Some states are leading the way in providing teacher training based in the science of reading. Let’s hope more follow this path!
Riccards: Twenty Years After the National Reading Panel, It’s Time for a Reading Rights Movement
Rushing to Fill the Gaps Coronavirus Has Widened
More great resources for distance-learning! These resources are not specific to struggling readers; however, all parents might find helpful information in the links about working on reading at home, including reading passages to use at home – some even offer passages in Spanish.
How to Handle IEPs During the Coronavirus Crisis? Some Expert Advice
EXCERPT: Education Week interviewed three experts—a special education attorney, an attorney who represents school districts in special education disputes, and a professor who studied special education law for decades—to find out what advice they have on handling IEPs during the global pandemic.
During the discussions, three common themes emerged. Schools should: provide services to students as soon as possible; worry more about making progress than following the letter of the law; and understand that much of federal law wasn’t written with online education in mind.
20 Things Only Parents Of Children With Dyslexia Would Understand
A great list for all to understand! All are important, but #16 is a favorite!
#16 – Dyslexic kids are individuals. Their disabilities come in all ranges. Some may exhibit symptoms of ADD, while others will not. Some have real difficulty putting thoughts into words, while others are much more verbal. Some are of average intellectual ability, while others are truly gifted. Some have “acting out behavior;” while others are too quiet. It is unfair to treat all dyslexic children as if they are one homogeneous group.
Thank You Dyslexia Moms: Now Can We Get Some Back Up?
We are definitely thankful for all the moms, dads, advocates, educators, journalists and policymakers who are working hard every day to ensure that every child learns to read.
Take a moment to enjoy this piece & take note of the excellent resource list at the end, too.
At Risk in the Culture of ‘Normal’
We are so excited that Jonathan Mooney is coming to Park City on October 30th! Read the Op-Ed he wrote for the New York Times.
Utah State Dyslexia Handbook
The Utah State Board of Education published a Dyslexia Handbook in 2018. PC READS Executive Director, Elissa Aten, participated in the taskforce that drafted this important document. It is a resource for educators and parents and we encourage all to read and share it!
Dyslexia: Cracking the code
Thank you, Susan Spencer & CBS Sunday Morning for your report this morning on dyslexia!
SUMMARY: “Yale researchers who have studied hundreds of kindergartners for nearly 40 years say one in five was dyslexic. But perhaps their most important finding: There is no link at all between dyslexia and intelligence. Susan Spencer reports on efforts to help those with dyslexia “crack the code,” from students at a Louisiana school catering to dyslexic children, to a new law to help the high percentage of prison inmates who have dyslexia.”
Yale researchers who have studied hundreds of kindergartners for nearly 40 years say one in five was dyslexic. But perhaps their most important finding: Ther…
At a Loss for Words: How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers
“In 2015, 37% of students in 12th grade were proficient or advanced in reading.”
One of our favorite reporters, Emily Hanford, is back with another insightful audio documentary about reading instruction and the continued need to ensure that the science of reading is understood by educators and put to practice in classrooms.
Too many students have been “taught” how to read using insufficient strategies or programs, such as three-cuing, MSV (meaning, structure & visual), whole language and balanced literacy.
“These poor reading habits, once ingrained at a young age, can follow kids into high school. Some kids who were taught the cueing approach never become good readers. Not because they’re incapable of learning to read well but because they were taught the strategies of struggling readers.”
We Have a National Reading Crisis
“Unfinished learning around literacy” is a reason the PC READS provides Professional Development Grants to educators in the Park City area. Thank you to all the educators who continue to learn! And, thank you to The Hall Family Fund for your support of this important program!
EXCERPT: Educators urgently need a national movement for professional learning about reading. We should declare a No Shame Zone for this work—to make it safe for all educators to say, “I have unfinished learning around literacy.”
Identifying students with dyslexia in middle, high school
It’s so important to recognize the older students who are silently struggling. Looking forward to the rest of this five-part series on supporting middle-schoolers, high-schoolers and adults with dyslexia. We also are grateful for the time that the author, Donell Pons, has given to PC READS!
EXCERPT: There is no such thing as a “good” or “bad” speller. By accepting the “good” or “bad” speller idea, it absolves us from doing anything to improve the outcome. Think about how much damage has been done in the field of teaching mathematics by falling back on the erroneous idea that some people are simply “good” or “bad” at math. Simply put, people struggle with math or spelling for the same reasons. Many educators have not been given the training and resources to accommodate students with dyslexia, and especially older students with dyslexia who are out of the initial learning curve of reading.
The Ladder of Reading
A wonderful infographic showing the need and effectiveness for Structured Literacy.
The Benefits of Ear-Reading
If you are in the Park City School District and have a child that would benefit from ear-reading, please speak to the school. This is the second year of a district-wide subscription to Learning Ally and, having advocated for the program, PC READS wants to ensure that it’s successful! A special thanks to the Park City Education Foundation for funding the original Learning Ally school grant at Parley’s Park several years ago.
EXCERPT: The effective use of assistive technology coupled with an explicit structured literacy curriculum can be life-changing for students with learning differences. Try one of these tools to see if your students will come out of their shell. Give them the freedom to choose what topics they want to learn about and watch the transformation in their self-belief that they can be successful readers and achievers.
Why Are We Still Teaching Reading the Wrong Way?
This article is based upon author Emily Hanford’s audio documentary for APM Reports, “Hard Words: Why Aren’t Kids Being Taught to Read?”
Excerpt: “There is no excuse for this. Colleges of education have to start requiring that their faculties teach the science of reading. Children’s futures depend on it.”
Thank you to our PCSD K-3 teachers who are putting the science of reading back into the classrooms through Wilson Fundations!
