Don M. Winn's Blog, page 8

Raising Readers from Birth: An Interview with Kim Jocelyn Dickson

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve staying at my grandmother’s house and sitting her lap while she read to me. This was a rare occurrence in my life—I didn’t get to visit my grandmother very often, and my parents didn’t read to me. Looking back, I wonder how my life would have been different if my parents had read to me on a regular basis. Today, most parents are aware of the value of reading to their child, but life is busy, and it may seem very difficult to make the time to read together. Not to mention that we most likely tend to spend our limited free time using our various electronic devices. Why is it still important for parents to read with their children, and why is raising readers from birth a worthy goal for parents?

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In her book The Invisible Toolbox, educator, author, and mom, Kim Jocelyn Dickson, talks about the power of reading to your child from birth to adolescence, and she has graciously agreed to be interviewed for this blog.

Don: When did you know you would be writing your book?

Kim: That’s a tough question because it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when I decided to do a book about the importance of reading to a child from birth. What I can tell you is that there are two moments that stand out in my mind when I had breakthrough realizations about what is going on with children and reading. They had a lot to do with my motivation to write The Invisible Toolbox.

The first came during a parent-teacher conference when I was a third-grade teacher several years ago. Three of us sat at one of those kidney shaped classroom tables: a mother; her daughter who, despite interventions, was struggling mightily with reading; and me. This mother was understandably distraught that her daughter was behind and asked me to recommend workbooks that her daughter could complete at home to help her catch up. I pictured this little girl sitting at the kitchen table at home, laboring over workbook pages in order to improve her reading, and it broke my heart. I told her mother that a better idea would be to take her daughter to the library, get her a library card, visit regularly, and read to her. This little girl had no “buy in” when it came to reading simply because she hadn’t been read to.

The kind of nurturing that parents need to do before a child ever sets foot in kindergarten is critical and foundational in order for a child to be able to grasp the specific reading skills that will be taught in school. There’s an internal infrastructure that needs to be built first that includes simply experiencing the joy of being read to. Otherwise, those skill-based teachings children encounter in school have no place to land. This little girl had had plenty of teaching, even remedial help, but had no concept whatsoever of the value of reading for herself personally. This “buy in” is crucial for a child and needs to happen before they ever begin school. It’s the reason that 75% of children not reading on grade level by third grade will never catch up.

It was at this point that I began to think about how I wished I could meet all my future students’ parents at the door of the maternity ward with a stack of books and encourage them to begin reading to their babies right from the start.

The second moment that stands out in my mind came later when I was teaching fifth grade at an independent school. One of my students had checked out and shared a copy of Goodnight iPad with me, a gentle, yet spot on parody of Goodnight Moon that illuminates how drastically home life has changed since the debut of the iPad. In the story, it’s evening and each member of the family is spread out, isolated on their own devices, the family bookshelf is growing cobwebs. . . you get the idea. It’s funny and disturbing at the same time because it captures in a very visceral way the truth of where we are right now. I could already see the impact that unfettered access to these devices was having on my students. Fewer were reading for pleasure, more were spending free time on screens.

We began to see students from more affluent backgrounds with reading issues. The proliferation of screens has had a huge impact on children’s readiness for school. Parents are busy, and many just don’t realize how critical the first five years are in building a foundation for future school success. At this point, my passion to help parents understand what’s at stake really grew.

I couldn’t actually meet the parents of my future students at the exit door of the maternity ward, so I wrote The Invisible Toolbox instead.

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Don: How would you define preliteracy, and why do you feel it is important to the concept of raising readers from birth?

Kim: Preliteracy has to do with nurturing the internal infrastructure that will prepare a child to learn to read when they come to school. I’ve called this infrastructure the Invisible Toolbox because every child has one, but only the children who have been read to will have one that contains the tools they will need to be successful.

What we now know is that babies begin learning from the beginning. Eighty-five percent of human brain growth occurs by age 3. The synapses between neurons, or brain cells, are firing and making connections from the get-go. Reading, singing, and speaking to our babies stimulate this and create the tools that will fill a child’s Invisible Toolbox and prepare them to be able to access what the world of school offers.

Don: What have you noticed about struggling readers—especially those with dyslexia? What differences are there for those who arrive at kindergarten with a full toolbox and those without?

Kim: Some struggling readers are dyslexic, but not all. I think too often we assume that any child who struggles with reading has an organic learning or processing issue—that is, one that is present from birth—and that is simply not so. Many of our struggling readers struggle because they have empty toolboxes.

Children with dyslexia who have full toolboxes have a much better chance of overcoming their challenge and experiencing success in school. I tell the story of one of my former students in my book. He had a significant visual processing disability that made decoding very difficult. To hear him read aloud almost hurt because it seemed so painful for him. I was astounded, however, by the depth of his comprehension skills. They excelled in diametrical opposition to his decoding abilities. How was this even possible, I wondered? How can you understand something you struggle so to even decode?

I learned that both his parents were teachers and that he’d been read to a lot. This boy had significant emotional support and also had a well-developed Invisible Toolbox that somehow compensated and enabled him to succeed beyond his processing limitations. There seemed something almost miraculous and mysterious about this. But he also worked very hard. He had tremendous perseverance, which I think is a quality directly related to the emotional support he had from his parents.

Children who have organic processing issues and empty Invisible Toolboxes are in the worst possible position. Overcoming not only their processing issues, but also the lack of an internal infrastructure that prepares them for reading will be a Herculean challenge.

Don: I was fascinated with your mention of “tacit knowing” in your book. How would you explain that term in relation to raising readers from birth?

Kim: Tacit knowing is a theory by Michael Polanyi that simply means “we know more than we can say.” I learned about this in a theological or faith context, but I think it applies to just about any context. It’s the idea that humans have the ability to know or understand something that is beyond their ability to express with language. This can happen when we read an author or a poet who gives words to something that we feel or know but are unable to put into words for ourselves.

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In my book, I explain it in the context of a baby who may not be able to understand the words a parent reads or speaks or even sings to them, but will understand the feeling or action that is behind the words. And that, of course, is love. When we read to our pre-language babies, what they will know is that they are loved, and this connection is the thing that will drive and cultivate their growth emotionally and mentally.

Don: Your book lists ten tools in a child’s Toolbox. Tool Number Eight: “The Ability to Find Joy, Anytime, Anywhere,” seems an especially powerful one, more so now than ever. What do parents need to know about this tool?

Kim: We are in a time now when, more than ever, it’s critical for children to learn to entertain themselves. With COVID cases spiking again this summer and their usual activities, including school, disrupted, children are home more than usual with time on their hands.

We all know that screens are an easy solution for keeping them busy, just as we all know that too much exposure is not good for them and potentially even harmful. Reading is a much healthier alternative.

Reading is one of the few endeavors humans can use to escape that has virtually no downside. A child who is captivated by a book may lose sleep, but other than that the side effects are positive. I remember when my son was very young and discovered The Great Brain series. I would occasionally find him hunkered down in his bunk bed with the light on reading into the wee hours. “Just let me finish this chapter, Mom!” he’d plead. Fortunately, it was summer, and he had the luxury of sleeping in.

As I mentioned earlier, when we read fiction we experience it as if it’s actually happening to us. The effects of escaping into reading are that we expand our understanding of the world, our experience of people, our capacity for language and empathy. We literally become smarter. All of these things have a positive outcome on our sense of well-being and self-esteem. Studies now show that reading puts our brains into a state similar to meditation and that it brings the same health benefits: deeper relaxation, inner calm, lower stress levels, and lower rates of depression.

We are in a moment right now where children and adults are feeling trapped and needing healthy, life-affirming ways to use their time. You’re correct, “the ability to find joy anytime, anywhere” is a powerful tool, and an especially important one right now. One of the most important things a parent can do during this time of disruption is to encourage their child’s pleasure in reading. This includes their independent reading for fun as well as read-aloud time with a parent. The latter can be an especially important habit to build during this time of high anxiety, quelling not only the anxiety of children, but their parents too.

When their children read daily for pleasure, COVID Slide—the loss of learning due to school disruption—is not as great a concern. Children who read will continue to learn and grow regardless of whether school is in full session or not.

Don: Tool Number Ten: “Empathy and the Ability to Understand Others,” emphasizes the power of social and emotional learning. Social and emotional learning may not be a familiar term for some parents. How would you explain this term and its importance?

Kim: Social-emotional learning has to do with the ability to understand one’s self and others. It requires that a person is in touch with their own inner life, which is the ability to be aware of and to reflect on one’s own thoughts and feelings. This is a fairly high-level skill that rarely occurs naturally, and must be nurtured. You may recall a book by Daniel Coleman that came out a few years ago called Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than I.Q. The basic premise is that a person’s ability to interact with others empathetically is a more important quality in predicting their success than intellectual intelligence.

Studies show that reading fiction develops the capacity for empathy. By putting ourselves into the characters’ shoes—which is what we do when we read—we practice empathy. Interestingly, the brain networks that are used to understand stories are the same networks used to understand social interactions with others.

I’m not suggesting that reading can replace actual interactions with others, but what it can do is enhance our ability to understand them. I’ve seen it time and again in the classroom. Children who read more have an expanded capacity not only to understand, but also to articulate their own feelings and those of others.

Don: Your book also includes tools for a Parent’s Toolbox. How can parents discover the power of rituals, and how do they awaken and support a child’s inner life?

Kim: One of the most important rituals a parent can establish is a daily read aloud time with their child. I recommend doing this from the beginning and carrying it on as long as you possibly can. Reading to your child daily will have a powerful impact on helping your child fall in love with both reading and learning. It will also provide a daily source of connection between the two of you. In my book I explain how this engagement between you, your child, and the story helps to nurture and awaken a child’s inner life. Sharing a book together gives you and a child the opportunity to discuss not only the story, but also your child’s feelings and thoughts about it. Doing this together communicates that you value them—which encourages them to trust themselves and supports their sense of self-worth.

Don: Two of the most common impediments parents have in reading with their child are a lack of time, and a sense of inadequacy because they themselves are not good readers. What suggestions do you have for parents experiencing these issues?

Kim: Filling our own toolboxes, as a parent, is critical in helping our children get off to a good start, so one of the chapters is devoted to just that. There’s no question that raising a child is more difficult for anyone whose upbringing didn’t give them the tools they need in order to parent. I firmly believe that it’s never too late to parent ourselves and that it’s critical that we do this for our own sake as well as for our children’s.

When we become a parent it opens up a world of opportunity for us to grow. Growing as a reader is one avenue that is always open to us and is an important one to explore because the truth is we are our child’s first reading teacher. There can be emotional hurdles as well as practical ones to overcome. For parents with their own reading difficulties or language differences, audio books can be a great avenue for supporting their own as well as their child’s reading. Public libraries also offer wonderful resources for supporting literacy for children as well as adults. The emotional hurdles can be harder to face than the practical ones, but doing so will result in enormous benefits for both parent and your child.

During pre-COVID life, finding time to read was a barrier for many, but the truth is we devote time to the things that we value. I cover practical ways to do this in my book, but also recommend beginning a ritual of reading aloud in infancy so that it becomes a natural part of your family’s daily rhythm. It is harder to do later, but certainly not impossible.

Don: What would you tell a parent who feels that it’s too late to begin reading aloud to their child?

Kim: It’s not too late. It may not be easy, but it’s not too late. As I mentioned earlier, statistically, 75% of children who aren’t reading on grade level by third grade will never catch up. So what about that remaining 25%? They do catch up. How do they do that? It takes a concerted desire and effort to grow. New habits need to be developed. Most of the students I’ve encountered who read below grade level don’t necessarily lack the skills to do so. The reason they don’t read well is that they simply don’t read. Period. Like anything, reading is an endeavor that needs to be practiced in order to progress. Spending more time doing it will bring improvement.

The key to a child’s wanting to read more, of course, is tied into helping them find their way to the books they enjoy. As J.K. Rowling says, “If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” Librarians are a great resource for pointing kids—and their parents—to the right book.

Here’s the good news: Even if your child is older, by supporting their independent reading and by reading to them as well, parents can have a huge impact on their child’s attitude about reading, which will result in greater success in school and beyond.

Don: Is there anything I haven’t asked that you would like to share?

Kim: Yes. Our current pandemic aside, I think it’s harder than ever to be a parent today. I have great empathy for people who are parenting during this period of time. Everyone is bombarded with distractions on every side—parents and kids alike. At some point, we have to learn to shut out the noise and decide what is really important.

I appreciated what Jeff Conyers, the president of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, had to say about The Invisible Toolbox: “(It) shares a simple truth that rises above the flood of information parents are subjected to: ‘Reading aloud from birth is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give.’”

If we, as parents, build a foundation of loving reading from the beginning—or from whatever starting point we can—we are in a much stronger position to navigate all these challenges and make good life-balance decisions for our children and ourselves.

Conclusion:

Kim, thank you so much for sharing your words of wisdom and inspiration! I know my readers will be moved to persevere with their own children and students because of your helpful information.

The Invisible Toolbox is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online retailers.

Connect with Kim:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimjocelyndickson/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimjocelyndickson

Twitter:https://twitter.com/kimjdickson

Websites:

https://kimjocelyndickson.com/

https://theinvisibletoolbox.org

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Bio: Kim Jocelyn Dickson (M.A. Princeton Theological Seminary; B.S. University of Missouri-Columbia), a parent, educator, writer, and lifelong lover of books, grew up doing all the things she currently does now in her adult life. She played school—somehow always getting to be the teacher—read books and loved to write. Books have always had a powerful influence on her, from inspiring her play as a child to inspiring her to become an author as an adult.

Kim has nearly thirty years of experience in the elementary school classroom, has taught in public and private schools in the east, Midwest, and west coast of the United States, currently teaches literature and writing in an independent school in Southern California, and frequently speaks on the powerful impact reading can have on young lives. Kim is the published author of various articles in psychology, literature, biography, women’s issues, religion, and Gifts from the Spirit: Reflections on the Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, a collection of reflective essays on the beloved author of Gift from the Sea. Her latest is the book she hopes all new parents read: The Invisible Toolbox: The Power of Reading to Your Child from Birth to Adolescence.

Additional reading and resources:

For a thorough discussion of the social and emotional support needed for children with dyslexia, read my award-winning book, Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know, available in softcover, hardcover, eBook, and audio.

And to learn more about how every student best learns to read, I recommend Failing Students or Failing Schools? A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention, by reading specialist Faith Borkowsky.

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators. Visit my Amazon author page for more information.

The post Raising Readers from Birth: An Interview with Kim Jocelyn Dickson appeared first on Author Don Winn's Blog.

Help a Dyslexic Child Develop a Positive Mindset

We all know how difficult it can be to develop new beneficial habits (or to ditch bad ones). Fortunately, a behavioral scientist from Stanford University can teach us a mind-blowing amount about how to do this. This information works for everyone, but these brain-hacks are going to be especially powerful for those of us—young and old—who struggle with dyslexia. Successfully making changes has to do with a person’s mindset. And parents can help a dyslexic child develop a positive mindset that will help them develop good habits.

B.J. Fogg, PhD, founder of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University, wrote the very accessible book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. In this book, he walks us through the science of creating positive change.

It’s Not Your Fault

Fogg states, “Over the last twenty years, I’ve found that most everyone wants to make some kind of change . . . but there is a painful gap between what people want and what they actually do. They blame it on themselves for the most part. They internalize the cultural message of ‘It’s your fault! You should exercise more, but you don’t! Shame on you!’ I am here to say, it isn’t your fault. We are not the problem. Our approach to change is. It’s a design flaw, not a personal flaw.”

Here are some gems that I especially appreciate as they relate to dyslexia or the struggling student:

“If there’s one concept from my book I hope you embrace, it’s this: People change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad.”“Emotions create habits.”“Once you remove any hint of judgment, your behavior becomes a science experiment. A sense of exploration and discovery is a prerequisite to success, not just an added bonus.”“The easier a behavior is to do, the more likely the behavior will become a habit. This applies to habits we consider ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ It doesn’t matter. Behavior is behavior. It all works the same way.”“The essence of Tiny Habits is this: take a behavior you want, make it tiny, find where it fits naturally in your life, and nurture its growth. If you want to create long-term change, it’s best to start small.”

Removing judgment, and then approaching a situation with curiosity, discovery, and a sense of exploration are all keys to helping the struggling student. (Or anyone desiring new behaviors). Only this model allows the struggling student to cope with their situation and optimize their strengths. If you can help a dyslexic child develop a positive mindset, you give them the tools they need to develop that sense of exploration and discovery.

7 Steps to New Habits

Let’s do a practice run with Fogg’s model.

Let’s say I’m a kid who needs to do his homework.

OK.

Step 1: Clarify the Aspiration.

I need to do my homework, but I’m dreading it because it’s hard. I’d rather play video games.

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Step 2: Explore Behavior Options

I could go ahead and play video games, or take a nap, or ride my bike, or get on social media, or actually get my homework done.

Step 3: Match with Specific Behaviors

Since I really need to get this homework done, I need to get all my books and assignment sheets and pencils and paper together in a place I can do the work. I could also ask for help, have a snack, or turn on some music that helps me concentrate.

Step 4: Start Tiny

I’m putting one book on the table and sitting down.

Step 5: Find a Good Prompt

Since I have to sit at the table, I’ll use that as my anchoring prompt. After I sit down, I will open my book and get started. I’ll use this same prompt every day to cement the habit in place. Sitting at the table = time to get stuff done!

Step 6: Celebrate Successes

As soon as I sit down and open my book, I’m going to raise my arms in victory! I’m making a good choice and I’m gonna get this done! Yay, me!!! And the crowd goes wild!!!

Step 7: Troubleshoot as needed

If I get distracted, I may need to focus on an easier item on my homework list. I may need a snack or a drink of water. I may need to turn the music on or off. Or if I’m feeling resistance to starting the new habit, can I just pick up a book? Can I then just put it on the table. Yes and yes! Then all I have to do is sit down. I can do that too. Then it’s celebrate the win, open the book, and begin!

The Power of Celebration-Feeling “Shine”

What I really appreciate in Fogg’s outline is the celebration of successes, and the positive effect that has on shaping new behaviors and mining human potential. Fogg calls this moment in the process “feeling Shine.”

He states, “You know this feeling already. You feel Shine when you ace an exam. You feel Shine when you give a great presentation and people clap at the end. You feel Shine when you smell something delicious that you cooked for the first time.”

He continues, “By celebrating, you create a feeling of Shine, which in turn causes your brain to encode the new habit. If I could teach you Tiny Habits in person, I would start by focusing on celebrations. I would help you find celebrations that are natural and effective for you. We would practice them together and it would be a blast. I would train you in celebrations before teaching you about the Fogg Behavior Model, or the power of simplicity, or Anchors, or Recipes for Tiny Habits. Celebrations would be first—because it’s the most important skill for creating habits.”

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The Power of Celebration in Helping a Dyslexic Child Develop a Positive Mindset

As a guy who grew up with very little in the way of support for my dyslexia and who struggled daily at work as an adult, I didn’t do much celebrating. But I invite you to put celebration—Shine—on your map, and that of your child. We’re overdue for some celebration, and that positive reinforcement can move mountains. So parents, use those small celebrations to help a dyslexic child to develop a positive mindset.

Here’s what Fogg has to say in this regard:

“Celebration will one day be ranked alongside mindfulness and gratitude as daily practices that contribute most to our overall happiness and well-being. If you learn just one thing from my entire book, I hope it’s this: Celebrate your tiny successes. This one small shift in your life can have a massive impact even when you feel there is no way up or out of your situation. Celebration can be your lifeline.”

For a thorough discussion of the social and emotional support needed for children with dyslexia, read my award-winning book, Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know, available in softcover, hardcover, eBook, and audio.

And to learn more about how every student best learns to read, I recommend Failing Students or Failing Schools? A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention, by reading specialist Faith Borkowsky.

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators. Visit my Amazon author page for more information.

The post Help a Dyslexic Child Develop a Positive Mindset appeared first on Author Don Winn's Blog.

Learning to Read Is Not Enough for Dyslexics

I was talking with a friend the other day who is passionate about children learning to read. It was a great conversation since I am passionate about that topic as well. But as we said our goodbyes, I was left feeling vaguely dissatisfied, and I had to sit for a while and analyze why this was the case. What finally surfaced was this: sometimes learning to read is not enough for dyslexics.

Learning to read is only a part of the picture for a well-rounded child. Unless any and all other learning challenges are also addressed, the child will struggle needlessly. A child’s education must also include social and emotional learning. Growing up and formal education is a package deal: learning how to function socially and cope with one’s emotions is intertwined with every task required of learners and is just as important as the three Rs.

Nothing bears out the truth of these statements like my own experience. Not very many people know the full scope of my experiences with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia. My dear friend and fellow author Lois Letchford wanted to take a more in-depth look at the life-long effects I’ve experienced as a result of only having some reading intervention and no support for any other aspects of my struggles. In a two-part interview, I share my dyslexic version of “What Not to Wear.” In other words, “Please don’t let this happen to your kid.”

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It’s true that every child needs to learn to read. But sometimes learning to read is not enough for dyslexics. A dyslexic child needs to learn and understand all areas of life, and that includes social and emotional learning.

Please note: the two interview parts aren’t linked, so links to Part 1 and Part 2 are below.

Lois Speaks with Dyslexic Author Don M. Winn Part One

Lois Speaks with Dyslexic Author Don M. Winn Part Two

For a thorough discussion of the social and emotional support children with dyslexia require, read my award-winning book, Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know, available in softcover, hardcover, eBook, and audio.

And to learn more about how every student best learns to read, I recommend Failing Students or Failing Schools? A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention, by reading specialist Faith Borkowsky.

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators. Visit my Amazon author page for more information.

The post Learning to Read Is Not Enough for Dyslexics appeared first on Author Don Winn's Blog.

Coping with a Sense of Loss of Control

My brain is like a computer with 20 tabs open, and I never know which one the music is coming from. These days, this family joke applies in a more literal sense. Nowadays, every tab on the computer screen takes me down another rabbit hole of information, misinformation, theory, opinion, or Op-Ed. The world as we know it is undergoing a state of transition and it feels like a free fall. It’s no surprise that many of us yearn for the once-familiar feeling of firm ground beneath our feet. We struggle with coping with a sense of loss of control.

A definition of loss and lost

I recently encountered a quote that stopped me in my tracks because it so poignantly captures what we are all going through. The quote is from essayist Rebecca Solnit’s book, A Field Guide to Getting Lost. It reads, “There’s another art of being at home in the unknown, so that being in its midst isn’t cause for panic or suffering, of being at home with being lost.

“Lost [is] mostly a state of mind, and this applies as much to all the metaphysical and metaphorical states of being lost as to blundering around in the backcountry.

“The question then is how to get lost. Never to get lost is not to live, not to know how to get lost brings you to destruction, and somewhere in the terra incognita in between lies a life of discovery.”

Solnit continues, “Lost really has two disparate meanings. Losing things is about the familiar falling away, getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing. There are objects and people that disappear from your sight or knowledge or possession; you lose a bracelet, a friend, the key. You still know where you are. Everything is familiar except that there is one item less, one missing element. Or you get lost, in which case the world has become larger than your knowledge of it. Either way, there is a loss of control.”

The sense of loss of control

Life has imbued us with certain values. Many of them may focus on the need for control, a long-term plan, a clear sense of direction. Humanity is accustomed to and comfortable with the idea of feeling in control. Sheltering in place can make us feel out of control. Ironically, from the enforced smallness of many days spent sheltering in place, “the world has become larger than [our] knowledge of it.” By staying home, we may feel stripped of many personal freedoms (freedoms once taken for granted). Suddenly, it’s easy to feel as if all our power to control our own lives is MIA as well. How can we succeed at coping with a sense of loss of control?

Coping with a sense of loss of control – choices

Solnit reminds us that we do. She writes, “Imagine yourself streaming through time shedding gloves, umbrellas, wrenches, books, friends, homes, names. This is what the view looks like if you take a rear-facing seat on the train. Looking forward you constantly acquire moments of arrival, moments of realization, moments of discovery. The wind blows your hair back and you are greeted by what you have never seen before. The material falls away in onrushing experience. It peels off like skin from a molting snake. Of course, to forget the past is to lose the sense of loss that is also memory of an absent richness and a set of clues to navigate the present by; the art is not one of forgetting but letting go. And when everything else is gone, you can be rich in loss.”

I love the imagery of the snake shedding its skin. Those episodes in every snake’s life happen periodically for one reason: growth. Growth and life are inextricably linked. We can choose to either focus on the losses behind us or embrace and greet what we have never seen before.

Facing a blank canvas

In many ways, our collective and personal choice is not unlike an artist facing a blank canvas.

[image error]Artist Lucio Fontana bravely facing a huge blank canvas awaiting his mark.
Photograph by Ugo Mulas.

Art, science, writing, and all creative endeavors spring from a place of space, questioning, and a willingness to sit with the unknown. Solnit continues, “How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance amid surprises, of collaborating with chance, of recognizing that there are some essential mysteries in the world and thereby a limit to calculation, to plan, to control. To calculate on the unforeseen is perhaps exactly the paradoxical operation that life most requires of us.”

Please let me know how you and your family are “keeping your balance,” “collaborating with chance,” and cozying up to the unknown in your lives. How will you choose to face the blank canvas before you? Who knows, perhaps we will discover some of our clearest understanding of what’s really important, beautiful, and valuable during this time. I look forward to your comments.

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Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the new CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators. Visit my Amazon author page for more information.

The post Coping with a Sense of Loss of Control appeared first on Author Don Winn's Blog.

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

My wife and I recently watched A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers. We found the movie incredibly inspiring and therapeutic. It’s not a movie about how the television show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood was shot. It’s the story of how a jaded, emotionally wounded author changed his life after he came to know Mr. Rogers. It’s a movie about learning to understand what real love is. I can’t recommend it highly enough, but today I wanted to focus on a thought-provoking truth embodied by the story. This truth involves Mr. Rogers’ skill at interpreting behavioral issues in children.

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When Children Speak with Actions Instead of Words

In one scene, Mr. Rogers is on the set of his television show. On this day, he is hosting a child and his parents who are visiting as part of the Make-A-Wish program. The boy is about five years old and he has a toy sword in his hand. With the sword, he is noisily banging the living daylights out of the floor and anything within reach. He isn’t making eye contact, interacting with Mr. Rogers or his parents, or taking any interest in the unique setting around him. The entire crew waits patiently while the boy bashes away.

The author mentioned above is also on set. He is flummoxed at the amount of time being spent on what is essentially a non-interaction. But here’s where we get to the meat of the scene: Mr. Rogers sees past the boy’s nonverbal behavior to what is underneath the behavior, and that is what he addresses. Gently, he tells the boy how strong he is to use the sword and how heavy it must be. The boy continues to bash about with his toy sword. But when Mr. Rogers tells the child that he must be strong on the inside too, the moment of connection is magic. The child grows still, almost transfixed, and then sets his sword aside and runs to hug Mr. Rogers. With those few simple words, Mr. Rogers gave the child the most important gift for any struggling child: hope.

The Root of Some Behavioral Issues

As a participant in the Make-A-Wish foundation, the boy had a life-threatening illness. Any child in those circumstances would be anxious, if not terrified. He would be doing everything he could think of to feel powerful or to feel any sense of control. And here’s the thing: they would probably not have the language skills to describe their complex feelings. They would be speaking with their actions, rather than with words. Mr. Rogers was the first adult to understand what this little boy was saying with his actions. The result? The child immediately felt safe and loved.

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I’ve written many times about how children with dyslexia or other learning challenges often present with behavioral issues. (Dyslexia Articles) When a child feels stressed at not being able to perform academically, it shows up first as a behavioral issue. Parents and teachers frequently misinterpret this information, not knowing where or how to look for the root of the problem. Just like the child depicted in the movie, your child’s behavioral message could be, “I am afraid. I don’t know what to do or how to ask for help. I don’t even know if there is any help for what’s wrong with me.”

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Interpreting Behavioral Issues in Children

By living his life the way he did and by relating to others the way he did through his television program, Fred Rogers taught generations of children that emotions are a normal part of life. He showed us that even when emotions are difficult, they can be understood and coped with. This is true for both children and adults. This movie teaches adults that even if we didn’t get what we needed as children, it’s never too late to learn healthy coping skills, and our lives will be much richer for it.

This movie teaches all of us that when it comes to human behavior, things are not always what they seem. And there’s always room for more love. So if you have observed puzzling or unexpected behaviors in your child or student, remember that it is likely the child has an underlying belief that is manifesting in their actions as a cry for help. Only when the true message of behavior is understood can things be addressed. Only then can parent and child find comfort and a way through.

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators. My books are available from Amazon and other online retailers.

The post Things Aren’t Always What They Seem appeared first on Author Don Winn's Blog.

The Science of Reading: Failing Students or Failing Schools?

By Faith Borkowsky

Studies show that nationwide, over 60% of children are not meeting grade-level proficiency in reading. School data from across the country reveal that most children placed in educational interventions do not significantly improve or function better as a result. There are a variety of reasons why school intervention failure rates are so high.

In Failing Students or Failing Schools? A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention, I describe some of the systemic failures I witnessed in my years working as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach, and administrator. Too often, the same intervention services are provided to children year after year without any appreciable improvement in functioning. Even worse, in many cases, rather than preventing harm, the interventions are actually detrimental. In either case, there comes a point where the intervention services should no longer be called “intervention.”

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So, what should we expect when a child enters intervention? True intervention should be life-changing for a struggling child, both academically and emotionally. While we all would hope to see the achievement gap closed, or at least narrowed as early as possible, the emotional toll on struggling children and their families also must be considered. To illustrate what intervention outcomes should look like, I offer the voices of High Five Literacy and Academic Coaching parents:

“Before . . . my son would avoid reading at all costs, which would include hiding and acting out . . . (After) The last few weeks have been an exciting time for us. His reading has taken off and he’s immersing himself in magazines and books. He recently began to read the Dog Man series out loud to me on his own and has gotten through chapter after chapter without frustration. If you told me this is where we’d be at this point in the year, I never would have believed it.”—J.V.

“We ended kindergarten not being able to recognize all the letters of the alphabet as well as not being able to recall the sounds that all the letters made. Now at the end of January of first grade, she is able to read age-appropriate texts with some help . . . She was behind all of her peers at the beginning of the year; she is now surpassing some of them. She is spontaneously reading things like store front signs and packages. She was diagnosed with ADHD over the summer and we were scared for first grade . . . she was making poor eye contact, not paying attention and almost incapable of sitting still for more than five minutes. Fast forward to now, and my daughter sits one hour with Faith with her eyes on her most of the time, and she actually appears to be enjoying her sessions on most days. It is not only the rules to decoding . . . but the confidence to know that she is capable of learning to read.”—L.S.

“Before my daughter (third-grader) started . . . she could barely sound a word out. [In fourth grade,] she now has the confidence she lacked and can read chapter books. When she doesn’t know a word, she is able to use the skills she’s learned . . .”—M.A.

“When my son first started . . . in third grade, he was reading on a kindergarten level and could barely read 3 letter sight words. It was a struggle at first for him, but after six months, the progress my son made was astonishing. After another year, he received a merit award at his fifth-grade graduation based on the progress he had made. Today (sixth grade) he is on par with his classmates and has adjusted well to middle school.”—J.W.

“As a second language speaker, it was hard for me to teach my daughter to read in English. At the beginning I used Spanish sounds to teach her how to spell words in English. The sight word method was not for my daughter. By third grade, it was difficult for her to read and write at grade level. My daughter took reading lessons . . . for about six months and her reading skills improved and has not had problems. (Now in sixth grade)”—A.H.

“During K, he stayed at guided reading level C—memorized all the books and would magically recite them verbatim without ever looking at the page. My son had an IEP, classified OHI for ADHD and also received Speech, OT, and PT. He remained at Level C from October 2017—December 2018 of first grade . . . The turning point was when we started working with Faith . . . My son went from level C in Nov 2018 to level J by June 2019. This is a huge contrast from being at level C for a year from Oct 2017 through Dec 2018. I will always be grateful . . . for saving his life—his academic and social/emotional lives are intertwined and codependent on ability to read at grade level expectations.”—D.D.

“By first and second grade, the memorization strategies that she had developed to “read” became unsustainable. Reading turned into a fearful and upsetting task in our home. I have always been a proficient reader, but I had no idea how to help my daughter. It was an awful feeling . . . My daughter’s dyslexia will always be with her, and she does still stumble at times. But . . . she [now] has the tools she needs to get through a page, a chapter, a book! She no longer just collapses in despair when she is faced with challenging text. It’s as if we were once lost at sea and then someone gave us an oar, a compass, and a map . . . After seeing the change that structured reading instruction could make in a child’s life, I decided to become trained myself.”—M.M.S.

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These parent testimonials represent just a handful of those I have received over many years of working with students with dyslexia and other language-based reading difficulties. The stories are numerous but the theme consistent: the interventions did not target the deficit areas. Being knowledgeable about the reading process will help parents advocate for interventions that actually improve functioning.

End of guest blog.

When it comes to understanding the details of high-quality reading instruction and learning what dyslexia is and isn’t and how to provide the social and emotional support dyslexic students need, there are two important books that every parent should have, Failing Students or Failing Schools? A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention, by reading specialist Faith Borkowsky, and Raising a Child With Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know by Don M. Winn.

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the new CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators.

Children Don’t Learn When They’re in Pain

This is the remarkable story of a mother and son who never gave up. Once in a while, I get to meet someone who is so inspiring, so tenacious, and so filled with hope that it takes my breath away. Lois Letchford and her son Nicholas are two such people. Theirs is a modern-day Hellen Keller-type story you may not have heard of, and it’s going to affect you as deeply as it did me. Why? Because it involves not just a young man overcoming overwhelming challenges, but a loving, creative mother who never gave up in fighting for effective educational opportunities for her son, all despite a broken educational system and difficulties caused by her own dyslexia (which was undiagnosed until well into adulthood).

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In many ways it’s a familiar story both to me personally and to readers of my blog: boy starts school, boy is overwhelmed by school, has trouble reading, writing, following instructions, and grasping the spoken word. School tests child, but fails to effectively accommodate him. The child’s stress and anxieties escalate. But the poignancy of this particular experience is not to be missed—how does a child once deemed by his teachers to be unteachable go on to graduate from Oxford with a PhD in applied mathematics?

I am so happy to introduce you to Lois Letchford, author of Reversed, a Memoir. Lois has graciously agreed to share some highlights of the book with you today.

1) Before your son Nicholas began school, what observations did you make about his gifts and abilities?

Nicholas was always a quiet baby and a great little boy. My eldest son, Nathanael, was quick, impulsive, and “wild.” He did everything at top speed. Nicholas, two-and-a-half years younger, was the opposite.

Nicholas also had ear infections from 8-18 months. I felt like I lived at the doctor’s office with him. What I did not know at the time was that ear infections at such a young age have a tremendous impact on a child’s language development. So Nicholas was slow with speech and language and slow with walking, although he always loved books and was excellent at doing puzzles. I recall him doing a complicated puzzle in front of an “expert.” The man shook his head and said, “He’s two and doing those puzzles. That’s amazing.” Nicholas just enjoyed doing them.

2) Please tell readers about your first taste of being on the outside of the education system. Was it when Nicholas failed the first grade?

I was concerned about Nicholas from the moment he entered kindergarten. In our system, children go from kindergarten to preschool to school between the ages of three to five. I thought something wasn’t quite right. However, I was assured that he would be fine. Being an outsider to the system really began when Nicholas entered first grade. It took his teacher one week before she spoke to me and said, “He’s so far behind! He cannot do anything!” That was the beginning of our disastrous year.

What still concerns me today is that no one from the school contacted me. The school permitted Nicholas to fail, his teacher screamed at him in frustration, and Nicholas started biting his fingernails and wetting his pants every day. I sent him to school—every day. Why did I do that? Why didn’t I take him out? Why didn’t someone suggest something? I really didn’t know his year at school was so bad until recently—many years later—when I questioned Nicholas about this year of first grade, and he couldn’t talk about it at all.

3) I lived every moment of your account of Nicholas excitedly reciting the story of “The Enormous Turnip” to you. I could just imagine what you felt as a parent of a struggling child to see such potential in your son! His teacher had read the play to the class, and Nicholas’ brain was positively engaged by the story in a way that nothing in school had ever engaged him before . After he finished giving you a verbatim account of the play, you wrote, “He has a memory.” What was that moment like for you and why was it important?

I can still recall that moment. I was sitting on our back patio in the heat of the afternoon, just listening to Nicholas recite this story. It is interesting how events, especially like this one, stick with me. At that moment, I was amazed at his accomplishment, but when I first began teaching him, I forgot about this strength. I didn’t question what brought it about because I focused solely on teaching decoding. But looking back, I realized that this experience also told me that repetition of a story along with actions aided his memory.

4) Shortly on the heels of this success, Nicholas underwent evaluation. You were informed of a list of learning deficits—a devastating blow! It appeared as if even experienced teachers despaired of ever being able to teach Nicholas anything. Yet how did your conclusions about adaptive teaching as modeled by famous Australian swimming teacher Rob Cusack offer hope that Nicholas could learn?

I find this quite a challenging question, as hindsight plays a part here too.

Nicholas was given an IQ test at the end of grade one. The results were devastating for me. My one ray of hope came from my husband. He’s an academic and a researcher. I’ll never forget his words: “That test is a lower bound. Nicholas can look like that on any given day.” In other words, the testing methods only pointed out his weaknesses, rather than identifying his strengths. In spite of the fairly exhaustive nature of the testing, Nicholas’ dyslexia wasn’t recognized for a number of years.

After receiving these sobering test results, we happened to enroll Nicholas in a short swimming class taught by Rob Cusack during the summer. Mr. Cusack’s patience was truly a benefit to Nicholas, and we saw Nicholas thriving in a learning situation for the first time under Mr. Cusack’s methods of instruction. Nicholas really learned to swim very well for his age.

Mr. Cusack’s teaching happened over six weeks. His success was huge, and at the time, it was one massive moment of relief. Although it was a bright spot in our lives at the time, the practical value of his approach to teaching didn’t translate instantly to me as a parent and teacher. During this time, I really felt overwhelmed by the size and depth of Nicholas’ challenges.

Only recently, my eldest son, while talking to me about my book and our story, emphasized how important it was for Mr. Cusack to break down Nicholas’ barriers. Cusack had, by example, taught us that when a child encounters a barrier to learning, the material can be taught or approached another way, as many times as necessary, until Nicholas could grasp the concept. It’s about finding ways around a challenge, rather than giving up on the child.

5) During Nicholas’ second year in school, you observed that he was unable to write. So you offered him clay with which to learn to form his letters. Why was this such an effective tactic?

Clay was an incredibly effective strategy for Nicholas, as it took away all pain from learning and slowed it down to a snail’s pace—the pace Nicholas needed to learn these abstract letters and sounds. Using clay allowed me to model how to shape a letter. We rolled a ball of clay into a long sausage, then broke it into pieces to form a letter shape. Only once I completed the shape did we talk about the sound. This sound-symbol learning is a critical part, and as Nicholas’ didn’t yet understand what he was supposed to have learned in first grade, I was clutching at straws to assist him.

What still amazes me is that as a six-year-old, Nicholas worked with me for close to ninety minutes a day for three or four afternoons in a row to learn these basic lessons. He was desperate to learn and feel “normal.”

[image error]Nicholas graduates from Oxford University with a PhD in applied mathematics.

6) When your family temporarily left Australia during your husband’s six-month tenure at Oxford, you began homeschooling Nicholas, but things got off to a rough start. Nicholas was in the last few months of second grade. At one point, you felt that the problem was that Nicholas wasn’t working hard enough. How were you both able to move forward?

My memory of “blaming” Nicholas still upsets me. As we were traveling, my in-laws visited and stayed with us. I taught Nicholas every morning, and my mother-in-law heard my frustration. She said to me, “Lois, put away what isn’t working, and make learning fun.”

That made me change my approach. When teaching reading, everyone knows we must teach children to decode. And I had books which were supposed to solve this problem. However, the standard “help all kids to read” books only work if a child has the necessary background knowledge. Nicholas didn’t have that knowledge. My mother-in-law’s words were a godsend. She helped me stop, think, and try something new.

7) How was your own educational experience of learning anatomy helpful when teaching your son?

When I was a university student, the first time I attempted to learn anatomy, the teacher stood at the front of the class and rattled off names. I was lost and I failed the subject, despite all my hard work. When I took the class a second time, the professor brought in a box of bones, handled them, and let the students touch and play with them. He pointed and named the places on the bones. I learned with ease, and I recall thinking, “I can do this stuff.” Learning went from abstract to concrete.

The difference in my learning was astonishing. It took me some time to translate my personal learning experiences such as these to use to help Nicholas.

8) How did simple poetry help Nicholas understand how words work?

I need to write a complete article on this topic! The poems I wrote were incredibly simple—between four and six lines using rhyming words.

Poetry is repetitive, but it is also easy to find the rhyming words, and then it’s easier to hear the sounds. The poetry gave us both “whole language” and “phonemic awareness” activities in one. Poetry, even simple poetry, does not use conversational language, “book language” is used, so the use of unusual words also helped build both decoding and vocabulary skills.

As we walked around the city (we had no car), we recited my poems, which meant we were working with his recall. This was a fun game for both of us. Connecting the real world with poems was also great fun.

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9) Would you briefly share how you helped Nicholas learn to decode written language, a task previously fraught with fear and failure?

This was another fantastic coincidence. An acquaintance had a dyslexic son and she brought me some books to try. One series I particularly remember was called Hear it, See it, Say it, Do it! by Mary Atkinson.

These books broke learning down to the most basic levels and left no stone unturned!

For example, children often confuse consonant digraphs and consonant blends. These sounds are difficult for children to hear, so I focused on helping Nicholas build skills in recognizing a few basic principles of reading, such as the idea that two letters can equal one sound (ch, sh, th) and that one letter can also equal one sound (consonants). These consistent sounds are the building blocks of decoding. We spent about eight weeks just with digraphs, consonant blends, and short vowel sounds.

The Mary Atkinson books made the learning multisensory. I spent time cutting cereal boxes into strips, splitting words into beginning and end sounds, and creating puzzles. It was a multisensory activity, which again, slowed the learning down to meet Nicholas’ needs, but this also gave us time to talk about word meaning. Nicholas’s learning was slow, but it was pain free. I taught at a pace that suited him and provided an emotionally safe space. Every learning activity was now enjoyable. This was critical.

[image error]A family visit to Christchurch.

10) How did learning about dyslexia help you both?

With all the testing and evaluation Nicholas had had in Australia, everyone missed his dyslexia. I would never have discovered it and been able to address it without connecting a friend’s experience with her son to mine with Nicholas. Learning about others who lived with dyslexia gave me role models and reminded me that we were not alone on this journey. That was huge to me, because as I was teaching Nicholas, I had no idea what his future held or how he was going to cope with life. Our role model was Lord Richard Rogers, the famous dyslexic architect. It was encouraging to know someone else has been down this road.

11) After six months in Oxford, your family returned to Australia, where it was suggested that Nicholas repeat second grade. I was positively livid on your behalf when I read that Nicholas’ teacher “Susan” said that Nicholas was the worst child she had seen in 20 years of teaching. She even implied that the school wasn’t responsible for teaching every child, because some—such as Nicholas—could never be taught. How did your personal epiphany with the sentence “I saw a cat climb up a tree,” begin to open his teacher’s eyes to what teaching Nicholas would really involve? (Briefly, you realized that although the word “saw” in that sentence actually means the past tense of the word see, to a child who is thinking visually, it could mean a cutting tool, giving them the image of a cat being sawn in half.)

First, let me say that after teaching Nicholas in Oxford for six months, I saw him through new eyes. I saw his thinking, his engagement, and even utter excitement for learning. I needed to see this and believe in him. Without my belief in him, the story would have been different.

Second, Nicholas’s latest second-grade classroom teacher was fantastic. Loving and caring, she accepted Nicholas as he was. On the other hand, Nicholas’ reading teacher, “Susan,” (name has been changed) the person with whom he spent thirty minutes per day, four days a week in a one-on-one setting, was (in my view) very casual in her approach toward working with my son.

But I have to thank “Susan” for her words, because it was the combination of “worst kid ever,” followed by “I saw a cat,” that shaped my teaching process and built my fighting spirit.

I always sat with Nicholas to do his homework. If I noticed something he couldn’t do, I would spend the next day thinking up related activities we could do at home to help him overcome any bumps in this learning. It worked, and I stayed away from the reading teacher.

When I studied to become a reading specialist, I read an academic paper by Professor Brian Cambourne titled, “Beyond the Deficit Theory.” His paper left me depressed, because I had lived the words he wrote—we blame the child for their lack of success by saying such things as, “He’s the worst kid ever,” and then follow it up with poor teaching such as, “I saw a cat,” and by doing this, we destroy children’s early years. Depressing. Frustrating. Infuriating. If I can teach a child as “slow” as Nicholas, too many children are being left behind because we, as teachers, make assumptions about children’s knowledge.

To answer your question, I didn’t change the reading teacher’s mind at all. My experience impacted me, not her!

12) How would you define the diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder and how did having APD affect Nicholas?

Auditory Processing Disorder doesn’t disappear with time. This is how I interpret Nicholas’s challenges:

A teacher gives a direction. Eventually, Nicholas hears his name and realizes he has to do or say something. The teacher repeats her instructions. He has heard the instructions through his ears. The message then goes to the brain for interpretation. He knows he has to respond. For a verbal response, he now has to search his mind for the correct words, put them in the right order, then coordinate the tongue, the muscles of the mouth, swallowing, and breathing in order to respond.

The length of time it takes a reader to read this sentence is Nicholas’s response time.

His brain response worked like the old-fashioned dial-up internet access, and sometimes it dropped out if the process overloaded his brain or was just too slow. I can understand how frustrating it was for his early teachers. He lives with his condition, and it still impacts his life today.

[image error]A KNEX sculpture built by Nicholas as a child.

13) You learned from teaching Nicholas that readers often have a hard time managing and comprehending abstract words. Can you give us an example of how you would help a student with this?

Another great question! I teach children (age 6 onwards) who are left behind in reading.

The first lesson I present to all my students is MY BOX LESSON which is available on my website as a free download. Using words—could, should, and would, I show how exciting teaching can be. (Think about a bottle of apple juice, minus a label. What could it be?) My lessons are multisensory, showing my students that learning is exciting, and that they can learn.

My second exercise is to ask my students to read some sight words: the, of, to, you, for, a, is, that, and, it. (These are all abstract words, which means they cannot be touched, felt, or seen. There are several other challenges with these words in addition to them being abstract. For instance, a number of these words have multiple meanings.)

Most students read these words.

Next, I ask the student to give me a sentence that uses the word to.

My students often respond with a sentence like, “I have two hands.”

When using the word for, they frequently respond with “A dog has four legs.”

Such children have not yet worked out how words work. Teachers have been happy for the student to read words without recognizing that these words sound the same when we speak, but when we write, the way these words are written on paper matters! Skilled readers work this out. Those who struggle to see language and words “concretely” often do not understand this without having a teacher explicitly explain this concept to them and provide examples. Without such explanations, the student believes the word to has the same meaning as two, and they don’t “get the second meaning.”

Once students are taught this is the word two, and it means the number 2, and to means we go to school, etc., I tell my students, “This is what happens when we talk, and this is what happens when we write. This is how written language works.”

And in my book, I emphasize the word it, because finding meaning for this word is extremely difficult and is dependent on the surrounding text.

As for a word like of, I create pictures using sentences, such as, “Can I have a piece of pizza?” (I include a picture of pizza with my sentence.)

14) Midway through Nicholas’ education, you began tutoring other students. I appreciated your account of working with Christian. You mentioned that there is a big difference between decoding words and creating meaning. How did you help Christian with this transition?

This was so much fun! When a student fails for so long, the teacher’s work is much more challenging. I knew that I needed to find a task that engaged the student, helped him enjoy working with me, and taught him to read.

I found a fantastic short story and turned it into a play. It ticked every box!

Now, when my student is reading, he is not just “reading words.” Every sentence leads to an action, an expression, or a response.

Plays function as stepping-stones in reading. Skilled readers can read words and then visualize the dialog and action in their heads, but less-experienced readers often have difficulty doing this. Learning through reading plays teaches a student how to “play a movie” in their mind later when reading independently.

It also allows me to identify when a student is comprehending what they read or just regurgitating words. When a student doesn’t read a word correctly, I stop and ask myself, “What’s going on here? What is stopping him from reading this word?”

The problem is far more significant than he “cannot decode.” It’s about the student’s memory for language. How do I improve this? Acting something out, touching, seeing, or playing with a related object aids a person’s memory. It’s a method of teaching that goes back to understanding how children learn best, rather than repeatedly telling them, “you just have to learn it.”

I continually ask my students, “How would you act that out?” Through turning short stories into short plays, I turn students into active learners. That’s the goal each time.

15) Two other students you worked with were in high school, and between them they could only read ten sight words. You broke down the statistics for your readers, revealing that by ninth grade, all students have had 1,620 days of education. What observations could you share about utilizing more effective teaching methods so that children could learn more than five sight words in this amount of time, not to speak of comprehension?

The longer a student has failed in the classroom, the more challenging it is to break down their barriers and beliefs that they “cannot learn” and work on turning them around.

My students were never actively involved in their learning until they met me. Up until this time, they only completed tasks. Critical to reading success is active engagement in reading.

When a child is not attending or learning, my first question is always, “What do I have to do to engage this child in learning?” This question comes before “I have to teach this child to decode.”

Learning must be child-centered. We (as teachers) tend to think that if we keep teaching, a child will eventually get it. Then we rely on standardized reading programs (which fail to consider a child’s background experience and knowledge), confident that they will do the trick, given enough time. Both ideas are misconceptions.

The teaching must be more comprehensive than simply teaching to decode. Remember that students who struggle take longer to learn the basics. Here are a few suggestions I’ve found useful when working with students who struggle:

Use poetry—have a teacher read and write poetry with her students. Write about what students experience in the classroom. In this way, a teacher creates a community of learners.Break down the decoding process.Use small groups.Allow extra time.Use multisensory teaching materials.Teach the sight words in a multisensory, meaningful way. Also show the students that they speak the words they are reading.Talk to the principal. Acknowledge the student’s lack of progress and push for additional resources.

For teachers to engage students like my Pedro and Twayne, the teacher needs additional knowledge of the reading process. Search for those resources, but above all, believe that these students can be taught to read, and you can do it.

16) What hope and encouragement would you like to offer today’s parents of struggling readers?

Believe in your child and believe that they can be taught to read and write effectively. Encourage learning—all learning—which includes learning beyond reading and decoding. The overemphasis on what a child cannot do or learn with ease is painful for all involved. Yes, all children do have to be taught to decode effectively and efficiently; however, there is more involved in reading than just decoding.

If a parent or guardian has time, take a favorite book and turn it into a play or drama. Make or find props and costumes. Write sentences to connect the words with the objects.

Practice the play.

Record it. Listen to it. Send it to relatives and friends for their response.

Write poems for and with your child.

Find multisensory ways to teach decoding. Slow the learning down. This type of learning takes longer.

Create scrapbooks. Fill them with pictures, drawings, and objects. Write about everything placed in them.

Use technology to assist students with writing. Record ideas on the iPhone before attempting to write.

Build expertise.

This is not a complete list of ideas, just a few to help parents believe in their child.

Every day, enjoy learning.

17) Is there anything I’ve failed to ask that you’d like to address?

Nicholas’ story bears out that learning to read is a two-step process. Step one is the actual “learning to read and learn” part.

Part two of Nicholas’ story was going from the bottom to the top. The work that Nicholas put in from grades four to six was enormous and laid the foundation for later achievements.

Nicholas, from second grade onwards, was actively involved in his learning. When children are actively engaged in their education, they will succeed.

I can now reflect on our lives and our journeys.

The most important lesson I could pass on would be that children don’t learn when they are in pain. Take the pain out of learning, and in my mother-in-law’s words, “make learning fun.” Be proud of the small steps achieved today.

Conclusion:

Lois, thank you so much for sharing your inspiring story! I know my readers will be moved to persevere with their own children and students because of your example. You and Nicholas truly demonstrate that with enough love, hard work, and creativity, anything is possible. We are so much more than the labels we receive.

For more information, visit Lois’ website at: https://www.loisletchford.com/

And don’t miss Nicholas’ video, “Advice to my Younger Dyslexic Self.”

For additional resources that describe how all kids learn to read best, see Faith Borkowsky’s book Failing Students or Failing Schools: A Parent’s Guide To Reading Instruction and Intervention. If your child or student is struggling to read, write, do math, or manage school in general, learn how to support them and discover how to meet their educational needs in my book Raising a Child With Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know. You are not alone!

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About Lois Letchford

Lois Letchford’s dyslexia came to light at the age of 39, when she faced the prospect of teaching her seven-year-old non-reading son, Nicholas. Examining her personal reading failure caused her to adapt and change her approach to creating lessons for her son. The results were dramatic. Later, Lois qualified as a reading specialist to use her nontraditional background, multi-continental experience, and passion for learning to assist other failing students. Her teaching and learning have equipped her with a unique skill set and perspective. As a teacher she considers herself a “literacy problem solver.”

Reversed: A Memoir is her first book. In this story, she details the journey of her son’s dramatic failure in first grade, the twists and turns that promoted her passion, and her son’s dramatic academic turnaround.

Originally a physical education teacher, Ms. Lechtford later completed a master’s degree in literacy and reading from the State University of New York at Albany. Lois has been a speaker at SPELD in Australia, Millersville University, the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children, the Spring Festival of Children’s Literature in Maryland, and the Ireland International Conference on Education. She is a member of the International Literacy Association, the International Dyslexia Association, and the Australian College of Education.

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the new CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators.

Bringing Great Storybook Characters to Life, or Parents’ Little Helpers

Welcome to the deep end of the pool, also known as Instant Home Schooling, COVID-19-style. Not only do parents have to figure out how to work with whatever digital school provisions are available, but with the kiddos home all day, the grown-ups need help with entertaining and encouraging their readers. When (or if) parents also need to work remotely, there just may not be enough hours in the day to read together every day, but fear not: there is a solution at hand!

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With the release of the fourth audiobook in the Sir Kaye the Boy Knight series, I interviewed narrator Stephen Marsden about what goes into producing an audiobook and his overall experience narrating all four books in the Sir Kaye series. During this unprecedented time when most children are unexpectedly home from school, I am re-sharing the interview with Stephen Marsden. And it gets better: I’m happy to announce that there are a limited number of free promo codes available for all my audiobooks.

If you’d like a free promo code for books for your child, please email me using the Contact form on this blog.

So what does go into producing an audiobook? Here is the Stephen Marsden interview originally published on October 25, 2017. And at the end of the interview I’ve provided details on all my audiobooks and information on how you can get a free promo code. Act now! This is a limited-time offer. There are no better books out there for encouraging struggling readers to love great stories!

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Don: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Stephen: I graduated from Michigan State University and I entered the United States Army as a newly commissioned officer. One of my first placements was at Fort Knox where I was an instructor in McNamara’s “Project 100,000.” This program taught basic trainees how to read. Because of this assignment, I decided that I wanted to become a teacher. After my tour of duty ended in Vietnam, I enrolled in a graduate program to earn my teaching certificate and a master’s degree in the teaching of reading.

I spent the next 15 years teaching reading in junior high school. During this time, I returned to graduate school and earned my master’s degree in special education. I then moved up to the high school and taught special education for eight years. My last ten years were spent in school administration and I was the assistant principal of the high school. I retired from public education after 36 years.

I am married to my beautiful wife Kristine and we have three grown children, four grandchildren, and two cats. I babysit for my grandkids two days a week.

Don: How did you get started with audio book narration? Was there special training?

Stephen: After retirement from public education, I decided to take a course in voice-overs. My desire to pursue this new career resulted from having done all the announcements at the junior and senior high school. People often told me I had a good “radio” voice. The voice-over course was offered by the Michigan’s Actors Studio. After completing this course, I began private tutoring with my instructor. This educational process took about a year.

I have always been a fan of listening to audiobooks as I commuted to and from work and whenever my wife and I took vacations. An author, Terry Newberry, heard a sample of my voice-overs and contacted me to narrate his first book, Almost There. I was hooked on audiobook narrations. I have completed over two dozen books. In addition to narration, I have done voice-overs for commercials and political ads, and I’ve had the lead role in two independent films.

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Don: Please describe the narrating process: preparation, characterization, performance, and a little about the technical side.

Stephen: My first step in the process is to read the book in its entirety. This gives me an idea of the plotline and the characters. I picture the characters in my mind as to what they would look like and how they would interact with the other characters. I guess it’s like watching a play in my head.

Then I read each chapter through three times to become familiar with the wording. I record each chapter in my home studio. I have one room dedicated to recording, which houses all of my recording equipment (iMac computer, preamp, microphone, playback equipment, and audio software.) After recording the chapter, I begin the editing process. This involves playing the chapter back and listening for errors made during the recording. This is a slow process. When reading aloud, my mind sometimes goes faster than my eyes and it is very easy to misread a sentence and substitute a word such as “the” with “a.” When I discover an error, I select the sentence in the recorded file, delete it, and then re-record that particular sentence and place it back into the recorded file.

I also have to thank your editor Elizabeth, who reviews my recorded chapters for any errors. She does a wonderful job in keeping me abreast of changes that need correcting.

The final phase of editing is going through each chapter and removing unwanted noise, such as breaths, background noise, or whatever else I see on the visual rendition of the audible track. To complete one chapter takes about three hours.

Don: What aspects of your work do you find most enjoyable?

Stephen: I enjoy reading the book the most and visualizing the interaction between the characters and the plotline. I also strive to make the characters seem real to the reader—or should I say listener. I get great pleasure in listening to the final product.

Don: With print and digital books available, what role or niche do you feel audiobooks fill especially well?

Stephen: Audiobooks have been in existence for many, many years. I first became aware of audiobooks during my career in public education. Books on Tape were available for special needs students with visual impairments.

Audiobooks are a tremendous resource for everyone: the reluctant reader, the beginning reader, teens, adults, and seniors. Young readers and reluctant readers are able to listen to the book and to follow along, thus increasing word recognition and developing their skills with visualization. Today in our very busy lives, we often don’t have time to sit down with a good book and a quiet place to read. The audiobook provides us the opportunity to enjoy good stories while we are in the car, cooking meals, mowing the lawn, or relaxing before we retire from the day’s activities. I highly recommend that everyone take advantage of the marvelous audiobook.

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Don: What do you love most about working on the Sir Kaye series? Do you have a favorite?

Stephen: I love this series!!!! Your books are extremely well written. The plot lines keep the reader interested and wondering what will happen next. The dialogue is rich, fast-paced, and realistic for the characters conversing with each other.

The messages provided in these stories are excellent and relevant for readers and listeners. They provide much-needed awareness about personal success, never giving up, to take risks, to believe in yourself, and to always strive to do your best.

My personal favorite character is Reggie. He is believable and exhibits common personal qualities that are to be admired. He is caring, considerate, honest, and likable. The Sir Kaye series is a must-have in every home. Readers of all ages will definitely enjoy this series.

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Conclusion

I’d like to thank Stephen Marsden for sharing his creative process with us and for his excellent work on all of the Cardboard Box Adventures audiobooks.

Below is a list of all the available CBA audiobooks. You can listen to a sample reading for each book on my Audible Author Page. If you’d like a free promo code for books for your child, please email me using the Contact form on this blog. Children will not only enjoy the stories and characters but will be encouraged to read more books on their own or via audio, and all the while parents can get their own work done! And what a help it will be to other parents and educators if you share a few words about how your child enjoys the books in a brief review! Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[image error] Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Book 1: The Knighting of Sir Kaye by Don M. Winn, is the tale of a young, new-to-the-job queen who takes a risk and knights twelve-year-old Kaye for doing a brave deed. Now Kaye must triumph over his father’s enemy—the mighty Sir Melchor—in a tournament, or disgrace the queen forever in the eyes of her new subjects.



[image error] Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Book 2: The Lost Castle Treasure by Don M. Winn tells how the new queen of Knox discovers that Knox owes a lot of money to the neighboring country of Eldridge. To make things worse, the previous king hid all the treasure from the castle’s treasure house. The rotten Sir Melchor offers to pay the debt for the queen—if she promises to un-knight Kaye. Can Kaye find the missing treasure before he loses his knighthood forever?



[image error] In Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Book 3: Legend of the Forest Beast by Don M. Winn, Kaye must find his missing tutor, investigate rumors of a terrible monster in the forest, attempt to live down a humiliating nickname, stop a shipment of valuable jewels from leaving Knox, and prevent the rebel knight Bragwayne from overthrowing the queen.



[image error] In Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Book 2: The Eldridge Conspiracy by Don M. Winn, Kaye learns there is a plot against his father’s life. Now he must leave Knox to find the mysterious foreign man who can tell him the details of the plot so Kaye can prevent the ambitious Baron Thomas and his henchmen from assassinating his father and the king of Eldridge at a grand festival tournament. The only problem? This man is the Baron’s most trusted employee.



[image error] In Mystery of the White Knight by Don M.Winn (a shorter, standalone chapter book featuring characters from the Sir Kaye series) a mysterious villain ruins fields so nothing can grow, burns down entire villages, and terrifies the people of Knox. People say it’s the new queen’s fault—that she’s a bad ruler. They want to take her throne away and give it to someone else. But she’s only been ruling for one month! When disaster strikes, can her nephew Beau save the throne for the queen and solve the mystery of the White Knight?



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Don’t forget, even the nonfiction books on audio are included in this free promotion. If you’d like to learn more about how kids learn to read, or about how to support your dyslexic child or students, email me (via the Contact form) for a promo code for Failing Students or Failing Schools: A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention by Faith Borkowsky or my award-winning book, Raising a Child With Dyslexia, What Every Parent Needs to Know. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

[image error] Failing Students or Failing Schools? A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention by Faith Borkowsky reveals behind-the-scenes information, an inside look at educational policies and procedures, and practical advice for overwhelmed parents of struggling readers in this groundbreaking book. Borkowsky’s book explores the reasons why so many children have difficulty learning to read using the current methods in vogue in American schools and describes how those difficulties often result in behavioral problems, low self-esteem, or apparent difficulties in other subjects, such as math and science. Borkowsky also explains the best way of teaching reading, why schools don’t change their methods, and what parents need to know if their child is receiving reading intervention, as well as what they can do in the home to help supplement and support their child’s reading education or intervention program.



[image error] Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know by Don M. Winn provides detailed assistance to parents and educators who want to help dyslexic children achieve their best life. Topics include symptoms that warrant diagnosis by a professional, what to expect during the testing process, how parents can help their child at home, tips on working with the school to create an optimal learning environment, and most importantly, how to offer a dyslexic child a safe, encouraging emotional space in which to cope with the emotional fallout of the dyslexic struggle. The book is keyed to current, cutting-edge research and testing methods for dyslexia and all of its attendant conditions, and also includes coping strategies to help those who did not get an early diagnosis or support.

About Stephen Marsden

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After graduating from Michigan State and earning his PhD, Stephen worked for thirty-six years in public education as an educator and administrator, even being honored as the State of Michigan’s Assistant Principal of the Year. Upon retirement, he pursued his lifelong dream of entering the field of acting and voice-overs, honing his skills through the Michigan Actors Studio. Stephen has narrated over two dozen audiobooks, appeared in TV commercials, and has performed in the lead role in two independent films. Stephen is a Vietnam veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star in service of his country. He currently resides in Northville, MI, with his wife, Kristine Frogner, and their two cats Elmo and Niles. They have three grown children and four grandchildren.

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the new CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators.

What Parents Can Learn from JFK to Turn Crises into Opportunities

In 1959, future president John F. Kennedy was speaking at a United Negro College Fund event and shared a bon mot that has value for our turbulent times. Kennedy said, “In the Chinese language, the word crisis is composed of two characters: one representing danger, and the other, opportunity.” Those words have been quoted in countless other speeches, and while it’s not a perfect translation—Chinese linguists point out that a more accurate translation is “a point where things happen, change”—they help us see all crises differently, and that’s a good thing.

What bearing does this have on the life changes the world is experiencing as a result of COVID-19 and shelter-in-place orders? There are many ways these words apply, but my focus today is on the educational sea change as children in America and elsewhere find themselves unexpectedly finishing their school year at home with parents as their teachers. While homeschooling is certainly nothing new, it represents a huge adjustment for families who have never had to take charge of educating their child(ren).

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Not only are there time constraints (most parents still have jobs to do from home), but what about the curriculum? What if parents are called upon to explain concepts they have forgotten or never had the chance to learn? If there are several kids at home, how can one or two parents discover and meet the needs of kids who learn differently and make sure their kids have the foundation to begin their next school year well prepared? It’s an endeavor that has a lot of moving parts. In fact, there are memes all over the internet from new homeschoolers with messages to the effect of, “It’s day three. Everybody has graduated.” Or “In an Apocalypse, no one cares about geometry.” I get it. This is complicated and more than a little overwhelming.

But here’s the thing: in the midst of all this chaos and crisis, there is also a huge opportunity. What, you ask? It is the opportunity for parents to observe firsthand how their child is doing educationally. This is a time to identify learning issues that may have heretofore gone undetected. Is the child struggling? How is their reading? Are they getting frustrated with written assignments, having trouble holding a pencil, getting stressed about reading aloud? Are they talking negatively about themselves i.e., “I’m stupid,” “I can never get anything right,” “I can’t do math”? How long is their attention span? Do you detect anxiety or depression based on facial expression, body language, or oppositional behavior? These clues and many more are things parents are rarely privy to because they’re never in the classroom with their child.

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Well, now home is the classroom, and the insight you will gain into what your child’s true educational needs are will be priceless. Indeed, my hope is that, while this is a stressful, challenging time for homeschoolers, you and your child will look back on this time as the opportunity that it was to optimize an encouraging, nurturing, hope-filled learning environment for your child.

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Here are links to a few brief articles that I hope you will find helpful if you see responses in your child that are puzzling or unexpected.

Children with Dyslexia: Early Detection and InterventionCould Your Child Be Dyslexic?Everyone Fails at FirstIs Dyslexia the Root of Your Child’s Anxiety and Behavioral Problems?Helping the At-Risk Reader by Fostering the Love of Story

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the new CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators.

What Just Happened? And Where Do We Go from Here?

The year 2020 has certainly taken a most unprecedented turn. Never in my life did I envision such a profound change in life and circumstances taking place in such a short period of time. The terrors present for each of us are beyond imagining: a galloping worldwide contagion, financial instability, loss of jobs and personal freedoms, closures of schools, and the deaths of thousands of fellow humans. I think it is safe to say we have never, as a planet, felt so vulnerable, uncertain, and exposed—at least not in recent generations.

But enough about the grim nature of the headlines; we all know this already. It’s what comes next that I want to discuss here. When folks encounter this much uncertainty and fear, there seem to be two default settings: circumstances can bring out the worst in us, or they can bring out the best. For every screaming/hitting/scratching match at a grocery store, there are moments of grace where strangers and neighbors come together to help one another out. While we all must practice social distancing, we must also do all we can to (safely) draw together and encourage one another.

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I am reminded of the movie Groundhog Day, in which the main character unexpectedly finds himself in a totally new circumstance that appears to offer him no freedom and no control. At first, he totally freaks out, becomes angry, and even despairs. But as time passes, he realizes that his situation still offers choices, so he uses his time to learn to speak another language, play the piano, and most importantly, become aware that being of service to his fellow humans is the most important and fulfilling thing he could do.

Thankfully, unlike those who faced the Spanish influenza, both World Wars, or the Great Depression, we have technology that enables us to communicate with friends and loved ones from the safe space of our home. We can check out digital library books, stream old movies, and watch educational webcasts or take open-source courses without risking our health or that of others. Those who practice a faith can tie into services from home and see their friends and receive comfort. When I consider these freedoms and compare them to the few comforts and freedoms our ancestors had available as they endured their crises, I am humbled and grateful. We still have so many choices.

How will we use this time at home and with family to deepen our relationships, learn beneficial skills, practice self-sufficiency and resilience, and serve one another? How can we learn to be thrifty and creative with making meals from our pantry and freezer, perhaps as a shared family adventure, and reacquaint ourselves with the family table? As we see thousands facing death, how can we become more grateful and rediscover what’s really important: the gift of life, the love and warmth of family and friends, and whatever measure of health we have. Recognizing the number of choices we have helps restore a sense of control.

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I recall an article from a couple of years ago that referenced a study about how reading books—the kind we can really get lost in—serves an important emotional need. Reading actually satisfies the need for human connection and builds empathy. If ever there was a time for optimizing human connections and empathy, it’s now.

So I encourage you to wash your hands, find gratitude wherever you can, recognize your choices, and look for the positives, such as those described at CovidKind. Read together, get lost in good books together. By choosing well, we’ll get through this together, one day at a time.

Cardboard Box Adventures picture books are great for shared reading and can help parents establish a strong preliteracy foundation for their children. Check out the new CBA Catalog for a full list of award-winning picture books, chapter books, and resources for parents and educators.