Stevenson Language Program

Research based program that supports students with: Why Stevenson? Research based program that supports students with: Dyslexia Attention Deficits Phonological Processing Problems Memory Weakness Sequencing Confusion Blending Difficulty Organizational Problems

Stevenson vs. Wilson Wilson Stevenson Designed for students with below average IQ Mnemonics are associated with every sound Letters are taught in order of writing stroke Addresses the skills of grammar, spelling and comprehension Wilson Designed for students with average or above average IQ Letters are taught by rote memorization of letter, word, sound Letters are taught in order of sequence in the alphabet Addresses the skills of spelling and comprehension

PB&J Words Peanut butter and jelly words is the mnemonic to describe words that include a vowel team. The slices of bread are the consonants and the crunchy peanut butter is the noisy first letter of the vowel team that makes it’s sound. The letter stuck in the jelly is quiet and doesn’t make it’s sound. Students decode from the inside out. They identify the vowel team first, then look to the consonants and “scoop” them together.

The Vowel Team Story The big, round guy who says /ō/ cannot make his sound unless he has another big, round letter beside him that stands second in line. That other letter is his friend – big, round a who leans on a stick. The letter a has to be quiet because he is second in line, but he has a special job. Letter a has a tiny, invisible foot which can kick big, round o. He does not kick very hard because they are friends – just hard enough to make o say his /ō/ sound loud and long. oa

Layer Cake Words Vowel consonant e words are taught as “layer cake words.” The silent e is stuck in the fluffy frosting and cannot make a sound. The vowel in the cake filling that has nuts, chocolate chips, and strawberries is loud and noisy. It says it’s name. The two consonants are in the layers of cake. The steps to reading the word are: Look at the whole word. Do you see two peanut better and jelly friends side by side? Do you see fluffy e frosting? Which friend makes his sound, the crunchy filling or fluffy frosting? What sound does the first layer cake make? Slide it into the crunchy filling sound. Add the sound that the second layer cake makes.

Each lesson includes direct instruction of a sound Each lesson includes direct instruction of a sound. It is followed by phonemic awareness exercises . Students then read words including the new sound. They also spell words with the new sound. In the teacher’s manual they identify passages for reading during instructional time and independent reading material. Workbook pages that reinforce the skill can then be completed together or independently.

The Lonely Vowels Short vowel sounds are made by the lonely vowels – they are all alone. Lonely o – o is on the table Lonely a – a is at home alone Lonely i – i is in the the feather Lonely u – u is in the upside down umbrella Lonely e – e is taught as Mr. EL, and Ms. Ef to start

Additional Terminology -ing and –ed are taught as “frosting” that we add to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or layer cake. We can add frosting to pb&j words without changing them first. For example: ing

Terminology (cont’d) For layer cake words we can scrape off the creamy, silent e frosting and add other kinds. A frosting will not stick to another frosting. Fluffy e frosting must be scraped off the cake before another frosting is applied: love loving “Decorations” are any suffix beginning with a consonant: -tion, -ly, -fy Decorations can be put on a sandwich with not letters changed: free freedom A decoration can be put on a cake without removing the icing. No letters change: love lovely

Terminology (cont’d) “Doilies” are prefixes: re-, mis-, in- Any consonant (except a double) that precedes the last consonant in a one syllable, short vowel word is a “guard letter”: bend, hang If you add frosting to a one syllable, lonely vowel word and there is no guard, double the last consonant to get some protection: fan fanning

Terminology (cont’d) Adding frostings to one syllable words ending in y: Y can be changed back to I since there is another letter to hold him up. This is not true if there will be two wobbly I’s in a row. Everyone knows two wobbly guys cannot hold each other up so go back to y: try, tried, trying IFY is considered a frosting: signify, signifies, signified, signifying

Adding s and es If the S says its name at the end of the word, add es since you have created another vowel pattern. Check to see with your hand (palm down) under your chin: beach beach s = beaches

Parts of Speech Adjectives are taught as painting words. They are taught in conjunction with nouns Verbs are action words. If you put the word “I” in front of the word – does it make sense? Nouns are taught as naming words Words lists are sorted into barrels

Stevenson 7 Steps for Building Vocabulary Imaging – talk them through a scenario. Show the item if needed first. Demonstrating – engage in physical activity (verbs) Defining – follow chant patterns in teacher’s manual Illustrating – draw a picture Categorizing – always sort parts of speech into barrels Testing – see if it pertains to people, places, animals, or objects Composing – write a sentence with the vocabulary word

Stevenson Seven Special Steps for Decoding One Syllable Words Use the following cues if the student cannot retrieve the vowel pattern from memory: Look at the whole word. What is the vowel pattern? Do you see the friends? (oa, ai, ee, ea) Do you see fluffy e frosting? (a-e, o-e, i-e, u-e) Is it a peanut butter and marmalade word? (ight, ild, old, ind, all) Are there two vowels together that aren’t friends: (oi, oy, au, aw, oo) Is the vowel followed by an r? (ar, ir, or, er) Is there a “w” in front of the vowel “o” or “a”? (wor, wa)

Strategies for Reading Multisyllabic Words Scallop the word part (doilies) at the beginning of the word. Circle the word part (frosting) at the end of the word. Put a square around the decorations. Underline the letters representing vowel patterns. Say the parts of the word. Scoop the parts together. EXAMPLE: re con struc tion con stant ly