Just wanted to let you know that Craig has taken a leap in his reading this week. He’s been doing the nonsense words instead of jungle juggle and has gradually progressed to where he is finding the short words very easy – the long words are much harder but he works through them and is so pleased when he gets them right!
When he guesses a word when reading his school-books I just say, “Pretend its a nonsense word.” And he decodes it, just like that!
Its a major breakthrough for him to have the confidence to decode any word, no matter how long or daunting it appears. I really think that you could add “nonsense words” as a choice in the main program when jungle juggle is wearing thin. It has been very effective at helping Craig to take that step toward decoding the actual letters rather than sounding out the picture characters.
This morning he appeared in my room wearing his glasses – I said, did you forget to take them off last night? And Craig replied that he had read 3 chapters of “The Dinosaur’s Packed Lunch” before he fell asleep. I was so happy I could have cried!
The educational psychologist at our meeting last week said that given Craig’s dyslexic tendencies, it was unlikely that he would ever read for pleasure – I think he will certainly prove her wrong in the next few weeks and months.
Thankyou so much for what you do, its just amazing. We still have a way to go but its so rewarding for Craig to be actually enjoying reading. I thought it would never happen!
