I began the session with a phonological awareness exercise, level D 1 #8. Wyatt has mastered dropping one syllable of a two-syllable word; we will move up a level next session. Next, I reviewed the sound deck with visual, auditory, and blending drills. I introduced the digraph "ch" to the deck and discussed the concept of two letters making one sound. Wyatt already sequenced the alphabet with his dad (thank you!) I dictated CVC words to build with the manipulative letters (chip, rob, sun.) To conclude, we played two rounds of Phonics Dice (Connect Four) with CVC words. Great job, Wyatt!

I began with a phonological awareness exercise. Wyatt is close to mastering the deletion of one syllable in a two-syllable word. Next, I reviewed the sound deck with visual, auditory, and blending drills. Wyatt has all of the letters sounds with automaticity except for y. His blending of CVC words was much smoother today. Next, Wyatt sequenced the alphabet and identified the vowels. To conclude, I dictated CVC words, and Wyatt built them on the metal sheet with the manipulative letters.

I called Wyatt at 9:30 as scheduled but his iPad was dead. I texted his father and we rescheduled for 11:00.

I began the session with a phonological awareness exercise. Wyatt sequenced the alphabet and correctly identified the vowels. I reviewed the sound deck with visual, auditory, and blending drills.

I began with a phonological awareness exercise, asking Wyatt to delete one syllable of a two-syllable word. He did well. We will stay at this level until he achieves automaticity. Next, Wyatt sequenced the alphabet in two minutes using manipulative letters and an alphabet strip for guidance. He successfully identified the vowels. I reviewed the sound deck with visual and auditory drills. Unfortunately, we lost internet connection at this point. I texted with Dad, but we were unable to resolve it. I will charge for 1/2 a session only.

I began the session with a phonological awareness exercise. Wyatt is getting the hang of this! Next, I asked him to sequence the alphabet using manipulative letters with an alphabet strip for guidance. Unfortunately his computer battery died; I texted his dad who reconnected using his iPad. With the time we had left, we played Phonics Dice with CVC words.

Wyatt and I had a fun session today. I began with the phonological awareness exercise, asking Wyatt to drop one syllable of a two-syllable word. The concept "clicked" with him today, and he did very well. I was poised to do the sound deck, but he was very eager to play the Phonics Dice game, and I wanted to build on that enthusiasm. To play, he rolls the die (with vowels) and reads a C-V-C word on the screen, which I mark. He then rolls for me, and I do the same; whoever connects four words in a row wins. We played three rounds, and Wyatt was delighted to win 2/3. I was pleased that he blended with greater confidence. He is not automatic with the short vowel sounds yet, stumbling on o and u occasionally. We will work on this. Next, I used the manipulative letters to teach the concepts of vowels and consonants. In our next session, I will dictate C-V-C words for Wyatt to build on the board.

Wyatt and I had a terrific session this morning. I began with a phonological awareness exercise which asked Wyatt to repeat a two-syllable word, then delete a syllable ("say bookcase; now say bookcase but don't say book.") Next, Wyatt sequenced the alphabet using manipulative letters. I introduced the concept of vowels and consonants. I then reviewed the sound deck (letter cards) with visual, auditory, and blending drills. To conclude, we played a game of Connect 4. Wyatt rolled the dice with vowels, and picked a consonant-vowel-consonant word on the gameboard. He then rolled for me. Wyatt was delighted to win! Great job, Wyatt!

I began with a phonological awareness exercise. Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds within a word and is predictive of reading success. Next, I reviewed the sound deck (cards with letters on them) with a visual drill; I showed Wyatt the letter cards, and he voiced the sound of each letter. The next exercise is the auditory drill; I said a letter sound, and Wyatt wrote the corresponding letter on the dry erase board. The blending drill followed; I showed Wyatt a series of consonant-vowel-consonant words (nonsense and real), and he sounded out and read the words. The next exercise focused on alphabetic awareness. Wyatt placed the magnetic letters of the alphabet on the desk. We counted them together to discover there are 26 letters. The first letter is "a" the last letter is "z." The letters in the middle are "m" and "n." Wyatt and I worked on sequencing the alphabet, which was challenging. Finally, we discussed that the red letters are "vowels," and the blue letters are consonants. Next session Wyatt will build CVC words.

I assessed Wyatt using the Quick Phonics Screener, the Phonological Awareness Screening Test, and the Diagnostic Spelling test. I am delighted that he knows all of the letters and letter sounds. He is tentative about blending consonant-vowel-consonant words; we will begin with this skill. The spelling and phonological awareness tests revealed some confusion with phonological awareness (hearing the sounds within words) and letter formation (for example, the "e" was upside-down.)

I look forward to our first session on Wednesday.