For all kids, modeling words with clay fills the gap between phonics and whole language instruction.

all materials needed for home use or tutoring, beginning with the alphabet and working through the small word list. The fold-out alphabet strip contains upper case letters on one side, and lower case letters in reverse order on the other. The checklist format of the manual helps students track their progress. This is the same kit provided to students enrolled in the intensive one-week Davis Dyslexia Correction program.

My favorite word is the- my word is: the bird is in the cage.

with reading and
writing. The school district
says he has ‘an auditory
processing problem,’ but won’t
test for dyslexia. We are
desperate to find help....”

“My daughter has just been
diagnosed as a ‘Type 2 visual
and auditory dyslexic.’ The
school says she is not deficient
enough to warrant help....”

“My eight year old son has
NOT been diagnosed with
Dyslexia. But he tested several
years behind grade level in
language mechanics and math.
The school labeled my son LD,
but he ‘fell through the cracks’
because so many are worse off
and need help more....”

falling behind, but the schools
can’t offer help because the kids
are not failing badly enough.
Schools vary with the labels used
to describe the children’s
problems. But whatever the
diagnosis, help remains elusive.

those approaches are far superior
to pencil-and-paper tasks for
almosta ll young children, because
they are geared to the develop-
mental needs of pre-readers.

Schools should never deny help
to all but the “worst cases.”
Dyslexia is compounded by
frustration. By third or fourth

grade, the dyslexic child may have
already given up trying. Schools
that follow a “wait-and-see”
approach may turn a mild learning
difficulty into a lifelong barrier.

The answer is for all schools to
provide a multifaceted reading
curriculum toevery primary grade
child. Each and every child should
be exposed to methods suited to a
variety of individual learning styles.

This is not an impossible task,
nor is it unduly expensive. The
public elementary school in
California which is featured in our
cover story provides Davis Symbol
Mastery toa ll the children in three
primary grade classrooms. The
teachers also use an excellent
program called Total Reading,
which gives intensive preparation
in phonics, in addition to the
school district’s whole language
reading program. In fact, Symbol
Mastery provides the “missing link”
between phonics and whole
language, adding an understanding
of word meaning and grammatical
structure to decoding and word

The rewards are clear. As an
editor and a mother, I had the
pleasure of reading the first-draft
handwritten comments of the first
grade authors. In more than 40
pages, I did not see a single letter
reversed! The kids almost always
wrote in complete sentences, with
correct use of upper and lower
case letters and punctuation. Some
kids wrote prolifically, and some
still have a lot to learn, but it’s
clear that they are all getting the
education they deserve, right now.

Published quarterly by Davis
Dyslexia Association International
(DDAI). DDAI’s purposes are to
increase worldwide awareness about
the gifted aspects of dyslexia and
related learning styles; and to
present methods for improving
literacy. We believe all people have
abilities and talents that should be
cherished and valued, and that
learning problems can be corrected.

Letters to the editor, address
changes, and article submissions
should be sent to 1601 Old Bayshore
Hwy. #260C, Burlingame, CA 94010

For reprints or permission to
republish an article, call (415) 692-
8995, fax (415) 692-8997 or e-mail
DDAint@aol.com. Internet address:

Subscriptions: US$25 a year, US$30
Canada/Mexico, US$35 other
countries.

Views expressed in letters and
articles herein are not necessarily
those of DDAI. All materials ©DDAI
1996, unless otherwise noted.
Managing Editor, Abigail Marshall.

During the first week of
September, he will provide a
4-hour Symbol Mastery course
in Melbourne. He will then
travel to Canberra. From there
he will go to Sydney, where
he will speak at the Adult

In Sydney, Ron will also
provide a 4-day training
workshop, beginning
September 13. From there he
will travel to Brisbane, where
he will lecture and may also
present an additional seminar
in Davis methods.

The Australian tour and
workshops are being co-
ordinated by Kay Distel, of
Sound Education, which
specializes in the therapeutic
use of sound and music.

did clay it was a little hard.
What I like about clay is your
hands have something to do.
You can be a great artist with

clay. Your fingers will never get tired of clay. It’s so much fun, I play with it at home, too.”

creative. It keeps my hands
cool. Clay keeps your hands
busy. When I do clay it makes
me feel good.”

The children also enjoyed
working at their own pace, and
being given freedom to explore
their own ideas.

the picture that Mrs. Steel wants
us to do. We can make any
picture that we want. Then we
can write it in our journal.”

The kids also understood and
appreciated the purpose of
Symbol Mastery: to help them
understand and remember the
meanings of words.

program, to reach kids at risk for
learning problems, the Symbol
Mastery program is viewed by the
children as an enrichment
activity. Clearly, it benefits not
only the “slow” readers, but also
the children who crave more

instruction or worksheets, Symbol
Mastery was never boring, even
when the assigned task focused
on the most basic words.

The Symbol Mastery Pilot
Program, under the
direction of DDAI’s Sharon
Pfeiffer, is now finishing its
third year.

This program is being
conducted at Mission San Jose
Elementary School, a public
school in the Fremont School
District in Northern California

Three teachers, Larry Becerra
(kindergarten), Donna Steel
(first grade) and Kristen Fisher
(second grade) provide Symbol
Mastery regularly within their
class curriculum.

Mrs. Steel’s first grade is on a
staggered schedule. Reading
instruction takes place during
the first and last hours of the
day, when the class group is
reduced to 15 students. Two
days a week are “clay days”
during which Symbol Mastery is
done for the entire class period.

At the beginning of the year,
the first graders made clay
alphabets and punctuation
marks. They then moved on to
the “small” word list, modeling
words such asa,an,th e and

This article is composed of
the childrens’ written comments,
compiled by Joan Stoelker, the
“Project Write” teacher at
Mission San Jose. The children’s
“invented spelling” of new
words has been corrected, but
sentence structure reflects the
original phrasing. The Symbol
Mastery words were spelled and

used correctly. Twenty-eight
students wrote about their
experiences; most also drew
pictures illustrating their ideas.