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!
Early identification of dyslexia can make a significant difference in a child’s reading development, confidence, and overall academic success. What signs are indicators of dyslexia? What are the social and emotional impacts? What can be done to help a child with dyslexia? This article from the Child Mind Institute provides answers to these and other important questions for parents of young children who are struggling with reading. (Shared on Facebook by Park City Education Foundation)
Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read?
What can you do over the UEA break? PLEASE take the time to read or listen to this article & the follow-up we will post, too. PC READS advocated for changes to our PCSD elementary reading curriculum for several years based upon the science of reading & is proud to be a partner on the initiative that brought Wilson Fundations to our classrooms! And, our Professional Development Grants are supporting educators as they learn more about the science of reading.
A FEW EXCERPTS FROM THE ARTICLE:
By some estimates, one-third of America’s struggling readers are from college-educated families.
But without explicit and systematic phonics instruction, many children won’t ever learn to read very well.
“There are thousands of studies,” said Louisa Moats, an education consultant and researcher who has been teaching and studying reading since the 1970s. “This is the most studied aspect of human learning.”
There is no debate at this point among scientists that reading is a skill that needs to be explicitly taught by showing children the ways that sounds and letters correspond. “It’s so accepted in the scientific world that if you just write another paper about these fundamental facts and submit it to a journal they won’t accept it because it’s considered settled science,” Moats said.
You can find schools and school districts across the United States that are trying to change reading instruction the way Bethlehem has, but according to Moats, ill-informed, ineffective reading instruction is the norm. “The gap between science-based ideas and practices and those most often used in our classrooms remains very wide and persistent,” she wrote in a recent article.
The Couple Who Helped Decode Dyslexia
A heartfelt thank you to Sally and Bennett Shaywitz for their continued passion to study and understand “our” children!
Dyslexia Awareness Part 1: Module 1 – About Dyslexia
From Made By Dyslexia
“Anything you need to do to support a dyslexic child is great teaching practice for all children.”
SUMMARY PROVIDED: Dyslexia Awareness Part 1: About Dyslexia – Celebrities including Sir Richard Branson, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom and Maggie Aderin-Pocock join expert teachers from two world leading dyslexia schools to share their wisdom and expertise in these inspirational Dyslexia Awareness Training films produced by Made By Dyslexia. Millfield School UK and Schenck School USA are both pioneers in the field of dyslexia and the first schools in their respective countries to successfully support dyslexic students and focus on dyslexic strengths. These films have been incorporated into 5 Dyslexia Awareness Training modules designed to help teachers, educators and parents understand dyslexia, both its strengths and challenges, gain essential knowledge in how to recognise and support it, and create a dyslexia inclusive classroom.
Why Millions Of Kids Can’t Read And What Better Teaching Can Do About It
Emily Hanford, Senior Correspondent for APM Reports, highlights how the science of reading is being taught to teachers in Bethlehem, PA.
“The Bethlehem district has invested approximately $3 million since 2015 on training, materials and support to help its early elementary teachers and principals learn the science of how reading works and how children should be taught.”
Taking Time for Summer Fun
This article, written by Kyle Redford, has something for everyone with an eye towards ensuring that your child has a summer balanced with fun and learning. It’s worth printing out to read each year!
