top of page

Secret Code Actions™

How is the Parent Version different from the Teacher Edition?

The Secret Code Actions™ Teacher Edition is written for a classroom teacher, remediation teacher or teacher studying at university, to help them:
 

  • Expand their knowledge of the "secrets" of the English code, to build their students' knowledge of the English language;

  • Strengthen their existing general classroom or remediation instruction to include more evidence-based approaches to teaching reading/spelling;

  • Bring more movement into the classroom while teaching/practicing the code.

Teachers

Parents

The Secret Code Actions™ Parent Edition is written for parents, to help them:
 

  • Expand their knowledge of the “secrets” of the English code to better support their child’s learning or solidification of reading/spelling skills in the home setting;

  • Build or bolster their child’s reading and spelling skills in fun (yet reliable) ways at home, including using movement to learn/practice the code;

  • Know what instructional essentials should be a part of K through Grade 2 classroom instruction;

  • Advocate for the evidence-based reading/spelling instruction that is often missing in schools (particularly the teaching of the code)

Both editions are carefully designed to enable a collaborative approach to code mastery, meaning the classroom and/or remediation teacher can be using the Teacher Edition to teach essential code-based concepts in a fun way, and a parent can be practicing in the home using the same terminology/keywords/movements.

​

Owners of Secret Code Actions™ currently enjoy complimentary access to supplementary materials (limited time offer). Created by the author, these materials are available to download and print from SecretCodeActions.com, including:

  • Example of instructional order of concepts (teaching sequence),

  • Grapheme/symbol cards (large and small),

  • Desk and wall charts for Chapter 1’s Master Chart of Phoneme-to-Grapheme (Sound-to Symbol) Correspondences,

  • 1" Tiles colour-coded to match grapheme/symbol cards,

  • Posters for vowel sound-to-symbol correspondences,

  • Additional fun activities!

 Specifics of how Parent Edition is different from Teacher Edition:

  • Content written for parent audience​,
     

  • Steps for activities written for parent and child,
     

  • Some large group activities from Teacher Edition replaced with activities more suitable for practice with individual child in a home setting,
     

  • Some Teacher Edition activities requiring extended knowledge of concepts replaced by simpler activities.

For Teachers

The Secret Code Actions™ Teacher Edition is a resource created to empower teachers with greater knowledge of English sound-symbol correspondences and the related essentials that need to be included in code-based instruction for most students (and advantageous to all students): Phonology, Orthography, Morphology, Semantics and Syntax.

 

Created to enhance any phonics program, the Secret Code Actions™ kinesthetic mnemonics help extend a multisensory approach to learning PGCs (phoneme-grapheme correspondences) as well as other code-related skills such as syllables and spelling conventions. 

 

Using physical activity to teach and practice reading/spelling skills means teachers have more ways to provide skill repetition during lessons – and at any time of the day. For districts with mandated DPA – daily physical activity – this enables teachers to more effectively maximize DPA time by connecting movement to the strengthening of specific academic skills.

 

The creative movements provide teachers not only with engaging and fun ways to help students master the code, but will help teachers themselves learn (and remember!) the secrets of the code that are missing from many teacher-training programs.

 

NOTE: Teachers who own Secret Code Actions™ also have access to supplementary materials created by the author, downloadable from www.SecretCodeActions.com. This includes a suggested teaching sequence Kindergarten through Grade 2 (helpful for teachers who have never taught the code explicitly using a sequence), an example of an explicit teaching lesson, grapheme cards to use when practicing, and more!

For Parents

The Secret Code Actions™ Parent Edition is a resource created for parents wanting to develop or bolster their child’s reading and spelling skills in fun, yet reliable, ways at home.

 

It focuses the “secrets” of the English code often missing – or insufficient – in many schools. The snippets of information are intended to empower parents and children with fascinating knowledge of the English language, and fun ways to learn and practice concepts to get both child and adult moving and laughing while learning sound-symbol correspondences and other reading/spelling concepts.

 

This tool can be used to strengthen reading readiness skills, to help a child who is struggling to learn to read or spell, or to enrich the knowledge of a child on track with skill mastery.

 

The Parent Edition also gives parents a better understanding of the essentials that should be a part of K through Grade 2 classroom instruction, yet often not systematically taught. This equips a parent to advocate for more explicit and systematic instruction of the code (phonics) at school.

 

NOTE: Parents who own Secret Code Actions™ also have access to supplementary materials created by the author, downloadable from www.SecretCodeActions.com. This includes a suggested teaching sequence, lesson examples, symbol cards to use when practicing, and more!

FOR BOTH PARENTS AND TEACHERS

Both editions are carefully designed to foster a collaborative approach to code mastery, meaning that the classroom teacher can use the Teacher Edition at school, while a parent can use the Parent Edition at home to help their child practice the same concepts (using the same keywords and movements for the sounds and symbols). This cooperation between home and school will help a child learn more quickly and reduce the stress often felt by all – child, parent, and teacher – when a child (especially a child with dyslexia) requires many more steps and repetitions to master the code. This type of collaboration between home and school – to build foundational reading/spelling skills as effectively as possible – is often missing. This book makes such collaboration possible – and fun! 

bottom of page