Interview: Teaching Writing to Struggling Readers
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. Read more...
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Free Podcast
Overcoming Problems of Reading Fluency
Dr. Tim Rasinski of Kent State University
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/specialneedstalkradio/2011/10/18/maximizing-your-childs-potential
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From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
If your child reads at a second grade level or above, and reads words and sentences accurately—-but slowly and laboriously or without adequate expression—-he needs help with reading fluency. If his school won’t provide adequate fluency instruction, discuss these questions and answers with school personnel. They may not be aware of fluency’s importance and the ease with which teachers can help many students become fluent readers.
What is reading fluency? Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, fluency, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, rate, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading fluency, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading rate, reading speed, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
Overcoming Problems of Reading Fluency
Dr. Tim Rasinski of Kent State University
Monday, October 17, 2011, 9 – 9:30 PM EST
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, fluency, frustration, frustration level, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, radio show, Rasinski, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading fluency, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, special needs talk network, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
In grades 4, 5, and 6, the reading problems of many struggling readers explode. Readers slam into walls of failure and frustration. Their struggles are not unexpected. They have well-known causes: Read more...
- Curriculum that fails to focus on what they need to learn to become successful readers
- Curriculum that doesn’t give them the kind of instruction and practice they need
- Language, memory, and organizational abilities that can’t readily handle the grade’s more complex and demanding tasks and language
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, fifth grade, fourth grade, frustration level, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, middle elementary grades, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, sixth grade, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Are Lexiles flawed? Limited, but not flawed. The problem is not Lexiles, but how some schools use them.
What Are Lexiles?
Lexiles are scores produced by a readability formula that analyzes text (e.g., passages, articles, books) for the length of sentences and the frequency with which words generally occur. Longer sentences, with rarer words, words readers rarely see, are considered more difficult to understand than shorter sentences with words readers often see.
Limitations Read more...
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From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Homework difficulties are often caused by work that requires struggling learners to read or write beyond their independent levels. Difficulties are also caused by work that’s too complex or abstract and by learning characteristics that interfere with starting, organizing, monitoring, and finishing work. As Bryant and her colleagues (2001) so aptly asserted:
Children with learning disabilities are at-risk for a variety of problems that are likely to interfere with doing homework. These risks include deficits in reading and math, poor communication and organizational skills, difficulty with tasks that demand voluntary, selective, and sustained attention . . . poor memory . . . and poor self-monitoring. (p. 171) Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration, frustration level, homework, homework policy, IEP, IEPs resiliency, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, resilience, strengthening resiliency, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Why is music important for people of all ages and for all children in school?
Just take a dose of rock ‘n’ roll—it keeps you going. Just like the caffeine in your coffee, rock ‘n’ roll is good for the soul, for the well-being, for the psyche, for your everything. I love it. I can’t even picture being without rock ‘n’roll. (Hank Ballard) Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, mood, Motivation, music, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, resilience, Resiliency, strengthening resiliency, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
As we mentioned before, frequent, extreme stress and the anxiety it produces can devastate children with reading and other disabilities:
If the stress is too severe or too prolonged … stress begins to harm learning…. Stressed people don’t do math very well. They don’t process language very efficiently. They have poorer memories, both short and long forms. Stressed individuals do not generalize or adapt old pieces of information to new scenarios as well as non-stressed individuals. They can’t concentrate. In almost every way it can be tested, chronic stress hurts our ability to learn. (Medina, 2008, p. 178) Read more...
anxiety, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration, frustration level, helplessness, independent reading level, instructional reading level, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, resilience, Resiliency, self-efficacy, self-esteem, strengthening resiliency, stress, stressors, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
Reading Fluency: Key Questions and Answers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Why is fluency important?
Often, teachers do not consider reading rate an important issue if students understand what they read. However, chronic slow reading, even if coupled with some understanding, can lead to problems. First, slow readers have to put more time and energy into reading than do their more fluent classmates. It takes them longer to complete assignments, and they are often painfully aware that their peers have finished reading although they are only half way through. This may cause them to avoid reading, and, as we mentioned earlier, fluency primarily develops through wide reading. Thus, slow readers may avoid the very thing that would contribute to their reading improvement. (Caldwell & Leslie, 2005, p. 76) Read more...
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