How a 3 Year and 5 Year Old Learned to Read in 4 Months Case Study: Teaching a 3 and a 5 Year Old to Read in Just 4 Months How a 5 Year Old Achieved a 2nd Grade Reading Level in 4 Months
I'd like to share with you an interesting case study of how 2
sisters (a 3 year old and a 5 year old) learned to read in just 4 months -
both learned to read using the ChildrenLearning Reading program. They attended the summer reading camp
operated by the program's creator, Jim Yang.
Jim has been teaching kids - and teaching parents how to teach
their kids - to read for quite some time. During the summer months, he runs a
reading camp teaching many children to read. most of the the children he
teaches are 4 to 7 years old, with the occasional 3 year old or 8 year olds who
are having reading difficulties.
To complete both stages of the reading camp, it typically takes
about 4 months - attending 3 times a week and each session is 1 hour long.
This case study is about 2 little girls (sisters) that attended
the reading camp. When they started (June), the older sister P. S. was 5 years
4 months, and the younger sister A. S. was just 2 years 11 months old. Probably
most reading teachers would not even consider working with a 2 year old -
since when can a 2 year old learn to read!?!
Well, no problem for Jim, as he had taught all of his own children
to read by age 3. So when their mom asked if she could bring her almost 3 year
old, Jim said: "sure, why not? I'll have both of them reading for you in a
few months." Certainly, she had a healthy degree of skepticism.
So by the end of 4 months, after completing the Children Learning
Reading program, her older daughter was reading at a grade 2 level (reading age
7.3 years), and her younger daughter was reading at a grade 1 level (reading
age 6.8 years). I can't embed videos in emails, so please head over to Jim'swebsite,scroll down, and watch the short video posted under "Success Story
#3". There, you see just how well her older daughter was reading by the
end of 4 months, plus follow-up videos several months and one year later
showing their amazing progress.
The Initial Reading Assessment
At the start of the reading camp, there is a quick reading
assessment. The younger girl A. S. did not need an assessment as being just 2
year 11 months old, she did not know any letters or sounds, yet. The older
sister P. S. knew most of the alphabet letter names and "sounds", but
she was pronouncing some of the sounds incorrectly.
No surprises there, as almost every single child that attends the
reading camp are taught many phonemes incorrectly (!!), either at
preschool or in Kindergarten. Such is the state of our education system.
Learning to Read
Being 3 years apart, there's a big difference in how quickly the
older sister will learn compared to her younger sister. They start off with
the ChildrenLearning Reading program as
usual, except after a few lessons, adjustments were made to accommodate for the
different learning paces of the older sister and the younger sister.
This system of teaching reading is a unique combination of
synthetic phonics with phonemic awareness that produces amazing results in
children of all ages. Obviously, one of the initial goals was to REALLY correct
the incorrect sounds the older sister had learned in pre-school! She was
starting kindergarten in September. After just the first week, the older
sister P. S. caught on and was doing great with phonemic awareness
activities such as blending and segmenting. Little A. S., being a lot younger,
took about 2.5 weeks before she started catching on.
The Results
With such a logical and sequential order of learning, the results
are always phenomenal, and parents are almost always flabbergasted at what can
be accomplished in just 3 to 4 months.
By week 4, the older P. S. was already reading simple, short,
decodable sentences, and the younger A. S. (just turned 3 now) is able to
phonetically read many many words. After 2 months, every time they came to
their lessons, their mom (always with a big smile) was always telling stories
about how the 2 of them are reading everywhere they go!
After 3 months - at about 3/4 way through completing the
reading program - the older sister P. S. was already reading simple, short
stories independently. Little A. S. (now 3) could also read (phonetically)
an amazing amount of words, sentences, and even some very simple short stories.
Keep in mind she just turned 3. At 3 months is when their reading abilities
really took off, and their mom just could not believe the type of results she
was seeing in her children - she kept on saying that she did not think
this was even remotely possible.
Indeed, it is. You just have to have the right techniques and
methods when it comes to teaching reading, and one of Jim's favorite
comments he received about his teaching methods is that:
"It totally de-mystifies reading."
The girls completed the reading camp by end of September, and
their mom said it was unbelievable how far ahead both of her daughters were
compared to other kids. In the video
(see success story #3), you can see just how well P. S. was reading
by the end of 4 months.
Teaching reading is something that Jim does extremely well. While
you and your child may not live in the same city (or even country) as him to
attend his classes, his Children Learning Reading program is available for
parents to purchase online. Thousands of parents have used his methods to
successfully teach their children to read with amazing results.
Here's what their mom had to say about their
experience:
My children loved the program and so did I. I am extremely pleased
with the results. My children started the program at 2 years 11 months and 5
years 4 months with Jim, and neither child was reading before the program. My
children loved the program, and Jim is an excellent teacher. After 4 months, my
3 year old is reading at a grade 1 level, and my 5 year old is at a grade 2 - 3
level. I never expected such amazing results.
Jim's program takes the mystery out of teaching children how to
read. It is so well organized that any child can learn to read with it. The
outcome exceeded my expectations. At the start of the program, I thought my 3
year old might learn some letters and my 5 year old would learn some words, but
after completing the program in 4 months, my 3 year old could read long
sentences and simple short stories, and my 5 year old could read level 2
books on her own.
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