Writing Archives

Reading Specialists

April 15, 2015 Leave a Comment

Do you have a child who is struggling with reading comprehension, decoding or fluency? Or perhaps your child is ready to accelerate reading or writing instruction? If so, you may be seeking a Reading Specialist, Learning Specialist, or skillful educator.

Remediation or Acceleration

At My Learning Springboard, we value the science of reading and an approach that considers the 5 pillars of a strong reading program to support your child’s reading and writing development. We especially believe that building strong foundational skills in preschool and the primary grades is a strategic investment that bolsters a child’s success as a lifelong learner. Because each student’s needs are different, our reading specialists and learning specialists are well versed in a variety of approaches, interventions, and programs so that we can tailor instruction to each student’s needs using evidence-based practice that maximizes engagement.

Our reading specialists and learning specialists include both elementary and secondary educators, special educators, and dyslexia interventionists with expertise in Orton-Gillingham based programs, including PAF (developed at Windward School), Wilson, and Boost. Other programs we regularly use include Judith Hochman’s Writing Revolution and Sounds in Motion.

Our reading specialists and faculty also provide enrichment teaching and accelerated instruction for students ready to take on more difficult reading and writing tasks. We begin instructional planning by gathering as much information as possible, which often includes conducting individualized assessments in order to determine a student’s decoding needs, developmental spelling stage, independent and instructional reading levels, and writing needs at the sentence and paragraph (or multi-paragraph) levels. This benchmarking helps our reading specialists or learning specialists to more effectively customize targeted reading and writing instruction in any or all of the following areas:

In our work to help students become confident readers and writers, our reading specialists, leadership team, and faculty also help parents to support their children’s reading and writing development at home.

Popular Programs and Approaches

A variety of reading and writing programs are used depending on the needs of a particular student. Similarly, students are matched to specific Reading Specialists based on the student’s needs and the Reading Specialist’s professional expertise. We value customizing the approach for each learner, thus our practices are informed by research, programs, materials and diagnostic tools that include but are not limited to:

Orton-Gillingham
The Science of Reading
Phyllis Bertin and Eileen Perlman, Preventing Academic Failure (PAF)
Dr. Judith C. Hochman, Teaching Basic Writing Skills
Frances Santore, Sounds in Motion
Patricia Cunningham, Making Words
Dr. Donald Bear, Literacy Development and Words Their Way
Dr. Jan Richardson, Guided Reading
Stephanie Harvey, Strategies That Work
Fountas & Pinnell, Guided Reading and Writing
Advancing Literacy, Teachers College, Columbia University

Writing Instruction Framework

Our writing instruction is also informed by the 6+1 Trait ® Writing Framework developed by Education Northwest.
These writing traits include:

Ideas
Organization
Voice
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
Conventions
Presentation (+1)

Please contact our office to discuss your family’s specific needs.

What Parents Need to Know: The Common Core

April 15, 2015 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

By Anne O’Brien
Original Source: Edutopia
Originally posted February 27, 2014

Educators know the important role that parents (and other family members and guardians) play in academic success. And when it comes to advocating for education policies that benefit all students, they know that parents are important allies. Here’s what parents need to know: the Common Core as a road to success and education.

So when it comes to one of the biggest education initiatives of our time, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Math and Literacy, it is concerning that educators are not doing more to build awareness of, and support for, the standards among parents and families. An August 2013 PDK/Gallup poll found that just 45 percent of public school parents had heard of the Common Core. And while awareness of the standards has likely risen in recent months as issues with their implementation have surfaced, the circumstances surrounding that increased awareness (for example, the drop in test scores in Common Core aligned assessments in New York last fall) could actually decrease support among parents.

To counteract the negative circumstances of implementation in many places, Common Core advocates need to work deliberately to gain the support of parents in the face of political backlash against the standards.

Raising Awareness

So what do you need to do to build parental awareness and support around the Common Core? In a recent interview, National PTA President Otha Thornton points out that:

It is important to identify the real cause of concern for the Common Core. Many parents are finding that their concerns are not actually related to the standards, but rather issues surrounding implementation (teacher training, aligning curriculum) and assessments (testing schedule, accountability, privacy).

Especially in areas that are experiencing pushback against the Common Core, this is an excellent starting point. Particularly when parents are getting much of their information from the popular press, which often lacks the nuanced analysis that is needed for its audience to sort through conflicting opinions and facts, knowing the issues in your community allows you to target messaging appropriately.

In general, Thornton says that the most important things that parents should know about the CCSS are that:

They are internationally benchmarked and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that students need to compete globally
With the transition to the Common Core comes a transition to new assessments that better measure if students are on track for college and career readiness — and while test scores may temporarily drop, educators expect the short-term decline to improve as teachers and students are better equipped to meet the new standards
More than 70 percent of teachers are enthusiastic about the implementation of the standards in their classrooms, believing they will hold students and teachers to higher expectations, improve students’ ability to think critically and use reasoning skills and provide nationwide consistency in a positive way

He also points out that it is important that parents know that the Common Core only sets expectations for what students must know to leave school prepared for college and careers — it is not an academic curriculum, and states, districts and teachers remain in control of curriculum and assessment decisions.

When it comes to student privacy, an enormous concern of parents and families, Thornton reminds us that the Common Core is not a mechanism for federal data collection — the federal government does not have access to the student-level data held in state databases, and federal law prohibits the reporting of aggregate data that could identify individual students.

Building Capacity

For implementation of the Common Core to be truly successful, parents and families must not only know about the CCSS, they must have the capacity to help students learn in accordance with the standards. The Common Core requires a number of shifts in the teaching and learning of English/language arts (for example, an increased emphasis on non-fiction reading and discussion of reading using evidence) and mathematics (for example, a focus on going deeper into fewer topics and applying learning to real-world situations). So to best support their child’s learning, parents need to be aware of what is being asked of their students and learn strategies to work with them at home.

There are a number of resources available to help increase general awareness and build capacity to support learning under the Common Core among parents, including:

Parents’ Guide to Student Success detailed grade-by-grade information from the National PTA to help parents understand the importance of academic standards; what students should be able to know and do at the end of each grade K-8 (plus separate overviews for high school math and high school English based on the CCSS; and how they can support their child’s learning at home
Common Core State Standards Assessment and Accountability Guides, another National PTA resource, developed for every state that has adopted the Common Core State Standards and including state-specific information about their assessment consortium, the testing timeline, sample test questions, impacts on students, new accountability systems and ways for parents to get involved and support their child’s learning at home
Spotlight on the Common Core State Standards: What Do Parents Need to Know?, part of Northwest Education’s series of documents to keep stakeholders informed about the Common Core, featuring basic information about the standards as well as samples of how students might learn under them
Sample Parent Letters on selected mathematics topics for grades K-8, prepared by the AFT, to help parents better understand some of the new language in the CCSS and identify strategies they may see their children use on their journey to achieving under the Common Core

Additional articles and resources can be found in the National School Public Relations Association’s Common Core Communications Network, which includes a section on How Parents Can Help Their Kids (some resources are available only to NSPRA members, but many are available to the general public).

Again, the success of the Common Core depends in large part on parent and family understanding and support of it. Educators must address their concerns and provide the opportunity to help them help their children succeed, which is, after all, the ultimate goal of the standards.

Teaching Confidence to Kids

April 14, 2015 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Where does confidence come from?

Some people would say it’s a quality some people have inherently, while others think it can be learned. Despite controversy of its origin, most agree that confidence is a positive quality that helps young people and adults attack daily tasks with less anxiety, inspire others, and feel more comfortable in one’s own skin.

There’s no solid answer to where confidence comes from (the same lack of a definitive answer applies to most questions involving human beings), but I can share some observations about false confidence and true confidence.

Most of my students have been told their entire lives how smart they are and how they can accomplish anything because of their pure potential. A great aspect of this type of confidence is that young people attack tests and homework assignments without being intimidated because they are comfortable in their abilities. They’re smart people, their parents and teachers told them so.

However, when these students reach middle school and high school their confidence can falter. This is when classes get more difficult.

This is when young people need to cultivate a new form of confidence through experience and hard work.

It’s the old question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
A chicken had to lay the egg, right? But, the first chicken hatched from an egg too.
Which came first?

In America we believe that confidence comes first and performance logically follows. If a student believes they can succeed, they will. And, they do…for a while.

In other countries, students are treated differently. They are informed in their early years of school how difficult their lives will be if they don’t get into the best schools. The proof is in the performance, and you can’t be perceived as a great student unless you can get good grades and test scores.

For us, confidence comes first, for them confidence comes after years of hard work.
Both systems have consequences.

I’ve seen so many kids attack the SAT again and again who are astounded to see that they keep earning the same scores. They’ve been told they are smart their entire lives and lower scores confront their beliefs and erode their confidence. Many of my students (and myself at that age) thought that if they went at it with the most enthusiasm and positive thoughts, the test scores would soar. They didn’t.

The other side of this spectrum is a collection of sad stories of children and young adults in other countries that fail to get into the best schools and punish themselves because they believe they are not a person of value.

I don’t think either model is ideal and for my students and your children.

There is a third alternative to build the most confidence and achieve the most success possible.

Early on kids need to be encouraged. They should be told that they are intelligent and capable so they can experience their schooling with enthusiasm and joy. Learning is fun for them because they are smart and good at it—they’ve been told this repeatedly and…it must be true.

Later in life, confidence needs to evolve from something that comes from the outside to something that’s born from deep within. Instead of being told by others they will succeed, students need to know that they will succeed because of their hard work.

With my younger students, I heap on as much praise as they can stand and keep pointing out all of the things they do correctly. Enthusiasm for learning is key at all levels of school and it needs to be a part of their lives early on.

Later, especially with High School students, I talk about earning confidence

When I do test prep for the SAT/ACT, I recommend students take practice tests and that they do sections for homework. After a few months of study, I point out how they can feel confident and prepared because of how much they’ve studied the test and how well they have done every time.

While it’s still a good idea to praise your kids on their abilities, it is especially important to cultivate in later years examples of how they can feel confident in themselves due to the amount they studied and their amount of practice.

Boys in particular like sports analogies—for example:

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team and forced to play on the junior varsity team at Laney High for his freshman year. Instead of being angry, he decided to improve himself. In addition to regular practice, he threw 100 free-throws and 100 3-point shots every day. He put in the time and got the results. He earned his confidence (and developed skills) and became the best basketball player in the world.

I find it kind of funny that most kids have no problem accepting that in order to be the best at a sport one needs extra practice; however, they have a very hard time accepting the idea that they need to study.

Any student can get any score on any test if they put in the practice over time. I’ve tutored some “Michael Jordans” of the SAT world and they feel confident because they know they demanded more of themselves than anyone else would expect.

They feel good and they are confident because they did the work and they believed. They earned it, and they got the rewards.

Encourage your kids to feel good about themselves early on, but later push them to earn their confidence through hard work. Theirs will be a solid sense of self-worth built up inside over the years.

Practice makes it all happen. Go out there and earn that confidence.

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

The Best Homework Support: Parent Edition

April 13, 2015 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Just as homework routines may be new for students in lower grades, the process may be new for parents, as well! A vital thing to keep in mind is that homework should, for the most part, be an independent and child-focused activity. Homework is a valuable tool for teachers, as it gives us immediate feedback to children’s understanding and grasp of concepts introduced in school. To that degree, it is important that parents avoid the urge to have children fix any mistakes at home. Those mistakes can greatly inform teachers as to what needs to be reinforced in the classroom.

So what can you do to support your child in this at-home experience? Again, helping students in setting up stable and regular routines cannot be overstated. While students should have a large part in establishing these daily routines, they will require parents’ support and guidance in maintaining them, especially at the beginning. Additionally, there are some guiding questions that parents can ask to focus or guide children in the process:

What did you learn in (this subject) today in school?
How did the teacher explain this to you today?
Can you explain what you’re doing to me?
Re-read the directions, and let’s underline the important parts.
Does this show your best work?
Check it over to make sure you didn’t make careless mistakes.

These questions involve parents in the homework process, while still keeping it child-centered. If a child really struggles with an assignment, it is important to note and provide that feedback to the teacher, as well.

While homework is a wonderful opportunity for young students to develop independent, effective strategies and work habits, it is important that everyone – at home and at school – work together to support them and make it a successful experience.

By Jenny Madden, Private Tutor

What is Brigance Testing?

April 9, 2015 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

What is Brigance Testing? Brigance is a screening tool widely used by schools for students in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and First Grade. The test is not an IQ test nor is it a full scale educational assessment – it is a norm referenced test that compares each child’s results with the performance of other examinees. Brigance Testing covers a variety of school based curriculum topics through a series of 12 assessments, including language development, science and math proficiencies and gross motor skills.

Who administers the test?

The test is administered in a one-on-one setting and takes approximately 15 minutes. In many schools the test can be done by the reading specialist, the classroom teacher, or school psychologist.

How is the test scored?

The test is scored by the test administrator in 3 steps. First, the administrator scores each of the 12 assessment areas individually. They do this by multiplying the total correct answers for that section by a specific point value per question. Each section has questions weighed at a different amount based on the skill level required and age of testing. For example, a Kindergartener will only get ½ point for each uppercase letter named correctly but gets 3 points for each correct question related to number readiness. Second, after they have determined the child’s scores for each section they compile the results. The test is based on a total score of 100 points. Third, the total score is compared to a national average scale to indicate if the student is above, below, or of average ability level.

Why do schools use Brigance Testing?

Many schools use this screening tool to identify incoming students who may be at risk for learning difficulties and who might benefit from intervention. Likewise, the test has the capability to indicate a child who may be above average and thus provide the support necessary for a more enriching learning experience.

Do all schools use Brigance Testing?

No, they do not. The use of Brigance Testing is subject to the administrative decisions of each school and school district’s procedures when screening incoming Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade students.

By Danielle Meyer, Reading Specialist