Socratic educator Michael Strong with Alana, age six

I'm well.

Where are you?

I'm at La Jolla Farmers Market.

Wonderful, wonderful. How are you?

What did you say?

How are you? Are you having a good day? Yeah. Good. So, couple things. First, I want to check in. Did you manage to do any more on the estimation of woven hair?

What did you say?

Did you manage to do any more work on estimating how many hairs Logan has?

Nope, I didn't get a chance.

No problem. I think let's do something different today. Did you know that your dad has a podcast?

Yes, I've seen him work on it, but I haven't seen him work on it, um, too much now.

Have you listened to it?

Um, not really.

Okay, well, I did. And so, um, there were two main points on the podcast I listened to. One was the second verse of the ABCs. Yeah, do you know? Do you know the second verse of the ABCs? So because I want to talk about that and most people haven't heard it, could you go ahead and sing it for us?

Excuse me?

Would you sing the second verse of the ABCs for us?

I didn't hear you on the last part. What did you say?

Could you sing the second verse of the ABCs?

Oh yeah, I can.

Go for it.

Letters have sounds, sounds form words, words form sentences which express thoughts. All you have to do is learn how the letter sounds fit together and formulate words. Next, learn their meaning. On word 2, anything, sound it out word by word is reading to me.

Excellent, thank you. And your dad wrote that, is that correct?

Mm-hmm.

So your dad thinks that because he said he and your mom sang that to you a lot— you remember them singing that? To you and with you over and over again?

Yep.

And he thinks that helped you to read. Do you think that listening to that over and over again helped you learn to read? How did it help you learn to read?

So it taught me how to read, like, with the words, mostly because, like, it— the song teaches us how to read. Like, you read, you can learn anything.

And do you remember when you were little, do you remember looking at a book and listening to the second verse of ABCs and that helping you to figure out how to read?

Yep.

So what kind of books are you reading right now?

Excuse me?

What kind of books are you reading right now?

Right now, mostly chapter.

What's one good book you read recently?

Um, uh, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

And do you know how many pages that is?

No. But I remember the book. I just don't know how many pages there are.

That's okay. That's okay. But it's a pretty big book, isn't it?

Yeah, it's a really big book.

And you're only 6 still, right?

Mm-hmm.

So I think, and your father thinks, that learning the second verse of the ABCs helped you to become a really good reader really early. Do you think that's correct? Is Logan learning to read yet?

Right now he's practicing, I guess, but he doesn't know like the right words in the right order.

Does he know the second verse of the ABCs?

Mm-hmm.

Do you think he knows what every line of that song means?

Uh, maybe not. Maybe I don't know.

Okay, do you see why you would have to know what every every line of that means in order to use it to learn how to read?

What? What? Excuse me?

You would have to know it. You would have to know. So let's go verse by verse. What's— can you say the first verse again?

Um, in the song?

Yeah.

Letters have sounds from words.

Okay, so even just there, I'm thinking Letters have sounds. Logan would have to know what letters are and what sounds are. Do you think Logan knows what letters are and what sounds are?

I think so, yeah.

Okay, so letters have sounds, and so he knows that part. What's the next part? Excuse me, what is the next part after that?

The next verse?

Yeah.

Words form sentences which express thoughts, I think.

Okay, words form sentences which express thoughts. I'm going to go back through there and see what Logan probably understands. Do you think he knows what a word is?

I think so.

You think he knows what a sentence is?

Uh, maybe.

Okay. Um, do you think he knows what a thought is?

What? What? Excuse me, what?

What is what a thought is.

What a thought is?

Yeah.

Um, I don't know.

Okay, do you see? I'm going through— I'm thinking through what Logan has to understand in order to understand the second book, The Agencies. And I bet it's bit by bit. You probably— words and letters they get first. And this is you when you're little. I'm talking about Logan because, um, he's still little, you know what I mean? You already understand it, right? Yes. But Logan doesn't yet understand it completely.

I don't think he understands it yet, but I think he will soon.

Okay. Okay. Well, I think that because it's a little bit loud and you're having a hard time hearing—

is it loud there? Not too much, actually.

Okay. So in which case, what's the next verse of the second verse? After words, which express thoughts, what comes next?

The third verse?

Yeah. All right, sounds good.

All you have to do is learn to letter sounds, I think.

Okay, so there again, I bet Logan probably knows what letters are and what sounds are.

You think?

Yep.

Logan loves letters more than anything else.

He does?

Yeah.

Why does he love letters?

I don't know.

He just likes to play around with letters?

Yeah. He has little magnetic letters that he likes to play with.

Oh, those are fun. Those are fun. Okay. Well, I'm— so I think your father is right that singing that song over and over again helped you become a great reader. And I thought it would be interesting to try to figure out how that song is helping Logan become a reader. So we should check in every now and then to see how Logan is learning to read and how that song does it, okay? Okay. All right, I'm gonna let you go back to your farmer's market, okay?

Okay.

All right, bye-bye.

Bye-bye.