Word Study
Word study is the study of changes made over time to words in a given language.
Don’t discourage struggling spellers. Word study enriches our vocabulary and can be used as a highly effective aid to spelling!
Reading help
Reading help: Focused, challenging reading is so important for everyone (big and small) to do each and every day. Current research supports reading from a printed book format helps even further.
The printed format seems to offer higher levels of comprehension and retention than reading text from a computerized screen: “When reading long, linear, continuous texts over multiple pages that require a certain amount of concentration, referred to as “Deep Reading.”
Print Dictionaries
Print Dictionaries: According to students, it’s so much easier to ask Alexa for a definition than to open a book.
We live in a fast-moving world. Being able to access information as quickly as possible is a good thing, right? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Online resources often can’t compare to their printed counterparts. And when needing a dictionary, this could not be more true.
Just 20 Minutes
Today’s world has sped up dramatically. It sometimes seems as if time is even moving faster. Consequently, it is difficult for many of us to slow down, pause and reflect on our days. As a result, some very important daily habits – such as reading – are getting overlooked.
Focused, challenging reading is so important for everyone (big and small) to do each and every day. Current research supports reading from a printed book format can help even more. A printed book seems to offer higher levels of comprehension and retention than reading from a computerized screen.
Literature Circles
Literature Circles are a lot like Writing Circles. Students do not need to join them with anything prepared ahead of time. Each group can have a variety of reading levels. They can also be randomly assigned.
The idea is for students to get excited to read what their peers are reading. And, with some practice, to get excited to share their own book!
Comprehension Thinking Strategies
Written language is a code and children need to be taught how to decode it. Early reading skills include phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, decoding and fluency. But as young readers advance, the development of comprehension skills work differently. Skilled reading is an active process; the reader’s mind is constantly processing information extracted from the text.
There are multiple comprehension thinking strategies available to a struggling reader. Often, many or all of these strategies are working together to assist in comprehension. Here is a breakdown of the seven to which have been found most effective..
Skilled Reading Part 1
Skilled Reading: How do we help struggling readers? As readers advance, the development of comprehension skills work differently. Research shows older readers possess specific strategies to construct meaning before, during, and after reading a text. I now know this type of reading to be called “skilled reading.”
The key to skilled reading is being capable of recognizing words without relying on context at all. This is one of the most well replicated findings in all current reading research.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary, Vocabulary, Vocabulary! How does Montessori word study improve spelling and vocabulary?
Word study is the study of changes made over time to words in a given language. Word study enriches our vocabulary and can be used as a highly effective aid to spelling!
Dictionaries
Dictionaries. These days you can quickly find most anything online. According to my students, it is so much easier to just ask Alexa than to open a book.
But, while observing my students trying to navigate their way through a printed dictionary in our classroom, they will randomly open to a middle page and then get stuck. I will next suggest, “find the first letter in the word.” That student will often reply, “I don’t know how to.”
LISTENING ACTIVELY
Listening actively is becoming more and more of a lost art. Why? Today’s world has sped up dramatically. It sometimes even feels as if time is moving faster. Consequently, it is difficult for many of us to slow down, pause and reflect on our days.
As a result, it feels as if some very important life skills have become more and more difficult for many students to understand and master. These include: Slowing down, sitting silently for a prolonged period of time and actively listening when others are speaking.
Reading Daily
Reading Daily: Focused, challenging reading is so important for everyone (big and small) to do each and every day. Current research supports reading from a printed book format helps even further.
The printed format seems to offer higher levels of comprehension and retention than reading text from a computerized screen: “When reading long, linear, continuous texts over multiple pages that require a certain amount of concentration, referred to as “Deep Reading.”