Don Peek: Reading To, Reading With, Reading Independently

This post is authored by Don Peek, a former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. To learn more, or to subscribe to the School Funding Center Grant Database, go to schoolfundingcenter.

Reading To, Reading With, Reading Independently

Last time I discussed how important it is for all teachers to teach their students to read.  Reading is the most important skill we can teach our students, disabled or not, and it opens many, many doors to them.

Almost all students like their teachers to read to them.  I know I’ll never forget my 4^th grade teacher, Mrs. Nickerson, who read a few pages of Pippi Longstocking to us each day after recess.  The whole class enjoyed it.  

Reading to students is good because even if some of your students have poor reading vocabularies, they have much higher listening vocabularies and can piece together the story quite well even if they don’t know some of the words and could not possibly read the book independently.  Where we fail quite often is letting students off the hook by not providing them with a copy of the book we are reading so they can follow along.

When they are required to follow along in their own copies of the book you are reading, they turn listening vocabulary into sight vocabulary.  I like to use the word Sioux as an example.  You are reading a book about this great American Indian tribe.  You read the word Sioux many times to your students, but they do not see it for themselves.  When they go to the library and get a book about American Indians and come to the word Sioux, they will not recognize it.  They will not know how to pronounce it or know what it means.  Even if they have good phonetic skills, they won’t be able to work the word out.  If your students had been looking at the word each time you read it, they would know the word and recognize it when it appeared in their own library books.

During the read to of multi-chapter books students can add dozens and dozens of words to their sight vocabularies simply by seeing the words as you read them and fitting them into the context of the story.  Yes, it is still good to read to students even if they don’t have a copy of the book as you read, but it is much better and more productive when you have them follow along in books of their own.

Students also pick up sight vocabulary if you let them read to you.  When they miss words, you correct them and have the students repeat the words so they can remember them the next time they come up in their reading.  Don’t interrupt and correct students too much.  It can be frustrating for the student and defeat the purpose of the exercise.  If you have to correct or give hints on every second or third word, the book is probably too difficult for the reader.  Get another book at a lower level.  Also, if you have to correct or help the reader on many of the words, skip the corrections on the words that don’t make a difference to the meaning of the story.  The read with experience should be helpful but also enjoyable to the student.

Reading with a student can be very tiring to a weak reader.  You may want to swap out reading every other paragraph or page.  This allows the student to rest and allows you to provide a model of good, fluent reading.  Also, discuss the story as you go.  Make sure the student is not just calling words but has an understanding of the text.  If the student stumbles through the reading and cannot tell you what is happening in the story, the material is likely too difficult.

Finally, the best practice students can get once they build a vocabulary of a few hundred words is independent reading in books at appropriate levels.  The level of the book is the key.  If their book is too easy, they will not be introduced to enough new vocabulary words, and their reading levels cannot grow.  If the book is too difficult, they are encountering too many words that they don’t know, and they are unable to comprehend what they are reading.  Students who know 80-90% of the words in a book and have good phonetic and contextual skills will quickly raise their reading levels as they practice, practice, practice reading independently.

I taught some students in the 8^th grade who had 2^nd grade reading levels.  There are no shortcuts.  You must read to and with students using books at the appropriate levels, and you must provide students with an abundance of books at appropriate levels that they can enjoy and read independently.   This is true for non-disabled students, learning-disabled students, dyslexic students --- all students.

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Grant Info:

Grant Name:  IWP Foundation Educational Grants

Funded by:  Innovating Worthy Projects Foundation

Description:  Giving on a national basis; giving internationally if agency is recognized by the United Nations to provide support primarily for the education, service, and care of disabled and special needs children, and pre-school programs. No grants to individuals.

Program Areas:  Community Involvement/Volunteerism, Early Childhood, General Education, Math, Reading, Science/Environmental, Social Studies

Recipients:  Public School, Private School, Higher Education, Other

Proposal Deadline:  8/31/2012

Average Amount:  $1,000.00 - $14,000.00

Telephone:  305-861-5352

Email:  [email protected]

Website:  http://www.iwpf.org/

Availability:  All States

Don Peek: Reading - The Most Important Skill

This post is authored by Don Peek, a former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. To learn more, or to subscribe to the School Funding Center Grant Database, go to schoolfundingcenter.

Reading – The Most Important Skill

In my last post I discussed the merits of a skills-based curriculum.  I firmly believe in that concept, especially for students with disabilities.  Out of the many possible skills that we teach children in school, I don’t believe any is as important as reading.  When children master the skill of reading, the world truly opens up for them.

That is especially true today with high-speed Internet available to almost everyone.  Once a person learns to read and comprehend what he/she reads, all of that information in books and on the Internet, every idea or concept ever imagined becomes accessible.  That wasn’t true just 25 years ago.  Our world has truly changed.

Only a very small percentage of our students lack the mental capacity to learn to read well.  Other students may struggle, battle with dyslexia, or have other difficulties, but in the end, if we concentrate on teaching them this one very important skill, they can master reading and change their lives forever.

I taught remedial reading myself at the middle school level, and my wife taught 1^st graders to read for 34 years before she retired.  I can’t say it’s an easy task, but it is worth every bit of the time and effort you put into it.  Some students can’t hear the vowel sounds properly.  Some students aren’t seeing the same symbols on the page that you see.  But the key to reading well that so many educators ignore is that once students have obtained even the most basic reading skills, the way for them to improve is by practicing their reading. 

Worksheets may be helpful for students struggling with blends, vowel sounds, prefixes, suffixes, or compound words, but in the end, if a child doesn’t practice reading in a real book written by a real author, those minor skills they pick up on worksheets are not going to stick.

When I was a principal in Northeast Texas, we moved our reading scores from less than 50% passing the state reading test to more than 90% passing the state reading test in two years.  Every teacher in that middle school became a reading teacher.  Students practiced independent reading an hour each day (broken down into two 30-minutes segments) in library books appropriate to their own individual reading levels.

Yes, we used Accelerated Reader (a commercial product from Renaissance Learning that helps educators monitor independent reading) to help monitor and motivate our students.  I won’t apologize for that for one main reason.  It worked.  It worked for us, and it worked for our students.  When we first started our program, our students were reading an average of two grade levels below the national norm.  After two years, they were reading on grade level.

Their grades went up in all subjects.  Why not?  They could now read and understand their textbooks in science and social studies.  Many of our learning disabled students were dismissed from our special education program.  Even if they had really had a legitimate reading disability when they started our program (such as dyslexia), they were able to overcome it by learning to recognize the reading symbols they were seeing and practicing their reading an hour each day at the appropriate level for them.

Next time I will discuss our balance of reading to students, reading with them, and having them read independently.

 In this blog, I just want you to know that if you were forced to teach only one skill to your students, disabled or not, that skill should be reading.  No other single skill can have the impact on their lives that reading does.  Make sure your students can read at the highest possible level, and you can change their lives forever.

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Grant Info:

Grant Name:  Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring

Funded by:  National Science Foundation

Description:  The PAESMEM Program seeks to identify outstanding mentoring efforts that enhance the participation of groups (i.e., women, minorities, and persons with disabilities) that are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The awardees serve as leaders in the national effort to develop fully the Nation's human resources in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This program provides educational opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, k-12 educators.

Program Areas:  Math, Science/Environmental, Technology, Disabilities

Recipients:  Public School, Privates School, Higher Education

Proposal Deadline:  6/6/2012

Average Amount:  $10,000.00 - $100,000.00

Contact Person:  Richard A. Alo

Email:  [email protected]

Telephone:  (703) 292-4634

Website:  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5473&org=NSF

Availability:  All States

Don Peek - Is Your Tool Belt Missing a Few Items?

This post is authored by Don Peek, a former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. To learn more, or to subscribe to the School Funding Center Grant Database, go to schoolfundingcenter.

Is Your Tool Belt Missing a Few Items?

I don’t know how handy you happen to be around the house.  I’m not exactly a master carpenter myself.  I do like to fix things when I can.  One lesson that I’ve learned repeatedly over the years is this:  You have to have the right tools to do a job properly.

And it’s not that you just need a screwdriver.   You need the right size and type of screwdriver for the particular screw you’re using.  You can use a manual screwdriver, but sometimes it takes as much as 10 times as long as it would with an electric one.  Putting up curtains can be a real chore.  If you have the right tools, the job is so much easier.

I’m not a professional carpenter.  Can you imagine the number of specialized tools real carpenters need to do their best work?

Now, let’s go to the classroom.  You’re not working in wood.  You’re working with the hearts, minds, and hands of students with learning disabilities and physical disabilities.  Having the right tools is absolutely essential.  A concept that might take days to grasp can sometimes be grasped in minutes if you’re using the right materials.

Let’s take reading.  You’re teaching an LD reading class with 12 students.  Only 5 of those students are on the same level.  You may need books on 7 different levels.  Some students may require large-print books.  One needs an audio book.

 You may be teaching one 4^th grade LD reading class, but essentially you need the right tools for 7 different jobs.  Do you have the tools you need to teach your students the skills they need?

Since I’ve started writing this blog, I’ve spent some time studying the various types of materials and tools available to special education teachers.  I’d have to say, I’m amazed.  Proper tools are available to teach almost any skill at any level these days.

I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to write this blog for Achievement-Products.com.  I’m even more pleased when I look through their offerings and see essentially every tool, every type of material, every piece of equipment you might need in your special education classroom.

Does your budget allow you to purchase all the tools you need for your classroom?

I know budgets are getting cut right and left.  It may even get worse before it gets better.  That’s why I am also pleased to include a grant opportunity each time I write this blog.  Some will apply to your school and your situation.  Others won’t.  You should always take a look at the grant, however, to see if your situation is a fit.

Getting the exact tools you need to do your best job with every student is essential.  I hope you let this blog, the grant postings, and Achievement-Products.com help you to get those necessary tools.  They won’t make you a better teacher, but they will certainly make you a more efficient one.

Grant Info:

Grant Name:  Let’s ALL Play

Funded By:  National Inclusion Project

Description:  Let’s ALL Play brings an inclusive recreational experience to children with disabilities. Through training, staffing, and scholarships, Let’s ALL Play gives children with disabilities the same experience as those without. Children with disabilities and their peers who are typically developing come together to participate in recreational activities such as swimming, arts and crafts, community service, physical fitness and more.   

Program Areas:  Disabilities, Special Education

Recipients:  Public School, Private School, Higher Education, Other

Proposal Deadline:  9/15/12

Email:  [email protected]

Website:  http://www.inclusionproject.org/level_2.php?id=3

Availability:  All States

Julie Fraser - The Water Cooler

I'm Julie Fraser the senior buyer for Achievement Products and I watched the Super Bowl last weekend, along with the millions of others who tuned in. Though I had no particular allegiance to either of the teams playing, the game was certain to be a big topic of conversation over the next few days and I didn’t want to feel left out. Even at an age where I should know better, I want to fit in around the water cooler!

The desire to fit in is part of us at any age, but of course it is felt most strongly by teenagers. Over the past couple of years I have participated at conferences and expos focused on children with special needs, and I continually heard from the therapists and special education teachers of teens with special needs that, while those teens benefit from the same type of help and support directed to younger children, it is vital to offer this help and support in a way that recognizes the maturing interests and expanding horizons of the teens placed in their care.  And at Achievement Products, we took that message to heart.

We reviewed our catalog’s content with a number of therapists who helped us identify products ideally suited to support teens in the following areas:

Core Strength - products that stimulate a teen’s natural motivation to move, while strengthening limb coordination, balance, judgment, and visual perception skills.

Life Skills & Socialization - products that assist with management of everyday life skills.

Academics - adaptive products to support classroom performance.

Art & Creativity - items that encourage creative experiences for self-expression and collaborative

socialization.

Self-Regulation - options to engage in self-regulating behavior in a socially accepted manner.

Teen Cave - options for teens to individualize their sensory environment, to provide a space uniquely theirs to relax in and un-wind.

And we have had a wonderful response, particularly to items such as the weighted Denim OTvest™ (AP5763, AP5764, AP5765); Chewnoodles™ (AP75318, AP11002, AP11003, AP11004); High Back Beanbag Sofa (AP92372, AP923730); Foam Fountain™ (AP1155); and Short Reach Slant Board (AP429).

We invite you to take a look at our entire teen collection, and we want to hear from you at this ‘Water Cooler’ that is our blog site!  Please share what resources, services or products have helped the teens in your care to succeed as they grow, mature, and expand their horizons.