What Do Kids Need To Know To Read?

A HECK OF A LOT!!

Reading ComprehensionKnowledge Fluency

Metacognition

Language

Prosody

Automaticity / Rate

Accuracy

Decoding

Phonemic Awareness

Oral Language Skills

Knowledge of Language Structures

Vocabulary

Cultural Influences

Life Experience

Content Knowledge

Activation of Prior Knowledge

Knowledge about Texts

Motivation

Engagement

Active Reading Strategies

Monitoring Strategies

Fix-Up Strategies

Florida Reading Initiative

The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled Reading(Scarborough, 2001)

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE LANGUAGE STRUCTURES VERBAL REASONING

LITERACY KNOWLEDGE

PHON. AWARENESS

DECODING (and SPELLING) SIGHT RECOGNITION

SKILLED

LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION

WORD RECOGNITION

increasingly

automatic

increasingly

strategic

Skilled Reading- fluent

coordination of word reading and comprehension

processes

5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 13 14 1516

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

Reading Age Level

Chronological Age

Low Oral Language in Kindergarten

High Oral Language in Kindergarten

Hirsch, 1996

The Effects of Weaknesses in Oral Language on Reading Growth

5.2

Language impaired children match average readers except in natural speed syllables.

The difference: processing speed.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

# Subjects Reaching Criterion

Syllablenaturalspeed

Vowels Syllablelengthened

ControlLanguage Impaired

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

2-Tone Sequence Task

8 15 30 60 150 350 428 947 1466 1985 3543

3023 4062

NormalsLanguageDelayed

Tallal, P & Piercy, M (1973) Nature, 241

Faster ISI in msec Slower

Perc

ent

Corr

ect

Faster Auditory Processing

40

Ba and Da sound the same at slower than 40ms

Which is why dyslexics often described as people who switch d’s and b’s. It is not a visual issue though, they do not hear them differently.

7

Different processing, different issuesSymptoms

Weakest Cannot hear “cat” clearly Severe. Autism, hearing impaired

Weak Hear “bat” but lose it then Can’t follow directions, weak vocab

Less weak Hear “bat” not b-a-t Language OK, reading weak from start

A little weak Hear b-a-t but not b-r-a-t Reading starts OK, but weakensas words get harder. as automaticty required.

Good Hear b-r-a-t clearly 25% of kids. Read “naturally”

Brain Plasticity• The brain self-organizes. Violinist develops brain real estate

for left hand. Blind person’s brain will change.

• Experiment that crossed eyes and ears of ferret. A month later the part of brain that had been visual was now auditory.

• Experiment severing monkey finger. Brain real estate for that finger doing new things.

• Stroke victim. 97% brain loss. Hard work, brain exercises by neuroscientists was able to get brain to completely heal.

Patented software that taps into brain plasticity to correct the language processing & related issues that impede reading and attention.

While Gemm is agnostic, it primarily uses FFW, because FFW works … at home.

Fast ForWord targets the core problemversus tutoring the symptoms.

Enter Fast ForWord

da

Overlapping sounds are slowed until they are distinct …

da

… then sounds are sped up so that they can be heard naturally

Average Reader

Average Reader

Dyslexic, beforeFast ForWord

Dyslexic, beforeFast ForWord

New cortical areas active after Fast

ForWord

New cortical areas active after Fast

ForWord

LeftLeftDifference between activity before and after Fast ForWord

Difference between activity before and after Fast ForWord

Fast ForWord changes the way the brain works. Here is Brain Activity Measured by fMRI

Adapted from Temple et al.,Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, 2003

Reading After Fast ForWord…Improved processing efficiency helps:• Phonemic awareness, making reading easier to

learn.• Fluency, automatic decoding, making reading less

exhausting.• Comprehension, by automating and removing need

to concentrate on decoding.• Comprehension, by building vocabulary, syntax,

spelling and language structure.• Comprehension with metacognition, by training

thinking while reading.

Listening and Focus After Fast ForWord…

Improved processing efficiency helps listening in class:• Effectively slows teacher down, so that listening

speed is same as taking speed.• Less exhausting and tiring.• Easier to follow and so more interesting and

engaging.• In turn, this leads to better self-esteem and

motivation to learn.

Grades After Fast ForWord…Improved processing efficiency helps:• Test taking. Improved reading speed and accuracy,

better working memory for multiple choice questions.• Focus. Trained directly in the program, and from

reduced exhaustion from automaticity.• Productivity in class and with homework. Better

listening, learning independence at home.• Metacognition, to make reading and listening more

productive by questioning everything.• In turn, this leads to better self-esteem and

motivation to learn.

Executive Function, TBI, ESL, Adoption after Fast ForWord…

Fast ForWord tackles all of these issues by working on processing efficiency. Improved processing efficiency helps:• Strengthen fundamental brain function, that when

inefficient, steal resources needed to develop higher level skills.

• Stimulate brain function, not unlike having an added year as a baby.

• In turn, this leads to better self-esteem and motivation to learn.

Personas

Your prospects

Cole, executive -- CompetitiveAttitude: Businesslike, power-orientedTime: Disciplined, strategically pacedQuestion: What can your solution do for me?Approach: Provide options, probabilities and challenges

Motivation• Understand all possibilities and options• Locate clearly defined benefits and differentiators• Gain a competitive advantage over peers and

industry competitors• Make a proper decision quickly and move on

Close: save $ vs. tutoring, can be life changing, Gemm dedicated to FFW w/best services by far

Leah, receptionist -- Humanistic

Attitude: Personal, relationship-orientedTime: Undisciplined, slow-pacedQuestion: Who has used your program to solve my problem? Who are you and why do you care about me?Approach: Offer testimonials and incentives.

Motivation• Find comfort in guarantees, free trials• Relate to customer testimonials and success stories• Relate to the founder, employees and products/services

on an emotional, empathetic level• Find a positive consensus from a community

Close: >1 million have used this, we guarantee results

Grace, working mom –Spontaneous

Attitude: Personal, activity-orientedTime: Undisciplined, fast-pacedQuestion: Why is your solution best for my needs?Approach: Quickly address values and provide assurances, credible opinions rather than options. Offer immediate gratification where appropriate.

Motivation• Looking for immediate gratification and a personalized

touch• Reviews awards or positive media attention from

authoritative parties• Doesn’t miss out on a new, popular trends• Understands the value proposition and benefits immediately

Close: Results in a few weeks, brain-training is the future

Shelly, SAHM – MethoodicalAttitude: Businesslike, detail-orientedTime: Disciplined, methodically pacedQuestion: How can you solve my problem?Approach: Provide hard evidence Motivation• Go beyond sales speak to find the facts• See hard evidence in the form of graphs, tables and

supported facts in an organized fashion• Find a company that has superior operations• Become an “expert” by absorbing a substantial info

Close: processing is the difference most of the time, plasticity is real

Closing Ideas“Always be closing” (on every call)Trial close:

– can you see yourself getting into a routine like this?

– are there any breaks/vacations coming up that we need to be aware of?

Presumptive close:

– which days of the week are you thinking of doing?

-- if you want to end the school year strong or start the next school year, best to start now