Background Knowledge & Literacy

What Parents Need to Know about ‘Book Language’–Next Steps for Children Part 2 (of 3)

2 Comments / Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Early Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Literacy, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain, Speech to Print, Your Journey / By

Prelude In January, I started writing about ‘Book Language’ and its importance in attaining school success. You can read this article here. To summarize, ‘Book Language’ differs from spoken language in significant ways. ‘Book Language’ is written using complete sentences including longer and more complex sentence structures. The vocabulary is far more descriptive and evokes […]

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What Parents Need to Know about ‘Book Language’–What’s That Anyway?? Part 1

2 Comments / Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Early Literacy, Education Equity, Executive Function & Literacy, Language & Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Librarians, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Science of Reading, Social Emotional Learning, Social-Emotional Health, Vocabulary Development, Your Journey / By

Introduction: Authentic Text Is Full of ‘Book Language‘ In my October blog, entitled, PART 2…Authentic ‘text’ Books for the Main Course/Dessert—IT’S TASTIER!, I write extensively on the importance of having student exposure to ‘authentic text’ as opposed to ‘decodable text’. In short, foundational reading students first need to spend time practicing the decoding skills they

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“On The First Day of Christmas, My Parent (and/or Teacher) Gave to Me…”

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My singing voice can best be described as, well, ‘mediocre’. Despite my mediocre voice and my Jewish identity (therefore not celebrating the Christmas Holiday in any way throughout my childhood), I simply adored singing all those wonderful holiday songs, especially Christmas carols throughout my childhood. I even recall caroling door to door with friends as

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Kids and Adults: Time to Chill Out Because Winter Solstice is Upon Us

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Language & Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Parenting, Vocabulary Development / By

Each year on December 21, 22, or 23, darkness envelops Earth’s Northern Hemisphere for a bit longer than normal. While what we now know to be the winter solstice has a straightforward astronomical explanation, early myths of why the solstice takes place also share insights into early civilizations’ steps into science. Science ATL Image by

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What Do Parents Need to Know About “Summer Slide”–AKA ‘Learning Loss’?

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Back to School, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Executive Function & Literacy, Parenting, Reading Fluency, Vocabulary Development, Written Language / By

What is “Summer Slide”? Have you ever even heard of this term before?? I just finished a Zoom meeting with a gal who has three adult children and nine grands–I asked her if she had ever heard of the term….guess what, she had not! So you are not alone. According to Scholastic, a whopping 48%

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My Book About How Kids’ Brains Learn to Read and Spell Is About To Be Published! Be One of the First to Get YOUR Copy!!

24 Comments / Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, Language Literacy Connection, Morphology - What's That?, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain, Reading Fluency, Speech to Print, Spelling, Vocabulary Development / By

WHEN? My new book entitled Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen will be published at the end of May, which coincides with the end of the school year. Timing of the publication is perfect for several reasons including: With adult guidance, this book is appropriate for children beginning at age 8. Older students

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Does Your Child(ren) or Student(s) Struggle With Reading? I’m So Passionate About Helping Kids Learn To Read and Spell, I Wrote A Book!

6 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, Education Equity, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, High Frequency Words, Language & Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Morphology - What's That?, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain, Reading Fluency, Resiliency, Science of Reading, Social Emotional Learning, Speech to Print, Spelling, Vocabulary Development / By

WHY DO I SUGGEST STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE READING/SPELLING/WRITING BRAIN PROCESSES? Let’s talk about this phrase: “Knowledge is POWER.” Don’t you agree? The more students of any age know abour how a task is accomplished, it’s got to have a positive outcome. Children and parents alike are often confused and upset when things aren’t going well

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Do YOU Worry About (Your) Kids (or Adults!) Who Struggle with Reading and Writing? I Worry Too, So I Called Upon Some Neurons!

30 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, Education Equity, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, High Frequency Words, Language Literacy Connection, Literacy News, Morphology - What's That?, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Reading Brain, Resiliency, Science of Reading, Social Emotional Learning, Speech to Print, Vocabulary Development / By

My first book Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen will be published this spring! You will be able to find it on Amazon and all your favorite online book retailers too. SO I WROTE THIS BOOK…WHY? Well…. It is my belief that all children have the right to be taught literacy skillls. According to

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‘Tis the Season to be Give and Receive. Do Our Children Know How to Express Gratitude in Writing?? Let Me Show You How and Tell You Why!

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, Parenting, Social Emotional Learning, Spelling, Written Language / By

Why Write a Thank You Note? A thank you note is simply an effective and simple way to show appreciation for the kindness of others in terms of generosity and support.. One can write a thank you note not only for gifts received (’tis the season), but also for any kind gesture including, but not

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“It’s Just TOO MUCH Work!!”

Leave a Comment / Attention, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Decoding (Reading), Executive Function & Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Parenting, Your Journey / By

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

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