Upcoming, “The Science of Education summarized”

Caleb Gattegno began work on The Science of Education series of books in 1940. After decades of research and real-world experience teaching all kinds of students to read, write, and do mathematics, he released The Science of Education Part 1: Theoretical Considerations in 1987. This book is renowned for its deep consideration and enlightening conclusions about the problem of education, but it is also a notoriously challenging read.  I have decided to take on the challenge, and to summarize each chapter according to my own understanding. I hope to express his ideas clearly and succinctly, without losing the powerful concepts his original words evoke. My next post will be summarizing Chapter 1: How a Science is Born. Wish me luck!

Tags: math, reading, The Science of Education, Words In Color Blog, writing
Category Re-inventing Education Blog | No Comments » | Amy

How Do you Teach the Word ‘December’?

December is well under way and you may be using this as an opportunity to teach the names of the months to your students.  But have you stopped to think how a student may read, spell and pronounce the word December?

If you look closely there are three instances of the symbol ‘e’ in the word and each instance can have a different pronunciation.   These 3 ways of reading ‘e’ may cause problems for your students in learning, reading and writing the word.

The image below shows how Words in Color can simplify the task of reading, writing and pronouncing the word December.  Each color is a signal to the student that there is something different about the three ‘e’.

Since each region of the country has a slightly different way of saying the word we have presented four options.

Enjoy!

Tags: ambiguities, december, learning, reading, writing
Category Words In Color Blog | 2 Comments » | Malcolm