Read Between the Lines: Developing a Culture of Reading

Developing a culture of reading at home and at school is going to be a game changer for students this school year. Teaching reading in content areas boosts overall confidence and performance. As we master reading skills and strategies, we become strong readers. We are also empowered to become more independent learners. We're equipped to solve novel problems and address age-old issues.

Did you know?

• The average U.S. citizen spends only 16-minutes a day reading outside school and work; down from 22-minutes in 2005.
• People age 20 to 34 read the least outside school and work: 6-minutes a day.
• People age 75 and older read the most: 51-minutes a day.

Apparently, with wisdom comes the uncanny tendency to appreciate and engage with the wealth of knowledge at our finger tips. This post outlines strategies for developing a culture of reading, so we can outperform yesteryear versions of ourselves.

Getting Started

• Research shows that independent reading can improve student achievement in language arts and other content areas. Let's begin with book choice. We want to teach students how to choose appropriate books. In addition to choosing interesting books, they need to understand how to assess text complexity. Is the book on grade level? Is the book below a student's reading capabilities? Explicit instruction on Lexile measures, grade level AR measures, DRA reading levels, or other relevant reading measurements is paramount.

• I usually find myself reading in the same place. On occasion, change of scenery is necessary. Maybe I'll read in a restaurant or near the reservoir in my car. (I hate bugs!) It's not uncommon to wake up feeling different. Just as we enjoy the freedom to express ourselves differently, to behave differently, it's important to make room for flexibility in learning environments. We want to afford students similar flexibility. Yes, this includes flexible seating for reading. Click here for flexible seating ideas for home and school.

• Success is in your routine. In setting a routine for independent reading time, start small. Situate reading time in the middle of the day, class, or block. Reading shouldn't feel like a punishment nor an after thought. Students are best poised to be intentional when we're intentional about constructing learning opportunities. It's not necessary to write answers to comprehension questions during every scheduled reading. In this way, we promote love of reading. (Or, is it love for reading?)

Reading Pedagogy

• When facilitating student transition from reading to learn... to learning to read, assessment comes first. Assessments, tests, exams. Oh my! Do these words make you cringe? Only in a fantasy world are we able to get on with the business of providing effect reading instruction without making time for meaningful assessment. Since we know how much reading counts, it's important to concretize the gap between where students stand and growth expectations. Assessment results give us information needed to draft effective reading action plans. The best plans inform instruction, goal-setting, and feedback via student reading log and student engagement inventory (here's another inventory).

• To remain engaged students must see incremental improvements in their own performance, so we have to design learning experiences that yield quantitative results. Several web-based reading assessment programs offer individualized reading options and performance data. Reading journal prompts yield qualitative results and insight into the mind of the reader. One cool way to take this approach up a notch is by placing sticky notes with questions about the text inside the book. Also, consider impromptu verbal questioning throughout the day to infuse reading and comprehension skill into everyday life.

• Cooperative goal setting involves getting buy-in. Student patterns reveal opportunities to improve reading engagement (e.g., resisting distraction, choosing appropriate texts, increasing stamina) and strengthen comprehension performance (e.g., building vocabulary, leveraging textual evidence, thinking beyond literal meaning). Let's aim for several small victories over time. Armed with relevant samples of student work and performance data, schedule 5 to 10-minute goal-setting conferences to get students on board with setting smart goals via questioning. Consider writing a goal card (maybe used as a bookmark) as a reminder for the student. See deconstructed sample goals here. (Read one educator's experience with setting smart goals with her students here.) 

Raising Readers

• Reading goals are most impactful when teachers provide ongoing, real-time feedback. It's worth noting that reading support strategies are different than reading feedback strategies. Reading support may involve strengthening phonemic and phonological awareness skills (e.g., sounding out words); whereas reading feedback involves praising student ability to attempt to sound out words before asking for help. Another example of support involves providing additional context to drive home word meaning; in a similar case, feedback would involve commenting on a student's use of an online dictionary to independently make sense of an unfamiliar concept.

• When setting reading goals for learners and planning instructional supports, think about the nonverbals. How does engaged reading look? What does a focused person look like? How do we respond to the environment when we're immersed in a text? Whatever your answers, it's important that you're not just observing students, that you're also modeling reading engagement during student reading times. Young people do what we do, not what we say.

• Student motivation to read is linked to both enjoyment and perception of growth.(I advocate facilitating the transition from external to intrinsic motivation, so the end goal would be that more emphasis is on reading for understanding than on reading to demonstrate understanding. Still, this is a different conversation that I'll likely address in a future blog post; you're invited to share your experiences and thoughts on this distinction.) Dissect the difference between student perception of growth and actual growth; keenness in this area is key to addressing low reading motivation.

I'd love to be a resource as you work to develop a culture of reading. Schedule professional coaching for yourself and private tutoring for your student by visiting je411.com. You're also invited to keep the conversation going by sharing this content, leaving a comment, and clapping back in a guest blog submission.

Early Academic Intervention: Should the Classroom Teacher Tutor?

Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Doing more of an ineffective thing doesn't qualify as a genuine attempt at becoming more effective, right? That's not how any of this works.

I want to preface this message by showing gratitude for how hard classroom educators work. Their commitment and sacrifices are not sufficiently acknowledged nor rewarded.We shouldn't expect them to do it all alone...

I raise this question - should the classroom teacher tutor? - because tutoring sessions held by classroom teachers are failing so many students. As a nationally certified professional tutor, it's disheartening that the majority of my clients believed they couldn't learn because of how the classroom teacher unpacked learning material. All too often, learners become frustrated because the multiple representations strategy is missing in many classrooms.

As practitioners in the education community, we tend to present concepts in ways that make sense to us. This approach makes sense. Deconstructing complex ideas and re-packaging them into lessons is challenging. Figuring out multiple ways to present complex ideas to students is even more challenging and requires a level of time commitment that's scarce given the work load of classroom teachers.

Here's what to look for...

First, we have to be willing to look around us to see that an issue exists. Then, we have to name it and look inward to see how we've contributed to the issue. Finally, we have to commit to removing the culprit: environmental influences, preconceived notions, unproductive behaviors.

• If he's not learning in the classroom, stop expecting the classroom teacher to tutor the child. Using the same teaching strategies for tutoring sessions isn't likely to improve performance. For a few, this approach works. For most, it's a bust.

• If she attends class regularly and is failing, stop expecting the classroom teacher to tutor the child. Showing up is half the battle; still students need to receive equitable instruction during class time. Evidence of inadequate instruction shows up early on: inability to complete homework independently; and low daily grades and quiz scores.

• If they don't like being in class, stop expecting the classroom teacher to tutor children. We are reminded by Rita Pierson quotes that building relationships with students is mandatory. Click the image below to learn why it's important for kids to like classroom teachers and how you can facilitate this transition.

Students don't learn from teachers they don't like. Forcing a student to try to learn something from someone they don't like has the potential to strengthen character; but, it's unlikely that academic performance will improve in a timely manner. We want to look for opportunities to match learners with professionals who are best equipped to reach them... and transform performance quickly.

Next steps...

When students are struggling, investigate. Resist the blame-game and finger-pointing. Stressful times are opportunities for parents and educators to show compassion, to follow the student's lead, to seek early academic intervention from a professional experienced in identifying and addressing the root causes of poor performance.

Jackson Education Support exists to develop more independent learners by implementing personalized services and supporting engagement efforts. Both low-performing students and gifted students benefit from intensive academic intervention. Early academic intervention is always best; nonetheless, commitment to a personalized learning plan results in dramatic improvement in performance as well as noticeable increase in confidence.

Here's the secret to Jackson Education Support's 96% success rate among private tutoring and exam preparation clients of all ages.

1. Make content accessible to students through equitable instruction.
2. Engage students in meaningful and rigorous learning opportunities.
3. Encourage multiple means of expression (not only teaching to the test).

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If you have a student or know a student

who could benefit from academic intervention,

visit je411.com/schedule to explore support options.

IEP Teams and Families: 3 Best Practices for Student Success

As an educator and special needs mom, I have a unique perspective on the importance of collaboration between parents and teachers of students with IEPs. Students with special needs are more likely to experience success when there is a strong partnership between school and home.

Following are three best practices for collaboration between families and IEP team members to ensure student success.

COMMUNICATE 

The goal is for parents to be informed of challenges or successes children experience at school. There may be a need to reconvene as an IEP team if something needs to be changed and a parent has the right to request a meeting at any time. By starting off with positive, personal communication, it will likely be much easier to collaborate in the future.

• Families: Request a check-in protocol to maintain open lines of communication. This could take many forms and the needs of the individual child dictate how often this should occur. Teachers may complete a daily checklist or a weekly communication email. This should be established at the beginning of each school year and documented in writing in the IEP.
• Educators: It is a good idea for teachers with IEP students to be proactive and build relationships with parents early (even before the actual school year starts). After reading the student’s IEP, contact the parent and ask for input. Ask questions like: “What are some of your child’s outside interests?” or “Tell me how he feels about school.”   

COLLABORATE 

Educators need to know when to simply listen to parents and when to problem solve. Parents rely on communication from teachers to keep apprised of how children are performing in school. Case managers are the special education “expert” within the school. They are the member of the IEP team responsible for collecting data and managing goals. This person should always be included in any communication with other teachers. They are the liaison for all of the teachers and should be the IEP student's best advocate.  

• Families: It’s important to remember that no decision should be ever be made without input from all members of the IEP team, including you as the parents. In other words, the school team should never hand you a ready made IEP and ask you to sign it. IEP meetings should be collaborative meetings where the team crafts the document together.
• Educators: Sometimes it is necessary for parents to simply have a discussion with teachers in order to feel reassured that their child is being successful. In these cases, save your suggestions, comments and attempts to solve any problem and be an active listener instead. 

COLLECT DATA

The school regularly collects and analyzes data. It is common practice for teachers to meet and discuss how that data will inform their instruction. There may come a time where you do not agree with the school’s summary of your child.

• Families: It is essential to communicate with the team and share any outside data you may have from experts in the field. You know your child best and it is important for you to paint a picture of the "whole child" to ensure school programming is tailored to meet his/her needs.  
• Educators: When you have data to share with parents, remember to communicate sensitively. Parents of children with special needs are inundated with constant reminders of their child’s limitations. Be mindful of sharing in a way that highlights growth and includes the child’s strengths.  

Communication, utilizing a team approach and considering the whole child are best practices for both school staff and parents to successfully collaborate. A strong partnership between parents and educators contributes greatly to student success, especially for students with IEPs.  

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Laurie McLean has more than 20 years of experience in public education as a certified reading specialist, supervisor of curriculum, and administrator. Laurie is also the mother of a 13-year old son on the autism spectrum. Learn more about Laurie's work by visiting her blog: www.lifewithasideoftheunexpected.com

Operations in Base Ten: Place Value Blocks

Much of the nation concurs Common Core Math Standards is a useful tool for educating young people. The goal is that students develop greater depth of knowledge in mathematics early on. Challenging students in earlier years often challenges parents and educators as well.

Beginning in kindergarten, the math standards encourage exploration of operations in base ten. This means elementary students should be able to demonstrate understanding of place value. To name a few ways, learners who master place value standards can...

• use objects or drawings to compose and decompose numbers based on place value.
• use symbols to compare numbers based on place value.
• read, write, and represent a number of objects using base ten numbers and expanded form.
• fluently add and subtract using place value strategies. 

In my experience, students are equally bored with reading about place value concepts as adults. Learners of all ages enjoy hands-on experiences. They want to touch and feel concepts of composition, decomposition, comparison, and so on. A free, two-dimensional solution involves printing Base Ten Tools offered by fellow Teachers Pay Teachers seller, Heather Ayers. The only types of resources having greater potential for student engagement are three-dimensional manipulatives like Assessment Services Hands-on Base Ten Blocks.

When the stage is set for hands-on activities, anticipation and excitement build as students enter the learning environment. Eyes widen. Smiles spread. Spirit fingers ripple. Math manipulatives hook learners in a way that changes their mental state immediately. Hands-on learning adds context and meaning to standards. Students interact with content as oppose to simply absorbing (and usually forgetting) humdrum theory and examples. This is especially true for young students with fleeting attention spans. For instance, identifying patterns and skip counting are challenging concepts for elementary students. With a little guidance and think time (or wait time), one client made new connections using place value blocks.

Jackson Education Support offers hands-on experiences to learners of all ages. Specialty subjects include literacy, math, and science. One-on-one and small group support options available. Visit je411.com to learn more.

Education Stakeholders as Lifelong Learners

This is likely not the first blog post you've read about educators as lifelong learners. The reason: there's value in viewing learning as a journey as oppose to a means to an end.

We're conditioned in some ways to study material for tests and research topics for papers. The end-goal in both instances involves achieving a passing score. Then, many move on to the next imposed challenge. The cycle lives on in those of us who go through the motions. We follow steps and engage in processes prescribed by outside entities without reflecting on meaning and value.

There are moments when educators fail to question understanding, to apply knowledge and skills in novel ways. Upon reflection, it's helpful when educators adopt the model of lifelong learning. Though we don't yet have the capacity to ameliorate our younger selves, it is possible that educators, parents, and students advance as lifelong learners.

What does this mean? The traits of a lifelong learner are numerous; providing a full list of these would take up more space and time than we have. Since education stakeholders tend to focus on identification of appropriate instructional approaches and learning strategies, let's truncate the definition of "lifelong learner". Here's my version...

A lifelong learner is one who pursues problem-based research and 

performs experimentation to assess the fitness of possible solutions 

on an ongoing basis. 

How does it look? In short, we develop processes to learn on our own. We intrinsically seek and solve problems. Four phases are encountered during this journey. Lifelong learners (in any field) tend to...

1. pursue problem-based research
2. identify possible solutions
3. examine solutions via experimentation
4. repeat this process to address a new (or old) problem

Why is it valuable? Many education stakeholders benefit when one person adopts this model of learning. Stakeholder behaviors evince curiosity. For instance, parents model curiosity when they inquire about strategies to address academic challenges and behavior setbacks during parent-teacher conferences. Also, as educators, we manifest curiosity by offering alternatives to struggling families and peers.

Our efforts are not in vain, because lasting growth ensues. Five minutes dedicated to responding to a parent or co-worker activates dormant knowledge and skills. Weeks dedicated to researching strategies for a learning disabled student lead to permanent personal and professional growth, plus undiagnosed and borderline students benefit from the new instructional outlook.

Improving confidence, easing family tensions, facilitating learning, increasing performance, and bridging the transition to more challenging environments are borne out of the intrinsic motivation to view one problem through different lenses. 

As lifelong learners, stakeholders understand that no education is ever complete. We value professional development opportunities and look beyond these to seek solutions to immediate threats to the development of more independent learners. This is the mission of my firm, Jackson Education Support.

Custom products and personalized services offered for educators, parents, and students. Specialty subjects are literacy, math, and science. Schedule a consult to discuss challenges and goals here.

Remember to Remember: Reflecting to Change

Imagine you are preparing to teach students a new skill. You do your due diligence by researching and planning a stellar lesson. You have a clear focus and engaging activities. You rehearse the lesson format and feel confident. You begin the lesson, but as time goes on students begin to lose interest and goof off. The lesson ends and students do not grasp the concepts. You are left feeling frustrated and confused. Sound familiar? 

This scenario is common across classrooms everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you are a novice teacher or a veteran, it is  incredibly difficult when instructional plans go awry. As hard as it may feel, this is precisely the time when you have to remember to remember. Put differently, reflect on the instructional plan and delivery. Intentional reflection can be transformative if done on a regular basis. Consider the following during reflection exercises, especially when lessons are not well received.

Focus on the positive. It does not matter how much experience you have. There will be many times when things go wrong. Teaching is a courageous undertaking that requires bravery. Try not to be negative with yourself or your students. Avoid negative thoughts by embracing successful moments during a lesson. Find at least one aspect of the lesson that was successful. Did you plan a great introduction? Were students engaged during a particular part of the lesson?

Don’t take it personally. It is easy to take misbehavior personally, but this is usually a symptom of something deeper. Rather than focus on student behavior, reflect on aspects of the lesson that caused disengagement.  Also, think about ways to address similar situations in the future lessons. Was the activity explained properly? Was the amount of content too overwhelming? Really pinpoint where the breakdown happened, so that you can identify effective solutions.

Ask for help. Now that you have a positive outlook and you've pinpointed areas needing improvement, ask for help. Look for resources. Brainstorm with a colleague. Bounce ideas off of mentors. Seeking help from others yields a variety of strategies to improve engagement during lessons.

How will you practice intentional reflection?

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A very special thanks goes to

guest blogger, Kandice Cole. 

Kandice is a writer, teacher, and education consultant. 

She resides in Chicago with her husband and infant daughter.