From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Three common curriculum gaps that can intensify children’s reading problems are failing to teach them phonological awareness, automatic word recognition, and an alternative to single letter phonics.
Teach Phonological Awareness. This is the ability to identify and manipulate sounds within spoken words. For example, say the word bat without the /b/ sound. Unfortunately, may struggling readers struggle with phonological awareness. To develop proficiency, they need instruction. Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, phonics, phonograms, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, rimes, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, word families
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
In an enormously insightful book for teachers, school psychologists, and reading specialists, Jack M. Fletcher and his colleagues (2007) have identified 10 principles of instruction for students with learning disabilities (LD). These principles hold for any student who, despite quality instruction in general education classes, struggles with reading, writing, or mathematics. They can be enormously helpful for parents who want to increase the odds that their child’s IEP or remedial program remediates his problems. Here are three of the principles:
- Increase time on task. Interventions for students with LDs should supplement instructional opportunities, not supplant them. (p. 272)
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, instruction, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, principles of instruction, reading diagnosis, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
It’s September. Your child is starting to struggle with reading. How long should you wait to get help? Should you wait until November, December, January? After all, his teacher needs a chance to help him. Will it pass if you just show patience and encourage him to do better?
Our Response
Usually, it won’t pass, so don’t wait. Make a formal request to the school to evaluate his reading and related needs and to provide whatever services he needs to become a successful reader. A good evaluation, supported by quality resources, should help your child and his teacher. Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, reading diagnosis, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Are Lexiles flawed? Limited, but not flawed. The problem is not Lexiles, but how some schools use them.
What Are Lexiles?
Lexiles are scores produced by a readability formula that analyzes text (e.g., passages, articles, books) for the length of sentences and the frequency with which words generally occur. Longer sentences, with rarer words, words readers rarely see, are considered more difficult to understand than shorter sentences with words readers often see.
Limitations Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Lexile, Lexiles, readability, readability formula, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
The Press of Atlantic City headlined, in bold font, “State task force says teachers aren’t doing enough to identify kids who can’t read.” The article blamed lower grade teachers for failing to identify children with reading problems and for failing to use the right methods to teach reading. (To me, the not so subtle, unscientific subtext was to keep banging the ideological drum to purchase and use the Wilson method and its commercial materials to teach reading.) Below is the comment I submitted. Read more...
Advocacy, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, politics, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, Reading Materials, reading methods, reading problem, reading problems, reading research, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, teachers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Finally, The Perfect Reading Test!!!!!
Is it perfect?
No.
No test is perfect, and test scores, without proper interpretation and without corroborating information, can damage children. Inaccurate scores can easily lead to a reading program, a class placement, or an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that backfires.
To better understand test scores and help ensure that your child’s reading program is effective, read and save these quotes from a test manual I reviewed for the University of Nebraska’s Seventeenth Mental Measurements Yearbook. Read more...
Advocacy, Assessment, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluation, evaluations, IEP, IEPs, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, reading assessment, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading problem, reading problems, reading test, reading test scores, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, test score, test scores, testing, tests
Reading Fluency: Key Questions and Answers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Why is fluency important?
Often, teachers do not consider reading rate an important issue if students understand what they read. However, chronic slow reading, even if coupled with some understanding, can lead to problems. First, slow readers have to put more time and energy into reading than do their more fluent classmates. It takes them longer to complete assignments, and they are often painfully aware that their peers have finished reading although they are only half way through. This may cause them to avoid reading, and, as we mentioned earlier, fluency primarily develops through wide reading. Thus, slow readers may avoid the very thing that would contribute to their reading improvement. (Caldwell & Leslie, 2005, p. 76) Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, fluency, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, rate, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading fluency, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading rate, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Despite hopes for inclusion, the answer is often no. Placement in general education often fails to improve the reading of children with reading disabilities. Here are five common reasons: Read more...
- The teachers lack the knowledge and skill necessary to remediate reading disabilities, even if a co-teacher has a master’s degree in special education.
- Much of instruction is whole class instruction, not instruction geared to serving the individual needs and abilities of children with reading disabilities. (And with all the budget cuts, class sizes are increasing.)
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration, frustration level, inclusion, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
“Generally, students who get a poor start in reading rarely catch up. In fact, second grade is often their last chance to learn to read. If by third grade they read below grade level, students have ‘little chance of ever catching up.’ Thus, early intervention is critical. When early intervention is not provided, struggling readers make little, if any, progress, often resulting in grade retention, which exacerbates their problems. Over the long term, grade retention does not typically increase student performance. It may even damage students’ chances of academic and social success. Clearly, it is one of the most powerful predictors of school dropout. Early intervention—intervention that is focused, intensive, and implemented by knowledgeable, skilled practitioners—is an essential key to preventing grade retention and strengthening students’ academic achievement” (Bowman-Perrott, 2010, p. 1, references omitted). Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, early intercention, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
If your child knows how to rhyme, knows a fair number of sight words and the sounds of most initial consonants, such as the sounds made by the letter ‘b” and the blend “sl,” but he’s struggling to learn and use the sounds of individual vowels to decipher unknown words, here’s a suggestion. Instead of teaching him individual vowel sounds, ask the school to consider teaching him vowel spelling patterns, such as “ack” in back, lack, black, smack, and slack. Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, phonics, phonograms, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, spelling patterns, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, vowels, word families
