D.J. - 4TH GRADE LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
When I was in kindergarten to second grade, I could read sight words but had trouble blending. Letters moved on the page. I rushed and only wanted to be done. In level 1, the words stopped moving. In level 2, I did not fear reading anymore. By level 4, I could read chapter books and got good grades. Some advice I have for other students is to push through because the hard work pays off.
LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
Before I started working with Learning For All, I was horrible with words - both reading and spelling. I felt bored, mostly because I didn’t understand what my teacher was trying to explain.
LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
When I first started with LFA, it seemed boring at first, and I’d say no to almost everything. Then I became interested in reading, beginning with one-syllable words. Then I got rewarded with marbles. After getting interested in learning, and passing levels, we entered Barton Level 4. That was a long one, but it was when I learned the most.
LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
I began reading books outside of the Barton lessons that got me more interested in reading. Books that seemed hard back then are so easy for me now. When I was in Levels 7 and 8, I went to big chapter books. I liked reading bigger books, they were more fun and interesting. By the time I was in Level 9, I was above grade level in reading. I was tested at grade 6.7 when I was only in the middle of 5th grade. That was a big jump from the beginning when I was below grade level.
A.M. - BARTON GRADUATE
Knowing what I know now, I would have said yes to everything. I can understand my teachers and I am more confident in learning new things. From now on I will remember all the rules that I have learned from Barton. Now on I will think back to what I have learned when I need help. Taking on harder challenges in the future will help me understand more and I will gain more knowledge.
D.W. - BARTON GRADUATE
Before I came to Learning For All I could barely spell four-letter words. My reading was awful. School in general was hard. Both my LFA tutors, Jenn and Dave were great. It wasn't boring. They made it fun. It has helped me a lot with my auditory memory. Now, my spelling is much better. My reading is much more fluent. I read a full chapter book for the first time at LFA. School is so much easier now.
I.C. - BARTON GRADUATE
I was struggling with the fluency of my reading, my writing, sounding out words, and spelling them. I went to LFA to work on the struggles I had, so I don’t worry about taking a test and getting stuck. I noticed over time I could read a text of some sort and understand the meaning and go deeper into it. I also saw more accuracy in my spelling capacity. This overall helped me read and write better. Before LFA, I was not a prodigious reader and didn’t enjoy sitting down just to read a boring old text. Over time, I read a lot more because I could comprehend the books I read. My biggest obstacle is still spelling, mostly because I try to go fast and stumble on sounding out the way to spell it, but I keep going, knowing to slow down and sound out the words and use the Barton rules. I would say to keep going and finish all Barton levels.
D.J. - 4TH GRADE LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
When I was in kindergarten to second grade, I could read sight words but had trouble blending. Letters moved on the page. I rushed and only wanted to be done. In level 1, the words stopped moving. In level 2, I did not fear reading anymore. By Level 4, I could read chapter books and got good grades. Some advice I have for other students is to push through because the hard work pays off.
L.F. - BARTEN LEVEL 8 GRADUATE - 6TH GRADE LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
Over the last three years, I have developed and grown in many different aspects through my tutoring experience. For example, the writing process is a lot easier than before. I have learned how to brainstorm my ideas, organize my writing by using different concepts and tools, as well as using the six W’s to help me express my thoughts. Throughout my time, I accomplished eight extensive levels of Barton which included 84 lessons and over 50 spelling rules. In this program, I learned how to apply reading strategies and have a better comprehension of a passage, as well as having spelling strategies to spell more successfully. Another area where I have improved is processing. I have learned how to flexibly think about any problem in general. Overall, I’ve proven to myself that I have persevered through hard work and that has really upped my confidence level.
P.F. - 18-YEAR-OLD LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
When I first came to LFA, almost two years ago, I was angry and scared, not wanting to come to tutoring and feeling even more stupid than I already had felt. Back then I didn’t like talking about things that I struggled in as it made me feel very uncomfortable. My school experience up until I came to LFA was hard and frustrating. I struggled with Dyslexia throughout all of my schooling, not getting a diagnosis until age 16 and finding LFA shortly after. I didn’t want to come to tutoring because I felt like it was going to be extra work that would be too hard and I didn’t even want to try anymore. I quickly gained comfort with my tutor Jenn and she never made it feel like school or work. She made tutoring fun and I looked forward to coming to see her every week. In the last two years, I have gained so much more confidence in myself. I am not scared to read in front of people anymore because I don’t fear messing up and I care less about what people think of me. Aside from vastly improving my reading and spelling skills, Jenn helped me work a lot on the way I communicate with people and believe in myself which I had never done before. I didn’t think I would even graduate high school and now I will be getting my diploma next week. As I leave Jenn and LFA to go off to my first year of college, I feel incredibly accomplished, proud of myself, and ready for this next chapter.
M.M - 7TH GRADE LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
Learning For All has been so helpful with my spelling. I can't thank you all enough. I'm so happy that I can use the tricks I learned every day. It will help others to spell too. I also enjoyed camps here! Thank you, Maggie, Abby, and Dave!
A.M. - 10-YEAR-OLD LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
“My name is A. and LFA is the best! I have learned how to read and write from LFA. Before LFA I couldn’t. Now I can read a 300-page book. I can write words from Level 7 of Barton. Thank you, LFA for everything. Now I want to read and write more.
B.D. - 6TH GRADE LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
At first, when I went to LFA for Barton, I could spell a small number of words. But I memorized words I didn’t know how to spell out. Also, I skipped words while both reading and writing. I learned through time and began to understand where words came from: Greek, French, and Latin. I understood how to spell both new and nonsense words. When reading, I began to use a liner. The liners helped me learn how to not skip sentences. I can now spell words I couldn’t before. I’m happy to say that I learned a lot.
D.A. - 6TH GRADE LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENT
Before I started at Learning for All, I couldn't read three-letter words. My mom would read books and stories to me. After two years of going to LFA three times a week and doing Barton and some thinking skills activities, I'm reading any book I want. I can now read subtitles of movies that went by too quickly before. I've read all seven Harry Potter books and the "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," multiple Percy Jackson books, "The Hunger Games," "Peter and the Starcatchers," as well as some John Grisham books for young adults. In school, I can do everything my classmates do. I feel confident I can read pretty much everything.