Parents? How to Help Your Struggling Reader at Home

“How can I help support my child at home with his reading development?” is one of the most common questions I receive to begin the school year. Without going too deeply into details, I offer a list of approaches that will help at home. 

1.       Be vigilant when it comes to required and independent. It’s too easy to assume your daughter has read something because she was in her room “reading” quietly for a period of time. Regarding this lapse, I am a bit of an expert, as more than once over the years I’ve fallen into the trap of letting what I saw be the measure of what one of my boys read.  Only by asking direct questions can you gain some sense of proof that the reading was done. 

2.       Read what your child reads. Your child has been given several chapters of a Gary Paulsen book to read for the following week. Take a few minutes to read those chapters too. This is -hands down- the best way in which to gauge how well your child understood the chapters because now you know them well. And, who knows? You might find yourself enjoying the book too. 

3.       Purchase a second copy of an assigned book. I have tremendous difficulty with reading any book I don’t own. The reason for this is that I am constantly writing marginal notes and underlining passages that catch my attention. When you have a book your child can mark up, then there’s nothing to asking your child to underline significant events in the text, or circle the confusing passages.

4.       Pick a moment to demand a written account of the reading. This is always painful for all parties involved. I know my boys do not like to write –it’s not like they’re in any kind of special club either. Almost no one likes to write. However, writing is where the rubber always meets the road. If your child cannot express his understanding in writing, then he doesn’t have a good enough hold on the reading. This is a particularly effective activity to use following non-fiction reading. E.g. after reading about a scientific process (photosynthesis), or the events leading up to country conflict (causes of the Civil War), or the steps in a solving a math problem. 

Any one of these approaches will help improve your child’s reading and understanding at home. The key is to use them often enough that an occasional lapse doesn’t become a lingering problem. Once your struggling reader realizes you’re no longer holding him accountable for the reading, well… you know how that goes.

Dogs of War: Good for Classrooms, Good for a Winter Break Read

Dogs of War Makes for Terrific Reading

A colleague, well aware of my affinity for graphic novels, made sure to hand off to me a copy of Dogs of War by Shiela Keenan and Nathan Fox, as well as, a copy of Romeo & Juliet by Gareth Hinds. As of this moment, I doth not have anything to scribe about the latter, not having read it… just yet. For the former, I doth have plenty to scribe about. 

 

Dogs of War is comprised of three short stories, each depicting the role one canine has played in one of three wars –WW I, WW II, and Vietnam. Although the stories are named after each of the dogs (Boots, Loki, and Sheba), and this leads you to believe you’ll be following closely their stories, the canines generally share the spotlight with their various human protagonists. Some might be upset to going into the work to find out the dogs aren’t the main thrust of the book. For me, that hardly mattered. I found the storytelling for all three tales to be brisk, informative, and interesting throughout.

In “Boots”, the first story set in WWII, readers are thrown into the harrowing experiences of trench warfare as viewed through the eyes of a 16-year-old soldier and his loyal dog. Floods, mud, cold, poor nutrition, and bullets –Oh, there are bullets!- fill the story panels as a 16-year-old Donnie and his mates work to hold to a bloodied length of land and survive their terrible battle against the Germans.

If this were all the story had to offer, I’d be hard pressed to find the motivation to write about it here. Where the story develops into something worth sharing with you and (hopefully) with students is in the author’s attention to historical details.

When our human protagonist, Donnie, and his canine, Boots, first find their newest trench allies, the soldiers are, almost pleasantly, trading hot bullets with the Germans over walls of sandbags. Young Donnie is surprised by this but told it’s merely “the morning hate”, whereby each side essentially recognizes that what transpires between them is a common morning occurrence –as if to say, Oh this shooting at each other is nothing to worry about. This seemingly misplaced attitude amid battle is actually –to borrow from our British friends- spot on. Many a soldier who returned from WWI reported as much. I read that some soldiers referred to the morning volley of bullets as “trading tea”, a cute moniker for a dangerous practice. But, the pithy remark underscores something about the sensibilities of the time. Soldiers, on both sides, still held to a sense of nobility in fighting a war, a sense of gentlemanliness. Even if they were trying to knock one another off.

Not wanting to give away too much, I’ll add that "Boots" presents an account of WWI that any middle school student would find highly interesting. Heck, I’m middle-aged and loved seeing the brief scene in which a soldier is cooking up some juicy lice he’s plucked from his uniform.  It’s a story sure to spur discussion about what war, life, and attitudes were like in the early 1900’s; and that can only be a good thing for those of us trying to feed youthful mind.

The other two stories in the collection are equally accurate in their depiction of how men and animals behaved in their respective wars. I was particularly appreciative of the author’s decision to not simply turn these stories into Disney-esque accounts of dogs at war. In fact, although the dogs are presented as the heroes to the stories, they’re really closer to secondary characters, the human protagonists being far better fleshed out for readers. Again, the cause seemed to be to show war as it actually was without making it inaccessible to middle school students. It was also to show how dogs have served our soldiers for a century and more.

Keenan’s and Fox’s story is worthy of classroom use. A halfway decent teacher (and I think I juuuust make that cut) can use the interest it garners to spin students off into further reading exploration about war, dogs, the 1900’s, the 70’s, and much more. I’m already thinking this book will be a fine companion piece to Cynthia Kadohata’s novel Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam, a historical fiction book about a dog and his handler helping men survive during the Vietnam War.

Just Can't Emphasize it Enough

Reading matters.

It matters in the way eating right matters. If I don't eat properly, I may get away with it for a short period of my life. But, eventually, that situation will change. My body will gain weight and I'll have to contend with a host of stresses that steadily damage it. There's a reason people in dire situations people fall back on the adage: At least I have my health. It matters.

Reading matters.

It matters in the way treating others as you'd like to be treated matters. If I treat others differently than I'd like to be treated, then eventually I'm not likely to have very many people who'd like to spend time with me. We know that friendships and family matter, because they provide the support that keeps your mind and body emotionally fit. It matters.

Reading matters.

It matters in the way having a steady eye on your financial future matters. If I do not manage my finances properly, I'll find it increasingly difficult to pay my bills and provide for those who depend on me. Constant financial worry creates stress, which can lead to poorer quality of life physically and emotionally. It matters.

Reading matters.

Reading matters so much that I'd place it on par with the heady list above.

And here's why.

Reading is about so many things. I can write about how it takes your mind to places you may never get to experience, space, Kuala Lumpur, the future. I can write that reading is a great equalizer, that anyone who reads often arms himself with information that no amount of money can outdistance. I can write much more on the gift reading gives you, but (and maybe this is cynical) I've learned that most won't listen until they see where it hits their wallet.

So here it is.

Below is a simple chart depicting the annual income a person can expect to receive based upon his years of schooling.

Like any simple chart, there's a lot of room for exceptions. We all know the roofer down the road who quit high school and is more than financially well off, but that and those are exceptions to the norm. For the most part, we can reliably agree and predict that those who go to school, college, and post-graduate school will be financial better off than those who do not. Key to all those years of schooling of course is their steady diet of reading. Writing too, but I'm focused on the reading stuff for this post.

By reading a lot and with fidelity, you're putting yourself into a position to advance your years of schooling, to then earn a better paying job, and to build a healthier life for yourself. You're also creating a cycle whereby these things are passed on to your children.

I just can't emphasize it enough.

Reading matters.



For more information on why reading matters, download this informative brochure by Jim Trelease. You might also find interest in his read aloud brochures, here and here, as well as here.

Self-Reported Grades, i.e. the Mirror Moment by Ralph Lagana

Self-Reported Grades, i.e. the Mirror Moment by Ralph Lagana

I don’t know too many people who aren't consumers of television shows and movies. Good or bad, we seem able to find time in our lives to watch a story presented for us on a screen. And, because of our common appetite for watching stories on screens, I feel supremely confident you’ll know what I mean when I write about the Mirror Moment.

The Mirror Moment is what I call the point in a dramatic TV show or movie when a character must finally take stock of himself. Almost always, this happens before a mirror. A rogue cop, a dishonest friend, even a self-deluded killer will at some point look into a reflecting glass and be forced to “see” himself for who he really is. It’s a decisive moment in many cases because we learn which path the character has chosen. That’s the Mirror Moment.

We've seen the Mirror Moment portrayed on screen so many times that it borders on pathetic. What holds it back from that precipice is that it rarely rings falsely to us. Without becoming too dramatic myself, I’ll merely note that we've all experienced the Mirror Moment, taken stock of our day, or behaviors, or acts. The Mirror Moment is a powerful experience as it can quite literally change how you act or think. I sometimes think it’s what keeps one from running amok.

Knowing that taking a true measure of oneself can be so effective, it would seem to make great sense to bring that into the classroom in some way. For myself, this means seriously considering if I've done enough by the end of each week or day. It can even be boiled down to individual periods. Was my lesson this period effective? This is something most teachers do. Anyone who observes a teacher doing a lesson several times a day will see it transform rather distinctly from start to finish. I digress…

If holding a mirror to oneself is good for the teacher, could it not also be good for the student? In other words: Would students benefit from holding the metaphorical mirror to themselves at the end of a class period? It certainly seems like it should. And, more importantly, there is research to support this.

John Hattie’s book, Visible Learning for Teachers, aims to make plain which visible efforts by schools and teachers have the greatest impact on students. Hattie has studied research on whether or not homework has a high, positive, effect on students. Does student choice have a large effect? Peer relations? Home life? Simulations and Gaming? Disruptive behaviors? And so forth. It’s a long list. One you can review here: visible-learning. 

Actually, it’s one I highly recommend you examine.

BUT

But, before you do, would you care to guess which visible behavior ranks the highest as having a positive effect on students and teachers in the classroom? Yeppers, that’d be the Mirror Moment, or as professionals like Hattie call it: “self-reported grades”.

Of course, educational research is not flawless. It can be and often is subjective. But, the data Hattie has compiled is compelling, enough that I’m going to give it a whirl this school year. Below is an image of a self-reporting grade card, I plan to present to students. Once a week, if my addled brain can remember to follow through on this, I will ask my students to stop for 3-4 minutes and reflect on their efforts in my classroom. I’ll ask them to look into the mirror and decide for themselves if they were attentive, managed to maintain good effort, and honestly attempted to complete classwork to the best of their abilities.

Kids are usually pretty honest about these things -sometimes too honest, scoring themselves lower than I might. We shall see.

We shall also see if Hattie’s data and my years of watching Mirror Moments hold up in the real world.

GW parents: If you're wondering how this can work for you at home, try asking your child to perform a similar reflection of her/his efforts to read or study at various points in the school year. I do recommend using an A/ B/ C/ Needs Improvement scale, as well as a short written piece, to help them frame their efforts. things. 

Focused Visualization by Ralph Lagana

Focused Visualization 

For those who struggle to comprehend, one of the hardest things to do is to "see" what's happening within the pages. Focused visualization is one way to assist a child with this difficulty.

Begin by locating a descriptive passage in the book your child is reading.

Before having your child read the passage, ask him to close his eyes and recall a favorite location. This can be a frequented vacation spot, the beach, or even your backyard. Ask: “What do you see? Hear and smell? How does this place make you feel?” 

Children, even very young ones, are often able to provide quite a bit of information as to what they’re “seeing”. 

If your child is having difficulty visualizing, try the experience yourself. Close your eyes and describe a place you both know well. 

Once you have successfully practiced visualizing a place, then note which words, which descriptive words, were used to make the image seen.

Now, give your child the clear purpose of reading the descriptive passage you’ve selected with the goal of visualizing what the author intended his readers to see. 

Below are some examples of highly descriptive passages that work well for focused visualization.

Andalucian Stallion

Standing on his hind legs, this rare Andalucía stallion is fearless. His ears are turned back while his noble looking head is held high. His all black coat glistens in the late afternoon sun. His face displays a strong confidence with his nostrils flared, his veins bulging from his cheek bones, and his fiery black eyes burning holes into the souls of those who stare into them. His neck muscles are tensed and thickened with adrenalin. His black main is thrown into the wind like a flag rippling in the winds of a tornado. His muscular front legs are brought up to his chest displaying his flashing gray hooves that could crush a man's scull with one blow. His backbone and underbelly are held almost straight up and his hind quarters are tensed. His back legs are spread apart for balance. His back hooves are pressed into the earth; therefore, his hooves cause deep gouges from the weight of his body on the soil. His black tail is held straight down and every once in a while a burst of wind catches it and then it floats down back into place like an elegant piece of silk falling from the sky. His bravery and strength are what made his breed prized as a warhorse. 

The Hot Fudge Sundae

In front of me on the table sat a beautiful pure white bowl, simplistic in design, hiding a decadent surprise inside. In the bowl was hidden something that was not so pure, however, the irresistible indulgence was worth every calorie that I knew it contained. As I looked inside I saw on the bottom of the bowl a hot, tender brownie loaded with macadamia nuts. I knew from past experience that the nuts had a creamy and smooth texture, almost like white chocolate. On top of the brownie were two firmly packed scoops of ice cream, laying side by side, each one a different flavor. The scoop on the right was a rich vanilla, flecked with dark specks of vanilla bean. The scoop on the left was a dark, smooth, bittersweet chocolate. The scoops were just starting to melt tiny rivers of melted cream down the sides of the hot brownie, pooling on the bottom of the pure white bowl. These scoops of ice cream were draped with a sumptuous, rich, hot fudge sauce. Topping the luscious sauce was an ample dollop of whipped cream that was in perfect contrast to the dense, almost too rich dessert below. The whipped cream was topped with a shower of chocolate sprinkles and finely chopped walnuts. What finally completed this wonderful creation was a perfect maraschino cherry, its red juice sending tiny streams down the whole mountain of dessert delight. The contrast of colors, textures and flavors in this dessert appealed to every part of my senses. I could not wait to eat it.