Dear Parents:
L to the Third Power!!!

For some students, even able ones, reading is just “too much” work. A little parable is then offered in support of teaching literacy skills efficiently, effectively, and in accordance with what we now know about how the human brain learns to read–in other words–aligned to The Science of Reading. HERE IS THE STORY — EVERYONE LIKES A STORY, RIGHT? A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of dining out with what most folks would consider a precocious 10 year old, currently a 5th grader in the northeast United States. We got to talking and inevitably, I asked…

Is it YOUR or YOUR CHILD’s Enemy too? I am downsizing, moving, and relocating to another state in just a couple of weeks. So you know the story. These are the file cabinets that were once filled with paper—stuff from my home, stuff from my job(s), stuff from my kids. I suspect NO ONE will be purchasing them. Paper remains the Enemy. Image by Lori Josephson I’ve had to go through every piece of paper, along with every item in our home accumulated over the past 23+ years. This is not some small task when one is an educator….

I love sharing stories. That’s why I received a gift of a ‘storyteller poster’ which hangs in my office. And that’s why I continued to receive gifts relating to storytelling over the years. Image by Lori Josephson I used to talk with my students, all of whom had dyslexia to greater or lesser extents, about how they felt concerning going back to school. I used to ask my own kids, none of whom had dyslexia, how they felt too. These were always my parting words: “There is only 1 time to make a first impression.” Lori Josephson And you,…

A question from a teacher this week prompted this article. The teacher writes:  I tutor a 9 year old student with a diagnosis of dyslexia. This student has been taught ‘the code’ (I take that to mean this student is familiar with most, if not many sound/symbol relationships). This student’s first or ‘cold read’ is 60 wpm, and then when this student rereads the passage a second time, this student reads 100 wpm. The question is: How can I get this student to 100 wpm the first time the passage is read? LET’S DEFINE THE TERM…WHAT IS FLUENCY? Simply,…

Have you heard about one newest and one of the biggest video crazes to hit the airwaves for the younger set? Well, it’s Songs for Littles featuring Ms. Rachel and her cast. You can find it here–just go to YouTube–everyone knows how to find things on YouTube these days! I didn’t know about Ms. Rachel’s videos until a couple of months ago as I witnessed my two grandkids, ages 2 ½ and 14 months, literally mesmerized by the up close and personal way Ms. Rachel models and teaches language skills to littles.  These kiddos do not have much screen…

Do you have a child and/or a student who appears to be able to read and  complete homework adequately? How about one who gets decent grades the majority of the time? Or are you dealing with  a child and/or a student who completely shuts down and has trouble with academics in many arenas?  THE PASSIVE LEARNER Your child and/or student may be a passive learner.  What’s that? Do I need to be concerned? I’d say, “yes”– because these are the children who may “fall through the cracks” and/or suffer from poor self-esteem unbeknownst to you.  Everything may appear as…