"Word Families"- Some Magic in Early Literacy Instruction?

Before reading remediation can be undertaken, reading specialist are first faced with the task of determining which skill set in a particular students is weak. Generally, remedial work can be divided into two areas: reading comprehension and decoding. Sometimes, children have weaknesses in implicit comprehension; they lack the sophisticated knowledge base and analytical skills to comprehend text on  deeper level (beyond the obvious, or explicit). For another, large group of students, reading is not fluent, and working memory is overtaxed, resulting in weak comprehension. This second group of learners includes both weak decoders, those that have been found to lack the automaticity of the fluent reader, as well as those whose deficits are deeper, specifically the dyslexic student. Remediation techniques for this special group, as well as an interesting finding regarding the benefit of word-families, are the focus of this weblog. 

Generally accepted as a weakness in the ability to internalize the grapheme (letter) and corresponding phoneme (sound) within a language, (often labeled as auditory/visual processing deficit), weak decoders and more severe dyslexics struggle with automaticity in reading. Specialists, whose work focuses on this area of weakness, are basically dealing with those individuals for whom the sounds and symbols of a language have not “gelled” in a strong, permanent way, within the brain.  For this group, that needs intensive practice with the sounds and letters within a language, the first step in remediation is the introduction of individual letters and sounds and the manipulation of the smallest, individual sounds in words. Work at this level generally involves letter recognition, sound production, and simple exercises in decoding and encoding CVC (consonant/vowel/consonant) words, like “cat” and “sip”.

Following this rudimentary springboard, practitioners generally go on to gradually introduce larger “chunks” of sounds, constructs common to a language that include groups of letters that often appear together (like “ing”,  “onk”, “atch”, “ic”, “orm”)- chunks of frequently appearing letters that are often referred to as word-families. It is most often the practice of reading teachers to wait in introducing these letter groups, and favoring mastery of individual letter/sound correspondences first.

Interestingly, I can recall several students with whom I worked as a beginning reading specialist, who actually began to markedly “take off” in their reading fluency, when the word-families were introduced.  While initial sound/letter correspondence is vital, it has been my experience that many students actually begin to recognize groups of letters that often appear together in English in almost the same way that they would recognize a face. Mastering word-families involves much the same concept as learning “sight words”, which due to their irregular spelling, are not taught through decoding, but through instant recognition.  

I fell upon this phenomenon of the recognition of groups of letters with even the earliest readers, specifically, with a student whose reading was not progressing at the pace at which I would have expected, given the intensity of remediation that we were practicing. Discouraged with the slow pace at which he was advancing, it was by sheer accident, that I noticed him one day subvocalizing when he saw some words on a poster in the reading clinic where we were working. He seemed to be “reading” the ending sound of a word, and then mumbling on to himself with rhyming real and nonsense words that had the same ending sound. The moment was nothing short of a revelation, as I realized that what he likely needed were word- families to facilitate his integration of the letters and sounds of English.

To this end, I began to focus more on these common groups of letters to facilitate his fluent reading. I was not entirely certain that he had mastered the entire alphabet of sounds, nor the digraphs (two letters, one sound, like “th” and “sh”). And I recall running the idea of bringing on word-families at that juncture to my professor, whose response was simply, “Give it a shot!”  I soon realized that allowing him to see word-families right at the start could very well be beneficial, as the visual impact of the groups of common groups of letters was very powerful. The speed with which his progress advanced was nothing short of remarkable. I remember berating myself for having focused for so long on specific letter/sound correspondences, and not having moved sooner toward utilizing word-families in my instruction.

This fascinating finding moved my reading practice forward, providing me with the knowledge that many struggling decoders actually do better, sooner, by focusing on groups of commonly connected phonemes, or word-families. To that end, although I will initially focus on alphabet and sounds with my earliest emergent readers, I have begun, with considerable success, to introduce word-families to even those youngest students, often at the same time at which I attempt to reinforce individual letter/sound correspondences and digraphs. The process seems to facilitate the recognition of groups of common letters within English, which for many students seems to be a key to cracking the code of fluent reading.

A Guide for Parents to Guided Reading Levels

So now you know your child's reading level! Your student's teachers have assessed, you've had your last parent-teacher meeting, and have a good idea as to the level that is "Just Right" for your child.  So what exactly do the different levels represent?

Here is a general guide to the Levels, A through Z:

Level A Books- It is recommended that children begin at this level once they have some familiarity with print and directionality (we read English from left to right).  Full knowledge of all letter sounds is not necessary. These books include picture books with simple labels and captions, often 5-6 words per page, or one line. There is ample space between words, and typically repeating language.

Level B Books- These books have very simple story lines, or focus on one individual idea.  They usually have one or two lines of print on a page, but sentences and punctuation is more varied than A Level books. Repeating patterns are seen again, and the written words correspond directly to the illustrations.

Level C Books- Stories at this level have simple story lines and are based upon topics that are familiar to children. For the most part they have more words and lines of print than A or B Level books, again include repeated patterns, and as new, more complex patterns are introduced throughout, children cannot simply predict the next page's text. Sight-words, also known as high-frequency words, and easily decodable words are found at this level.

Level D Books- Slightly more complex these readers begin to introduce less concrete, more abstract or unfamiliar ideas to children. The word count in sentences is longer, and words are now carried over from one page, or more. Words at this level may include multisyllabic and compound words. Whereas earlier levels offer very strong correlation between word and picture, at this level, children cannot only rely on illustration to guess at the print.

Level E Books- More lines of text per page, and more pages per book characterize words at this level.
Words cross over pages, and new types of punctuation are introduced. The story lines are more sophisticated, and non-fiction books may include more difficult concepts (although at this level repeating language is still offered for support). Higher level multisyllabic and compound words are included.

Level F Books- These narrative texts have more episodes in the story. More complex and varied language patterns are also introduced, with shorter text.  For the first time, abstract concepts that require children to use higher-thinking skills are present. Text is now presented in smaller font, and more lines of print per page. English punctuation in all form is seen at this level, along with a variety of more sophisticated high-frequency words.

Level G Books- At this level, books are no longer repetitive, and new patterns are introduced. Vocabulary becomes higher-level, and in non- fiction, vocabulary becomes very challenging, requiring some background knowledge. Text layout and font may become more complex, and illustrations no longer give clear indication of corresponding text.

Level H Books- These readers are very similar to the preceding level, but for the first time, no longer is simple prose the only text; poetry and figurative language are introduced, and repetitive patterns are not as common. Spoken language is no longer used exclusively, and written language is integrated and provides more sophisticated content, requiring closer attention to word patterns.

Level I Books- Books are this level are longer and the concepts presented are more complex than at earlier levels. The font is not as large, and word-attack skills begin to be called for, as text becomes increasingly complex. Fiction and non-fiction books at this level are numerous; fiction becomes more complex in plot and depth, and non-fiction includes technical, high-level language. Although pictures may illustrate the text, they no longer offer much support in terms of decoding text.

Level J Books- Books at this level are very similar to I Level books, but content becomes considerably more challenging. Chapter books are introduced that present complex characters and books now have very few illustrations. New vocabulary is presented in both fiction and non-fiction text.

Level K Books- At this level, narrative text begins to include multiple plots, and writing styles vary.  Technical language and new, more difficult concepts are included in non-fiction.

Level L Books- The readers at this level are very similar to K Level books, except that they are longer and many informational picture books in the non-fiction category are available. In fiction, chapter books increase in complexity in terms of plot lines and character development. Higher- level thinking is called for in the area of abstract concepts and symbolism.

Level M Books- These books are generally set in much smaller font, and vocabulary and concepts are more complex, calling upon strong background knowledge for comprehension.

Level N Books- At this level, children are taken to new levels of writing, as text expands to include new genres, and writing style becomes more sophisticated. More abstract thinking is called for, as literary writing styles begin to expand, and call for students to use more of their imagination.

Level O Books- More complex vocabulary and themes are typical of writing at this level, and abstract thinking is required in narrative text. Interesting, complex characters are introduced, and students again, must expand upon their own world to understand and study the lives of others.

Level P Books- These books offer more complex language and informational texts. Varied organization in layout is present, and new genres are introduced. Books specifically geared toward early adolescents are now included.

Level Q Books- Books now require more interpretive skills, and structures and words are more difficult and complex. Words from other languages are now present, and longer texts require extended reading. Vocabulary is increasingly sophisticated and challenges the reader at this level.

Level R Books- At this level, fiction and non-fiction introduce varied historical periods and time settings. Again, vocabulary builds in sophistication and requires increasing interpretive skills.

Level S Books- Books at this level reflect a wide variety of genres. Readers are often required to make text to text comparisons and contrasts as they remember other material that they have read. Sentences and paragraphs are increasingly complex, and words are figurative and less literal than before.

Level T Books- At this level, figurative language becomes increasingly complex, and vocabulary is yet more challenging. Students at this level must be able to sustain longer periods of reading as chapter books at this level become increasingly longer.

Level U Books- At this level, readers are essentially approaching adult -level reading. Complex themes and multiple story lines characterize these texts. Symbolism is frequent at this level, bound collections of stories are seen, and plots and sub-plots are common.

Level V Books- Books at this level beckon the reader to bring deeper background knowledge to the reading experience. Vocabulary is much more sophisticated, and deeper, implicit messages by the author require the reader to use abstract thinking skills. Strong themes are present at this level, and literary styles become more sophisticated. At this level, science fiction is introduced.

Level W Books- This levels introduces themes that are increasingly dark and challenge readers to relate to characters in difficult situations. Font is small, and readers will need an awareness of society and politics in order to fully understand the themes in the text. Inferential thinking is required, and readers need to be sufficiently sophisticated in symbolic interpretation in order to gain optimal understanding of text.

Level X Books- Fantasy is a strong theme at this level, as students need to increasingly draw inferences and compare text to other works that they have read. Symbolism is used extensively at this level, and students must interpret meaning accordingly.  Topic, language and vocabulary have become very sophisticated.

Level Y Books- These books include many social problems as themes, along with more numerous and mature details. Readers are required to think way beyond the literal meaning of text. They will need extensive background information to fully comprehend the text, and will be required to integrate new information gleaned from the text with all that they already know. The ability to read critically is required at this level.

Level Z Books- Similar to Level Y books, these readers present more mature themes, some controversial and complex. Non-fiction offers very technical and challenging material, and readers need to read critically and to evaluate new information. Complex themes within genres are present, and in non-fiction,    more elaborate and new text layouts are used. Existentialist themes are present at this level, pushing readers to consider very mature concepts and universal truths.

Fairy Tales...Reading for Enjoyment and Learning!

There are few of us who cannot recall the wonderful fairy tales that were part of our childhood... time spent on a parent or grandparent's comfy lap, or perhaps in a library group with a caregiver, listening to the magical words and enjoying the familiar illustrations that made up so many hours of our earliest years.

So now that you are a parent, just what can you do to enhance your time reading fairytales with your little one?  In addition to the cozy one-on-one bonding, is there any real "education" to be gained from this reading time together?

You bet! Aside from the soothing rhythm of the words, and the phonological awareness that is born of exposure to language, listening and interacting, the structure of the fairy tale in particular, lend itself to a particular Comprehension Strategy that will serve your child in later, both in school, and in his personal enjoyment of  literature.

Specifically, fairy tales fall into the category that we reading specialists call "Narrative Text."  This type of literature can be easily understood by using the Comprehension Strategy of "Story Grammar."  As a work of fiction, it generally follows a predictable format that includes the following 5 "Story Elements":

1. "Characters" (most often a main character, in addition to others)
2. the "Plot"(the story line)
3. the "Problem" (the conflict, or rising issue)
4. the "Turning Point" (when there is action that changes the course of events and leads to the...)
5. the "Resolution,"or Solution to the story's conflict

Keeping this "Story Grammar" in mind, as you read narrative stories with your child, it is a good idea to visit these 5 key concepts.  For your youngest readers, you may do this in a very simple way, using simple language; for your older readers, you could begin to introduce the terms as they are written above.  Your children will certainly hear them again in school through the elementary and middle school grades, and having previewed "Story Grammar" with you, identifying the character(s), the plot, the problem, the turning point, and the resolution, your child will already be familiar with the concept when they hear it in school. And research has shown that "previewing"is far more effective than than "reviewing" when it comes to receptivity to learning, and long-term retention of information.

You might also take a look at an earlier blog entitled "Thinking Cards," for an idea for a game that you and your child might play while reading narrative text to reinforce the concept of "Story Grammar."

Another idea that you might use aside from simply talking about the parts of narrative text, is to have your child draw pictures for each of the 5 story elements, perhaps on a labeled outline of a puzzle piece.  Once they have drawn and/or colored in a puzzle piece for each of the individual story elements, you can show them how each piece of the puzzle fits together to make the whole story!

Reading Levels and Your Child...Making Sense of the Numbers and Letters

So your child has entered school, and you have been told that your child is reading at a Level "A," or "D,"...maybe your 4th-grader is now at a Level "34," or is effectively a "3.5 Independent." What do all these numbers, letters, and labels mean anyway?

Reading Levels are letter and number tools assigned to literature of varying degrees of difficulty.  The reason for leveling is to facilitate selection of appropriate reading material for your child, both in and out of the classroom. Within the classroom, Reading Levels are used in the creation of Guided Reading Groups, where children are homogeneously grouped for decoding, comprehension and other reading strategy-based groups.  They are also used to help children and teacher select appropriate independent reading material for students during Readers Workshop.

Leveling a book provides teachers with the tool to remove the "one size fits all" approach to literacy.  In practice, each child is able to choose a "Just Right" book, commensurate with his reading ability, both fluency-wise as well as comprehension-wise.  Using various assessments, teachers will determine how well your child is reading, and will match him to books that are, as educators put it, "at the zone of proximal development,"- in lay-terms, neither too easy, nor too difficult. Books are labeled by levels of difficulty, and children are generally assessed at the beginning of the school year and then at the end. Ongoing assessment is done informally, and when discrepancies in ability and performance, or difficulties arise, teachers may assess mid-year, or on an "as-needed" basis (sometimes reading is monitored continually, with a method called "Running Records."  When a level is determined, children are guided to choose books for reading at that level, at which they generally achieve 90% accuracy, and with about 70% comprehension.  These are considered Independent Levels.  An Instructional Level is generally considered to be one level up, and represents the level at which a child will optimally be taught in class, either in whole-group, or in small-group Guided Reading groups.

There are several systems for book leveling, the most common ones being Fountas and Pinnell, and DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) Levels.  Fountas and Pinnell Levels are letters assigned to grades, more specifically to the specific months of those grades.  DRA Levels are numerical scores that correlate to grades, again, specifically month by month of that school year. The letters and numbers are considered Instructional "Benchmarks," or the level at which students should optimally be receiving instruction at particular points in the school year.

It is important to remember, that even when a parent is given a child's independent reading level, it is perfectly alright for at-home reading to include books that are below that level.  "Acing" a familiar book is a perfect way to maintain and maximize a child's time with his "eyes on print," and to encourage his relationship with books.  As he reads and rereads books that are easy for him, his confidence as a reader will grow, and he will be more agreeable to trying out books that are more difficult as well.  And it must be remembered that books that a parent is actually reading to a child, can, of course, be on any level that the child is able of comprehending, even with parent support and explanation.

As follows is a general Reading Grade-Level Comparison Chart for the 2 most common methods of Book Leveling:

Grade Level                   Fountas and Pinnell Level                   DRA Instructional Benchmark Level
(Grade.Month)                                      (Independent Level is 1 Level Lower)                                                              

K.5                                                     A                                                     A
K.7                                                     B                                                     2
K.9                                                     C                                                     3
1                                                         C                                                      4
1.2                                                      D                                                     6
1.3                                                      E                                                      8
1.4                                                      F                                                      10
1.5                                                      G                                                     12
1.7                                                      H                                                     14
1.9                                                      I                                                       16
2                                                         J                                                       18
2.3                                                      K                                                     20
2.6                                                      L                                                      24
2.9                                                     M                                                      28
3                                                        N                                                       30
3.5                                                     O                                                       34
3.9                                                     P                                                        38
4                                                        Q                                                     *40
4.5                                                     R                                                       40
4.9                                                     S                                                       40
5.0                                                     T                                                   **50
5.5                                                     U                                                       50
5.9                                                     V                                                       50
6.0                                                     W                                                     60
6.5                                                     X                                                       60
6.9                                                     Y                                                       60
7.0                                                     Z                                                       70

*At Grade 4 and up, children are expected to enter at the indicated level as Instructional and to leave the Grade at that level as Independent. Guided Reading is generally leveled for the Elementary through Middle School grades. **From Grade 5 and up, the specific Grade and Letter Levels and Numerical Levels begin to overlap, as students' abilities become more individual and progress at a less rapid pace than in earlier Elementary years.

Sometimes, when you receive the information about your child's Reading Level, it may seem that the teacher has assessed your child below the level at which you believe your child should be reading. It is important to remember that reading fluently is not the only measure of a child's reading ability.  Comprehension is key, the "acid test," if you will.  The main reason we read is to get information, either for reference or entertainment; and without comprehension, reading is a moot activity.  For this reason we must not lose sight that our child's comprehension is the main indicator of his reading level.  Sometimes children have slow fluency, yet their comprehension is excellent.  In that case the reading level might justifiably be identified as higher than fluency alone might indicate.  Conversely, a child may have excellent decoding skills and quick fluency, yet during assessment, not demonstrate adequate comprehension (particularly implicit comprehension, which includes the ability to make inferences). A child like this may be given a reading level that seems low, but his comprehension ability must be the deciding factor in determining the appropriate level.  Of course when there is too large a gap between fluency and comprehension, further investigation into underlying causes may be called for, and in certain cases, remedial reading interventions may be indicated in either the area of decoding or comprehension strategies.

So What is Balanced Literacy?

As literacy instruction has evolved, the proverbial pendulum has swung from the Bottom -Up approach, which includes a strong focus on phonics instruction, to the Top- Down approach, also known as Whole Language, where authentic literature became the focus.  The former, largely popular in the years before the early 1980's, was essentially built on the idea that literacy instruction at the elementary level should include the "building blocks" of language- grammar, rules, and letter/word family constructs  particular to the English language.  The philosophy here was that with this Bottom -Up Constructivist theory, students would integrate the rules that they learned, the vocabulary, etc, and become proficient readers.

The early 1980's saw the emergence of Whole Language philosophy, which essentially forwarded the idea that the presence of real text-books, magazines, newspapers, school text books (also known as basal readers), would spur students on to become accomplished readers.  The idea was that exposure to authentic reading material would encourage fluent reading, and that the actual rules of the language would somehow be "passively" learned.

As one would guess, neither approach to literacy acquisition proved to be a panacea. There were merits and pitfalls to each approach, and as the millennium drew to a close, a new concept, Balanced Literacy, essentially a combination of the best of both Top Down, as well as Bottom Up approaches, took hold.

So what is Balanced Literacy? It is, not surprisingly, just what it sounds like.  It is an effort to present students with a menu of engaging, balanced literacy instruction. Balanced Literacy includes both reading as well as writing instruction, each in a variety of settings within the elementary classroom.  Supported by such literacy proponents and authors like Lucy Calkins of The Reading and Writing Project of Columbia University"s Teachers College, and Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, whose publications are the gold standard in many American classrooms, Balanced Literacy has become the standard for literacy instruction across America.

On a typical day, classrooms have adopted Literacy Blocks, periods of time that are set aside strictly for the purpose of reading and writing instruction.  In the Balanced Literacy Model, Reading Instruction includes Shared Reading, Read Alouds, Guided Reading, and Independent Reading.

In Shared Reading, teacher models and support students.  She generally keeps a large book on an easel within her reach, and children sit at the carpet in a group. Usually an early, first reading is for enjoyment. Later, the teacher may focus on theme, title, cover, illustrations and predictions.  Significantly, it is during this type of reading that student participation is strongly encouraged. Language constructs are emphasized, and in this way, typical phonics/grammar knowledge is reinforced.

The main component of The Reader's Workshop (a component of the Reading and Writing Project created by Lucy Calkins, and forwarded at New York's Teachers College ) is usually the Read Aloud.   Included is a "Mini-Lesson," or main Teaching Point.  The teacher may focus on any number of elements of the book- author's style, character development, illustration, vocabulary, setting, connections that students can make between the story and their own lives, or other books they have read, and many more possible teaching points.  The units of study are planned at the beginning of the year (scope) and presented in a designated, timely fashion (sequence).

Guided Reading, another part of the Literacy Block, is a time when students ,selected homogeneously for small instructional groups, read in groups of 5 or 6, with a teacher leading the lesson.  Just-Right Books, are employed, as determined by the students' individual reading levels, which are determined by teacher assessment. Within these groups, students "read for a  purpose."  Often, the group reads with the teacher's mini-lesson (from the Read-Aloud) in mind.  Alternately, specific strategies are  the focus of the during Guided Reading time ("Let's look today for the author's use of interesting adjectives as we read chapter 4").  In general, classes have a few Guided Reading groups, which alternate their time with the lead teacher.  Oftentimes, teaching assistants, and sometimes special education teachers supplement instruction, and lead these groups as well.  Within Guided Reading groups, assessment is ongoing, and teachers keep a log during each session of student performance.  In contrast to practices of the past, "Round-Robin Reading", where students each take a turn to read aloud, is not encouraged, the philosophy being that fluent readers do not need the practice, and weaker ones are oftentimes embarrassed by this activity formerly popular activity.

Independent Reading time, also fondly known by many as DEAR TIME (Drop Everything And Read Time), is a part of the Literacy Block when students use their Just-Right selection (not the same one used during Guided Reading) and independently read appropriate books.  Here, they are able to apply strategies that they have learned during Shared and Guided Reading.  Often, teachers ask students to put post-it notes on certain pages, and whole classes are given the opportunity to share ideas as a group.

The other portion of the Literacy Block includes Writing Instruction.  In this area, writing is taught in a variety of ways.  Like the Shared Reading portion of the Literacy Block, the Shared Writing portion is an approach to writing where the teacher and children work together to compose messages and stories.  Children generally offer ideas, and the teacher, at her easel, writes the message on chart paper.  The message is usually related to some common experience for the class, like a school trip, or a holiday celebration, or vacation.  Sometimes, the writing experience relates to a book that the whole class has read.  In this capacity, the teacher offers modeling of good writing, demonstrating the process of writing right in front of the children.  This is again, a perfect setting for informal phonics instruction. Often, students will illustrate the completed text, and the chart paper is then displayed in the room.

Interactive Writing is another portion of the Literacy Block that is devoted to writing.  During this activity, the teacher and class work together to create written text.  After deciding upon what to write, the teacher begins to elicit student participation in actually writing the text.  She asks them for spelling, identifying chunks of letters, and words that they recognize (phonics opportunity).  The teacher may fill in portions of the text that the students cannot, depending upon their level of writing development.  During Interactive Writing, students may create stories, poems, literature retells, or any type of writing.

The main portion of the Writing Instruction is the Writer's Workshop (the other half of Lucy Calkin's  Reading and Writing Project). It is during this time that students are asked to write for real purposes, which are pre-determined by the teacher in the "Mini-Lesson," or main Teaching Point, that she has presented to the entire group prior to their independent practice.  The students study various topics related to the skill of writing as the weeks and months of the school year unfold; one month may be personal narratives, as students write about their own experiences, and another may be character development, as they learn about how to focus on and develop different facets of a character about whom they are writing.

Independent Writing is another part of the Writing Instruction.  Often this writing is done in a journal kept by each student.  Beginning in Kindergarten, when students are encouraged to get their ideas on paper with invented spelling and illustrations, students through the elementary grades write on their own, usually daily ,about a variety of topics, either generated independently, or as assigned by the teacher.  Teachers routinely read these journals, correcting grammatical errors (once again, informal phonics instruction) and making comments.

In the Balanced Literacy Model, there is often a strong connection between the Reader's Workshop and the Writer's Workshop units. Common lessons that wind through both of the areas of reading and writing reinforce the unit the students  are learning at a particular time.  Sometimes, however, Reader's and Writer's Workshop units are wholly separate in their focus.  The goal, however, of the entire Balanced Literacy experience is for students to become competent readers and writers through the exposure to and active participation with authentic text.

The over-arching idea of Balanced Literacy is that as students are reading authentic text and writing original pieces, the building blocks of grammar and syntax, semantics and word study will come into play.  As we have seen, teachers can tuck in phonics study in their mini-lessons. It is in this way that the old, "Bottom-Up" approach to grammar instruction is, incorporated   into the literacy instruction, and doesn't necessarily require a separate time block.  In some classes, however, actual phonics workbooks are still used, although their use as a sole focus of literacy instruction is generally not employed anymore.   The days that some of us remember, of daily drills in grammar workbooks, are largely a thing of the past.

For anyone that is especially interested in the Balanced Literacy approach to instruction, there is a plethora of books available on the subject.  Although mainly geared to educators, parents can also glean excellent teaching methods and apply them when they take on the task of homework support with their children.

For those who want more formal knowledge of the practices of Balanced Literacy, the main source here in New York City, is Teachers College.    C Workshops throughout the year as well as short-term summer institutes are available. For more information, visit http://tc.readingandwritingproject.com/.

Language Development and Your Child

Is it ever too early to foster language in your child?  According to linguistics theory, the answer is a resounding, "no!"  Language acquisition actually begins, according to experts, before birth. According to Kathleen Wermke of the University of Wurzburg in Germany, human neonates produce cry melodies of varying types, but begin to prefer to produce those that are typical for the language heard during their fetal life, specifically, during the last 3 months of gestation. This is essentially, the earliest beginning of communication and sound recognition.

It has long been known that newborns prefer their mother's voice over other voices, and it is melody that accounts for their seeming ability to distinguish different pitches, moods, and intonations, particularly in their mother's speech. Even more interesting, new data shows that the sounds of one's early native language encourage the sounds of the vowels in that particular language.  Moreover, infants as early as 3 months old are capable of matching those sounds.

The early stages of expressive language begin to become evident as infants start to make sounds. Cooing, which appears at about 6 months or so, include phonemes, or individual sounds, that exist in all languages. Significantly, even children that are congenitally deaf, coo. Babbling appears at about 9 months of age, and at this time, the phonemes of the infant's native tongue become those that are selectively uttered- the individual sounds that are absent in their native language phase out.

By the time a child is 12 months of age, words enter the scene, and by the age of 2, telegraphic speech, multi-word utterances are typical. Normal speech, including function words and all the other components of mature language, is usually achieved by the time a child enters kindergarten or first grade.

So, given the fact that language does begin from the very start, what might parents do to encourage language in their children, and when should parents be concerned that perhaps something is amiss in their child's language development? Let's look at the first question first- How can parents encourage language development their children?

1. Given the fact that research shows that babies in-utero respond to sounds, including music and familiar voices, it is probably never too soon to begin to stimulate your baby's language development. Talking to your unborn baby is thought to help foster the early bond and recognition of your voice; playing music to your unborn baby has is believed to foster the development of voice recognition and bonding between parent and baby.  And playing music to a fetus has been popular for years. One popular site for buying a device specially designed to do this is at www.bellybuds.com.
2. When you are sitting and holding your newborn, talk and sing to them- this usually comes naturally, as science has shown again and again that mothers everywhere are hard-wired to communicate in melodic, soft tones to their babies.  Do not feel foolish "speaking to" your infant! They are passively taking in your words, tones, and voice all the time.
3. When they are a little older, begin to recite nursery rhymes to them, and read little books even when you might think they are far too young to understand.  The melody of rhymes is particularly useful in phonemic awareness, which is the pre-cursor to early reading skills as well.  In addition, reading time together in a comfortable little space creates the perfect setting for close bonding, in addition to the opportunity for language development.
4. Increase the communication with your baby, as you incorporate body language into your songs and words. They will eventually make the connection between the words and the corresponding  physical behavior, which reinforces, again the meaning of your language.
5. As you encounter objects through the day, name them, as you go through activities, talk about what you are doing.  Don't underestimate the value of your monologue- you are actually bringing your baby into your linguistic world, and encouraging his receptive, and eventually his own expressive language.
6. As your child begins to express language, engage in conversations with him. Do not worry about correcting his grammar, but model correct language for him.
7. Don't miss the opportunity to take him to children's shows and events, such as library story hour, which are language rich opportunities that will foster his own language development.
8. Keep reading, and telling stories to your child. Encourage his comments and engagement.
9. Encourage active participation in language as you ask your child questions about all sorts of topics- his feelings, his activities, his thoughts, opinions, etc...
10. Despite the negative connotation to television, good children's programming provides for language-rich opportunity to listen and even participate. There is a reason why some shows, like Sesame Street, have been around for decades- they use familiar language, engaging visuals, and encourage your child?s own language development.
11. When you buy toys for your child, seek out ones that encourage verbal expression and participation.  This includes, but is not limited to computer software; simple board-games also encourage language- pay attention to the type of game, and the objective- many games require active verbal participation, and those are the ones you want to consider.

Sometimes, parents may begin to worry if their child's language does not seem to be developing as think it should be.  Peers may seem more advanced, and if this is uniformly so, it may pose a red flag.  So what do the experts have to say about when a parent ought to be concerned about language development that seems to be delayed?

Here is a general guideline for language acquisition in children (remember this is only a guideline, and any instinctive feeling that something might be amiss should tell a parent that a consult with your pediatrician is appropriate):

1. The rule of thumb is usually that the number of words expressed correlates with the age of the child: so, 1 word at age 1, 2-word combination at age 2, 3 at age 3, and so on.
2. While it is normal for toddlers to have articulation difficulties, if  your child is 3 or older, and is struggling to communicate, and leaving out a lot of consonants in simple words (like "ca" for "cat") this may be a sign of an early problem with expressive language.
3. If you observe that your child over the age of 2 finds it difficult to communicate, and routinely uses body language (or seems frustrated) in expressing himself, this could be a red flag in terms of appropriate expressive language development.
4. A rule of thumb is that your child should respond to his own name by 9 months of age; he should be babbling by the age of 1 year; he should be following a simple command at 15 months of age; finally, he should know his body parts by 18 months of age.
5. As your child grows, he should be making grammatically appropriate sentences.  If his sentences are routinely missing words, or correct versions of words such as plurals, or pronouns (saying for example "This is Daddy shoe," instead of "Those are Daddy's shoes...") this could indicate a problem.
6. Children should be able, at approximately age 4, to use negatives such as "can't," and "don't."  Can your child do this accurately?
7. Does it seem like your child has difficulty with word retrieval, frequently looking for the correct word, but talking and talking, and not ever finding the exact word that he is looking for? This could suggest an expressive language problem.
8. It is significant that your child understand your age-appropriate conversation with him. He should respond accurately to your questions, and answer appropriately. If he has difficulty with this, his receptive language may be a problem.
9. Children should have a vocabulary of about 50 words before they reach their second birthday.
10. Unintelligible speech after the age of 2, or so, could be an indication of a speech problem.  This does not include "pet words," that your child uses for some objects, that only you know. This refers to speech that is completely not understandable, even by you.

A visit with your child's pediatrician would be your first step. Referral to an audiologist would be appropriate to rule out the possibility of hearing loss as a cause of language delay.  Finally, a consultation with a speech-language pathologist would help to identify and remediate expressive or receptive language difficulties.

Here in New York City, a good resource for questions and consultations is The New York Audiology Center, Inc., located at 444 East 82nd Street (accessible by the 86th Street Subway).  The phone number is 212-499-0691.

My Learning Springboard...A Custom Tutoring Service in New York

With a catchy logo that includes the words "Unique Solutions for Unique Learners,"
one might wonder if in a city like New York, there could possibly be anything new, innovative, or exciting.   Where it would seem like there is a plethora of resources, and everything has already been invented and reinvented over and over, what could be new in the world of educational services?

Well, it just might be that something new in private tutoring has, in fact, been invented, and served up in a complete, one-stop website called My Learning Springboard. With both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Education, Brad Hoffman has brought his passion for teaching and serving students of all ages to the metropolitan New York area (as well as Southeast Florida and Washington, D.C.) in the form of his unique tutoring service.

Meeting Hoffman, a young man who could easily still pass as a college student himself, is a delight.  His sharp intelligence and obvious in-depth knowledge of the world of education is clear.  He is engaging, well-spoken, and it is no surprise that he has been able to interest parents who are clearly invested in finding the best private tutoring services for their children.

So what makes My Learning Springboard different? Essentially, most tutoring services are often little more than a resource for names of teachers in different disciplines. Many companies do not extensively screen their referrals and sign-up online is often all that is required of tutors whose names are then made available to parents looking for private instruction for their children.

The Gow School...A Fabulous Summer for Students with Learning Difficulties

Here in the New York area, there is certainly no shortage of possibilities for your child during that long stretch of much-looked-forward-to summer months.  From sleep-away camps, to day camps, day trips, travel trips, academic undertakings, and community centers, there is surely an adventure for each child.

But what is a great option when a parent wants to combine a fabulous summertime experience with academic learning and support and a child has a learning disability?  How is it possible to delight a child with all that the summer classically offers and be sure to keep the momentum up with continued learning support (especially important for special-need children) through the months of July and August?

The Gow School, located in South Wales, New York could be a fabulous choice.  This year-round private boarding school for boys, situated in the southeast portion of Erie County, south of Buffalo, offers a summer program for both boys and girls who lave language-based learning disabilities which may include dyslexia, central auditory processing disorder, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD and ADD.

The summer program is either residential, or day camp, and includes either academic sessions (8AM-1PM) or afternoon recreational activities (1PM- 5PM), or both.   The academic portion of the summer days at Gow is structured to maintain a very low student-teacher ratio with an average class size of only 5 students.  Classic multisensory teaching strategies and attention to the Multiple Intelligences (we all learn in different ways, some of us are visual, some auditory, some kinesthetic) are incorporated into all lessons.  Classes in both language and writing are offered, as well as those that foster student?s creativity, such as art, videography, and more.

Afternoons are devoted to pure fun, especially outdoor activities, including classic offerings like basketball, arts and crafts, hiking, archery and biking, as well as more exotic choices such as crab soccer, rope courses, tennis softball, and equestrian classes.

Special weekend trips are a famous treat at Gow, and include camping, canoeing, amusement park and museum trips, as well as road trips to some of our outstanding Northeast cities and resort towns.  Gow?s choices for camper destinations are selected with a concern for adventures that are both exciting as well as academically enriching and culturally rewarding.

The 2011 Summer Program begins on Sunday, June 26th and ends on Saturday, July 30th.  Visiting Weekend is set for Friday, July 15th to Sunday July 17th.

The Gow School is located at 2491 Emery Road in South Wales New York. Interested parents can reach the school?s Summer Program at 716-652-3450, or by email at webmaster@gow.org

Early Reading Difficulties...Looking at Some Causes

Hearing the diagnosis of dyslexia is often a frightening and disheartening experience for a parent.  Visions of years, perhaps a lifetime of struggles with literacy are often in the minds of parents when they are told that their child is dyslexic. While many dyslexics continue to suffer with this condition throughout their lives, there are remediations available, both formal programs offered through schools, like the Wilson Reading System and others, as well as private, reading interventions offered by individual,licensed literacy professionals.

Here in the New York area, the New York Branch of the International Dyslexia Association is a 501(C)(3) non-profit, scientific and educational organization dedicated to the study and treatment of the learning disability, dyslexia.  The Branch was formed to increase public awareness of dyslexia in New York State, excluding Buffalo and Suffolk County.  This branch of the association has been serving individuals with diagnosed dyslexia, their families and professionals in the field of reading disability in this area for nearly three decades. Easily accessible through an online search by name, the association, is located at 71 West 23rd Street, and the phone number is 212-691-1930. Contact email is info@nybida.org. The Association is extremely helpful in guiding parents, and in answering questions in a thoughtful, supportive manner.

But just what is dyslexia? And if your child is suffering with difficulties in reading, is it possible that there are other issues at play, and what else might they be? Let's take a look at the issues surrounding reading difficulty.

Watching your child learn to read is one of those childhood events that all parents look forward to- with both excitement, but also, often, some anxiety.  For some, the process is smooth and occurs early, during the years before Kindergarten even begins. But for others, the proverbial "lightbulb" does not turn on easily, or at all, even as little ones begin the journey into elementary school. Unfortunately, approximately 20% of children 6 and above struggle to learn how to read.  So how are parents to know exactly what the problem might be, and how best to navigate the possible roads to finding the appropriate remediation for your slow-reader, or non-reader, once he has entered school?

The first and most important issue is to obtain a correct diagnosis for what is behind your child's difficulty with reading.  A thorough screening by an ophthalmologist to rule out any organic eye issues would be the first step. Attention to possible vision difficulties, which can be addressed by a visit to an optometrist, who will measure your child's vision, and prescribe corrective lenses, and then an optician who will make the actual glasses would be the next stop.  Young children rarely realize that their vision is not clear, and often parents do not either.

Another consideration when reading difficulties arise, involves a child's visual skills, or the actual ability for the eyes to work effectively in the reading process. Should your child's ophthalmologist and regular optometrist give you a perfect evaluation, the next consultation might be a special type of optometrist, called a Developmental Optometrist.  This professional is trained to diagnose and provide vision therapy for children who are found to be suffering from a variety of other possible difficulties in their visual skills.  These might include Eye Teaming Problems, also known as convergence insufficiency, where the ability to aim the eyes breaks down, and eyes point slightly different places on a page, resulting in blurred, scrambled or double print. Tracking problems, or the inability to control the fine eye movements required to follow a line of print, are sometimes present, and result in a child's losing his place, skipping, or transposing words, and is a problem with the central and peripheral visual systems. These are kids who cannot control their eye movements at close ranges. Focusing, or Accommodation is other potential areas of deficiency when a child has difficulty with reading, and involves the child's ability to maintain sharp, clear images for an extended time, as well as the ability to quickly change focus when looking from near to far (these children will often complain of headaches).

Difficulties with vision perception, or the ability to interpret, analyze and give meaning to what is seen, may be the problem for your child.  Vision perception includes Discrimination (ability to attend to the characteristics of similar forms), Memory (the ability for immediate recall of material's characteristics), Sequential Memory (the ability to remember characters in correct order), Spatial Relations (the ability to distinguish differences among similar forms), Spatial Orientation (the ability to process from left to right in English, or directionality, and up-down movement as well), Form Constancy (the ability to manipulate forms and visualize the resulting outcomes), Closure (the ability to visualize a complete whole when only given a partial picture), and Figure Ground (the ability to identify and locate a form on a busy background without becoming confused by the other images).

Finally, another visual skill which may be weak in a child with reading difficulty may involve visual motor- integration issues, or eye-body or eye-hand coordination.  These problems would include difficulty with the ability to monitor and adjust placement of their bodies, allowing for good balance and coordination (gross-motor skills), or with the ability to coordinate visual input into the body's fine motor system (fine-motor skills).

So what happens when barring any medical eye conditions, simple need for corrective lenses, or visual skill deficiencies, your child still has difficulty with reading?

The next step would be to consider an evaluation with a reading specialist (most schools have these trained professionals on staff), who is trained to administer tests of early phonological awareness.  These tests assess your child's ability to distinguish the phonemes, or individual sounds in words. One common test that you may have heard of that assesses a child's ability to hear the sounds in words is a DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), created by Dr. Ronald Good and Dr. Ruth Kaminski, of the Dynamic Measurement Group, an internationally recognized research organization. The DIBELS will reveal difficulty in the area of phoneme recognition, in hearing, for example, the p-a-k-t sounds within the word "pact." Difficulty or inability with a DIBELS task is a strong indicator of possible future reading disability. Another informal task that a parent can monitor is a child's ability to identify and produce simple rhymes. Can your child hear that "house" rhymes with "mouse?" Can he tell you a rhyme for the word "cat?"  The inability to attend accurately to this simple skill is very significant red flags.

In slightly older children, say grade two and up, informal reading tests are available in schools that measure a child's reading fluency and comprehension. (These tests are actually available at the Kindergarten Level, but are generally not accepted to be as accurate as those administered after the age of about 8, in terms of providing data that might support future reading disability). The tests are simple, and the child is asked to read a passage, or a short book, and then to answer simple questions about the text. The child's performance is then be compared to benchmark, or expected levels for children of the same age, and scores are interpreted, and a reading level is assigned to the child. Two common tests that are used with students to determine reading levels are a QRI (Qualitative Reading Inventory) and a DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment). Most schools prescribe to one of these tests to measure reading ability, but there are others.

When a child's reading level is determined to be below benchmark, a closer investigation into potential problems is called for. Scores measure both decoding ability (fluency) as well as comprehension. If comprehension causes a lower reading score than would be expected, but reading fluency is average, the suggestion is that the child may need support in the area of comprehension. This would likely eliminate a possible diagnosis of dyslexia.  But for those for whom fluency, or smooth, accurate reading (decoding) is weak, the next step would be a closer investigation into the reasons why. Could the problem be dyslexia? Not always.  But since early difficulty with reading will very often be an indicator of future difficulty as the elementary years kick in, it is very important that a parent watch, and see how the process unfolds.

Just as in all areas of development, it is known that the ability to read is achieved over a period of time, and that the normal time frame is recognized to be fairly wide.  There are precocious pre-schoolers that can identify letters and sounds and simple words at 3, and there are those for whom the ability to read fluently kicks in in first grade.  Some children are late bloomers, and others are naturally slow readers (so are some adults, yet they are not dyslexic).


So just when should a parent be concerned that a child's difficulty with reading may be more than simple developmental delay?  For late bloomers, the observation is that although they may be slow to initially grasp the letter/sound correspondence, and to be able to accurately blend sounds into short, simple words, they do finally do so, and with consistency.  They begin to recognize common, high-frequency English words (called sight words), and read them with accuracy. Significantly, these children move forward, albeit slowly, but always learning and improving, and most significantly, they do not experience the unexpected difficulties that are common to dyslexics.

When a child does not move forward with his reading ability, who simply "cannot get it," for whom letters and their sounds never "gel," parents and educators need to take a much closer look.  Children who cannot seem to blend individual letter sounds, and despite much individual effort by teacher and parent, still cannot read the simplest words, and for whom spelling is a particularly difficult task, the possibility of dyslexia may be a real one.

Let's look for a moment at exactly what the word "dyslexia" means.  Generally, "dyslexia" refers to unexplained difficulties with sight-word recognition and or phonological processing. The word itself actually means "Difficulty with Words/Language."  The skills that are affected in dyslexia are performed by neurological centers at the back, left portion of the brain.  Essentially, a diagnosis of dyslexia refers to the inability of the brain's verbal language or auditory processing centers to accurately decode print or phonetically make the connection between the word's written symbols and their appropriate sounds. In summary, it is a lack of marriage between the grapheme (written symbol) and phoneme (sound).

There are actually three types of dyslexia:
Dyseidetic Dyslexia, which is indicated when a child can't read (decode) and/or spell (encode) because he is unable to remember whole, irregular sight words.

Dysphonetic Dyslexia, which is indicated when a child can't read (decode) and/or spell (encode) because he is unable to break phonetically regular words down into its sound parts.

Dysphoneidetic Dyslexia
If a child can't read (decode) and spell (encode) words either eidetically or phonetically, this is known as Mixed Dyslexia or Dysphoneidetic Dyslexia.  This is the severest form of dyslexia because it involves both types of coding functions.

There is strong evidence that at least one type of dyslexia, "Dyseidetic Dyslexia," is genetic, and that it is present equally in male and female children. In cases where a child may be having difficulty and  either mother or father has diagnosed dyslexia, parents might choose to seek help at an earlier age.  Dysphonetic Dyslexia is believed to be polygenic, meaning that it is not generally believed to be genetic. Some evidence indicates that this type of dyslexia may be associated with chronic otitis media (ear infections) before the age of 2; logically children who suffered from these infections as infants and are exhibiting reading weakness later on should be taken to a professional at a younger age.

Parents need to be very cautious when they are told that their child's early reading struggles are just due to a developmental delay. Roughly 90% of children that struggle early on with reading will continue to struggle as they grow older, so close monitoring of the progress of these children is very important.  Many of them will, in fact, eventually be labeled as dyslexic. It is important to remember that any of the visual skills problems we outlined earlier are NOT evidence of dyslexia by themselves- these issues are completely independent of such a diagnosis, and may co-exist with such a diagnosis.  But dyslexia is a neurological deficiency in the language processing portion of the brain, not in the visual centers.

Some of the common symptoms that could (remember- only a licensed psychologist can make the diagnosis of dyslexia) indicate the likelihood of dyslexia would include:
1. unable to hear and/or produce rhymes
2. demonstrates confusion by letters and complex verbal explanations
3. reads with little comprehension, but has good listening comprehension
4. unable to spell correctly with consistency
5. demonstrates difficulty putting thoughts into words
6. mispronounces multi-syllabic words, and is unable to identify sight words
7. "thinks in images and feelings", not words (missing inner monologue)
8. had frequent ear infections as an infant
9. cannot identify the individual phonemes (sounds) in words, or does so inconsistently
10. demonstrates little progress in reading, making errors, or the same mistakes over and over
11. demonstrates reading ability that is inconsistent with formally measured or observed intelligence

Remember, a diagnosis of dyslexia is not the end of your child's success academically and otherwise.  Early intervention is key, and our schools here in New York, and elsewhere are generally well-prepared to handle this type of disability.  The New York Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (full information is above)  is staffed with sensitive helpful professionals who will guide you to finding the support that you need. And throughout this process, when reading may become a sensitive topic in your home, and your struggling reader may become a reluctant one, con't forget to try to keep them, as we reading people say "keeping their eyes on print." Read to them frequently, enjoy that storybook hour before bedtime, (every night if you can), and don't allow a diagnosis of dyslexia keep the pages from turning in your home.

"Thinking Cards!" for Home Literacy Fun

There is no substitute for that cozy, one-on-one time spent with your child sharing a book- especially a favorite one, that they seem never to tire of hearing over and over. But have you ever wondered how to "get creative", and turn the reading time into a truly fun, and interactive experience? Look no further- "Thinking Cards" may be just what you'll love to turn a simple book into a great opportunity to foster comprehension in your youngest readers.

These simple cards can be used with any storybook. And they are easy to make yourself with a pack of colored index cards. You will make a set of 11 cards; cut each index card into a small, child-friendly size, a little smaller than the size of a playing card. Each will be used by your little reader to engage him in a different "Good Reading" strategy. Cards will be placed on pages in the storybook by the child to mark off a particular page, depending upon the focus of the card.

The 11 cards will include:
"Favorite", which will be placed at his favorite page in the book
"Problem", which is for the page where the main character in the story first encounters some problem or difficulty
"Question", to be placed where your child expresses a question about the text, or illustrationˇ
"Share", a card that your child might put on a page that is special, and that he might like to share with someone
"Treasure Word", a card that would be slipped in where your child encounters a new word that he has never seen before
"Think About", which might go on a page that includes some text that may be though-provoking, confusing, or particularly interesting
"Saying", a card which could be tucked in to the page where your child finds the dialog particularly interesting
"Connection", which would be perfect on a page where the child is able to make a connection between the character or situation and something that has either happened in his life, or in another book that he remembers and finally "B", "M", and "E" cards which your child could place at the all important beginning, middle and end of the story.

Each of the cards should be illustrated and labeled by your child with an appropriate picture (depending upon his age, you might do this), and should be laminated for use over and over with many storybooks.ˇ This fun activity touches upon the elements of narrative text comprehension, and makes the reading process interactive and a delight for children.

Most of all, have fun when reading with your child! The world of children's books is virtually endless, and the research into early literacy continually brings us parents and educators the same important message: There is a direct connection between early exposure to books, through reading, and being read to, and the academic success of students through their educational years. So go make a pack of "Thinking Cards", and read together!