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I was about to put this article in the Education News section, but decided that it was far to good to have it rotate out of my blog, so here it is. It was written by Shannah B Godfrey and published in the Examiner.com. I often put articles from this source in the Education News section and would recommend its Family and Parenting section to anyone with school or preschool aged children.
A research team headed by scientists from the esteemed Yale School of Medicine announced in 2004 a particularly significant finding for children who have trouble learning to read. It was reported by Gilbert Zarate in the Brownsville Herald: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/opinions_more.php?id=61072_0_11_0_C
The focus of this study, as much of the writing on this topic, is on how to assist struggling readers. While struggling readers show us what the critical issues are, children who are not struggling will be able to learn much more, much quicker, if they are also given exposure to the best teaching practices. Unfortunately, as is commonly the case, teachers leave good students to fend for themselves on the mistaken assumption that they don’t need help.
Mom and Dad can and should do things at home to enhance their child’s learning and intelligence.In the words of the reporter:“The study reported that the brain function of poor readers actually changes to resemble the brain function of “good” readers when they have been taught to read through instruction that is direct, systematic, and focuses on the sounds and letters that make up words, the meanings of words, and helping children read accurately and quickly.
"Using functional MRI scanners, researchers were able to document that effective reading instruction not only improves reading ability but actually changes the brain’s functioning so children can read more efficiently. These struggling readers were taught to read using a comprehensive reading program that focused on systematically teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary and spelling and, as a result, formed new and lasting neurological connections and pathways in parts of their brain that regulate reading ability.
"We know that almost every child in America — whatever race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic level — can become a strong and confident reader when taught through a comprehensive approach grounded in systematic, research-based instruction. And we know that scientifically based reading instruction can be successfully implemented in all schools — whether urban, suburban, or rural.
"Unfortunately, the reality today is that nearly 40 percent of fourth-grade students are unable to read at grade level. While many policymakers, educators and parents are enthusiastic about teaching children to read, not all schools and school districts are implementing instruction grounded in scientific approaches that have been proven to increase reading skills. Despite what we know works, not all schools have put in place carefully developed, comprehensive reading programs that include research-proven instructional practices. This is a travesty.
"We know that reading instruction for struggling readers must be explicit, systematic, and allow sufficient time for student learning. We also know that the reading curriculum should include the five critical components that are fundamental to learning to read — phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension.”
So if the scientific evidence strongly proves that phonics instruction re-maps the brain for the better, why does the educational establishment, for the most part, continue to ignore the data and teach ineffective reading (and math) methods? Part of the answer may be found in the lobbying and monetary influence of textbook publishers, who follow fads for personal gain rather than true research results. Part of the answer may be found in the egos of some educational people pushing their own theories and agendas. Part of the answer can be found in the inertia and ennui of large government entities, schools, to resist change.
Whatever the factors, it is clear that parents must not let their gifted children be left to fend for themselves in school. Parents can follow the best practices of phonics reading instruction (and math instruction) with their children at home to ensure a great foundation for success.
Gifted children need exposure to many types of learning to be well-rounded. One of the best programs for kids is scouting. They start as young as 6 years and go until age 18. Scouting gives your child a sense of accomplishment. Being able to claim the rank of Eagle Scout on a résumé is a prestigious thing. To find information for a scout troop near your home, go to the Boy Scouts of America office near you. In the Kansas City area it is Council 307 – Heart of America Council, Boy Scouts of America, PO Box 414177, Kansas City, MO 64141. Phone: (816) 942-9333. http://www.hoac-bsa.org/ Girl Scouting will be discussed in the next article.
Author: Shannah B Godfrey
Shannah B Godfrey is an Examiner from Kansas City. You can see Shannah B's articles on Shannah B's Home Page.
Showing posts with label concepts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concepts. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Self-regulation: The key to sucessful students? by Todd Hoffman
This article comes from Education.com via The Tehran Times. It is immensely interesting considering our fairly permissive society and the freedom given to our children. Perhaps this is part of the reason that our literacy levels are falling.
New research suggests that children who learn to mind their P’s and Q’s may also have an easier time learning their ABC’s and 123’s. In a new study conducted by the University of Virginia’s Claire Cameron Ponitz and Oregon State University’s Megan McClelland, the researchers found that kindergartners who had high levels of “self-regulation” in the fall did better on tests of reading, vocabulary, and math in the spring when compared to children with low levels of self-regulation.
What is self-regulation? According to Dr. Ponitz, self-regulation is the ability to control and direct one’s own feelings, thoughts, and actions. It can be as simple as a child raising his hand when asking a question in class, or as complex as a child controlling her feelings when frustrated or angry. “Self-regulation underlies our daily decisions and long-term behavioral tendencies,” Ponitz says. “When people make poor choices - e.g., about health, school, work, or relationships, it is usually because of a failure of self-regulation.
With regard to early development, children who learn to control themselves and make good choices do better socially and academically than children who are overly angry, aggressive or impulsive.” While the ability to self-regulate has long been considered an essential part of a child’s healthy emotional development, self-regulation is increasingly being seen as a good predictor of a child’s academic success.
According to Dr. McClelland, a number of studies have found that self-regulation significantly predicts literacy outcomes in children. In their own research, McClelland and Ponitz found that aspects of self-regulation not only predicted literacy outcomes in preschool and elementary school, but also predicted the gains in literacy children made during that time. In specific, they found that children who showed improvement on a simple task designed to measure self-regulation skills also showed improvement in emergent literacy, vocabulary, and early mathematics skills. “We think it's because the skills in the task - remembering instructions, stopping yourself, and paying attention - are also important in school,"Ponitz says.
Good self-regulation skills are also important for a child’s social development. “Self-regulation helps children succeed in classroom contexts,” McClelland says. “The children who can successfully navigate these learning environments have better relationships with their teachers, are more liked by their classmates, and do better academically. They are also more motivated to achieve because of these skills.”
Both Ponitz and McClelland believe parents and teachers play a crucial role in the development of their children’s self-regulation. “Parents and teachers are critically important guides and models for children as they learn how to control themselves,” Ponitz says. “At home and in the classroom, providing organization, consistency, and structure seem to be important predictors of children's self-regulation. For example, following through with rules provides children the chance to practice controlling themselves.”
McClelland agrees that self-regulation is a learned skill. “There is a lot of evidence to suggest that self-regulation can be taught in children.” As an example she points to an intervention aimed at improving self-regulation in preschoolers. “In one recent study,” she says, “we found that a series of classroom games in preschool designed to help children practice paying attention, remembering instructions, and demonstrating self-control significantly improved self-regulation skills, especially for children with low self-regulation.”
The good news for parents and educators is that easy ways to help children develop self-regulation skills may be as close as the local playground. Both Ponitz and McClelland suggest that classic games where children must follow directions and wait to take turns may be particularly suited for the development of self-regulation. Specifically, they recommend:
Red Light, Green Light. One child is the stoplight, the other children are the cars. When the stoplight yells “Green light!” the children run towards the stoplight. When the stoplight yells “Red light!” all the children must stop. If a child doesn’t stop, they must go back to the starting line. A popular variation is to include a “Yellow light!” where children must walk instead of run. Excellent for developing self-regulation skills because children must learn to pay attention, follow directions, and wait their turn.
Simon Says. When Simon says, “Simon says jump!” the children must jump. But if Simon only says, “Jump!” and somebody jumps, that person must sit out for the rest of the game. The last person standing becomes the new Simon. Another excellent game for developing self-regulation because children must listen carefully, pay attention, and follow directions.
Role Playing. Ponitz believes that role-playing games in which children pretend to be another person for an extended period of time may also provide opportunities for children “to think about their choices and not give in to their immediate impulses.” For example, have one child pretend to be the teacher while the rest of the children pretend to be the students.
To make the games even more challenging, McClelland recommends adding rules that require children to pay attention, remember new instructions, and do the opposite of what they are used to. For instance, instead of having children follow commands when a person says “Simon says...” do the opposite and have them follow commands when the phrase isn’t used.
Be creative! As research increasingly shows, simple games can be more than mere child’s play when it comes to helping children develop valuable skills that will serve them well later in life.
Todd Hoffman has worked as an assistant preschool teacher, a freelance children's writer, and an educational consultant. He is currently a graduate student in the Cognitive Studies in Education program at Columbia University. (Source: Education.com)
New research suggests that children who learn to mind their P’s and Q’s may also have an easier time learning their ABC’s and 123’s. In a new study conducted by the University of Virginia’s Claire Cameron Ponitz and Oregon State University’s Megan McClelland, the researchers found that kindergartners who had high levels of “self-regulation” in the fall did better on tests of reading, vocabulary, and math in the spring when compared to children with low levels of self-regulation.
What is self-regulation? According to Dr. Ponitz, self-regulation is the ability to control and direct one’s own feelings, thoughts, and actions. It can be as simple as a child raising his hand when asking a question in class, or as complex as a child controlling her feelings when frustrated or angry. “Self-regulation underlies our daily decisions and long-term behavioral tendencies,” Ponitz says. “When people make poor choices - e.g., about health, school, work, or relationships, it is usually because of a failure of self-regulation.
With regard to early development, children who learn to control themselves and make good choices do better socially and academically than children who are overly angry, aggressive or impulsive.” While the ability to self-regulate has long been considered an essential part of a child’s healthy emotional development, self-regulation is increasingly being seen as a good predictor of a child’s academic success.
According to Dr. McClelland, a number of studies have found that self-regulation significantly predicts literacy outcomes in children. In their own research, McClelland and Ponitz found that aspects of self-regulation not only predicted literacy outcomes in preschool and elementary school, but also predicted the gains in literacy children made during that time. In specific, they found that children who showed improvement on a simple task designed to measure self-regulation skills also showed improvement in emergent literacy, vocabulary, and early mathematics skills. “We think it's because the skills in the task - remembering instructions, stopping yourself, and paying attention - are also important in school,"Ponitz says.
Good self-regulation skills are also important for a child’s social development. “Self-regulation helps children succeed in classroom contexts,” McClelland says. “The children who can successfully navigate these learning environments have better relationships with their teachers, are more liked by their classmates, and do better academically. They are also more motivated to achieve because of these skills.”
Both Ponitz and McClelland believe parents and teachers play a crucial role in the development of their children’s self-regulation. “Parents and teachers are critically important guides and models for children as they learn how to control themselves,” Ponitz says. “At home and in the classroom, providing organization, consistency, and structure seem to be important predictors of children's self-regulation. For example, following through with rules provides children the chance to practice controlling themselves.”
McClelland agrees that self-regulation is a learned skill. “There is a lot of evidence to suggest that self-regulation can be taught in children.” As an example she points to an intervention aimed at improving self-regulation in preschoolers. “In one recent study,” she says, “we found that a series of classroom games in preschool designed to help children practice paying attention, remembering instructions, and demonstrating self-control significantly improved self-regulation skills, especially for children with low self-regulation.”
The good news for parents and educators is that easy ways to help children develop self-regulation skills may be as close as the local playground. Both Ponitz and McClelland suggest that classic games where children must follow directions and wait to take turns may be particularly suited for the development of self-regulation. Specifically, they recommend:
Red Light, Green Light. One child is the stoplight, the other children are the cars. When the stoplight yells “Green light!” the children run towards the stoplight. When the stoplight yells “Red light!” all the children must stop. If a child doesn’t stop, they must go back to the starting line. A popular variation is to include a “Yellow light!” where children must walk instead of run. Excellent for developing self-regulation skills because children must learn to pay attention, follow directions, and wait their turn.
Simon Says. When Simon says, “Simon says jump!” the children must jump. But if Simon only says, “Jump!” and somebody jumps, that person must sit out for the rest of the game. The last person standing becomes the new Simon. Another excellent game for developing self-regulation because children must listen carefully, pay attention, and follow directions.
Role Playing. Ponitz believes that role-playing games in which children pretend to be another person for an extended period of time may also provide opportunities for children “to think about their choices and not give in to their immediate impulses.” For example, have one child pretend to be the teacher while the rest of the children pretend to be the students.
To make the games even more challenging, McClelland recommends adding rules that require children to pay attention, remember new instructions, and do the opposite of what they are used to. For instance, instead of having children follow commands when a person says “Simon says...” do the opposite and have them follow commands when the phrase isn’t used.
Be creative! As research increasingly shows, simple games can be more than mere child’s play when it comes to helping children develop valuable skills that will serve them well later in life.
Todd Hoffman has worked as an assistant preschool teacher, a freelance children's writer, and an educational consultant. He is currently a graduate student in the Cognitive Studies in Education program at Columbia University. (Source: Education.com)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
News Flash from AWN - July 13
The Electric Company Becomes a Daily Show on PBS Kids
Press Release from Sesame Workshop(NEW YORK, New York -- July 13, 2009) Get out your circuit breakers as THE ELECTRIC COMPANY turns into a power strip! Starting September 7th, Sesame Workshop's hit program THE ELECTRIC COMPANY, will be charging up PBS KIDS GO! with a daily dose of literacy superheroes and wily pranksters.
Six-to-nine year olds will be able to tune in every day to see Hector, Jessica, Lisa and Keith outwit their scheming neighborhood prankster-counterparts in a way that reinforces strong literacy skills and teaches kids that reading isn't just for school -- reading is cool.
"Reading and writing are critical developmental areas for children and children who are struggling with literacy skills by second grade are often at risk for never being able to catch up," said Linda Simensky, VP, Children's Programming, PBS. "By offering THE ELECTRIC COMPANY every weekday on PBS KIDS GO!, we are opening the doors for more children to explore reading and just how much fun it can be."Kids are plugged into THE ELECTRIC COMPANY making it the #1 show on PBS KIDS GO! in its block -- and the current doesn't stop there. The show's hit website, pbskidsgo.org/electriccompany, has had nearly four million site visits and over 11 million Electric Company video clips played since its launch in mid- January 2009.
Also this fall, THE ELECTRIC COMPANY will be partnering with local PBS stations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as well as after-school organizations to bring a "Shock" to twenty cities nationwide with THE ELECTRIC COMPANY 2009 Circuit Tour. Starting August 8th, THE ELECTRIC COMPANY's star beat boxer, Shock, will host a 90 minute experience in each city beginning with a 25-minute multimedia, interactive show. The Circuit Tour will also include hands-on pre- and post-show activities that will engage kids with interactive content, games and demonstrations in an effort to give today's 2nd grader the literacy tools necessary to succeed in 3rd grade and beyond.
"We are thrilled to bring this critical piece of THE ELECTRIC COMPANY directly into communities around the country," says Randell Bynum, Director of Educational Outreach for THE ELECTRIC COMPANY. "We look forward to sharing a live, interactive Electric Company experience that will turn kids on to the power of reading."THE ELECTRIC COMPANY is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national literacy initiative focused on using public media to improve the reading skills for children ages two-to-eight, with an emphasis on children from low-income families. The effort is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education, part of a cooperative agreement with CPB- and PBS.
Press Release from Sesame Workshop(NEW YORK, New York -- July 13, 2009) Get out your circuit breakers as THE ELECTRIC COMPANY turns into a power strip! Starting September 7th, Sesame Workshop's hit program THE ELECTRIC COMPANY, will be charging up PBS KIDS GO! with a daily dose of literacy superheroes and wily pranksters.
Six-to-nine year olds will be able to tune in every day to see Hector, Jessica, Lisa and Keith outwit their scheming neighborhood prankster-counterparts in a way that reinforces strong literacy skills and teaches kids that reading isn't just for school -- reading is cool.
"Reading and writing are critical developmental areas for children and children who are struggling with literacy skills by second grade are often at risk for never being able to catch up," said Linda Simensky, VP, Children's Programming, PBS. "By offering THE ELECTRIC COMPANY every weekday on PBS KIDS GO!, we are opening the doors for more children to explore reading and just how much fun it can be."Kids are plugged into THE ELECTRIC COMPANY making it the #1 show on PBS KIDS GO! in its block -- and the current doesn't stop there. The show's hit website, pbskidsgo.org/electriccompany, has had nearly four million site visits and over 11 million Electric Company video clips played since its launch in mid- January 2009.
Also this fall, THE ELECTRIC COMPANY will be partnering with local PBS stations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as well as after-school organizations to bring a "Shock" to twenty cities nationwide with THE ELECTRIC COMPANY 2009 Circuit Tour. Starting August 8th, THE ELECTRIC COMPANY's star beat boxer, Shock, will host a 90 minute experience in each city beginning with a 25-minute multimedia, interactive show. The Circuit Tour will also include hands-on pre- and post-show activities that will engage kids with interactive content, games and demonstrations in an effort to give today's 2nd grader the literacy tools necessary to succeed in 3rd grade and beyond.
"We are thrilled to bring this critical piece of THE ELECTRIC COMPANY directly into communities around the country," says Randell Bynum, Director of Educational Outreach for THE ELECTRIC COMPANY. "We look forward to sharing a live, interactive Electric Company experience that will turn kids on to the power of reading."THE ELECTRIC COMPANY is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national literacy initiative focused on using public media to improve the reading skills for children ages two-to-eight, with an emphasis on children from low-income families. The effort is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education, part of a cooperative agreement with CPB- and PBS.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
What to Expect When Your Child Begins Preschool
Preschools may just look like a jumble of toys, books, activities etc, to the uninitiated, but in reality, they are very carefully planned to stimulate your children's interest and motivate them to explore and discover.
They are geared towards fine honing children's conceptual skills, to prepare them for learning to read and write, to count and figure. They're also set up to give your children that wonderfully creative but incredibly messy play that's essential to develop the finer muscles and coordination they will need to launch successfully them into the world of learning.
For those whose children are about to begin their education, here is a great description of what to expect when you first visit the preschool. Read THIS and look for similar organisation in your child's preschool.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Handwriting Readiness Pt.7 - Understanding Spatial Relationships
The directions that teachers use to teach handwriting in the school assume that children understand spatial and temporal(related to or limited by time) concepts. Hey what???
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These are obviously terms used to confuse any but the initiated, but all it really means is can they get their minds, to communicate to the hand, the directions the teacher is giving them. Terms such as "on top of the line, "above the line," or "between the lines" and many more, are used in handwriting instruction.
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An ability to understand these terms is acquired as children develop both physically and mentally. The age at which the average child begins to understand the position "in" is 2 years. Additional positions or locations are learned as the child increases in age, with the most challenging locations, "back/front" usually understood by the average child at 4 years 8 months.
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Practice in understanding locations or positions is covered in the preschool curriculum, but it is often assumed by Kindergarten teachers that this concept has already been gained and they proceed from there. If a student's concepts in this area are only a few months later in developing, than their entry to kindergarten, it can effect their self esteem, or belief in themselves, to the extent that they cease believing that they can succeed.
I'm going to get on my favourite hobby horse here, about mid-year intake in Kindergarten. What this actually does is take a child into Kindergarten who is approximately six months younger in age, skill and concept development and only give them half a year of Kindergarten before they are required to keep up with the curriculum in year one. Now I ask you - does that sound, in any way at all, logical to you, or good for your child? If you answer "Not logical at all." and you say "I'll never do that to my child", I'll give you an A++++++++. Please, please, please, even if you do think you have a genius on your hands, and you may, hold your child back until the beginning of the next year.
Activities to help your child with positions are fairly obvious. I've given you some below, but you'll probably think of lots more as you progress.
1. Take something in your hand. Hold it in different positions and ask your child to tell you where it is.
2. Find the object. Hide something and give the child instructions, one at a time, on how to find it. Use a lot of position words. such as in, on, under, over, above, through. If you want to brainstorm about position words use the sentence. "The fox jumped..................the gate." Any word that fits in the space in this sentence is a position or location word.
3. More advanced practice. Take a picture with objects in it and ask the child to describe to you where one particular object is. Make it simple to begin with - not many things on the page. As they gain skill you can make the picture more complicated. Repeat their instructions out loud as you find the object and be very positive when you do.
4. Give your child an object to hold and then give them instructions about where to hide it. You can leave it at that, or you can prolong the game by getting your little student to give someone else position/location instructions on how to find it.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Handwriting Readiness Pt.4 - Eye-Hand/Foot Coordination
Eye hand or foot coordination is simply seeing something and moving your hand or foot to intercept what you see. When you catch a ball or hit it with a bat, when you reach up to take something from a shelf, when you catch something you've dropped before it hits the floor (very good), when you kick a ball, when you simply walk up or down steps, you're using eye hand or foot coordination.
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Eye-hand coordination, although part of a child's conceptual development, is also a skill which can be improved with practice. You can't start too soon. Babies lying in their cots are building their hand to eye coordination as they watch a mobile move above them or reach out for toys you hold near them.
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From the age of about four months, your baby will use his mouth to discover the world around him. Hence everything he can get his hands on, goes to the mouth. From about six months his hands join in and begin to examine the object they're holding. By this time hand-eye coordination is established and he will begin to improve his fine motor movements and skills.
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Each child moves at his own pace with coordination between hands and between hand and eye, as he attempts more and more difficult tasks.So with hand-eye coordination the concept has developed early. From here on there is something you can do to help. It becomes a skill which improves with practice.
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You can step in and help your child to improve in this area.Blocks or the large Duplo are great for developing hand-eye coordination. Building with these helps your child learn what items fit most easily on one another and how much pressure to put on a block as he positions it. If your student is having trouble figuring out what to do, resist the temptation to jump in and show him how it's done. Part of the fun with these toys is discovering how they fit together and work. Doing it himself, gives your child's brain and skill building a much better work out than if you show him how.
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This isn't to say that you can't play with him. This is part of the bonding between you and your child and great fun for both of you.Following is a list of activities to advance your child's skill in eye-hand coordination:
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1. Lace cards - this involves sewing on a card with a large needle and different coloured wools or cottons to make a design.
2. Make mosaics with anything really. Try dried beans or peas, nuts, pasta, tissue paper or even small scraps of coloured paper.
3. Make tissue paper flowers by taking a strip of paper and rolling or folding it. Crepe paper is good and cheap for this too. It's colour does tend to run if it gets wet, but it comes in the most incredible colours - even fluorescent ones. Cellophane paper does a good job as well. It tears more easily, so takes more skill and let's not forget the silver foil from the kitchen. It makes great flowers, stalks and leaves.
4. Here's a messy one. Make paper mache glue and use that and paper to build anything you want. Come on! There must be something inside you that wants to get messy and if there isn't, it's probably more important to do it to stretch your borders. Here's a link for the recipe for the mache glue and some more ideas. Click here!
5. Play a game where you have to get a small ball into a cup. You can actually buy a toy that has the cup on a stick and the ball attached with string, but you can make one just as easily.
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6. Let's not forget all you mad golfers out there. Buy one of those cheap little plastic golf sets for your child and teach him how to putt.
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7. Whoops!! I almost forgot the most common. Play ball. First rolling to a younger child and getting him to roll back. Then throwing or bouncing a short distance. Make it further and further away as skills improve. Anyone remember that song "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts. There they are a'hangin in a row" Well we don't have Coconut Shy Stalls anymore, but the idea is simply to aim the ball at any target - preferably not a brother or sister - and try to hit it, or knock it off something. Tin cans on a fence used to be a favourite one, but there'll always be something you can buy that will do the same thing, if you want to get fancy.
8. You can also get tough plastic adjustable basket ball equipment that will last your child for years, because you can adjust the height until they're seven or eight years old. Just make sure older brothers or sisters give your little one a go.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Importance (and Simplicity) of Play
Hi Everyone,
I've found a great blog called "Literacy, Families and Learning" I wholeheartedly recommend it. It's got some great ideas on creativity and learning with young children. The blog is written by Trevor Cairney. I'll print the first part of the blog and you can click on the link if you're interested in reading more.
The Importance (and Simplicity) of Play by Trevor Cairney
I've written a number of posts about play and argued that it is important for many reasons. Broadly, it stimulates children's creativity while assisting their development cognitively, emotionally and socially.
It also encourages their imagination, fine and gross motor skills, decision-making, problem solving and risk taking. As well, it helps children to learn about themselves through success and failure and to build relationships with parents, their siblings and friends.
However, in this post I want to make just one key point - that simple play is best. Simple opportunities for play will always (well, almost always) capture their attention, that's why the box so often wins out over the expensive and complex toy.
Stimulating play does not require expensive equipment or toys, multimedia excitement or body numbing entertainment (though that stuff can be fun too!). In fact, I want to argue that children if given some control over their play will often choose the simple. What do I mean by this? I mean that they will often enjoy:
the repetitive and the predictable- the unexpected and surprising (yes, that's the opposite of the above - they can love both);
- the silly over the serious;
- activities that stimulate their senses (not necessarily all at once);
- play that involves other people, both actively and passively (this is especially true of parents).
It is important as parents and caregivers to be on the lookout for opportunities to structure situations during the day that permit and encourage stimulating play. While its hard to do fancy stuff when faced by the demands of 2-3 children (or even more in the case of some readers of this blog), if children are engaged in stimulating activities they are less likely to be driving you nuts. And the simple stuff is the easy stuff.
One final thing, as I indicated in a previous post it's also important to allow your children to take lots of initiative - play is when they can take the lead and show you how to do things. Click here for the restTuesday, July 15, 2008
Handwriting Readiness (Pt.1) in Children aged 3 - 6 years
"What's all this about handwriting readiness?" you might say. "You just give the kid a pencil and off she goes. Right!"Well, actually, No! Giving your child pencils too early in their development, can quite often lead to illegible, untidy, badly formed and badly sized writing, which will take a great deal of time to correct later on - that's if it can be corrected. It takes a great deal of determination in a student to change a stongly ingrained bad habit and some find it just too hard.
Handwriting is a complex operation. Activities that use all senses (multi-sensory) and feeling and moving (kinesthetic), prepare students for letter and number formation before they begin learning to write.
Well developed fine motor skills are necessary for a student to write well and it is the very, very, rare three or four year old, who has these skills. A five year old, who has had sufficient pre-handwriting experiene may be ready, but sometimes a child may be even older before these skills develop.
Handwriting readiness is dependent upon the presence of seven foundational skills.
- small muscle development
- hand-eye coordination
- utensil or tool manipulation
- basic stroke formation
- alphabet letter recognition
- orientation to written language
- understanding of spatial relationships
Fomal handwriting instruction can begin as early as kindergarten year and some children will take off and never look back. Some, however, will struggle for the rest of their lives, because one or more of the above seven developmental stages had not been reached, when they were required to learn letter formation.
In following blogs, I'll explain more fully the seven prerequisites for handwriting readiness and give activities that can aid in the formation of each.IMPORTANT and again IMPORTANT
There also needs to be gross motor activities to get the brain going and give students more control over their bodies. Try dancing, little athletics, skipping, running around kicking a ball with them - get them moving and away from the TV and computer games. Not that these things are necessarily bad, but there needs to be balance.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Preparing Your Child to Read
Reading is the basic skill upon which all formal education depends. Children who are poor readers at the end of first grade, will find it extremely hard to acquire the reading skills they need, to successfully complete primary school.
These students must be identified early in their school career and given the intensive intervention they need. Any child who doesn't learn to read early and well, will not easily master other skills and knowledge and is unlikely to do well in school or in their future work.
You, however, play an important part in whether or not this may happen to your child. Reading to your son or daughter is the most important part of helping them become a reader. Teaching reading involves teaching children to love reading. The more fun your child has with books from an early age, the more interested they will be in becoming a reader when they reach school age .
Reading to your child also improves your child's emergent literacy skills including vocabulary, knowledge and print awareness - the understanding of how a book works. Reading to your child on a regular basis gives your pre-reader a jumpstart in learning to read. Continuing to read to your child even after they learn to read, helps improve their vocabulary and reading skills.
This time spent with your son or daughter regularly, can also be a wonderful bonding experience. So many times, in talking to friends and acquaintances about this, I hear of the impact the time spent with Mum or Dad reading stories, had on their early lives. They speak of it with fondness and most have continued the tradition with their own children.
These students must be identified early in their school career and given the intensive intervention they need. Any child who doesn't learn to read early and well, will not easily master other skills and knowledge and is unlikely to do well in school or in their future work.
You, however, play an important part in whether or not this may happen to your child. Reading to your son or daughter is the most important part of helping them become a reader. Teaching reading involves teaching children to love reading. The more fun your child has with books from an early age, the more interested they will be in becoming a reader when they reach school age .
Reading to your child also improves your child's emergent literacy skills including vocabulary, knowledge and print awareness - the understanding of how a book works. Reading to your child on a regular basis gives your pre-reader a jumpstart in learning to read. Continuing to read to your child even after they learn to read, helps improve their vocabulary and reading skills.
This time spent with your son or daughter regularly, can also be a wonderful bonding experience. So many times, in talking to friends and acquaintances about this, I hear of the impact the time spent with Mum or Dad reading stories, had on their early lives. They speak of it with fondness and most have continued the tradition with their own children.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Putting Thoughts into Words.
I'm sorry I haven't posted for some days. I've been away, with no computer access. I want to talk about 'thoughts' today. Putting them into words can be hard and writing them down can be even harder.
I've just spent an hour with a student. He was supposed to bring with him, something he'd written, so that we could work on his sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, grammar and so on. He hadn't and his lament was as old as written thought, 'I can't think of anything to write'.
You'll hear this from your children many times when they're asked to write something creative for homework or when you're homeschooling.
I asked my student to think of a word. Being a fourteen year old, he decided to be clever and give me the word 'word'. He laughed and started to try to think of another one, but I decided to run with what he'd given me. You should have seen his face. He thought that he'd joked himself into having to do something that was really hard.
We sat and talked about the word 'word'. What it is, what it's used for, what he likes about words, what he objects to when using words. As we talked, he became quite interested and took some notes. Below is what he came up with. It's not finished yet. The last part is still in point form. We'll finish it next week.
A word is a combination of letters arranged to describe things, objects, people, places, movement, thoughts, etc.
We join them together into sentences to communicate with each other. They can be as short as one letter eg: 'a' or even as long as 'antidisestablishmentarianism' (which is a real word). It has ... if you want the answer, count it yourself.
As well as talking, words are used for writing stories, songs, poetry, plays and even random things like this!
We do not just use words for communicating with people. We also use words such as 'no' and 'hello' when we are talking to our animals. If you say this enough times, they will learn the meaning.
People feel differently about words. Personally I don't like swear words, because I think that most people use them just because they can. People that use swear words in every sentence do not show that they are smart or clever, whereas people who use more creative words prove that they are different. Instead of being sheep and following everyone else, they show they are individuals.
I like words that are:
Random
The word random
Funny words
And unique words
So the points here, in using the 'think of a word' method for writing are:
Don't expect the student to come up with things by himself. Talk about it with him. It's called brain-storming and all writers do it. Help him think outside the box.
Encourage him to take notes as you talk. If he's having trouble, help him to put his thoughts down on paper. Note taking is a skill that needs to be learned.
The endeavour doesn't need to be finished at one sitting. Keep the notes and add any ideas that occur during this time. If he has a good idea and hasn't time to get it down, encourage him to write it in point form so that he remembers it for the next time.
If he can't think how to continue, suggest a few different thoughts such as 'What is it? How d0 you feel about it?' Do you like/dislike it? Why?' The last question here is an important one, because it really makes the student think about the points he's making.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Reply to Email from a Reader about Book Phobia
I have the reader's permission to answer her question on my blog, as it may help others.
Her child had trouble reading in the first three years of his schooling and came to dread any time a book was put in front of him. He felt that it was just another opportunity to show his peers how 'dumb' he was. He began to refuse to even try to read a book.
He has now developed the concept of sounding and can read words and even sentences, but he still cannot read a book. She has chosen a book, put the words on flashcards and he can read them. She has put the words onto pieces of paper exactly as they are in the book and he's drawn the pictures to go with them and read them quite easily. However, when she puts the identical story in front of him as a book, he becomes very stressed. He looks at the pages but can't seem to read them.
This is not a common problem but I've encountered it several times in my years of teaching. Occasionally a student will develop a book phobia. Books have become associated with failure, stress, embarrassment and fear. He has gone to school each day with his stomach tied in knots, dreading going to class because he will fail yet again in front of his classmates. The teacher may become angry with him. Maybe a few children will victimise him in the playground, calling him names and making his failure even more public.
It's perfectly understandable that the anxiety caused by this type of experience will continue, even after the child can actually read. After all, one experience of being confined can result in claustrophobia, or trauma in the outdoors can result in agoraphobia later on.
The method I've used to overcome this is an easy one. Take a book with only one or two lines of print on each page. Then, very lightly, in pencil, draw a simple picture over each noun (a noun is the name of a person, place or thing). Show the student what you've done and explain that it won't be hard to read this book because the pictures will show him what most of the words are.
Read the book through with him and if he can't read any of the words that don't have a picture above them, discuss with him what symbol you can draw above it to help him. For example, above the word 'in' you could draw a 'U' with a small circle inside it and you could turn the 'U' upside down and put the circle on top of it for the word 'on'. For the word 'and' you could use '+'.
When you've drawn all the pictures that he needs, ask him to read it. If he's still worried about it, read it through with him as many times as he wants you to. Tell him that if he gets stuck, you'll help him. The aim is to have him relaxed about reading it.
Do this to six or seven books that have the same theme and so repeat many of the same words. As he becomes used to a certain book, ask him to choose a word he knows, so that you can erase the picture above it. If he's hesitant to do this, leave it till the next day and ask him again. He needs to be confident enough to let you do it. Remember that the aim is to make him comfortable with books. He can already read, so you don't need to rush this. It will take as long as it takes. Letting him set the pace, gradually erase the pictures, so that eventually only the words are left.
By the time you've done this with all the books you've chosen, he will probably be confident enough to carry on by himself. If he's not, get another selection of books. It can be on another theme. Do the same thing with the new books. This is a phobia. Be patient. It may take time to overcome, but this method has worked every time I've used it.
The method of drawing simple pictures above harder words in a book, can also be used with children who are just beginning to read. It enables them to read books that are more difficult and increases their confidence. Again, as they learn the words, erase the pictures.
Her child had trouble reading in the first three years of his schooling and came to dread any time a book was put in front of him. He felt that it was just another opportunity to show his peers how 'dumb' he was. He began to refuse to even try to read a book.
He has now developed the concept of sounding and can read words and even sentences, but he still cannot read a book. She has chosen a book, put the words on flashcards and he can read them. She has put the words onto pieces of paper exactly as they are in the book and he's drawn the pictures to go with them and read them quite easily. However, when she puts the identical story in front of him as a book, he becomes very stressed. He looks at the pages but can't seem to read them.
This is not a common problem but I've encountered it several times in my years of teaching. Occasionally a student will develop a book phobia. Books have become associated with failure, stress, embarrassment and fear. He has gone to school each day with his stomach tied in knots, dreading going to class because he will fail yet again in front of his classmates. The teacher may become angry with him. Maybe a few children will victimise him in the playground, calling him names and making his failure even more public.
It's perfectly understandable that the anxiety caused by this type of experience will continue, even after the child can actually read. After all, one experience of being confined can result in claustrophobia, or trauma in the outdoors can result in agoraphobia later on.
The method I've used to overcome this is an easy one. Take a book with only one or two lines of print on each page. Then, very lightly, in pencil, draw a simple picture over each noun (a noun is the name of a person, place or thing). Show the student what you've done and explain that it won't be hard to read this book because the pictures will show him what most of the words are.
Read the book through with him and if he can't read any of the words that don't have a picture above them, discuss with him what symbol you can draw above it to help him. For example, above the word 'in' you could draw a 'U' with a small circle inside it and you could turn the 'U' upside down and put the circle on top of it for the word 'on'. For the word 'and' you could use '+'.
When you've drawn all the pictures that he needs, ask him to read it. If he's still worried about it, read it through with him as many times as he wants you to. Tell him that if he gets stuck, you'll help him. The aim is to have him relaxed about reading it.
Do this to six or seven books that have the same theme and so repeat many of the same words. As he becomes used to a certain book, ask him to choose a word he knows, so that you can erase the picture above it. If he's hesitant to do this, leave it till the next day and ask him again. He needs to be confident enough to let you do it. Remember that the aim is to make him comfortable with books. He can already read, so you don't need to rush this. It will take as long as it takes. Letting him set the pace, gradually erase the pictures, so that eventually only the words are left.
By the time you've done this with all the books you've chosen, he will probably be confident enough to carry on by himself. If he's not, get another selection of books. It can be on another theme. Do the same thing with the new books. This is a phobia. Be patient. It may take time to overcome, but this method has worked every time I've used it.
The method of drawing simple pictures above harder words in a book, can also be used with children who are just beginning to read. It enables them to read books that are more difficult and increases their confidence. Again, as they learn the words, erase the pictures.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Teaching Reading and Writing when Concepts have not Developed
Teach the basics. That's the really important thing. If your child hasn't developed the concept of sounds linking together to form words and can't even seem to hear the sounds within a word, you concentrate on giving her the basic tools that she can use when the concept does develop.
Teach the single sounds of the alphabet (please teach her to write Q as 'qu'). This means teaching the sounds themselves not the names of the sounds. If she watches Sesame Street, she'll hear the names of the sounds. It's important for her to realise that each sound has both a name and a sound, but it's the sounds that we use when sounding out words. The vowels a,e,i,o,u are the exception. It's fine at this time to teach her that the sounds are formed into two groups - consonants and vowels. To remember the vowels I often use this sentence - A E IOU $5 (Ay E I Owe You $5).
As you're teaching her the sounds, begin to teach her simple words on flash cards. As you teach each one, sound it out for her. It's great if she can learn the sounds eg. run = r-u-n. When the concept clicks in, she'll have all this great information behind her to use the concept immediately and she'll feel so CLEVER.
At the same time, teach her to write each sound. Please make sure that she is forming her letters in the right way. When she's forming the letters, it's important that she start at the right point and finish at the right point. Firstly, it will be clearer to read. Secondly, if she doesn't do this, she will have to relearn the correct method of forming the letter, before she can progress to cursive writing. Letters join together in only one way and if she's not beginning and ending them at the right point, she won't be able to join the letters together properly later on.
In learning to write the sounds, repetition through supervised practice is the key. Immediate feedback for the child is essential to correct any errors, even little ones, before they become habit. Many children will want to write their letters in the way that is easiest for them. They don't see the value of doing it in a particular way. As long as it looks right in the end, they don't see any problem.
The intervention must be as she's writing the sound. If she's not watched carefully during her practice, she may revert to what's easiest for her. If the correction is done later, three problems will be encountered. There will often be no way to tell which way the letters have been formed. Every time the student forms the letters the wrong way, that habit becomes stronger and harder to break. The student will feel that she is being punished unfairly when she has to rewrite the lesson.
Once that's done, progress to teaching the sounds made up of more than one letter, such as the 'oa' of boat, the 'ay' of day, the 'ai' of mail, etc. As you teach these, introduce three or four letter words that have these sounds. On flash cards, write the word and underline the diagraph (sounds of more than one letter), so that she learns to see the diagraph as one sound. She'll get used to the look of the sound and it will help later with spelling.
Lastly, when you read books to her, make sure she can see the page and, as you read, follow the words with your finger. It will help her to realise that stories are made by puting words together. That's another concept that needs to develop.
I hope this isn't too much information at once. Just take it one step at a time. It's important that both your student and you are relaxed. If you're uptight, she will be as well and it will severely limit her ability to take in information. If the atmosphere becomes tense, take a break. Go and get the mail together, have a snack, play with the dog for five minutes - anything that will relax the situation.
Don't push on if she get's really upset because she's not understanding - all parents know the signs with their own child. Go on to something else and come back to that particular thing, when you sense that she's able to cope with it again. Put it off till the next day or the day after, if that's necessary. There's no rush.
One last point. Make jokes, say outrageous things, have a good laugh. Laughter is a wonderful relaxer and when your student is relaxed, her mind is more open to learning. It also helps her to look forward to the times. Try to put aside the time to give her your whole attention. Make it your special time together and in between teaching certain things have little chats with her about her day. Tell her something that happened to you. It's a great opportunity to bond.
Teach the single sounds of the alphabet (please teach her to write Q as 'qu'). This means teaching the sounds themselves not the names of the sounds. If she watches Sesame Street, she'll hear the names of the sounds. It's important for her to realise that each sound has both a name and a sound, but it's the sounds that we use when sounding out words. The vowels a,e,i,o,u are the exception. It's fine at this time to teach her that the sounds are formed into two groups - consonants and vowels. To remember the vowels I often use this sentence - A E IOU $5 (Ay E I Owe You $5).
As you're teaching her the sounds, begin to teach her simple words on flash cards. As you teach each one, sound it out for her. It's great if she can learn the sounds eg. run = r-u-n. When the concept clicks in, she'll have all this great information behind her to use the concept immediately and she'll feel so CLEVER.
At the same time, teach her to write each sound. Please make sure that she is forming her letters in the right way. When she's forming the letters, it's important that she start at the right point and finish at the right point. Firstly, it will be clearer to read. Secondly, if she doesn't do this, she will have to relearn the correct method of forming the letter, before she can progress to cursive writing. Letters join together in only one way and if she's not beginning and ending them at the right point, she won't be able to join the letters together properly later on.
In learning to write the sounds, repetition through supervised practice is the key. Immediate feedback for the child is essential to correct any errors, even little ones, before they become habit. Many children will want to write their letters in the way that is easiest for them. They don't see the value of doing it in a particular way. As long as it looks right in the end, they don't see any problem.
The intervention must be as she's writing the sound. If she's not watched carefully during her practice, she may revert to what's easiest for her. If the correction is done later, three problems will be encountered. There will often be no way to tell which way the letters have been formed. Every time the student forms the letters the wrong way, that habit becomes stronger and harder to break. The student will feel that she is being punished unfairly when she has to rewrite the lesson.
Once that's done, progress to teaching the sounds made up of more than one letter, such as the 'oa' of boat, the 'ay' of day, the 'ai' of mail, etc. As you teach these, introduce three or four letter words that have these sounds. On flash cards, write the word and underline the diagraph (sounds of more than one letter), so that she learns to see the diagraph as one sound. She'll get used to the look of the sound and it will help later with spelling.
Lastly, when you read books to her, make sure she can see the page and, as you read, follow the words with your finger. It will help her to realise that stories are made by puting words together. That's another concept that needs to develop.
I hope this isn't too much information at once. Just take it one step at a time. It's important that both your student and you are relaxed. If you're uptight, she will be as well and it will severely limit her ability to take in information. If the atmosphere becomes tense, take a break. Go and get the mail together, have a snack, play with the dog for five minutes - anything that will relax the situation.
Don't push on if she get's really upset because she's not understanding - all parents know the signs with their own child. Go on to something else and come back to that particular thing, when you sense that she's able to cope with it again. Put it off till the next day or the day after, if that's necessary. There's no rush.
One last point. Make jokes, say outrageous things, have a good laugh. Laughter is a wonderful relaxer and when your student is relaxed, her mind is more open to learning. It also helps her to look forward to the times. Try to put aside the time to give her your whole attention. Make it your special time together and in between teaching certain things have little chats with her about her day. Tell her something that happened to you. It's a great opportunity to bond.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Concept Development in Children
This is one of the most important things to understand when teaching children. The development of concepts is the linking together of ideas in a child's mind, so that they can process more complex lines of thought.
A concept will develop when it wants to and the child has no control over it. It's not that they're being lazy, not concentrating or misbehaving. Encouragement is the most important thing for these students. They need to be constantly told that they're doing their best and that you're very pleased with them. Don't overdo it. Children are quick to see through false praise. Pay attention to every little success they have and draw it to their attention. 'You couldn't do that a month ago and now you can. You're learning more and more.'
Concept development and level of intelligence are not linked. A student may have slow concept development, but go on to do very well at school. I've had a student who struggled with understanding mathematical concepts until grade five. He was tenacious and never gave up, committing many things to memory without really understanding how they all came together. Suddenly, almost overnight, a light clicked on and using the information he had memorised, he shot to the top maths group within six months, did exceptionally well in high school and moved on to study successfully at university to become an engineer.
The problem for children who are slower to develop concepts, is that by the time the light turns on, they've gone up into the higher grades and don't get the opportunity to go over the basics again. If they were able to do this, they'd advance rapidly. As it is, they often convince themselves that they're 'dumb', stop trying and don't realise that they are now capable of succeeding.
When children were held back to repeat a grade if they didn't understand the work, we didn't have the rate of failure that we have now. That's why you hear older people say, 'In my day it was unusual for children not to be able to read and write.' It was unusual, because students with slower concept development were given the opportunity to relearn the basics. I realise, of course that being held back caused other problems for the student - nothing is perfect -but they did learn to read, spell and write.
In my next blog, I'll give ideas for parents whose children do have slow concept development in the reading and writing area. Please feel free to ask any questions you want to, and I'll attempt to answer them.
Lets encourage our kids to succeed.
Wendy
A concept will develop when it wants to and the child has no control over it. It's not that they're being lazy, not concentrating or misbehaving. Encouragement is the most important thing for these students. They need to be constantly told that they're doing their best and that you're very pleased with them. Don't overdo it. Children are quick to see through false praise. Pay attention to every little success they have and draw it to their attention. 'You couldn't do that a month ago and now you can. You're learning more and more.'
Concept development and level of intelligence are not linked. A student may have slow concept development, but go on to do very well at school. I've had a student who struggled with understanding mathematical concepts until grade five. He was tenacious and never gave up, committing many things to memory without really understanding how they all came together. Suddenly, almost overnight, a light clicked on and using the information he had memorised, he shot to the top maths group within six months, did exceptionally well in high school and moved on to study successfully at university to become an engineer.
The problem for children who are slower to develop concepts, is that by the time the light turns on, they've gone up into the higher grades and don't get the opportunity to go over the basics again. If they were able to do this, they'd advance rapidly. As it is, they often convince themselves that they're 'dumb', stop trying and don't realise that they are now capable of succeeding.
When children were held back to repeat a grade if they didn't understand the work, we didn't have the rate of failure that we have now. That's why you hear older people say, 'In my day it was unusual for children not to be able to read and write.' It was unusual, because students with slower concept development were given the opportunity to relearn the basics. I realise, of course that being held back caused other problems for the student - nothing is perfect -but they did learn to read, spell and write.
In my next blog, I'll give ideas for parents whose children do have slow concept development in the reading and writing area. Please feel free to ask any questions you want to, and I'll attempt to answer them.
Lets encourage our kids to succeed.
Wendy
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