Decodable Adventures

 Today I took my first crack at seeing how ChatGPT does writing decodable text. I can see how it is useful in writing sentences with target spellings and sounds. I had some success with writing sentences even though I had to correct ChatGPT over several steps. (New, shines, and bark are not CVC words ChatGPT. It agreed and eventually ended up with a sentence with CVC words.)  From there, I asked it to write a paragraph. I found that ChatGPT does not like to follow a scope and sequence. The closer it got to the scope I gave it, the more awkward it got. Wait, aren’t human-written decodables often “awkward?” Not when compared to ChatGPT’s level of awkward. It sounds like…a robot. Hmm. Go figure. I guess there isn’t enough decodable text it can mine from on the web.  On a separate try, I gave it a few syllable types plus a list of words it could use and asked for a mystery story. Again, ChatGPT was struggling to follow the scope I gave it. I tried to explain the scope several...

        It took awhile to settle on what I wanted The Black Silk Path companion book to look like. It finally took shape as a "used textbook" that exists within the story The Black Silk Path . In that story, Ed and Mel Davis have to study to regain their language which was stolen by R.L Nox's magic spell. They carry a book to help them study in their backpacks. If you peeked into one of their backpacks, you would see Totally RAD Phonics Level C . Ed and Mel wrote notes in this used textbook. Some of them are related to their studies. Others are related to their journey in as described in The Black Silk Path . Students can study along with Ed and Mel and read their notes. They can connect the notes to what is happening in The Black Silk Path. Each "Lesson" in Totally RAD Phonics Level C matches up with a chapter in The Black Silk Path . It follows the same scope and sequence as The Black Silk Path which covers closed syllables. Totally RAD Phonics Level C pro...

Totally RAD Phonics Level C: Ed and Mel's Exploration of Fluency and Sy ntax – A Companion to The Black Silk Path is almost ready. I'm working now (April 2023) to finish up the metadata and final edits needed before publication. I thought I'd take a break and post a sneak peek. Totally RAD Phonics Level C is a part of The Black Silk Path story. It is a fictional old 1980s textbook. In fact, it is THE textbook that Ed and Mel carried with them on their journey to find their parents. It is one of the tools they used to fight the communication stealing spell. As a tool, it will help students practice their new skills to promote fluency and awareness of sentence structures. Ed and Mel's notes, which use a blue Ed's Handwriting font and a red Mel's Handwriting font, show them interacting with the text in Totally RAD Phonics Level C , communicating with each other, and making lists or plans as they journey to The Black Silk Path. Students can follow these notes and ...

 Have you ever wondered what textbook Ed and Mel used to help them fight the magic spell that stole their words? Maybe it was an old book? Maybe it was from the 1980's? Maybe it was Totally RAD Phonics Level C . Totally RAD Phonics Level C follows The Black Silk Path' s scope and sequence and includes Ed and Mel's "handwritten" notes written during their journey to find their parents.