LEAP
Language Experiences and Patterns
| LEAP
is a process first documented by M Scully (1983) to use with children who
are having difficulty getting started with reading, or those who are
attending too closely to print without the print skills. LEAP stands for Language Experiences and Patterns. It is based on normal good teaching practice, and is useful because it provides a lock-step structure which is easy to follow. This method has the advantage of separating out the oral language component of reading. This forces the child to attend to the meaning rather than the print. It emphasises the ability to memorise and repeat short segments of language before actually seeing it. This language segment is then applied to the print, with the child matching printed words with their voice. |
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Follow these steps: |
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| 1. | Prepare by doing a normal book orientation, exploring the book, discussing illustrations, characters, and any ideas that may be new to the child, and reading the book together right through. | |
| 2. | Go back to the beginning, close the book and say the first sentence to the child. | |
| 3. | The child repeats the sentence exactly as you have said it, without looking at it. | |
| 4. | Show the first page. The child repeats the same sentence, this time pointing to the words at the same time. | |
| 5. | Repeat this procedure for several pages, until you have done about six pages, or are half way through the book. | |
| 6. | Go back to the beginning and let the child re-read those pages again. | |
| 7. | Continue from the middle of the book reading page by page as from step 2 until the book is finished. | |
| 8. | Then let the child read the whole book from the beginning, without help. | |
| 9. | If there is any difficulty go back to step 2 and start again. | |
| 10. | Do not proceed to any step until the previous step has been completed properly. | |