From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

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).

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From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

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

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As a follow-up to our first post on Paired Reading, Dr. Topping suggested that interested professionals, education majors, and parents visit his university website to get free resources about Paired Reading:    http://www.dundee.ac.uk/eswce/research/projects/trwresources/

Once on the site, click Paired Reading . You’ll also see valuable resources about Writing, Spelling, and Thinking. You can download most of these resources.

Visiting the site and studying the materials will give you information that may help you make better decisions for children who struggle with reading.

Howard Margolis © Reading2008 & Beyond  www.reading2008.com

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Parents of children with reading disabilities often ask, “How can I teach my child to read?”

I often respond with three suggestions:

  • Don’t try to teach him anything new if it’s likely to cause friction, or fighting, or excessive anxiety.
  • Read to him daily. Make sure it’s something he likes, and then, if he wants, and only if he wants, have him read it silently or read a sentence or more back to you. Don’t pressure him to read aloud. If he has trouble with a word, tell it to him.
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Many parents of kindergartners and first graders at-risk for reading disabilities make this mistake: They hastily challenge their school’s decision to use Reading Recovery to teach their child to read. Their reasoning is simple: Reading Recovery doesn’t work; the research shows it doesn’t work; lawyers and other experts say so. And if they challenge Reading Recovery in court, they’ll win because the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires schools to use “peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable” (§300.320).

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Recently, Wrightslaw challenged the effectiveness of Reading Recovery, a widely used tutoring program for first graders who struggle with reading. Dr. Melissa Farrall, author of the challenge, correctly reported that “an international group of experts and researchers in reading development and intervention [found]… little evidence that Reading Recovery is effective.”

In her challenge, Dr. Farrall also asserted that

  • “The scientific community … rejected [Reading Recovery’s] theoretical underpinnings.
  • “Reading Recovery is ineffective with poor readers.
  • “Reading Recovery does not outperform other methodologies that require less expense and less training.
  • “Students [tutored by Reading Recovery] do not generalize and maintain their skills.”
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Children with reading disabilities and other learning disabilities need intensive instruction. Usually, this statement generates little or no controversy. The definition of intensive, however, does. Recently, Robert E. Slavin and his colleagues (2009) critically evaluated the relevant research on the effectiveness of programs for struggling readers. Their key findings should help to define the word intensive:

  • One-to-one tutoring works. Teachers are more effective as tutors than paraprofessionals or volunteers, and an emphasis on phonics greatly improves tutoring outcomes.
  • Although one-to-one phonetic tutoring for first graders is highly effective, effects last into the upper elementary grades only if classroom interventions continue past first grade.
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