Middle School Archives

Language Gap Study Reinforces Importance of Early Literacy

October 25, 2013 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

A recently published New York Times article, Language Gap Study Bolsters a Push for Pre-K, points to new research showing that the Achievement Gap starts even younger than previously thought– a language gap develops in children as young as 18 months of age. The research done by Anne Fernald, a psychologist at Stanford University, demonstrated notable differences in the abilities of children of that age to identify pictures of simple words, such as “dog” or “ball.” Children of wealthier families were able to identify these words much more quickly than children from low-income homes– and by age 2, the difference in number of words known had grown to 30%.

This research reinforces and provides further insight into the conclusions drawn by a similar study of almost 20 years ago, that found a marked difference in vocabulary in children of high vs. low-income households at age 3.

This research has important policy implications, and will hopefully lead to an increased emphasis on early childhood education and support for programs that promote early literacy. Literacy experts are quick to point out that the increased emphasis should not be on vocabulary and rote memorization; instead, “[they] emphasize the importance of natural conversations with children, asking questions while reading books, and helping children identify words during playtime.”

Both studies highlight the importance of parental conversations with children; parents play a critical role in helping children to build vocabulary, comprehension, and the ability to read and write.

So how can parents have a maximum impact on their children’s language development? Amy Shapiro and Laurie Gross have written a number of blog posts here on the MLS website about the best ways to build your child’s vocabulary, citing the earlier studies done on this topic.

In Building A Strong Vocabulary they provide tips for how to incorporate a rich and varied vocabulary into a child’s daily routine, from thinking out loud around a child, to reading aloud. Check out How Big Is Your Child’s Vocabulary? for more resources and information on the subject of early language development.

By Laurie Gross, Educational Consultant and Reading Specialist.

Finding the Missing Piece for Struggling Readers

October 9, 2013 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

What is Reading?

For fluent readers, it seems almost instinctual. Words are instantly recognized; stories come to life easily. But for those just learning how to read, it is a complex process that is anything but automatic.

The process of reading involves many visual and mental processes. In order to read and understand, students need a variety of different skills. These skills begin at the most basic level of associating letter symbols with sounds. Next, readers must recognize or decode whole words and understand the meaning of the words within a sentence. Readers must then string words together to understand a complete sentence within the larger context of a paragraph.

All of these processes occur at the same time and understanding can break down at any point in the process.

How can reading problems be addressed?

Students who struggle with reading often complain that they dislike it. Young readers often mask their difficulty with it by saying things like, “Reading is boring!” “This book is too easy!” “This is a baby book!”

The latest research about struggling readers, such as dyslexic students, states that these types of students need systematic, explicit instruction in order to build their sound and symbol recognition. Orton-Gillingham based approaches such as PAF are created to to help these students build vital, basic reading skills. Many explicit literacy programs such as these use simply illustrated or unillustrated texts so that students can fully attend to the print on the page, instead of relying on pictures for help. Programs like these can turn a student’s entire school experience around by helping them to build skills and confidence to tackle these decodable texts.

While explicit instruction helps students build confidence and skills, these students need powerful literacy experiences (such as read alouds) to supplement their instruction in order to build basic motivation to learn to read. Students need to learn that reading is a pleasurable and rewarding experience, and decodable texts are sometimes not enough to teach students this valuable lesson. These students also need to be exposed to literature that is more complex, advanced and in line with their personal interests in addition to working on decodable texts. Read alouds (at any age) help build fluency, comprehension the motivation to keep progressing. Book discussions about these read alouds help students think critically and develop an interest in reading.

Many factors can contribute to reading problems including a lack of background knowledge, phonics issues, trouble with comprehension, vision problems, processing delays, lack of vocabulary, or limited sight word vocabulary, among others. The more parents and educators understand the complexity of reading, the more adept we are at targeting our support to teach children to read.

Contact us to learn more and work with Orton-Gillingham trained Reading Specialists at My Learning Springboard to set up a plan to help your struggling reader.

By Joanna Brown, Reading Specialist

The Five Keys to Unlocking a Successful School Year

September 24, 2013 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Executive functioning skills are essential to succeed in life. Certain executive functioning skills, such as time management and organization, help individuals in their jobs, daily chores, and day to day responsibilities. Students with a variety of learning challenges, such as ADHD, learning disabilities, or autism spectrum disorders, may have deficits in such executive functioning skills, which can, in turn, adversely affect the school experience. Although these deficits may seem insurmountable at times, there are ways to tackle them to achieve success.

As a new school year is beginning, high school faculty and staff, parents, and students themselves, are searching for systems to put in place to develop such executive functioning skills and to maximize the classroom learning experience. To help, here are New Frontiers in Learning’s Five Keys to a Successful School Year:

Start Off (and Stay) Organized:

Having a system for keeping track of all notes, papers, grades, homework, assignment descriptions, etc. is an important start to any school year. Some students find it helpful to have separate notebooks and folders for each class. In this case, all books and folders can be color coded and labeled for easy identification. Another method of organization is to use a single binder with separate sections for each class. Each section should be labeled and should contain loose-leaf paper for note taking. All papers and handouts for the class should also be added to the section on a daily basis. Whichever method is chosen, be sure to figure out which one works specifically for the student early on and encourage them to follow it consistently throughout the year. Organizing all papers and notes daily allows students to be able to find class materials more easily.

Budget and Schedule Time:

We all face difficulties managing our time; therefore, students should set themselves up for success by using and maintaining a daily schedule. This schedule should include all class names, locations, and times, plus any other outside responsibilities that the student may have, such as work hours, sports practice, family obligations, etc. By maintaining a weekly schedule, the student can keep track of not only unchanged repeated responsibilities (i.e., class), but also any one-time obligations for each week (i.e., concert, special afterschool group study session, etc.). Further, following a daily and weekly schedule makes it much easier to see where the student can build in study and homework times, as well as study breaks. Once a schedule is made, students should be encouraged to stick to it! Having a planner that has both weekly and monthly sections allows the student to clearly see and review short and long term expectations.

Ask for Help

Many times, students with executive functioning deficits have a difficult time recognizing when they need help, as well as identifying who and/or where to turn to receive help. Students need to review the help-seeking process in the beginning of each school year: If something is confusing, if they don’t know how to start or structure a project or assignment, or if they have any other questions about class requirements, students should be reminded to ask for help! Students need to understand that asking for help will not make them look bad; rather, it will actually show their parents, teachers, and other professionals that they care about the class and want to be successful. Students should review the protocol in asking clarifying questions; some teachers use the beginning or end of the school day, while others encourage students to email them. Once students know what their individual teachers prefer, they should be encouraged to follow such systems as a resource to clear up any questions that may arise!

Write it All Down

Have you ever told yourself that you didn’t need to write something down because you would remember it, only to struggle to remember what that very thing was just minutes later? You’re not alone – it happens to everyone, especially students taking multiple classes with various responsibilities. To prevent students from forgetting key information in class, they should be encouraged to write everything down – even the things that they think they will remember later. Writing everything down can be difficult sometimes, thus an alternative for students could be to audio record their classes or to use some form of assistive technology, such as a Smart Pen.

Setting Reminders

Having a system in place to help remind students of important dates is essential. Sometimes teachers announce due dates infrequently during a course, or due dates for assignments and exams may be outlined far in advance and then not discussed again. In such cases, it may be the day of an exam or an assignment being due, and the student begins to panic because they are not prepared! To alleviate this, students need to learn to set reminders in their daily planner or on smart phones –students can set a timer to go off several times as the assignment or exam due date approaches. Utilizing reminders can also help students remember when to start studying or when to begin an assignment, preventing the anxiety associated with cramming or unpreparedness.

By Samantha Feinman, Program Director, and Casey Schmalacker, Coach, from New Frontiers in Learning

Top 10 Tips for Enhancing Language Development for Caregivers or Nannies

September 19, 2013 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

1. Follow the child’s lead.

Youngsters beginning to speak (around 12 months of age) tend to speak about what interests them, therefore, a key strategy that should guide caregiver language is to follow the child’s lead. In doing so, we are more likely to obtain a spontaneous imitation or utterance expansion from the child if we simply comment on that in which the child appears to be interested.

2. Ask fewer rather than more questions.

The natural flow or turn-taking that characterizes conversations between caregiver and child proceeds more easily when the caregiver asks fewer rather than more questions. In other words, the frequent or rapid firing of questions to a child typically disrupts or interrupts the child’s train of thought and disrupts the flow of back and forth conversation. Rather than frequent questioning of the child, the caregiver will be more successful when providing comments that follow the child’s interest and target the child’s particular topic or focus in play. For example, if the child is building a tower with blocks, the caregiver might say, “Wow that tower is very tall!”

3. Expand or enhance the child’s utterance.

Thus, rather than directing the child’s play and language by telling him what to play with and what to do, the caregiver will get the most bang for the buck, by expanding or enhancing the child’s utterance. For example, if the child is playing and says, “Wash baby!” The caregiver might say, “Oh, the baby needs a bath!”

4. Indirectly model correct forms using upbeat intonation patterns rather than directly correcting errors or incomplete formulations.

Rather than directly telling the child to repeat or “Say…” certain language formulations, indirectly model the correct formulation. Best practice advises us to provide the actions and simple comments in a more naturalistic manner, with a playful and perhaps upbeat intonation pattern. This will often be perceived by the typical toddler as an ‘invitation’ to imitate or practice the spoken form. Even when the child produces a language form that is incorrect or incomplete, the caregiver is advised not to make explicit corrections, but rather to indirectly model the correct formulation. Thus, if the child says, “Look! Two boot!” the caretaker should simply say, “Yes, two boots.”

5. Do not compare your child’s speech and language to his peers, siblings or other family members or friends.

Since children all develop at their own rate, it is not advised to compare one child to his siblings, cousins, or neighbors.

6. Have a professional speech-language evaluation if there are parental concerns about the rate or nature of your child’s speech and language development.

Since children progress according to a unique pattern, if there is concern about the rate or nature of the child’s language development, it is advisable to have a professional speech-language pathologist evaluate the child to determine if the child has progressed sufficiently and whether there is a need for continued monitoring of his or her language skills. If there are continued parental concerns about the child’s language development, and if there is a question about whether progress has been sufficient, the speech-language-pathologist will screen the child again after a specified time, to determine if he or she is making sufficient progress on his or her own. (Younger children need more frequent re-evaluations.)

7. The caretaker or nanny will be better equipped to facilitate the child’s language if there has been a consultation with a licensed SLP.

Once the caretaker has consulted with a certified speech-language pathologist, and has gained a better understanding of the child’s language capabilities, he or she will be better equipped to guide the child and facilitate his or her language. Thus, the caretaker will know whether to focus on vocabulary enhancement, syntax or sentence formulation, meanings in words and sentences, or the practical or pragmatic functions that language can serve.

8. Share books with the child in a playful way that models word and sentence meaning, as well as language use.

This is an exquisite way to enhance the child’s language abilities.

9. Caretakers or nannies can benefit greatly from sessions with a competent speech-language pathologist.

For children receiving speech and language enrichment from a certified speech-language pathologist, the youngsters will benefit enormously if the caretaker or nanny is present during language therapy sessions.

10. Follow the child’s lead in play.

This is an invaluable way to help enhance a child’s language. Most importantly, play and language are the foundations to literacy.

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

Economics and Fiction: An Unlikely Pair

September 9, 2013 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

$Econ and Fiction$ It’s cliché but true: a great teacher can change your life. In college, I majored in economics, a discipline which attracts me because it provides a rigorous quantitative framework that can be applied to examine any type of social or political problem. But on a whim in my junior year of college, I switched out of a mathematical economics class and into a class about King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Joan of Arc. The professor had an excellent reputation, and I’d always loved reading. At the time, I felt that equations were valuable, but on their own, they didn’t always spark my interest.

Suddenly my worldview changed: reading assorted tales of medieval adventure, I realized that literature tackles many of the same problems I’d always assumed that I needed an economics degree to examine, and that the ways books investigate these problems is vivid and imaginative in a way not always permitted by the strict rules of economic analysis. The mechanisms used by the books I was reading – language and narrative structures – are more communicative, more descriptive, and more seductive than numbers; they animated the economic and political principles at stake.

My economics research focused on trends in contemporary U.S. income inequality. A thousand years ago, tales of Robin Hood examined similar disparities between rich and poor; tales of Arthur and his knights explored concepts of democracy and tinkered with the idea of placing political power in the hands of the populace. Deep in the midst of feudalism, progressive taxation and democracy were impossibilities in England, yet there they were, staring at me in attractively heroic form. I was—and still am—hooked.

Reading literature forces me to re-examine my analytical assumptions as an economist; economics grounds my study of literature. But I might not have figured that out if I hadn’t taken a chance and switched into a class very different from the ones offered in my major. Most people encourage you to streamline your interests and focus so that you become efficient at one thing. Efficiency is important, but it also pays off to resist this process of narrowing down. Being able to think in multiple ways will allow you to come up with creative solutions that you might miss otherwise. And of course, it’s also more fun.

By Elias Leight, Private Tutor