English Update March 21, 2007.

The Reading Teacher. March 2007.
Reading….. Dyslexia….. What to do with dyslexic children: early intervention with intense, explicit instruction. Listen to parents. RF Hudson, et al. RT (Mar. 07), 513.

Reading….. Dyslexia Defined. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. Deficit in the phonological component of language that is unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities. Shaywitz and Shaywitz. 2003. RF Hudson, et al. RT (Mar. 07), 507.

Reading….. Dyslexia….. “Can dyslexia be cured? In a word, no. Dyslexia is a lifelong condition that affects people into old age. However, that does not mean that instruction cannot remediate some of the difficulties people with dyslexia have with written language.” RF Hudson, et al. RT (Mar. 07), 510.

Reading….. Dyslexia….. “Explicit, intense, systematic instruction in the sound structure of language (phonemic awareness) and in how sounds relate to letters (phonics) is needed for readers with dyslexia.” RF Hudson, et al. RT (Mar. 07), 512.

Reading….. Dyslexia…. “The role of motivation and fear of failing are important when discussing reading problems.” RF Hudson, et al. RT (Mar. 07), 512.

Reading….. Assumptions….. Don’t assume students know fundamentals about reading—like reading from left to right; like you must make sense out of what you read and if you don’t then you have to go back and fix it; like following the order of the letters. DG Litt. RT (Mar. 07), 570-574.

Vocabulary….. Technique….. Begin a vocabulary program by collecting character traits in the books and stories students read. Discussions of characters in stories will elicit words with which students are unfamiliar. T Manyak. RT (Mar. 07), 574-577.

Reading….. Fluency….. Students read short rhythmic poem (“Eensy weensy spider”) while walking. Physical motion supports the motion in reading—fluency. JL Peebles. RT (Marc. 07), 578-581.

Archive
Reading….. Involvement….. How help children become involved in reading a book? “…I am reminded of my childhood when skimming a book with only mild interest, I would start suddenly alert and begin reading in earnest.” V Hamilton. EE (Apr. 71), 302.

Reading….. Kindergarten….. Should reading be taught in kindergarten? 50% of teachers, some teaching of reading; 31% of teachers, regular teaching of reading; 19% of teachers, no teaching of reading in kindergarten. LaConte. EE (Apr. 71), 257.

Reading….. Modeling….. How can the teacher “model” reading as a teaching technique? Defines “think-alouds” as the teacher’s talking about and explaining to the students how she reads books, from overviewing to looking for important information, to predicting, to recognizing the author’s writing style, to relating to her own life and to using the knowledge. [I would have the students do these things after I have demonstrated them using an actual book, with their having a copy of that book.] CC Block & SE Israel. RT (Oct. 04), 154-167.

Reading….. Phonics….. What is “analogy-based phonics”? “In analogy-based phonics, the aim is to teach students to use known words to decode unknown words. For example, to decode the unknown word snap, the student might think of the known word map. Analogy-based phonics is systematic when a planned set of phonic elements is taught sequentially (Ehri, et al., 2001; Stahl et al., 1998). Phonic elements might include common spelling patterns as well as initial consonants, digraphs, and blends. I further define analogy-based phonics as systematic when teachers provide students with sufficient opportunities to transfer decoding skills to novel words containing spelling patterns that have been taught. finally, analogy-based phonics is strategic when, through teacher modeling, children learn that when they are reading and come to a word they do not know, they can try to ‘think of a word they do know’ (i.e., a word with the same spelling pattern).” TG White, “Effects of Systematic and Strategic Analogy-Based Phonics on Grade 2 Students’ Word Reading and Reading Comprehension.” 234. RRQ (Apr/May/Jun 05), 234-255 (File).

“In conclusion, this study suggests that analogy-based phonics instruction can be effective for low-and normally achieving grade 2 students when it is systematic and strategic and implemented by regular teachers as part of a balanced literacy program. Systematic means (a) teaching a planned sequence of phonic elements including common spelling patterns and initial sounds, and (b) providing sufficient opportunities for students to transfer decoding skills to novel words containing spelling patterns that have been taught. Strategic means that teachers explicitly model an analogy decoding strategy. TG White, “Effects of Systematic and Strategic Analogy-Based Phonics on Grade 2 Students’ Word Reading and Reading Comprehension.” 234. RRQ (Apr/May/Jun 05), 234-255 (File).

RT = Reading Teacher. EE = Elementary English. RRQ = Reading Research Quarterly.