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

If struggling readers do not have strong knowledge of the vocabulary they hear in class and see when reading, they cannot become good readers. Below are three easy principles for helping struggling readers develop strong listening and reading vocabularies. Of course, you need to adapt these principles to the developmental level of your child or student. One more “of course”: Make the activities fun and interesting.

Ask Struggling Readers to Go Beyond Dictionary Definitions of Words: If the word’s important, help your child or student discuss its meaning, its parts (e.g., prefix), and its use. If possible, use lots of pictures, diagrams, and skits. If the word is grimace, start grimacing; ask your child or student to start.

• “Knowing a word is much more than simply matching it with a definition. Truly knowing a word means that the word is embedded in a rich concept base and that the reader can use and understand it in multiple contexts. We learn most words by listening and by reading, but vocabulary instruction can also play an important role in expanding a student’s meaning vocabulary…. Students should learn how to determine word meaning from context, but this involves their understanding of context’s limitations. Word meaning can also be enhanced through discussion of morphemes, such as endings, prefixes, and roots. It is important that students be engaged in activities that contribute to active engagement, such as personalizing word learning … and comparing words.” [Caldwell, J. S., & Leslie, L. (2005). Intervention strategies to follow informal reading inventory assessment: So what do I do now? Boston: Allyn & Bacon, p. 116].

Give Struggling Readers Repeated Exposure to Important Words: Provide your child or student with repeated exposure to important words, words you think he needs to learn, remember, and use. Make sure he sees the words in a variety of reading materials and often hears them at home or in class. When he writes, encourage him to use these words.

• “Repeated exposure to vocabulary in many contexts aids word learning. Students learn new words better when they encounter them often and in various contexts. The more children see, hear, and work with specific words, the better they seem to learn them. When teachers provide extended instruction that promotes active engagement, they give students repeated exposure to new words. When the students read those same words in their texts, they increase their exposure to the new words.” [Bonnie B. Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2001).  Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read. Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIER), p. 36]

Help Struggling Readers Relate Their New Word to What They Already Know: Ask your child or student how his new word resembles or differs from words he knows. Ask him to associate his new word with what he thinks it relates to, such as “asteroid” reminds him of space.  Ask him to use his new word to explain what he already knows.

• “Vocabulary development in any subject can proceed by asking students to reveal any vocabulary framework that they already have. Those known words may help them associate meaning with new vocabulary. In that way, definitions and the particular meaning within a given sentence have a context and a set of relations to build on…. [Have] students … list synonyms and/or definitional phrases that they already associate with the topic….. Suppose, for example, an article on protecting the environment includes the word ‘menace.’ The teacher lists words that students associate with threats to the environment. Associated terms and synonyms are then listed in [a] T-bar chart.” [Smith, Carl B (Undated). ERIC]

Howard Margolis © Reading2008 & Beyond

howard@reading2008.com

www.reading2008.com

Monday’s Radio Show

How Response-To-Intervention Can Help Maximize Your Child’s Potential

• When: Monday, 12/12/2011, 9 – 9:30 PM EST
• Where: http://specialneedstalkradio.com/maximizing-your-childs-potential
• Guest: Dr. Annmarie Urso, State University of New York at Geneseo

 Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds

(www.reading2008.com)

 PsychologyToday.com 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 and author 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 KansasCityExaminer.com cited our blog as one of the ten best special needs blogs of 2010. The Coffee Klatch awarded it a Coffee Klatch emblem, signifying excellence.

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

From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

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

Linda Aragoni’s Interview of Howard Margolis

Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds was named one of 2010′s three best books about education by PsychologyToday.com. The book blends the reading and special education expertise of author Howard Margolis, Ed.D., with the educational psychology expertise of Gary G. Brannigan, Ph.D.

Although written for parents of children with reading or other learning disabilities, the book is one I recommend to writing teachers. As the sticky notes in my copy shown above attest, the book is one that gave me new insights into the reading-writing connection.

I asked Howard Margolis about some topics discussed in detail in Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds.

As a practical matter, how do you think teachers should define disability? Do we have to have a clinical diagnosis before we attempt to intervene?

Howard: A clinical diagnosis is not needed. Instead, teachers need to know what the student can and cannot do easily and what they need to do to help him learn what he struggles with.

In other words, if the student appears to be struggling, the teacher should focus on the struggle.

Howard: Teachers should do what they can to eliminate the struggle. First, they need to identify what’s important for the child to learn. Then, they need to figure out how they can successfully teach this to the child the next time they meet. This may mean analyzing what’s important into smaller tasks. The key is to make it easy for the child to successfully learn what’s important.

Knowing what learners struggle with ties in to one of the ideas that intrigued me in your book: the three levels of reading difficulty. Could you explain those three levels.

Howard: At the instructional level, teachers work directly with children—they instruct them directly. Teachers believe that if children make a moderate effort to succeed with materials at this level, they will, and they’ll feel satisfied. Children also believe they can succeed with materials at this level.

Anything easier is independent level material for children to work on by themselves.

Anything harder is frustration level material; too many materials at this level overwhelm children and cause burn out.

Is that why you say a struggling reader can’t improve by reading difficult material?

Howard: Occasionally, a struggling reader can handle difficult material if he’s strongly interested in the topic and has a good background. But struggling readers can’t handle lots of difficult materials. Again, too many difficult materials overwhelm and frustrate struggling readers.

You say struggling readers must become fluent readers or they won’t become proficient. What do you mean by that?

Howard: Slow, laborious reading is not fun. Children who read this way tend to avoid reading.

Moreover, slow, laborious reading interferes with comprehension. So much of a child’s mental resources are devoted to word recognition that comprehension and the joy of reading are lost.

I think a similar case could be made that teens and adults need to develop fluency in the writing process or they don’t become proficient writers.

Howard: I agree. To become a fluent reader requires a child to do lots of reading. Similarly, to become a fluent writer requires a teen or an adult to do lots of writing.

Another emphasis in your book is the importance of teaching explicit strategies. What do you mean by explicit strategies, and why are they important for youngsters who have reading disabilities?

Howard: A strategy tells youngsters what to do when. Simple strategies reduce confusion and make learning easier. For example, the RAP strategy: Read the paragraph, Ask what is the main idea, Put it and two supporting details on paper.

Are strategies good only for students with reading disabilities or other learning problems? Do they have value for those without disabilities?

Howard: Mastering strategies can help lots of students. If, however, students are very good at doing something, they’ve probably developed their own strategy and don’t need another one. They’re achieving what they need to. In other words, a strategy is a means to an end and they’ve achieved the end without needing the teacher’s strategy.

Writing teachers sometimes tell me that teaching strategies takes the fun out of writing. Do you get the same comment from reading teachers?

Howard: No. If teachers are enthusiastic about a strategy, if they breathe life and interest into it, if they show students how the strategy will help them achieve something the students believe is important, and if the students are interested in what they’re reading and writing, they’ll probably find the work fun and the strategy a satisfying means to an end.

I suspect the teachers who tell me strategies take the fun out of writing were not very enthusiastic about them to begin with.

Thank you for sharing your insights about teaching students with reading disabilities with You-Can-Teach-Writing visitors. I enjoyed picking your brain.

Source: http://www.you-can-teach-writing.com/reading-disabilities.html

For an excellent website on writing, visit Linda Aragoni’s website:  http://www.you-can-teach-writing.com/

 YOU CAN TEACH WRITING:

RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING

EXPOSITORY WRITING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND BEYOND

The Special Needs Talk Radio Network: It’s On The Air

The Special Needs Talk Radio network (http://specialneedstalkradio.com/) is on the air. Each of its six shows is dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth with special needs and their families.

Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and I host Maximizing Your Child’s Potential (Mondays, 9 PM – 9:30 PM EST, http://specialneedstalkradio.com/maximizing-your-childs-potential).

Next Monday’s Show: Reading Disabilities

As many parents, teachers, and children know, reading disabilities can emotionally devastate children and frustrate academic success. It can destroy potential. To address this problem, Dr. Nancy Padak of Kent State University will talk about Helping Children Overcome Reading Problems.

When: Monday, October 31, 2011, 9 – 9:30 PM EST (Yup: the 31st is Halloween)

Where: http://specialneedstalkradio.com/maximizing-your-childs-potential

If possible, also look at the Special Needs Talk Radio’s website (http://specialneedstalkradio.com/). See how its many experts can help you help the children and youth you care about.

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

 On October 11, 2011, Change.org noted;

According to numbers recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2010, 16.2 million children lived in households that struggled to afford food, skipped meals or ate inadequate diets due to a lack of money and resources. That is one in every five children in America who are faced with hunger.

According to Dr. Marcus D. Pohlmann of Rhodes College:

Here in Memphis, the nation’s poorest metropolitan area, 60 percent of children live with a single parent…. As in other poor urban neighborhoods, they start school academically two years behind other children and are less than half as likely to achieve proficiency throughout their school years. Nationally, race and poverty combine to bar all but 1 percent of African-American students from the poorest households from attending college full time. Poverty increases family stress, leads to poor nutrition and medical care, and, importantly, means children are talked to less and end up with vocabularies that are about half that of middle-class children. Research suggests that the first years shape a child’s capacity to learn.

Questions:

If America doesn’t start to effectively address poverty, will raising educational standards, increasing class sizes, firing teachers, eliminating after school programs, cutting preschool programs, diverting public school funds to charter schools, and cutting taxes for the richest Americans and corporations  improve the lives and academic achievement of children?

Has it worked so far?

Will ignoring poverty strengthen America’s security and economic competitiveness?

As a nation, do we care?

References

Change (2011). Retrieved 10/11/2011, from  http://www.change.org/suggested?petition_id=32896

Pohlmann (2011). Retrieved 10/11/2011, from  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/why-school-reform-cant-ignore-povertys-toll/2011/10/07/gIQAYPHMUL_blog.html?wprss=answer-sheet

Howard Margolis © Reading2008 & Beyond

howard@reading2008.com

www.reading2008.com

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The Special Needs Talk Radio Network: It’s On The Air

The new Special Needs Talk Radio network (http://specialneedstalkradio.com/) is on the air. Each of its six shows is dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth with special needs and their families.

Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and I host Maximizing Your Child’s Potential (Mondays, 9 PM – 9:30 PM EST, http://specialneedstalkradio.com/maximizing-your-childs-potential).

A Great Podcast

For a great podcast on teaching your pre-schooler to read—in fun and interesting ways that shun pressure and workbooks—listen to Dr Richard Gentry’s podcast at  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/specialneedstalkradio/2011/10/11/dr-r-gentry–raising-confident-readers. His book, Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write–from Baby to Age 7 , is excellent.

Our Next Show

As many parents, teachers, and children know, problems of reading fluency can emotionally devastate children and frustrate academic success. To address this problem, Dr. Tim Rasinski of Kent State University will discuss Overcoming Problems of Reading Fluency.

Monday, October 17, 2011, 9 – 9:30 PM EST

http://specialneedstalkradio.com/maximizing-your-childs-potential

Upcoming Shows

Over the next few months, our guests will include:

• October 24^th —Susan Orloff, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist, Learning Re-Enabled
• October 31^st —Dr. Nancy Padak, Kent State University, Helping Your Children Overcome Reading Problems
• Dr. Richard Boon, University of Georgia, Helping Teenagers Improve Their Reading
• Dr. Erica Lembke, University of Missouri, Monitoring Your Child’s Progress
• Dr. Patrick McCabe, Mercy College, Developing the Confidence of Struggling Learners
• Staci Greenwald, Special Education Attorney, The Pro’s and Con’s of Public and Private School Programs
• Dr. Annmarie Urso, State University of New York at Geneseo, How Response-To-Intervention ( RTI) Can Unlock Your Child’s Potential

If possible, look at the Special Needs Talk Radio’s website (http://specialneedstalkradio.com/). See how its many experts can help you help the children and youth you care about.

• Dr. Richard Selznick, Cooper University Hospital, Helping the Shut-Down Learner
• Dr. John Pellitteri, City University of New York, Strengthening Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence
• Dr. Tim Rasinski, Kent State University, Overcoming Problems of Reading Fluency
• Dr. Nancy Padak, Kent State University, Helping Your Children Overcome Reading Problems
• Dr. Richard Boon, University of Georgia, Helping Teenagers Improve Their Reading
• Dr. Erica Lembke, University of Missouri, Monitoring Your Child’s Progress
• Dr. Patrick McCabe, Mercy College, Developing the Confidence of Struggling Learners
• Staci Greenwald, Special Education Attorney, The Pro’s and Con’s of Public and Private School Programs
• Dr. J. Richard Gentry, Educational Consultant, Raising Confident Readers: Birth and Beyond

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

The Press of Atlantic City headlined, in bold font, “State task force says teachers aren’t doing enough to identify kids who can’t read.” The article blamed lower grade teachers for failing to identify children with reading problems and for failing to use the right methods to teach reading. (To me, the not so subtle, unscientific subtext was to keep banging the ideological drum to purchase and use the Wilson method and its commercial materials to teach reading.) Below is the comment I submitted.

Unfortunately, this article oversimplifies and distorts the research and reality of helping children overcome reading disabilities. For example, over 40 years of research has shown that particular methods fail to work for many children. This includes Orton-Gillingham (and its variations, like Wilson), which lacks a strong research base and often violates well-researched principles of reading instruction. And while many kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers are overwhelmed by their daily responsibilities and fail to identify children’s reading difficulties, those who do often face resistance from schools that lack adequate resources, such as state certified reading specialists and the availability of knowledgeable, skilled tutoring. The issues are complex, and will not be solved with budget cuts, higher standards, and simplistic answers, such as adding technology, or an extra college course in reading, or using method “A” because it helped three children. As H. L. Menckhen said, “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” Despite my criticism of the article, I wish the task force the best of luck. A good report–one that deals with the complexities of the problem and fully represents the research–can help children with reading difficulties.

It’s time to hold politicians responsible for giving teachers the resources they need to help all children, for providing parents with the supports they need to help their children, for provding communities with safe streets and parks, quality preschool programs, and enriching after-school programs.

Howard Margolis, Ed.D., Professor Emeritus, Reading Disabilities and Special Education, CUNY; Voorhees, New Jersey

See: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic/state-task-force-says-teachers-aren-t-doing-enough-to/article_d568549a-c9f4-11e0-8be7-001cc4c002e0.html

Howard Margolis © Reading2008 & Beyond

www.reading2008.com

howard@reading2008.com

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Special Needs Talk Radio Network: Launching September 6th

On Tuesday, September 6, the new Special Needs Talk Radio network (http://specialneedstalkradio.com/ ) will launch six new radio shows.  Each show is dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth with special needs and their families.

On Monday evenings, staring September 12, Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and I will host Maximizing Your Child’s Potential (9 PM – 9:30 PM EST, http://specialneedstalkradio.com/maximizing-your-childs-potential).

Future guests on our show will include:

• Dr. Steven Lange, Child and Adolescent Psychologist, Helping Children Overcome Sleep Problems
• Dr. Richard Selznick, Cooper University Hospital, Helping the Shut-Down Learner
• Dr. John Pellitteri, City University of New York, Strengthening Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence
• Dr. Tim Rasinski, Kent State University, Overcoming Problems of Reading Fluency
• Dr. Nancy Padak, Kent State University, Helping Your Children Overcome Reading Problems
• Dr. Richard Boon, University of Georgia, Helping Teenagers Improve Their Reading
• Dr. Erica Lembke, University of Missouri, Monitoring Your Child’s Progress
• Dr. Patrick McCabe, Mercy College, Developing the Confidence of Struggling Learners
• Staci Greenwald, Special Education Attorney, The Pro’s and Con’s of Public and Private School Programs
• Dr. J. Richard Gentry, Educational Consultant, Raising Confident Readers: Birth and Beyond

If possible, look at the Special Needs Talk Radio’s website (http://specialneedstalkradio.com/). See how its lineup of experts can help you help the children and youth you care about.

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

Finally, The Perfect Reading Test!!!!!

Is it perfect?

No.

No test is perfect, and test scores, without proper interpretation and without corroborating information, can damage children. Inaccurate scores can easily lead to a reading program, a class placement, or an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that backfires.

To better understand test scores and help ensure that your child’s reading program is effective,  read and save these quotes from a test manual I reviewed for the University of Nebraska’s Seventeenth Mental Measurements Yearbook.

• Examiners should be cautious in interpreting the results of even those tests that are reliable at the highest levels because they still possess considerable error. For example, a test with almost perfect reliability (i.e., .95) … still contains about 15% error. As a result, test scores, especially when they are used to make judgments about individuals, must always be interpreted carefully…. In every case, diagnoses and hypotheses resting on test data have to be confirmed by other observations. (GDRT-2-Manual, p. 34).
• Too often examiners forget the dictum that ‘tests don’t diagnose, people do’ and base their diagnoses exclusively on test results, a hazardous enterprise at best. Test results are merely observations, not diagnoses. They specify a performance level at a given time under a particular situation, but they do not tell the examiner why a person performed as he or she did.
• The questions concerning the why of the test performance are the very essence of diagnosis, and they can be answered only by an insightful, competent test examiner. Test results make useful contributions to diagnosis; but in the end, practical diagnosis rests on the clinical skills and experience of examiners. Test results are only aids to clinical judgment. (GDRT-2-Manual, p. 34).

Remember these quotes when reviewing a single test score or set of scores from a single test. If, for example, your child was given a learning evaluation and the examiner administered only one reading test (with several subtests), and other information contradicts your child’s reading test scores, discuss these quotes with the examiner. Ask her to get objective, representative samples of your child’s reading that supports or disputes her findings. (Good professionals welcome such  opportunities; they know all tests and test results contain error.) If impressive corroboration is not found, do not trust the scores. Instead, seek further information, which may include a far more comprehensive assessment of your child’s reading abilities.

Reference

Bryant, B. R., Wiederholt, J. L., & Bryant, D. P. (2004). Manual for the Gray Diagnostic Reading Tests-Second Edition (GDRT-). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

Howard Margolis © Reading2008 & Beyond

www.reading2008.com

howard@reading2008.com

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Special Needs Talk Radio Network: Launching September 6th

On Tuesday, September 6, the new Special Needs Talk Radio network (http://specialneedstalkradio.com/ ) will launch six new radio shows.  Each show is dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth with special needs and their families.

On Monday evenings, Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and I will host Maximizing Your Child’s Potential (9 PM – 9:30 PM EST, http://specialneedstalkradio.com/maximizing-your-childs-potential).

Future guests on our show will include:

• Dr. Steven Lange, Child and Adolescent Psychologist, Helping Children Overcome Sleep Problems
• Dr. Richard Selznick, Cooper University Hospital, Helping the Shut-Down Learner
• Dr. John Pellitteri, City University of New York, Strengthening Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence
• Dr. Tim Rasinski, Kent State University, Overcoming Problems of Reading Fluency
• Dr. Nancy Padak, Kent State University, Helping Your Children Overcome Reading Problems
• Dr. Richard Boon, University of Georgia, Helping Teenagers Improve Their Reading
• Dr. Sarah Allen, Educational Consultant, How Neuropsychologists Can Help Parents Develop Quality IEPs
• Dr. Erica Lembke, University of Missouri, Monitoring Your Child’s Progress
• Dr. Patrick McCabe, Mercy College, Developing the Confidence of Struggling Learners
• Staci Greenwald, Special Education Attorney, The Pro’s and Con’s of Public and Private School Programs
• Dr. J. Richard Gentry, Educational Consultant, Raising Confident Readers: Birth and Beyond

If possible, look at the Special Needs Talk Radio’s website (http://specialneedstalkradio.com/). See how its lineup of experts can help you help the children and youth you care about.

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

If evaluating (assessing) reading problems is done correctly—if it’s more that an endless list of standardized test scores and brief test descriptions—it can pinpoint what’s blocking progress in reading and offer valuable insights and ideas about how to correct them. Unfortunately, when professionals with little knowledge of reading disabilities evaluate children’s reading, parents and teachers rarely get more than lists of scores, embedded in software-generated boilerplate. This wastes paper.

To correctly pinpoint remedial instruction, parents and teachers need to request answers to the right questions before the evaluation. Here are four:

• At what grade level can my child instantaneously and accurately recognize most words?
• What decoding knowledge and skills does he have?
• With materials at his instructional level, how smoothly and effortlessly does he apply his decoding knowledge and skills?
• What is blocking him from becoming far more proficient at decoding?

You can find dozens more in chapters 4 and 5 of Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds (www.reading2008.com).

If you submit a written request for an evaluation of your child’s reading problems, it might help to include a statement like this, with the quote:

The questions we’re asking the reading evaluation to answer come from Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds, chapters 4 and 5. These questions are consistent with the primary purpose of reading evaluations:

“Assessment [evaluation] is a critical element of successful instruction. Assessment helps teachers determine if the instruction they provide students has resulted in adequate student progress. It allows teachers to identify students who can benefit from a more accelerated instructional program and those who need more intensive instructional intervention and support. And, if the assessment has sufficient precision, it allows teachers to identify a focus for their instruction. In a sense, assessment provides teachers (and schools and parents) with roadmaps that indicate where their children are academically, and where they need to go…. Research has indicated that assessment is critical to successful instruction. An international study of reading achievement, for example, found that regular assessment was a key factor associated with student success in learning to read” (Rasinski & Padak, 2005, p. 5).

Simply put, if you and your child’s teachers fail to understand his problems, remedial efforts are likely to fail. You, your child, and his teachers may well invest great effort, skill, and emotion in trying to solve the wrong problems.

The need for a quality evaluation is not new:

1988: A thorough diagnosis is a prerequisite for the beginning remedial program. (Ekwall & Shanker, 1988, p. 55)

1989: Remediation [of reading problems] is based on sound instructional principles focused on the strengths and needs of the students that have been determined by careful diagnosis. (Wilson & Cleland, 1989, p. 182)

Yet the problem of laundry lists of scores and test descriptions, rather than adequate evaluations—with knowledgeable, insightful, useful answers to the right questions—persists. So, before the evaluation, ask, in writing, for answers to the right questions, questions that will appropriately direct instruction.

References

Ekwall, E. E., & Shanker, J. L. (1988). Diagnosis and Remediation of the Disabled Reader (3^rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Rasinski, T. & Padak, N. (2005). 3-Minute Reading Assessments, Grades 1-4 and Grades 5-8. NY: Scholastic.

Wilson, R. M., & Cleland, C. J. (1989). Diagnostic and Remedial Reading for Classroom and Clinic. Columbus, OH: Merrill.

HM © Reading2008 & Beyond

www.reading2008.com

howard@reading2008.com

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Our New Radio Show

Maximizing Your Child’s Potential

Watch for information about our new Internet radio show, Maximizing Your Child’s Potential. It starts Monday, September 12, 9 PM – 9:30 PM EST. Guests include:

• Dr. Steven Lange, Child and Adolescent Psychologist, Helping Children Overcome Sleep Problems
• Dr. Richard Selznick, Cooper University Hospital, Helping the Shut-Down Learner
• Dr. John Pellitteri, City University of New York, Strengthening Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence
• Dr. Tim Rasinski, Kent State University, Overcoming Problems of Reading Fluency
• Dr. Nancy Padak, Kent State University, Helping Your Children Overcome Reading Problems

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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 and author 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

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

Many proponents of particular reading approaches relentlessly bash other approaches. These proponents can be anyone. They can be teachers, professors, parents, politicians, or special education advocates. Many are well intentioned, but have little or no experience teaching reading, have little or no understanding of the relevant research, or have psychologically imprisoned themselves with strong ideologies that distort their observations and thinking. Many ignore all facts and research that undermine their beliefs, stress only those that support them, and fight vigorously to prove they’re never wrong, always right; they suffer from cognitive dissonance. Sadly, the decisions they make or influence can hurt children with reading disabilities.

Two routinely bashed approaches are “whole language” and its close cousin, the language experience approach. Here are quick descriptions of both:

Language Experience Approach: An approach to language learning in which students’ oral compositions are transcribed and used as materials of instruction for reading, writing, speaking, and listening. (Harris & Hodges, 1995, p. 134)

Whole Language: The emphasis is on connected text [e.g., sentences and paragraphs], groups of words that convey meaning. Learning regarding the alphabet is assumed to take place implicitly…. The teacher teaches phonics as opportunities arise during authentic reading and writing. [Many whole language teachers do not teach phonics daily or in systematic and explicit ways.] (Cooper & Kiger, 2003, p. 223) The use of controlled vocabulary aimed at giving students control of a predetermined set of words is seen as being artificial, meaningless, and misdirected. Likewise, the isolation of skills and the tendency to teach skills to mastery are seen as inappropriate. (Tierney & Readence, 2005, pp. 50-51)

Do these approaches have flaws? You bet. Like phonics, like basal reading programs, like all approaches, they’re limited. They don’t help all children. They don’t match the abilities and philosophies of all teachers. They’re not effective at all stages of reading development. But they have value, sometimes tremendous value. Here’s a brief summary of the research:

[A review of the research suggests] that, overall, whole language/language experience approaches were approximately equal to basal reading approaches in their effects…. These results, however, were not consistent across all studies. Whole language/language experience approaches appear to be more effective when used in kindergarten or when used instead of a reading readiness program and seem to have had greater effects on measures of word recognition than on measures of comprehension…. From the data reviewed, it appears that whole language approaches may have an important function early in the process of learning to read, but that as the child’s needs shift, they become less effective. It could also be that the philosophy behind whole language/language experience approaches, that the function of reading is to communicate, needs to be learned by children early, but, once learned, children need to be able to decode written language fluently and automatically in order to be able to use reading for that purpose. (Stahl & Miller, 2006, pp. 27, 31)

I’m not a natural fan of these approaches. They just don’t match my personality. They’re vaguely defined. From teacher-to-teacher, they’re implemented so differently. But in some situations I’ve supported their use with beginning readers because the programs were working. Perhaps they worked because the teachers believed in them and supplemented them with explicit, systematic phonics or other methods that went far beyond orthodox views of the approaches. And sometimes, for good reason, I continued to use them to teach children with reading disabilities. The reason: they were working.

In future posts, we’ll discuss other programs that are routinely and unfairly bashed. We’ll also stress this point: regardless of the reading approach, children with reading disabilities, sometimes referred to as struggling readers or poor readers, need teachers who

• Are highly knowledgeable and skilled about different ways of teaching reading
• Have many teaching resources
• Have sufficient time to devote to the individual needs of children in their classes
• Frequently monitor the progress of children
• Work in schools that support them socially, psychologically, and professionally
• Adapt quickly and effectively to the needs of struggling readers

So, should you join the bashers and bash the whole language and language experience approaches to beginning reading? If your child is a beginning reader with an Individualized Education Program (IEP), or is a second or third grader who struggles to read first grade materials, should you demand that his teachers use other approaches? Both answers: No. Instead, support their use if the teachers’ use them enthusiastically, if they make whatever adjustments your child needs, and if your child is successfully learning to read.

No doubt, some blog readers with great knowledge of this topic will disagree with me. If you’re one of them, please feel free to comment.

References

Cooper, D. J., & Kiger, N. D. (2001). Literacy Assessment: Helping Teachers Prepare Instruction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Harris, T. L., & Hodges, R. E. (1995). The Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Stahl, S. A., & Miller, P. D. (2006). Whole language and language experience approaches to beginning reading: a quantitative research synthesis. In K. Dougherty Stahl, & M. C. McKenna, (Eds.), Reading Research at Work: Foundations of Effective Practice (pp. 9-35). NY: The Guilford Press. [This is a great book for professionals and for parents who want a graduate course in research on reading. -- HM]

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

Howard Margolis © Reading2008 & Beyond

www.reading2008.com

howard@reading2008.com

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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 and author 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

From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

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

Why is fluency important?

Often, teachers do not consider reading rate an important issue if students understand what they read. However, chronic slow reading, even if coupled with some understanding, can lead to problems. First, slow readers have to put more time and energy into reading than do their more fluent classmates. It takes them longer to complete assignments, and they are often painfully aware that their peers have finished reading although they are only half way through. This may cause them to avoid reading, and, as we mentioned earlier, fluency primarily develops through wide reading. Thus, slow readers may avoid the very thing that would contribute to their reading improvement.  (Caldwell & Leslie, 2005, p. 76)

What’s the best way to improve fluency?

The first and perhaps most successful method for developing fluency is wide reading of easy text. Students should read, read, and read. Many struggling readers avoid reading, however, and it is easy to understand why. No one likes to do things that are difficult or that lead to repeated failure. Given the importance of developing fluency and the crucial role of reading in doing so, your first activity should be to locate reading materials at your students’ independent and instructional reading levels that they can read successfully. (Caldwell & Leslie, 2005, p. 80)

How do readers develop fluency?

Readers become fluent by reading, reading, and more reading. As students read, they meet and identify new words. They meet these new words again and again until identification becomes fixed in memory, and as a result their sight vocabulary grows. Because they do not have to analyze every word, they can direct their attention to meaning, and because they understand what they read, they enjoy and appreciate reading and are motivated to read more. Effective identification of unfamiliar words, a large sight vocabulary, and attention to meaning all interact in a wonderful way to produce a fluent reader and being fluent may be a ‘necessary condition for good comprehension and enjoyable reading experiences’ (Nathan & Stanovich, 1991, p. 176). (Caldwell & Leslie, 2005, p. 76)

To develop fluency, should students read difficult texts?

The texts chosen for reading can aggravate or ameliorate fluency problems. More often than not aggravation is the result. Students with fluency difficulties are often given texts that are too difficult for their current level of progress in reading. Such texts ensure disfluent reading and perpetuate students’ evaluations of themselves as poor readers. (Rasinski & Padak, 1996, p. 79)

To develop fluency, should students read lots of easy books?

To build fluency, students need to read easy books filled with words they can recognize (Richek, Caldwell, Jennings, & Lerner, 1996, p. 130)….  Students need regular opportunities to read easy materials—materials at their independent level—to enhance and develop their reading fluency. (Heilman, Blair, & Rupley, 2002, p. 270)

Should IEPs Address reading fluency?

Yes, if the student’s fluency is below average or it interferes with his enjoyment of reading or his comprehension.

Can fluency be taught?

Yes. And the strategies below can be adapted to both class and home.

• Encourage students to read rhythmical, rhetorical, or interactive texts aloud. “Text genres that are specifically meant to be performed or that are easy to perform— rhythmical, rhetorical, or interactive texts such as poetry, song lyrics, chants, rhymes, plays (Readers Theatre), monologues, dialogues, and letters.… —work well for oral reading with expression and meaning, not just speed…. By using them, teachers expose students to a wider variety of reading genres, and by practicing and performing them, students gain in accuracy, automaticity (rate), prosody, and comprehension. Classroom research has shown that this approach to repeated readings has helped students make remarkable progress in reading rate (even though improving reading rate was not emphasized). General growth in reading and, perhaps most significant, enjoyment of reading have also increased.”(Raskinski, 2006, p. 705)
• Help students practice repeated readings. “Repeated readings follow several steps. First, the student selects a text that is of interest (it can be of any sort—poem, essay, fiction, etc.) and that he can read with approximately 90% accuracy on the initial reading…. Such text would traditionally be considered to be at a reader’s frustration level; however, given the amount of support learners receive through their repetition of text, the material is actually a reasonable choice for the procedure. Next, the student or teacher selects a short passage from the text (50–300 words) and the teacher makes two copies—one that the student reads from and one that the teacher uses to record miscues. The student then reads the text aloud as the teacher times the reading and records any miscues. The number of words read per minute (wpm) and the number of miscues are marked on a bar graph, and the miscues are reviewed with the student. The student then practices reading the passage independently several times. After practicing the material, he reads it aloud to the teacher again, and the teacher records the new rate and number of miscues. This procedure continues until the child is reading at a rate of approximately 100 wpm, with no more than two miscues per 100 words. While all of the rereadings can be completed in one session, it is more common for the process to occur over 2 or 3 days. Further, the students enjoy seeing their gains charted as their speed increases and their miscues decrease. (Kuhn & Schwanenflugel, 2006, pp. 5-6).
• Use various forms of assisted reading. “Research into fluency has shown that assisted (also called paired, neurological impress, audio-assisted, or duolog) reading … can have a significantly positive effect on students’ fluency. In assisted reading, an individual student reads a passage while simultaneously listening to a fluent reading of the same text. The fluent rendering of the text can be by a more fluent partner or can be a pre-recorded version of the reading. In many classrooms teachers set aside a time of each day for students to engage in assisted reading with a coach or peer. In other cases, teachers create a listening center in which students are expected to spend some time each day reading while listening to an audiotaped recording of the book.” (Rasinski, Homan, & Biggs, 2009, pp. 195-196)
• Encourage students to read lyrics as they sing. “Singing lyrics to songs is a form of reading that is nearly ideal for fluency instruction. Songs are meant to be sung (read) orally, and they are meant to be sung (read) repeatedly…. In the reading clinic Rasinski directs at Kent State University, teachers and students sing and read songs repeatedly and regularly over the course of their instruction with very positive results. (Rasinski, Homan, & Biggs, 2009, pp. 201-202)

Before using these strategies at home, ask yourself: Is this likely to be a positive, satisfying experience for me and my child? If so, ask the school to teach you how to use one or two of these approaches. If your child is eligible for special education services, make sure his Individualized Education Program (IEP) lists parent training as a service. Such training is a right: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) encourages such educationally-relevant training.

References

Caldwell, J . S., & Leslie, L. (2005). Intervention strategies to follow informal reading inventory assessment. Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

Heilman, A. J., Blair, T. R., & Rupley, W. H. (2002). Principles and practices of teaching reading (10^th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Kuhn, M. R., & Schwanenflugel, P. J. (2006). All oral reading practice is not equal (or how can I integrate fluency instruction into my classroom?). Literacy Teaching and Learning, 11, 1-20.

Rasinski, T., Homan, S., & Biggs, M. (2009). Teaching Reading Fluency to Struggling Readers: Method, Materials, and Evidence. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 25, 192-204.

Rasinski, T., & Padak, N. (1996). Holistic reading strategies: Teaching children who find reading difficult. Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Richek, M. A., Caldwell, J. S., Jennings, J. H., & Lerner, J. W. (1996). Reading problems: Assessment and teaching strategies. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

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.

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

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FREE CONFERENCE CALL ON

GETTING AND KEEPING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES IN TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES

STACI GREENWALD, ESQ., SPECIAL EDUCATION ATTORNEY

When: March 24, 2011 @ 9 pm EST
Phone number: Call (661) 673-8600
Use Access Code: 899615# (remember the #)
Length: Approximately 50 minutes

To submit questions in advance, please e-mail them to howard@reading2008.com.

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

Pronouncing words is important, but insufficient for success in reading. To read successfully requires the reader to understand the words he sees and how they relate to one another. Here are eight reasons your child may have trouble understanding or comprehending what he reads.

He has difficulty recognizing words. If your child struggles to recognize too many words, he’ll have little attention or mental energy left to consider the meaning of what he’s reading. Usually, children who struggle to quickly recognize more than 5% of words get frustrated with what they’re reading and pay little or no attention to the meaning of their reading materials.

He reads slowly and laboriously. Children who correctly recognize words but do so slowly and laboriously, are so focused on recognizing the words that they have little mental energy left for understanding the content. Moreover, by the time they get to the end of a sentence or paragraph, they’ve forgotten much of what they’ve read. In other words, reading slowly and laboriously exhausts their working memory. Try this experiment. Slowly read 34 numbers. Then, without looking at them, repeat all of them. Chances are you’ll remember only the last few numbers read; the earlier numbers will have vanished from your working memory.

He doesn’t understand the meaning of many of the words. If your child’s knowledge of a topic is sparse and he doesn’t know the meaning of many of the words he encounters, he’s unlikely to understand the meaning of the passage and is likely to get frustrated and confused. For example, if he doesn’t know the meaning of the words “triangle” and “rectangle,” he won’t understand this question: “How does a triangle differ from a rectangle?” And even if he quickly pronounces the words “triangle” and “rectangle,” the question will still confuse him.

He has difficulty with sentences and paragraphs. Your child may have a good vocabulary, but has difficulty understanding how words relate to one another when they’re in modestly lengthy or complex sentences and paragraphs. A large number of words, in modestly lengthy or complex sentences or paragraphs, confuse him.

He’s not interested. It takes energy to comprehend what you read. If you don’t invest the energy in the effort to understand what you’re reading, and what you’re reading is slightly complicated, you’re unlikely to understand or remember much. Motivation is the engine of energy and effort. Giving children materials they don’t like, or tasks they find disagreeable, destroys motivation and with it, energy and effort. I, for example, hate to read tax manuals and forms. And so I don’t. But doing my taxes correctly and honestly is important. And so I use a conscientious, well-organized CPA who explains everything to me and shows me those few portions of the code I need to understand. This helps me avoid what I dislike.

The work is too long. Your child may do quite well on shorter tasks, but not have the patience or focus or attention span to handle longer ones.

The room is too busy and too noisy. Your child may succeed in quiet, well-organized places, but not in busy, noisy places.

The school’s curriculum emphasizes word recognition, at the expense of comprehension. Most children need to learn how to comprehend what they read; they need to understand that the purpose of reading is comprehension. Unfortunately, some reading programs emphasize word recognition at the cost of comprehension. Successful programs emphasize both, as well as motivate children throughout the day.

If your child has problems understanding what he reads, there’s good news. Many readers can learn to improve their reading comprehension.

It begins with a high quality reading evaluation from a reading specialist. The evaluation should identify your child’s problem(s) and the current or maintaining causes. It should look at your child, his instructional environment, the daily amount of direct comprehension instruction and guided practice he gets, and the instructional strategies his teachers use. Once the problem(s) and its current causes are known, the reading specialist and teaching staff should use this knowledge to design comprehension instruction. This requires reading materials and tasks that interest your child, and, with moderate effort on his part, produces success and satisfaction. It requires that his teachers have the knowledge, skill, time, materials, and flexibility to teach comprehension.  It requires ongoing monitoring of his progress and, if it starts to wilt, quick modification of his program. Finally, it often requires that his teachers get frequent consultation and coaching from a state certified reading specialist with a minimum of a master’s degree in reading disabilities.

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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.

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

********************************************************************************************************************

FREE CONFERENCE CALL ON

GETTING AND KEEPING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES IN TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES

STACI GREENWALD, ESQ., SPECIAL EDUCATION ATTORNEY

When: March 24, 2011 @ 9 pm EST
Phone number: Call (661) 673-8600
Use Access Code: 899615# (remember the #)
Length: Approximately 50 minutes

To submit questions in advance, please e-mail them to howard@reading2008.com.