Reading With Eyes Shut

[J.J.]

Do you remember a time when you couldn't read? What about the learning-to-read phase when you struggled to sound out words, trying to hear them aloud or in your head; trying to make sense of each word and remember them long enough to assemble meaning from a sentence or paragraph. How does this relate to reluctant readers? Check out this blog post: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

[Cheryl]

I remember the packages that had a book and a cassette tape bundled - this seems to be a bit like that, only with a book that's not quite so simple and 'babyish' - ?

[J.J.]

You're on the right track, but the RWES technique is quite a bit more sophisticated. Picture this: The book is digital. Kids "turn" to page 1, click a button and close their eyes. The narrator guides them trough a visualization that sets the scene and gets the mental imagery flowing. When the visualization is complete, eyes open. Kids can then read the page on their own, or listen to a narration while reading. "Hard" words are marked, so they can be clicked for an in-context definition (audio). Because the reader controls the progression page by page, the experience is much more interactive than an audio book, yet doesn't digress to Karaoke-style bouncing balls (highlighting each word), which become distracting, rather than enabling. Of course, as all this happens on a digital device (computer, tablet, or phone) kids are working in a familiar and fun milieu. I can eventually see refinements and enhancements to the techniques. What about you?

[Cheryl]

It does seem like a neat idea.