Secret Stories® Phonics — The Brain Loves Novelty!

Using Music to Cement “Sound-to-Symbol” Connections in the Brain

I’m often asked why the Secret Stories® musical brainteaser exercises (on the musical download that’s included in the kits) aren’t exactly songs, as there is no instrumental accompaniment, no fun lyrics….just simple and instantly recognizable tunes with constantly changing “sound-symbol” manipulations! They are the fastest way to “glue” the sound-to-symbol (“speech to print”) connections together and build the automaticity needed for easy and effortless reading and writing!

If you use the Secrets in your daily reading and writing (phonics) instruction, you may have wondered why the Secret Stories® musical brain teaser “songs” sound so differently from other educational songs sung in early grade classrooms? Like everything else that is Secret Stories®, it’s about getting the maximum brain-BANG” for the instructional buck! 

phonics songs

Note that the previously included CD is now a music DOWNLOAD!

As teachers, we’ve all seen how easily and effortlessly students can sing through skills when they’re set in a song. Like, for example, the old “ABC Song,” assuming that you don’t mind the inclusion of that imaginary letter, “elemeno!” Kids sing daily songs as if on “autopilot,” which they are. The words literally roll off their tongue, and with no thinking required!

And this is good, right?
Not necessarily, as it depends what the skill is and how kids are going to need to use it.

Familiar and repetitive songs are perfect for fast mastery of “set” skills that are finite and sequential—in other words, skills that need only to be parroted back, “as is,” like the days of the week, months of the year, names of the planets, fifty nifty states, etc…  Such skills are easily acquired through song and stored in learners’ muscle memory, which works much like a  ‘read-only’ disc. This means that while the information is easily regurgitated, it cannot be altered or manipulated….which is fine for naming the days of the week, but not so helpful for manipulating letter sounds and phonics patterns to read and spell.

Letters and sounds exist for one reason—using them to read and spell words. The ability to sing through the letter names in order serves no practical purpose for reading and writing. Beginning learners must be able to actively manipulate these sounds and symbols in a “free-form” and flexible manner in order to use them as “tools” to read and write.
Unlike the “traditional” Alphabet Song, the Secret Stories Better Alphabet™ Song does empower beginning learners with this ability, taking approximately 2 weeks to 2 months for simultaneous mastery of BOTH letter names AND sounds—which are cemented together through muscle memory.  (For more on the Better Alphabet™, see links at bottom.)

The “Unfamiliar and Unexpected” are the Brain’s BEST Friends!  

Singing through the virtually endless letter sound combinations in a variety of constantly changing, musical exercises is the best way to ensure that learning not only remains novel, but that the stress-level is kept low, while the challenge remains high! It’s also the best way to forge critical “sound-symbol” connections in the brain and increase automaticity for using them in both reading and writing! 
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Following is an excerpt from an article written by Belle Beth Cooper on Novelty and the Brain.
Why Getting New Things Makes Us Feel So Good: Novelty and the Brain

We all like novelty! In fact, our brains are made to be attracted to novelty. And it turns out that it could actually improve our memory and learning capacity!

The Brain Loves Novelty for Phonics Instruction

It’s actually hardwired into my brain—and yours—to appreciate and seek out novelty. Anything that’s new, different or unusual… we can even be drawn to novelty without being conscious of it. Of course, this makes a lot of sense—we wouldn’t get much done if ordinary things captivated us constantly!

The cool thing about this is how intricately novelty seems to be associated with learning, which means we can use this knowledge to our advantage for learning new things and improving our memory.
It’s been thought before that novelty was a reward in itself, but, like dopamine, it seems to be more related to motivation. Our Dopamine pathways become activated whenever we are exposed to novelty, and only completely new things will activate our midbrain area. Studies show that the plasticity of the hippocampus (the ability to create new connections between neurons) was increased by the influence of novelty—both during the process of exploring a novel environment or stimuli and for 15–30 minutes afterward.
As well as increasing our brain’s plasticity—and therefore the potential for learning new concepts and facts—novelty has been shown to improve the memory of test subjects. Studies suggest that dopamine (a “reward” chemical in the brain) levels increase in the context of novelty. Each new stimuli gives you a little rush of motivation to go further, to find more new stimuli that will generate more dopamine rewards.

Here is a graph that shows activity in your brain on this:

Secret Stories® Phonics —"The Brain Loves Novelty"

According to a study conducted by Dr. Emrah Duzel from University College in London:
Subjects performed best when new information (i.e. constantly changing musical manipulations) was combined with familiar information  (i.e. letters/sounds) during learning. After a 20 minute delay, subjects’ memory for slightly familiar information (i.e. letters/sounds) was boosted by 19 per cent if it had been mixed with something new during learning sessions.

This research suggests that we use the brain’s increased plasticity wisely by setting aside time to learn right after novel stimuli, as learners’ brains are more open to making new connections during and right after this time. So why not take advantage!

Dr Düzel pointed out additional benefits that could come from his research:

“We hope that these findings will have an impact on those with poor memory. Current practice aims to improve memory through repeatedly exposing a person to information. This study shows that it’s more effective if you mix something new with the old. You actually learn better, even though your brain is also tied up with new information.
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So what does this mean for teachers? And how can it benefit our phonics instruction?
It means that you can significantly improve knowledge retention and make new ideas and concepts (like letter sounds and phonics skills) stick by introducing novelty into the learning process. And doing this is easier than you think!

Above is just one example of MANY research studies showing the significant impact that novelty has on the brain, and for purposes of teaching and learning, novelty can take many forms! Incorporating novel experiences into daily learning doesn’t mean having to continually add on new skills and information to what you’re already teaching!

Novelty can be easily achieved by simply framing “slightly-familiar” content in new and unique ways. This causes our brains to notice and recognize it more easily because it’s been offset by the new way in which it’s being presented. (In other words, it not only keeps it fresh, but makes it more exciting!)

A Novel Approach to Decoding and Encoding with Musical Practice and Play

If this sounds confusing, but I promise, it’s not once you see it in action.
And it’s not just the musical brain teaser exercises in the Secret Stories® that make use of this “novelty-effect,” but the Secrets, themselves! Transforming phonics skills kids have to learn into secrets they want to know makes them important to kids—marking them for memory and prioritized learning in the brain (Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, 2018). This is especially true when framing them as “Grown-up Reading and Writing Secrets” that kids must be “big enough” to hear!
phonics stories dyslexic
Every Secret is a new story about the “secret” behavior (or misbehavior!) of letters….and the higher the grade level, the more significant this “novelty-effect!” Older, struggling learners have had their share of disconnected and often confusing phonics instruction. Feeling as if they’ve already “been there and done that,” most have spent countless hours across multiple grade level  years trying and failing to acquire the phonics skills they need to read and write. For these struggling, upper grade learners, framing these seemingly boring and meaningless letter sound skills as novel “secrets” that explain all of the sounds letters make when they get together, sparks their natural curiosity and reignites their interest—motivating them to want to know and learn more as things finally start to make sense!
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Following are some short video clips showing the Secret Stories® Musical Brain Teasers in action for fun and novel phonics play and practice! These little brain-based ditties are best done in bits of downtime throughout the day (think “instantaneous singing!”) while waiting for the bus, or for the music teacher to come, or for the lunch line to move. (To access the musical download, find the code on the inside back cover of your Secret Stories® book.)
The Beethoven Blends AND Beethoven Blends ‘In-Reverse!’

Beethoven Blends Musical Phonics Practice

Click Here for the Digital Version of the Secret Stories® Beethoven Blends on Teachers Pay Teachers

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Apples & Bananas to the EXTREME!

The “Letter Runs” – Forward, Backward, Long & Short!

This song is almost never sung the same way twice, as you can do it backward AND forward, and even sing it to different tunes— from the Star-Spangled Banner to Happy Birthday—all while continually switching the vowel sounds back and forth, from long to short! (So many ways, so little time! ;-)


This class can even sing it “Jedi-Style!”
(Note: You can’t see from the way that the teacher is facing in the video, but she is pointing to each letter as it’s sung, so as to  ensure that kids always “SEE what SING and SING what they SEE!” This is key to forging the the letter-sound connections in the brain. However, when doing the rapid-paced Letter Runs forward and backward, it’s much easier when using a vertical alphabet. (The one pictured beneath the video is included is included in the Better Alphabet Anchor Pack, shown further down below.)
Secret Stories Letter Runs

Vertical Alphabet (in the Better Alphabet™ Anchor Pack below)

And then there’s the Better Alphabet™ Song for fast mastery of individual letter sounds in just 2 weeks to 2 months! (Video version below.) During this time, kids are also learning Secrets that explain WHY the letters aren’t always making the sounds they should!
Better Alphabet Song

Click Here for the “Video-Version” of the Better Alphabet® Song

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Better Alphabet Song Posters

Click Here for the Better Alphabet™ Classroom Anchors

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Better Alphabet Song Mini Mat Anchors

Click Here for the Better Alphabet™ Digital Mini-Mats for Individual Student Reference & Home Use

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And if you don’t already have the Secrets, but would like to try sharing them with your students to fast-track your phonics instruction, you can download this mini-sampler poster pack FREE! 
Free Secret Stories® Phonics Posters

Click Here to Download the FREE “Appetizer-Pack” of Secret Stories® Phonics Posters

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The Brain is the Ultimate Pattern-Making Machine!  

In a previous post, I explained how to get the most brain-BANG for the buck when using Secret Stories® to sound-out unknown words and help learners to “think through” or pattern-out the most likely sound options. While that post focused on how to think like a doctor, this post will focus on why!

Engaging with unknown text in this way transforms daily reading and writing into a virtual playground for critical thinking and deeper learning, and is far more beneficial from a brain-based perspective than rote memorization of sight words, as evidenced by recent Stanford University Brain Study on Sight Words, referenced in this post. 
 

Patterning IS Thinking

When it comes to learning, our brain’s core belief system is comprised of everything that’s already known to be true. Our brain is the ultimate pattern-making machine.  It is continually engaged in two primary functions— seeking-out patterns and creating new ones. Whether deciding what to eat for lunch or solving complex mathematical equations, our brains remain on a perpetual hunt to both find and make new patterns! 
 
Once identified, our brain will attempt to connect the new information its perceived to that which it already owns, so as to create a new pattern. And this pretty much sums up the brain’s core learning process! With each new pattern connection that is made, our thinking network continues to grow… and the more connections madethe easier it will be to identify new ones. Acquiring knowledge in this way is both easy and effortless, with no memorization or repetitious practice required! 
 
The following excerpt is taken from 12 Design Principles Based on Brain-based Learning Research by Dr. Jeffery Lackney
Pattern making is pleasing to the brain. The brain takes great pleasure in taking random and chaotic information and ordering it. The implications for learning and instruction is that presenting a learner with random and unordered information provides the maximum opportunity for the brain to order this information and form meaningful patterns that will be remembered. The brain, when allowed to express its pattern-making behavior, creates coherency and meaning. 
 
Research shows those considered to be the most intelligent among us, based on IQ testing, are actually the best pattern makers, as they are able to see patterns where others see only randomness. 
 
Author Michael Michalko (author of Thinkertoys, Cracking Creativity, and Think-Pak) wrote in a recent blog post, How Geniuses Think, that “When confronted with a problem, a genius will ask,  “How many different ways can I look at it? How many different ways can I solve it?” 
 
Beginning and struggling readers must employ this same diagnostic thinking when using the Secrets to sound out unknown words in text, asking, “What else can it be?….  What else could I try?”  Engaging in this type of analytical, problem-solving is often referred to as “thinking outside the box,” but to do it effectively, you have to know what’s in it! And this is why knowing the Secrets is so important for beginning and struggling readers, as they equip learners with everything that’s in the box so that they are empowered to think outside it!
According to Michalko, it is the ability to “connect the unconnected” that makes one some capable of “seeing things to which others are blind.” Einstein, Mozart, Edison, Pasteur, Picasso….some of history’s most prolific thinkers who were also great pattern-makers! Research shows that it’s about teaching students how to think, not what to think.So what does this mean for teachers? It means that we can teach thinking by teaching patterning!  

It means that regardless of students’ personal strengths or weaknesses, inclinations or academic interests, teaching them how to pattern-out new information makes them better thinkers … and more intelligent!  That’s right!  The research shows that by helping learners to foster new connections, we have the power to increase physical brain mass, maximizing learner-potential and better preparing them for future learning!

It also means that kindergarten teachers can’t just say that the letter T will say “tuh” and then pretend to ignore the fact that it almost never actually does when kids see it in real words (i.e. this, they, them, those, them, that, there, those, etc… outnumber words like turtle and Toronto 10 to 1!) versus ignore all of the times that it doesn’t (i.e. the, this, they, those, them, then, than, these, etc…)


The Brain is a “Pattern-Making” Machine!
When the odds are 10 to 1 against a letter actually making the sound that learners expect it to, trying to read words can feel like a wild goose chase! But for learners who know the letters’ Secrets!

Download the Secret Stories® Mini-Poster “Appetizer” Anchor Pack FREE!

 

 

Effective instruction should align with the brain’s natural learning process, not against it, and this can be extremely difficult when teaching letter sounds and phonics. Teaching phonics is not intuitive, and most teachers in early classrooms today have received little to no training on how to do it effectively. So how does one teach something that doesn’t seem to make sense in a way that actually makes sense? They know the Secrets, of course!

 

Secret Stories® is not like traditional phonics, nor is it like any phonics program. The Secrets simply put meaning where there would otherwise be none, and thereby shifting instruction from brain antagonistic to brain compatible. Secrets empower teachers to break down the grade level walls of traditional phonics skill introduction that limit early learner-access to the code (and what are often letters’ most likely sounds!)

Breaking Down the Grade Level Walls that Limit Early Learner Access to the Code

The ability to classify incoming information quickly into categories (based on patterns that we know) means that the brain can use easier rules to deal with the new input, which is less stressful than always having to deal with things that haven’t been seen before. 

In other words, our brains are hardwired to look for patterns, and the Secrets are patterns— not abstract letter patterns, but patterns of behavior that are designed to mimic learners’ own behavior. Knowing these patterns (i.e. Secrets) equips learners to more easily deal with new information (i.e. unfamiliar words) and better identify the best course of action (most and next most likely sound options to try). In contrast, inexperienced early grade and struggling upper grade readers who don’t know the Secrets must constantly deal with things (i.e. words, phonics patterns) they have never seen before, and are usually told, “It just is… It just does… You just have to remember….” when they can’t read or spell a word.

Seth Godwin, author of Looking for Patterns (Where they don’t Exist!) writes, “Human beings are pattern-making machines. That’s a key to our survival instinct— we seek out patterns and use them to predict the future. Which is great, except when the pattern isn’t there, then our pattern-making machinery is busy picking things out that truly don’t matter.” 
The brain science cuts a clear path for teachers today, and understanding how we might better align our instruction with the brain science is critical information for those in early grade classrooms, as well as those working with struggling readers at the upper grade levels. For more, click here to subscribe free to my YouTube Channel and check out the video clip below to find out why “Cheating the Brain is Like Robbing a Bank!”
 
Until Next Time,
Katie Garner :-)

 


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Breaking down the grade level walls of phonics introduction— one “Secret” at a time!
Secret Stories® accelerates learner access to the code by fast-tracking individual letter sound skill mastery to just 2 weeks to 2 months (via muscle memory) while simultaneously targeting learners’ earlier-developing, affective (social-emotional) “feeling” networks with Secrets for accelerated phonics skill mastery. 
 
Secrets account for WHY letters don’t always “do what they should” when they get together in words in a way that kids easily understand, making them easy to remember with no memorization or skill-based practice required! By working with the brain rather than against, Secret Stories® breaks down the traditional grade level walls of phonics skill introduction that limit learner-access to the code and increases momentum in both reading AND writing! (Note: Secret Stories® is not a program, but intended to underscore any existing reading curriculum/instruction, serving as a teacher “took-kit” to make phonics make sense!
Try a “taste” of the Secrets with YOUR class 
and see the difference they make!
Click to Download the FREE Secret Stories® Mini-Sample Poster Pack!

 

For a list of upcoming conferences, or for information on scheduling a school or district professional development workshop, click here. 

 


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Did you know that if you had a fever and cough, it could be the plague,
or pneumonia…or maybe just the flu? Actually, it could be a lot of things.

Word Doctor Cognitive Flexibility for Exceptions

Word Doctor Training

Because doctors know that the plague is the least likely cause of your symptoms, and that the flu is the most likely, they will probably go with the flu first and then work their way through the “next most likely” options, as needed.

Medicine is not an exact science, and doctors must use what they know to determine what’s most likely to be effective. They work through these options based on a hierarchy of likelihood.

Like medicine, the English language and is not an exact science, and while phonics is the key to learning how to read, it often takes a binary form, with words either falling squarely under under the “rule” or the “exception” categories. However, when we align abstract phonics skills with human behaviors that mirror kids’ own behaviors, their “most” and “next-most” likely sounds become easily predictable, even for kinders….and even if they’re exceptions!

Good word doctors armed with the Secrets can “treat” these so-called exceptions by employing the same cognitive flexibility that doctors apply when diagnosing patients. The first thing a good word doctor must know is that there are only so many different sounds a letter or phonics pattern can make. Their sounds are not random, even though they may appear that way sometimes.

Just like the old saying “Apples don’t fall far from the tree,”  letters don’t fall far from their sounds. For example, you will never see the letter q say “mmm,” or the letter k say “duh,” or the tion phonics pattern say “ing”….

Secret Stories® Brain Based Phonics

 

…as contrary to popular belief, letters don’t just lose their little letter-minds and run amok! All they do (and it’s usually the vowels that do this) is make a sound that they’re perfectly capable of making, but it’s the NEXT most likely one! Watch the video clip below to see what I mean!

 

When working with patients, doctors must use what they know to figure out what they don’t. The must think analytically and diagnostically. “What’s the best course of attack? What should I try first, and if that doesn’t work, what should I try next?”  This process continues until all options are exhausted and there is nothing left to try. That’s when the patient is sent to a specialist who can “recognize” what’s too difficult to diagnose. (Much like exceptions that can’t be decoded must be memorized.)

Just like real doctors, word doctors need to use the Secrets they know to figure out the parts of the words that they don’t. They must practice the same cognitive flexibility that doctors use when sounding out unknown words- “What else can it be? What else could I try?” This type of analytical, problem-solving is akin to “thinking outside the box,” and for kids to do this effectively they must first know what’s IN the box. In other words, they must know the phonics Secrets!

 

phonics exceptions

This is why earlier and faster access to the code is so important for beginning and struggling readers, as only once kids know what’s IN the box are they able to think outside it!

The Secret Story of ou/ow…
Ou & ow play really rough and someone always gets hurt and says— “Oooowww!”
(like in the words: how, now, round, house, etc.)
But, flying overhead is Superhero O, who happens to their  all-time, favorite superhero, ever! Whenever he flies by, they will always stop dead in their tracks and yell—“O! O! O!” That’s why the default sound for ou/ow is the long o sound!
(like in the words: know, though, blow, dough, etc.)

Secret Stories ou ow diphthong

The Secret makes sounding out the words with this phonics pattern easy, even in kindergarten!  Words like how, now, about, around, know, grow, though, etc., that are commonly found on sight word lists don’t have to memorized, as kids can just READ them!  Plus, because it relates back to what kids already know and understand, they can learn (and start using) the ou/ow Secret even if they haven’t yet mastered all the individual letters and sounds.  yet because it makes sense to them.

Alternatively, memorizing a sight word can take multiple repetitions and seemingly take forever for some students to master, especially if there is little home support. More importantly, memorizing a sight word lets you read ONE word, whereas knowing a Secret lasts you read thousands!

Consider the word you…

The ou isn’t doing what it should according to the Secret. Even still, its sound hasn’t fallen too far away… at least not so far that a good word doctor can’t still figure it out.

And here’s how…

1.  First, try the most likely Secret Stories sound for ou (as in house)….. NOPE, it didn’t work!

2.  Next, try the individual sounds for the letters and ….. BINGO!!! We got the word!!

In this case, we got it on the second try.

Now, had we not struck gold on our first “out-of-the-box” attempt, we could have worked our way further down the list of possible sound options and turned this puzzle into a sort of problem-solving/critical thinking game….

3.  Try the sounds of other Secret Stories patterns with o or  u, like the Secrets for oo, oi/oy or ous. For example, in the word could, the ou is making the default-sound for oo (as in book) and kids who know the oo Secret might try that sound as one more possible option.

oo phonics story

Thinking Vowels® / Head-Bop

And of course, the Thinking Vowels® head-bop trick is another great word doctor-tool to help kids decode those otherwise “undecodable” words, like of, come, love, some, what, was, etc.. (Learn more about Thinking Vowels® here or click on the picture below for the video.)

Word Doctor: Thinking Vowels

4.  It’s the PLAGUE!  It requires a specialist! When we’ve exhausted all options and have no more tricks up our sleeve, we must surrender to the word, which means we have to memorize it!

Why Not Just Memorize These Tricky Words?

Here’s why— because it is within this “figuring-out” process that cognitive flexibility is strengthened and opportunities for deep learning lie! Not just learning how to read, but learning how to think! Our brain is a pattern-making machine, and this patterning process of thinking-through all available options is its natural way of doing things. “If not this, then that…” Our brain is continually “patterning-out” the best  available options in everything that we do…

We think… “I’ll park in the front, but if I can’t find a space, I’ll try the back, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll try the next lot over. If I can’t find anything there, then I’m giving up and going home, as I’m too tired to walk that far.”

We don’t think….“If I can’t park in the front WHAT WILL I DO?
This is similar to the way kids often deal with words that are exceptions, throwing their hands up in surrender whenever the letters aren’t making the sounds that they should.

However, this is not the brain’s system for learning. Our brain always has a back-up plan, a “next most likely” option to try if the first one doesn’t work. Much like the way doctors diagnose patients. They don’t just try one course of attack and then throw their hands in the air and give up. And good word doctors can’t either.

 

Secret Stories® Brain Based Phonics
 

“Human beings are pattern-making machines. That’s a key to our survival instinct— we seek out patterns and use them to predict the future. Which is great, except when the pattern isn’t there, then our pattern-making machinery is busy picking things out that truly don’t matter.”

—Seth Godwin, author of Looking for Patterns (Where they don’t Exist

The Brain is a “Pattern-Making” Machine

Our brains are hardwired to look for patterns, and the Secrets are patterns— not abstract letter patterns, but patterns of behavior that are designed to mimic learners’ own behavior.  The ability to classify incoming information quickly into categories (based on the patterns we know) means the brain can use easier rules to deal with the new input, which is less stressful than always having to deal with things that haven’t been seen before. Knowing the Secrets equips inexperienced beginning and struggling learners to identify the best course of action when sounding out new words, and not knowing the Secrets means having to say, “It just is… It just does… You just have to remember….” when they can’t read or spell a word.

Secret Stories® Brain Based Phonics

Another benefit to reading words rather than just memorizing them is that it sparks more optimal brain circuitry, as evidenced by numerous studies, including a recent one by Stanford University Professor, Bruce McCandliss, which you can read more about here.

 

Stanford Sight Words Study
Decoding Sight Words with Phonics Secrets
Just to be clear, there are a small handful of words that cannot be decoded and must be memorized, but they are few and far between for kids who know the Secrets. Consider the fact that for every word that kids memorize, that’s one less opportunity to practice the decoding skills you’re working so hard to teach. And even more importantly, it’s one less opportunity to flex their “critical thinking/problem solving” muscles and reinforce the cognitive flexibility that’s needed for more advanced decoding.

It just is. It just is. You just have to remember.

Before you read any further, watch this video.


It’s easy for teachers to empathize with Ricky’s struggle to read words like: boughs, through, rough, cough and enough. Like many students in our guided reading groups, Ricky diligently attempts to decode what seem to him to be ‘un-decodable’ words and becomes understandably frustrated in the process. Ultimately, Ricky just closes the book and gives up, convinced that the sounds letters make just don’t make sense. Many of our students feel the same way.

In the same way that a doctor works through various options to heal a patient, we can do the same to “heal” the words that are stumping Ricky…. or at least to help make them more “figureoutable!” ( I know it’s not a word, but I really like it!)

First, we need to learn a Secret…

Secret Stories® Brain Based Phonics
Click here to learn the gh Secret

The Secret Story of gh 

Gh will make different sounds, depending on where they are in line (i.e. in a word)

When they are at the FRONT, they’re glad!

There, they make the hard g sound, saying….

 “Gosh, this is great!  We get to go first and get in before anyone else goes!” 

(ghost, ghoul, ghastly, etc…)

When they are in the MIDDLE, and surrounded by lots of other letters,

they are silent and are too afraid to say anything and make NO SOUND at all

(sight, thought, straight, etc…)

When they are at the END, they’re not at all happy and they always complain.

Here, they make the fff sound, saying….

“This is no fun! We’re so far away it’ll take forever for us to get to the front!”

(rough, enough, cough, etc…) 

Playing Word Doctor

A Reading/ Phonics Word Doctor

bough

No problem with the ou as it is doing just what it should (see ou/ow poster up above)

But gh is a different story, as it is not making the sound that it should, which is “fff.”  So let’s try one of the only TWO other sounds that it can make, and voila! We got it! The gh is silent! The gh Secret is everything that’s IN the box when it comes to all of the possible sounds that gh can make, making it easy for learners to deduce the next most likely options when it doesn’t do exactly what it should!

 

rough
Luckily in this word, gh is doing exactly what it should. However, just like in the word you (at the top of the post) ou is not making the sound that it should, but all good word doctors know that the vowels are the “eyes, ears, nose and throat” of a word, so they know to always check the vowels first whenever something’s wrong. If they try the both the long and short sounds for and then u, they would ultimately “get” the word, as only the short u is heard, and o is not saying a word. This is actually pretty common for one vowel in a pair to sometimes divert to its individual sound while other remains silent. You’ll see it happen again in the next two words as well, so it’s pretty handy for word doctors to know about! On a side note, gh is doing exactly what it should at the end of a word, so there’s no issue there.

cough
Just like the in the word above, ou is not making the sound that it should. Only the short o is heard and u is not saying a word. And again, the gh is doing exactly what it should.

enough
Once again, the ou is not making the sound that it should, as only the short u is heard and o is not saying a word. And once again, gh is doing exactly what it should.

though
In this word, it’s gh that’s acting up, as it’s not making the sound that it should at the end of a word, BUT…its sound is still easily predictable. There are only 3 possible sounds that gh can make, so any good word doctor knows to work through the most likely option first, and then try the others until they “get” the word.  And luckily, this time ou is well-behaved!

through
Now this one’s a little trickier— bordering between being “fun to figure out” and “just easier to memorize!” I would probably go with the latter for this one, but it is gratifying to know that with a whole lot of cognitive flexibility, we CAN crack this word if we really want to!

Granted, the ou is not making the sound that it should, nor is it making the o or u sound, but like the word you that was mentioned at the top of this post, it IS making the sound of its “cousin” oo. And by cousin, I mean a Secret that looks like it’s a “relative” as they share common letters, which in this case is an o. Using this “hierarchy of likelihood” to work through the most, next most and finally “if all else fails” options mirror the brain’s system for learning, and it’s great critical thinking practice for young word doctors.

Word Doctor Secret Stories

But we’re not done yet, as we still have that same little problem that we had above with gh, but it’s nothing that a good word doctor can’t fix! However, it does require an extra analytical step to crack the word, which may be one too many to make it worthwhile. Thus, this word may be worth the extra time, energy and space in the brain that’s required to memorize it.

Secret Stories® Brain Based Phonics

The video clip below shows a group of first graders playing “Word Doctor,” applying critical analysis and diagnostic thinking to make sense of the word light. While they already know how to read the word, they want to know WHY I isn’t saying his name when Mommy E® and the Babysitter Vowel® is in sight.

For a quick overview of the Superhero Vowels® and their “short & lazy” sound disguises, watch this video.

Secret Stories Phonics Posters

Secret Stories Mommy E and Babysitter Vowels - Syllable types

As mentioned above, the vowels are the most likely culprits when words just won’t “sound-out” correctly. Remember that they are the eyes, ears, nose and throat of words, which is why good word doctors always check them first, as they’re the best “window” into what’s going wrong. 

decoding exception words
Learn more word doctor strategies for tricky vowel sounds here, including the Hungry Thing and the Hungry Thing Returns.

How to Read Words that are Exceptions

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Secret Stories® Cracking the Reading Code with the Brain in Mind!

Secret Stories Banner Bottom

Shhhhhh! The "Grown-Up" Reading & Writing Phonics Secrets!
What letters DO when they DON’T do what they should!

Have you ever wondered WHY letters make all of the crazy sounds that they do? Or how you could possibly make them make sense to a five-year-old who just wants to play with their shoe and lick the carpet?

 

Letters are like kids. 

They behave beautifully and do just what they should (i.e. make their proper sounds) when they are separated and can’t get a hold of each other…. like, for example, when they’re up on the wall.
Secret Stories® Phonics "Secrets!'— Individual Letter Sound Mastery in 2 weeks- 2 months!

But when they get together, all bets are off and the bad behavior begins!

phonics poster
Secret Stories® Phonics— Brain Based Reading
You Can’t Think Outside the Box Unless You Know What’s IN It!

But like us, letters also have “Secrets!” And knowing their Secrets makes it easy to understand their behavior. These are the “grown-up” reading and writing Secrets!

Phonics Posters
CLICK FOR FREE SAMPLER PACK

Teachers who know the Secrets never have to say to their students, “It just is….It just does…You just have to remember” when telling them how to sound out or spell a word. They just tell them its Secret! 

Secret Stories® Phonics "Secrets!" — Making Phonics Make SENSE!

However, these ‘grown-up’ reading and writing Secrets are SO big that students have to earn the right to hear them! (with creative/critical thinking, awesome answers, beautiful behavior, perfect patience, caring kindness, automatic attention, dynamic discussions, ready responsibility, keeping clean, collecting compliments, etc…)

Secret Stories® Phonics "Secrets!" — Brain Based Tools that Make Phonics Make SENSE!
Starting with the Secrets— An Introduction

Secret Stories®— An Introduction

When I used to teach kindergarten and first grade, I would often tell my kids that they were “too little” to hear the “BIG grown-up Secret” that they’d spotted in a word, and that if they ate lots of vegetables every night that week, then their brains might be big enough by Friday for me to tell them! Needless to say, the parents of my picky eaters (half my class) thought I was magic, as their kids never could explain clearly enough for them to understand why exactly they were gorging on vegetables every night! 

Secret Stories® Phonics — The "Grown-Up" Reading & Writing Secrets!
“What letters do when they don’t do what they should!”
By transforming letters and sounds from “skills they have to learn” into Secrets they want to know, we can align phonics instruction with learners “need-to-know” which marks the information for memory and prioritized learning in the brain. Doing so forges deeper learning connections for easier skill retrieval.
Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Prompting "Need-to-Know" for Prioritized Learning in the Brain!
Sparking a ‘Need-to-Know’ for Prioritized Learning!
Within this learner-driven context, the instructional-tables are turned, as students beg their teachers for more and more pieces of the reading and writing code!
Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Do YOUR kids know the "ph" Secret?
   Do YOUR kids know the “ph” Secret?

Shifting Phonics Instruction from Brain-Antagonistic to Brain-Compatible

And here begins the shift from “Brain Antagonistic” to “Brain-Compatible” instruction, allowing for twice the learning gain in half the time and with half the effort.

The result is an ongoing,  student-driven cycle of learning that is natural and seamless. Learners’ desire to know more Secrets catapults phonics skill introduction beyond traditional, grade level walls, empowering early learners with accelerated access to the “whole” reading and writing code.

Secret Stories® Phonics — Shifting Phonics Instruction from "Brain Antagonistic" to "Brain Compatible"

Breaking Down Grade Level Walls that Limit Learner Access to the Code





When I was teaching Kindergarten, I would always tell the Secret about au and aw on the very first day of school, during our first morning calendar time (and shortly after I’d finished calming my criers, yellers, screamers, and runners, etc..)

Phonics Posters
Click here to learn the au/aw Secret!
Au & aw have HUGE crushes on each other!
Whenever they have to stand right up against each, side-by-side in a word, 
they get so embarrassed that they always put their heads down and say—
 “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh” 

 

After telling them the Secret, I would say— 

“Just look at all of the words that have this grown-up reading and writing Secret:Autumn, awful, awesome, Austin….  If you didn’t know the Secret, you wouldn’t be able to read these words, but now you know the grown-up reading & writing Secret!” 

 

Phonics Instruction
Admittedly, I taught this Secret knowing full well that virtually no one in my class knew the difference between a letter and a number and a squirrel, and most certainly wouldn’t have been able to recognize the letter A if it fell from the sky and landed on their head. (Fun Fact— I’ve actually had this happen before, as one day the letter A (from my wooden Pottery Barn Kids Alphabet Set) fell off the wall and hit a little guy on the top of his head, prompting him to yell, “Hey! That ‘number’ just hit me!” ;-)
Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets

So what was my reasoning for teaching the au/aw “second-grade skill” on the very first day of Kindergarten?  That’s easy.  Because it came up! And because it would keep coming up every single day, throughout the entire month of August (not to mention in a bunch of other words, too!)

The word August was written in big, bold letters at the top of our morning calendar, which we would be reading and talking about on a daily basis. Moreover, had any of my little guys actually known the letter A sound,  not explaining it would have been like tossing a giant monkey wrench into their existing pattern (i.e. what they thought they knew about the letter a).

Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— "Teaching the READER, not the Reading!"
Not accounting for this obvious discrepancy would not only make me look like the world’s biggest liar every time we sing our BETTER Alphabet Song, but it defy the brain’s system for learning as a pattern-making machine.
Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— The Brain is a "Pattern-Making" Machine
Patterning is the brain’s way of doing things. It is the essence of how we learn.

The brain is always seeking-put patterns and creating new ones. This is the learning process.  It is critical thinking at its most basic level. Patterning is, in a nutshell, the brain’s way of doing things!

And this is yet another example of how we can use the brain science to inform and enhance our teaching practices as we shift phonics instruction from brain-antagonistic to brain-compatible!

And so, having told them that they were “big enough” to hear this very important and very grown-up Secret on the very first day of school….

Then two things that happened on our way to lunch….

 

Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Accelerating Early Learner Access to the Code!
Gifted Gus

1. A little boy named Gus (who had come to school with a note pinned to his shirt, by mom, telling me he was gifted) pointed to a sign above the fire doors and yelled, “Look! The letters that are in love are in that word! Aaahhh-to-maaa-tik…… aah-to-maa-tik…… AUTOMATIC!  Hey, I can read that word!!!!”

Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Accelerating Early Learner Access to the Code!
Lu-Lu
2. A little girl (who thought her name was Lulu when it was actually Leslie) and had been playing with her shoes most of the morning) also yelled out, “Look teacher, look!” (pointing to the same sign above the fire doors) “Ahhhhhh…. ahhhhhhh…..We LOVE letters….ahhhhhh!” while simultaneously making the “in-love” gestures—arms to the side, head tilted, batting eyes—the whole works!

These two very different, yet equally awesome outbursts demonstrate why telling that particular Secret on that particular day was ABSOLUTELY the ideal, not to mention perfectly developmentally appropriate for both students— regardless upon which grade level scope and sequence the au/aw phonics skill officially falls.

High, medium or low…. the Secrets can be readily shared with ALL learners, with no harm and no fowl, as we’re not “teaching” skill, we’re giving them. It’s like food that’s been laid out on a buffet, ready for the taking, but without any expectations….just lots of modeling and use.

Both learners were “given” the same key to unlock text at the same time. One understands that it can be used to unlock words and one does not, but they both have the key, and that’s what counts! 

Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Accelerating Early Learner Access to the Code!
Accelerated Access to the WHOLE Reading & Writing Code!
Knowing the Secret gives Lu-Lu the same skill base that Gus has. She just doesn’t know quite what to do with it yet, which is why modeling of its use is key! Lower-level learners cannot afford to miss the bus and be left behind grade level skill for skill introduction,  as they need more time to incubate them, not less.

By giving Lu-Lu the same “keys” (i.e. Secrets) to unlock words that “Gifted Gus” has, we eliminate the learning curve and waiting time. That way, once her little light bulb pops on, she is ready to “hit the ground running” and start using the Secrets she already knows to read and to write.

Otherwise, learners like Lu-Lu often don’t acquire these critical pieces of the code to successfully cross over the instructional-hump that is learning to read in K-2, so as to be prepared to read to learn in 3rd and beyond.

Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Accelerating Early Learner Access to the Code!
Note the “instructional-hump” so clearly depicted (mid-page, left) in these awesome sketch notes!

 

“Back Door” vs. “Front Door” Instruction

The brain develops back to front, with the earlier-developing, affective “feeling” networks more primed for learning than the slower developing, higher level, processing centers. It’s through these backdoor learning channels that the au/aw Secret is so easily acquired by both Lu-Lu and Johnny.  And whereas Johnny is ready to take the next step and use it for a purpose (i.e. reading and writing), Lu-Lu is not… but she owns the Secret!
Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Do YOUR kids know the "au/aw" Secret?
“Awwwww, it’s Valentine’s Day!”

 

“It is literally neurobiologically impossible to think deeply about things you don’t care about. Deep understanding depends on making emotional connections between concepts. Emotion guides our learning. If something is emotionally stimulating, it is marked for memory and prioritized for learning in the brain.”

—Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang 
Mary Helen Immordino Yang
And if you really want really want to see what engagement can look like in an “impromptu” phonics discussion,  check out these first graders from  Mrs. Mac’s First Grade Class.  It’s one of my all-time favorites!

Channeling phonics skills through the brain’s backdoor via social-emotional “feeling” domain makes learning easy and effortless. By embedding high-leverage, phonics skill concepts (like Superhero Vowels®, Sneaky Y®, Mommy E® and Babysitter Vowels®) into familiar, social and emotional “story-based” frameworks, inexperienced (and upper-grade, struggling learners) are easily able to predict the “most” and “next most” likely sound behaviors of letters in text— even in words they have never seen before.

Secret Stories Mommy E® and the Babysitter Vowels® for EASY decoding of BIG words!
Yep, it’s really THAT easy!!!
The Secret Stories Sneaky Y® Phonics Secret!
“The LIE About  Y”
Watch this quick clip to learn the Secretsof the Superhero Vowels®, Sneaky Y®, Mommy E® & the Babysitter Vowels® and start sharing them with YOUR class tomorrow!

Stories Put the Whole Brain to Work, and Act as “Memory-Enhancers” in the Brain

Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Stories act as "memory enhancers" in the brain
Stories put the whole brain to work and are the most effective way to activate multiple areas of the brain simultaneously for enhanced, multi-sensory learning.
Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Taking Advantage of "Learning Loopholes" in the Brain
That’s is not to say that all learners will immediately apply the Secrets they know to reading and writing, as doing so requires a certain level of developmental and cognitive readiness be attained, but like Lulu, learners can build the visual acuity needed to easily recognize the pattern (i.e. Secret) in text and the ability to instantly recall its sound. And these are the “keys” she will need to unlock text when she’s ready.
So don’t wait! The more tools that learners bring to the table each day, the more value they will be able to take away!

If you’re a kindergarten teacher, I bet I know what you’re thinking…
“Great! My kids will know the au/aw sound, but they still won’t be able to recognize the letter D!”  

Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— Fast-Track Individual Letter Sound Mastery to 2 Weeks to 2 Months!
No worries, as that part is just as easy! We don’t even need any Secrets for the individual letter sounds, as when letters make the sounds that they’re supposed to, all is right with the world! That’s not to say that teaching the individual letters and sounds is easy—which is why we don’t teach them, we give them! Just like with the Secrets, we can follow the brain science to access a more easily-accessible “backdoor” route for skill mastery by way of muscle memory!

“How to Be More Interesting than a Shoe When Teaching Letters & Sounds”
The individual letters and sounds are easily acquired simultaneously with Secrets by tapping into muscle/motor memory via the BETTER Alphabet Song! For early (and ELL) learners, muscle memory is a far more reliable pathway for letter sound mastery than the traditional path of cognitive processing. Acquisition time is just two weeks to two months, and that’s for both preK AND kindergarten! And during this timeframe, you’re also tossing out Secrets (as they come up) throughout the instructional day—continually adding to learners’ ever-expanding reading and writing tool-boxes! Just watch the video below to see how it’s done!
“The BETTER Alphabet Song”
which is also used in the Letter Run video
Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— The BETTER Alphabet "Vertical" Anchor
BETTER Alphabet “Vertical” Anchor 

Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets— The BETTER Alphabet "Vertical" Anchor

And when you’re ready to take it up a notch, you can try your hand at the Letter Runs! They can be sung backward and forward, and to ANY tune to keep that bar high! Click on the link under the picture below to hear the Letter Runs sung, “Jedi-style!”
Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets—  Mimicking Decoding and Encoding with Music!
For more free musical brainteasers, click here!

And don’t forget to grab the FREE Secret Stories® Sampling and start sharing the Secrets in your classroom!  You can also grab the FREE Common Core Literacy Posters with Secret Stories® phonics graphics-supports, as well as the FREE “made-to-match” Science Posters… all of which are pictured, below.

 

FREE Secret Stories® Phonics Secrets Mini-Anchor Posters
FREE SECRET STORIES® MINI-POSTER SAMPLE ANCHORS

 

FREE Common Core Literacy Posters Sets for PK-3rd Grade
CLICK FOR FREE COMMON CORE LITERACY POSTERS
(“made-to-match” Math & Essential Questions sets also available)
FREE Common Core Science Posters Sets for PK-3rd Grade
FREE PRE/KINDER COMMON CORE SCIENCE POSTERS

 

FREE Common Core Science Posters Sets for PK-3rd Grade
FREE FIRST GRADE COMMON CORE SCIENCE POSTERS

 

FREE Common Core Science Posters Sets for PK-3rd Grade
FREE SECOND GRADE COMMON CORE SCIENCE POSTERS
FREE Common Core Science Posters Sets for PK-3rd Grade
FREE THIRD GRADE COMMON CORE SCIENCE POSTERS

 

22 comments:

  1. My students refer to the Secret Stories posters constantly! They are BY FAR the most- used resource in my entire first grade classroom!! You and Deanna are both just so amazing!
    Thank you both so much…. what an inspiration this is!!!!!!
  2. Wow, thank you, that’s so wonderful to hear! And your students’ frequent and ongoing use of the SECRETS is actually a testament to YOUR teaching and the abundance of opportunities you obviously provide to engage with text!

    And the fact that your students DO take the time to reference the SECRETS when they read and write only further indicates that the literacy opportunities you provide are personally meaningful to them….. so congrats to you again!!!

  3.  

    Your stories are fabulous. I teach a group of 26 first graders with very diverse needs. Your program is both visual and auditory and the children “hook on” to the stories easily. They can imagine the t and the h that sticks out their tongues when they stand together because they have learned the story behind the sounds. My ESOL students love to retell the stories and feel excited to apply what they know when they are reading. Last year, I bought your program. I don’t have your new posters but they look great. Thank you for finding a method that reaches so many students.

     

     

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  5. And thank YOU for taking the time to post and let me know!!
    Building that excitement is more than half the battle so keep up the great work and definitely keep me posted here and/ or on the Secret Stories blog….. You might just be a monthly winner of a new Secret Stories kit!!! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
    :)

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  7. I am so excited I just read your Secret Stories posting on Deanna Jump’s Blog! I can’t wait to get your program so I can use it in my Kindergarten classroom!! I’m always thrilled when I find one more piece to use in my room to add to the foundation of “bricks” they need while keeping them engaged and excited! Thank you to both of you!

     

     

  8.  

    I love the “foundation of bricks” analogy and you are so right!
    The SECRETS simply provide a way for learners to ‘own EVERYTHING yesterday’ when it comes to ALL that is necessary to read and write, thereby shifting focus to the REAL goal of the game….reading for meaning & writing for a purpose!

    Requiring learners to wait until the 3rd grade for comprehensive sound-skill ownership (especially when we’re requiring students to begin reading and writing in Kindergarten) just makes NO sense….. not if there’s a developmentally appropriate/ ‘backdoor-way’ for learners to own them all from the get-go!

    Prolonging introduction/ acquisition of these critical skills over a period of multiple YEARS is what causes learner-focus to remain on the ‘bricks’ rather than on getting ‘up and over the wall’ where the REAL fun begins!!!!!

    Okay, I’m jumping down from my soapbox now ;)

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  11. I teach preK (4 and 5 year old class) and my little guys just eat the Secrets up! I also used your Better Alphabet Song (from your CD) and honestly I was was blown away that the little ones were actually able to pick up the individual letter sounds so quickly! It’s just unbelievable what they can do with these and how much it changes everything you do in the way that you teach!

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  12. Sounds like you could write my next ‘Secret Session’ post!!
    That’s awesome to hear and I’m thrilled to hear that you’re using the SECRETS in preK, as so many times I will see preK teachers shy away everything but the music pieces on the CD and it just kills me!

    Telling SECRETS in preK & K is like taking your class to a buffet- those who are are hungry for them will eat them and those that aren’t will still enjoy going along for the ride, establishing a sort of “catcher’s mit in the brain” in preparation for future recognition & instruction!!

    Thanks so much again for posting and I hope you will share more about your experiences so as to inspire other preK teachers to take the leap in rethinking what’s possible at that level!

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  13. I have not seen your secrets before, but it looks like a wonderful way to teach how and why these blends make the sounds they do! I’ll certainly be using much of your intel! Thanks so much for sharing ~ I think my kids are really going to latch onto these tips and be much better readers for it!

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  14. I have not seen your secrets before, but it looks like a wonderful way to teach how and why these blends make the sounds they do! I’ll certainly be using much of your intel! Thanks so much for sharing ~ I think my kids are really going to latch onto these tips and be much better readers for it!

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  15. I have not seen your secrets before, but it looks like a wonderful way to teach how and why these blends make the sounds they do! I’ll certainly be using much of your intel! Thanks so much for sharing ~ I think my kids are really going to latch onto these tips and be much better readers for it!

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  16.  

    Thanks for the wonderful comment, and I hope you will keep in touch regarding use of what’s shared, as I would love feedback on your experience at your specific grade level in the classroom!! :)

     

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  18. I love this! What a great way to introduce/teach those pesky digraphs!

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      …. and vowel combos, and blends, etc..!! As we move forward with Secret Sessions I’ll be sharing the ‘secrets’ for EVERYTHING that happens in language at least ‘5 times or more’ so as to ensure learners have logical explanations for why letters do (or don’t!) make the sounds that they do… so stay tuned!

       

     

     

     

  19. So cute! All kids love secrets. Wonderful way for kids to remember this sound.

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  20.  

    Thanks for posting! Would love to know what grade level you teach and for how long you’ve been using them?

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  22. I found you through Deanna jump and I am very intrigued by this!

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  23. That’s great, I’m so glad to hear it!! Things will only get ‘more intriguing’ from here… I promise ;)
    LoL…. so many new things to see when you take learners through the brain’s ‘backdoor’ rather of the traditional front ;)

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