A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

Parents of children with reading disabilities often ask, “How can I help my child improve his reading.” My answer often surprises them. They expect me to show them how to teach phonics or other word recognition skills. But what I tell many parents is this: “Help your child to understand new or unknown words that he hears. Help him to use those words in his speech. Show him you love words. Love of words is infectious.”

The reasons for focusing on vocabulary are simple. Here are several:

• Children need to understand the words they hear; if they don’t, they’re unlikely to understand them when they see them in reading materials. This alone will create problems with reading comprehension.
• Large listening vocabularies can help children recognize words they see in print. For example, if a child understands the words at the beginning of the upcoming sentences, he’s likely to recognize the word without even seeing it: “Babe Ruth was a powerful hitter. I wish I could have seen him hit a home _______.”
• Each day offers parents numerous opportunities to teach children new words and to use them in conversations.
• Teaching children to understand words they hear rarely causes friction; in contrast, parents of children with reading disabilities often wind up fighting with their children when they try to teach their children to recognize new words.

Here are four simple suggestions for helping your child understand new words that he hears.

• Surround the new or unknown word with definitions: “Ryan, that beach ball is so big, it’s so, so big, that it’s bigger than big: it’s gigantic. Gigantic means very large. Gigantic means big like a giant, big like the biggest dinosaur you can imagine.”
• Ask your child to choose a word he’d like to learn: “So Ryan, did you hear a word today that you’d like to learn, or do you want me to tell you about three words and you can pick one?”
• Ask your child to teach you a new word: “So Ryan, what word would you like to teach me today? First, I’ll look it up in the dictionary, then I’ll read the definition aloud, then, if you want, you can ask me questions about it, and then when you feel like it, you can ask me what the word means. I hope I get it right.”
• Create a word wall that guarantees success: “Ryan, today you correctly used the word ‘gigantic’ three times. ‘Gigantic’ was the target word we agreed to use. Three times means three cards. Let’s put three cards with ‘gigantic’ on you word wall. Now you have 137 cards on the wall. Great. No not great: Gigantically great.”

For these suggestions to work, it’s important that your child view the activities as fun, and not as tests or drudgery. If you play around with the activities, if you treat them as fun activities, if you’re structured but emotionally loose and positive about them, if you pick words that he likes and is apt to hear and use, and if you sprinkle well-deserved praise around his efforts, he’s likely to learn a good number of words. This does not guarantee that he’ll recognize them in print, but it increases the odds that he will and it increases the odds that he’ll understand what he reads.

For more ideas on developing vocabulary, see http://www.reading2008.com/blog/reading-disabilities-simple-ideas-for-developing-vocabulary-at-home.htm. For helping your child at home and in the community, see chapter 6 of Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds.

HM © Reading2008 & Beyond                                                         www.reading2008.com

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A Note on Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds (www.reading2008.com)

Psychology Today.com recently wrote that Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds was one of the three “best books about education published in 2010. Recommend [it] to your friends.” On our blog, an English teacher wrote that Beating the Odds “is one of the best books, if not the best book on education published this year.”  A Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism called it “a great book.” A parent wrote, “Your Reading Disabilities book is by far the best resource I have found regarding the IEP and IDEA and providing understandable and concrete suggestions and implementation strategies.” Another wrote, your book is “fascinating and effective.” On Amazon, a professor of special education called it “a fantastic resource… well-written, practical… an essential guide.” The Kansas City Examiner.com cited our blog as one of the ten best special needs blogs of 2010.

We thank these and many other reviewers for their kind words. And we hope that our book and blog helps lots of children, parents, teachers, IEP Team members, and schools. It’s why we keep plugging away. – HM & GB

To help you help your child improve his memory, our last three tips discussed meaning, repetition, discussion, elaboration, interest, and focus of attention. Our last tip will deal with history, novelty, importance, and list a few more factors over which you have some control.

History. Children usually become and stay interested in things similar to what they’ve historically been interested in. Generally, the more they’re interested in something, the more they attend to it, the more they remember about it. So, if you want your child to remember a story for an oral book report, let him choose a book on a topic in which he’s usually interested. And make sure its level of difficulty resembles books on which he’s had a recent history of success.

Novelty. Show him some books similar to those he previously liked. Here, similar means alike in many ways, but slightly different or new in a few. Too many differences often produce disinterest. Slightly different suggests newness or novelty that your child thinks he can handle successfully. This creates interest, which improves attention and memory.

Importance. Discuss with him how reading the book and remembering its theme and the important, supporting details can help him achieve his short and long term goals. Short may mean a few days or two weeks—it depends on his age and maturity.

If he doesn’t have clear goals, try to help him develop some. This involves listening to him, discussing his views, and perhaps suggesting goals he can readily achieve. If this proves too difficult, ask yourself, “What will encourage him to understand and remember the important aspects of the book?” Then, consider negotiating a contract with him; like an adult, he will get X for achieving Y. He wants X, you want Y, and both seem fair to him and to you. You’re not bribing him. Instead, you’re starting where he is, his present level of functioning, and giving him an opportunity to earn something. Over time, as he successfully reads and remembers much about books he likes, you should gradually, almost imperceptibly, phase out external, artificial reinforcers. You might also continue to help him create some short term goals, goals he wants to achieve and can quickly achieve.

A Few More Factors. To strengthen memory, try to combine all these factors—meaning, repetition, discussion, elaboration, interest, focus of attention, history, novelty, and importance. But remember, other factors can also strengthen memory. For example, spaced practice, proper diet, sufficient sleep, and lots of aerobic exercise can strengthen memory. To find more information on strengthening the memory of children with reading and other learning disabilities, put the word memory in our search engine (right side of page, below our pictures).  To find information on sleep, put the word sleep in our search engine.

Howard Margolis, Ed.D. © Reading2008 & Beyond            www.reading2008.com

A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

To quickly and accurately retrieve something from memory, you first need to put it–exactly what you want to remember–in memory. This requires you to attend carefully to it. The same goes for your child. But most children will not attend willingly to what they expect will be uninteresting; they’ll attend willingly only to what they expect will be interesting. Before I elaborate, let me share my secret.

Here it is: I was a championship tennis player.

Decades ago, in my early thirties, I was unbeatable. In 32 straight games, I beat all the six year olds I faced in Plattsburgh, New York. Playing against these wannabes, I showed no mercy. I wanted to be invincible, and I was. But after 32 successive victories, in which no six year old won a single point, invincibility bored me. I needed greater challenge. Therefore, I challenged the 12 year olds, certain that again I would be invincible.

But I wasn’t. I rarely returned serve. My few volleys were terrible. After two games, I slammed my racket against a bench.  After three games, I broke it in two. I wanted to quit. But my wife wouldn’t let me. After 10 defeats, she couldn’t stop me. I quit. I screamed in anguish. I never again held a tennis racket. I never again watched a tennis match. To this day, I hate tennis. The 12 year olds beat me badly.

Psychologically, they demolished me. I would have fared far better playing the nine year olds. They were better than me, but only slightly. It would have been challenging, but I would have won 40%, maybe 55% of the matches. Although the challenge would have been complex, I would have met it. Complexity and the likelihood of decent success would have made the matches interesting—really interesting.

By now you probably guessed: my secret is fiction. I wanted to demonstrate three points:

• If something is too easy, like my domination of six year olds, interest and attention evaporate, boredom soon dominates. The desire to escape takes over.
• If something is too hard, like 12 year olds demolishing me, frustration soon dominates. Like boredom, but with greater intensity, interest and attention evaporate and the desire to escape rules the moment.
• If something is just right, not too hard, not too easy, complex enough to challenge but not to frustrate, it fosters interest and attention.

So what does this say about strengthening your child’s memory?

If your child finds books, learning, and schoolwork too easy or too difficult, interest may never take hold, or may quickly evaporate. Attention will dwindle. Memory will suffer. To counter this, the difficulty or level of challenge must be just right: not too easy, not too hard. If your child makes a moderate effort, he should expect and experience success. Therefore, if you and his teachers want to strengthen his memory, first foster his interest and attention by matching the task and materials to his current abilities. He should expect that moderate effort will produce success. And his experiences should confirm this. A good term for this match is achievability: he believes that with a moderate, reasonable effort, he’ll achieve success.

Howard Margolis, Ed.D. © Reading2008 & Beyond         www.reading2008.com

• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.
• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.
• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.
• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.
• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.

Then we asked you to think about it, repeat it, discuss it with friends, elaborate on it, give examples to your friend, and ask them for examples. And every few days, repeat it. Silently repeat it and discuss it with yourself as you’re waiting on a supermarket checkout line, as your waiting for a bus, as you’re in a waiting room.

The essence of M&M was to make meaningful what you or your child wanted to remember. Now we’ll answer the question, “What does FAT mean?”

FAT means Focus Attention and Think.

To remember something, you have to focus your attention on the parts or aspects of it that you want to remember and while doing so, think about what you’re focusing your attention on. If, for example, you want to remember that the “I” in IEP stands for “individualized,” look at the word in your state’s special education code, read and think about the paragraph it’s in, then look at pictures of three different children you know. Make sure they’re different in age, size, and academic achievement. List three of their distinct, individual needs. List their different clothing sizes and ask, “Can they wear the same size clothing?” Ask yourself, should each be learning to read from the same books? Should the first grader be reading “A Tale of Two Cities?” The ninth grader, “A Cat in the Hat?” Does each need remedial instruction to recognize 2nd grade words? Is each ready to compete for the cheerleading squad? Does each need 40-minutes of extra exercise daily? Does each need to gain weight? Does each need to fall asleep at 9 pm? Does each need coaching to develop and keep friends? This should help you to remember that federal law requires special education to be individualized and that the federal government defines special education as “specially designed instruction … to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability” (Federal Register, 2006 August 14, § 300.39).

To remember even better, think about how the examples illustrate the word “individualized,” why the federal special education law—the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA)—requires IEPs to be “individualized.”

What’s true for you is true for your child. He has to focus his attention on and think about what he wants to remember. If he wants to remember that he should put dates at the top of his homework papers, he might look at five homework papers with dates, circle the dates, and tell you why his teacher requires dates at the top of all homework papers. You might show him some old homework papers without dates and ask him when he submitted them. You might then ask him to think about what he’ll do to remember to put dates at the top of all his homework papers. To follow-up, you might give him positive feedback for remembering to write dates at the top of all his homework papers. As time goes on, you might gradually focus feedback on other things you want him to think about and remember.

Our next two tips will discuss the components of interest: novelty, history, importance, complexity, and achievability. After all, if children are not interested in something, they probably won’t try to remember it. Why should they?

A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

Keep this in mind:

• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.

Repeat it five times:

• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.
• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.
• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.
• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.
• Lots of M&M’s can make you FAT.

Now, let’s find out what it means. Once you know, think about it. Repeat it. Discuss it with friends. Elaborate on it. Give them examples. Ask them for examples. And every few days, repeat it. As you’re waiting on a supermarket checkout line, silently repeat it and discuss it with yourself.

What does M&M mean?

M&M means Meaning and Memory. If you want to get something into your memory, make it meaningful to you. Make sure you know why it’s important. If you want to help your child remember something, help him make it meaningful to himself. If, for example, he needs to remember that exercise improves learning, you can discuss it with him, write good grades under pictures of people exercising, briefly demonstrate how you sporadically walk up-and-down a plastic step when working on important projects, and every half-hour or so, interject 3-minutes of light exercise into his academic studying. You might even show and discuss with him an age-appropriate DVD about how exercise improves learning.

Our Next Tips

Our next tip will explain FAT. Here’s a preview: FA stands for Focus Attention, T for Think.  But to meaningfully focus attention and think requires interest. Therefore, Tip 3 of 3 will discuss some of the components of interest: novelty, history, importance, complexity, and achievability.

Resources

For a series of great articles on memory and learning, go to www.aft.org and search for Daniel T. Willingham (Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Virginia). He’s an excellent writer whose work always teaches me something new and important.

Howard Margolis, Ed.D. (c) Reading2008 & Beyond         www.reading2008.com

A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

By Teresa Foley, Ph.D.

Asnuntuck Community College, Enfield, Connecticut

Much of learning mathematics involves memory—whether it is committing things to long term memory for later recall, like addition or multiplication facts, or short term memory when recalling steps to follow when carrying out multi-digit calculations or solving a multi-step problem. There is also working memory, which involves the ability to hold information in mind while simultaneously working with that information or doing other calculations (Geary, Hoard, Nugent, & Byrd-Craven, 2007). For example, a common way to add multi-digit numbers like 125 + 97 involves the ability to calculate that 7 + 5 is 12, write down the 2 in the ones column, then carry the 1 to the tens column, then add the numbers in the tens columns and so on, relies on working memory. More complex examples of processes that utilize working memory can be found in subtraction, multiplication, and division. For students who have working memory difficulties we often look for alternative algorithms, short cuts, or calculators to help support students’ memory needs. All too often working memory, short term memory, or long term memory deficits are common for students who experience difficulty learning mathematics.

Geary and colleagues (2007) report that students’ overall capacity for working memory increases from preschool through elementary school. For example, Kail (1990, as reported in Geary et al., 2007) found that when asked to repeat a collection of numbers, typical preschoolers could repeat 3 to 4 number words correctly, and typical fourth graders could repeat 5 to 6 number words correctly. Yet students with math learning disabilities lag about 1 year behind their typically achieving peers in working memory tasks. The growth in students’ ability to repeat back more numbers in fourth grade than preschool is due to their improved ability to use strategies (e. g., rehearsal), improved ability to focus attention, increased processing speed, or the slower decay of information (i.e., they don’t forget things as quickly). Each of these components improves as part of normal development in childhood, and each contributes to the observed improvement in overall working memory capacity (Cowan, Saults, & Elliott, 2002, as reported in Geary et al., 2007).

When students have difficulty with working memory, research indicates that they tend to use finger counting more frequently and for a longer period of time than their typically performing peers; they also tend to have more computational and procedural errors than their peers, especially during initial periods of learning (Geary, 1990, 1993). Researchers have also found that the working memory spans of students with math learning disabilities is about a year below their same-grade peers; with both age and schooling, however, the working memory of children with learning disabilities can improve (Geary, Hoard, Byrd-Craven, & DeSoto, 2004; McLean & Hitch, 1999; Swanson, 1993).

Students with math learning disabilities also tend to demonstrate a two-year delay in their ability to make adaptive shifts or changes in problem solving strategies when switching from solving simple to more complex problems. Research proposes that this difficulty is related to poor working memory (Geary, Hoard, Nugent, & Byrd-Craven, 2007). Although working memory difficulties can be corrected or improved upon, they continue to negatively influence students’ learning of mathematics throughout their education.
So, we know that students who experience difficulty in learning math often demonstrate deficits or weaknesses in working memory. We also know that they tend to lag behind their peers in improving their working memory skills and they also tend to lag behind in skill acquisition and advancement.

Strategies that can be used to help students support their working memory needs can include

• Teaching them alternative algorithms that minimize reliance on holding pieces of information in memory
• Writing down instructions and steps to follow in a problem solving procedure for referral as needed (Zentall, 2007)
• Using real-life and interesting content to facilitate recall (McLoughlin & Lewis, 2001)
• Allowing students to use calculators to support the problem solving process; this can support learning as long as calculation itself is not the focus of instruction.
• Having students support memory needs by thinking aloud as they work a problem (Zentall, 2007). For example, have students think aloud as they solve problems or do calculations.
• Having students explain their thought processes to peers or answer process-oriented questions posed by the teacher as they work to solve problems.

By orally and actively engaging students in the learning process, students are working to support demands placed on their memory. Overall, a good rule to keep in mind is that the more active the learning process, the more likely learning will occur.

References
Cowan, H., Saults, J. S., & Elliott, E. M., (2002). The search for what is fundamental in the development of working memory. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 29, 1-49.

Geary, D. C. (1990). A componential analysis of an early learning deficit in mathematics. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 49, 363-383.

Geary, D. C. (1993). Mathematical disabilities: Cognitive, neurophsychological, and genetic components. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 345-362.

Geary, D. C., Hoard, M. K., Byrd-Craven, J., & DeSoto, C. M. (2004). Strategy choices in simple and complex addition: Contributions of working memory and counting knowledge for children with mathematical disability. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88, 121-151..

Geary, D. C., Hoard, M. K., Nugent, L., & Byrd-Craven, J. (2007). Strategy use, long-term memory, and working memory capacity. (pp. 83-106). In D. B. Berch, M. M. M. Mazzocco. Why is Math so Hard for Some Children? The Nature and Origins of Mathematical Learning Difficulties and Disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Brooks Cole Publishing Co.

Kail, R. (1990). The development of memory in children (3rd ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman.
McLean, J. F. & Hitch, G. J. (1999). Working memory impairments in children with specific arithmetic learning disabilities. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 74, 240-260.

McLoughlin, J. A. & Lewis, R. B. (2001). Assessing Students with Special Needs, 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (pp. 264-265).

Swanson, H. L. (1993). Working memory in learning disability subgroups. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 56, 87-114.

Zentall, S. S. (2007). Math performance of students with ADHD: Cognitive and behavioral contributors and interventions. (pp. 219-243). In D. B. Berch, M. M. M. Mazzocco. Why is Math so Hard for Some Children? The Nature and Origins of Mathematical Learning Difficulties and Disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Brooks Cole Publishing Co.

The Author: Teresa Foley is an Instructor of Mathematics at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut.

Reprinted with permission (and slight changes) from Learning Disabilities Worldwide (www.ldworldwide.org). Originally published in Strategies for Successful Learning, Volume 3, Number 3, January 2010.

A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

Children with reading disabilities often struggle to remember what other children easily remember. This struggle often frustrates, stresses, and confuses them. As such, they often berate themselves mercilessly: “I never remember anything…. I don’t know how to remember…. I’m the stupidest jerk in the school.”

Fortunately, teachers and parents can do a great deal to help children with reading disabilities strengthen their memory, preventing or minimizing these destructive thoughts. By teaching these children how to remember, teachers and parents can help them transform their negative beliefs into positive ones, ones that say “I can remember…. I know how to…. I can succeed in school.” These positive beliefs can affect them in ways that go far beyond remembering a few facts. They can motivate them to persevere, to keep plugging away, to make the effort needed to succeed. This effort–based on the belief that they can succeed–is a key to helping them succeed in reading.

The Loci Method

For centuries, one method that has successfully helped people remember lists of items is the Loci or Journey Method. Like all good methods for helping children strengthen their memory, it’s simple, orderly, and easy to use. Nevertheless, children with reading disabilities usually need lots of practice using it. Practice, with feedback, should start with one or two concrete items to remember and gradually move to more abstract, lengthier lists of items. Feedback should be corrective, supportive, and encouraging. Practice should be fun.

To use The Loci Method successfully, children must attend to what they want to remember, think about it, create pictures in their mind, and associate it with familiar places. First I’ll give you an example. Then I’ll explain a little more about Loci.

An Example

I want to remember that children with reading disabilities increase their odds of remembering something if they Verbalize what it means, create Images of what it looks like, and, if possible, Physically examine it or engage in physical activity. For improving memory, the acronym VIP does not mean Very Important Person; instead it means Verbalize, create Images, and involve yourself Physically.

To remember all this, I’ll use the Loci Method. In my imagination, I’ll visit three of the rooms in my house, associating each room with a VIP activity. Because I’ve lived in the house for more than 20 years, imagining the rooms is easy. So, I’ll use my imagination. But for some children with reading disabilities, it’s better to visit the real places, and there make the associations between the places and what they need to remember.

The Verbal Room. The first room my imagination visits is my office, at the top of the steps, on the left. It’s full of books, books that I often discuss. Discussion means that I, my friends and colleagues, use lots of words. I can imagine one of the discussions now: My co-author and friend Gary Brannigan is discussing memory with me. We’re exchanging lots of words—it’s a verbal funfest about helping children use memory strategies. We’re discussing the importance of verbalizing meaning, creating images, and involving yourself physically. The room is flooded with words.

Because of all the discussions I’m imagining in this room, because of all the verbal interaction, I’ll call it the Verbal Room.

The Image Room. The second room my imagination visits is a bedroom for guests. I’m imagining it now: A group of children with reading disabilities are on the floor drawing pictures of Gulliver’s Travels. Their pictures include Gulliver, the shipwreck, Lilliputians, the giant farmer and his daughter, Yahoos, and lots of horses. They’re talking about the pictures and labeling them. One picture is labeled “Gulliver helps the Lilliputians.” Another, “The Scary Giant.” After finishing and discussing the drawing, the children cover the walls with them.

Because the room is loaded with pictures, I’ll call it the Image Room.

The Physical Room. The third room I’m imagining is about 15 feet opposite the door to the Image room. Its the large all-purpose room in which I exercise. Here my imagination lets me see the children touching the kind of clothing Gulliver must have worn, stroking the kind of wood used to make ships in the 1700s, and comparing the size of Lilliputian figures to adults they know. I also imagine that after 40 minutes of work the children exercise lightly for ten minutes. This refreshes them and helps them to think more clearly.

Because of all the physical activity in this room, I’ll call it the Physical Room.

By labeling the rooms the Verbal, Image, and Physical rooms, and associating specific rooms with specific activities, I’ve strengthened my memory about the Loci Method children can use to strengthen their memory. Now for more of an explanation of the Loci Method.

An Explanation of the Loci Method

The method starts with places that children with reading disabilities know well. To remember a set of items, such as the first three Presidents of the United States, the children need to associate each President with a place that’s familiar to them. Then they need to describe what the President is doing in the place and why they associate him with it. They might draw pictures, showing George Washington in one of the rooms, John Adams in another, and Thomas Jefferson in a third.

The place, however, can be any familiar place. Instead of rooms in a house, it might be a park the children know well. They might imagine George Washington writing a letter under the large tree at the entrance, John Adams speaking to an angry group of people near the water fountain, some 50 feet from the large tree at the entrance, and Thomas Jefferson sitting at a wooden table some 75 feet from the water fountain, using small sticks to solve a geometry problem. What’s important is that each child pick a place familiar to him, so he can associate the information he’s trying to remember with a place he knows well.

To make the Loci Method effective for remembering the Presidents, the children should:

• Use a familiar place.
• Identify different locations in the place.
• Place each President at a different location.
• State who is where.
• Create an image of each President at his location.
• Describe what each President is doing at his location.
• Discuss what the location and activity suggest about the President.
• Label each scene.

The Problem

Despite the fact that teaching memory strategies to children, especially those with reading disabilities and other learning disabilities, often strengthens their ability to remember, schools rarely teach such strategies. As N. L. Gage and David C. Berliner justifiably complained, “They should.”

If your child has memory problems, ask the school to systematically teach him how to remember. If he’s in special education, ask that his IEP have goals (and in some states, objectives) for mastering memory strategies. Here’s a sample goal and objective:

Memory Goal 1: Tim will explain and will demonstrate how to successfully apply three memory strategies (e.g., the Loci Method) to his content area subjects.

Memory Objective 1: Tim will explain and will demonstrate how to successfully apply the Loci Method to new social studies material that his teacher gives him. He will do this on three successive occasions, with different materials, by the end of the first marking period.

If your child’s school doesn’t know how to teach memory strategies, you may have to teach him yourself, which we usually caution against (see page 106 in our book), or hire a tutor. The good news is that teaching memory strategies can easily be fun for the teacher, the tutor, and the child. To guide instruction, here are two older books that you can buy for few dollars; each has an excellent chapter on memory strategies:

• Gage, N. L., & Berliner, D. C. (1998). Educational Psychology (6^th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, p. 267 (Chapter 7).
• Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2004). The Inclusive Classroom: Strategies for Effective Instruction (2^nd ed.). Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall (Chapter 10).

HM © Reading2008 & Beyond

A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

Teachers can strengthen the memory of children with reading disabilities. To do this, teachers must first capture and then keep the children’s attention. They must then focus instruction on the acronym REMOS: Repeat It, Elaborate or Explain it, Make it Meaningful, Organize it, and engage in Spaced or Distributed Practice.

In practical terms, the teacher must get the children to:

Attend to What’s Important. Teachers have a good chance of capturing and keeping children’s attention if they’re enthusiastic about what they’re teaching, make it interesting, use novelty, use words the children can understand, use pictures or multimedia to illustrate what they want remembered, and assign materials the children can read comfortably.

To keep the attention of children with reading disabilities during a lecture, teachers should break the lecture into eight to ten minute blocks. Each block should focus on one concept; the first few minutes should emphasize the main point; the next few minutes should elaborate on it. After each block, the children should take a break. During the break, the teacher might tell a story to illustrate the major concept, or the children might engage in a short group activity, like scripting a podcast, or individually, they might spend five minutes illustrating the major concept. They might even spend a few minutes exercising lightly. To learn more about structuring a lecture to keep a class’s attention, read Brain Rules. In this enlightening book, John Medina describes how and why he divides his lectures into ten-minute blocks.

Repeat It. If you want to remember something, repeat it or lose it. Teachers need to structure their lessons so children with reading disabilities have many opportunities to repeat and practice what they need to remember. Repeat does not mean saying it silently one or two times. If it’s important, children should say it six or seven times, maybe twelve to sixteen times, maybe seventeen to umpteen times. However, asking children to repeat what they don’t understand often benefits no one. They quickly forget what’s not understood, what’s not meaningful to them. Elaboration can make things meaningful.

Elaborate on It. To say it another way, teachers should create lots of opportunities for children to talk about it, and talk about it, and talk about it. Children should discuss it. If it’s controversial, they might switch between the “pro” and “con” positions. Talk is important, but it should be meaningful. The more meaningful something is, the more likely it will be remembered.

Make It Meaningful. The more children understand something, the more likely they’ll remember it. Teachers can give meaning to an abstract concept by helping children relate it to their lives. To reinforce and extend the meaning of the word practical, the teacher might begin a discussion by asking, “So in your house or near it, what do people do that’s practical? What makes it practical? After the discussion, the teacher might ask the children to “take five minutes to draw a picture of someone doing something practical and something impractical.” To make practical even more meaningful, she can have the children share their pictures: “Show your pictures to your neighbor. Tell your neighbor what was practical and impractical in your picture. And tell them why it was practical and impractical.”

Organize the Information. When teachers help children with reading disabilities to organize information—in ways the children find meaningful—they’ll remember the information better than if it’s random or unorganized. Here’s a list of ten words: pineapple, collie, cantaloupe, chihuahua, bulldog, apple, grape, terrier, boxer, peach. If children try to remember all the words as one list, they’ll forget most of them in a week. If they organize the words into the categories of dogs and fruit, they’ll remember many more of them. Even their mistakes will fall into the two groups: dogs and fruit. Try it.

The teacher must also:

Schedule Spaced or Distributed Practice. When referring to children with reading disabilities, spaced or distributed practice refers to assessing the effects of instruction a day or two after the initial instruction and then re-teaching children what they didn’t remember or master. For maximum effect, teachers should repeat the process some three to four weeks later. They should assess what was taught and re-teach what was forgotten. This can have a profound effect on the children’s memory and application of skills.

The good news about gaining and maintaining children’s attention and using REMOS is that the principles are straightforward. Teachers can use them—easily. So can parents.

In a future posts, I’ll discuss some straightforward mnemonic strategies for helping children remember simple but important things. Some people dismiss mnemonic strategies, saying memorization is not important. It is. Reading comprehension and higher level thinking often involve remembering, retrieving, and manipulating lots of simple things. So memorizing important information is good: It frees time and mental energy for comprehension and higher-level thinking. For children with reading disabilities, mastering mnemonics is often the key to succeeding in content area classes like history, science, and health.

Resources

Medina, J. (2009). Brain rules. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.

Howard Margolis, Ed.D. © Reading2008 & Beyond www.reading2008.com