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I have always been an incredibly musically-challenged person. Seriously–my husband once told me I didn’t have to sing in church. I always laughed it off and remained self-deprecating about my deficiencies, but when I became a parent, I promised myself that my own children would not face my fate. At the ripe old age of three, my daughter was enrolled in Suzuki violin lessons. As per the Suzuki methodology, I was right there by her side; she had an adorable mini-violin, and I awkwardly navigated a full-size instrument. I became absolutely fascinated watching my daughter adeptly develop her skills: the lessons were scaffolded, her teachers used color coding and mnemonics to help lessons sink in, and there was a LOT of individual and group practice. The Suzuki method is mastery-based. Students cannot move up a level until they master all of the skills previously introduced. Because my daughter was young, her mind and ears quickly adapted to the new language: she was like a sponge. I, on the other hand, was like a drowning rat. I made it to the end of Book 1 with her, and then it was just hopeless; I would only hold her back. She played for twenty more years and thrived. She seemed like a total natural, but below that polished exterior were years of hard work mastering the foundational aspects. Years later, I gave up practicing law and became an English teacher in an inner city high school. It was the most challenging and rewarding experience I have ever had. All my students were bright and incredibly motivated, but a vast majority were academically challenged. I quickly realized that my students lacked the basic foundational skills needed to succeed in an academic environment, especially college. While they could read, write, and speak in English, they were nowhere near the level needed to critically assess authors or to effectively engage in rhetorical discourse. As I struggled with how best to help my students, I found myself reflecting back. I came to appreciate that learning music and learning the English language share several fascinating parallels, particularly relating to the parts of speech, syntax, and sentence structure. Both disciplines require a mastery of foundational building blocks, whether through the intricate arrangement of musical notes or the nuanced expression of spoken and written words. I often reflected back on my daughter’s musical journey (as well as my own humble journey) and took lessons from the way she learned music and applied it to teaching English in my own classroom. Let’s take a closer look at the similarities. Parts of Speech and Musical Notes Parts of Speech: In English, there are eight parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections). Each word plays a specific role by conveying meaning within a structure, allowing speakers and writers to articulate thoughts clearly and effectively. For instance, nouns identify subjects or objects, verbs express actions or states of being, adjectives provide descriptive detail about nouns, and adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs to give additional context. Mastering the parts of speech allows students to think flexibly and become comfortable knowing that one word can act as various parts of speech. For instance, many assume that kitchen is always a noun. In the sentence, “My kitchen is dirty,” kitchen is a noun acting as the subject of the sentence. But in the sentence, “A bird hit my kitchen window,” kitchen acts as an adjective because it modifies the noun window. Musical Elements: Like words in a sentence, notes on a staff are the content of an arrangement. Once the students have mastered the pitches associated with notes, they too develop the flexibility to appreciate that in addition to the natural notes (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). A single note can be sharp or flat, creating a different pitch. Sometimes, one pitch can be represented by two different notes. WHAT NOTES ARE The same????? to appreciate the pitches that form melodies, rhythms provide the timing and flow, dynamics add intensity and volume, and harmonies enrich the texture of the music. Just as understanding parts of speech is vital for language proficiency, grasping these musical elements is essential for effective musical expression. Sentence Structure and Syntax vs. Musical Syntax Syntax: Syntax governs how sentences are structured. Understanding how word order impacts meaning is critical. For example, despite having the same five words, the sentence "The cat chased the bird" does not convey the same thing as "The bird chased the cat." Having a solid grasp on syntax and structure allows writers to make rhetorical decisions. For example, short, simple sentences strung together often create a sense of speed or anticipation. Whereas compound and complex sentences allow for intricate layering and highlighting details. Think–legal brief. Musical Syntax: In music, the arrangement of notes and rhythms follows specific rules and conventions akin to syntax in language. Notes must be placed correctly on the staff, and the order in which notes are played can alter the mood and message of a composition. For instance, a sequence of ascending notes may evoke feelings of joy or anticipation, while descending notes might convey sadness or resolution. Just as different sentence structures can convey different meanings, various musical forms can evoke different emotional responses and narratives. Musicians, like writers, must have a solid grasp on the fundamental building blocks before they can employ strategies to communicate their musical messages effectively When I realized my English students were lacking in the foundational building blocks, I brought them all the way back to the very basics and started with the parts of speech. My mantra was mastery: “failure is not an option” (I would show the scene from Apollo 13 with that line). Many of my students really struggled in the journey toward mastery because they didn’t master the basics at an early age when they could have easily absorbed it all. I totally got it because it was the same as me struggling through Book I in violin while my daughter sailed through it and excelled. To their credit, my students plowed through and succeeded. Average ACT English scores jumped from an 18 to a 24 without any test preparation. All who wanted to attend college could do so, many went on to attend elite universities, and some even went on to become English majors. I can say with confidence that, without my own musical interlude, I would never have gained the insight that helped me change the trajectory of my students' lives.

Our mission is to change the way the world looks at literacy! How it Started Our founder, Cynthia D'Amico, started her career as an attorney but ultimately chose to follow her passion for teaching. As a high school English teacher, she quickly realized that a majority of her students came into her classroom without the necessary foundational skills they needed to succeed in college. In collaboration with her students, she developed a systematic approach to ensure that all the necessary foundational pieces were in place when it came to reading and writing skills. Her tremendous success with her own students inspired her to create The Colors of English to teach the skills required by state standards in the elementary grades and beyond. Taking Flight Since 2015, we have helped countless private and homeschooled students. In 2021, we began running our first pilot program at Notre Dame School of Milwaukee, catering to grades first through fourth. Within less than a year, we witnessed remarkable progress. Our partnership with Notre Dame has been ongoing, and teachers' feedback regarding the curriculum has been overwhelmingly positive. Moreover, our multi-sensory learning materials have been enthusiastically embraced by students, as they provide an effective and personalized approach to learning that caters to their unique needs. Soaring High Our proven success is enabling us to spread our wings and extend our reach to additional school districts through our Colors of English program. If you're interested in learning more, or if you know a teacher, school district, or motivated parent that could benefit from a research-based curriculum that employs the science of reading to teach the English language in an effective and engaging manner, reach out! Contact Us Research Colors of English has research-based curriculum materials focusing on language comprehension. Research supports various aspects of the unique program behind Colors of English. See Our Research

Free Downloadable Resources LIMITED TIME ONLY Some summer fun with Norm the Noun. Help you students grow their vocabulary and learn about nouns that the same time. Download this partial collection of coloring sheets. They are filled with activities students often do during summer time. There are several ways to use them. You can print the labeled sheet, if you want students to work on vocabulary. You can also print the unlabeled sheets and the word lists. Students can use the list to label each word. You can also cut the word lists up, and ask students to label the blank sheet (both good option for ESL students). More advanced students can be given the word list to learn the words and the spellings. They can then be given an unlabeled sheet and ask them to label it. Click to Download PDF Meet The Flock Introducing all the Word Birds with short little stories that students love! Each bird is introduced separately and the story gives a little insight into their unique personality. Click to Download PDF Bird Bios Learn a little bit about each of our feathered friends. Students quickly internalize each bird's unique personality and learn who is friends with whom, and why they don't all get along. They may be small in stature, but they play a huge role in helping students understand the different jobs that each part of speech plays. Headbands and bowties do matter and make understanding complicated concepts, such as possessives or gerunds, easy eggs to crack. Click to Download PDF ELA Standards The surprising details of what students should know and when they should know it. For example, by third grade, students are expected to "Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their functions in particular sentences ." Could you, as a teacher, explain the difference in how the word kitchen is used in the following sentences? "The new house has a huge kitchen ," and "A blue bird hit the kitchen window." Understanding the difference yourself doesn't count (it is a lot more difficult to explain these concepts to young students)! Click to Download PDF Scope & Sequence This is how we approach mastery based learning. Everything is incredibly well scaffolded. The materials offer a broad range of enaging, multisensory activities that allow flexibility and creative, so students can fly high all by themselves. Click to Download PDF Pesky Grammer Rules Once students master syntax and structure, grammar rules start to make sense (well most of them). Click to Download PDF