SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics

A Power Teaching Alphabet Game For New Learners ... of any age!

Chris Biffle Crafton Hills College Yucaipa, California CBiffle@AOL.com

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

Contents

Introduction How To Play SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics to Teach the Alphabet How To Play SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics to Teach Phonics SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics to Teach Phonics Sample Page Superspeed Letters & Phonics For One on One Tutorials Superspeed Letters & Phonics Superspeed Personal Record Stars

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For more information about Power Teaching and SuperSpeed products contact Chris Biffle Crafton Hills College 11711 Sand Canyon Drive Yucaipa, California 92399 CBiffle@AOL.com

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

Introduction

Power Teachers of Southern California is a grass roots

education reform organization founded by three instructors (Chris Biffle, Jay Vanderfin, Chris Rekstad) in 1999. Since that time, we have presented free teaching seminars to over 3, 500 educators representing over 120,000 students. So far as we can tell, our classroom management conferences, offered four times a year at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, California, are among the largest in the United States. Videos illustrating our teaching strategies are available at: www.YouTube.com/ChrisBiffle http://www.youtube.com/ChrisBiffle and http://www.teachertube.com/uprofile.php?UID=32259 http://www.teachertube.com/uprofile.php?UID=32259 More about our organization can be found at www.powerteachers.org http://www.powerteachers.org/Home.html In addition to offering education seminars, we also develop low cost teaching materials focused on core knowledge (the state standards) and basic skills (reading, writing and math.) Central to our approach is a great deal of educational tomfoolery which produces some of the sweetest sounds teachers ever hear, on task laughter.

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics is a game designed to teach beginning readers of any age the alphabet and letter sounds. Versions of this game have been successfully classroom tested by hundreds of students since 1999. SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics is appropriate for readers from kindergarten through 3rd grade, and can be used in remedial work at any grade. In addition, the game adapts superbly to the needs of home schooling and/or English learners, including adults who are taking a beginning reading course. Though it is not meant to replace, but only supplement, traditional phonics based reading systems, students can successfully play SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics even if they have no knowledge of phonics ... or even the alphabet! As you will see, the pedagogical structure of the game teaches the alphabet through intensive, clearly structured repetition. If you let your students play SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics for only a few minutes, several times a week, youll see substantial improvements in overall letter recognition; gains of 20% -40% within a month are not uncommon. SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics is so entertaining that elementary teachers can use it as a reward for good behavior! Students work hard in class, to gain the privilege of playing SuperSpeed!!

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

The letters in SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics are arranged alphabetical order and divided into 26 levels. Each level introduces a new letter. Every three levels, a Challenge repeats all the letters learned on previous levels. When students have mastered Level 26, they can go on to SuperSpeed 100 to learn the 100 most common sight words (contact Chris Biffle at CBiffle@AOL.com for more information).

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

How To Play SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics to Teach the Alphabet

Playing SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics to teach the alphabet is quite simple. Arrange your class in groups of twos. If you have an odd number of students, you will pair with the extra student. Without telling your pupils be sure that a weaker learner is always paired with a stronger learner. Begin by saying something like the following, Were going to play SuperSpeed, a game youll love! When I say go!, one person in the group reads the first letter, then the other person in the group reads the next letter, and so on. Keep taking turns. If your partner doesnt know a letter, or mispronounces it, helpsies is allowed. Say the word for him or her. Keep taking turns, reading as fast as you can. Ill say stop! after a minute. Mark your teams record on the page and then Ill give you another try for a minute. Start over with the first letter you read, but whoever started goes second and whoever went second, now goes first. Youll be trying to beat your previous record. Tell your teammate right now how badly the two of you want to keep breaking your records! Only two additional rules need to be added. 1. Every time the game is replayed, the team starts at the beginning

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

of whatever level (or Challenge) they ended in. For example, the first time Jane and Juana play, Jane, starting for her team, begins at Level 1, and the team, taking turns, reads to the 5th letter in Level 3. Juana then starts for her team and the team, taking turns, reads to the 10th letter in Level 3. The next time Jane and Juana play, they begin at the first letter in Level 3. This assures you that teams receive plenty of repetitions on all their letters. Whenever students achieve a new starting level, and they will frequently, you should encourage them to give themselves a merry cheer. 2. When players break personal records, they should place a checkmark inside a new personal record star on page 29. You may be surprised at how much your students enjoy creating, and sharing!, a visual record of their own achievements. Now, here is a very important point. Students love to play SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics because they love to set and break personal records. Teams are never competing against each other, but against their own previous best effort. Thus, the learning goal is set at exactly the right level, no matter the teams ability. The only standard they must exceed is the one they set for themselves the last time they played the game. Until you try SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics in class, you wont believe the enthusiasm your students will have while playing. Students love the feeling of being record breakers, and the unique structure of SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics gives them this feeling over and over.

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

How To Play SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics to Teach Phonics Teaching phonics, letter sounds, with SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics is quite simple. Simply use the rules for teaching the alphabet described in the previous section, but tell your students now you want them to make letter sounds. Thus, instead of saying the letter A, they will make the A sound (short A) and so forth. When your class knows all the letters and letter sounds, you can ask them to go back through the game and, at every vowel, make both the short and long vowel sounds. Now, lets look at the unique pedagogical structure of SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics. The first three levels are on the following page.

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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A, a A, a, A, a, A, a
Level 1: Level 2:

the first line identifies all the letters in a level

A, a, B, b A, a, B, b, A, a, B, b A, a, B, b, A, a, B, b
Level 3:

the last letter is the new letter for the level

A, a, B, b, C, c A, a, B, b, C, c, C, c, C, c A, a, B, b, C, c, C, c, C, c A, B, C, a, b, c
Challenge

A, B, C a, b, c C, B, A c, b, a

the last line repeats the letters in alphabetical order for both upper and lower case.

the new letter is highlighted and repeated more frequently than any other letter on the level

Every Challenge repeats all previous letters; thus, for example, the Challenge after Level 14 repeats all 14 previous letters.

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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And thats all there is to it! Playing SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics is an ideal reward for good behavior in class. Wouldnt you rather see your students eagerly mastering the alphabet than giving them candy? The game literally takes a few minutes ... and the most common comment we hear from teachers is My class loves it! Students, effortlessly, receive hundreds of repetitions reading letters while setting and breaking team records. The goal is not to break another teams record, but to surpass your own teams previous best mark. Even better than increasing reading speed, players of SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics are rewarded with one of the most deeply powerful lessons in education: I can set and break personal records. I can always do better than my own previous best. If you want to make the game simpler for your students, limit the timed sessions to 30 seconds. Because there are increasing numbers of letters at higher levels, you may want to increase the time limit to 90 seconds from about Level 15 onward.

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Playing SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics For One On One Tutorials It is easy to adapt Superspeed Letters & Phonics to special needs of individual students. The adult, or more experienced reader, simply takes the role of one of the two players. Helpsies, of course, is still encouraged. Whenever one member of a team does not know a letter, the other member should provide help. In fact, it is often entertaining if the more experienced reader makes mistakes on purpose to let the less experienced reader provide assistance. For variety, simply have beginning readers name the letters on their own, as fast as possible. Encourage them to keep breaking personal records.

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A, a A, a, A, a, A, a
Level 1:

A, a, B, b A, a, B, b, A, a, B, b A, a, B, b, A, a, B, b
Level 2:

A, a, B, b, C, c A, a, B, b, C, c, C, c, C, c A, a, B, b, C, c, C, c, C, c A, B, C, a, b, c
Level 3:

Challenge

A, B, C a, b, c C, B, A c, b, a

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B, b, C, c, D, d B, b, C, c, D, d, D, d, D, d B, b, C, c, D, d, D, d, D, d A, B, C, D, a, b, c, d
Level 4:

C, c, D, d, E, e C, c, D, d, E, e, E, e, E, e C, c, D, d, E, e, E, e, E, e A, B, C, D, E, a, b, c, d, e
Level 5:

D, d, E, e, F, f D, d, E, e, F, f, F, f, F, f D, d, E, e, F, f, F, f, F, f A, B, C, D, E, F a, b, c, d, e, f
Level 6:

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Challenge

A, B, C, D, E, F a, b, c, d, e, f F, E, D, C, B, A f, e, d, c, b, a E, e, F, f, G, g E, e, F, f, G, g, G, g, G, g E, e, F, f, G, g, G, g, G, g A, B, C, D, E, F, G a, b, c, d, e, f, g Level 8: F, f, G, g, H, h F, f, G, g, H, h, H, h, H, h F, f, G, g, H, h, H, h, H, h A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h
Level 7:

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G, g, H, h, I, i G, g, H, h, I, i, I, i, I, i G, g, H, h, I, i, I, i, I, i A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i
Level 9: Challenge

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A i, h, g, f, e, d, c, b, a Level 10: H, h, I, i, J, j H, h, I, i, J, j, J, j, J, j H, h, I, i, J, j, J, j, J, j A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j

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I, i, J, j, K, k I, i, J, j, K, k, K, k, K, k I, i, J, j, K, k, K, k, K, k A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k Level 12: J, j, K, k, L, l J, j, K, k, L, l, L, l, L, l J, j, K, k, L, l, L, l, L, l A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l
Level 11: Challenge

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A l, k, j, i, h, g, f, e, d, c, b, a

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K, k, L, l, M, m K, k, L, l, M, m, M, m, M, m K, k, L, l, M, m, M, m, M, m A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m
Level 13:

L, l, M, m, N, n L, l, M, m, N, n, N, n, N, n L, l, M, m, N, n, N, n, N, n A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n
Level 14:

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M, m, N, n, O, o M, m, N, n, O, o, O, o, O, o M, m, N, n, O, o, O, o, O, o A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o
Level 15: Challenge

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A o, n, m, l, k, j, i, h, g, f, e, d, c, b, a

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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N, n, O, o, P, p N, n, O, o, P, p, P, p, P, p N, n, O, o, P, p, P, p, P, p A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p
Level 16:

O, o, P, p, Q, q O, o, P, p, Q, q, Q, q, Q, q O, o, P, p, Q, q, Q, q, Q, q A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q
Level 17:

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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P, p, Q, q, R, r P, p, Q, q, R, r, R, r, R, r P, p, Q, q, R, r, R, r, R, r A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r
Level 18: Challenge

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r R, Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A r, q, p, o, n, m, l, k, j, i, h, g, f, e, d, c, b, a

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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Q, q, R, r, S, s Q, q, R, r, S, s, S, s, S, s Q, q, R, r, S, s, S, s, S, s A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s
Level 19:

R, r, S, s, T, t R, r, S, s, T, t, T, t, T, t R, r, S, s, T, t, T, t, T, t A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t
Level 20:

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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S, s, T, t, U, u S, s, T, t, U, u, U, u, U, u S, s, T, t, U, u, U, u, U, u A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u
Level 21: Challenge

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u U, T, S, R, Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A u, t, s, r, q, p, o, n, m, l, k, j, i, h, g, f, e, d, c, b, a

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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T, t, U, u, V, v T, t, U, u, V, v, V, v, V, v T, t, U, u, V, v, V, v, V, v A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v
Level 22:

U, u, V, v, W, w U, u, V, v, W, w, W, w, W, w U, u, V, v, W, w, W, w, W, w A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w
Level 23:

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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V, v, W, w, X, x V, v, W, w, X, x, X, x, X, x V, v, W, w, X, x, X, x, X, x A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x
Level 24: Challenge

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x X, W, V, U, T, S, R, Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C,

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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B, A x, w, v, u, t, s, r, q, p, o, n, m, l, k, j, i, h, g, f, e, d, c, b, a W, w, X, x, Y, y W, w, X, x, Y, y, Y, y, Y, y W, w, X, x, Y, y, Y, y, Y, y A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y
Level 25:

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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X, x, Y, y, Z, z X, x, Y, y, Z, z, Z, z, Z, z X, x, Y, y, Z, z, Z, z, Z, z A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
Level 26:

SuperSpeed Letters & Phonics, copyright Chris Biffle, 2007

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Challenge

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T, S, R, Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A z, y, x, w, v, u, t, s, r, q, p, o, n, m, l, k, j, i, h, g, f, e, d, c, b, a

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SuperSpeed Personal Record Stars

Place a checkmark in a star each time you break a personal record!

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When the Challenge above is successfully completed, go on to SuperSpeed 100, to learn the 100 most common sight words. For more information, contact Chris Biffle at: CBiffle@AOL.com 909-389-3338 (office)