day 101: creating a reading environment for new readers, part ii of iii

"You may have tangible wealth untold; caskets of jewels and coffers of gold,


But richer than I you could never be; for I had a mother who read to me."






So what were the commonalities I found in studying the environment of “natural readers”?



Common Characteristics of Natural Readers:


1. Interaction with adults—these kids were with adults a lot—and definitely not around peers more than adults. They had adults on hand to discuss things with, to answer their questions, and to provide examples of proper speech patterns, etc.


2. Much book handling by the child—these children were surrounded with books that they were permitted to interact with. They were often found at very young ages with stacks of books around them, just looking at the pictures, making stories in their minds from the pictures, etc.


3. Print abounds and interest in print is evident by itself—not only did the homes of natural readers contain books themselves, but they also contained all type of print. The parents of these children read magazines, journals, newspapers, etc. I think the “interest in print” part probably began with something like a parent saying, “Honey, look at this whale they found beached on the coast of Florida,” as he or she brought the little one up on to her lap to see the picture that was provided with the article in today’s newspaper, etc. This type of activity causes a child to become interested in print.


4. Tapes and books are used—nowadays, of course, this would say “cd’s and books are used”; however, this is the reason why I began using book and tape sets a few times a week for my preschoolers and elementary children—and why we have used audios (talking books, radio dramas, etc.) every week of our lives since our oldest was one year old. “Tapes” and books show our children the benefits and “fun” that reading provides.


5. Memorization takes place—these natural readers often followed a certain pattern—they memorized a picture book (usually many), then through the memorization, they began making print-sound-word connections. That is, when they turned the page and recited, “If you give a mouse a cookie,” they began to understand that i-f says if and y-o-u says you. Natural readers were experts at memorizing large portions of text.


6. Interest in writing words and “language experience” activities—many years ago, there was a movement in education to replace phonics instruction with “language experience” activities (also called a “whole language approach”). Phonics proponents everywhere were up in arms at the thought of “activities” of writing what the child said (dictation) for him, making little homemade books, etc. taking the place of phonics instruction. While I am a strong phonics proponent, I believe that these “language experiences” and “whole language” activities augment the reading instruction greatly. And, of course, the natural readers in the research were exposed to these types of activities early and often. These kids were the ones who dictated thank-you notes to Mom to go to grandparents and colored a picture to send along with it; they were the ones who had a chalk board in the kitchen in which Mom or Dad wrote the day of the week each morning; they were those who “said” stories aloud and parents copied it in little “journal” books for the child. And on and on. Why wouldn’t these types of experiences and activities increase a child’s relationship with print and love for learning?


7. Experiences related to literacy and books—these obviously include the types of activities listed in number six, but these kids knew from birth that books and reading were important. They were the ones in a double stroller at the library lawn sale as toddlers—child in front seat with back seat full of picture books. They were the ones who had their own “book basket” in the corner of the nursery almost from birth. In other words, they were immersed in literacy and books from an early age.


8. Self-regulated behavior and risk taking—This characteristic related to how they “organize” their little lives. These kids would pull all of the Curious George books off the shelf and stack them up to look at after lunch. They often had little learning systems in place at ages four and five. And they were not afraid to be wrong. This, of course, stems from not being talked down to or made fun of when they did ask questions. These kids were risk takers because taking risks in learning (“Mommy, is this word (dapper) ‘Daddy’?”) yielded information that helped them in their quest to learn. The questions did not yield put downs or “you should already know this.”


9. Read to often—Obviously, a link has to be made from the squiggles on the page to the sounds that those squiggles make in order for a young child to teach himself to read. Thus, a child must be read to (or follow along with books and tapes) in order to learn to read without formal instruction. Now, this is not to say that a child who is read to will automatically learn to read early and on his own. I read aloud to our first three kids three to five hours everyday for years and years—and not one of the three was a natural, or early, reader! But it certainly created a love for print and learning in my children!



Tomorrow—how does this reading environment teach informally what could take years of instruction to learn?

day 100: homework help--creating a reading environment for new readers, part i of iii

“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.” ~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves”




For homework help this week, I am going to introduce readers to creating a reading environment for new readers. If you do not have a new reader, please read anyway! Lots of info that pertains to families with all kinds/levels of kids!


During my graduate studies (in Reading Specialist) at Ball State University, I did a master’s thesis about children who learn to read without any reading instruction. That is, the kids just suddenly started reading books without ever having phonics lessons, basal readers, or other “formal instruction.” It was a challenging thesis simply because there is so little data about it because of our “early school attendance age.” Seldom does a child learn to read “naturally” before age six or seven, and with kids going to school at age five (and often beginning reading instruction in kindergarten), the research was sparse concerning these “instructionless” readers.


I did find enough, however, and I was also blessed to find a family who had a natural reader to compare the printed data with. My observations, coupled with the studies in teaching journals, etc., led me to find what I called the “environment” in which natural readers are raised. This led me to other lines of thinking—if a child can learn to read with absolutely no instruction in a literary-saturated environment, wouldn’t this environment be conducive to helping those who DO receive instruction learn to read better, more easily, and more naturally?


The answer, of course, was yes. Study after study shows the type of environment that causes kids to learn better. Duplicating the “natural reader’s” environment can only help our kids learn better. Maybe our creating this “literary atmosphere” will not automatically make our six year old pick up a book and begin reading, but if it makes the learning process (actually any/all learning processes) easier, more enjoyable, and less stressful, why wouldn’t we want to duplicate it in our homes for all of our kids?


Tomorrow and the next day I will detail this environment and its outcomes. But today I will leave you with a little hint: one of the characteristics of the home of a natural reader has something to do with the quote at the beginning of this post. Smile…

day 99: lie and lay

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

Here we are at the end of our Wacky Word pair—lie and lay.

Remember these lie and lay tips:

1. Lie has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
1. I lie in bed at midnight wide awake.
2. Yesterday I lay awake half the night.
3. Before that I had lain down when the cat jumped on me.

2. Lie means to stretch out in a flat position—anybody or anything can lie, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT laid)
1. She lies down with a headache every day.
2. The sun is lying low.
3. She has lain down for a nap.

3. Lay must have an object following it—something that it is being laid down.
1. Lay your book on the table.
2. He laid his money down.
3. She has laid the towels in the sun.

Okay…the tenses for the three:

1. Lie

            a. Base form: lie—Tomorrow I will lie down early. (Remember—no object; down is an adverb; early is an adverb here, not an object.

            b. Past simple: lay—Yesterday I lay in the sun. (Tricky part: past tense of lie is lay; lay is also the present tense of lay—to lay something down!)

            b. Past participle: lain—They have lain low ever since then.

            d. Third person singular: lies—The dog just lies under the tree all day long.

            e. Present participle/gerund: lying—The sun was lying on the horizon for so long today.

2. Lay

1. Base form: lay—I lay the kids’ clothes out every day. (Tricky: lay is the base form of lay (to put something down; it is also the past tense of lie—to stretch out by yourself or itself.)
2. Past simple: laid—Yesterday I laid the pink pants out for Jon.
3. Past participle: laid—Before the dog came in, I had already laid his bones out.
4. Third person singular: lays—He lays the book down every night at ten.
5. Present participle/gerund: laying—I am laying the swim suits out to dry.

Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick

1. Again, do sit/set first (all same base word for tenses of set!) or rise/raise (since many people get this pair correct even if they do not know sit/set and lie/lay very well).
2. Do rise/raise after sit/set or sit/set after rise/raise (saving lie/lay for last).
3. Memorize acronym/rhyme to cement the fact that all three with I’s are the ones that are done by someone or something (not to something).
4. When you get to lie and lay, to lie first all by itself until it is memorized. Then do lay. (I am starting to wait a week between the two with lots of practice on lie during that week before moving on to lay.)

I’m officially done with sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! Time to move on. I feel that I have risen to the occasion and am glad that I did not sit idly by and lay these tricky ones aside. Glad I did not let people lie in agony over these Wacky Words. I would like for all of us to set our grammar burdens aside and raise a toast in honor of sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! J (Last time for a while, honest!)

day 99: rise and raise

Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.

I like to start with the simplest Wacky Word pair—sit and set. Then I like to move onto rise and raise. (And leave the “wackiest” pair, lie/lay, for the end.)

Remember these rise and raise tips:

1. Rise has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
1. I rise around seven a.m.
2. Yesterday I rose at dawn yesterday. (Not really!)
3. Before that I had risen when the cat jumped on me.

2. Rise means to come up to a higher position—anybody or anything can rise, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT raised)
1. She rose to greet us.
2. The sun is rising late.
3. Our grades have risen lately. (Technically, grades are raised by someone (“I raised my GPA”)—but if you do not state who raised them, they would be rising by themselves—which we know doesn’t really happen!)

3. Raise does have an i—but not only an I like rise—raise is done to something.
4. Raise must have an object following it—something that it is being raised.
1. Raise your glass for a toast.
2. He raised his children well.
3. The children are raising their hands in class now.

Okay…the tenses for the two:

1. Rise

            a. Base form: rise—Tomorrow I will rise early. (Remember—no object; early is an adverb here, not an object.

            b. Past simple: rose—Yesterday I rose late.

            b. Past participle: risen—They have risen to the task.

            d. Third person singular: rises—The sun rises early now.

            e. Present participle/gerund: rising—The sun was rising later in the day before.

2. Raise

1. Base form: raise—Today I raise my voice in song. (Object—voice)
2. Past simple: raised—Yesterday I raised the log and found a mole.
3. Past participle: raised—Before I put the binoculars down, I raised them up and looked through them in the distance.
4. Third person singular: raises—She always raises her voice when she is angry.
5. Present participle/gerund: raising—I am raising the bar in that class!

Tomorrow is quiz day…so be ready! J

day 98: rhyming word dictionary

Ending our posts on National Poetry Month--((http://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-83-national-poetry-month-part-i-of.html ).

No poet is equipped without his or her handy rhyming dictionary! The one I have linked below is a thorough adult version. Very impressive.

There are rhyming word dictionaries (the one we have is softcover from Scholastic--and is very thorough for a student) for children as well.

Check this one out for adults: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Rhyming-Dictionary-Including-Poets/dp/0440212057

day 97: poetry handbook

More for National Poetry Month ((http://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-83-national-poetry-month-part-i-of.html ).

If you are interested in learning more about writing poetry or improving the poetry you do write, you might want to obtain the poetry handbook described below. I like trying different kinds than I normally write (which are nearly alwyas rhymed verse of fairly "normal" rhyme schemes--ABAB, AABBCC, ABCB, etc.). A handbook such as this one helps me learn about other styles--and challenges me to give them a try!

There are many handbooks out there--but the one below received rave reviews, is not too long, and is written by an award-winning poet.

Amazon.com Review: This slender guide by Mary Oliver deserves a place on the shelves of any budding poet. In clear, accessible prose, Oliver (winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for poetry) arms the reader with an understanding of the technical aspects of poetry writing. Her lessons on sound, line (length, meter, breaks), poetic forms (and lack thereof), tone, imagery, and revision are illustrated by a handful of wonderful poems (too bad Oliver was so modest as to not include her own). What could have been a dry account is infused throughout with Oliver's passion for her subject, which she describes as "a kind of possible love affair between something like the heart (that courageous but also shy factory of emotion) and the learned skills of the conscious mind." One comes away from this volume feeling both empowered and daunted. Writing poetry is good, hard work.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Handbook-Mary-Oliver/dp/0156724006

Tomorrow--tips on getting started writing or teaching poetry.

day 96: 2011 poet’s market

National Poetry month (http://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-83-national-poetry-month-part-i-of.html ) is coming to a close in a few days, and I haven’t gotten around to all of the poetry-related posts that I wanted to do, so I will try to squeeze them in here yet this week—and then we will get back to rise/raise. Honest!

First of all, I want to share a link to an awesome poetry handbook for those desiring to sell their poetry. It is put out by Writer’s Digest Books (lots of goodies from them!), those folks who put out the Writer’s Market and other “market” books for selling writing.

From the back of this helpful “sales” book:

*Features on the realities of poetry publishing, mistakes to avoid, identifying scams, giving great readings, and promoting your work.

*Information on workshops, organizations, and online resources that help poets perfect their skills and network with fellow poets and editors.

*Thorough indexes to make choosing the best potential markets easier.

*Access to all “Poet’s Market” listings in a searchable online database.

I haven’t sold a lot of poetry—just a few for review to Blue Mountain Art and a few here and there for Christian newsletters and magazines. However, I would love to have more time to spend on this (probably not happening since I am working on my thirty-fourth curriculum book right now!). For those who enjoy writing poetry, I say, go for it! Seeing your poetry published is extremely rewarding—and to be able to motivate, inspire, uplift, challenge, or humor someone through your words is incredible!

Here is the link for this book: http://www.amazon.com/2011-Poets-Market-Robert-Brewer/dp/1582979502