For many students, Sky Gym is difficult. This is because it presents two new challenges:
- Requires a visual answer to an auditory question.
- Sequencing and processing sound at high speed.
Do not assume flat periods of progress means your child has an unusual problem. It’s not an easy exercise and it goes to the heart of the language processing issue that holds back so many of our students.
Also note, we have had a number of children not ever get off zero but go on to have wonderful gains in language and reading skills.
Try These Ideas to Get Your Child Started
Sky Gym is arguably the cornerstone exercise in Fast ForWord. It builds processing and listening accuracy that is critical to efficient decoding and reading fluency.
Here are some ideas that generally help participants get off the ground with this exercise:
- Have your child name the sounds. Many kids choose ‘weep” for the high sound and “woop” for the low sound. Then get your child to repeat the sounds out loud before clicking the arrows. This added step helps make the connection between sound and visual objects (the arrows)stronger.
- Put stickers on the screen. You can take it a step further by putting UP and DOWN arrows on the computer screen with the names printed on them. Then have your child say the sound out loud and then touch the sticker corresponding to each sound.
- Accuracy is more important than speed. Progress requires 10 consecutive correct answers. At that point the exercise will speed up a little. If 10 in a row is still a challenge, try taking over the mouse for a few minutes. Have your child say the names of the sounds, then you click the arrows that correspond to them. This takes more time, but tuning into the sounds accurately is more important than speed starting out.
- Make Sky Gym the first exercise of the day for the time being.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like assistance in implementing any of these strategies.
Here is a Sky Gym background document that provides more background on Sky Gym and why it’s so valuable.
The Magic of Sky Gym
Here is an explanation of why Sky Gym is such a game-changer for so many students.