Phono-Graphix in Britain

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Literacy in the news in Britain.

What They're Saying on the Education Blogs:

British Educational Communications and Technology September 10, 2000

"Trevor Mac Donald's long awaited feature on Phono-graphix was broadcast on the 27 July, just as we were all beginning to relax and not think about school. However, there is a transcript of the programme on www.g-wizz.net/tonightonline/ . Search for Phono-graphix or Carmen McGuinness and you will get the programme which, I think was called something like, The Right to Read.

The web sites accompanying the programme are not very comprehensive. I would suggest anyone interested in Phono-graphix visits the Read America web site www.readamerica.net which is both informative for those who want to find out more and supportive for practising Phono-graphix teachers. "

Ginny Campbell secondary SENCo

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readamerica.net March 12, 2003

"I have gained experience tremendous knowledge as a Phono-Graphix Trainer since 2001 and as a Phono-Graphix Therapist since 2000. I've taught literacy exclusively with Phono-Graphix since first being introduced to it in London by Carmen McGuinness in 1998. I've seen it work with students from 4 years upwards, to over 60 years.

As a trainee I learned first hand how the 35 hour teacher training course really embeds the things you need to know to teach the Phono-Graphix method. Reading and spelling scores improve considerably as a result. As a trainer I've been able to help others learn how to teach the method. One teacher on my Phono-Graphix course said to her, "I have learnt more about teaching, from working this short time with you and Phono-Graphix, than I earnt in one year's teacher training". "

Mavis Kerigan

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readamerica.net 2004

"I thought you may be interested to learn that Lily, now 18, has gained a place at Leeds University to study Art history and English literature. She achieved two A's and a B at A level, one of the A's in, yes, English Lit! We are so proud of her and have not forgotten the huge impact coming to the RA clinic had on her. So once again,thanks. "

Kindest Regards
Caroline Campbell

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Excerpted from a trainer application 2001 rrf 2002

"With Phono-Graphix I have taught a student who previously had twelve months of ‘mixed’ analytic and synthetic teaching and who had made no progress at all. She is now well on the way to becoming a fluent reader and speller. "

Anita Weare

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Excerpted from a trainer application 2000 and later on rrf, 2002

"William was withdrawn from mainstream schooling and put in a special school for dyslexic children for a year. He did not make one month’s progress during that time. The headteacher rang me up; she had a ‘feeling’ Phono-Graphix would help. Would I take William for lessons? Rather unwillingly I agreed. It was still early ‘P-G teaching’ days for me: if they had not been able to help, why should I? In 12 lessons William aged 9:2 moved from a reading age of 7:8 to 9:2 in the space of 8 weeks: William’s reaction was one of anger. "Why haven’t I been taught like that before?" The school for dyslexic children have now trained all their teachers in the Phono-Graphix method. "

Fiona Nevola

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rrf: June 08 and 13, 2004

"Found one copy each of Diane McGuinnesses' 'Why Children Can't Read' and a copy of Reading Reflex by Geoffrey and Carment McGuinness in Oxford Brooks's library today. What a pity they are not on the students' reading list. How are students and teachers to find out about this if the DfES fails to inform them?

I recommend Reading Reflex, ... a 'self-contained' manual packed with lots of teaching tips. "

Debbie Hepplewhite

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rrf: March 07, 2004

"Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness Reading Reflex will certainly give you an insight into how a sound-symbol prog. works. "

Geraldine Carter

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rrf: Aug 16, 2004

"A bit late for this thread, but just wanted to say, PG is excellent. I see it as a method rather than a programme and use it with all ages up to secondary. To be honest, and I know this sounds rather a grand claim, but I started as an English teacher in secondary schools, became an assistant head of English and basically, the book 'Why children can't read' and then going on to do the training (live) changed my whole career. I find now in my fourth year of using it, that I supplement the 'programme' with games and so on, but always starting with the bedrock philosophy - sounds and graphemes (sound pictures in PG talk) together. I love the way it is not tied to particular books and so on - buddy reading means you can use any age/interest appropriate material. They purposefully don't produce masses of reading material for the very reason that the point is that people should get reading 'real' stuff. This is particularly good for older students. I have seen amazing success with it. Go for it, but try to do the live training - takes a week full time.

Good luck."

'Maibee'

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rrf: Jun 27, 2004

"It’s true Maizie that PhonoGraphix was designed as an interventionist programme for older non-readers but it also works very well ( with a few minor adaptations ) for whole class teaching. I work with the bottom 5% of children in the Secondary sector and I use PhonoGraphix with my year 8 group. These are the weak readers who have just arrived from the primary sector, reading ages usually between 3 and 6 years behind chronological age. I work with small groups ,no more than 12. These children don’t understand the alphabetic code and how it works. The PhonoGraphix Sounds Chart is invaluable as a clear explanation of how the code works. First teach variation in the code, one sound multiple sound pictures and then teach overlap, one sound picture multiple sounds. Give each pupil his own folder with a copy of the sounds chart, tick of the sounds on the chart as the pupil learns them. Teach to the level of automaticity, this will involve much repetition and checking but it is the only way with older children. Make plenty of use of the mapping sheets. Let them read all the little stories to reinforce the sounds and as they progress, later make good use of the coded text which they find very helpful. Make sure the pupils understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. Active participation on their part is crucial don’t fall into the trap of doing most of the work for them and don’t take anything for granted. Your own self belief is crucial , believe that they can become real readers and more importantly make them believe it. Good luck. You are in for an exciting time. "

JIMCURRAN

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parenTeacher January 2000

"In the first primary school to really test it out (between February and June 1999), 15 pupils, 5 each from the year groups Y2 (7 year-olds), Y4 (9 year-olds) and Y6 (11 year-olds), all of whose reading ages were over two years below their chronological ages, were put on a simplified Phono-Graphix programme involving the introduction of the advanced alphabet code only. Four months of tuition (3 lessons/week lasting 45-60 minutes each) resulted in the average reading age of these pupils increasing by 14 months; the lowest gain made being one of 12 months. This tends to confirm Geoffrey's (McGuinness) comment to the effect that, even if you teach Phono-Graphix badly it will still do better than any other method! I also have some specific results showing significant gains being made by several pupils previously diagnosed dyslexic and who were making no gains at all on Dyslexia Institute approved programmes. "

Dave Philpot, Wiggan LEA

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rrf newsletter, 2001

"I have been using Phono-Graphix for about two years now and at last have something that really seems to work well for these older students.

The McGuinnesses stress the importance of developing in the students a deep understanding of the nature of the English written language, something these students lack, surprisingly, even when they possess a good knowledge of the letters and the sounds they represent:

Phono-Graphix teaches the following concepts:

The English written language is a sound based code. Letters are pictures representing sounds and a ‘sound picture’ can comprise one or more than one letter.

There is variation in the code.

There is overlap in the code.

The explanation of these concepts combined with teaching methods using straightforward and simple logic ensure that students do achieve a much better understanding of the English written language. Without this insight the written language appears illogical and incomprehensible.

For example, a frequent complaint from my students used to be with the number of different ways to represent sounds in words and how were they supposed to know which spelling to use? The teaching of spelling rules did nothing to alleviate their frustration.

The concept that the English written language is a sound based code with variation as taught by Phono-Graphix gives the students a more logical explanation. A simple method is taught to manage this variation. The frustration disappears. One benefit of this improved understanding is that they are able to make much better use of their inherent knowledge. This is something that just did not seem possible using other methods."

Christine Cartwright

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Political illiteracy
Open Letter to the Daily Mail Online
Daily Mail, December 2, 2002

"One boy of seven was classified dyslexic, and spent his time with his learning support assistant making dinosaurs. But after 12 lessons over 5 months, Ms. Nevola transformed his reading age from 5.5 to 9.2. Another boy, William aged 9, who had been withdrawn from mainstream school to a dyslexic unit where he made no progress, moved from a reading age of 7.8 to 9.2 in eight weeks. ‘Why haven’t I been taught like that before?’ he asked angrily."

Note: During her employ and membership with Read America, Fiona Nevola has brought literacy to over 400 children like the boys mentioned above.

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From http://www.devon.gov.uk

"More than just a literacy intervention tool . . . There are now well over 150 teachers and Teaching Assistants trained in Phono-Graphix and using it effectively and quickly to raise the literacy levels of the weakest KS3 students in all but a handful of Devon’s secondary schools. Many schools are also discovering that Phono-Graphix has additional value as a support tool across the curriculum. Teaching Assistants using PG strategies can help SEN students in any subject to be more accurate readers and spellers, and mainstream teachers adopting PG approaches are finding that they can extend their normal differentiated provision for all students as well as meet the requirements of the KS3 NLS in their subject. Reasarch confirms the effectiveness of Phono-Graphix NASEN members will have seen the article in the February ’02 issue of Support for Learning (Vol 17 No 1 pp 34-38) describing how children in Bristol taught to read using Phono-Graphix made more progress than others and needed no additional support later. Particularly interesting is that these children were able to generalise and apply their skills in unfamiliar situations, an important aim when working with KS3 students as well."

Ginny Campbell