Educational Solutions

Color serves multiple purposes:

• Words in Color uses color to simplify the ambiguities of English. Since each sound in English has has its own color on the word charts, the language starts to behave phonetically. This initial simplification can lead to more excitement and confidence about learning to read.
  
• Since students can see the sound each sign or group of signs should make, they can build their own criteria about how to read new words without asking the teacher. When there is confusion about how a word is read, the teacher can simply review the colors already learned and let the students unlock the code themselves. It is much more rewarding to discover the answer oneself than to be told by an authority.
  
• Lastly, color is used by students to create mental imagery, which helps in retention. This imagery is not just color, but the shapes as well -- color draws the eye to the different sounds within a word, and the different signs within each sound.
  

The Fidel is a chart which identifies all the sounds in a language, shows each sound with its own unique color, and lists all the spellings for the sound. In American English, the Fidel identifies 59 spoken sounds, meaning there are 59 colors, or color combinations. The vowel sounds are listed in columns accross the top of the chart, and the consonant sounds are listed accross the bottom. Generally speaking, the more common spellings are listed at the top of the column while rare spellings are at the bottom.

It is called a Fidel because the scientist who developed it was in Ethiopia when the idea came to him. "Fidel" is an Ethiopian word meaning "syallabary," or "alphabet."

No. Although Words in Color addresses all of the learning targeted by traditional phonic programs, it does much more.  Phonics programs break up the regularities (rules) and many of the irregularities (exceptions) into separate lessons for students to drill, practice and memorize.  Words in Color uniquely organizes the English language into a coherent, complete presentation, with all of the regularities and exceptions clearly evident to students.  By assigning a color to each of the more than 40 phonemes of English and then using that color consistently, despite the different ways to spell each of the phonemes, we give students the key to “break the code” with confidence, self-initiative and certainty.

Students:
Words in Color is suitable for students of all ages – from preschool children as young as two, up to adults in their 70’s who are learning to read. This approach respects the natural abilities of all students, and assumes that every student will master the skills needed to read, write, and spell. The confidence experienced by children is also experienced by adult users, because there is no condescension.
It is suited for use with students of all abilities, including: advanced students, those requiring remedial attention, students with disabilities, and those with behavioral challenges.

Teachers:
Teachers around the world have been using Words in Color for more than 40 years, in both public and private schools. Words in Color is often paired with our Visible & Tangible Math approach to mathematics, and The Silent Way approach to foreign languages to make a well-rounded curriculum. It is also used on its own to tutor at-risk students.

Parents:
Words in Color has been a popular choice for homeschool parents for more than 40 years because it is the most advanced approach to teaching reading, writing, and spelling. However, parents of children in public and private schools are also using the materials for supplementary practice, and educational quality time with their children. Whether you need a well-rounded curriculum, or just a few exciting and challenging games, Words in Color is designed with flexibility in mind.

Words in Color features a detailed and comprehensive curriculum with challenges broken down across 4 levels, 59 sounds, 400+ spellings, 21 Word Charts, and 14+ worksheets.

The First Level: R0

Covers the basic conventions of reading and writing using 5 vowel sounds. Mastering this level prevents much of the confusion that beginning readers face. Students will become aware that written signs have associated sounds, that we read from left to right, that spaces between written signs indicate a pause in speech, that signs can be reordered to form new words, that signs they write can indicate sounds to others, and so on. The following materials are used:

The Second Level: R1

This level adds 6 consonants and 2 new vowel sounds to the 5 previously introduced. Students will be able to read and write simple sentences, and will become aware that the same shape can make different sounds (ex. the green s and purple s), and that different shapes can make the same sound (t and tt). The following materials are used:

The Third Level: R2

Covers reading and writing words, sentences, and stories using all of the consonant and vowel sounds in English. Students master reading, writing, and spelling in everyday English. The following materials are used:

The Fourth Level: R3

Covers reading and writing words, sentences and stories using all of the sounds, plus all of the possible spellings. This means students will have learned at least one word for every spelling on the Fide l, even the very unusual spellings in words like 'phthalein.' The following materials are used:

Also see: Words in Color for Dyslexia

Words in Color materials and techniques are designed to help students meet and tackle the ambiguities and challenges inherent in a non-phonetic language like English head on. Beginning readers sometimes:

• Read slowly or inaccurately.
• Confuse letters and sounds, such as ‘b’ and ‘d’ which are close in shape and sound.
• Experience confusion or even difficulty making the proper association between sounds and the signs that represent them.
• Experience confusion or difficulty breaking words down into component sounds or combining or blending sounds to make words.

While most beginning readers exhibit a measure of these behaviors, in some learners, and particularly the so-called dyslexic, these problems are more persistent. In those cases, Words in Color has proven effective as an instrument for framing the right challenges to provoke the correct awarenesses and provide the right exercises for practice.

With Words in Color, students can directly perceive the differences and similarities in specific sounds and spellings. These differences and similarities can be examined from many points of view, for example: the number of sounds or the number of beats in a word, contrasts with similar words, writing the consonant sounds in the words and replacing the vowels with an underline, or vice versa, writing the vowels sounds and replacing the consonant sounds with an underline, etc. When students are permitted to examine words from many points of view, they are in a position to generate many awarenesses, practice in a variety of ways and eventually “own” the words through their learning. This is true for the gifted, learning disabled, or dyslexic alike.

Our experience is that Words in Color is well suited for framing the right types of activities to enable so-called dyslexic students to meet the challenges of learning to read head-on. Here are some examples:

• The arrangement of sounds and spellings on the Fidel Phonic Code makes it straightforward for the learner to compare and contrast sounds and spellings which may be confusing (e.g. ‘b’ and ‘d’).
• The confusion in associating sounds with spellings is also easily dealt with since all of them are visible and distinguishable in columns and color-coded.
• Exercises and activities for breaking words down into component sounds/spellings and putting them back together in the same or a different order are also easily achieved with the Fidel Phonetic Code and the color-coded word charts.
• Activities such as Visual Dictation and Oral Dictation (both outlined in Teaching With Words in Color: Lesson Guides, Techniques, Games) make it easy to practice reading words and sentences in a variety of different ways (for example: read like you are surprised, like you are happy, like you are angry, like you are saying it to your friend, etc.) This helps beginning readers to read accurately and with the fluency of natural speech.

With Words in Color, bringing meaning to what is decoded plays a central role.  After the first few lessons, during which the students discover the conventions of reading/writing (e.g., sounds for graphemes, left-to-right orientation), comprehension and vocabulary building are part of every lesson, applied consistently as more and more phonemes and graphemes are encountered and mastered.  We stress bringing the natural rhythms and melody of spoken English to the act of reading and challenge students all the time to demonstrate they comprehend what they read.

-Dr. Theodore Swartz

Those who learn to read and write English meet a special problem because the written form of English presents two types of ambiguities.

• the same sound may be represented by a number of different signs (letters or groups of letters). For example:

Did the sleuth discover whose gruesome lieutenant threw two shoes, a suit, a flute and some soup through the zookeeper's window?

• the same sign (letter, or group of letters) may stand for number of different sounds, as does a, for example in the sentence:

All was dark as many hares raced around the village swamp.

Neither rote memorization, nor learning the "rules" is sufficient to meet these complexities.

Why is learning to read a challenge?

In 1957, Dr. Caleb Gattegno of London University went to Ethiopia on behalf of the United Nations (UNESCO). The city of Addis Ababa was shut down for Christmas when he arrived, giving him time to himself. During this 48 hour period, he learned how to read the local language. While he didn't know the meaning of every word, he could read every sign on the street. When he discovered that it is supposed to take 18 months to teach Amharic, he decided to test his method on others. By associating sounds with color, Gattegno had illiterate ministry employees in their 50s and 60s reading newspapers within six hours. This initial experience provided Gattegno with the beginning insights for further investigation into the challenge of solving illiteracy. Subsequent scientific work was ongoing over multiple decades, in multiple languages, and in different parts of the world. The development of the core insights was non-linear in nature, however the following is a general overview of how events unfolded.

• Work with very young children.
• Work with children with reading problems.
• Work with adolescents and adults of differing backgrounds and severe reading difficulties.
• Contact sessions with students; teaching was observed and discussed.
• Certain elements were identified for further emphasis and focus.
• This gave rise to the development of techniques and materials which were used and refined over a period of years.
• The research evolved from a “study of reading” into a “study of people,” that were engaged in specific activities, that resulted in reading.
• The research was later refined even further as an examination of reading as a separate activity vs. reading as an extension of the learners intellectual and linguistic powers.
• It eventually reached the point where the research came to see that the skill of reading was indeed a by-product of having spent time in specific way. The product was and education of awareness and a deeper connection with one's powers which enable learning.

The first commercial version of Words in Color was made available to the public in 1962.

No it does not.

• Only selected materials are in color: the Fidel Phonetic Code and the 21 color-coded wall charts. These are used for introduction of new sounds, new spellings, detailed examination of words, and for initial practice. However, as soon as underlying awarenesses are in place, students are asked to read in black-and-white.
  
• All books – the Reading Primers, The Student Workbooks, and the Book of Stories – are in black-and-white. This enables many relevant and diverse opportunities to enhance reading skills using black-and-white. 
• When problems are encountered with specific words written in black-and-white, the Fidel Phonic Code and color-coded word charts are particularly useful as an instrument for helping students work through these challenges. When the challenges have been overcome in color, the students can continue in black-and-white.