TESSERACT SCHOOL INTRODUCES JOLLY PHONICS
PARADISE VALLEY, ARIZONA -July 29, 2008-Tesseract School, a non-profit,
independent private school-preschool through eighth grade, with its inaugural ninthgrade
class scheduled for fall 2008-announced its plan to introduce Jolly Phonics, a wellrespected
grammar and phonics program, into its kindergarten curriculum.
Tesseract's commitment to academic excellence includes encouraging and enabling
faculty members to regularly participate in professional development opportunities. As
such, a team of faculty members was interested in researching methods to enrich the
school's simultaneous, multi-sensory integration of language arts (SMILA) program for
lower school students. After a thorough investigation, it was clear that the Jolly Phonics
program was just what was needed.
To prepare for the introduction of this new program into the school's curriculum,
Tesseract sent Kate Wilkes, kindergarten educator, for
training in Long Eaton, Nottingham, United Kingdom. Wilkes studied
under Elizabeth Nonweiler, who has more than 30 years of experience in phonics
education. The Jolly phonics training included 24 educators from around the United
Kingdom and Canada.
"After participating in this training, it was clear to see that our current phonics program
was right on the mark," commented Wilkes. "When we add Jolly Phonics to our
curriculum, it will provide us with added techniques for a child-friendly and memorable
way to teach."
Tesseract has been using its phonics program for the last 12 years.
Originally designed for use with children with dyslexia, the multisensory program has
proven to be successful in the mainstream classroom. Research has shown that children
need a strong foundation in phonics in order to perform well in spelling and reading. A
good foundation is comprised of multiple components: letter-sound correspondence,
blending sounds and segmenting words. After a child has learned those skills, then
language comprehension processes make reading more fluent.
"SMILA has worked well for us in the past, but it lacked the interactive component that
Jolly Phonics offers. Now we can engage the children through actions and songs that
will make the learning more relevant and age-appropriate," added Wilkes.
Tesseract recently purchased an interactive Prometheus Board and software for full
integration of the Jolly Phonics program in fall 2008. This new technology will further
enable students to engage in hands-on, tactile learning experiences utilizing Jolly
Phonics techniques. Tesseract hopes to begin implementing Jolly Grammar, the Jolly
Phonics spelling and grammar program, into the lower school's program for the 2009-
2010 school year.
Jolly Phonics is utilized in the majority of schools in Great Britain, and is used in Canada,
Australia and other regions of the world. While there are some areas of the United
States that have also been utilizing Jolly Phonics, it appears there are very few schools
in Arizona that are doing so. Tesseract hopes to be the first independent school in
Arizona to promote this program in the Valley. After training in the United Kingdom this
summer, Wilkes was contacted by Jolly Phonics to discuss the training and to potentially
make arrangements for making Tesseract a training center so that other educators will
be able to benefit from direct exposure to this program.
"We are always looking for ways to enrich the curriculum and our students' experiences,"
said Nigel Taplin, head of Tesseract School. "We are excited to be able to offer this
excellent program."
About Jolly Phonics:
Jolly Phonics has been developed with Sue Lloyd and Sara Wernham,
primary/elementary school teachers at Woods Loke Primary School in
Lowestoft, England. Sue Lloyd has used phonic methods for many years,
developing and improving them from research, advice and the practical experience she
and her colleagues have gained. Now, children at the school are consistently well above
average on reading tests. Jolly Grammar is the next stage, after a first year with Jolly
Phonics. It helps children to greater express themselves in writing and improves their
spelling in a structured way by teaching the key rules. For more information visit
www.jollylearning.co.uk.
|
