Reading Tips

Reading Tips for Parents of Reluctant Readers
By Simone Mary

Education begins at home where parents are the first teachers. Parents therefore should never have a hands off approach about any part of their child's education. In fact children who are struggling in school need the support of their parents more than ever. The trouble is most parents are never quite sure exactly what they can do to help. This article focuses on struggling readers and what parents can do at home to help their children.


Photo: grreatbooks.com

There are certain strategies that teacher's use in the classroom that can be adapted for use at home. Teachers know that Phonological awareness, Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency and comprehension are key skills that every child should master. However a lot a parents don't know exactly how to go about helping their child develop these core reading skills.

To help your child to acquire phonological awareness skills which is simply the ability to break down the language into smaller units, use nursery rhymes. Say them along with your child and play rhyming word games with them. You can say one word such as "cake" and have your child tell you a word that rhymes. Clap to syllables in word you call with your child for example: din/ner(two claps) break/fast(two claps) bed(one clap).

Help your child develop phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to manipulate phonemes (sounds). Teach your child songs and then substitute different phonemes(sounds) for the beginning sound in words.

For example: Sweetly sings the donkey

At the break of day,

If you do not feed him

This is what he'll say,

Hee haw, hee haw, hee haw, hee haw, hee haw!

Can be changed to: tweetly tings the tonkey

At the break of day,

If you do not feed him

This is what he'll say,

tee taw, tee taw, tee taw, tee taw, tee taw!

In this example "t" was used as a substitute.

To develop phonics skills listen to your child reading. Play the hang man game. Let your child touch and say words as they write them.

To help your child become a fluent reader do echo reading activities. During echo reading you will read a sentence or short phrase and then your child will repeat what you have said. In this way you become a model. To develop fluency you can also read along with the child. Turn your home into a little theatre by acting out different scenes in a book using the dialogue. The whole family can get involved in this.

Get a copy of the Dolch word list. You can get a copy from several sites on the internet. The Dolch word list consists of 220 words. These words account for about 75% of all the words used in children's book. These words can be made into flash cards. You can make them out of construction paper or on the computer. Hold up the words on the cards and have your child practice calling a few of them everyday.

To develop reading comprehension ask your child to predict what will happen in a story before you read it to them. These predictions can be based on the cover art and title. At the end of reading ask questions that begin with the five W's: who, what, when, where and why.

Simone Mary is a teacher, writer and artist. She is the author of the eBook TEACHING READING AND WRITING, for more reading strategies and for a free copy of the eBook GET ON THE HONOR ROLL-TEST AND EXAM TAKING TIPS THAT WORK visit http://www.thereadingandwritingshop.com/

Started With Homeschooling

Tips for Getting Started With Homeschooling
By Pamela Connolly

So you're considering homeschooling? Where do you start?
As with everything in life, those who prepare are more apt to succeed. This is true for homeschooling too. The majority of the structure and organization of the homeschool is up to you. Planning ahead will reduce pitfalls and improve the effectiveness of your homeschool.

There are many ways of creating your plan but there are some basics you should address. Here are guidelines to help you get started with your homeschooling preparation.

• First and most important, get a commitment from everyone in the household who will affect or be affected by the homeschool. Make sure they understand that they are going to contribute to the success of the homeschool.
• Gather information and resources. You can get valuable information by visiting homeschooling web sites, signing up for free online newsletters, visiting homeschooling message board and join homeschooling chats and email lists. Find homeschooling events calendars online and attend homeschooling conferences. Subscribe to homeschooling magazines. Visit a book store or go to your local library.

• Become familiar with homeschooling laws in your state. It is usually simple to satisfy the laws. There are many websites that provide this information. The local public school district office and the public library can also help you in this area.
• Join a homeschooling support group in your area. It is very important to exchange ideas in a group. This can be a group of homeschooling friends or families associated with your curriculum. You can also find regional homeschooling support groups and state level homeschooling associations. Other homeschoolers can offer a wealth of information on a variety of subjects. They can help with many aspects of homeschooling, i.e. choosing curriculum, record keeping, meeting the state laws, and group activities. Some have been homeschooling for a long time and have solutions to difficulties you might encounter. You too can contribute by bringing new and fresh ideas. Even if you want to keep your autonomy, find a group that fits your needs. These groups can streamline your homeschooling and prevent common pitfalls.
• Choose your curriculum. You can choose a complete program or create one yourself. It can new, used, shared or borrowed. It can be expensive or cost nothing. This is where a homeschooling network is valuable. Get input from other homeschoolers. See what has worked them and what fits for you. Takes cues from your children. Use the Internet or go to the library to research your options.
• Set up a record keeping system. There are many different styles of record keeping. You can develop your own style of record keeping. Your record keeping can be as simple as a daily journal or as complicated as keeping track of daily schedules, and setting short- and long-term goals. Also, your curriculum may determine how you keep records. Determine what final result you want. Check out local colleges, trade schools universities and see what they require. Find out what record keeping is required by law. Consult your support group and find what has worked for them.

Planning ahead both short- and long-term goals will go a long way towards your homeschooling success.

Pam Connolly is a professional educator with the San Diego School District. She has been teaching kids how to type for over 11 years. To teach your child typing, visit http://www.1stoplearntotype.com

Write To Be Read

Write To Be Read
By Shannon Evans

KISS (Keep It Simple Silly) is the perfect acronym for authors to embrace. Short simple sentences are not only easier to read but get the author's point across faster. When people really "get" something in your book they are more likely to talk about it and spread the word. Spreading the word can often translate to selling more books.

Readers today do not want to reflect on or respond to lengthy parcels of writing. They want the meat and potatoes of the work laid out for them in language that is easy to follow. While James Joyce and Herman Melville produced outstanding literature that has stood the test of time, who reads their work casually?

Academics may read it but most students will look for the movie version or the Cliff notes. Why? The sentences are often three miles long and arduous to follow. The personal pain and suffering of the reader is so great as they attempt to slog through the content that they are tempted to fling the book across the room. They just want the whale to eat the captain and be done with it all! 600 pages later they reach a conclusion that might have been made much sooner. If only Melville had to economize on the use of paper and ink perhaps his manuscript would be shorter.

How do you write to be read? First you have to engage your reader. Think back to kindergarten...reading was fun! Exciting! When we were first introduced to learning how to read it was a socially active engaging experience. We used simple language to learn phonics skills and built word walls. Writing and reading was interactive! Reading was Dick and Jane and Spot and Puff and all their silly adventures. Then we graduated to Dr. Seuss and the art of rhyming word families. Oh, the places we did go with our reading!

As authors, we need to get back to that simple carefree use of language. We need to write to be read in a way that engages the reader and makes them excited about the content. Throw out those long passages of scenery description. Economize on the length of word and the details. This is not 11th grade where you have to show your knowledge of the language, the rules of grammar, and the depth of your vocabulary.

Readers prefer:

Dialogue and lots of it

Showing and not telling by the author

Less detail

Try and be the incognito author in your book. Everytime an author interjects more than a "said" in dialogue they are butting in the scene. The author should remain as invisible as possible. Show readers through dialogue the conflict and action of your story.

If you are describing a snow storm does the reader really need to know what each flake looks like as it falls to the ground? Remove words that are not found in everyday language. Honestly, who really uses words like "ubiquitious" and "mendacious"? Use natural language and write like your audience speaks. They want a reading environment that is comfortable to them.

Writing to be read means tightly scripted work. Cut, pare down, and chop away at pretentious writing no one really wants to read. Sometimes the simplest writing can put forth the most complex ideas. When you write to be read you make every word count.

Shannon Evans, senior editor and owner of http://www.mywritingmentor.com lives with her best friend Rick on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound just a "ferry ride from Seattle."

She works with her two Labrador assistant editors, Mocha and Luke, and her feline copy edit assistants, Caesar and Yoda. Shannon is widely recognized as one of the top writing coaches for non-fiction authors. With over 17 years teaching composition and technical writing to native and non-native English speaking students she knows how to help every writer make every word count.

Technique to reading

How to Teach Your Child To Read
By Don C Jones

Reading should be fun, but to enjoy reading, one must be a good reader. Would tennis be fun if the ball never went over the net?


Photo: iesneiravilas.org

This technique is the result of over 50 years experience teaching reading, one teacher to one student. It started with my father in 1956 and continues today with my son, Darren and me. This method has been used with thousands of children and always works! All children can learn to read, but each learns at a different pace.

Here is how to teach your child to read:

1. Sit with your child in a quiet place with an appropriate book.
2. Read a line out loud, pointing to each word as you read.
3. Make sure your child is watching the words as you read.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3.

That's it!

(I am using "she" instead of "he/she" below)

When she hears a word pronounced correctly and sees it on the page at the same time, she will build an automatic association between hearing and seeing the word. It may take many repetitions, but she will eventually be able to read the words.

I recommend 10 minutes a day as a minimum, but there's no need to stop if she is enjoying the book.

Don't be fooled into thinking this technique is not powerful just because it is simple!

Some helpful hints.

• Make it fun. Use inflection in your voice. Get into the story.
• If a book isn't interesting after a few pages, get another book.
• If she seems to be reading the words, point to a word on a page after reading the page and see if she knows the word. You might also do this if she is just listening and not watching the words.
• This should be quality parent/child time you both look forward to.
• Do not become frustrated if she is slow to remember the words. Be patient.

Here are some questions you may have:

What books shall I choose?

For non-readers, choose a very simple book. This usually means a book with one line per page and a picture that goes along with the words. "Bob Books" by Maslen is a good place to start.

For 1st grade and early second grade readers, choose simple books they can eventually read on their own with practice. Most children get a big thrill out of reading a book by themselves.

For older children, choose an interesting book where they know most words, with no more than 4-5 words on a page they don't know.

What if my child is young and doesn't know the alphabet?

It doesn't matter. Use the same technique, but choose very simple pre-kindergarten books.
Remember; don't put any pressure on her beyond what she seems interested in doing.

Is that all there is to reading? What about phonics, comprehension and vocabulary?
Yes, there is more to reading than just this technique. In our reading center we teach phonics, vocabulary and oral fluency (the ability to read smoothly and accurately) in addition to comprehension exercises.

Phonics is only used when she comes to a word she doesn't know. If she knows the word, she just says it, there's no need to sound it out. As my dad would say, ""Reading is not sounding.""
Oral fluency and vocabulary can be picked up by reading a lot.

In other words, if I had to pick one simple technique that anyone can use to teach a child to read or to read better, this read-along method is it!

A Funny Story

Liam was a first grader who just moved to the United States from Norway. In Norway, they apparently didn't believe in teaching reading in Kindergarten, so Liam didn't know the alphabet or a single word. Starting first grade was quite a shock to his mother when she realized that just about every student already read at a 2nd or 3rd grade level (she happened to be in one of the best school districts in the state).

During my first lesson with Liam, I used this read-along method. By the end of 30 minutes with Liam, he could read the book all by himself. It was a very simple book. "This is a banana", etc.

When he got into the car to go home, he wouldn't let his mother pull away from the curb until he had read the book to her. During all this, his older sister (3rd grade) was listening.

After he finished reading, his sister said, "You're not reading, you just memorized it."

Liam said, "I AM NOT, I could read it with my eyes closed!"

How my Father Discovered the Read-Along Method

In the early 1960's, my father attended an educational conference in Arizona. The keynote speaker was a professor from Arizona State. My father asked the speaker what was new in the field of reading instruction. The professor told this story.

"I was teaching a class in reading instruction. Each student in the class was given a 3rd grade class at the beginning of the semester to work with. The grades given out to the college students would be based on which 3rd grade classes improved the most in reading during the semester. The top 20% would get A's, the next 30% B's etc."

"We spent a lot of class time going over the latest methods for teaching reading to primary students. Each student could choose the techniques they thought best to use with their 3rd graders. One student was a woman in her 40's who had raised a family and wanted to start a teaching career. She didn't like any of the new methods presented in class, so she decided to just read to her class for the entire semester. She gave each child a copy of the book and had them follow along as she read."

"At the end of the semester the children taught by the older woman gained much more in reading ability than any of the other 3rd grade classes."

The professor was stunned by the results, but was forced to admit that following the words as they were being read was more powerful than any of the methods of that time.

Conclusion

My experience says that the read-along method is still the most powerful single technique that can be used in learning to read.

Educator Don Jones has taught reading and math in a 1-to-1 environment for many years. He learned the methods from his father who started The Arcadia Reading Clinic in 1956. For more information, please visit http://www.growthspurtonline.com/

Learn How To Read

Inspire Your Child To Learn How To Read
By M Fish

Are your child's reading skills developed according to appropriate international reading standards? Educational research shows that 49.6% of American school-age children are at a literacy level below the expected international standard.* Also alarming is fact that parents are now finding that their pre-readers are expected to enter the educational arena with a higher level of development because of statewide standardized testing requirements. Of necessity, parents are constrained to bridge the gap for their children by preparing them for school through developing their reading readiness skills at home.


Photo: heartsandhandsonline.com

Fortunately, there are several practices that concerned parents can do in the comfort of their own home to improve their children's abilities. Note, that it is very important to make each stage of development fun, upbeat, and engaging for young children. First, begin with the improvement of basic language skills. This phase of learning can begin even at birth. Parents should read aloud to their children in a lively, expressive, and energized manner at every available opportunity.

Read-a-long or sing-a-long books and CD's are excellent resources to use, especially when driving. Pre-readers may gradually develop basic language skills by repeating aloud what is read to them. This entails having children explicitly recite stories, rhymes, or poems aloud to parents, mirroring proper inflection and expressiveness. Children should be inspired to practice their basic language skills and should spend a large portion of their time conducting oral reading. Oral reading develops reading skills by listening, as well as by doing.

In the process, by sharing picture storybooks with pre-readers, they increasingly develop print awareness. Print awareness is the understanding of how the print on a page works (i.e. directionality, words are read from left to right, letter names and shapes, etc). It is seeing and becoming familiar with printed words. Flash cards are a valuable tool to use to enhance sight word recognition. Singing songs or telling stories every day is an important step parents may take to train children who have not yet developed print awareness. The goal in developing print awareness is to help pre-readers reach phonemic awareness.

Phonemic awareness refers to the understanding of basic phonemes (word parts or sounds). Pre-readers gradually develop an understanding of how to decode words using phonics principals. Phonics awareness is further developed through the use of rhyming books, nonsense words, and songs. Excellent phonics program resources are available at most local libraries.

Each phase of this development process necessitates the use of quality children's books to improve language skills, oral reading skills, print awareness, phonemic awareness, and whole language skills. There are many quality whole-language children's books which can be used by parents to meet advanced reading readiness criterion. Good whole-language children's books are ones that have been carefully written and developed over years with each of these educational principals in mind.

By kindergarten, on average, children have a basic vocabulary of approximately 3000-5000 words. One such example of a good whole-language book is a recently published picture book titled Snerfy Cat Meets Prancy Finch by Mister Fish, which utilizes a blend of these common vocabulary words and introduces children to brand new words, as well as necessary nonsense words, rhymes, and songs, which enforce phonemic awareness.

Parents can strive to help their children to become motivated readers through practicing each of these concepts and by nurturing their children through daily activities, games, and even reading award programs. Such programs are offered locally through most libraries (i.e. summer book contests) and schools, or nationally through publishers, or supplemental educational service providers.

When all these components are used in conjunction, in a healthy learning environment, virtually any child can be inspired to become a happy and motivated reader.

* Nationmaster.com http://www.snerfycat.com/
M Fish is the premier children's author and picture book illustrator for Children's Classic Book Publishers. He is an avid educator, children's entertainer, and certified Kumon math & reading instructor. M Fish's latest children's book release is Snerfy Cat Meets Prancy Finch. In the new children's picture book, Snerfy Cat Meets Prancy Finch , a pretty kitty, named Snerfy Cat, flicks his tail as he seeks a little birdy to fill his tummy so it "does not go Ba-Rump anymore." As fate has it, on this lucky day he finds just such a morsel, a sweet little finch named Prancy. In this fun and surprising little tale, Prancy gives Snerfy much more than he could have ever expected. Prancy does not fill Snerfy's tummy, "but his whole heart instead!" Readers alike agree that it is, "...a bright, lovely, and positive hard-back picture story book, which all children are sure to love and adore. It truly is a modern day classic among the world of children's literature." The 84-page hardback, picture storybook is now available at http://www.snerfycat.com/

Dyslexic Child Home Schooling

Dyslexia is a learning disability that manifests primarily as a difficulty with written language, particularly with reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction.

Home Schooling the Dyslexic Child
By L Lee

While home schooling a dyslexic child has no shortage of challenges, your task of teaching your dyslexic child at home can become easier and more rewarding with the right tools.



Photo: sg.88db.com

Sure, you'll still have your share of setbacks, but it's so rewarding when you finally see those little breakthroughs suddenly develop into major a progression in your child's comprehension.

First of all, just what is Dyslexia? According to Answers.com, Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by problems in reading, spelling, writing, speaking, or listening. In many cases, dyslexia appears to be inherited.

Dyslexic children seem to have trouble learning early reading skills, problems hearing individual sounds in words, analyzing whole words in parts, and blending sounds into words. Letters such as "d" and "b" may be confused.

Often, a person with dyslexia has a problem translating language into thought (such as in listening or reading), or translating thought into language (such as in writing or speaking).

If you are just starting to teach your dyslexic child, you must remember one thing. Your child is not retarded. His brain is just wired a little differently. Many famous people like Edison, Einstein and Churchill were all dyslexics. It is not a death sentence. People with dyslexia can live rewarding, productive lives.

Being dyslexic does mean that your child will have to work harder than his peers to learn basic language skills. You may have noticed problems with his speech at a young age. This is typical.

Also many dyslexics often have trouble concentrating, especially when they have no interest in the subject. They tend to learn better with hands-on (kinesthetic) methods. Games that teach language skills are quite helpful.

Within academic circles there is much discussion about what is the best way to teach a dyslexic. Some say to use phonics while others promote the whole language method. I’m going to tell you to do both. Hit it from all angles. Find out what works best with your child. Every child is different.

There are many programs that may be beneficial. These include Sequential Spelling, Spell to Read and Write, or All About Spelling. Sequential Spelling teaches spelling patterns and builds on those patterns.

Spell to Write and Read teaches all the phonograms first, then combining phonograms (letters or groups of letters associated with a sound) to build words. All About Spelling also begins with the phonograms and then moves on to syllables then words. All of these programs are reasonably priced.

Barten, Wilson and ABC Reading are also good and are all based on the Orten-Gillingham approach. This method is language-based, multisensory, sequential, systematic and has produced good results.

The Orten-Gillingham method starts by having the student read and write the basic letter sounds. The student learns short vowel sounds and consonant sounds. Simple words are learned first.

Once the easy C-A-T type words are learned, then they move on to long vowels, diphthongs (vowels that make two gliding speech sounds which are usually interpreted as one, ex. Oi,oy), digraphs ( two vowels that make one sound ) and blends. Spelling is learned right along with reading. Review is continuous.

After the student has mastered words, then the same type of systematic approach is used for learning vocabulary, sentence structure, reading comprehension, and composition. Again, review is continuous.

While all of the above mentioned programs are good, it may be you are looking for a less expensive way of helping your child. It is not that difficult but you must be willing to devote a lot of time to your child.

First you get a listing of the basic phonemes of the English language (in Noah Webster’s Reading/Spelling Handbook, for example). Phonemes are basic units of sound (ex. B,t,ph,th,s,a,i) that are capable of conveying a distinction in meaning.

You will also need some cards or tiles with letters on them. Using the handbook as your guide, teach your child the long and short vowels, consonants, blends, diphthongs and digraphs.

Start with the short vowel words. Play games with the letters. For example, make the word “tap”. Have your child read and spell the word. Then tell him to reverse the letters and ask him what word he has made. “Pat”. Have him make different words by changing a vowel or consonant.

Once he has mastered the short vowel words move on to the long vowel words. This kind of exercise will help your child understand the patterns in the English language.

Not all dyslexic children are the same. Some are effected by this problem only mildly, some moderately and some severely. The severity of your child’s problem, his age and past educational history all factor in when deciding how to help your child.

So don’t let those bumps in the road discourage you. It's kind of a cliche', but two steps forward, one step back is still progress. With all the helps that are available nowadays, your task of teaching your dyslexic child at home has become less daunting and more rewarding.

Lisa Lee is a home schooling mom and co-owner of http://www.besthomeedtoys.com/ specializing in educational toys, games and learning products, with an emphasis on the home schooling family.