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

Great. The school agreed to give your child the extra reading help he needs. Every day, he’ll join a small group of children to get 45-minutes of extra reading help from a reading specialist in a special reading room.

The specialist has a great reputation; she’s knowledgeable, skilled, and kind. The children love her. And the room is great; it’s loaded with reading materials. Your child should make great progress.

He should … if.

If his regular teachers continue to teach him to read at his proper instructional and independent levels. If his teachers and reading specialist carefully coordinate their instruction. And if they carefully monitor his progress. Otherwise progress may be poor.

Proper Instructional Level.

Unfortunately, many schools use frustration level materials to teach children with reading disabilities. This backfires. As Phyllis Newcomer, a well respected scholar and test developer noted, using such materials “can create serious achievement and emotional problems” (1986, p. 26).

Instructional and independent reading levels refer to the difficulty of materials a child can read comfortably—without frustration. Here’s a description from an article I published with Patrick McCabe:

For materials to be at a student’s instructional reading level, students should quickly and correctly read aloud 90 to 95 percent of words in [a text] and understand 70 to 89 percent of the text. [This is before instruction.] Instructional level assumes that teachers will work with students, teaching vocabulary, skills, and strategies; monitoring and guiding practice; and structuring independent practice. For independent level materials, which students should find easier than instructional level materials, students should quickly and correctly read aloud 96 percent or more of the words in [a text] and understand 90 percent or more of the text. Whenever students work by themselves, at their desks or at home, materials should be at their independent level. (Margolis & McCabe, 2004, p. 242)

Some children, however, may need easier instructional level materials. Their comfort level for instruction may require them to easily identify 95 to 98 percent of the words they read in paragraphs.

Coordinated Instruction

Lack of coordinated instruction is a major pitfall. For a variety of reasons—scheduling, indifference, conflicting obligations—many schools and teachers fail to coordinate instruction. For children with reading disabilities, this is often disastrous. Here’s a sampling of the literature:

The instruction provided by the classroom teacher and the [reading] specialist must be carefully coordinated; that is, both should be teaching the student the same reading strategies. Similarly, the information being presented to the student should be carefully controlled. For example, it would be inappropriate for one teacher to present letter-sound correspondences in one sequence while the other teacher presented them using another sequence. Conflicting approaches overload students with too much information and confuse and frustrate them. Furthermore, teachers should not shirk their responsibility to teach reading because a student is receiving outside instruction. Lower performing students generally need more practice than average students to master skills. Therefore, the teacher should provide practice and instruction in addition to that provided by the specialist. (Carnine, Silbert, & Kameenui, 1990, p, 59, emphasis added)

Examinations of the instruction students receive in the classroom and in the remedial setting suggests that there is little [coordination]. On a typical day, remedial students are receiving instruction on different skills, using different materials, and with a different focus in two different environments…. This means that the students who have the most difficulty integrating information and transferring learned skills to new situations are presently receiving the most fragmented, least unified instruction of all. (Lipson & Wixson, 2009, p. 137, emphasis added)

Tutoring needs to be coordinated with classroom instruction…. It is easier for a child who is struggling with learning to read to receive the same method of reading instruction with the same or similar materials in the classroom and during tutoring. If the tutor works with the child on some of the same stories that were presented in class, the child has repeated opportunities to work on challenging materials. An at-risk child has enough trouble learning one approach in reading without having to juggle or reconcile two different approaches. As the child masters material, he or she is more likely to perform better in class and is likely to become motivated to read. This is not to say that the tutoring session should be the mirror image of what is done in class. During tutoring, the tutor can present strategies and provide explanations for things that the struggling reader is not likely to get from class. (Wasik, 1998, p. 569, emphasis added)

Simple push-in programs will not assure congruent instruction…. ‘It is quite possible to have classroom and remedial teachers occupying the same space yet delivering unrelated programs.’…. It seems likely that congruence between instructional settings for remedial readers will depend on teachers having serious discussion about the nature of reading and the rationale for delivering ‘more of the same’ or ‘different” instruction.’ (Lipson & Wixson, 1991, p. 342, emphasis added)

Monitoring

Without frequent monitoring of your child’s progress, and adjustment of instruction to overcome problems that monitoring identifies, instruction may well  frustrate him, sap his energy, waste irreplaceable time, waste opportunity, erode his confidence, make him angry, destroy his hope. The good news is that many teachers, reading specialists, and Individualized Education Program (IEP) Teams know a great deal about monitoring. If they don’t, they can easily learn how to monitor progress. For a wealth of information on how to monitor your child’s progress, read chapter 7 of Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds (www.reading2008.com).

What To Do

Speak to your child’s teachers and reading specialist. Make sure they understand your concerns about the need for proper instructional level, coordinated instruction, and frequent monitoring. If necessary, show them the quotes above and chapter 7. Keep in mind that the vast majority of teachers want to help children, and attending to these concerns will increase their likelihood of success.

If your child is in special education, make sure his IEP accurately states his levels of academic functioning, how his progress will be measured, and when you will get progress reports. As his parent and a member of his IEP Team, it’s your right. Here’s what the rules and regulations for the federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA; 2006), say:

[Each child’s IEP] must include … a statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance [and] a description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals [of his IEP] will be measured [and] when periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals … will be provided.” (§300.320)

As a member of the IEP Team, you can also request that your child’s teachers and reading specialist meet regularly to plan and coordinate his instruction or that they develop a way to assure well-planned, coordinated instruction that meets his needs. Failure to plan and coordinate instruction may severely impede or block his progress. If this happens and you bring it to the attention of the school—in writing—and if the situation is not rectified, the school may be denying your child what federal law requires: a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

If, after this, the school continues to reject your written request for coordinated instruction, think about hiring an advocate or special education attorney. Why such a drastic step? Because failure to get coordinated instruction may doom your child’s program to failure.

If you have other ideas on how to handle the situation, please put them in a comment. Your ideas may help the many parents and teachers who read our blog.

References

Carnine, D., Silbert, J., & Kameenui, E. J. (1990). Direct Reading Instruction (2^nd ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, p. 59.

Lipson, M. Y., & Wixson, K. K. (1991). Assessment & Instruction of Reading Disability: An Interactive Approach. NY: HarperCollins Publishers, p. 342.

Lipson, M. Y., & Wixson, K. K. (2009). Assessment & Instruction of Reading and Writing Difficulties: An Interactive Approach. Boston: Pearson, p. 137.

Margolis, H., & Brannigan, G. G. (2009). Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds. Voorhees, NJ: Reading2008 & Beyond (www.reading2008.com).

Margolis, H., & McCabe, P. P. (2003). Self-efficacy: A key to improving the motivation of struggling learners. The Clearing House (2004, July/August), 77(6), 241-249.

Newcomer, P. L. (1986). Standardized Reading Inventory (manual). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed, p. 26. Rules and Regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA): Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 156 / Monday, August 14, 2006 / Rules and Regulations, § 300.320 Definition of individualized education program.

Wasik, B. A. (1998). Using volunteers as reading tutors: Guidelines for successful practices. Reading Teacher, 51(7), pp. 562-570, p. 569.

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

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

If you want to help your toddler, preschooler, or kindergartner learn to read—in fun and satisfying ways—Raising Confident Readers is the book for you. If you want to increase the odds that your young child will not suffer from reading disabilities, Raising Confident Readers is the book for you.

Written by Dr. J. Richard Gentry, an outstanding literacy educator, Raising Confident Readers organizes and simplifies an enormously complex, daunting task—teaching children to read. One way that Dr. Gentry does this is through his Pyramid for Beginning Reading Growth. The Pyramid organizes beginning reading into five phases that roughly mirror birth through age seven. For each phase, Dr. Gentry provides a wealth of activities. But he doesn’t stop there. He shows you how to determine the phase your child is in so you give him activities he enjoys, learns from, and looks forward to.

If you’re worried that following the Pyramid will take hours a day and will require lots of formal instruction, don’t worry. Generally, Pyramid activities take very little time, often less than two minutes. And they don’t require formal instruction. In fact, Dr. Gentry makes a compelling argument that formal activities backfire with young children; they need short, informal activities they find fun.

To give you an idea of what Pyramid activities look like, here, with a little rephrasing, are parts of three activities, along with snippets of Dr. Gentry’s comments:

Phase 0 (Birth to 3): Reading Aloud. Start at birth…. Remember, in teaching reading at Phase 0, feelings come first. Reading aloud is all about affection and attention.

Rules for Reading Aloud:

(1) Keep books simple and provide lots of repetition.

(2) Use face-to-face contact.

(3) Make conversation with your baby/toddler about the book.

(4) Use elaborations, make connections.

(5) Use affirmations but don’t make corrections.

(6) Have fun!

While you are reading, have a ‘conversation’ that makes the experience personal and intimate…. In the first six months, reading aloud focuses on modeling sounds…. Choose a book that is delightful for you and one that you would love for your child to read to you some day. It should also be one that can help create an intimate experience between you and your baby. The language in the book should be simple, clear, and happy. Since repetition is important for laying down the neural tracks of language, choose a book that you will enjoy reading over and over again. Your child may want you to read his favorites to him literally hundreds of times in the years ahead and will read them from memory himself after he starts speaking. Because sound categorizations are being wired into your baby’s brain, nursery rhyme books and books that can be chanted or sung are good choices. Their simplicity and repetition of sounds is perfect for Phase 0.

Phase 0 (Birth to 3): Labeling. Start at six to twelve months and beyond. (If you start early and establish a routine it will be easier to keep the baby interested. Waiting eighteen months or later may make it harder to get the toddler interested in this activity.)

In this activity you post and point out word labels [start with five simple words] in your child’s room that you have created, and you engage in labeling play by using sight, sounds, and action in the here and now to draw attention to the words. Reading Around the Room is a good way to focus your child’s attention on individual words.

The ‘Reading Around the Room’ game has five basic steps:

(1) Use words that your baby sees and hears in favorite books or hears in conversation.

(2) Make labels and post them in your child’s room.

(3) Use the left-to-right finger-tracking procedure [described elsewhere].

(5) Make the word viewing interactive and fun.

Phase 2 (3 to 6 years). Ring Clips for Sight-Word Practice. The directions are

(1) Write the words your child can read on an index card.

(2) Collect these words on a ring clip.

(3) Practice them over and over.

Put each word on an index card and punch a hole in the top left-hand corner. Make a game out of practicing the words and have ‘Look What I Can Read!’ celebrations. Your child will enjoy showing how many words he can read to others and this builds confidence. If you want your child to be a reader, he has to feel like a reader! Keep a list of the words your child can read automatically and replace words that may have gotten torn from the ring clip or lost. Choose other books that give your child exposure to the same high-frequency words that he is currently learning. For example, read several cat books, pig books, or books on the same theme to provide repetition of familiar words.

The above examples are incomplete. Raising Confident Readers gives you far more information, enough to make it easy to skillfully carry out the activities. Moreover, because Dr. Gentry writes so clearly and interestingly, his information doesn’t overwhelm. It informs.

Another way that Raising Confident Readers will help you and your child is its highly effective READ principles, principles that will help you whenever you’re with your child. READ stands for Repetition-Enthusiasm-Attention-Drawing. Here are snippets of each:

Repetition. Joyful repeated readings of favorite books are a hallmark of early reading success. Long after you are exhausted rereading favorite books, your baby or toddler will thrill in reading them over and over again. Hang in there. Your child is still learning. Her brain loves repetition.

Enthusiasm. Your own enthusiasm for literacy activity will create your child’s motivation to engage in literacy…. Your enthusiasm inspires and instills your child’s internal desire to write and read by surrounding literacy activity with positive feelings. Your enthusiasm makes every literacy activity fun, interesting, sociable, and enjoyable… Here are some tips for setting a tone for amusement and merriment, and for avoiding negative feelings….

Attention. The guiding principle for choosing what activities to concentrate on and how to direct your child’s attention during reading or writing is to be a good ‘kid watcher.’ If your child is having a lot of fun with a particular activity, then this is a good one for the stage he is in right now. If he is distracted or bored, he may not be ready for that activity. Choose the activities that engage his interest and attention…. Many of the decisions regarding how to direct your child’s attention will be easy because the activities and recommendations in the phase chapters will guide you directly.

Drawing. Your child might be ready to scribble on paper before you thought… At thirteen months of age, Danielle was already keen on making marks with different colors of pens on paper. In the weeks that followed, she began drawing with inexhaustible curiosity, demonstrating a love for artistic expression. Soon she was drawing pictures and talking about them in baby talk…. These drawings set the beginnings of literacy in motion…. Experts agree that drawing almost always opens the gate to early literacy.

What I’ve shared with you just touches the surface of a complete, well-written book on Raising Confident Readers. By engaging in its creative activities, if only a few minutes daily, you increase the odds of helping your child become a successful reader, and along the way, a successful person.  And so I’ve just bought a second copy for my daughter, as her daughter, my granddaughter, just turned 15 months and is ready to become a confident reader.

Reference

Gentry, R. J (2010). Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write from Baby to Age 7. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press.

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

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

Paired Reading: A Guide For Parents—Part II

Keith Topping, Ph.D.

THE DESCRIPTION

As described in Part I, in Paired Reading “the parent and child begin reading aloud together and continue until the child makes an error. The parent supplies the correct word, the child repeats the word and rereads the sentence, and simultaneous (“duet”) reading continues. When the child feels ready to read alone, he or she gives a prearranged signal [e.g., a thumb up], and the parent stops reading while the child continues” (Rathvon, 2008, p. 193).

Following is Part II of Dr. Topping’s guide for parents.

THE GUIDE-PART II

Notes

In a Paired Reading Diary, you might summarize your child’s reading. You might note the date, what was read, for how long, and who helped. You might comment about your child’s performance. Each week, you might share this with your child’s teacher. Your child might find praise from his teacher to be highly motivating.

How To Do It: Reading Together

To start, especially when reading something that’s hard for your child, you and he should read the words out loud together. Don’t go too fast. Make your speed the same as your child’s. This will help him through the hard bits and will give him a good example of how to read well.

Your child must read every word. If he struggles and then gets it right, show you’re pleased. But if he hasn’t said the word right in 4-to-5 seconds, say it right and have him say it right; then carry on. If he tends to rush past mistakes, make your corrections a bit quicker.

Make sure he looks at the words. Especially on hard reading, it helps if one of you points to the words with a finger as you’re reading together. Usually, it’s best if your child points.

How To Do It: Reading Alone

When you are Reading Together and your child feels good enough, he might want to read a bit alone. You should agree on a way for him to signal for you to stop Reading Together.

This could be a knock, a sign, or a squeeze. Some children like to nudge you. The signal must be clear, easy to do, and agreed upon before you start. (If your child has to say “be quiet,” he might lose track of what he’s reading).

When your child signals, you should quickly stop reading out loud and praise him for being confident.

When Reading Alone, sooner or later your child will struggle with a word for more than 5 seconds, or struggle with a word and get it wrong. At this point, correctly read the word out loud for your child and make sure he then says it right.

Then both of you start reading out loud— Reading Together again—to get back into a flow. Soon your child will again feel good enough to read alone and again signal you to be quiet. You will go on like this, switching from Reading Together to Reading Alone. Always, give  your child the help he needs, but no more.  On hard books, you will Read Together more; on easy books, less.

The Rules

Stick to these “Rules” for at least for the first few weeks. If you don’t, you may find yourself in a muddle. Make sure you don’t do each other’s “job.” For example, stop reading aloud only when your child signals you to be quiet—don’t decide for yourself. When your child is Reading Alone and makes a mistake, correct it and start Reading Together, even if he wants to continue Reading Alone. It’s what the Rules say!

References

Rathvon, N. (2008). Effective School Interventions (2^nd ed.). Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving Student Outcomes. NY: The Guilford Press.

(c) Keith Topping, Ph.D.

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

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

Paired Reading: A Guide For Parents—Part I

Keith Topping. Ph.D.

In March, we published two posts on Paired Reading. Consequently, several  parents and teachers wanted more information. Graciously, Dr. Keith Topping, Director of the Centre for Paired Learning and Graduate Educational Psychology at the University of Dundee, Scotland, allowed us to republish his guide.

First we’ll briefly describe Paired Reading, Then, in the next two posts, we’ll provide Dr. Topping’s guide, with slight modifications.

The Description

In Paired Reading, “the parent and child begin reading aloud together and continue until the child makes an error. The parent supplies the correct word, the child repeats the word and rereads the sentence, and simultaneous (“duet”) reading continues. When the child feels ready to read alone, he or she gives a prearranged signal [e.g., a thumb up], and the parent stops reading while the child continues” (Rathvon, 2008, p. 193).

The Guide

Paired Reading is a very good way for parents to help with their children’s reading. It works well with most children and their reading gets a lot better. Also, Paired Reading fits in very well with the teaching at school, so children don’t get mixed up. Most children really like it—it helps them want to read.

What You Need

Books

Your child should choose the book. Your child can choose books from home, school, or the library. He can also choose newspapers, magazines, or other items he wants  to read.

Your child will soon pick the right book. Children learn to read better from books they like. Don’t worry if the book seems too hard. In Paired Reading, you help your child through the hard bits. He’ll soon learn to pick books that aren’t too hard.

Your child can change books. If your child gets fed up with a book, and wants to change it, that’s O.K. If the book is boring, he’ll probably choose more carefully next time.

Time

Try very hard to do Paired Reading nearly every day, even if only for 5 minutes. Aim for 5 days per week. Don’t do more than 15 minutes unless your child wants to carry on. Don’t make him do Paired Reading when he really want to do something else.

If you don’t have the time to do Paired Reading 5 days a week, a grandmother or grandfather or older brother or sister or even friends and neighbours can help. They must all do Paired Reading in just the same way, though, or your child will get mixed up.

Place

Find a place that’s quiet. Children can’t read when it’s noisy, or when there’s lots going on. Get away from the TV, or turn it off.

Find a place that’s comfy. If you’re not comfortable, you’ll both be shifting about. Then you won’t be able to look carefully at the book together.

Get close—reading together can be very warm and snugly. You both need to be able to see the book easily—or one of you will get neck-ache!

New Ways of Helping

It’s often harder for parents to learn new ways than it is for children! With Paired Reading, these are hardest things for parents to get used to:

• When your child gets a word wrong, just tell him what the word says. You say the word right, then he says it after you. DON’T make your child struggle and struggle, or “break it up” or “sound it out.” Don’t worry if you come to a word neither of you are sure about –just look it up or ask someone.
• Don’t jump in and give your child the word right away. Give him 4 or 5 seconds to get it right. If, however, he zooms straight past a mistake without noticing it, you may have to point out mistakes a bit quicker.
• When your child gets words right, smile, say “good,” show you’re pleased. Praise him for reading hard words correctly, getting all the words in a sentence right, and correcting errors before you do (called self correction). But when he gets words wrong, DON’T nag and fuss about his mistakes.
• Sometimes you should point to words, but not always. On a hard book, or when your child is tired or not concentrating well, pointing might help. But point only when necessary, not all the time. And if your child can do it rather than you, let him.  Sometimes it’s best that both of you point. Here’s the guiding principle: Avoid frustration while promoting competence and independence.

Talking and Listening

Show interest in the book your child chose. Talk about the pictures. Talk about what’s in the book as he goes through it. It’s best if you talk at the end of a page or section, so your child doesn’t lose track of the story. Ask him what might happen next. And listen to him. Listen intently, with the aim of understanding what he’s saying and connecting with him—try to let him do most of the talking.

Talking and listening are very important – it shows your interest in what your child is reading. It also checks on his understanding without seeming like a “test.”

References

Rathvon, N. (2008). Effective School Interventions (2^nd ed.). Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving Student Outcomes. NY: The Guilford Press.

(c) Keith Topping, Ph.D.

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

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

Can sustained silent reading help children with reading disabilities? Generally, yes. But overemphasizing it can shortchange them.

Many schools involve struggling readers in some form of sustained silent reading. In such programs, all students, including struggling readers, read silently for some 15 to 45 minutes daily. As they read silently, so does the teacher. The teacher models silent reading, showing that she values it and enjoys it. If done right, sustained reading is important practice for children, an important way for teachers to communicate they value reading, a way of helping children become competent, motivated readers. Sustained silent reading goes under different names, such as Drop Everything And Read (DEAR), Super, Quiet, Uninterrupted, Independent Reading Time (SQUIRT), Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), and Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading (USSR).

If your child struggles with reading and his program involves some form of sustained silent reading, you ought to know what it aims to do, what the research says, and what it doesn’t do. To help you make better decisions about your child’s reading program, especially at program planning meetings, such as Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, we’ll discuss the aims of sustained silent reading, the research, and the limitations of the approach. By understanding sustained silent reading, you might avoid this common mistake: complaining “it’s a waste of time.” If your child’s reading program overemphasizes isolated skill instruction (e.g., sounding out words), your might recommend the school use sustained silent reading to balance his program.

The Aims

If children don’t regularly read lots of paragraphs, stories, articles, and books, they’re unlikely to become competent readers. They may learn to recognize words in isolation, but that’s all. They won’t learn the joy and importance of reading, or how to read anything more involved than simple sentences, like “Sam ate the ham.” They won’t learn how to stick with, comprehend, critique, or discuss longer materials.

Unfortunately, many schools drill students in recognizing words, but give them little opportunity to read stories and other lengthy materials, depriving them of important opportunities to learn to read and depriving them of the enjoyment of reading. Not giving students lots of daily opportunities to read materials they like is like trying to teach them to swim without letting them go in water. It doesn’t work. Thus, the aims of sustained silent reading:

Sustained silent reading tries to reverse this problem by providing students with a quiet time to practice silent reading, providing them with exemplary models of silent reading behavior (such as the teacher reading silently for the entire period), and increasing their abilities to read for longer periods (paraphrased from Tierney & Readence, 2005, p. 101).

The Research

Because sustained silent reading is a general approach that comes in many forms and different schools use it so differently, the research results are mixed. In writing about Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading (USSR), Robert Tierney and John Readence (2005) noted:

Although USSR is a simple technique and can easily be implemented in classrooms at any level, it is very difficult to evaluate. It should not be surprising that research studies, in which the influence of USSR upon achievement and attitude has been studied, have yielded quite mixed results. (p. 105)

Despite the mixed results, reading specialists such as myself view sustained silent reading—reading that engages struggling readers in lots of easy, enjoyable reading of books they choose—as an important element of high quality reading instruction. Here are four related reasons:

• Struggling readers need to compensate for an overemphasis on isolated skills: “Students who cannot sustain themselves in print may have had too much experience with isolated skills. There are students who have no experience reading ordinary books and, as a result, have little idea that reading is a sense-making process. The benefits of SSR [sustained silent reading] for these students include recognizing the purposes of reading, providing practice and transfer opportunities, and providing experiences with meaningful reading material.” (Lipson & Wixson, 2009, p. 569)
• Struggling readers need to do lots of reading: “There exists a potent relationship between volume of reading and reading achievement…. Children whose reading development lags behind their peers engage in far less reading than their higher-achieving peers. This has been found to be true even when these children participate in instructional support programs such as remedial reading or resource room…. I would suggest that one and one-half hours of daily in-school would seem a minimum goal.” (Allington, 2001, p. 33)
• Struggling readers need to do lots of easy reading: “Students do not learn to read unless they read a lot. And they cannot get better by reading difficult material. This is especially so for struggling readers.” (Duffy, 2009, p. 10)
• Many struggling readers need programs that motivate them to read: “When students are permitted to read from materials that they choose and when teachers model silent reading themselves, everyone benefits…. Although direct instruction [such as teaching struggling readers word recognition and reading comprehension strategies] is important, it is not the only way to teach. Indeed, some important literacy outcomes simply cannot be achieved via direct instruction. Such is the case with reading stamina and motivation.” (Lipson & Wixson, 2009, p. 567)

The Limitations

We hope the message has been clear: readers, including struggling readers, need to read lots of enjoyable materials, and sustained silent reading helps them do this. But, for struggling readers and most other readers, sustained reading is not enough. They need direct, explicit, systematic instruction in how to recognize words and how to comprehend what they read. Such instruction requires a curriculum that moves struggling readers, in a logical sequence, with lots of reinforcement, from point A to point Z; explanations by teachers and lots of teacher-reader and reader-reader discussions; modeling by teachers and peers; lots of teacher guidance in helping readers practice what they just learned; lots of constructive feedback from teachers, telling readers what they did right and showing them how to correct any errors; lots of opportunities for readers to independently apply what they’ve just learned; and lots of opportunities for readers to choose easy, enjoyable reading materials and to read, read, read.

Sustained silent reading is part of these last two components: lots of opportunities for readers to independently apply their abilities and to read, read, read. As indirect instruction, it can supplement, but not replace direct instruction, such as a teacher demonstrating Ellis’ RAP strategy for reading comprehension:

• Read a paragraph
• Ask yourself what it’s about
• Put the main idea and two details in your own words

Comments

Please feel free to comment on this or any of our posts. If, as a parent or teacher, you have extensive experience with sustained silent reading, we’d like to hear from you.

References

Allington, R. L. (2001). What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-Based Programs. NY: Longman.

Duffy, G. G. (2009). Explaining Reading (2^nd ed.). NY: The Guilford Press.

Ellis, E. S. (1996). Reading strategy instruction. In D. D. Deshler, E. S. Ellis, & B. K. Lenz (Eds.), Teaching Adolescents with Learning Disabilities: Strategies and Methods (2^nd ed.) (pp. 61-125). Denver, CO: Love Publishing.

Tierney, R. J., & Readence, J. E. (2005). Reading Strategies and Practices: A Compendium (6^th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Howard Margolis, Ed.D.

© Reading2008 & Beyond

www.reading2008.com

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

A Guest Post

By  Dr. Amy Reschly, University of Georgia, &

Dr. Sandra Christenson, University of Minnesota

High school completion with competence is more important than ever before in our nation’s history. Students today must have skills to compete in an increasingly global and technological economy.  Data continue indicate, however, that too many students – particularly those of Native American, African American, and Hispanic descent; students with high incidence disabilities; and students from lower-SES backgrounds – are at increased risk for dropping out and experiencing a host of negative consequences, from unemployment and health problems to incarceration.

For many students, a pathway to dropout is initiated in early elementary school with difficulty learning to read. Difficulty with reading appears to be linked to grade retention and special education placement, both robust predictors of later dropout. Reading is widely thought of as one of the signature accomplishments of childhood and a primary purpose of the first years of schooling.  Encountering difficulty in such an important area not only leads to falling further and further behind other students academically but is also related to a decline in student motivation and engagement at school, constructs critical to persistence and school completion.

Studies of the effectiveness of intensive interventions in early childhood and primary grades underscore the connection between early reading skills and the increased likelihood of completing high school. Given the link between poor reading skills and grade retention, special education placement, engagement, and motivation, we, along with a number of colleagues, have frequently argued for intensive early reading interventions as an integral part of school completion efforts.

To date, it appears that we know a lot more about who drops out than we do about effective prevention and intervention. Although dropout prevention efforts are widespread, only recently has significant attention been paid to evaluating and identifying those programs that are empirically supported. One program, Check & Connect, recently met the standards for inclusion in the Institute for Education Science What Works Clearinghouse. Check & Connect is currently the only intervention program reviewed in the What Works Clearinghouse that earned a rating of Positive in any of the three core areas related to school completion (Staying in School). The primary components of Check & Connect are described below, followed by an example of how reading interventions may be included as part of the Check & Connect model.

Check & Connect

Check & Connect is a structured model of intervention focused on promoting students’ engagement at school and with learning. The person primarily responsible for program implementation is a monitor or mentor who:

• Systematically monitors student engagement with school (e.g., attendance, homework completion, participation, behavior, connection to teachers and peers) (CHECK)
• Initiates timely and individualized interventions at the first signs of disengagement (CONNECT)
• Facilitates collaboration across home and school and works with families to enhance home support for learning.

Tbe table below lists the core elements:

Source: Christenson et al. (2008)

Check & Connect has been implemented with elementary, middle, and high school students; with students who have disabilities and those who do not; and in suburban and urban school settings. Check & Connect has also been used in conjunction with interventions to address aggressive behavior and improve reading performance.

One area that appears particularly promising is combining interventions to promote student engagement with those to address early literacy and reading skill acquisition.  This combination may address the earliest signs of disengagement and declining motivation from school and helps to ensure the acceleration of student reading progress through more intensive intervention. Mentors apply the elements of Check & Connect to enhance student engagement; provide additional reading skill practice; assist in the monitoring and reporting of student reading progress and goal-setting with students; and enhance home support for learning specifically to literacy development and frequently communicate with families regarding student progress.

Concluding Remarks

Being a successful reader is necessary and integral to completing high school with academic and social competence. Without this skill, students become alienated or isolated from peers and classroom learning activities. Adopting an engagement orientation, one wherein data from systematic monitoring of students’ reading performance is used to design a home-school coordinated intervention enhances the probability of student engagement, success, and connection with school. Most importantly, partnering with families to enhance out of school reading time and continuity in the messages about putting forth effort, persisting to learn to improve in reading, and recognizing progress and improvement offers much promise to meet the desired benchmark of reading by third grade as well as preventing school dropout.

References

This column was adapted from

Christenson, S.L., Thurlow, M.L., Sinclair, M.F., Lehr, C., Kaibel, C., Reschly, A.L., Mavis, A., & Pohl, A. (2008). The intervention manual and guide for Check & Connect: A comprehensive student engagement intervention. Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota. Minneapolis, MN.

Reschly, A. (2010). Reading and school completion: Critical connections and Matthew effects. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 26, 1-23.

More information about Check & Connect may be found at: http://www.ici.umn.edu/checkandconnect/

© By  Dr. Amy Reschly and Dr. Sandra Christenson

Howard Margolis, Ed.D., Column Editor

www.reading2008.com

From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

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

Very often, writing is taught to struggling writers in very haphazard and unscientific ways. Such  instruction produces very little progress and often promotes student beliefs that for them writing is too difficult and will always be a struggle.

Fortunately, however, writing can be taught in systematic and scientifically-supported ways that promote progress and student beliefs that they can succeed. One such systematic and scientifically-supported method is Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). SRSD removes the mystery of how to write. It shows students the steps they need to practice to succeed.

Conceptually, SRSD is easy to understand. The italicized steps below show how Karen Harris and Steve Graham conceptualized SRSD. As you read the sequence of steps, keep in mind that SRSD is a systematic, logical framework of instructional processes for teaching different writing strategies. Here’s the sequence:

Develop Background Knowledge: Teachers help struggling writers develop the background knowledge and skills they need to use the particular strategy SRSD will emphasize. For example, in her class, Mrs. Kierstin will emphasize the LIST strategy: List Ideas and Sequence Them. She’ll help her writers develop whatever knowledge they need to master LIST. In another class, Mrs. Alexis ignores LIST. Because her struggling writers differ from Mrs. Kierstin’s, she emphasizes the knowledge her struggling writers need to master POWERR: Pick my idea, Organize my notes, Write and say more, Edit my work, Read it aloud to myself, Revise it.

Discuss It: In discussions with her struggling writers, Mrs. Kierstin helps them understand the purposes and benefits of LIST. Mrs. Alexis does the same for POWERR.

Model It: Mrs. Kierstin shows her struggling writers how they should use LIST; similarly, Mrs. Alexis models POWERR. As the teachers model the different strategies, they speak aloud to all their struggling writers. Speaking aloud, Mrs. Alexis might say: “I need to pick an important idea. Perhaps, ‘The internet is dangerous for children.’ Or perhaps, ‘Children need to eat more whole grains.” Does one of these interest me? Which one would interest my audience? How can I get the information I need to support my belief?”

Memorize It: Mrs. Kierstin’s struggling writers need to memorize the steps in LIST. To help them, she gives them a pack of cards with the L-I-S-T steps written out and a cartoon illustrating each. Several times a day, for a week or so, she has them repeat and explain the steps and quiz one another on them; finally she asks them to repeat and explain the steps from memory. All this is done in ways her struggling writers enjoy. She does this until they repeat the steps perfectly and quickly. Every so often, she repeats the process. Mrs. Alexis does the same with POWERR.

Support It: Both teachers have their struggling writers practice the strategy: Mrs. Kierstin LIST; Mrs. Alexis POWERR. As they practice, their teachers give them feedback, such as “Meagan, I like the way you thought about your audience—what they’ve been worried about. That’s a good way to Pick an idea.” The teachers might also work with them, reinforce them for good effort and correctly using the strategy, and, if struggling writers are having difficulty with the strategy, model it again.

Let Them Work Independently: Mrs. Kierstin and Mrs. Alexis give their struggling writers lots of opportunities to use the strategies by themselves. The teachers create situations that the writers find motivating and which, with moderate effort on their part, will likely make them successful. Once in a while, if necessary, the teachers reintroduce and review the strategies.

SRSD is a framework of instructional processes for teachers to use. Of course, teachers should use it flexibly and adapt it to the situation, which includes the needs of the writers. So why should parents of struggling writers try to understand it?

Knowing about SRSD and similar methods can help you judge the appropriateness of your child’s current or proposed instruction. If his progress is poor, you should request an extensive writing evaluation that goes well beyond standardized testing, that examines personal, environmental, instructional, and methodological factors that may be blocking his progress. (See our post of April 12, 2010:  My Child Struggles With Writing. Can Typical Writing Evaluations Hurt Him?).

Methodological factors refer to the methods or strategies used to teach your child. To see if changing methods can boost his progress, you might ask, in your written referral, that the school’s evaluation use SRSD or a similar approach to teach him to write. By asking for this, you’re demonstrating knowledge, a source of influence, and you’re alerting the school to the fact that you want him taught by methods that research supports. You’re also alerting the school to the fact that for you, standardized tests alone will not suffice as a writing evaluation.

By asking that your child’s evaluation assess the effectiveness of SRSD or other well-researched approaches to writing instruction, you’re asking for trial or diagnostic teaching. As part of evaluations, diagnostic teaching is a well-respected strategy often used by university clinics. It will help you and the school assess the effectiveness of methods for your child. And to a large extent, that’s what a writing evaluation should do—identify what will work, what will solve your child’s problems.

The method used in diagnostic teaching need not be SRSD. We recommend, however, that it have several of SRSD’s characteristics: systematic, explicit, research-supported, and easy for teachers to implement. SRSD is systematic: the steps have a logical order. It’s explicit: strategies like LIST and POWERR can be illustrated and demonstrated. It’s supported by research: lots of studies in reputable academic journals have shown it’s effective. And finally, it’s teacher friendly: with training and support, many teachers have successfully used it and continue to enthusiastically and knowledgeably use it years after their training has ended.

If research and diagnostic teaching have shown that SRSD or a similar method will likely help your child, and he’s eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), we recommend that you, as a member of his Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team, propose that his IEP specify the research-based method. This aligns with IDEA, which states that each child’s program “must be based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable” (IDEA regulations, §300.320). Similarly, throughout the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), scientifically-based practices are stressed. Here’s one example: schools should use “effective methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically based research” (PL 107.110, Sec 1114).

But beware. No method is perfect. What works with one teacher may fail with another. What works in 2010 may fail in 2011. So be sure your child’s IEP states that the school will do three things—frequently: monitor progress, monitor progress, monitor progress. For much more information on monitoring your child’s IEP, you might read chapter 7 in Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds (www.reading2008.com).

Resources

Santangelo, T., Harris, K. R., & Graham, S. (2007). Self-Regulated Strategy Development: A validated model to support students who struggle with writing. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal 5(1), 1-20. [Available from Learning Disabilities Worldwide, www.ldworldwide.org.]

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

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

Reading Fluency: Part II – Helping Daniel

A Guest Post by

Lorraine Griffith, M.A.Ed

www.singreadlearn.com

West Buncombe Elementary School, Asheville NC

I have been thinking about reading fluency since 1999 when I heard Dr. Tim Rasinski from Kent State University speak at a small, summer workshop in Asheville NC. Having taught for about 9 years in kindergarten and fourth grade, I was seeing firsthand how reading was more than simply having children decode words. When I taught kindergarten, decoding was my goal. When I arrived in fourth grade, comprehending was my goal and my decoders were simply not cutting it with any depth of understanding. Fluency was the missing link between the phonics and the comprehension. This was made clear to me by a the three year study Tim and I did with my fourth graders; in this study, my at-risk readers made average yearly gains of 2.83 years (Griffith & Rasinski (2004).

As this school year began, I assessed my students as usual and was very surprised to find one of my academically gifted students, Daniel, hovering around the “2 year below” range in reading. I immediately held a conference with his parents. I told them what I found. Daniel had some serious speech issues and was not able to decode many of the words at a fifth grade level. This contradicted what they had been told for years—that he was simply “a lazy reader.” They quickly jumped on the issue and took him to a private speech therapist.

In the meantime, to fill the gaps, we began working on decoding carefully and reading phrases. We used a program that focused on precision with phonics. After a few months, Daniel was able to read the passage at grade level. As I listened to him read, I was struck by how monotone he was reading. His focus was still on EACH word. Consequently he still could not pass the comprehension section of the leveled reading testing.

Daniel is symbolic of the reading stages I have seen in my 21 years of teaching. The students must have the decoding skills to read on grade level. But they DO NOT comprehend the passages until they can interpret the text with appropriate phrasing and expressive voicing. This seems to be especially true for children who missed steps in their phonemic awareness and phonics development. These children desperately need coaching for their fluency development to bridge the gap between phonics and comprehension.

So what will I now do to improve Daniel’s fluency? We will read together and I will model the phrasing of a passage. I will teach him what to do between commas and how to “arc” a phrase as he reads. He will have plenty of opportunities to perform reader’s theater in class and to eventually perform poetry as a “soloist.” I will use Building Fluency with Practice and Performance, a series of traditional poems, songs, reader’s theater, and monologues for different grades. And when Daniel leaves my class, he will be on grade level. He will be reading books because he chooses to read them. He might even read them quickly. But his speed will come from a love of reading, not because he thinks fluent reading is reading fast.

Resources

Griffith L.W. and T. Rasinski (2004), A Focus on Fluency: How one teacher incorporated fluency with her reading curriculum, The Reading Teacher, 58 (2), 126-137.

Rasinski, T., & L. Griffith (2008) Building fluency through practice and performance: Grades 1 – 6. Huntington Beach: Shell Educational Publishing. Available at http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/reading/buildingFluency.

Rasinski, T., & Griffith, L. (Coming May 2010). Building Fluency with Practice and Performance.

Edited by Howard Margolis, Ed.D.  www.reading2008.com

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

When people ask, “What have the book reviews said?,” we suggest that they read the reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and our website (www.reading2008.com). The reviews are from professors, reading specialists, learning consultants, teachers, and parents of children with reading disabilities. People can also look at the pre-publication reviews in our book, which they can read by going “inside” our book on Amazon. Today we found another review in Learning Disabilities Worldwide’s e-magazine, Strategies for Successful Learning. It’s the most comprehensive review yet.  As with all the reviews, we’re proud of it. So, here it is.

Book Review: Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds

by Howard Margolis, Ed.D., and Gary G. Brannigan, Ph.D.

Reading2008 & Beyond         www.reading2008,com

Strategies for Successful Learning, Volume 3, Number 4, March 2010

Brought to you by Learning Disabilities Worldwide (LDW®)

Reviewed by Micheline Malow, Ph.D., Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY

It is no secret that reading difficulties cause a great deal of anguish. Teachers are perplexed about what to do in the classroom, parents are distraught over what they see as a bleak academic future for their child, and the students themselves experience ongoing social and emotional turmoil as they attempt to navigate skills that they see their peers’ master sometimes easily. Despite the distress that the mention of reading disabilities conjures, authors, researchers, and professional educators Howard Margolis and Gary Brannigan present reasons for hope to those affected by this disability and the individuals that care about them.

From first glance, Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds is an informative, easy to understand book written for parents and teachers of students who are struggling to master the many tasks that go into learning to read. At the outset, Margolis and Brannigan direct readers to first skim through the book in order to identify those parts that are most pertinent to their situation. The authors’ concept of reading disabilities as a highly individualized disorder is reinforced throughout; never slipping into the assumption that the varied information contained between the covers will be useful to all readers. To this end, the titles of each chapter clearly identify what is contained in that particular section of the book. For example, readers experiencing difficulty navigating the school system’s required obligations to the students and their families can jump right to the middle of the book, Chapters 9, 10 and 11, in order to get an overview of what they can expect from school based evaluations and Individual Education Plans (IEP). In addition to the clear layout of the chapters, within each chapter the information is presented in easily digestible formats. Utilizing bullet points, tables, charts and questions, Margolis and Brannigan make specific information accessible to the reader who is skimming through the book looking to have particular issues addressed.

An important point to note for all readers is the working definition from which Margolis and Brannigan approach reading disabilities. The authors’ make the point that there is little consensus in the field about what exactly constitutes reading disabilities. From their perspective, parents and educators can work from a “…broad, global definition of a child with reading disabilities that is inadequate for research purposes, but adequate for you to help your child…” (p. 5). The definition that Margolis and Brannigan put forth is:

A child with reading disabilities is any child who struggles more than the average child to learn to read. Usually such a child cannot, with typical instruction, successfully read grade-level materials or complete grade-level reading assignments; if she can, she often reads in a slow, laborious manner or has difficulty understanding the materials. The terms reading disability and struggling reader do not suggest any particular cause for the child’s struggle with reading. (p.5)

Readers of this book should understand that the authors approach the difficulties associated with learning to read as a temporary set back for some children, while recognizing that for others it may truly represent a neurological disorder. In this way, parents and educators can recognize that the cause of the difficulty varies from child to child and so the approach to remediate the difficulty also needs to be highly individualized. Parents and educators are asked to notice risk factors that may manifest in three areas: the child, the school and the home.

Risk Factors — Within the Child

• Expressive and/or receptive language difficulties
• Letter recognition difficulties
• Phonological and phonemic awareness difficulties
• Dialect difficulties
• Intellectual differences
• Behavioral and social difficulties
• Hearing problems
• Visual problems
• Other chronic health concerns

Risk Factors — In the School Setting

• Lack of access to high quality teachers and training
• Infrequent curriculum opportunities for listening and reading books
• Broad-based school difficulties with class size, disorganization, communication and student promotion

Risk Factors — In the Family/Home Setting

• Reading disabilities present in other members of the family
• Little exposure to print or being read to by others in the home
• Members of the family struggling with mental illness such as depression
• Poor parental habits or addictions to dangerous substances such as smoking and alcohol

As indicated, some factors are controllable while others are not. Children who are demonstrating difficulties in the areas noted should have a comprehensive evaluation for a disability. Margolis and Brannigan detail the cautions, steps and procedures associated with psycho-educational evaluations. These evaluations investigate neurological reasons associated with reading disabilities in order to put into place necessary instructional accommodations. However, if the risk factors are external to the child and are present in the school or home setting, the authors suggest that other adjustments may be necessary in order to assist the child’s reading progress. These adjustments may include changes to specific reading instruction such as adding in a phonics approach and/or using specific strategies to address comprehension.

Another topic reviewed for educators and parents is that of reading instruction terminology. Both educators and parents alike can be dismayed by the use of jargon specifically associated with reading skills as they try to sift through a maze of questions when trying to figure out why a child is not learning how to read. Terms such as fluency, decoding, phonological processing and comprehension are just some of the terms that educators and parents are expected to know and understand. Luckily, Margolis and Brannigan understand how intimidating the use of such terms can be and provide an explanation of how those concepts are defined, what they look like in a child and how to work to strengthen them when a child is struggling to read.

As any discussion of reading disabilities can feel overwhelming to parents and teachers simply because of the vast amount of shifting information, on-going research developments, and complex legislation and practice guidelines, Margolis and Brannigan have set up a website as a companion to support parent’s and teacher’s use of their book. In this way, individual consumers who are comfortable with technology and want to have ongoing communication about reading disabilities can sign up for regular information feeds.

In conclusion, Margolis and Brannigan advise parents to persevere in the face of the difficulties their children face. “Develop your knowledge of reading disabilities, ask the right questions, use your problem solving skills, persist, and adhere to the belief that if you don’t ask, and sometimes if you don’t insist, your child doesn’t get.” (p. 288). It is the hard work of the parents, educators and children with reading disabilities that create the possibility that the child with reading disabilities can “beat the odds.”

Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds, written by Howard Margolis and Gary Brannigan is an informative, practical, well written, terrific first step in educating yourself about what and how reading disabilities manifests itself in those children you care for. The text is grounded in research, yet written in a style that is accessible. All educators and parents that have a child who is experiencing difficulties learning to read should have a copy to use as a resource guide for determining what their next step on the journey to reading success should be.

[Note: Our next column will again discuss issues.]

References

Malow, M. (2010). Book Review: Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds. Strategies for Successful Learning, 3(4). Retrieved 3/21,2010 from http://www.ldam.org/ldinformation/educators/SSL/ssl_current.html.

Margolis, H., & Brannigan, G. (2009). Reading Disabilities:Beating the Odds. New Jersey: Reading2008 & Beyond (www.reading2008.com)

Recently, a tutor of a struggling reader sent us this question: “Do you have any advice on things to say to calm my student down? Sometimes my student gets in a loop of thinking. He cries and says he hates this tutoring, he can do harder stuff than this, his anger and sadness causes him to be in a place where he cannot learn. I plan to have a variety of activities and books available to have an option when one activity isn’t working. Two sessions ago I stopped the session, because my student could not calm down. We made an agreement that day to stop using the books he didn’t like. I continued the session yesterday, but I’m not sure how much he learned. I didn’t want him to think I’m going to give up.”

Possible Answers

How to calm a struggling reader requires the tutor to know what is currently causing or aggravating the problem; this allows the tutor to tailor interventions, such as the strategies below, to the struggling reader’s needs. Although the strategies below are directed to the tutor, teachers and parents might also benefit from understanding them:

1. Use Proper Materials. Especially during the first few months of tutoring, make sure that the material is easy for him. Make sure that after this period, when you increase the difficulty of the materials he’s about to read, you give him materials at his proper reading instructional level; before instruction, he should be able to quickly recognize 95% or more of the words in what he’s about to read and understand 70% or more of the material. When he’s about to read independently, you’re sure he can recognize 99% of the words and understand 90% of the material.
2. Remove Threats by Stressing Fun. Remove the threats inherent in tutoring. Do this by building lots of fun into tutoring. Fun means the struggling reader likes it and looks forward to it. This may require playing Monopoly for the first few sessions or, if he likes basketball, just “shooting hoops.” When you do this, you’re not wasting time; instead, you’re building a positive relationship—one in which he feels safe, comfortable, and respected—and anticipates good things. As time passes and he’s obviously feeling comfortable, gradually add reading instruction that’s designed to foster success and the anticipation of success. You might begin by reading aloud to him, but reading only materials in which he’s interested, such as Pokémon comics. You might also motivate him by having him choose what to read, from materials that will interest him and that are at his proper instructional and independent levels. Translation: start where he is, start where he’s comfortable.
3. Explore Relaxation Training. If the struggling reader is getting help from a qualified mental health specialist, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or Licensed Clinical Social Worker, thoroughly discuss with this person and with the child’s parents the possibility of teaching the child simple relaxation strategies, such as diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation,  or visual imagery.  Relaxation training refers to a promising set of simple practices that lower anxiety, and, as a side benefit, have helped some children strengthen their reading, improve their attention and their behavior. To learn more about relaxation training, visit our website (www.reading2008.com) and download the free article, Self‑induced relaxation: A practical strategy to improve self‑concepts, reduce anxiety and prevent behavioral problems.
4. Systematically Strengthen the Struggling Reader’s Self-Efficacy. Self-efficacy is the child’s belief that he can succeed on a task. To this definition, I generally add, if he makes a moderate effort. Self-efficacy is critical to motivation. After all, if a child thinks he’ll fail, no matter his effort, he’s unlikely to try, he’s likely to resist. He’ll think: Why fail? Why prove to everone I’m dumb? Why embarrass myself? If his self-efficacy for reading is weak—as it is with many struggling readers—you have to help him strengthen it. To do so, you need to stress the four sources of self-efficacy: (a) mastery experiences, (b) vicarious experiences, (c) verbal persuasion, and (d) physiological and emotional arousal. Tutors, teachers, and parents can learn more about how to use these sources in Increasing struggling learners’ motivation: What tutors can do and say (under resources at www.reading2008.com) and Improving self-efficacy and motivation: What to do, what to say.
5. Weave Aerobic Exercise and Music into Your Tutoring Sessions. To improve the struggling reader’s mood, you may want to start your sessions with music that will help him feel positive about the upcoming lesson:

Music seems to offer a novel system of communication rooted in emotions rather than in meaning…. Music reliably conveys certain sentiments…. We may never know why music exists…. But even amid uncertainty about music’s origins, we can still use songs to pump ourselves up or calm ourselves down, ease pain and anxiety, bond with others or simply move people to tears. (Schrock, 2009)

You might also provide short sessions of aerobic exercise throughout the tutoring session. Why? Because aerobic exercise can improve both a child’s mood and his cognitive functioning. So, you might encourage him to exercise three minutes here, two there:

When the students in Titusville or in Naperville go for a mile run in gym, they are more prepared to learn in their other classes: their senses are heightened; their focus and mood are improved; they’re less fidgety and tense; and they feel more motivated and invigorated…. In addition to priming our state of mind, exercise influences learning directly, at the cellular level, improving the brain’s potential to log in and process new information. (Ratey & Hagerman, 2008, p. 35)

Jonathon noticed the changes that were emerging. He would go for a run or ride a bike during stormy times, trying to find some way out of the mood that seemed to take him over. These rhythmic physical activities helped him to calm his body, to get grounded in his awareness, and to bring himself back into balance. (Siegel, 2010, p. 98)

We learn more effectively when we are physically active. (Siegel, 2010, p. 84)

Critical Questions

Clearly, I’ve listed only a few ways to improve the struggling reader’s readiness for learning, including his confidence, motivation, and behavior. Other ways include counseling, music therapy (see http://www.reading2008.com/blog/?s=pellitteri), and applied behavior analysis. Generally, it’s best to match the intervention to the current causes of the difficulty, which can take considerable time and expertise. In the meantime, build your lessons around these five questions:

1. Does the struggling reader think the lesson will be fun?
2. Does he think the materials and the activities will be interesting or important?
3. Does he think he will succeed if he makes a moderate effort?
4. Does he think his success will help him achieve goals that are important to him, that will get him what he wants?
5. What can you say and do to strengthen his self-efficacy, his confidence that he will succeed?

Also, examine other parts of his day. Ask:

1. Throughout the day, are his teachers giving him materials and activities at his proper instructional and independent levels, including homework?
2. Throughout the day, is he getting sufficient social and emotional support, so that he feels psychologically and physically secure?
3. Is he getting enough sleep? Is it quality sleep?
4. Is his diet likely to support learning?
5. Throughout the day, is he getting enough exercise?

Please feel free to comment on our suggestions and perhaps add your own.

Resources

Margolis, H. (2005). Increasing struggling learners’ motivation: What tutors can do and say. Mentoring and Tutoring, 13(2), 223-240.

Margolis, H., & McCabe, P. P. (2006). Improving self-efficacy and motivation: What to do, what to say. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41(4), 218-227.

Ratey, J. J., & Hagerman, E. (2008). Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. NY: Little, Brown & Company.

Schrock, K. (2009).  Why music moves us. Scientific American Mind. Retrieved 10/29/2009, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-music-moves-us.

Siegel, D. J. (2010). Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. NY: Bantam.

Howard Margolis © Reading2008 & Beyond  www.reading2008.com