Bold vs Non-Bold Words

KEY TAKEAWAY: You read the non-bolded words, your child reads the bold words. When a child is taught how to read, they are taught one rule at a time.

One rule out of dozens...possibly even hundreds!

That rule teaches the child how to decode (sound out) words that follow that rule.

For example, the Silent E or Bossy E rule says that any word with e on the end turns the previous vowel a long sound. For example, "rip" becomes "ripe" or "cap" becomes "cape."

When kids are young, it's easier for parents to remember which words they know, point to them, and ask the child to read them.

Why This Matters

But the older they get, the harder it gets to remember. And this can cause a lot of problems. Because pretty soon, struggling or dyslexic readers are being asked to read all sorts of words they haven't learned the rules for. Case in point: Cow seems like a short, easy word, right? But in many curricula, the "ow" sound isn't taught until much later in the curriculum.

When struggling or dyslexic readers are asked to read words they haven't learned the rules to, they struggle, they fail, they become frustrated and angry--basically, they have another bad experience with reading. Over time this causes what is known as Reading Trauma. And in many cases it causes clinical anxiety and depression.

DIVI Changes Everything

DIVI is the only technology that helps the parent, the child and the teacher all know exactly where your child's reading skill is at, then customizes popular stories and books your child actually wants to read.

We keep track of your child's place in our scope and sequence, then we bold the words your child has learned how to decode. This allows them to succeed much more often by reading decodable words inside real-world, authentic texts. There are a TON of benefits to this approach, but here are just a few.

The Benefits

• Children get to Choose What to Read

• Practice is Successful

• Interest Increases

• Reading Enjoyment Improves

• Confidence Grows

• The child is exposed to more vocabulary words and broader background knowledge - both critical components of academic success

• The child learns how to transfer skills out of a curriculum and worksheets and into real-world texts (research shows there is a major breakdown here for most struggling readers - DIVI helps solve it).

There's too much to say in one short article, so for now, just remember this: You read the non-bolded words, your child reads the bold words, and together, you'll succeed!