Sentence Courses
The third track of courses in Pictures Are For Babies introduces the student to sentences. Each word course is followed by a sentence course that uses the words learned in the previous course. The sentences start simple and gradually become more complex, introducing syntactic structures, punctuation, and grammar along the way. Initially only the exact words from the corresponding word course are used, but later sentences use derived forms such as plurals, past tense, and adverbs.
The general procedure for sentence courses is similar to that of the word courses. The instructions are as follows:
- Each lesson contains multiple examples, which start as hidden. The tutor first looks at the lesson header to check if the lesson is a Reading or Dictation lesson.
- For reading lessons:
- The tutor clicks on the first example to reveal it and shows it to the student.
- The student should quickly and automatically read the sentence. If the student does so, the tutor clicks on the "✗" button to mark the example as correct, which turns into a "✓".
- The student should read the sentence with the correct intonation and flow. Pauses after punctuation marks should be respected.
- Students should be instructed to say "I don't know" if they do not know how to read the sentence or part of it. The tutor should make it clear that this is not a problem but a part of the learning process.
- If the student is struggling on a single word, the tutor can help them with it. However, unless it is a very minor issue, the tutor should not mark the example as correct.
- Repeat this process for all the examples in the lesson.
- After the student goes through all the examples, the tutor performs an intervention. Refer to the intervention sections below for selecting the correct intervention and instructions.
- For dictation lessons:
- The tutor clicks on the first example to reveal it and reads it aloud to the student.
- Punctuation marks should be read aloud, such as "comma", "period", "question mark", and "exclamation mark".
- The student should quickly and automatically write the sentence on a piece of paper, notebook, or some other writing surface. If the student does so, the tutor clicks on the "✗" button to mark the example as correct, which turns into a "✓".
- Students should be instructed to say "I don't know" if they do not know how to write the sentence or part of it. The tutor should make it clear that this is not a problem but a part of the learning process.
- If the student is struggling on a single word, the tutor can help them with it. However, unless it is a very minor issue, the tutor should not mark the example as correct.
- This is not a handwriting course. If the student is too young to write by hand, they can use one of the following alternatives:
- Spell out the words to the tutor verbally and have the tutor write them down. For example, the student can say "c-a-t" for the word "cat" or "uppercase T-o-m" for the word "Tom". However, keep in mind that as the sentences become more complex, this may become impractical.
- Write on a table or computer keyboard.
- Write using a stylus on a tablet or phone.
- This is not a memory course either. If the student cannot remember the dictation, the tutor can read the sentence or the relevant part of it again. The student should not be expected to remember the sentence from the first time it was read because later courses include longer and more complex sentences.
- Repeat this process for all the examples in the lesson.
- After the student goes through all the examples, the tutor performs an intervention. Refer to the intervention sections below for selecting the correct intervention and instructions.
- Examples should be marked as correct even if the student does not know the meaning of some words. If they are curious about the meaning, the tutor can explain it to them. Tutors can use pictures if that helps with comprehension. For example, if the word is "elephant", the tutor can show a picture of an elephant. The prohibition against pictures applies only to explicit instruction on how sentences are read and spelled.
Tier 0 Intervention🔗
If the student correctly reads or writes all the examples in the lesson, no intervention is needed. The tutor can move to the next lesson immediately.
Tier 1 Intervention🔗
Tier 1 is simply explicit instruction on how to read or write the sentences that the student missed. The procedure is as follows:
- For each sentence that the student missed:
- While asking the student to read or write sentences, the tutor should make notes of the words in the sentence that the student struggled with.
- For each of those words, the tutor should run the Tier 1 intervention described in the Word Courses. The tutor should also make sure they highlight any uppercase or punctuation marks in the sentence that the student missed.
- The tutor should then have the student read the sentence again and ensure they can now read it. If the student continues to struggle with some words, the tutor should teach them again using the Tier 1 intervention.
- If the lesson is a dictation lesson, the tutor should have the student copy the sentence a few times to ensure they can write it correctly. It is not necessary to perform dictation in this step. The student can simply copy the sentence from the screen or from a copy made by the tutor. Two or three times should be sufficient.
Tier 2 and Above Interventions🔗
Unlike the word courses, the sentence courses do not have a Tier 2 intervention or above. Because sentence courses are only shown after the corresponding word course, the student should already know how to read and write the individual words. If they struggle with the sentence courses, they will be shown that lesson and the word lessons more frequently. For that reason, it is not necessary to have a separate intervention focused on developing advanced phonemic awareness in the sentence courses.
The sentence courses are designed to help students practice their reading and writing skills in real sentences. This component, along with explicit instruction on phonics and developing phonemic awareness to the advanced level, is one of the three key components of the most effective reading programs. The sentence courses also help students further develop their vocabulary and knowledge of grammar and syntax. They are also a bridge to the text and writing courses.