The Sync~Link Process
After 35 years with the public schools, I retired and spent the next seven years putting THE PROCESS in written form so it would be available to instructors who are helping students think > write > read. Although the original copy included 5 notebooks in a plastic carrying case it is now available as an e-book in our Online Store. Then, as the site was being built, we were hacked so I put this site together. I apologize for any and all deficiencies. But you can’t beat a good program that wants out! Right? Right!
How did THE PROCESS begin? As a graduate student I was assigned a challenging task: teach Mike, a 14 year old 9th grade student, to read. He was reading at the beginning 3rd grade level. After lots of research, I put the process together and we began lessons in February. By the end of the school year Mike was writing 5 page compositions and reading at grade level, plus! We were both elated! (Mike’s story is in the INTRODUCTION.)
As a classroom teacher and teacher consultant I used the process with individual students or small groups of 2 – 3 in elementary school, junior high, and high school and when the opportunity arose, I introduced the process to other educators during in-service training sessions. As a school psychologist and program director, I again recommended its use via in-service training. The lesson schedule is one hour a day (1 class period)) for 10 days. Day eleven is ACTIVITY TIME. The schedule is repeated until a student reaches grade level or better. (Better DOES apply as students move along and don’t want to stop.) Although miracles are few, success with the process has actually hit that mark or come close many times.
One year I had the opportunity to teach an alternative education class with students who were 14 – 21 years old who had often failed to pass largely due to misbehavior and failure to do their lessons. In class I had students raise their hand to learn words they didn’t know but wanted to include in their written work. I went to their desks and using THE PROCESS they learned the words and discovered they could quickly learn almost any word they wanted to include in their assignments! I also used the process with juvenile offenders and prison inmates who gained confidence expressing themselves writing and enjoyed their success. Only one of my students did not make significant gains as she was truly ‘word blind.’ (For details check Wikipedia.)
Also, it is important to know that a significant percentage of students (10-12%) are not ready, developmentally, to learn to read and write until they are seven or eight years old as they require more time to mature. THE PROCESS moves these students right along and they began to see themselves as winners not losers! That’s a win, win!!!
After downloading SYNC-LINK LEARNING:
1. READ the INTRODUCTION: ABOUT THE PROCESS (23 pages) and PRO PAC 1, DIRECTIONS FOR INSTRUCTION (22 pages) also practice doing the lesson with friends and/or family members.
2. REVIEW THE PRO PAC 2, PROGRESS CHARTS FOR STUDENTS (11 pages)
3. REVIEW THE PRO PAC 3, CREATIVE AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES lists people and places students can visit to think about their future and expand their horizons followed by 49 cut and paste activities including MAKING SYNC-LINKS! (266 pages)
4. REVIEW PRO PAC 4, MEASURING STUDENT PROGRESS (79 pages) which include 25 pages of word lists.
5. REVIEW PRO PAC 5, then consider having teachers, volunteers and older students teach reading, writing and composing, to students each day using THE PROCESS! A scheduling plan to do this school wide (K-12) is described in PRO PAC 5 (29 pages).
THE PROCESS is not difficult and students enjoy their daily lessons.
Sincerely, Susan Chaffee Boulter, CEO, SYNC-LINK® LEARNING, INC.
