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Reading Strategies
Posted: 07 Sep 2005 01:32 PM |
| Discuss reading strategies for helping kids succeed. Post yours and read others'! |
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 drzee
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| Joined: 21 Mar 2003 |
| Total Posts: 1 |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 11 Nov 2005 03:37 PM |
We typically teach reading using the indirect phonological route to meaning. Look at a work, convert it to its sound, and if you can say it you will know what it means. This technique worked for me and for the vast majority of beginning readers. It does not work for everyone and these children are labled "reading disabled". About 85% of reading "disabled children" have difficulty with the first step -- converting the printed word to its sound, ie decoding. These are the children who struggle to read aloud -- who find it a torture to read. All to often remediation takes the form of training in phonics. It is sort of like trying to teach a blind person to see. The remaining 15% have a potentially more serious problem. These are the children who decode with no trouble, but saying the words do not lead to meaning. They are identified later because they can read out loud with no problem. They are often called lazy and not paying attention.
One term for the first type is phonetically disabled and they need to be taught reading in ways that do not depend on decoding. Vocabulary can quickly be built by simply pairing words and pictures. When dealing with abstract words the child can draw or cut out pictures. At the comprehension level, these children will benefit from a speed reading approach.
The second type can be called semantically disabled. The same kinds of approaches used for the phonetically disabled will work for them. There is an immediate work around for these students. Let them read aloud into a tape recorder and then listen to what they read. A bit awkward, but it will allow them to get meaning from the printed word.
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 16 Jan 2006 12:33 AM |
| I have been working with junior high students for the first time. I have come to realize that they will read when it is something they like. We take AR test at our school for each book that the children read. The library is great because they will give out coupons. The students receive the coupons based on the number they got correct on the test. The kids respond well to this because at the end of the semester they give out neat prizes. Some of my students just don't want to read at all so I take them in the hall and we read as a group. I will read a page and then we pass the book around so everyone gets to read a page. This seems to show the students that I am involved in the book just as much as they are. So far this has been all I have done and it seems to be working. The students I have can read they just don't want to read. It really is rewarding when they are excited about passing a test and getting the coupons. |
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ebsmith
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| Joined: 16 Feb 2006 |
| Total Posts: 1 |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 16 Feb 2006 08:53 PM |
| I teach English to high school students, and I have discovered that I often assume too much about their ability to understand and decode text. As this school year began, the students and I discussed the habits that "good readers" use - they make notes, make predictions, summarize, make connections, visualize, etc. We then read the first chapter of every novel out loud together and practiced these strategies. I have found that this helps them to monitor their own reading and comprehension, which is of use not only in reading novels for English class, but for reading general textbooks for their other classes. It has also increased class discussion of texts, as students have a set of "guidelines" to use when examining a piece of literature. We too often assume that older students know what to look for when reading, but the fact is, many of them don't know the best strategies for reading for understanding. |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 28 Feb 2006 03:48 PM |
| Thank you for sharing what is working in your classroom. You are teaching many excellent strategies for improving comprehension. |
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chrisfar
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| Joined: 25 Oct 2006 |
| Total Posts: 1 |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 25 Oct 2006 07:32 PM |
The problem we have is that all this analysis does not generate results. You need to find something that is a measurable and quantifiable picture of a childs actual progress. If you want to get results there needs to be accountability. There is a program called Cyberslate that does this quite effectively. It would hold both the school system and the parent responsible for measured growth. If you truly want a revolution you need to have hard work that can be charted and measured for progress. Sadly most school systems want to be accountable for nothing, and many parents take little role in their childs education. The revolution you speak of starts with something no one will take on, Accountability for the failure of our schools. Make a difference for your kids, buy Cyberslate, and work with them every day, 7 days a week.
Chris an average parent with a LD child who works hard to make progress. |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 01 Jan 2007 06:14 PM |
| In as much as I agree with your statement... I do not have the financial resources to afford the Cyberslate program. I am a single mom with 2 children, ages 9 and 11 diagnosed ADHD/LD. Is there anyone who knows of a comparable program without a steep registration and monthly fees? |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 03 Jan 2007 02:09 PM |
| I have two students who have difficulty reading. I discover that if we read together then they are able to understand what they read. By reading aloud we can maintain mental allertness. |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 19 Jan 2007 08:20 AM |
This was the best explanation of reading disabilities I have ever read. My daughter is one of the 15% in the sematically disabled group. She actually has a hearing impairment, but because she has been very well trained in phonetics for speech purposes - reading aloud is not an issue. Comprehension of what she reads is late in being diagnosed with comprehension issues and a big issue in 3rd grade where there is a shift from learning to read to reading to learn.
One tool we found useful to enhance the comprehension is intense vocabulary development....in context activities, sentence structure and parts of speech development (similar to the old system of sentence diagramming) and tape recorded readings. One particular tape recorded reading system that is geared specifically toward sematically challenged readers is the Marie Carbo series. She is a former school teacher who found that most children with comprehension issues need slower auditory readings in order to have time to process and connect the words to their meanings. She still, believe it or not, reads with plenty of inflection, emotion, etc., just at a slower rate. These tapes have helped greatly!
Another program that is helping with focus and concentration is "Fast ForWord". This is not a program families can generally afford personally, but is an excellant program (when used correctly) for schools to use to enhance skills in all academic areas for students with comprehension issues.....which affect more than just reading....comphrension disabilities are often the root of math difficulties, and science/social studies, because these subject areas have their own "language" - vocbabulary and learning processes that are critical to understanding how to use the content. If you don't understand the underlying vocabulary and processes - you will not be able to effectively grasp the content of these subjects. Fast ForWord is something perhaps you could advocate for your school to implement.
Thanks again for the great explanation....hope some of these reflections help!
Rebekah T. |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 06 Feb 2007 01:42 PM |
V-
Have you also tried using audio books for when the student isn't working directly with you? I have found this helpful.
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jdwan
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| Joined: 06 Mar 2007 |
| Total Posts: 1 |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 06 Mar 2007 11:18 AM |
| I agree with you that we often as educators assume our students have stronger reading and decoding skills than they truly possess. I also frequently read aloud with my students with guided questions that I provide my students with. I am a stickler for modeling good notetaking skills with my students - notetaking in their texts. This is quite helpful for them when taking open book tests. |
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bbingham
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| Joined: 06 Mar 2007 |
| Total Posts: 1 |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 06 Mar 2007 11:18 AM |
| I couldn't agree more. The program has clearly broadened my understanding, particularly with regard to teaching to each child or learning levels, and lead to solutions that have been difficult to find before. |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 06 Mar 2007 11:49 AM |
| My strategy is less is more. As a Straegies teacher I find that when teachers drop the volume of reading required, and reinforce it with oral reading in class, the students are less overwhelmed and willing to stay in the game. Chapters and chapters of assigned nightly reading leads kids to give up altogether. I think many teachers have no idea how slowly some kids actually read. |
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rosane
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| Joined: 11 Sep 2007 |
| Total Posts: 1 |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 11 Sep 2007 10:33 AM |
| Has anyone heard of vision therapy? Although not directly related to reading strategies, it was suggested for my son to take it. I am a little skeptical about it. Anyone can tell me a good/bad experience and even if it is a legitimate field? |
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Re: Reading Strategies
Posted: 28 Sep 2007 02:31 PM |
| My 11 yr old daughter has just completed 4 months of vision therapy. Yes it is legitimate. We found out through vision therapy that she had difficulties "tracking" while she read and also had "accomodation" problems. Her left eye would drift toward the center after awhile reading which would cause her vision to become blurred. This resulted in visual fatigue. It all clicked for me when I realized this must be why she would pick books lower than her reading level- the print was bigger and easier for her to follow. It does require you to practice the skills introduced at therapy in order to see improvement. I have not been able to observe/measure just yet how mastering these skills has improved her reading skills, but know that we have alleviated mechanical problems so that she has a better chance of processing the visual input. |
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