New Leads

I’m so pleased to announce the coming availability of two new LEX products.

InSight Words Label The first is the long-awaited first volume of InSight Words, the first of several decks offering an inquiry-based understanding of words that most literacy instruction cannot explain. Commonly referred to as “sight words,” “red words,” “learned words,” “outlaw words,” “oddball words,” “rule-breakers” and other pointless names, these words are usually slated for memorization rather than investigation in most classrooms. The LEX InSight Words trust the intellect of new readers and are structured to reveal and reinforce the nature of the writing system scientifically, one InSight at a time.

Matrix Study Sheets Logo The second is a collection of Matrix Study Sheets made publicly available for the first time. Originally developed in 2013 for the private use of the Children’s Dyslexia Centers clinical staff, this invaluable resource is now available for anyone working to understand English orthography. Featuring 25 lexical word matrices, etymological information, and questions for further study, this softcover book includes both free and bound bases as well as both single and twin bases. Useful for personal study, lesson planning, or direct instruction — and half of the profits go to support to the Children’s Dyslexia Centers!

Both products are available for pre-order at a 10% discount through September 1st. Pre-orders help LEX offset production costs. Expected publication date for pre-orders placed through September 1st is September 15th. Place your order at https://squareup.com/market/linguist-educator-exchange and make sure you select the discounted option before it expires!

I’m not a huge fan of sales — it’s not why I got into this line of work. But developing and finding really good products to support word study around the world, well, that’s more my thing. The right <pro> + <duct> can lead us forward in our understanding, and I hope that’s what you’ll find in these new offerings.

20 Comments

  1. Gail Venable says:

    Love what you’re calling your new deck. Brilliant!

  2. marciasarahandemilysmom says:

    Gina I ordered both items and did it separately because I couldn’t see a way to order more than one item at a time. Please combine my order to save on shipping cost.

    Thank you and please let me know the status of Lexinar I’m waiting to take. I’m assuming there aren’t enough people or an issue with dates/times is what’s holding things up.

    Marcia Johnson

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

  3. Very interested Gina – can you share the list of bases? We’d like to see how well it aligns with the OGOA red-word list we have been using.

    • Hi Phil. Which resource are you referring to? The Matrix Study Sheets target 25 bases, both free and bound, twin and single; they were informed by the Children’s Dyslexia Centers’ scope and sequence. The first volume of InSight Words comprises 28 words — most of which are bases, but some are complex; these were selected from lists like Dolch, Frye, etc. This is the first of what I anticipate will be about 20-25 volumes. I’m not keen on providing a “list” of anything; you’re welcome to send me a list of your OGOA “red” words and I will let you know how many of them are in this first volume.

      • Sounds fair Gina, I don’t think I can post attachments here, so here is the basic list from the Orton-Gillingham Online Academy. Ignore the ordering. The were in 5 columns but copying from a PDF works in rows 🙂

        The, Who, Triple, Iron, Shoe, One, Whom, False, Study, Sugar, Only, Whose, Move, City, Wore, Once, Whole, Prove, Copy, Worn, Of, Been, Again, Bury, Swore, From, Both, Against, Odd, Sworn, To, Always, Often, Egg, Honest, Too, Could, Listen, Yolk, Honor, Two, Would, Put, Folk, Usual, Four, Should, Push, Bye, Company, Do, Any, Pull, Eye, Blood, Does, Many, Bull, Heart, Flood, Done, Sure, Bush, Stomach, Truth, Don’t, Very, Door, Toward, Doubt, Gone, Owe, Floor, Answer, Debt, Was, Own, Friend, Soft, Guess, Were, Some, People, Wind, Guest, What, Come, Pupil, Beauty, Guy, Where, Such, Other, Great, Guide, There, Much, Pretty, Steak, Guard, They, Rich, Laugh, Break, Calf, Their, Which, Wednesday, Straight, Wolf, Are, Father, February, Talk, Rough, Says, Aunt, Minute, Walk, Tough, Said, Woman, Hour, Ocean, Cough, You, Women, Although, Island, Enough, Your, Buy, Though, View, Height, Want, Build, Thorough, Lose, Journey, Have, Busy, Touch, Bear, Route, Give, Half, Clothes, Pear, Machine, Live, Pint, Sew, Tear, Sign, Also, Ninth, Among, Wear, Foreign

        This is the advanced list:

        Ache, Course, Fiery, Giraffe, Morale, Acre, Court, Query, Gauge, Mortgage, Breathe, Promise, Parallel, Sword, Nausea, Truly, Piano, Depot, Suspicion, Amateur, Wholly, Treble, Vacuum, Lye, Chauffeur, Police, Recipe, Guarantee, Rye, Aisle, Character, Tariff, Menu, Dye, Biscuit, Choir, Brochure, Mischief, Dyeing, Idol, Angel, Receipt, Soldier, Dying, Exempt, Inn, Canoe, Frontier, Lying, Unkempt, Mitt, Err, Dessert, Questionnaire, Handkerchief, Watt, Fortune, Desert, Millionaire, Sieve, Ebb, Experiment, Plateau, Resumé, Waive, Gross, Separate, Canvas, Alm, Stationery, Kilo, Handsome, Lacquer, Palm, Indict, Etc., Medicine, Miniature, Calm, Yacht, Garage, Lawyer, League, Qualm, Wharf, Tongue, Sandwich, Margarine, Psalm, Tomb, Species, Vegetable, Restaurant, Liquor, Womb, Comrade, Lettuce, Anxious, Parliament, Sulphur, Muscle, Raspberries, Anxiety, Bureau, Epic, Scissors, Cupboard, Luxury, Portrait, Epoch, Schedule, Purchase, Cemetery, Possess, Prestige, Purpose, Bald, Issue, Control, Regime, Scarce, Scald, Tissue, Patrol, Shepherd, Knowledge, Awe, Cushion, Exhaust, Palace, Southern, Subtle, Fashion, Exhibit, Furnace, Bury, Debris, Plaid, Luncheon, Menace, Board, Awful, Conquest, Dungeon, Grimace, Hoard, Charity, Heir, Surgeon, Solace, Hoarse, Clarify, Herb, Pigeon, Surface, Coarse, Era, Hurrah, Hygiene, Personnel

        Thanks for taking the time.

        – Phil

        • Thank you for your efforts, Phil. This is a lot of words, and clearly not at all just a list of “bases.” I’m not sure exactly what a student is supposed to do with these words, or according to what principle(s) these lists are organized. For example, why are could, would, and should or do, does, and done listed separately rather than together? What’s the pedagogical objective?

          Many of the 28 words in the first volume of the Insight Words are on one of these lists (mostly the first), but I can’t say for sure exactly how many. Each volume of InSight words will be organized around a single principle; Volume 1 targets words that are good for studying the orthographic phonology of single-letter vowel graphemes (one, the, come, of, some, do . . .) but also includes many other revelations about the writing system. Can you elucidate for me what these lists of “red” words are supposed to reveal to those who work with them in OG lessons?

  4. Elspeth Carter says:

    Gina, are you able to send up to Canada? I’m happy to pay shipping. I’d love both!
    Thx

  5. Peter Bowers says:

    “InSight words”.

    Freakin’ InGenious!

    I understand your sentiment about “products” but reliable, scientifically rigorous spelling materials are so profoundly needed by this community (and the world). The thing about a small set of such resources is that it gives some reliable building blocks to get started with so that we can start to feel comfortable building our own building orthographic blocks.

    I will be placing an order imminently!

    Many thanks for your work Gina.

  6. Linda Kennelly says:

    Gina, how much? I would like to talk to you about my trip to Africa. When will you be in Peoria?

  7. Julie Ashlee says:

    Hi Gina, I live in Canada and want to order the Insight Words and the Matrix Study Sheets. I’m not able to use the online order form since it won’t recognize Canadian postal codes. Is it possible to send a cheque/money order and have you mail upon receipt or funds? I discovered LEX last week via Pete Bowers site and want to introduce these materials to our school. I’ve forwarded your website to another colleague and we’re going to spread the word. Really appreciate your and Pete’s work! Best regards, Julie Ashlee Pitt Meadows, B.C. Canada

  8. Cynthia Allen-Fuss says:

    I’m so excited and can’t wait to use both of these!

  9. Hi Gina,

    The sight, or red, words are those that are, from a classical OG point of view, non-phoentic or difficult to spell because they don’t follow the rules, or perhaps are homophones. I can see the potential for combining OG with a structured word inquiry approach, and indeed I have been doing that in a limited way. However it might require reordering, to group words with a common base and/or etymology. Nothing is simple, as many OG curriculums introduce one or two of these words, and then reinforce them with readings or exercises. So introducing these in a different order may not be straightforward

    As to the seemingly random order in my lists, that is at least in part due to them being cut and pasted from a five vertical column format, in a PDF document.

    – Phil

  10. […] by my InSight Words, a friend and colleague asked me to give a webinar about so-called ‘sight’ words for […]

  11. […] pass off as “science-based.” I’ve written and spoken about this before, here, here, here, here, here, and here. What these are are words that the author(s) don’t know […]

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