As the New Year approaches, many contemplate New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions usually involve setting goals to improve oneself in one or more areas. Many want to improve their education or get a better job. In order for this type of self-help to be successful, there are a few steps that should be followed: There has to be an acknowledgement of a need for improvement in a certain area. A person must seek out good sources …
Reading Activities – Book Club
Last Tuesday evening was our Neighborhood Book Club’s potluck Christmas party, and I was reminded how grateful I am for this little group. I almost didn’t join when invited a couple of years ago because my days don’t hold much room for discretionary reading. But with reassurance that participation expectations were minimal, I’ve managed to keep up at a low level, and it’s been just right. Actually, helpful suggestions from trusted sources are even more …
Snowy Roads and Making a Difference
Waking up to wintry weather and snowy roads usually affects me with the desire to stay by a warm fire and hunker down with a great book. Road conditions here can be worthy of the anxiety they cause. I noticed this morning that despite that feeling I was still happy to come to work; the reason being that there is much good happening here. Such wonderful people call us every day. Some are homeschooling, some …
Parent Education
When my husband and I have found our children struggling with different needs we don’t have the answers for or know what to do about, I sometimes feel reluctant to ask for help, even though I care very much. That is probably a common situation. We value our family’s self-reliance, our privacy and independence. It isn’t easy to know how much to trust possible sources of help, wondering if they truly can have our child’s …
Dyscalculia – What About Problems With Numbers?
We have had numerous parents and individuals ask about problems with numbers. Many who struggle with reading also struggle with math. Just as dyslexia refers to individuals who struggle with reading, dyscalculia refers to individuals of average intelligence who struggle with mathematical concepts and problems. “Dyscalculia is a broad term for severe difficulties in math. It includes all types of math problems ranging from an inability to understand the meaning of numbers to an inability …
Reading and Spelling Skills: The Mirror Processes
Yesterday a call came from someone who indicated he didn’t struggle with reading or dyslexia, but had big trouble with spelling. He was frustrated that he couldn’t put his thoughts on paper in any real form because his spelling was so limited. Since spelling is a mirror process of reading—we blend the sounds when we read and we should be segmenting the sounds to spell—I told him that the language learning weakness he had could …
Intensive Support – Its Application in Teaching Reading
Today in browsing an article from an education publication, I came across the term intensive support having to do with aniticpating and responding to an expected flood of challenges with autism in the future. Having a daughter with special needs, (down syndrome), in our family, this term rings some bells with me. There are so many different types of situations where intensive support is called for in raising our children, period, whether they have such …
Reading Fluency and Phonics Instruction
There is more and more emphasis on fluency as research shows that it is a necessary precursor to reading comprehension. In educational language, “fluency” is a buzz-word that gets thrown around with great weight. What is fluency? Reading fluency encompasses the speed or rate of reading, as well as the ability to read materials with expression. It is often a misconception that if they are reading at a faster, more fluent rate, that they simply “know” …
Reading Programs Bring Life Changes
I have just spoken this morning with a sweet woman I’ll call Joan, (not her real name), who feels embarrassed about her inability to read well. She wonders if there is any hope, because even a private tutor didn’t make much difference for her. The tutor didn’t use a reading program, I learned, but rather had her do a lot of reading. Many tutors don’t have the understanding necessary for giving dyslexics help. Explicit, systematic, …
Silent Movie Prompts Teaching Reading Reflection
A recent Friday night video at our house happened to be a 1929 oldie, “Wings” with Jack Powell. The cultural experience of watching a silent film is perspective-tilting to me. This particular Air Force story was to have happened in 1917. The clothes, cars, buildings and historical scenes I found fascinating. It was easy to imagine grandparents sitting in a theater on a date watching that very movie. The interspersing black and white screens of …
