ACQ Vol 11 no 2 2009

this concept might not be fully understood, and visual aids are often helpful. Available from: cokoaustralia@bigpond.com 7 Megawords: Multisyllabic Words for Reading, Spelling, and Vocabulary The Megawords series offers a systematic, multisensory approach to learning the longer words encountered from fourth grade on. Word lists build sequentially on phonic and structural elements. Lists are alphabetically sorted, separating practical spelling words from less-common words. Words are broken down into syllables which are then combined into whole words that are used in context to increase reading and spelling proficiency. This structured approach makes longer, complex words less intimidating. The workbooks teach students word attack strategies that they can apply to sounding out unfamiliar multisyllabic words. I like this series because it breaks down multisyllabic words into manageable chunks. It suits adults well because it uses multisyllabic words to teach the basics that apply to single syllable words without tying up time working through single syllable words that the adults might be able to read by sight anyway. I often use the word lists with my own activities, but the worksheets can also be useful. Finally, it has great teachers’ guides which clearly show how to work on the syllable, the word, then the sentence level for reading and spelling. Available from: Educators Publishing Service; www.epsbooks.com 8 List of irregular words Gallistel, E., Fischer, P., & Blackburn, M. (1977). GFB Sequence of objectives for teaching and testing reading in the concept transfer sequence . Hamden, CT: Montage Press. This absolutely fabulous resource is unfortunately out of print, but any word list with common irregular words will do. Just make sure that there are no regular words on the list! I like to teach irregular words separately from regular words, to reinforce that they are different: they don’t follow regular patterns, and they have to be learned by rote. Since so many adults have learned whatever they have learned by sight, I avoid irregular words until I am confident that they understand that regular words can be decoded and don’t

need to be guessed. The plan is to give the client power – to show them that there are rules and that they can figure out words! When that understanding is clear, I introduce irregular words and explain that some words don’t follow the rules, and they just have to be remembered. I work on a few at a time (say five words), reading them if necessary, including them in dictated sentences and asking them to weave them into their daily writing. 9 My stopwatch Part of reading well is reading quickly and automatically. I often ask clients to time themselves reading lists of individual words. While it isn’t for every client, it does provide great practice and a very concrete indication of learning and success. You’d be surprised how motivating it is for many people to try to beat the clock and improve their times. I aim for 1 word per second, with no more than two errors over 60 words. 10 Spontaneous writing This is one of the most useful intervention tasks I have. I always ask clients to read and spell single words, but I also ask them to write something (anything!) every day. With adults, we choose something relevant to them, like letters to family, notes to teachers, rules to their favourite sports games – whatever they want. After they write, they must proofread what they have written. After all, they are the ones who will be responsible for making sure their writing is correct. I’ll give them the tools to proofread with (rules on how the writing system works), but proofreading makes them put the rules in action. It also gives them power – if they know they can edit and correct their own work, they can have confidence in their writing.

Correspondence to: Karen Smith-Lock, PhD Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109 email: karen.smith-lock@mq.edu.au karensmith-lock@bigpond.com

Look out for the following upcoming issueS of ACQ : November: Mental Health March: Motor Speech Disorders July: Working with Families

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ACQ Volume 11, Number 2 2009

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au