Fluent readers are readers who not only sound good while they’re reading, but who also understand what they’re reading. And by “good,” I mean that when they read, they sound natural and conversational, not choppy or disconnected. We all know how hard it is to listen to non-fluent reading, and we all know how fluent reading should sound. But how do we help them get from non-fluent to fluent? What should parents do when their kids are not fluent readers? And more importantly, what can parents do to help their children read more fluently? CONTINUE READING
Category: Dyslexia
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Fun-Inspired Learning Games from Teachers’ Treasures
Tyron Edwards said, “To waken interest and kindle enthusiasm is the sure way to teach easily and successfully.”
Educators around the world have found that incorporating fun learning games into their lesson plans not only wakes interest when a class of new students meets for the first time, but also for a group already familiar with each other. Both time-tested games, such as dominoes, new ones that are created somewhere each day, and spur-of-the-moment games that pop into the minds of seasoned teachers—just when they need them—have a way of grabbing and holding attention, strengthening concentration, and stirring emotion among the players. Plato said, “All learning has an emotional base.” If the games are intriguing enough to invite and rivet attention, boost concentration, and create a healthy passion for participation, the likelihood of retaining the information presented is high.It is no secret that young learners who can relax can pay attention and maintain concentration on any task at hand with greater ease than those who may feel nervous or anxious. In addition, whatever is learned in a more relaxed state enhances retention of the information. In turn, remembering what has been learned fosters self-esteem, which furthers motivation. So, at the heart and soul of many learning philosophies, instructing strategies, and teaching systems, relaxation is held in high regard.
Combining a Passion for Participation with Relaxation
It seems that one wonderful combination to help children learn is by teaming a passion for participation with relaxation. The handful of multi-sensory games shared here are favorites from Austria, Bulgaria, and the United States that invite participation and foster relaxation. Even further, the activities are organized incrementally to support confident learning. -
You think English is easy??
We got this emailed, and we think it is pretty amazing.
Read all the way to the end.
This took a lot of work to put together!You think English is easy??
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
21) She was driving in the driving rain after driving him crazy on the driving range.
Let’s face it – English is a crazy language! There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French Fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
PS. – Why doesn’t ‘Buick’ rhyme with ‘quick’ ?
You lovers of the English language might enjoy this…
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is ‘UP’.
It’s easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report ?
We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house, and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning, but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP! When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn’t rain for a while, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so……..it is time to shut UP!
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Ways Parents Can Help with Spelling
This nice infographic shows how parents can help their children with spelling (Source).
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Stoke Books: New Book Releases for Dyslexic Teenagers
Stoke Books is delighted to announce the release of six dazzling books for Spring 2013. These novels offer struggling teenage readers the scope and feel of mainstream fiction from award-winning and best-selling writers, with gripping and edgy plots to keep them interested. If you are interested in learning more, please have a look at the press release in the link below, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages!
Stoke Books titles are designed to develop young people’s perception of themselves as readers and increase their enjoyment of fiction, even where a lack of experience or processing difficulties (including dyslexia) may act as a barrier to accessing the written word. We believe that the key to opening up a love of reading is the chance to experience great writing, and we are committed to pairing the least confident readers with the best authors in the world.
We distribute Stoke Books in the United States and I wanted to give you a little more insight on Stoke’s titles. They’re targeted to middle school and high school readers with Dyslexia but are written at third and fourth grade reading levels—many by bestselling authors—making them very accessible. The books are commissioned, edited and designed to break down the barriers that can stop teens from wanting to read due to lack of confidence and reluctance through visual stress and dyslexia. The font, spacing, editing, paper and short, punchy chapter structure all help readers focus on the most important thing – the compelling story.
The paper in each book is lightly tinted to reduce glare, tackle visual stress, and stop words appearing to ‘dance’ on the page. The font is designed to make each letter as distinctive as possible, to help with word and character recognition, promote good eye-tracking, and lead the eye onwards. The layout is carefully calculated to ensure words and letters don’t encroach on each other and confuse the eye, and give enough text per line to allow readers to ‘chunk’ for meaning.
Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about Stoke Books. We hope you’ll find this information useful.
Friend us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Stokebooks
Find it on Amazon: Stoke Books titles
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I am dyslexic
In our schools, there are still far too many children whose dyslexia or dyscalculia is not recognized. The children are seen as stupid, lazy, unwilling to learn, difficult, etc. Watch this wonderful video in which a young woman talks about her dyslexia. She used to think she was just too stupid until she discovered, at the age of 18, that she is dyslexic. This happens to many people! That’s why it’s so important that parents and teachers know the signs of dyslexia and take these signs seriously. A lot of people think dyslexia will just disappear. Well, it does not!
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Handwriting Worksheet Wizard
With the ESL Writing Wizard, you can easily make worksheets for handwriting practice. You can change the font (print or cursive), the size, and the line patterns. With a few clicks, you can create one-word worksheets or multi-word worksheets. The Writing Wizard is a free resource for teachers and homeschooling moms and dads. Access the ESL wizard here.
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Apple iBook: Dyslexia – Dyscalculia !?
An interactive iBook for the iPad shows solutions for persons with dyslexia and dyscalculia. It is on sale for only $1.99 .
In this inspiring publication Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller and Livia R. Pailer-Duller show again that they are experts on the subject of dyslexia and dyscalculia. With incredible insight they show the necessity of helping people with dyslexia and dyscalculia on an educational-didactic level. This is of preeminent importance for success when helping people who have difficulties with reading, writing, or calculating.
More information: http://www.dyslexia-dyscalculia.com
The iBook is available in the iTunes Store USA.
