This not-for-profit site asks you to rethink what you know-for-sure about foundational literacy.
Realize your personal power to remain a critical thinker.
This radical shift in perception requires de-structuring and restructuring.
VC Logic is a fundamental breakthrough in the way we perceive what is important.
Three unique conceptual perspectives are recognizable as we examine how reading is being taught:
Say yes to VC Logic.
Say no to ABC Logic.
Say no to Shape Logic.
VC LOGIC is foundational literacy's soundest venture:
VOWELS are sound-units (never letters)
CONSONANTS are sound-units (never letters)
This site shows WordsAhead's MAP using code-names.
VC Logic teaches explicit {.Sound+Spellings.}, demonstrated at independentscholar.blogspot.com
VC Logic teaches vowels and consonants as SOUNDS-to-be-spelled!!
ABC Logic teaches letter-sounds, phonics rules, and letter-based jargon.
Shape Logic 'sees-says' enough times to learn the printed word's shape.
VC Logic asks learners to LISTEN!! Then look.
ABC asks learners to LOOK!! Then listen.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic insists that phonemes predominate.
ABC Logic lets graphemes predominate.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Spell-out sound-units.
ABC Logic: Sound-out letter-units.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Sound-units [V01]-[C39] on a MAP.
ABC Logic: Short-A, B-Sound, Hard-C, etc.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Learners encode first.
ABC Logic: Learners try to decode print.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Spellable SOUND sequences
– regional variances are recognized –
ABC Logic: Pronounceable LETTER sequences
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: {.Sound+Spelling.} relationships
ABC Logic: 'Letter-sound' relationships
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Pronunciations evoke spellings.
ABC Logic: Spellings evoke pronunciations.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Practice makes permanent {.Sound+Spellings.}.
ABC Logic: Struggle with "tricky" words.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Sound-units Heard, Said, Spelled, Read... ahead of time!!
ABC Logic: Letter-sounds and phonics rules
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
Disambiguate!! Letters are letters. Sounds are sounds.
Spoken language always occurs before written language -- know it or not.
Deliver only a sounds-based instruction to avoid massive compensations for error.
Use all surplus resources for vocabulary expansion with shared inquiry for comprehension.
LISTEN, THEN SPELL. {.Sound+Spellings.} are foolproof.
Say, "[V01] spelled Letter A." apple hat
Say, “[V01] spelled Letters Aa-split-Ee.” dance
[V01]
{.V01/a.} apple hat
{.V01/a_e.} dance ...
[V02]
{.V02/i.} inch ship
{.V02/i_e.} live ...
[V03]
{.V03/o.} off dot
{.V03/o_e.} gone ...
[V04]
{.V04/u.} up cup
{.V04/o_e.} love ...
[V05]
{.V05/e.} egg bell
{.V05/e_e.} fence ...
[V06]
Letter Aa
{.V06/a_e.} age cane
{.V06/a.} able baby ...
[V07]
Letter Ii < eye >
{.V07/i_e.} ice kite
{.V07/i.} idea kind ...
[V08]
Letter Oo < oh >
{.V08/o_e.} ode cone
{.V08/o.} old cold ...
[V09]
{.V09/u_e.} tube tune
{.V09/u.} truth ...
[C39+V09]
Letter Uu < you >
{.C39+V09/u_e.} use
{.C39+V09/u.} usual ...
[V10]
Letter Ee
{.V10/ee.} eel feet
{.V10/e.} she he we ...
[V11]
{.V11/a.} all ball
{.V11/a_e.} are false ...
[V12]
{.V12/oo.} look hook
{.V12/u.} push pull ...
[V13]
{.V13/ow.} owl down
{.V13/ou.} out clout ...
[V14]
{.V14/oy.} oyster boy
{.V14/oi.} oil coin ...
[V15]
{.V15/ir.} irk girl
{.V15/er.} germ ...
[C39+V15]
{.C39+V15/ur.} fury
{.C39+V14/ure.} cure
[C16]
Letter Pp < pea >
{.C16/p.} page shape
{.C16/pp.} happy ...
[C17]
Letter Bb < bee >
{.C17/b.} bait web
{.C17/bb.} nibble ...
[C18]
Letter Tt < tea >
{.C18/t.} tub flute
{.C18/tt.} kitty ...
[C19]
Letters Dd - Ww < double-you >
{.C19/d.} dish hid
{.C19/dd.} add odd ...
[C20]
Letter Hh
{.C20/ch.} chat chew
{.C20/tch.} itch hatch ...
[C21]
Letters Gg - Jj < gee - jay >
{.C21/j.} joy jerk
{.C21/g.} gym gem ...
[C22]
Letters Kk - Qq < ’kay - queue >
{.C22/k.} king yak
{.C22/c.} cat cow ...
[C22+C28]
Letter Xx
{.C22+C28/x.} ax fix box flux hex
[C22+C36]
Letters ‘QU’
{.C22+C36/qu.} quack quit quake quite quote
[C23]
{.C23/g.} gate good
{.C23/gg.} egg foggy ...
[C23+C29]
{.C23+C29/x.} exact exam exit example
[C23+C31]
{.C23+C31/x.} luxury luxurious
[C24]
Letter Ff
{.C24/f.} fun feed
{.C24/ff.} off puff ...
[C25]
Letter Vv
{.C25/v.} vote have
{.C25/f.} of ...
[C26]
{.C26/th.} thank thin thought thud theft
[C27]
{.C27/th.} that this the them they thy those
[C28]
Letters Cc - Ss < sea >
{.C28/s.} sun us
{.C28/ss.} guess ...
[C29]
Letter Zz
{.C29/z.} zoom ooze
{.C29/zz.} jazz ...
[C30]
{.C30/sh.} shoe push
{.C30/s.} sugar ...
[C31]
{.C31/s.} vision
{.C31/g.} beige ...
[C32]
{.C32/h.} house
{.C32/wh.} who ...
[C33]
Letter Mm
{.C33/m.} man come
{.C33/mm.} summer ...
[C34]
Letter Nn
{.C34/n.} nail pain
{.C34/nn.} dinner ...
[C35]
{.C35/ng.} sing song
{.C35/n.} think ...
[C36]
Letter Yy < Wi-Fi >
{.C36/w.} wish
{.C36/wh.} wharf ...
[C36+V04]
{.C36+V04/o_e.} one once
[C32+C36]
{.C32+C36/wh.} whack which what when
[C37]
Letter Ll
{.C37/l.} lag log leg
{.C37/ll.} pill ball ...
[V12+C37]
{.V12+C37/-le.} apple nibble bottle cuddle
[C38]
Letter Rr < are >
{.C38/r.} red read
{.C38/rr.} error ...
[C39]
{.C39/y.} year yes
{.C39/i.} onion
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG, DON'T GO ALONG!
I witnessed my 3rd Grade students eagerly embrace personal responsibility because empowerment itself is motivational.
Students can be taught that choices have consequences. Likewise, Leaders of Learning must consider evidence, perceive any dichotomy, use personal truth as their defense, and then achieve a fix.
In my own career, at first I used 'whole word' sight memory for new vocabulary, i.e. flashcards with no other explanation. Then I used decodable stories and phonics worksheets as our district's basal language arts curriculum, but the rich literature of a newly adopted Whole Language curriculum was far more engaging than contrived fat-cat-sat stories.
Only outside of employment have I been able to scrutinize and discover the wrongheadedness of something quite independent of 'what' is being taught. My focus turned to the 'how' of teaching spelling and reading, and to providing demonstrations of 'how' to not allow the visual modality to dominate.
Spoken language requires HEARING blended speech sounds.
Written language requires SEEING blended letters, which themselves are inert.
Hearing and seeing always dance together, but our job is to guarantee that 'hearing' always takes the lead.
Truth is not our enemy. Every parent, tutor and teacher will make choices and create consequences. Most learners can compensate and move forward in spite of errors in our teaching. (Machines rely on a reliable algorithm.) The day is coming when systemic errors will be exposed and fixed, but that shift must begin in the minds of humans who design lessons, write the curriculum, and engineer engaging software. Learning Leaders work for the benefit of our children, their children, and all children to follow.
Notions of rightness and wrongness will set up intrinsic disputes. Of course, within a home or classroom, one's own sovereignty may not be challenged. But within larger venues, advocates and adversaries will stand up. Each of our disputes may become a manageable dynamic given these precious, free relationships within contemporary society.
We may respectfully disagree, yet continue to give voice and vote.
=== REVIEW ===
Say YES to VC Logic which is intrinsically sensible, yet still an unproven outlier.
Note: Reading scientists have not yet scrutinized VC Logic.
Heard–Said–Spelled–Read (HSSR) organizes all teaching around speech sounds mapped V01 through C39.
HSSR spells-out what is spoken. There are no letter-based attributions.
Say NO to ABC Logic because it requires learners to sound-out what is on the page (Seen–Read–Said).
Say NO to ABC Logic's organization around alphabet letters and 'letter-sounds' with rules and letter-based jargon.
Say NO to all nonsense and neglect which frequently occur with ABC's letter-sounds.
Say NO to Shape Logic which simply 'sees-says' enough times to memorize whole words.
Judy Ramírez since 1997
Licensed under CC BY 4.0 since 2023
Realize your personal power to remain a critical thinker.
This radical shift in perception requires de-structuring and restructuring.
VC Logic is a fundamental breakthrough in the way we perceive what is important.
Three unique conceptual perspectives are recognizable as we examine how reading is being taught:
Say yes to VC Logic.
Say no to ABC Logic.
Say no to Shape Logic.
VC LOGIC is foundational literacy's soundest venture:
VOWELS are sound-units (never letters)
CONSONANTS are sound-units (never letters)
This site shows WordsAhead's MAP using code-names.
VC Logic teaches explicit {.Sound+Spellings.}, demonstrated at independentscholar.blogspot.com
VC Logic teaches vowels and consonants as SOUNDS-to-be-spelled!!
ABC Logic teaches letter-sounds, phonics rules, and letter-based jargon.
Shape Logic 'sees-says' enough times to learn the printed word's shape.
VC Logic asks learners to LISTEN!! Then look.
ABC asks learners to LOOK!! Then listen.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic insists that phonemes predominate.
ABC Logic lets graphemes predominate.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Spell-out sound-units.
ABC Logic: Sound-out letter-units.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Sound-units [V01]-[C39] on a MAP.
ABC Logic: Short-A, B-Sound, Hard-C, etc.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Learners encode first.
ABC Logic: Learners try to decode print.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Spellable SOUND sequences
– regional variances are recognized –
ABC Logic: Pronounceable LETTER sequences
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: {.Sound+Spelling.} relationships
ABC Logic: 'Letter-sound' relationships
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Pronunciations evoke spellings.
ABC Logic: Spellings evoke pronunciations.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Practice makes permanent {.Sound+Spellings.}.
ABC Logic: Struggle with "tricky" words.
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
VC Logic: Sound-units Heard, Said, Spelled, Read... ahead of time!!
ABC Logic: Letter-sounds and phonics rules
Shape Logic: Whole-word sight memory
Disambiguate!! Letters are letters. Sounds are sounds.
Spoken language always occurs before written language -- know it or not.
Deliver only a sounds-based instruction to avoid massive compensations for error.
Use all surplus resources for vocabulary expansion with shared inquiry for comprehension.
LISTEN, THEN SPELL. {.Sound+Spellings.} are foolproof.
Say, "[V01] spelled Letter A." apple hat
Say, “[V01] spelled Letters Aa-split-Ee.” dance
[V01]
{.V01/a.} apple hat
{.V01/a_e.} dance ...
[V02]
{.V02/i.} inch ship
{.V02/i_e.} live ...
[V03]
{.V03/o.} off dot
{.V03/o_e.} gone ...
[V04]
{.V04/u.} up cup
{.V04/o_e.} love ...
[V05]
{.V05/e.} egg bell
{.V05/e_e.} fence ...
[V06]
Letter Aa
{.V06/a_e.} age cane
{.V06/a.} able baby ...
[V07]
Letter Ii < eye >
{.V07/i_e.} ice kite
{.V07/i.} idea kind ...
[V08]
Letter Oo < oh >
{.V08/o_e.} ode cone
{.V08/o.} old cold ...
[V09]
{.V09/u_e.} tube tune
{.V09/u.} truth ...
[C39+V09]
Letter Uu < you >
{.C39+V09/u_e.} use
{.C39+V09/u.} usual ...
[V10]
Letter Ee
{.V10/ee.} eel feet
{.V10/e.} she he we ...
[V11]
{.V11/a.} all ball
{.V11/a_e.} are false ...
[V12]
{.V12/oo.} look hook
{.V12/u.} push pull ...
[V13]
{.V13/ow.} owl down
{.V13/ou.} out clout ...
[V14]
{.V14/oy.} oyster boy
{.V14/oi.} oil coin ...
[V15]
{.V15/ir.} irk girl
{.V15/er.} germ ...
[C39+V15]
{.C39+V15/ur.} fury
{.C39+V14/ure.} cure
[C16]
Letter Pp < pea >
{.C16/p.} page shape
{.C16/pp.} happy ...
[C17]
Letter Bb < bee >
{.C17/b.} bait web
{.C17/bb.} nibble ...
[C18]
Letter Tt < tea >
{.C18/t.} tub flute
{.C18/tt.} kitty ...
[C19]
Letters Dd - Ww < double-you >
{.C19/d.} dish hid
{.C19/dd.} add odd ...
[C20]
Letter Hh
{.C20/ch.} chat chew
{.C20/tch.} itch hatch ...
[C21]
Letters Gg - Jj < gee - jay >
{.C21/j.} joy jerk
{.C21/g.} gym gem ...
[C22]
Letters Kk - Qq < ’kay - queue >
{.C22/k.} king yak
{.C22/c.} cat cow ...
[C22+C28]
Letter Xx
{.C22+C28/x.} ax fix box flux hex
[C22+C36]
Letters ‘QU’
{.C22+C36/qu.} quack quit quake quite quote
[C23]
{.C23/g.} gate good
{.C23/gg.} egg foggy ...
[C23+C29]
{.C23+C29/x.} exact exam exit example
[C23+C31]
{.C23+C31/x.} luxury luxurious
[C24]
Letter Ff
{.C24/f.} fun feed
{.C24/ff.} off puff ...
[C25]
Letter Vv
{.C25/v.} vote have
{.C25/f.} of ...
[C26]
{.C26/th.} thank thin thought thud theft
[C27]
{.C27/th.} that this the them they thy those
[C28]
Letters Cc - Ss < sea >
{.C28/s.} sun us
{.C28/ss.} guess ...
[C29]
Letter Zz
{.C29/z.} zoom ooze
{.C29/zz.} jazz ...
[C30]
{.C30/sh.} shoe push
{.C30/s.} sugar ...
[C31]
{.C31/s.} vision
{.C31/g.} beige ...
[C32]
{.C32/h.} house
{.C32/wh.} who ...
[C33]
Letter Mm
{.C33/m.} man come
{.C33/mm.} summer ...
[C34]
Letter Nn
{.C34/n.} nail pain
{.C34/nn.} dinner ...
[C35]
{.C35/ng.} sing song
{.C35/n.} think ...
[C36]
Letter Yy < Wi-Fi >
{.C36/w.} wish
{.C36/wh.} wharf ...
[C36+V04]
{.C36+V04/o_e.} one once
[C32+C36]
{.C32+C36/wh.} whack which what when
[C37]
Letter Ll
{.C37/l.} lag log leg
{.C37/ll.} pill ball ...
[V12+C37]
{.V12+C37/-le.} apple nibble bottle cuddle
[C38]
Letter Rr < are >
{.C38/r.} red read
{.C38/rr.} error ...
[C39]
{.C39/y.} year yes
{.C39/i.} onion
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG, DON'T GO ALONG!
I witnessed my 3rd Grade students eagerly embrace personal responsibility because empowerment itself is motivational.
Students can be taught that choices have consequences. Likewise, Leaders of Learning must consider evidence, perceive any dichotomy, use personal truth as their defense, and then achieve a fix.
In my own career, at first I used 'whole word' sight memory for new vocabulary, i.e. flashcards with no other explanation. Then I used decodable stories and phonics worksheets as our district's basal language arts curriculum, but the rich literature of a newly adopted Whole Language curriculum was far more engaging than contrived fat-cat-sat stories.
Only outside of employment have I been able to scrutinize and discover the wrongheadedness of something quite independent of 'what' is being taught. My focus turned to the 'how' of teaching spelling and reading, and to providing demonstrations of 'how' to not allow the visual modality to dominate.
Spoken language requires HEARING blended speech sounds.
Written language requires SEEING blended letters, which themselves are inert.
Hearing and seeing always dance together, but our job is to guarantee that 'hearing' always takes the lead.
Truth is not our enemy. Every parent, tutor and teacher will make choices and create consequences. Most learners can compensate and move forward in spite of errors in our teaching. (Machines rely on a reliable algorithm.) The day is coming when systemic errors will be exposed and fixed, but that shift must begin in the minds of humans who design lessons, write the curriculum, and engineer engaging software. Learning Leaders work for the benefit of our children, their children, and all children to follow.
Notions of rightness and wrongness will set up intrinsic disputes. Of course, within a home or classroom, one's own sovereignty may not be challenged. But within larger venues, advocates and adversaries will stand up. Each of our disputes may become a manageable dynamic given these precious, free relationships within contemporary society.
We may respectfully disagree, yet continue to give voice and vote.
=== REVIEW ===
Say YES to VC Logic which is intrinsically sensible, yet still an unproven outlier.
Note: Reading scientists have not yet scrutinized VC Logic.
Heard–Said–Spelled–Read (HSSR) organizes all teaching around speech sounds mapped V01 through C39.
HSSR spells-out what is spoken. There are no letter-based attributions.
Say NO to ABC Logic because it requires learners to sound-out what is on the page (Seen–Read–Said).
Say NO to ABC Logic's organization around alphabet letters and 'letter-sounds' with rules and letter-based jargon.
Say NO to all nonsense and neglect which frequently occur with ABC's letter-sounds.
Say NO to Shape Logic which simply 'sees-says' enough times to memorize whole words.
Judy Ramírez since 1997
Licensed under CC BY 4.0 since 2023