“Read What I Write”
“What I can think, I can talk about, What I can say, I can write, What I can write, I can read.” I love this quote, I don’t know the author but it speaks volumes to me about the message teachers and parents should be sending to our students and children.
Students come to me daily feeling the frustration that they aren’t capable of reading. Too many times this is the result of teachers or parents telling them this , sometimes on a daily basis. My reaction is to smile and say, ” tell me what you’re thinking,?” and before another word comes out of my mouth, my students know me well enough, they smile back and start chattering up away and we have begun their new story of the day.
This said, they use what they are thinking, we begin typing on the computer, forgetting about spelling, syntax, and everything else for now. The most important thing is to get them to write. Let their stories come to life, these boys and girls have so many dreams, real life adventures, and great ideas they want to share that with the freedom to be able to just let go, without boundaries they will write and write for hours. I actually have had to drag a few off my computer as the school bell was ringing and escort them out of my classroom so I could do bus duty :).
Success!!! Reading Strategies Pay Off!!!
“How do you think your Angels (as we call them) did?” our assistant principal asked, as the team of teachers and Intervention teachers sat at the conference room table. We sat with eyes wide opened, hearts pounding and waited for the March TAKS results.
She said, “well?” and we started out one at at time with low estimates “81″?, “78″?, and then I chimed in “93″, with that she smiled and the principal said ” I like the confidence”!
Finally she said as a group you got an 83! WOW!!! Our reading strategies we had been encouraging the kids to use must have done something?
To fully get the depth of the success, you have to understand that prior to the March TAKS exam, we gave two Benchmark exams (practice tests) and our angels didn’t do nearly as well. This is what leads up to TAKS tutoring which is where the stategies are encouraged and sometimes, depending on the students prior knowledge, is where these strategies are taught.
The key to our success was a well prepared, staff and group of students, both emotionally and physically. We had a TAKS PEP RALLY at morning assembly the day before. What do I mean? We had the high-school cheerleaders come and do several cheers for all the students. Not your everyday type cheers, but Tackle The TAKS Cheers!! They came dressed in their uniforms and had their pom poms and they rallied our kids to do just that, Tackle the TAKS!!! The morning of TAKS every student was given a free breakfast. Teachers actually were not allowed to begin testing until they knew that each student had eaten a healthy breakfast.
As teachers this makes us more accountable, yet more confident that our students will be more prepared, physically. We find this to be, at times the biggest challenge. stamina, which dwindles as the students make their way through these TAKS tests, which then effects their focus, which of course will effect their ability to do their best work.
As a teacher being successful means seeing your students succeed. Working hard to make a difference and seeing it pay off—that’s success!! WOW!!! 83% passing on the TAKS Reading!! That’s something to celebrate!
Writing_Why people Blog!
This is off topic but I have been reading alot of other people’s writings in Blogs. The best part of Blogging is it keeps people writing. Sometimes there is useful information, sometimes …..let’s just say it’s a great way to encourage your children to write.
A lot of people need to see themselves get noticed in order to do something, and the more they get attention for something the more they will do it. If blogging encourages your child to write, please start one for them. They are easy to do, they can be just like a journal, they can express personal experiences, they can share ideas that your student might have found or researched and they think might be of use to someone else.
Reading other Blogs will help them get started with their own writings. It’s a great way to get them writing as I stated before.
Once you get students writing, then what becomes important in their writing is content. What is content you ask? That’s where you can set yourself apart in the world of blogger! Even the “Professional” or people who have been writing for awhile sometimes write about the same content over and over, they just re-word it! Content is the meat of what you are writing about. My Blog Read-n-Write.com is about helping students , adults, and parents help their kids become better writers and readers. You write about what you know, what you have researched. Maybe something you learned in school that has helped you, that you think could help another peer. That’s content. So……..the beauty of it is there’s no pressure, there’s no rules, just write, have an idea, share an experience, and run with it with your writing skills!!
This is technology evolving to help our students learn to love to write and read! They might want to read other Blogs before writing their own, or just jump right in!
Just keep them reading and Writing!!
Writing_Desire grows with ESL students!
Any elementary teacher can tell you, especially in the upper elementary grades of third, fourth, and fifth, motivating students to write is one of the hardest challenges teachers face. This is especially the case with our “AT-Risk“, or “At Promise” students and ESL (English as a Second Language) students.
Technology has made a positive impact for these students! The motivation to write has made a dramatic change, almost a complete turn around from last year. My students, after they read a book, finish classroom assignments, type chapter summaries, or just type their questions from their classes , do their writing on my school web-page, or a blank Word document by using the computer. They are excited to write(type) and have their words in print(the computer)!
Just a year ago these same students were drawing beautiful pictures to express themselves, especially due to lack of confidence and paper and pencil not being ”student friendly”. These students are now using written expression, actually taking the time to write words, via the computer to express these same ideas! I have students, that last year I had to give prompt, after prompt to come up with story ideas, now they are writing daily.
The use of the computer has opened doors for many of my “At Promise” and ESL students by giving them the opportunity to express themselves and get visual feedback immediately, see that their thoughts have value and, that what they write can be printed and posted to a web-page which also gives them self confidence.
We are only scratching the surface with what we will be doing with students in the classrooms to enhance their learning. Being able to motivate them to write more is all very exciting. We are talking about in the near future having within school district Blogs, where students can write stories to each-other across campuses. The motivation will only grow. Each day these same students are more excited and work harder than they have and it’s spreading across to other students!!
If you have access to a computer, get your student typing away, anything, your shopping list, your daily schedule, etc. Just keep them writing! 
Writing…Words are like Power Tools!
As you become a proficient writer, remember to use your words wisely, they CAN hurt. The old saying “ Sticks and Stones can break your bones, but WORDS can never HURT you”.
NOT TRUE!!!
There is no “emotional monitor” in writing letters, e-mails, blogs, or texts, so just be wary of what you put down on paper.
*Personal tip from experience.
Keep ‘em Writing!
I love to write, I have three sons, that are only three and one half years apart in age, who are all different when it comes to their abilities at writing. I’ll get my bragging done quickly. My second son (two are in college, one is on his way in August,) can whip write an essay, that has amazed our local senators, within an hour’s time. He completed essays for entrance into honors programs at his university like it was nothing. Enough said about him.
My oldest son, I am just as proud of. I might even be more proud of him because he has to work harder to produce great essays on paper, but he had those great essays in his head. Being a teacher, you’d think I would have caught his problem earlier, but as a parent first, I was in denial. He was so bright, so verbally intelligent that it didn’t matter that his handwriting was illegible and that he had no sense of proper grammar, or sentence structure when it came to writing actual papers.
This is so common with our students and children, whether you are a teacher or not. It’s hard to see, or admit your child may have difficulties, or just needs some extra support.
What I finally realized, was that my son had all this information in his head. He wrote the most beautiful papers out loud, he recalled every fact you asked of him, he was as creative as they come. He would sit down in front of our new lime green iMac computer and start typing away at whatever his assignment was.
This is when it hit me like a ton of bricks, he was in high school at this point!!! I read a paper of his and stood there shocked, it was as if a second grader had written it. Knowing the discrepancy between what he would tell me he was writing about, and what he was putting down on paper shocked me.
This is where you have to be an advocate for your child. At this point in their schooling it’s almost too late to get them modifications. If I had caught this earlier, I could have had him tested for special education and had him on a 504 Plan.
Having trouble getting words from auditory to written expression can be a processing problem. It may not be too serious but enough that would have allowed my son to have had note-taking assistance, and other modifications that I won’t get into here.
I’m only touching on what, I find as a teacher, is a much greater problem, then is acknowledged, here to emphasize the importance of writing, and not just reading daily with your children! Reading and writing go hand and hand!
If children don’t realize that the written print is the same as what they read orally , they have a big disconnect, and that’s when problems may start to grow into processing disorders, and they begin to struggle as readers and writers.
There are so many tools to help your child succeed , just e-mail me and I ‘d be happy to help. My son is a successful college student in his junior year KU . Never think failure is an option, there is always a way to reach to every child!
Just keep them writing!!! Here is an excellent site to visit for at home practice with your child.
Any comment or question please leave me a note and I’ll get back to you !!! happy writing!! Keep ‘em writing, that’s most important, for now and their future!
Reading Checklist: Helpful Hints…..
Reading Checklist
Before I Read:
- I think about what I already know.
- I think about what I want to learn.
- I predict what is going to happen.
- I read the title for clues.
- I look at the pictures and read the captions for extra clues.
- I skim the article to read headings and words in bold or italic print.
- I read over the comprehension questions for the article.
While I Read:
- I ask questions and read for answers.
- I reread parts that are confusing.
- I reread the captions under the pictures.
- I make mental pictures as I read.
- I use context clues to understand difficult words.
- I take notes when I am reading.
- I underline key words and phrases.
After I Read:
- I think about what I have just read.
- I speak, draw, and write about what I read.
- I confirm or change the predictions I made.
- I reread to find the main idea.
- I reread to find details.
- I read the notes I took as I read.
- I look back at the article to find answers.
As Sponge Bob would say “I’m Ready, I’m Ready”!!!!
It’s that time of year again. TAKS testing! Are YOU ready?
This is it, whether you know it or not, all state testing is ON GRADE LEVEL…AHHHH!! As a special educator, and a Language Arts teacher this is where we get busy, busy, busy!! :0 In my particular school I am fortunate enough to work with some incredibly motivated and knowledgeable teachers who really, like myself want No Child Left Behind!!!!! It’s all about teaching these kids - yes your kids and students, strategies to succeed. Our talented Reading teacher’s, fifth grade teachers and myself have come up with what we call “Reading Camp”.
We took the data from a benchmark reading test, and grouped the kids according to how they did into groups to work for one hour, each day, on strategies to better their reading skills. Our main goal is to get these students to recognize the “Who” and the “What” of each passage they read. If they can do that, their odds of passing the test will go up 75%!
Remember, if it’s you the educator, or you a parent, the “Who” is not always a person!!! Always, and I stress always - read through each paragraph and find the “Who” and “What ” of each paragraph to make sure you are on the right track!!! The use of highlighters are very helpful while reading these sometimes tedious passages!!
One last tip; have those kids who have to read and reread to remember what they just read (I know I have to do that sometimes), have them draw little pictures or symbols on the margins to help them remember what the passage was about. These visual cues are so handy when the questions ask you to refer back to the text. As well as, not having to reread an entire passages.
With the test just around the corner, one of the easiest things to do is go to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) web-site and practice the on-line tests for the appropriate grade-level. This is the best at-home strategy (and easiest), for practicing for the TAKS. It’s even self-scoring so students can see how they did. You as a parent can use this information and know which objectives your child is struggling with and it will help assist you in helping your children succeed.
Sharing Strategies…..struggling readers need strategies…
I have been working in Special Education as a Resource teacher for many years. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the face of a student light up when they realize they can read!! I’m not only talking about students in elementary grades, but students through high school. My passion for teaching gets stronger with the more At-Risk students. Many teachers aren’t taught how to “teach” these struggling ,”low” readers. I say “taught” but what I really mean is have the creativity, or patience to develop, or use different strategies for different level readers. The new buzz word, which actually has been around for at least ten years, is DIFFERENTIATED teaching!!
This is what the focus of my Read-n-Write site is going to be. (except for some stories now and then about my students, or my children ). I have gone to some of the greatest reading workshops and received great resources. I have used and created so many strategies that have worked with students from Kinder up thru the twelfth grade! I work with students who have processing disorders, are non-verbal, have English as a Second Language, have Autism, etc.
Enough blah blah, next time I will start with a new RTI program I’m going to try called START-IN. It’s looks awesome…
BTW….I would love to hear what works for anyone out there!!! It’s all about the children!!!
My First Post
Teaching people how to read and write is one of my passions and the primary reason I started this blog. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas on how to help you succeed in reaching your goals. Thank you for stopping by. I welcome your questions, comments and suggestions.