But Why Do We Read?
If we can agree that most adults who are responsible for children's education want children ultimately to read independently for multiple purposes, to feel agency in how they think about what they read, and to get some enjoyment out of reading, then why is it that so much of what we throw at them at school seems counter-intuitive to accomplishing those things?
0 Comments Posted Monday, November 05, 2007
Separate the Chaff from the … What? – The Irony of Reading Research
"Scientifically-based reading research" (SBRR) is a term that has been widely used since the passage of NCLB and the Reading First Act, and the publication of the National Reading Panel's five essential elements of reading instruction in their report "Teaching Children to Read." Unfortunately, SBRR today, as informative and unbiased as it sounds, is not used by the powers that be to truly tease out the very complex nature of reading and learning to read.
0 Comments Posted Thursday, October 25, 2007
Are Students Inheriting a Fear of Math?
Math anxiety is a common problem. It's a large part of the reason students fail to take important upper-level math courses. But maybe talking to our students about their math fears isn't all we need to be doing. Maybe some of that fear is inherited, passed down from parents with their own math anxieties. Maybe it's time for the schools to address the math anxieties of the parents as well.
1 Comments Posted Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Who’s Your Village?
Like my nieces and nephews, many kids in the U.S. are fortunate enough to have "a village" to help raise them - like in the African proverb. But why does it seem so difficult for teachers who are responsible for 15 to 35 kids to get help from their local communities?
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Good Educational Technology: What Does That Mean?
Hardware, software, professional development. All make up what we refer to as educational technology. But is one component more important than another? Is one more often ignored? What does it mean for schools to have "good educational technology"?
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Illiteracy: What if it could kill you?
With all of these philosophies being thrown around today, especially in light of government-influenced educational practices in schools ala NCLB, what is the bottom line? What does it really mean for our kids to be sufficiently "literate"?
0 Comments Posted Friday, September 28, 2007
Preschoolers on the Computer
A common question for most parents is, "When is my child old enough?" We wonder when our children are old enough for potty training, for a "big" bed, for any number of first steps. But in a time when technology seems to rule our home lives as well as our work lives, many parents are stopping to ask, "When is my child old enough to use the computer?"
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Reading Rate – The Answer to Good Comprehension?
With the publication of the National Reading Panel's April 2000 report, "The National Reading Panel's Report: Teaching Children to Read," many people have identified the five essential elements of good reading instruction as phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. The last item, fluency, has been an area of particularly strong investigation...
0 Comments Posted Thursday, September 20, 2007
Reading is NOT a Content Area
Ask a reading teacher, particularly one at the secondary level, to tell you the worst thing a content area teacher can say about reading. You're sure to get the same answer time and time again: "I don't teach reading!" Often such teachers insist that they teach math, science, or social studies, but they certainly don't teach reading. It's time that secondary teachers, in particular, have a change of heart about reading. Reading is not a content area.
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Balanced Math Instruction?
For years there has been a heated debate in the reading community: phonics instruction or whole language instruction? The surge of back-to-basics instruction has repeatedly conflicted with the views of educators who look at reading within a larger frame of reference. While teachers all seemed to agree that comprehension was the ultimate goal, they openly disagreed on the instructional path to get there. Many reading educators now agree on a "balanced" program of literacy, one that builds foundation skills while simultaneously engaging students with meaningful texts and opening discussions about meaning-making.
0 Comments Posted Thursday, September 13, 2007
“I’m a Stupid Reader”: Image Issues in Reading
"I hate reading." "I'm not a good reader." "I'm a stupid reader." "I wish I didn't have to read..." As a reading specialist, those are the responses I often get from struggling readers when I ask them how they feel about reading, what they think about themselves as readers, or what they wish for. Those negative responses to reading make sense for my struggling readers; because they read two, three, or even four grade levels below their current school grades, reading is a daunting task for them. But how about high-achieving kids, or kids who don't struggle with reading? Why might they feel like they're "stupid readers"?
0 Comments Posted Monday, September 10, 2007
No Miracle Cure: Selecting a Reading Curriculum
The What Works Clearinghouse has recently released the results of several studies of early elementary reading programs, giving some accolades and others heavy criticism. It comes as no surprise, however, that no one program was effective for teaching all reading students...
0 Comments Posted Thursday, September 06, 2007