Author Archives: Shantell
How Does Your Child’s Reading Habits Measure Up?
How often does you child read? Does he/she read for long periods of time or just for a few minutes? The answer to these questions is highly correlated with reading ability. Look at these statistics from the New National Literacy Trust 2011 …
The Value of Time for Struggling Readers
Those who have difficulty with processing what they read and/or hear can greatly benefit from having additional time to process. Almost 80 percent of those in special education have some type of processing disorder, such as dyslexia. If you are working with …
Reading Comprehension
“Reading comprehension is about much more than answering literal questions at the end of a passage, story, or chapter. Reading comprehension is an ongoing process of evolving thinking. When readers read, they carry on an inner conversation with the text. They respond with delight, …
Making Connections
It is a proven fact that even struggling readers will do better and work longer with a text they enjoy. The key is to find a text they can connect to. If your children are interested in dinosaurs, then find a book …
10 Tips for Choosing Books for Children of All Ages
Have children choose their own books as soon as they start showing a preference for one over another. Find the children’s section of your local library. Get to know the librarian, who can be a great resource. Find out what …
Top Children’s Books to Enjoy July 4th with a Bang!
One of our favorite July 4th family traditions is to read a patriotic book while waiting for the fireworks to start. Below are some of our favorites! Apple Pie 4th of July by Janet S. Wong A Chinese-American girl helps …
The Struggling Reader and Stress
Those who struggle with reading experience varying degrees of stress at school, doing their homework and with any activity that involves reading. It is hard for them to understand why they have such a difficult time with something that appears …
A father’s role in reading makes a difference
As Father’s Day fast approaches I am reminded of all the time my father spent with me reading my favorite books like “Good Night Moon” or “Where the Wild Things Are”. He would be the one to take us to …
Homeschool and Intensive Phonics
Here are a few ways our program fits into a homeschool curriculum, as outlined on The HomeSchool Mom website: The program needs to be simple. Our program starts with simple concepts and moves to more-complex ones in an explicit, systematic way that …
Phonemic Awareness and Rhyme
Through research, we have found that phonemic and phonological awareness is just as important as phonics in helping children to find reading success. We have found that it is an essential skill, needed early on in childhood, and that there …
