Research has shown us that movement increases mathematical achievement and understanding. Eric Jensen's Teaching with the Brain in Mind discusses this phenomenon. Other researchers concur. (for example see here.) Lynne Kinney has lots of materials that integrate learning and movement, often with song. We know this has an impact. Suzy Koontz with Laura Gates-Lupton wrote Math and Movement Training Manual for Elementary Schools to demonstrate how this might look in a classroom. Koontz's business has a website with video samples, practice activities and shopping.
Koontz presents a highly readable and searchable set of activities designed to get kids moving and learning. In our current era of increasing obesity and decreasing physical activity and elevated level of concern about math performance, it makes sense to see what we can do to incorporate movement into learning. Koontz's ideas for skip counting could be adapted to other subjects as well. Getting students up and making Macarena motions as they chant a definition or fact helps get their brains oxygen for learning while increasing the number of neurons triggered during the learning. Further it gives those antsy kids in our rooms some legitimate movement so they can develop self control about their energy levels.
I would recommend this book as a topic of discussion in any elementary program. Asking grade level teams to develop an activity using these ideas and seeing how students respond would enable groups to implement a low cost and potentially high value measure to increase achievement. Older groups would need to be more creative in developing use activities, but students up and moving with their hands are not using their cell phones. It could help with focus for these older students as well.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Open a World of Possible- Read
I recently was asked to write a blurb about what reading means to me, perhaps discussing a favorite or pivotal book. That task was totally aligned with my current read, Open a World of Possible: Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading, edited by Lois Bridges. This book contains a collection of short essays- 1 to 3 pages- by a variety of people ranging from authors like Jon Scieszka and Pam Muñoz Ryan to poets like Kwame Alexander and Georgia Heard and to renowned people who have written and taught about teaching reading from Richard L. Arlington to Thomas Rasinski to Kelly Gallagher.
These authors talked about growing up. Some as English language learners and immigrants. Some as poor rural children or children of the inner city. Some as wealthy or middle class citizens. Many mentioned the importance of libraries and librarians to their love of reading. Others discussed the influence of families reading to them. Many mentioned encyclopedias- they had them, often at great hardship- and they read them. Some books were referenced repeatedly like To Kill a Mockingbird, Dr. Seuss and The Outsiders. Frequent allusions were made to Dick and Jane.
My concern around this book is that many of these things are threatened. Some politicians and citizens would argue that libraries are no longer useful- we should spend our money elsewhere. Electronic sources do not need a brick and mortar structure. How wrong they are. I have an eReader but still relish the feel of a book in my hands, in fact, I prefer it. Good Reads and Amazon may have book reviews to examine, but an expert in books otherwise known as a librarian will lead you to a book that might captivate a young reader's attention or help you efficiently wade through the vast collection to find the information you are looking for. Libraries also provide safe havens for youth who have no one home after school or who live in areas where safety might be a concern or who do not have access to internet or English literate adults in their world... Libraries are essential.
Encyclopedias. Growing up we had two sets. We referenced them for school assignments. When my mother required that we be able to share one thing we had learned at the dinner table each night there was a mad dash for the volumes before dinner. We even read them when we were bored, skimming through pages looking for something to catch our interest. Random information like Millard Fillmore's birthday- January 7, or the capital of Nepal- Kathmandu, or that a group of turkey vultures is called a murder were all shared. When you need to type what you are interested in learning about into a search engine- it is not the same. The browsing concept is missing. So too is the idea that my family sacrificed to buy this set so I need to use it mentality. You might not be able to learn everything about a topic from an encyclopedia, but you can learn that the topic exists. Organizational structures are not available for children to explore- alphabetical, similar types of entries had a pattern. Encyclopedias are not even printed any more. Such a loss. Ebay has an assortment available for those who do not remember these sets.
Classics. Classic children's books abound. Many of these books are still beloved favorites still found on our shelves long after the authors have died. Margaret Wise Brown, Dr. Seuss, Longfellow and Asimov all have permanent spots on shelves, even as they are joined by new friends like Pam Muñoz Ryan, Suzanne Collins. Some would say we should let the classics go and focus on new literature that touches children. All literature can touch people- that is what makes it a classic. We need to read like we are touched and changed by what we read. We need to teach that.
Dick and Jane. Often maligned characters that hundreds of thousands of children learned to read with. The uninspiring story lines and closely regulated vocabulary were companions of learning to read. Sight word reading has its limitations, but it did lead to some level of fluency. While the vast majority of people need phonics to learn to read, there does exist a small subset that will only read through sight words and sight words are essential for fluency. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run did enable most children to read. If only we coupled this instruction with captivating stories, intriguing nonfiction pieces and phonics we might have had a formula for greater love of reading. That said- most young people do not read beyond what is required of them by school. All of our pushing for nonfiction reads and rigor leave little motivation for leisure reading.
An interesting assignment might be to read a couple of examples to class and then ask them to write about reading. It would provide great insights into our children, what they enjoy and hate about reading. Such an assignment could help us understand our role in readicide or bibliophilia and give us an opportunity to alter that path. Charles R. Smith, Jr. put it lovingly in verse:
So many sights and sounds
that I can write down
of the live that I've lived
from the books that I found
filled with words
that planted the seed
of dreams for me
when I chose to read. (p. 179)
We need to make sure that we plant the seeds of dreams through words.
These authors talked about growing up. Some as English language learners and immigrants. Some as poor rural children or children of the inner city. Some as wealthy or middle class citizens. Many mentioned the importance of libraries and librarians to their love of reading. Others discussed the influence of families reading to them. Many mentioned encyclopedias- they had them, often at great hardship- and they read them. Some books were referenced repeatedly like To Kill a Mockingbird, Dr. Seuss and The Outsiders. Frequent allusions were made to Dick and Jane.
My concern around this book is that many of these things are threatened. Some politicians and citizens would argue that libraries are no longer useful- we should spend our money elsewhere. Electronic sources do not need a brick and mortar structure. How wrong they are. I have an eReader but still relish the feel of a book in my hands, in fact, I prefer it. Good Reads and Amazon may have book reviews to examine, but an expert in books otherwise known as a librarian will lead you to a book that might captivate a young reader's attention or help you efficiently wade through the vast collection to find the information you are looking for. Libraries also provide safe havens for youth who have no one home after school or who live in areas where safety might be a concern or who do not have access to internet or English literate adults in their world... Libraries are essential.
Encyclopedias. Growing up we had two sets. We referenced them for school assignments. When my mother required that we be able to share one thing we had learned at the dinner table each night there was a mad dash for the volumes before dinner. We even read them when we were bored, skimming through pages looking for something to catch our interest. Random information like Millard Fillmore's birthday- January 7, or the capital of Nepal- Kathmandu, or that a group of turkey vultures is called a murder were all shared. When you need to type what you are interested in learning about into a search engine- it is not the same. The browsing concept is missing. So too is the idea that my family sacrificed to buy this set so I need to use it mentality. You might not be able to learn everything about a topic from an encyclopedia, but you can learn that the topic exists. Organizational structures are not available for children to explore- alphabetical, similar types of entries had a pattern. Encyclopedias are not even printed any more. Such a loss. Ebay has an assortment available for those who do not remember these sets.
Classics. Classic children's books abound. Many of these books are still beloved favorites still found on our shelves long after the authors have died. Margaret Wise Brown, Dr. Seuss, Longfellow and Asimov all have permanent spots on shelves, even as they are joined by new friends like Pam Muñoz Ryan, Suzanne Collins. Some would say we should let the classics go and focus on new literature that touches children. All literature can touch people- that is what makes it a classic. We need to read like we are touched and changed by what we read. We need to teach that.
Dick and Jane. Often maligned characters that hundreds of thousands of children learned to read with. The uninspiring story lines and closely regulated vocabulary were companions of learning to read. Sight word reading has its limitations, but it did lead to some level of fluency. While the vast majority of people need phonics to learn to read, there does exist a small subset that will only read through sight words and sight words are essential for fluency. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run did enable most children to read. If only we coupled this instruction with captivating stories, intriguing nonfiction pieces and phonics we might have had a formula for greater love of reading. That said- most young people do not read beyond what is required of them by school. All of our pushing for nonfiction reads and rigor leave little motivation for leisure reading.
An interesting assignment might be to read a couple of examples to class and then ask them to write about reading. It would provide great insights into our children, what they enjoy and hate about reading. Such an assignment could help us understand our role in readicide or bibliophilia and give us an opportunity to alter that path. Charles R. Smith, Jr. put it lovingly in verse:
So many sights and sounds
that I can write down
of the live that I've lived
from the books that I found
filled with words
that planted the seed
of dreams for me
when I chose to read. (p. 179)
We need to make sure that we plant the seeds of dreams through words.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Disrupting dyslexia
One common myth about reading is that if kids don’t read fluently by the end of third grade, they never will. The truth is that these kids can learn to read, but the energy and time required to remediate poor reading skills goes up exponentially with every year. By the time they reach high school, it is hard to motivate these students who know they are so far behind their peers and have such uncomfortable memories related reading. It is also hard to find the time to do it.
New research is coming to the forefront to indicate how we can best intervene in dyslexia. Eleanor Chute’s brief article, "How Schools are Disrupting Dyslexia," found at https://www.districtadministration.com/article/how-schools-disrupting-dyslexia discusses some of this information. The key really is early intervention. Screening kids in kindergarten to assess their reading knowledge and skills and using that assessment to inform targeted instruction. Effective interventions at the kindergarten level might only need to be half an hour daily whereas at the high school level they might need to be two hours per day. Knowing the school system, finding a half hour for intervention is far easier than two hours, especially at the high school level. If you look at staffing needs, it is far more efficient to intervene at the elementary level. A kindergarten teacher working with daily half hour blocks might get 5 or 6 groups of five kids in a week and be able to provide effective, evidence based instruction that will get those kids to reading at level. A high school teacher working with two hour blocks might get three groups of 5 students to provide effective, evidence based instruction that will get those kids to reading at level. That is 25 or 30 students per staff member compared with 15.
Kindergarten screening should include assessments in language, phonological awareness, and rapid naming. While many kindergarteners are screened on these skills, their ability to name a few letters or write their name may be seen as a sign that they are not at risk. Also knowing if there is a family history of reading challenges is important since dyslexia does have a genetic component. For student who struggle with these screening tasks, interventions may mean the difference between learning to read effectively and years of special education and frustration with reading. Details about screenings may be found here.
Response to intervention, RTI, programs are able to provide some interventions at this level without access the special education system. In fact, they might actually prevent the need for special education in the future. If we embrace the information we have access to, screen our kids early, provide daily rigorous intervention in small groups, we might be able to increase the number of readers we have dramatically. That is good for all.
New research is coming to the forefront to indicate how we can best intervene in dyslexia. Eleanor Chute’s brief article, "How Schools are Disrupting Dyslexia," found at https://www.districtadministration.com/article/how-schools-disrupting-dyslexia discusses some of this information. The key really is early intervention. Screening kids in kindergarten to assess their reading knowledge and skills and using that assessment to inform targeted instruction. Effective interventions at the kindergarten level might only need to be half an hour daily whereas at the high school level they might need to be two hours per day. Knowing the school system, finding a half hour for intervention is far easier than two hours, especially at the high school level. If you look at staffing needs, it is far more efficient to intervene at the elementary level. A kindergarten teacher working with daily half hour blocks might get 5 or 6 groups of five kids in a week and be able to provide effective, evidence based instruction that will get those kids to reading at level. A high school teacher working with two hour blocks might get three groups of 5 students to provide effective, evidence based instruction that will get those kids to reading at level. That is 25 or 30 students per staff member compared with 15.
Kindergarten screening should include assessments in language, phonological awareness, and rapid naming. While many kindergarteners are screened on these skills, their ability to name a few letters or write their name may be seen as a sign that they are not at risk. Also knowing if there is a family history of reading challenges is important since dyslexia does have a genetic component. For student who struggle with these screening tasks, interventions may mean the difference between learning to read effectively and years of special education and frustration with reading. Details about screenings may be found here.
Response to intervention, RTI, programs are able to provide some interventions at this level without access the special education system. In fact, they might actually prevent the need for special education in the future. If we embrace the information we have access to, screen our kids early, provide daily rigorous intervention in small groups, we might be able to increase the number of readers we have dramatically. That is good for all.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
the Edge of the Sea
Over the past few centuries there have been some books that have greatly impacted America. Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Updikes' The Jungle, and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring have each sparked reform. A friend recently gave me The Edge of the Sea, one of Caron's earlier books. This book began its life as a guide to seashore life but morphed into something completely different. While my son has found many happy hours reading identification books and catalogs, this is not my forte so I was slightly concerned about the book. The book is unexpected for the genre.
Carson is a poet who writes in prose. Full of imagery and metaphors, I would love to use sections of this book with students to share how descriptive language can be used. It is a master text. She intertwines this description with geological history and moving depictions of the landscape. Carson shows how the animals are dependent upon the environment. In the 1950s she discusses climate change and how it altered habitats and organism ranges.
Carson's training in marine zoology is seen in every line as she details moving along the Atlantic coast. Not only does she showcase each specimen, she talks about life cycles and interdependencies. She brings this ever changing world to life. A read that not only fuels the mind but the soul as well.
Carson is a poet who writes in prose. Full of imagery and metaphors, I would love to use sections of this book with students to share how descriptive language can be used. It is a master text. She intertwines this description with geological history and moving depictions of the landscape. Carson shows how the animals are dependent upon the environment. In the 1950s she discusses climate change and how it altered habitats and organism ranges.
Carson's training in marine zoology is seen in every line as she details moving along the Atlantic coast. Not only does she showcase each specimen, she talks about life cycles and interdependencies. She brings this ever changing world to life. A read that not only fuels the mind but the soul as well.
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