Joyful Reading

Reading has been on my mind a lot lately.  I was searching through research on how children learn to read and the best methods for teaching reading.  We know that the best methods don't work with every child and that some questionable methods seem to work with some children.  I was challenging my reading class to make sure they always use multiple methods to reach children who are struggling with the reading process.  One thing research clearly indicates is that it is the attitude of the teacher that is the number one factor in reading success in a classroom.
It is often difficult to help a struggling child keep a positive attitude about reading.  For many children it becomes a daunting and impossible task.  It is up to the adult working with the child to do everything possible to instill in the child a desire to be successfull and a feeling that she can become a reader.  That is a challenge for us all.  How do we help the child become excited about something that  she feels unsuccessful doing?  I think that tracking (grouping children by ability) is one of the mistakes teachers often make.  Reading researchers indicate that tracking is one of the worst things that can be done for a child on or below reading level.  She has no models for success and she may mentally label herself as "dumb."  Those are hard issues to overcome.  Mixed level groups and activities seem to be the most successful for struggling readers.  I had a lot of success in my own classroom with mixed groups.  It was a beginning step to instilling that desire to read in a child who originally had that excitement when she started school.

Children Who are Read To Just Know More!

We were discussing in our reading class this week how research indicates that children who are read to on a regular basis simply know more when they get to school.  Besides preparing the child to be a reader, being read to increases vocabulary and allows for more discussion and conversation. Combine that with the regular model of reading fluency from the adult and you have a prescription for a successful reader. We also know that children must be explicitly taught reading kills. Having the language background of hearing and participating in stories provides a wonderful foundation for those reading skills to make sense. It also provides a connection between print, reading and talking. That connection is not automatic with many children.

We don't know for sure what type of a world our child will have in 15 years. One way we can help him is to arm him with skills he will need no matter what the world looks like. Reading is one of those skills.

It's All Bones

I was helping in my grandchildren's classrooms recently and was struck by the thought of how easily children will take control of their learning if given a chance.  One of the components of the HighScope curriculum, which I think is the most child-friendly approach to early learning, gives the child an opportunity each day to plan what she is going to accomplish within the guidelines of what is happening the classroom.  This opportunity to plan gives the child control of her learning and gives her a stronger sense of direction and purpose for the play and learning of the day.  I was assigned to help a kindergarten class make skeletons out of macaroni.  Although I did not have the opportunity to allow the children to plan everything they might do for the day, I decided to allow as much planning as possible.  I was given directions for a skeleton project, but decided to allow each child the opportunity to plan how to complete the project.  What great ideas they each had!  I was again reminded about allowing the child to take control of the project and not get caught up in the directions  that we adults may want to give. After all, it should be her project, not a copy of what the teacher wants to see.  That is how I learned that penne pasta makes pretty good ribs on a skeleton.

Following up with my last blog post about the Common Core State Standards I have been interested in how the new standards constantly stress using a piece of literature and a piece of informational text when teaching each reading lesson.  I have challenged my student teachers to do this as they are using the CCSS lesson plan format to teach reading.  I have been impressed with how successful their lessons have been when incorporating the two different types of texts.  My understanding is that one of the reasons the CCSS include both types of texts in every lesson is that students graduating from high school had much weaker comprehension skills when using non-fiction texts than they did for fiction material.  The emphasis is to teach children how to use different strategies for different purposes.  It is appropriate that it would begin in kindergarten where comprehension strategies are being established.  I have been challenging every early childhood teacher to choose a fiction and a non-fiction text, read both to their group and then discuss the differences in the text and the format of the books.

Common Core Standards and Early Childhood

I was sitting in a meeting recently with a group educators and we were talking about the impact of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) on early childhood.  I mentioned that I had spent the summer on a state committee looking at our preschool language arts standards and making sure they are preparing a child for success in meeting the new standards when she attends kindergarten.  Our committee discovered that our preschool standards were very strong in preparing a child for that success.  We also discovered, however, that we did need to change some terminology and begin to help educators make that smooth transition from preschool to the CCSS in kindergarten.  We also learned that it will be good practice to begin to talk more about fiction, non-fiction and the writing process, which in preschool is drawing and responding to stories and texts.  The CCSS is a different direction, but in my opinion, a good direction.  Through those standards we can help children delve more into the reading and writing process and more thoroughly understand the printed word.  I hope early childhood educators will help children in this learning process and realize that remaining developmentally appropriate will help children be successful with these new standards.

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

I have spent many years working on helping children be prepared for kindergarten. I have always thought that it was imperative that parents know what truly is important as their child moves into the foundation year of school. When I began teaching kindergarten approximately 25 years ago, many of the children in my class had never attended a preschool. I remember that I preferred that a child not even know how to write her name to having her arrive at school writing it incorrectly (all in capitals). I could teach a child to write her name correctly, but it was twice as difficult to un-teach a child with a learned bad habit. We know that there are critical preschool skills that are important for kindergarten success (being able to identify alphabet letters) and there are skills that are actually not so critical prior to beginning kindergarten (knowing letter sounds). I'm pleased that we completed an I'm Ready for Kindergarten backpack this year. It contains parent-friendly activities that zero in on skills that will be critical for kindergarten success. It is my hope that it will assist parents and preschool workers in preparing our young ones for what I consider their most important beginning. I have two grandchildren who started kindergarten this year. They have had lots of support along the way and I feel confident they are ready for this big step. I wish I could help every kindergartner be that prepared.

We Need Good People to be Teachers

School began at the university again last week. It is difficult to believe that another school year has begun. I am teaching an "Introduction to Teaching" course this semester and I have a wonderful group. I am thrilled with the caliber of people who are considering being a teacher. It always reminds me of the hope I have for the best people to be in the classroom. I know it doesn't always happen because a teacher's salary is not very tempting, at least in my state. It is also a demanding and difficult job at times. I hope, however, that most of these top students decide to stick it out and become an educator. It sometimes becomes difficult for me to put a positive spin on negative reports in the media. But, I just try to constantly remind them that the most magical place on earth can be an effective classroom, because it changes a child's life. Many of the folks in my class this morning are there because they had a great teacher who made their life better. I wish all teachers realized what a difference they can make.

I was also thinking this week about my student teachers from last year who are now beginning their teaching career in a classroom. What an experience they are having and will continue to have if they keep their focus on why they decided to teach. Some of the best people I have ever met were in that group and I know they will influence lives for the better.

The best and the brightest, with the focus on the kids, makes all the difference for a child.

The Hummingbird Knows

I have always been able to attract hummingbirds wherever I have lived. For many years, whether in the country, the suburbs or in the middle of downtown, I have always had at least one hummingbird feeder. While some acquaintances have struggled to attract the little creatures, I have always been able to coax them to my feeders. Those adaptable birds have even found me in the middle of the city.

Currently, during the summer months, I sit on my front porch most mornings reading the paper. With the hummingbird feeder nearby, I get to witness their early morning visits for food, their rituals for attracting the opposite sex and the fierceness they exhibit when defending their territory. These birds seem to adapt to any situation that provides them with food.

Hummingbirds are such busy creatures, rarely stopping for longer than a few seconds. Our lives have become much like that busy bird. With the advent of so much time-saving technology, multi-tasking is a common practice and is becoming an essential skill. I often think about the young children we are teaching now. We have no clue what it will be like in the future when they are adults. Yet, we are supposed to be educating them for that future. Think how in the last 5 years our cell phones have changed from being a convenient phone connection to housing our entire schedule and life information. How can we educate our children for the changes that will occur during the next 5, 10 or 20 years?

I think the answer is teaching children thinking skills and allowing them to take charge of their learning. I don't think filling out worksheets will prepare a child for the year 2025. However, encouraging a child to discover the answer to a problem on their own just may be the best preparation for an unpredictable future.

I suppose, just like the hummingbird, we will all adjust to changes in the environment. However, the best thing we can do for children is to prepare them to think through problems and be willing and able to tackle new information. I hope our children will have the skills to find the feeder in the middle of the city whatever future form that may take.

There's More Than One Answer

While teaching a creativity workshop recently, the discussion turned to how important divergent thinking is to problem solving skills. Divergent thinking allows children to look at a problem and explore the many ways it can be solved. I dislike scenarios where there is only one answer. I know that 2 + 2 will always equal 4, but for problems that offer the possibility of multiple answers, we should give children that opportunity.
I am a big believer in classroom meetings and introducing problems to children. Teachers often try to solve all the problems and make all the decisions. Parents do the same at home. I often use one example from my own classroom. In exasperation one day I noticed that the art center was a mess after we 'cleaned up' the room. I could have lectured or told the children how disappointed I was in their lack of follow-through. Instead, I drew the students' attention to the art center and asked if they could identify what was wrong. Of course they knew the center was not cleaned up properly. I asked for volunteers to clean the center. After it was appropriately cleaned I drew attention to how it should look after clean up. I then asked the children what we were going to do about the problem of having centers left in disarray. They had a variety of ideas, which we adopted as our procedures, and the problem of messy learning centers improved 100%.
Lecturing to the children was one ineffective approach to the problem. However, using several suggestions from the children solved the issue. Divergent thinking can rule the day!

Sometimes It's Just a Slinky

A group of us were looking at new early childhood product possibilities recently and we saw this large, colorful slinky. Everyone was so excited and thought it was so cool. A product developer said, "Yes, everyone thinks it is great. But what do you do with it?" That became the big question. They gave me the slinky to try out with my grandchildren to see if we could think of activities to do with the slinky. This was a difficult assignment. Because the slinky is prone to knot and bend and really was too big to do the token 'walking down the stairs.' We did have fun shaking it up and down like a parachute, but beyond that there wasn't much to do with it. I certainly realized I couldn't write an activity guide to accompany the slinky. It was a lesson learned about how sometimes things are cute and attractive, but not very useful in building skills. I see early childhood products like that occasionally. Sometimes they're just a slinky.