Oct
18
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
Oct
17
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?
Oct
15
Overcoming Problems of Reading Fluency
Dr. Tim Rasinski of Kent State University
Monday, October 17, 2011, 9 – 9:30 PM EST
Oct
08
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Parents, teachers, administrators, and politicians often demand the best reading method. Nothing less will do. So, of the hundreds of reading methods, which is best?
Sep
29
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:
- 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
Sep
06
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
Sep
02
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
The Press of Atlantic City headlined, in bold font, “State task force says teachers aren’t doing enough to identify kids who can’t read.” The article blamed lower grade teachers for failing to identify children with reading problems and for failing to use the right methods to teach reading. (To me, the not so subtle, unscientific subtext was to keep banging the ideological drum to purchase and use the Wilson method and its commercial materials to teach reading.) Below is the comment I submitted.
Aug
24
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)
Aug
23
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
As many readers of our blog know, a direct mail advertisement from Rutgers University Continuing Studies promised that its 10-hour summer reading program of potentially large classes would quickly “turn poor readers into good readers.” The letter made other promises:
- Your child will become a strong, independent reader, build confidence, and become more successful in school.
- Your child will complete reading assignments more quickly and easily, be more successful in school, and become a strong, enthusiastic reader.
Aug
16
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)
