Reading can be very challenging for emergent readers. There are so many rules to know. Instead of following more rules – let’s be honest kids can tire of rules, we have been learning Secret Stories. Secret Stories is a program designed by Katie Garner that is “hacking the brain’s backdoor,” and is a neuroscience-based approach to reading instruction. Kids learn memorable stories that help them remember and recall the tricky letter combinations that fill our English language. Shouldn’t c – say, “cu” as in cookie?! Not when he is with the letter h! As Katie Garner teaches us, when C and H are together they love to ride the train down the track, chugging along as they go – “CH-CH-CH-CH!”
The students in Ms. Fun’s Grade 2 class were given the task to introduce a set of new Secret Stories. Groups of students were each assigned a Secret Story and worked on creating a poster and a skit to introduce the stories to their classmates. Students were encouraged to work as a team and have fun conveying the memorable stories. Some were cool dudes as they present “ey” and “ay” and others found themselves stealing a superhero’s cape!
