Introduction to Davis® Symbol Mastery
Davis Symbol Mastery is a technique which uses plasticine, clay, or playdough to help a child create and master the elements of a written or spoken symbol. These symbols include letters, punctuation marks and words.
Please ensure your child completes every step of these Davis™ Symbol Mastery lessons – even if your child already knows all the letters, as well as the sequence of the alphabet. Stay with these exercises until your child has reached a level of fluent effortless mastery.
Watch each video TO THE VERY END in order to make the the next lesson/topic available.
The elements that comprise full knowledge of a symbol include its:
1. meaning(s),
2. sound, and
3. written representation.
Without a fluent and accurate association between these three elements, the symbol is not mastered. A child has actively created and experienced an association of all three elements of the symbol after he or she does all the following three steps:
- creates an objective representation of the meaning of a symbol (in agreement with the dictionary definition)
- creates a written representation of the symbol
- names the representation and the symbol out loud with the spoken sound or name of the symbol.
Important guidelines for the parent, tutor, or helper are:
- Make each activity and session fun and playful. Be alert for any and all confusion.
- Whenever possible, have the child find and correct his or her own errors by comparing it against written examples.
- Be patient, polite, and kind. Be observant and inquisitive.
- Refrain from rearranging, remolding, or adding to a child’s clay models.
- For true mastery to occur, the models must be entirely the child’s own creation.
- Allow the child to reach the mastery level.