Abstract:
A system and method for teaching combining letters, images and sounds. A keyboard having letters on keys has sounds associated with each key. Keys for words used in a lesson may be highlighted to provide clues how to spell a word. Sounds associated with a selected word may be played upon the successful completion of spelling of the word on the keyboard.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of teaching, and more particularly, to methods of teaching literacy, mathematics and social interaction. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Literacy is a critical element of a child&#39;s education. However, learning to read is a difficult task for many children, and can be especially difficult for children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autistic children also can have difficulty identifying facial expressions, and also can have difficulties with mathematics. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A method for teaching literacy to a student forms one aspect of the invention. The method comprises the step of providing an apparatus, said apparatus including: a keyboard having a plurality of keys each bearing a different letter of the alphabet; and sound production means for associating a different sound to each key of said plurality and adapted to produce in response to a keystroke the sound associated with such key. The method further comprises the steps of: displaying a first word to said student; and causing the keys bearing the letters which form said first word to be stroked. 
     A computer program product forms another aspect of the invention. The product comprises a memory having computer-readable code embodied therein for execution by a computer, said computer including a keyboard, viewing screen, speaker and processor, which code, when executed by the processor, causes the computer to: associate a different sound to each alphabetic key of the keyboard; display on the screen a first word; and, in response to the stroke of a key bearing a letter which forms said first word, produce the sound associated with such key. 
     Forming another aspect of the invention is a method for teaching emotions and grammatical structures to a student. This method comprises the step of: presenting a sentence to the student, said sentence including a word to be taught to the student, said word being either: an emotion word selected from the group consisting of happy, sad, afraid, angry, surprised and disgusted; or a noun, verb or adjective. The method further comprises the steps of: reading the portion of the sentence preceding the word to be taught; playing a harmony associated with the type of word to be taught, said type being one of happy, sad, afraid, angry, surprised and disgusted, noun, verb and adjective; reading and spelling the word to be taught; playing the harmony associated with the type of word; and reading the portion of the sentence following the word. 
     Advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, said drawings being briefly described hereinbelow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top plan view of the keyboard of a keyboard apparatus used according to one aspect of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a view of an exemplary exercise sheet used in the method of a first preferred embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a view of an exemplary first exercise sheet used in the method of a second preferred embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a view of an exemplary second exercise sheet used in the method of the second preferred embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an exemplary screen shot produced by computer code according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention when in use by a computer, showing a noun; 
         FIG. 6  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , showing a verb; 
         FIG. 7A  is a first frame of an animation; 
         FIG. 7B  is a second frame of an animation; 
         FIG. 7C  is a third frame of an animation; 
         FIG. 7D  is a fourth frame of an animation; and 
         FIG. 8  is an exemplary work book page used according to another aspect of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a top plan view of the keyboard of a keyboard apparatus used according to one aspect of the invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a view of a keyboard image displayed in a further aspect of the invention; and 
         FIG. 11  is a view of exemplary drawings in a story book constructed according to an aspect of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A method for teaching literacy to a student according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , as a first step in the method, an apparatus (not shown) having a keyboard  20  is provided to the student. The apparatus is preferably a piano or an organ, wherein alphabetic characters  24  have been demarcated in a conventional manner on the keys  22 . The letters  24  are demarcated on the keyboard  20  so that more commonly used letters  24  are grouped together in the centre of the keyboard  20 , and more rarely used letters  24  are disposed on the periphery of the keyboard  20 . Letters that are commonly used together, such as “t” and “h”, are also grouped closely to one another. As shown, the letter placement is suitable for English language instruction. 
     With reference to  FIG. 2 , as subsequent steps in the method, an instructor displays a word  26  and a pictorial representation  28  of the word  26  to the student, and preferably states and spells the word  26  aloud to the student. The word  26  and pictorial representation  28  are preferably displayed to the student on an exercise sheet  30 , as shown in  FIG. 2  in exemplary fashion. The letters forming the word  26  are preferably constructed out of felt or otherwise textured, to add tactile interest. The sheet  30  also includes a representation  32  of the keyboard  20 , in which the keys bearing the letters forming the word  26  are highlighted. 
     Preferably, the student is directed to spell the word  26  using the keyboard  20 . Alternatively, the instructor may spell the word  26  using the keyboard  20 . As the keys  22  are stroked, the sound or tone associated with each key  22  will be produced. Preferably, once the student has depressed the keys  22  bearing the letters forming the word  26 , the instructor communicates to the student that he or she has completed the exercise, states the word aloud and causes a sound associated with the word to be created. For example, in the case of the word “APE”, the instructor may play a recording of a howling ape. 
     A lesson will typically include a plurality of such exercises, and typically, a plurality of exercise sheets  30 , each bearing a unique word and associated pictorial depiction, will be collected into book form for convenience. 
     For reinforcement, an audio recording may be provided, which can be listened to during free time. A preferred audio recording includes a complete lesson. For each exercise: the word is read aloud; the word is spelled out; the tones associated with the letters forming the word are played; the word is again read aloud; and a sound effect associated with the word is played. The instructor may also use audio recording for the purpose of playing the sound effect as discussed earlier. A workbook may also be provided to the student, to reinforce the lesson. An exemplary worksheet is shown in  FIG. 8 , which includes various images of the word for the student to trace and color. 
     A variation of the foregoing method forms a second preferred embodiment of the invention. In this method, the exercise consists of two words, namely, a noun and a verb associated with the noun. The noun  32 , a pictorial representation  34  of the noun and a keyboard image  36 , in which the keys bearing the letters forming the noun are highlighted, appear on a first sheet  38 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The noun  32  is the word “FROG” and the pictorial representation  34  is a picture of a frog. On a second sheet  40 , indicated by  FIG. 4 , there is displayed a verb  42  associated with the noun  32 , namely, the word “LEAP”, a pictorial representation  44  of the verb  42  and noun  32 , specifically, an image of a frog leaping, and a keyboard image  46  in which the keys bearing the letters forming the verb are highlighted. In this embodiment, the instructor initially shows the first sheet  38  to the student, preferably states and spells the word  32  aloud, and directs the student to spell the noun  32  using the keyboard  20 . As the student strokes the keys  22 , the sound or tone associated with each key  22  will be produced. Once the student has depressed the keys  22  bearing the letters forming the noun  32 , the instructor preferably states the noun  32  aloud; presents the second sheet  40  to the student; states and spells aloud the verb  42  and directs the student to spell the verb  42  using the keyboard  20 . As the student strokes the keys  22 , the sound or tone associated with each key  22  will be produced. Once the student has depressed the keys  22  bearing the letters forming the verb  42 , the instructor preferably states the word  42  aloud, whereupon the exercise is complete. A typical lesson includes a plurality of exercises of the aforedescribed type, and typically, a plurality of pairs of exercise sheets  38 , 40  will be collected into book form for convenience. 
     A third preferred embodiment of the invention comprises computer-readable code embodied on a carrier wave or a computer memory product. The code is for execution by a computer (not shown) including a keyboard, a viewing screen, a speaker and a processor. When executed by the processor, the code causes the computer to associate a unique sound to each alphabetic key of the computer keyboard and to display on the computer screen  48  as shown as  FIG. 5 , a word  32 , specifically, a noun. The screen  48  also displays an image of a computer keyboard  46 ′, wherein the keys which bear the letters forming the word are highlighted. The code causes the computer to, in response to the stroke of a key on the computer keyboard bearing a letter which forms said word, produce the sound associated with such key. No sound is produced when keys bearing letters that do not appear in the  32  word are stroked. Once the student has depressed the keys bearing the letters forming the word  32 , the student may press the space bar of the keyboard to cause the screen to display a pictorial image  34  of the word, as shown in the screen shot  50  of  FIG. 6 . In addition to the pictorial image  34 , the screen will also show a further word, specifically, a verb  42 , which is related to the image, and an image  46 ′ of a keyboard wherein the keys which bear the letters forming the verb  42  are highlighted. The code causes the computer to, in response to the stroke of a key bearing a letter which forms said verb  42 , produce the sound associated with such key. No sound is produced when keys bearing letters that do not appear in the verb  42  are stroked. Once the student has depressed the keys bearing the letters forming the word  42 , the student may select the image  34  on the screen with the mouse, which triggers a moving picture to be displayed on the screen that is illustrative of the verb and noun. In the case of the noun and verb combination of FROG and LEAP, the moving picture would be a leaping frog, as shown by the sequence  7 A, 7 B, 7 C, 7 D. This completes the exercise. A typical lesson will include a number of exercises delivered in sequence. 
     The method was tested on a 9 year girl diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Prior to being exposed to the teaching method, she was unable to spell or read any words and had a marginal comprehension of the alphabet. The test subject was given weekly instruction according to the method. Each session lasted between roughly 45 minutes and 1 hour. After approximately one year, the subject was able to spell (both verbally and musically) over 20 nouns and related verbs, and grasped the relationship between nouns and verbs. 
     A fourth preferred embodiment of the method involves a keyboard  200 , as shown in  FIG. 9 , which is somewhat similar to keyboard  20 . On this keyboard  200 , alphabetic characters  24  have again been demarcated in a conventional manner on the keys  22 . Additionally, six 3 part musical harmonies  202  were created using 18 black piano keys. Each 3 part harmony  202  is crafted so as to suggest one of the six universal emotions: happy, sad, afraid, angry, surprised and disgusted. Each 3-part harmony  202  is marked with matching yellow face stickers  206 , 208 , 210 , 212 , 214 , 216 , wherein the facial expression corresponds with the emotion. In addition, three 2-part harmonies  204  were created using an additional 6 black piano keys, each being marked with red  218  (for nouns), green  220  (for verbs) and blue  222  (for adjectives) circular stickers. 
     A story book is also provided (not shown). In the book, portions of the text are highlighted in colours associated with grammatical elements and emotional elements. That is, certain nouns are presented in red text, certain verbs are presented in green text, certain adjectives are presented in blue text, and emotions (happy, sad, etc.) are presented in yellow text. The remaining text is presented in black. Typically, on each page, only one word is highlighted, for simplicity, although at random intervals, two grammatical structures may be emphasized in a single sentence. 
     As the child progresses through the story, the pages are presented to the child. 
     When an emotion page is reached, the applicable 3-part harmony provided for that emotion is played before and after the emotion word is read and spelled. Drawings on these pages are provided and crafted to exaggerate and emphasize the facial expression associated with each emotion, and the reason for the emotion. 
     When a grammar page is reached, the sentence is read and the grammatical element is spelled. The 2-part harmony associated with the grammatical element (i.e. noun, verb, adjective) is played before and after the word is spelled. 
     A fifth preferred embodiment of the invention takes the form of a computerized version of the fourth embodiment. 
     The computer program is adapted to display, in turn, the various pages of the story book. On each page of the electronic book, a computer keyboard image  300  is provided, as shown in  FIG. 10 , which has been modified with the six yellow emotion faces  302 , 304 , 306 , 308 , 310 , 312 , three colour coded grammatical circles (red  314 , green  316  and blue  318 ) and the musical alphabet characters  320 . 
     The keyboards  300  are fully interactive, so that when the child is reading the motion page for “happy”, he or she can click on the yellow “happy” face  310  to hear the 3-part harmony for happy. 
     Rollover images are provided for all the emotion pages, so that the child can rollover the neutral face of Little Bear and it will change to happy, sad or any one of the other emotional expressions used in the book. The rollover images for “happy” are shown by way of example in  FIG. 11 . Animations are also provided to illustrate points of action in the story and reinforce the role of verbs. 
     The above-described teaching methods are highly effective with children and adults, learning disabled and not, and allows each individual to become a better reader of words and facial expressions. 
     While but five embodiments of the present invention have been herein shown and described, it will be understood that various changes may be made. For example, whereas in the first and second preferred embodiments, a piano or organ is used by the child, it will be evident that a personal computer could readily be programmed to serve the function of the piano. Similarly, whereas the examples show English language instruction, the method and apparatus can be readily modified to provide instruction in other languages. Yet further, the method can be expanded to teach children how to add, subtract, multiply and divide using a further modification to the piano and computer keyboards as well as animal images. It will be evident that these modifications, and others which may be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art, may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention should be understood to be limited only by the claims appended hereto, purposively construed.