Reading and writing are complementary skills; you read text that’s written, and you create text to be read. Both skills need to be explicitly taught and rigorously practiced since the human brain isn’t hard-wired for either one [see our blog post here]. We’ve talked on this blog about many different approaches to reading instruction. Now, … Continue reading “Effective Writing Instruction”
Tag: spelling
Study Skills Part 4 – Taking Notes
Note taking, whether in school or in a job meeting, is a crucial skill. It not only forces you to think about what is being said, but it also serves as material you can review when you want to revisit key topics or details. For the purposes of this blog, we’ll discuss taking notes as … Continue reading “Study Skills Part 4 – Taking Notes”
The History of Writing and Reading – Part 21: Printing, Publishing, and Language Norms in the Digital Age
[Editor’s note: This is the twenty-second of an ongoing series that examines the rise of writing – and therefore reading – around the world. We will be looking at the major developments and forces that shaped the written languages we use today. Links to all the previous posts are listed at the end of this … Continue reading “The History of Writing and Reading – Part 21: Printing, Publishing, and Language Norms in the Digital Age”
The History of Writing and Reading – Part 20: The Origins and Development of English (Part 4 of 4)
[Editor’s note: This is the twenty-first of an ongoing series that examines the rise of writing – and therefore reading – around the world. We will be looking at the major developments and forces that shaped the written languages we use today. Links to all the previous posts are listed at the end of this … Continue reading “The History of Writing and Reading – Part 20: The Origins and Development of English (Part 4 of 4)”
The History of Writing and Reading – Part 17: The Origins and Development of English (Part 1 of 4)
[Editor’s note: This is the eighteenth of an ongoing series that examines the rise of writing – and therefore reading – around the world. We will be looking at the major developments and forces that shaped the written languages we use today. Links to all the previous posts are listed at the end of this … Continue reading “The History of Writing and Reading – Part 17: The Origins and Development of English (Part 1 of 4)”
Conducting a Reading Evaluation – Part 2
Last week we discussed the necessity of conducting a reading evaluation for any child struggling with the reading process, and five of the eight elements that evaluation should contain to be effective. This week we will describe the remaining three elements – written expression, spelling, and reading comprehension – and how they impact the evaluation … Continue reading “Conducting a Reading Evaluation – Part 2”
Understanding Dyslexia – Part 2
[Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a four-part series on dyslexia. Links to the other parts are included in the blog.] In Part 1 of our discussion on dyslexia, we talked a little bit about the disorder and the difficulties dyslexics encounter when reading, spelling, and even verbalizing. Now we’re going to look at … Continue reading “Understanding Dyslexia – Part 2”
Targeting the Young to Promote Adult Literacy
As part of the Development Lexicon Project study, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin are currently studying how words are read by people ranging from first-graders to seventy-year-olds. The researchers are focusing on three different characteristics of a word: its length, its frequency of use within the language, and its … Continue reading “Targeting the Young to Promote Adult Literacy”