-- SO SIMPLE LEARNING -- Our Program

My name is Patty So, the developer of So Simple Sightwords. I've been teaching for 21 years, 17 of which have been at the first grade level. I am bilingual (English/Spanish), and have spent my career working with many English language-learners (ELL's). I've tried to find ways to educate all types of children from all types of backgrounds, while giving them a desire to "buy-in" to what I'm offering, as well as a sense of fun in learning. Literacy is the foundation for ALL their future learning.

The evolution of So Simple Sightwords came about through some general observations I made over time. I noticed that students typically were stumbling over the same words year after year, in both reading and in spelling. I also noticed that the students were able to remember the 100+ songs I taught them during music time throughout the year without effort, and with much enjoyment. Thinking about the effect music and rhythm "hooks" have on the majority of people, regardless of age, was really the cornerstone of my program.

Why is So Simple Sightwords Different?

"So Simple" uses a unique approach to teach those sight words that hinder fluency and create a high affective filter when a new reader or print-deprived child encounters them. Unlike some "songs" for sight words, this approach involves using the natural rhythm of the spelling of each word, and combining each with its unique tune and hand motions for the spelling of the word. No word uses more than 16 beats for its "cheer," so children can efficiently retrieve the right-brained cues for the words they stumble upon in reading and writing.
All learning modalities are addressed through this method. The program calls in many right-brain and cross-brain learning strategies. The program is visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, and lends itself to whole-group instruction. (I personally instruct the program with 80+ students per day at one time!)

So Simple Sightwords assists not only in reading and writing skills, but also in oral language development. Children are interacting with the story or exercise each day while doing the cheers, and are also asked to respond to a variety of questions based upon the daily activity.

This program covers 34 weeks of teaching, and will only take approximately fifteen minutes of instruction time each day. However, the program will permeate the rest of your day while your students are reading and discovering the words they now "own" throughout other areas of their academics.

The daily stories/exercises included in the manual can be put on the board, or on an overhead transparency, if you desire. Beyond the spelling of the sight words, there are also many standards-based skills touched upon in each lesson. (*Note the "Standards" link on the home page.) The daily exercises vary by day, including short stories, Venn diagrams, word grouping, and cloze activities.