sounds are ‘too close in their production,’ with too little ‘motor-movement’ variation for learners to rely on muscles to acquire them. These sounds are best obtained through ‘dramatic-action’ learner-cues- each prompting an ‘emotive-based’ action and corresponding sound.

7. How does the SECRET STORIES impact student writing?

Research shows that “reading and writing are identical processes in the brain, up to the approximate age of seven,” and that “each process serves to further reinforce the other.” Practically speaking, this means that at the initial stages of literacy, learner-progression of both reading and writing should occur at about the same rate, and thus, are best acquired simultaneously, as each will naturally serve to reinforce the other. This inherent ‘connection’ between reading and writing (i.e. ‘decoding and encoding’) is best observed in a learner’s attempts to correctly identify ‘which symbols they need’ to represent ‘the sounds that they want,’ (i.e. ‘encoding,’ or writing); and likewise, ‘what sounds they should make,’ based on ‘what symbols they see’ (i.e. ‘encoding’ or reading).

This natural connection between decoding and encoding is effectively ‘broken’ however, when a learner’s primary reading and writing strategies revolve around ‘rote’ memorization and word recognition. This is because ‘whole-word’ memorization provides learners with minimal opportunities to engage in the actual decoding and encoding processes of moving from sound to symbol and symbol to sound. As a result, a learner relying primarily on memorization when interacting with text, will derive minimal benefit from the ‘reciprocal’ nature of these processes within the brain.

And last, but equally important- by encouraging ‘individual letter-sound mastery to occur simultaneously to SECRET STORIES, learners are able to rapidly build-upon their ‘arsenal’ of sound-symbol relationships, and easily access them for purposes of either reading or writing. Through these means, learners experience a virtual ‘explosion’ in their overall level of skill-ability in both areas, as with every SECRET told, another ‘sound-symbol’ relationship is formed, and thus, another ‘tool’ added to their reading & writing ‘tool-belt!’

8. What is the purpose of the music, and why is it referred to as auditory practice?

Research shows that in order for a learner to truly own a skill, he must be able to manipulate it effortlessly and with effectiveness. The auditory exercises on the CD act as musical ‘brain-teasers-’ designed to bolster learner-automaticity of ‘newly-acquired’ reading and writing sound-skills. They are musical ‘puzzles’ that provide learners with a creative outlet for interactive and manipulative sound-skill practice. Unlike traditional ‘skill-based’ songs, these exercises are designed to constantly change, thus motivating learners to ‘think fast and stay on their toes!’

Using music for the purpose of manipulating skills- from ‘individual’ letter sounds to ‘complex’ phonemic-patterns provides an ideal means of increasing ‘immediate and non-conscious skill-retrieval’ on the part of the learner. This level of automaticity with regard to phonemic skills is crucial for learners to successfully transition from that of ‘learning to READ,’ to ultimate goal of ‘reading to LEARN.’

9. How do the SECRET STORIES explain ‘exceptions?’

The SECRET STORIES deals with the exceptions much like a teacher might deal with students that ‘don’t follow the rules! Some ‘rule-breakers’ are able to be handled effectively within the classroom, and while others are so egregious in their ‘rule-breaking behavior’ that there is no other option but to send them ‘straight to the office!’

The SECRET STORIES equip learners with ‘so many skills in such a short time’ that most often, ‘common exceptions’ within words pose very little problem for learners who ‘know the SECRETS!’ This is because most words referred to as ‘exceptions’ contain just enough letters/ letter patterns that actually ‘follow the rules’ to effectively offset those that do not. As a result, learners who ‘know the SECRETS’ are less likely to have their efforts impeded by sporadic letter/sound exceptions, and thus, are frequently capable of successfully ‘sounding them out.’

There are some exceptions, however, that even with SECRETS, cannot be successfully sounded-out! These are the extreme ‘rule-breakers’ of the English language, and are the ‘textual-equivalent’ of students with behavior so unruly, that they must be sent straight to the office!

As there is no principal’s office for unruly words, we must, instead, send them to jail- ‘Word Jail,’ that is! The Word Jail is the SECRET STORIES version of a word wall, and provides the ideal place to ‘keep track’ of words that break so many rules, they are completely impossible to ‘sound-out.’ These words must be ‘memorized’ as they cannot be read! (i.e. ‘one syllable, high-frequency sight-words,’ words of origin other than English, etc…)

Possessing the ability to make these distinctions empowers learners in their ability to take on more active and independent roles in their daily interactions with text. Familiarity with, and knowledge of the SECRET STORIES provide learners with the ability to ‘handle’ exceptions effectively, and with minimal effort- as they are ‘well-equipped’ with alternative sound-options for effectively working their way through unfamiliar text.

As a result of this on-going process of ‘recognizing and analyzing’ textual-inconsistencies, learners are provided an abundance of opportunities to engage in the ‘critical-analysis and diagnostic-processes’ as they ask themselves- “What else could it be? What else can I try?” with regard to exceptions in text. It is in this way that the SECRET STORIES begin to transform ‘traditional reading and writing-instruction’ into a virtual playground for critical-thinking!