Unique Teach
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Tweaking mainstream methods to better reach smart kids and empower parents. Hi! Is your smart child struggling to read? https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/
Check out my Reading App for Dyslexia & my Tutoring/Homeschooling Course at www.uniqueteach.com Take my free diagnostic quiz to find out why your child isn't reading!
Did you ever wonder why some kids appear not to understand "simple" instructions?
Verbal instructions can actually be quite tricky for young kids to understand!
This video explains what is going on from the child's point of view and provides some tips on how we can get young kids to better understand instructions that are given only verbally.
If you would like more tips such as these, please check out my FREE HOMESCHOOLING MASTERCLASS at https://www.uniqueteach.com/proven-method-to-get-your-child-to-thrive-academically-registration
How would you teach 1 + 1 + 2 to a young child? Where would you start?
Teaching 1 + 1 = 2 may seem to be a relatively easy concept!
However, bringing concepts down to the level of the child something that is often quite hard for us adults to do!
Learn the RIGHT WAY to teach this simple concept to a young child by watching this video.
If you found this video useful, sign up for my FREE HOMESCHOOLING MASTERCLASS on how to get struggling kids learning!
https://www.uniqueteach.com/proven-method-to-get-your-child-to-thrive-academically-registration
07/24/2024
Got a child who is smart yet struggling academically? Learn a PROVEN method that is bound to get your child learning! Watch the video and click the link in the first comment!
10/28/2022
HOW TO USE COLORING WHEN TEACHING YOUNG KIDS
Has your child ever come home with a worksheet in which reading skills were taught through coloring?
This is extremely common- you may take it for granted!
But if your child is struggling, you may wonder what is really going on learning-wise with coloring. Can coloring really help? If so, how?
Find out by watching this short, fun, and informative video.
If you feel your child is in need of more conscious and direct strategies, please take the Reading Quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/
DOES COLORING WORK TO TEACH READING?
Hi Parents!
Has your child ever come home with a worksheet in which reading skills were taught through coloring?
This lesson is so common you may not even question it!
However, if your child is struggling, you may wonder if the time your child spends coloring is time well spent. Can coloring help? If so, how?
Find out what is really going on learning-wise with coloring by watching this video.
If you feel your child is in need of more conscious and direct reading strategies, please take the Reading Quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/.
Hi Parents!
Enjoy the cartoon version of this week’s video about how to help a struggling learner write the letters better.
Check out https://uniqueteach.com/
WHY SOME KIDS DON’T LEARN BY WRITING OUT THE LETTERS FROM Aa to Zz
Hi parents!
One common lesson for teaching a child to write the letters is to have the child write out the entire alphabet from Aa to Zz.
This lesson is systematic and methodical. The child starts with Aa and ends with Zz, writing out all the uppercase and lowercase forms of the letters.
Thus, this lesson appears to “prepare” the child by covering all the possible letter forms they may encounter.
But does this lesson REALLY prepare the child to write the letters in a real-life situation?
Sometimes what works to teach a child is not what we adults may expect!
Find out what is actually going on in this lesson, and what can be done to better reach those kids that are not learning.
Remember, if you want your smart child to learn to write the letters the same way as they are used in real life, please check out the Unique Teach Reading Program. https://uniqueteach.com/
WHY SOME STUDENTS SINK AND OTHERS SWIM
Hi Parents!
Why are some kids doing well in their reading lessons while others aren’t?
Why are some kids sinking while others are swimming?
In this video I explain a very common reason why this occurs and how it can be fixed.
HINT: It may actually be good to NOT give some children the answer!
Remember, if your smart child is sinking in their reading or spelling lessons, please consider the Unique Teach Reading Program.
This reading program provides strategies children can use like lifesavers to learn to read and spell better.
To find out more please take my FREE reading assessment quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/
HOW TO TEACH A DYSLEXIC CHILD THE VOWELS
Hi Parents!
Does your child know the vowels AEIOU yet still has trouble reading and writing?
Every struggling reader I have worked with knew that the vowels were AEIOU, but still had trouble reading.
In this video I show you a trick for teaching the vowels that actually helps the child to become a more effective reader and writer!
If you want a reading program that teaches the vowels in a way that the child understands and raises your child’s level of reading, please check out the Unique Teach Reading Program by taking the Free Reading Quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/
HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILD TO PUT SPACES BETWEEN WORDS
Hi Parents!
Does your child make spacing errors when they write?
For example, a child may write the sentence "Yesterday I went on a picnic" as "Yes ter day I went ona pic nic."
One cool way of teaching this concept is not by having the child sit and write at a desk, but at an easel with body and movement!
To find out how, please check out my video.
This tip is included in the writing/spelling part my reading program, the Unique Teach Reading Program.
To find out more, please take the Free Reading Quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/.
HOW TO FIX A CHILD'S BACKWARD HANDWRITING
Hi Parents!
Does your child ever write letters backward?
Writing letters backward (or reversed) is a common occurrence with young children.
While many believe that writing letters backwards is a sign of dyslexia, I have seen most (if not all) young kids struggle with this issue. Writing letters backward is developmental and is definitely something that can be worked on and improved.
Here are a few reasons why a young child may write letters backward:
• Young children have trouble distinguishing between left and right. As a result, the backward writing may simply be the result of starting on the wrong side of the paper and writing from right to left instead of from left to right.
• Some kids switch the writing utensil from hand to hand. (You may not notice them doing this!) As a result, they may start on the left side with their left hand and on the right side with their right hand. Starting on the right side can lead to backwards writing.
• The child may be more focused on what they are going to write about, so there is little working memory left to worry about correct letter formations.
• The child’s experience with writing letters comes more from letter tracing activities than actual, natural writing. Therefore, the child is inexperienced with writing without assistance as it occurs in the real-life writing activity.
In many instances, reversed letters can be fixed by marking the left side of the paper so that the child starts writing on the correct side.
However, a child may still consistently write some letters backward.
In this case, here is a cool tip on how you can fix some of your child’s backward letter formations. Check it out!
This tip is part of a handwriting training for parents and will be included as part of the Unique Teach Reading Program.
To find out more, please take the Free Reading Quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/.
WHY A CHILD HAS MANY READING LESSONS BUT STILL CANNOT READ
Hi Parents!
Why would a smart child who has had a lot of reading lessons still be unable to read?
Many of these lessons teach children “reading skills”, that is, skills that are related to reading.
However, reading skills are not the same as actual reading.
As a result, the child is left to their own devices to use the information in order to learn to read, and some children simply may not be able to do so.
To find out why some kids are not able use “reading skills” in order to read effectively, please check out this video.
To learn more about the Unique Teach Reading Program, please take the Free Reading Quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/.
01/09/2022
A DYSLEXIC CHILD JUST MAY NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN READING
Many children who struggle to read simply don’t know what to do.
They are told to “sound out words” but don’t know what this really means. They may recognize some words and not know others. They may look at the pictures of the book and guess. Often they get by when an adult finally tells them what the words say.
These kids are smart, but just really don’t know what they are doing.
The best way to fix this problem is to actually sit down with the child and a book and show them exactly what to do when reading.
In doing this, the adult teaches the child not only the information (such as the sounds of the letters) but also how to APPLY the information. The child learns how to put the sounds together to form words and read. The child obtains the correct THOUGHT PROCESS.
For this reason, children left alone to do seatwork or play computer games, etc. may not learn to read. These activities provide children with information pertinent to reading, but does not give them the exact same thought process needed for reading.
A similar situation is an adult reading with the child, but the adult is doing all the reading and the child is simply pointing and following along. “Following along” is simply not enough guidance. The child does not learn to read by simply having the adult model reading.
The Unique Teach Reading Program allows the parent to sit down with their child and show the child exactly what to do when reading. The program teaches all information and skills during the actual reading process. With little training, the parent can sit with their child and provide all the child needs to learn to read effectively.
Quality time with your child at its max!
If you want a reading program that allows you to actually sit with your child and show them what to do when reading, and gives your child the correct thought process, please take the reading quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/.
IS THAT VIDEO GAME WORKING TO TEACH READING?
Reading skills are often taught through worksheets, word sorts, and video games.
These activities often appear successful. For example, a child plays a video game featuring the letter Aa and can then successfully identify the Aa and its sound.
However, why is it that many of these kids are still struggling to read?
Although a child appears to know the information during the video game, word sort, or worksheet activity, APPLYING it to reading is another story.
Check out this video to see what the problem is and what to do about it.
Remember, if you want your child to learn reading skills in a way that helps them to actually apply the information to read better, please take the reading quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/
12/20/2021
AN ALPHABET CHART FIT FOR A DYSLEXIC CHILD
Hi Parents!
One of the main problems with dyslexic or struggling readers is that they don’t know all the sounds necessary for efficient reading.
A common reason for this is because they learned their sounds from the conventional alphabet chart.
The conventional alphabet chart consists of 26 letters from Aa to Zz.
However, this chart actually does not provide all the letter-sound information the child needs to read words effectively.
There are 2 critical things “wrong” with the conventional alphabet chart:
MISSING VOWELS: Each of the five vowels (Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, and Uu) have both a short sound and a long sound.
However, the conventional alphabet chart usually features just the short vowel sounds.
Given that there is a vowel in every syllable in English, it is a hindrance to children that not all the vowel sounds are given equal importance on the conventional alphabet chart.
MISSING PHONICS: The conventional alphabet chart does not contain phonics, such as the sh in the word ship, or the th in the word thumb.
This separation between the letters of the alphabet and phonics further hinders children from getting the letter-sound information they need to sound out words effectively.
What is the solution?
The solution is to create a COMPLETE alphabet chart that provides the child with all the letters and phonics information the child needs in order to sound out words as phonetically as possible.
Such a chart would contain:
All the letters, including BOTH the short and long vowels, PLUS phonics according to the child’s reading level.
If you want your child to learn to read with a chart that contains all the sounds necessary to sound out words successfully, whether they are "letters" or "phonics", please check out the Unique Teach Reading Program at https://uniqueteach.com/.
12/13/2021
WHY SOME KIDS CAN READ BUT CANNOT SPELL
Do you know a child that is good at reading, but very poor in spelling?
For example, these children may write the word took as “toke," or the word field as “felid," or the word really as “riliy.”
It is important to know that reading and writing are related. Both processes apply the same knowledge of letter sounds and phonics, but in opposite ways. In reading, the child deciphers words that are already formed, while in writing the child must form the words from scratch.
If the reading and writing processes require the same letter-sound knowledge, why would a child be so strong in reading and so poor in spelling?
Although the child appears “good” at reading, children with spelling difficulties often learned to read with sight methods such as flashcards and are merely recognizing words. Since they do not sound out words, they are often unaware of the letter sounds and phonics in words.
Such gross spelling errors occur because rather than spelling by sounding out words, the child merely tries to remember what letters are in a word.
This issue be fixed by giving reading instruction to children that struggle with spelling.
As they learn to sound out words and become aware of letter-sound relationships, they can apply the same letter-sound knowledge to enhance their spelling skills. This is good news!
By the way, if you want a reading program that focusses on giving the child the conscious knowledge of letters and phonics so that they can read by sounding out words, and thus apply this knowledge to their spelling as well, please check out the Unique Teach Reading Program at https://uniqueteach.com/.
WHY FLASHCARDS DON'T WORK FOR SOME KIDS & WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
Hi Parents!
On the surface, flashcards seem successful.
However, the child is focusing on whole, entire words, rather than on the individual letter sounds and phonics that make up the words.
The child learns to read by simply memorizing and recognizing the whole words, rather than sounding out the words through an understanding of the parts.
Thus flashcards do not really teach the letter-sound or phonics knowledge needed for children to understand what they are doing when they read.
In the Unique Teach Reading Program, children do not start reading by seeing entire words. Rather, the words are presented totally covered, and are uncovered phonic by phonic, letter by letter, as the child reads.
This process makes the child fully conscious of all the parts that make up words, empowering the child with the ability to TRULY READ by sounding out the words.
If you want your child to learn to read in a way that they really know what they are doing, please check out the Unique Teach Reading Program and take the quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/
DOES YOUR CHILD REALLY KNOW THE SOUND OF THE LETTER Ss?
Hi Parents!
Does your child really know the sound of the letter Ss?
In the word “cats” the Ss says “sssss….”. Catsssssss.
But listen carefully to the Ss in the word “dogs.” Dogzzzzzzzz. The Ss sounds like a Zz!
So the Ss actually has TWO sounds: The “sss” in “cats” and the “zzz” in “dogs.”
A child that has complete letter-sound information can read words by truly sounding out the words. This is the most effective way to read words.
If you would like your child to learn all the letter-sound information necessary to effectively sound out words, please check out the Unique Teach Reading Program at https://uniqueteach.com/.
THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE IN TEACHING LETTER SOUNDS
Hi Parents! This video explains the MOST COMMON MISTAKE in teaching the letter sounds and how it interferes with children's reading.
If you want a reading program that teaches your child the letter sounds as they actually appear in words, please check out the Unique Teach Reading Program APP by taking the Reading Quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/
11/11/2021
WHY SMART KIDS MISS “EASY” TEST QUESTIONS
Macy is a gifted student. She is in Kindergarten but is able to read and write at a second grade level. However, one day there is a test in school and Macy performs below expectations in reading and writing.
Why does this happen?
It has to do with abstract concepts.
In real life, Macy is good at reading and writing. However, the test did not require her to actually read and write. Instead, the test focused on individual skills or tiny pieces of information related to reading and writing.
For example, instead of having the child simply write the word “pig,” the test may ask “What is the first letter sound in the word “pig”?
This requires the child to answer the question without actually writing the word. As such, an abstract, hypothetical situation is created (“If you were to write the word “pig” what would the first letter be?”) Young children have difficulty understanding abstract concepts.
Therefore, although fully capable of writing the word pig in real life, Macy misses the question regarding the first letter sound of the word pig.
Any time we focus on just the information and skills without actually doing the real-life activity, we are creating an abstract lesson. Since young children struggle to understand abstract concepts, we need to be wary of separating information from the task in which it is to be used.
Many smart kids are thrown off by abstract lessons which focus on isolated skills and information outside of the actual reading or writing activity. As such, for these kiddos, it is always best to keep the information and the activity together, teaching or testing all individual concepts and skills during the actual activity in which they occur.
If you want your smart child to learn all reading concepts and skills during the activity of actual reading, please check out the Unique Teach Reading Program at https://uniqueteach.com/
HOW TO TEACH SIGHT WORDS: This video shows how to teach sight words using a strategy that is based on what many children actually do when they come across sight words in their reading.
The Unique Teach Reading Program teaches sight words without having children simply memorize them.
For more information please take the Reading Quiz at
https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/
10/24/2021
THE SECRET TO SOLVING ALL CHILDREN’S READING PROBLEMS
Hi parents!
Today I am going to share with you what I truly believe is the secret to permanently solving all children’s reading problems:
Teach children how to truly “sound out” words.
“Sound out words” means to put the sounds of letters and phonics together to form words.
Effective reading takes place when the child properly reads words by sounding out the words. This ability to sound out words reflects a true understanding of how letters and phonics work together to form words. A child who has good letter-sound and phonics knowledge not only can read words, but also spell words. The child knows what he or she is doing.
The best way to avoid problems with reading is to teach children to sound out words from the very start.
Many children who struggle to read do not sound out words effectively, rather they know words through sight methods, such as flashcards or memorization. Rather than sounding out words through knowledge of the letters and phonics, they are merely recognizing the words. They are "reading" the words without conscious knowledge of the letters and phonics that make up the words.
All my methods are based on the approach that the best way to solve a child's reading issues is to teach the child to sound out words effectively, rather than using sight methods. A lot of children that are not reading are very smart children who like to know what is going on when they read. These children need to be conscious of all the sounds (letters and phonics) that make up words. They have active minds and need something to work with when they read and spell.
I hope you have found this information helpful and remember, if you would like your smart child to learn reading by sounding out words please check out my reading program at https://uniqueteach.com/
10/08/2021
CAN AN AUTISTIC CHILD LEARN TO READ?
Hi Parents! Since my reading program is geared to children with learning challenges, I was asked recently if my reading program could be used for an autistic child. This is an excellent question.
Of course the situation of each child is different, but here is a general answer to this question:
In order to start learning how to read, a child needs to have sufficient oral language skills.
What is oral language? Oral language is language that is 1) spoken and 2) understood.
Oral language is the foundation for reading and writing language.
For example, before learning to read and write the sentence “The vet has a lot of pets” the child should first be able to speak and understand this sentence.
Keep in mind that this is a general rule, as I did have one autistic student who could decode difficult sentences with ease, yet had trouble understanding what he read, even the simplest of sentences. I had to work with him specifically on comprehension. There is a lot of variety!
As a sidenote, one way to tailor instruction for some children (such as English language learners) is to first teach the oral language, then teach reading and writing through that very same language.
In this lesson the content could be very basic, for example, the child learns to say and comprehend the phrase “a dog” by seeing a picture of a dog or seeing a real-life dog. Then reading and writing are taught through this same content- “a dog.” The reading program DOES have some basic content like this.
But in general, oral language should first be present before starting to read and write in that language.
If there are any questions or you would like more tailored answers regarding your child’s situation, feel free to contact me via DM.
To find out more about how to get your child reading, take the Reading quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/
Is your child having a hard time reading?
We have the PERFECT solution to help get your child back on track!
Your child is intelligent…
They just might need more effective reading strategies.
As you know…
All children learn differently.
We create teaching methods and materials that are uniquely designed for children that need alternative methods of instruction.
Help your child start moving in the right direction with their reading instruction…
To get started, tap below to take our Free Reading Quiz!
https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/
Here is 4 year old Olan learning the letter sounds of the Hh and Tt with the Unique Teach Reading Program App. The app allows the child to learn the letters in context as they appear during actual reading activities. As such, the child learns reading skills WHEN and WHERE the child needs to know them. To find out more about this product please take the Reading Quiz at https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/.
09/30/2021
“Sometimes, the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.”
― Diane Ravitch
Hi Parents! Coding is a very common method of teaching phonics. In this method children mark words with "coding symbols" to indicate sounds and patterns in words. For example, the word "cat" is marked with a symbol called a "breve" (cǎt) to indicate that the Aa has a short vowel sound. The goal of the coding is for children to learn phonics and word patterns, which in turn helps children read better.
However, while coding has been successful for many children, some kids struggle to read with this method. In my video I give 3 tips for improving the coding lesson for these struggling readers. Check it out!
And don't forget to take my quiz to find out why your child isn't reading: https://quiz.uniqueteach.com/uniqueteachquiz/
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