Enrichment Teaching Archives

Motivation for Students to Read and Write

July 30, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Motivation, interest, and attitude are three factors that influence a student’s success and engagement in reading and writing. Understanding student’s interests allows a teacher to provide text and instruction that is more authentic, which may create intrinsic motivation for the student’s reading and writing. Students who are interested in text are more motivated to read for enjoyment or to gain personal knowledge, this intrinsic motivation helps to create positive attitudes towards reading and writing that allow the reader to build new strategies and skills for text comprehension.

There are many ways that teachers, tutors, and parents can learn what does, and what will motivate their student/child to read and write. One of those ways is by administering a quick, fun, and student-based assessment, that requires the child to identify and answer reading and non-reading questions about their interests.

A helpful tool to assess a student’s interest and motivation is the Interest and Wide Reading Inventory. This is an informal way to get to know a student on a personal level. There is a range of open response questions that are interest based, followed by a T-Chart that asks a student to check off how much they like/dislike reading different types of text. Another useful assessment is the Attitude and Metacognitive Survey. This survey is an informal assessment with 9 open response questions that gauge a student’s awareness of their own reading habits and attitude towards reading. The results that this survey provides are especially helpful in assessing a student’s understanding of their own reading habits.

Both of these assessments are tools that offer a view into the reading and writing part of a student’s brain, and provide information about a student’s interests and types of text will be most enjoyable for him/her to read. Using this information, educators and parents are afforded the opportunity to use materials, and create instruction and that will be extrinsically and intrinsically motivating for a student.

By Jessi Himmelsbach, Reading Specialist

Six Ways to Start Writing

July 28, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

I teach a required copywriting course at the Fashion Institute of Technology, so my classroom is filled with nineteen-year-olds who are there because they have to be. The first day of the semester, I go around the room and have them talk about themselves, including their feelings about writing. Approximately 75% tell me they don’t think they can write well. They say things like “I’m not a good writer,” or “I don’t know where to begin when I have to write something.”

It’s true, some young people do have an innate sense of how to write and a talent for creating copy that’s interesting and really flows. But for those who don’t have that particular talent hardwired into their DNA, I tell them a secret that’s helped me through the years: “Just start writing! Put down a few words and see where they lead you.”

While I believe that writing is an art – I also believe it can be taught and acquired through practice, patience, and a good instructor. Plus the following basic guidelines that will help students write more clearly:

1. Outline what you need to say.

You can’t write clearly until, before you begin, you know where you’ll stop. Do your outline in a way you’re most comfortable with: hand-written, typed on the computer, or simply jotted down on 3” x 5” cards. Write down the points you need to make, and arrange them in a logical, understandable sequence.

2. Start where your readers are.

Try to figure out how much they know about the subject. But always remember not to write to a higher level than your readers. And never write to a lower level – that can be insulting. Your main purpose is to explain something in an interesting way.

3. Don’t use jargon that’s specific to a particular profession or group.

Be careful not to use expressions or words only people with specific knowledge will know.

4. Use combinations of words that are easy to understand.

Sometimes less is more. Don’t over-complicate what you’re trying to say. If you’re not sure, read what you wrote out loud, putting yourself in the position of the reader. Did you give too much information? Not enough? Then take it from there.

5. Stick to the point

Your outline, which was more work in the beginning, now saves you time. Ask yourself if your copy relates to a point in your outline, and if it doesn’t, cut it!

6. Be as brief as possible

Editing and condensing almost always makes your writing tighter and easier to read. Avoid windy phrases, for example use “if” instead of “in the event of” or “now” instead of “at the present time.” And remember to look for passive verbs you can make active (“The class was led by Mr. Jones” could be rewritten as “Mr. Jones led the class”).

So if your child (or teen/young adult) is feeling overwhelmed by the task at hand, tell them to just start writing – even if it’s just a few words related to the material. Along with the above basic guidelines, it’s amazing how the rest will start to fall into place. Plus, a good thesaurus always comes in handy!

By Barry Gold, Private Tutor

How to Inspire Reading During the Summer Slide

July 9, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

By Judy Willis
Original Source: Edutopia
Originally posted June 8, 2011

As a parent, you know your children’s interests better than anyone else. This knowledge can become a powerful motivating force that inspires their reading during the summer slide that will inevitably hit.

Children are attracted to books, magazines, and other print materials that connect to their enjoyable experiences, such as superheroes, wild mustangs, science fiction, the ocean, space exploration, insects, people from other lands and times, and their favorite computer games or game heroes. This is where your knowledge of them comes in.
As your child reads more books in high-interest focus areas, the increased depth of the specialized knowledge that they acquire can help them stand out to their teachers and/or peers. Expertise in most areas is respected and can increase their self-image and confidence in taking on other challenges.

Here are six tips to help you push through the summer slide:

1. Low Pressure, High Quality

Provide casual opportunities for your children to come in contact with reading material about their interests. Keep a variety and rotation of books and magazines around the house related to their interests, and make others available to see which ones they might pick up on the way to acquiring new interests.

Powerful images, illustrations, and photos about high-interest topics in magazines such as National Geographic encourage most folks in at least glancing through the text. Curiosity is strong in children, and when not snuffed out by forced assignments with little choice about how they’ll learn, quality and compelling reading material can help lure them into connecting with the text.

2. Model Curiosity

If you read something you select because you know it is of high interest to your child, and if your enjoyment is authentic, let her hear you laugh or make spontaneous comments aloud “to yourself” as you read. By saying, “Wow, I never knew that,” you can start a conversation in which your child asks what you read. Don’t insist on telling her if she doesn’t ask. She’s more likely to inquire about your enthusiasm when you don’t say, “Here, you’ve got to listen to this.”

If she doesn’t inquire, try leaving the magazine open to the story when you leave the room. That is when she’s most likely to follow her curiosity and pick it up to see for herself what was so interesting to you.

3. Get Out of the House

Visit libraries, used and new bookstores, or online booksellers with your child to help reveal his interests and promote new ones. What captures his attention as he browses the library or bookstore shelves? If he enjoys books about certain topics or by specific authors in the past, ask the librarian for additional suggestions.
If he has a favorite book or author, go to an online bookseller that makes suggestions based on past purchases or designated preferences, and look for suggested books that are similar to his favorites.

4. Read Together

Follow your child’s leads with shared reading. Using a book she chooses, perhaps one above her independent reading level, take turns reading together. Have you child read one sentence, paragraph, or page, and then you read the next. If she doesn’t like having your jump in with help when stuck on an unfamiliar word, allow her to skim critical sections before reading. This will help her point to words where help is needed.

Alternatively, she might prefer to switch with you and have you read the challenging part so that she can read the next section. Any plan is fine as you keep in mind that the goal here is for her to enjoy the reading experiences with you and not participate in a corrective reading lesson.

5. Relax – Not Everything Is a Lesson

Letting your child’s reading errors go unchecked during the reading may be difficult for you, but the reward will be a child who likes to read. If you are still bothered by a few errors that he made in his oral reading, such that you remember the error after you’ve finished reading together (but don’t write these down while he reads–he will be on to you), you can work on it a little later.

Wait until you and your child are doing something else, or until designated homework or study time. Then you can slip in a reading tip and give cues to guide him in the concept he missed. For example, instead of drawing attention to the specific error, consider intervening if he confused the reading of the word “through” with the word “thorough” (a very common error even in mature readers).

6. Be Visual

You could play a version of “Pictionary” by drawing a sketch of, say, someone throwing a ball and then asking what the person in the sketch is doing. Your child says “throwing” a ball. Now ask her to pick which of the words you write that sounds like “throw”: is it “thorough” or “through”?

After she selects the correct one–which she will do since she gets two chances–ask how she can remember which of these two very similar looking words is which. She’ll enjoy the challenge and chance to be creative, especially if you do this on a little chalkboard, iPad, or smartphone.

Literacy Activities on the Streets of New York

July 8, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

New Yorkers, even our youngest children, are no strangers to long walks. With the luxury of having most basic necessities located within close proximity, we travel almost everywhere on foot. Teachers and parents may sometimes find themselves in the presence of a whining child recently weaned of the stroller. “Only three more blocks!” suddenly turns out to be an exhausting and never ending journey. Fortunately, the streets of New York City are a colorful and attractive print-rich environment. When taken advantage of, the streets provide a myriad of learning opportunities for the emergent reader.

Here are some fun literacy activities you can engage with your child to make your neighborhood walk a little less mundane:

Play the ‘I Spy’ Game

Point out things immediately available in the environment using descriptive words and invite your child to guess the object. This indirectly introduces the child to the use of adjectives and develops his/her observation skills.

“I spy, something with my little eye, something that is ___________, ___________, and has a ___________.”
Once the child becomes familiar with the game, encourage him/her to take over. Take turns with the ‘I spy’ game.
Try incorporating phonemic initial sounds as one of the clues. (e.g., I spy, something with my little eye, something that is yellow, has four wheels, and begins with the sound “b.”)

Take Advantage of Storefront Labels

Store signboards are usually attractive and printed in block letters, making the isolated few words predictable and easily recognizable. Most children will walk past the same stores in their neighborhood everyday and this provides great opportunity for repetition. Bring your child’s attention to words that exist repeatedly in the immediate environment.

For example, Starbucks Coffee Company is a New York City staple and is almost inevitably found at every street corner. Read the signboard, “Starbucks Coffee,” as you point your finger from left to right. Get even more personal as you invite your child to read the label from your coffee cup.
Provide variations of the same word in different settings. Have your child spot other stores with the word “coffee.” You can even count them together.
Break Starbucks down into “star” and “bucks” by covering the other section of the word with your hand. This is a great way to introduce the reading strategy of breaking longer words into smaller sections. Try this strategy with neighborhood favorites.

Make Grocery Shopping an Adventure

The neighborhood grocery store is often an enticing sight with its array of bright, colorful fruits and vegetables arranged neatly in rows.

Invite your child to name fruits and vegetables that they recognize. Confirm their observations by pointing at the accompanying labels as you read them out loud.
Talk about the shape, size, color, and even the origin of the produce. How does it feel in your hands? Is it ready to eat?
This is also a great time to introduce an unfamiliar fruit or vegetable. Read the label together and have the food item as part of dinner that night.

Have fun exploring!

Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.

STEAM Programs for Everyone

May 22, 2014 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

$STEAM Programs$ The media is always talking about STEM Programs–Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics–but why doesn’t anyone talk about STEAM Programs–Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics? In today’s world, where digital creativity and creative thought in general are intrinsic aspects of education and the learning process, it’s important to also focus on the Arts part of this acronym. Creativity helps kids think about what they’re learning in new ways, and can have positive effects on their later lives in the workplace and beyond. This helpful slideshow depicts how teachers and librarians can help focus kids and students on honing their creativity in topics that are not traditionally thought of as creative. This slideshow has suggestions for STEAM programs for students from preschool to high school, and highlights the importance of why creativity should be part of every lesson – not just lessons in the humanities.

STEAM in the Public Library: Programs & Services for Children from Amy Koester