Reading is taught, not caught. This phrase has been in circulation for decades, but it bears repeating with each new generation of parents, and it has never been more fully supported by compelling evidence. Learning to read is a complex, unnatural, years-long odyssey, and parents should bear no illusions that their kids will pick it up merely by watching other people read or being surrounded by books. Kids literacy is more complicated than that. Parents…
When teachers familiarize themselves with students’ reading lives and histories, they may uncover reading trauma — moments when students had a negative experience with a peer, teacher or librarian that turned them off of reading. Students with reading trauma associate reading with painful feelings of shame or stress and doubt their reading abilities, said Boston-based educator Kimberly Parker in a recent webinar organized by the Texas A&M Collaborative for Teacher Education. Take reading logs, for…
In 2019, a grassroots campaign led by parents succeeded in passing a wave of dyslexia treatment legislation. Many states mandated hallmarks of the Orton-Gillingham method, specifically calling for “multisensory” instruction, to help students with dyslexia read and write better.* In New York, the city spends upwards of $300 million a year in taxpayer funds on private school tuition for children with disabilities. Much of it goes to pay for private schools that specialize in the…
Children’s poetry books are a rich way for kids to enjoy limericks, poetic stanzas, tongue twisters, and rhymes. Through poetry, they learn the joy of play on words, puns, and metaphors all while using their imaginations. Here are some fantastic, highly rated poetry books for children. Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems by Paul B. Janeczko – This book is bright and cheerful. Plus, it offers 36 short poems to coincide with the…
Before a child can learn to read, they need to have a good, well-rounded understanding of basic words and what they mean, and while that may sound a bit overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. There are very easy ways that you can build a preschooler’s vocabulary and introduce early reading concepts. In fact, you probably do some of these vocabulary tips already without even noticing it. From reading aloud to your preschooler to simply…
As the year comes to a close, let’s take a look back at some of the best children’s books of 2020. Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea by Meena Harris (picture book) One day, Kamala and Maya had an idea. A big idea: they would turn their empty apartment courtyard into a playground! This is the uplifting tale of how the author’s aunt and mother first learned to persevere in the face of disappointment and turned…
Since the large bulk of schoolwork involves reading and writing, students who are learning with dyslexia often experience anxiety around schooling, especially when called on to read aloud or when they are expected to read or write large amounts of material. Many report feeling low self-esteem and believing that they are unintelligent or will never have the skills to succeed. Even when the proper diagnosis is handed down and intervention works, school life continues to…
For many families, reading is a pleasurable activity when kids are young, but then as kids get older, they start to hate reading. Parents are more aware than ever that strong reading skills are fundamental to academic success. Teachers also feel pressure to make sure students are reading on or above grade level, often with their evaluations and salaries hanging in the balance. On top of it all, kids may be quick to claim they…
Recent studies have shown that there are several benefits to being bilingual. Learning a second language could give your child a serious advantage in conceptual thinking. It may even broaden their perspectives and understanding of the world. Improving The Executive Function According to an article put out by Psychology Today, one of the several benefits to being bilingual is it improves brain activity functions. The executive function, for example, which is the control system of…
I love listening to audiobooks, but sometimes my enthusiasm for them is met with comments such as “That’s not really reading, is it?” or “That’s cheating.” Listening to books is certainly different from reading books, but is it cheating? Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? I suppose the answer to that question must come from one’s own definition of reading. If reading is understanding the content of the story or the theme, then audiobooks…
