Reading is Elementary: Figure 19 is A Killer!

      I am reading Strategies That Work by the authors of the Comprehension Tool Kit, Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis.  My metacognitive thinking led me to search information on figure 19 with STAAR looming around the corner.  I have come to the conclusion that we must have high reading comprehension standard expectations as early as kindergarten to help our kids embrace and love reading.  They will follow our lead.  If you're struggling, try the comprehension tool kit strategies out on yourself with an adult book.  It really works.  Once you believe and have a passion for it, your kids will hop on board!

Reading is Elementary: Figure 19 is A Killer!: Maybe I've been watching too many court shows, but whenever I hear an educator refer to Figure 19, I immediately think of a lawyer submi...

The True Gifts of a Dyslexic Mind | Dean Bragonier | TEDxMarthasVineyard - SafeShare.TV

The True Gifts of a Dyslexic Mind | Dean Bragonier | TEDxMarthasVineyard - SafeShare.TV



In this TEDx talk Dean Bragonier discusses the positive aspects of the Dyslexic mind.

HBO Documentary Films: The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia - SafeShare.TV

HBO Documentary Films: The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia - SafeShare.TV



I discovered the existence of this HBO documentary film on this wonderful Dyslexia website http://dyslexia.yale.edu/

Like a Dyslexic

likeadyslexic - SafeShare.TV



This is a fabulous video about some famous people who are Dyslexic.  I shared it during Dyslexia Awareness Month (October).

Aunt Isabel Tells A Good One

     We have been working on comprehension skills using Kate Duke's book titled, Aunt Isabel Tells A Good One.  Some of the tier 2 vocabulary words, sophisticated words found in print more than oral language, that are highlighted in this story are the following:  ingredients, gloomy, grumble, villian, odious, and lurk.  Before reading the story, I record what the students already know about these words.  For example, my students described grumble as:

Student Generated/Friendly Meaning

1. a big noise 
2. My belly grumbles when I'm hungry.
3. Grumbles is the sound you hear when the band plays at a faraway football game.      

     The second step is to discover what these words mean in the context of the story during our read aloud.  We compare and contrast the student generated meanings with the contextual meaning. 

Aunt Isabelle and Penelope are creating a story and need the proper ingredients for their story.  They have established the characters (who), the settings (where), the time (when), and Aunt Isabel determines it is time for a PROBLEM.  The proposed problem is that the King and Queen disapprove of Lady Nell's friendship with their son and are sending Lady Nell far away from their son, Prince Augustus.   Penelope grumbles, " I think we should leave that Problem part out."
Contextual Meaning
Penelope is unhappy about Aunt Isabel's proposed ending and complains to herself in a low voice.

The contextual meaning is different than student generated meaning.  Students discover that grumble has multiple meanings. We probe this word further.
When would you grumble?  Say the word after the scenario if you would grumble.

You get to go to a birthday party.     

The party is cancelled.

Mom takes you to the park to play with a friend.

Mom takes you to the dentist.

Show me what grumbling looks like.

I close this vocabulary activity by asking, "What's the word we are learning?"

Here are two videos that go along with what I'm learning in Dyslexia Training.  The first link let's kids meet the author, Kate Duke and learn about how her stories evolve from pictures and oral language. The second link introduces you to the queen of vocabulary instruction, Isabelle Beck.  I selected her book, Bringing Words To Life, to read for my second book report.

Meet the Author Kate Duke  

Isabelle Beck- Robust Vocabulary Instruction

Secretary of Education Speaks about the State of Dyslexia Programs in the United States

After listening to this question and answer session between Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan and Senator Bill Cassidy; I am thankful I work for a school district that has an evidence proven program for dyslexia- Take Flight.

April 18, 2015

Secretary of Education on Dyslexia 4-18-15

New Role as Dyslexia Support Teacher

http://dyslexia.yale.edu/Scientific_American_1996.pdf

Over the summer my Dyslexia Take Flight Introductory course began.  Our instructor emailed five articles we had to read and summarize before our first day of class.  This was one of my favorite articles.  In this article you learn about how the MRI has revolutionized what they now know about a dyslexic brain and how the brain operates when we read.  

Dyslexia is a deficit in phonological processing.  This means they struggle with decoding words, matching the sound a letter makes to the letter itself.  This impairs word identification which slows down the speed at which they read.  This is considered a lower level skill in reading.  On the flip side, comprehension is intact which is a higher level skill.  There is a cartoon example in the article where the girl can't sound out "volcano" properly, but when the teacher asks her what it is she gives many descriptive details.  

This school year 2016-2017, I will leave the 2nd grade classroom to become a Dyslexia Support Teacher.  I am passionate about this journey I am about to embark on.