Articles
Aug 23, 2012
Reading Websites
There is a wide array of resources for teaching kids how to read, and many of them can be found online. From curriculum for teachers, to tips for parents, the Internet seems to have reading covered. But how can you find what’s bona fide when there is so much information vying for your attention? Here are a few things that any reading website worth its salt will have. Educators have found that reading is most effectively learned when the instruction is given in a structured, programmatic way. However lessons are delivered, whether in the classroom or through reading websites, lessons...
Aug 23, 2012
Reading Practice
Not surprisingly, the only way for young readers to develop into fluent readers is to practice reading. The term ‘practice’ makes it sound like young readers are engaging in a parallel activity to reading, related to it, but not exactly reading. However, reading practice is a bit like the practice of a musical instrument, in the sense that the only practice is in the doing of it. In some ways, reading practice is just another way of thinking about guided reading—reading appropriate to the child’s level of ability, so that the young reader can effectively develop the skills that will...
Aug 23, 2012
Teach Toddlers to Read
Reading is the most important skill that children can have in their educational ‘toolbox’, so to speak, and the plain truth is, children don’t just ‘pick-up’ reading, they have to learn how to read. And learning to read begins long before the first day of school. While children usually don’t begin to read until they are five or six, there are a variety of pre-reading and pre-literacy activities that help teach toddlers how to read, before they even enter the classroom. ### Sing Sing songs to your child, recite nursery rhymes, even simple songs and rhymes like “Eensy Weensy Spider”...
Aug 22, 2012
Reading Log
Reading logs can be a contentious issue for both educators and parents. For educators a reading log is often the signal of the trench war between enthusiasts for phonics and the devotees of whole language instruction. In a reductive nutshell, teachers who favour phonics tend to work on the literacy skills that help kids break down words into their parts in order to be able to read, while teachers who favour whole language instruction tend to favour the use of reading logs and stress the reading of entire texts. For parents, reading logs can seem like just another box to...