Glenn Doman Method: How to teach reading before age 3

This method has been proposed as a way for very young children to learn to read.

Education is and always has been a fundamental issue for human beings. for the human being. There have been multiple theories and methods elaborated with the purpose of favoring learning and improving the educational system and the acquisition of knowledge and skills and the enhancement of exploration, interests and skills of each individual.

In addition to the most classic and widely used, there are a large number of alternative methods to educate. One of the best known is the Montessori method, but there are also other methodologies that are equally valued and used today, such as for example the Glenn Doman method for teaching very young children to read.. In this article we briefly explain what this method is, specifically in its program for learning to read.

The Glenn Doman method for reading: definition and objectives.

The Glenn Doman method proposes that the human being is capable, feels curiosity and even wants to read at early ages, having potential for such capacity from their first years of life.having the potential for this ability from the first years of life. From its starting point it is considered that in the first six years of life the capacity to learn is much greater than that which will be present during the rest of one's existence.

Initially was initially designed to help the learning and development of people with disabilities and brain injuries, but over time it has been developed to help the learning and development of children with disabilities and brain injuries.but over time it has been expanded to childhood in general. Although in this article we focus on learning to read, the author also generated programs to stimulate early other skills and abilities such as learning mathematics, music or physical activity.

Some theoretical foundations of the method

The author proposes that it is from the age of two when the most appropriate and useful moment to learn to read begins, because it is a moment in the subject's life in which he/she can learn to read. a time in the subject's life when there is a high level of curiosity and a plasticity that is and there is a plasticity that allows the acquisition of small pieces of information with great ease and enthusiasm. It is suggested that from then on it will be increasingly more complicated to learn to read. It is considered that a child can learn to read words as early as one year of life, being able to read sentences from the age of two and simple books from the age of three.

The original idea is for parents to apply it at home in a flexible way and to make it fun, like a game. and trying to make it fun, like a game. The methodology involves the use of cards that will be shown to the child several times a day, in short periods of time and in series of 10 stimuli. It is intended to enhance learning by stimulating and optimizing the curiosity and desire to learn of babies. This facilitates teaching and learning, enhancing the capabilities and hindering or preventing possible difficulties.

It is based on the idea of the bits of intelligencebasic units of information that the child can understand or comprehend. It is necessary that this element is representative of a single idea and that it is new to the subject. Based on this idea, the baby can learn to relate the letters without needing to know the alphabet: the idea is that he understands the concept itself and associates it to the word.

The bits should be chosen carefully, creating five series, each with 5 of these elements. They will be presented briefly, the adult reading aloud each one of them and allowing a few seconds to pass between one series and another. After finishing, it is essential to reinforce the child's behaviorThe learning should be celebrated and lived as a fun and communicative game.

To take into account before teaching....

There are two elements of great importance when it comes to using the Glenn Doman method and generating a real learning of the reading skill: the attitude of the parents/educators and the use of material appropriate to the child's abilities.

The attitude of the parents

One of the most important aspects and that in fact is to a great extent what can allow the acquisition of such complex skills as this one is the approach of those who teach it.

It is essential to approach reading as a game, as a rewarding activity that is carried out for pleasure and that is appetizing in itself. Reading should be a reward, not a punishment.. The child is fundamentally interested in learning and exploring, but he will not do so if he ends up associating it with something aversive.

Another aspect on which the author places special emphasis is the duration of the learning sessions: they should be short and end before the child wants them to end. The idea is that the child not only does not get tired, but wants and feels called to read, and even asks for it.

Material

We are teaching reading to a child under three years of age.We are not going to start with Don Quixote or a Shakespeare play. The material we use must always be appropriate and take into account the child's abilities.

It is necessary to use simple materials: it is recommended to use white cardboard of a certain level of rigidity.. On it will be written with clear strokes and always with the same font (which should be easily visible) a single word or phrase (in more advanced stages) per card, in small letters. The size of each letter must be very large, and maintain a certain separation between letters and with respect to the margins.

The author proposes that among these materials we include words such as mom and dad, parts of the human body, words about the world or close environment, vocabulary to build sentences and paragraphs, a book with simple vocabulary and a series of cards with the alphabet. The size of the first words is initially recommended to be 12.5 by 10cm, and each cardboard is 15 by 60cm, in red. The size of the letters and the cards will be reduced as the learning progresses, changing the color to black starting with the words that correspond to the immediate environment..

Approach it as a game for children

It is likely that many people are interested in this method in order to make their baby have an early learning of reading skills. However, it must be taken into account that even though the baby may have the ability to acquire this skill, it must be assessed to a great extent whether or not it is appropriate and how this method is put into practice.

The fact is that it is it is essential to make learning something fun and enjoyable for the baby and not an imposed and not an imposed and repetitive obligation. The idea is to approach it as a game that allows them to experiment, communicate, socialize and have fun. In this way, the baby associates learning with something that gives him joy and stimulates him. In fact, if it is approached as a simple imposition, the baby may end up hating such learning and may have greater problems in its acquisition.

Proposed phases for learning to read

The Glenn Doman method, in his program for learning to read, proposes the realization of a series of phases to be applied in short batchesThe process is an element of leisure and bonding between parent and child.

Visual differentiation

Initially, it is essential to teach the child to read with few words, proposing the use of two. Subsequently, the number of words will be increased. The place is also important, being necessary to look for a point where there are no big distracters.

The procedure is simple: put the word in front of the child and indicate what it says without further explanation. The word is shown to the child for about ten secondsThe word is then removed from the child's sight and the child is shown affection for a minute or two, after which the process is repeated again. And so on a third time. The previous batch would form a session, which would be repeated five times the same day separated by at least half an hour.

This process is done on the first day. During the second, the same is started to be carried out by conducting two sessions. In the third session of the second day there would be a slight modification: You are introduced to the word and asked "What is this?". You wait about ten seconds. If the child responds with the word, a high level of joy will be shown, congratulations will be given, and pride and affection will be expressed, including physically through hugs. This reinforcement is only affective, not accompanied by anything material.

If the child does not say the word or makes a mistake, do not reprimand him or her or show any kind of disappointment. or show any kind of disappointment. We proceed by cheerfully indicating "this is X, isn't it". As a general rule, learning is quick. Do not teach another word until the first word has been learned.

The same method would be used for this. It is important not to overlap words until the child has learned them separately.

After knowing them, the child is shown the first word and asked to identify it. After that, the first word is shown again and the second word is shown with the other hand, and the child is also asked to identify it. Once this has been done, the two cards are placed in front of the child and the child is asked to point to the first word. the child is asked to point first to one and then to the other.. The aim is to teach the child to visually differentiate the stimuli. Generally, simple and basic words such as mommy and daddy are used in this step.

The vocabulary of the body

This second stage is based on the same principle as the previous one, but adding the sense of touch to sight and hearing. First, we take the part of the child's body that we are talking about and indicate what it is. After that, we hold the cardboard with the corresponding name and indicate that this is also what it is.

An example: The word hand is first taught by holding the child's hand and saying that it is a hand and then showing the cardboard and saying the same thing.

The rest of the procedure is the same as in the previous phase. Care must be taken not to not to present several words at the same time until the child knows them separately, not to show consecutively words that start with the same word.Do not show consecutively words that begin with the same letter and try to increase the number of letters in each word progressively, starting with short words.

Household vocabulary

A third stage, in which words related to elements present in the subject's daily life will be shown, generally familiar objects, family and even actions. The font size has been reduced. It is suggested that the child could be learning approximately one word per day at this stage, although this will depend on the child's pace. It is important to remember that it should still be approached as a game and that it should be carried out briefly and without the child getting bored.

Reading words within sentences

In this phase a more complex learning process takes place. It will go from recognizing single words to trying to compose a sentence. The parent must generate a cardboard with each word of the sentence to learn. Each word is learned separately. Then they are put together and ordered, and the child is asked to indicate which word is each one of them. The idea is to learn to read words related to each other.

Reading sentences

After choosing a simple and appropriate book, with few words and large print, phrases are extracted to work on little by little. We start with short sentences, which are read slowly and clearly while pointing out each word separately. while pointing out each word separately. Then we ask them what the cardboard says, pointing to each word separately. Once the words are read, the activity is celebrated and reinforced. As they learn to read a page, they move on to the next page, rereading the previous ones.

Reading a book

The idea is to make the child read the book from which we have extracted the sentences. It must be taken into account that the size is smaller and smaller in each phase. (in this particular phase it is proposed that the letter be about six millimeters), which makes it more difficult for the child. If there are difficulties we can look for and prepare larger letters.

Learning the alphabet

Although it may seem strange and contrary to what happens in formal education, it is possible after learning to read to learn the alphabet, it is possible to learn the alphabet after learning to read.. The reason for this is that letters are abstract elements, which can be more complex to interpret than bits of information referring to known elements. In short, this method considers that it is much easier to read a word than its constituent elements.

Is it appropriate to use this method? Criticisms of this methodology

The Glenn Doman method is controversial, due to the age group at which it is directed.. It is suggested that over-stimulating children at an early age can cause them difficulties and that it makes it easier for many parents to overwhelm the child in order for him to learn to read as early as possible, making it difficult for them to experiment and play. We must not forget that at that age everything is new and still to be explored.

Nor should we forget that at that age our nervous system is still immature, and that although we can learn to readEven if we can learn to read at an early age, the comprehension of what we read will be complex and difficult to carry out, since language is not yet fully automated.

Likewise, there is also the fact that when the time comes for them to go to school, these children would be ahead of their peers and could become bored, hindering their own later learning.

However, many of these criticisms were foreseen by the author himself, who stated that part of the problem is an overprotective attitude and the anticipation that the child will not understand the process or content of reading due to his age. In this way, we would be limiting their potential.

Although Although there is no evidence or studies that prove the effectiveness of the method, the idea of reinforcing the child'sThe idea of reinforcing the behavior and approaching learning as an element of leisure in which the child also has the opportunity to bond affectively with his parent makes this method something that can be positive for him.

Bibliographical references:

• Doman, G.J. (2000) How to teach your baby to read: The Peaceful Revolution. Editorial EDF.