In a recent Education Week post, Mike Schmoker described three key elements for teachers to use to impart core literacy skills to their students: purposeful reading, discussion, and writing. He advocated for 90-120 minutes engagement each day, spread throughout the curriculum. To understand just what this means for classroom instruction, let’s examine the three skills, … Continue reading “Improving Reading and Writing Skills”
Tag: Comprehension
Does Increasing Reading Speed Decrease Comprehension?
If you ask someone if they want to increase their reading speed, the answer is usually yes, but they don’t end up trying because they’re afraid of losing comprehension in the process. Do you really lose comprehension, or is this just a myth? The answer is a bit of both. Increasing speed is, like learning … Continue reading “Does Increasing Reading Speed Decrease Comprehension?”
Guest Blog: Digital Trends that Will Transform the Future of Teaching
[Editor’s note: This blog has been edited for length and clarity.] In 2021, the digital transition accelerated its pace. Nowadays, tech inventions are a must-have in the workplace and in education. Since new technologies have generally made the world a better place, more companies are investing money in tech. During the COVID-19 lockdown, companies in … Continue reading “Guest Blog: Digital Trends that Will Transform the Future of Teaching”
Reading Fluency Instruction After Grade 3
We’ve addressed the issue of reading fluency in emerging readers a number of times, as it’s one of the fundamental concepts that must be explicitly taught by the teacher and practiced by the students (you can find previous texts here and here). Reading fluency generally refers to a student’s oral reading fluency, as they’re encouraged … Continue reading “Reading Fluency Instruction After Grade 3”
Addressing Subvocalization
According to Merriam-Webster, subvocalization, a term first used in 1925, is defined as “the act or process of inaudibly articulating speech with the speech organs.” When used in the context of reading, subvocalization refers to the habit of reading along with the printed text using your “inner voice” to form the words instead of silently … Continue reading “Addressing Subvocalization”
Balancing Literacy: What Makes for Good Reading Instruction?
In a September 8, 2021 opinion post, Education Week described two educators’ concerns over the polarization of literary instruction and the distortion of the term “balanced literacy” from its original meaning.[1] To address the former, we have to look no farther than the hotly debated “war” between phonics and whole-word instruction, which we dealt with … Continue reading “Balancing Literacy: What Makes for Good Reading Instruction?”
Does Learning Music Help Students Learn to Read?
If it’s to be believed, a 2018 study from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates that students who receive music lessons — specifically piano instruction — have an advantage over their non-musical peers when it comes to learning to read, and that … Continue reading “Does Learning Music Help Students Learn to Read?”
Guest Blog: Online Tools to Improve One’s Literacy
[Editor’s note: Today’s blog was written by Jane Miller, a freelance writer, part-time high school English teacher, and a graduate student based in Seattle, Washington. It has been lightly edited for clarity.] Literacy goes beyond just reading and writing. These skills allow us to communicate effectively, and, just as importantly, they give us the ability … Continue reading “Guest Blog: Online Tools to Improve One’s Literacy”
Interview with Leah King: Educator, reading specialist, and reader, Part 1
[Editor’s note and disclaimer: This is another in an occasional series of interviews with readers, reading specialists, and educators. The content for this two-part post came from an interview conducted by Miriam Ruff on October 4, 2020, and it has been edited somewhat for length and fluency.] MR: Thanks for being with us and sharing … Continue reading “Interview with Leah King: Educator, reading specialist, and reader, Part 1”
How Closed Captioning Can Improve Literacy
If you want to learn to read well, watch TV — with closed captioning. Captions provide readers, and especially emergent, struggling, or English Language Learning readers, with additional print exposure; and they offer an inexpensive way for students to build and improve their foundational reading skills, including phonics, word recognition and vocabulary building, and fluency. … Continue reading “How Closed Captioning Can Improve Literacy”