| Dear Arizona Promising Practices
Subscriber,
Welcome to another online addition of the Arizona
Promising Practices forum. For those new to this service, each issue, which
will now be sent to you on a regular basis, will focus on: (1) Recommended
National Educational Websites; (2) A Local or Arizona Website/Practice of
Importance; and (3) One promising practice article in condensed form. We
welcome your recommendations for improvement to this forum or suggestions on
future topics (these will be wide ranging to if nothing in this update interests you, hold on for future editions!) The Arizona Promising Practices
Forum and website, www.azpromisingpractices.com
is a FREE resource of the Arizona Department of Education. Mary
Urich, ACPE Director murich@mail1.ade.state.az.us In
this issue we focus on research based Tips for Teachers and Parents that
may be used to improve children's reading. Whether dealing with
special education or regular education students, this guide, brought to you by
the Learning First Alliance, provides practical examples to improve
learning. This guide also provides an easy to use reference for
dissemination to parents. But first: National Website
of Importance - Reading provides the
fundamental building blocks of learning. Without it, students are most likely
to struggle in acquisition of new knowledge. The International Reading
Association provides tips on how to work with students of all learning
levels. Check them out at http://www.reading.org/ Promising Practice
Research and Teaching Tips
Every Child
Reading: Tips for Teachers
(1) Rely on Good Research. Promote the adoption of reading
instruction programs in your school that are (2) Push for Good Professional Development. Insist on high quality instructional strategies that includes discussion of research on how children learn to read as well as extensive in-class follow-up. (3) Make Success School wide. Promote adoption of effective reading instruction and professional development methods. (4) Team Up with Parents. Involve parents in support of their children’s reading. Work with parents and guardians to ensure that their children arrive at school ready to learn every day. Children should spend more time reading than is available at school, and teachers can reinforce this important point to parents and provide ideas on how to make reading an everyday activity in their home. (5) How’s It Going? Assess students’ progress regularly. (6) Small Classes Pay Big Dividends. Encourage school officials to reduce class size for reading instruction and to provide tutoring for students who fall behind. Changes in school organization may be necessary to create more appropriate class groupings and effective uses of special education, Title I, and other supplementary resources. (7) Be Alert to Older Non-Readers. Reading success is especially critical in the early grades because it is easier to prevent reading problems than to remediate them. Teachers at all grade levels should keep an eye out for students having trouble with reading. One-to-one tutoring programs built on sound phonetic principles can often make a remarkable difference in students’ reading performance in a period of months. Teachers can help ensure that older students reading below grade levels have level-appropriate texts for independent reading. (8) Use Help Wisely. Classroom paraprofessionals involved in reading education should receive the training and support necessary to enable them to make a significant contribution to children’s reading achievement. Teachers should utilize paraprofessionals in ways that augment the research-based reading program used in the classroom and allow students to receive more individualized support. Volunteers should also receive adequate training and supervision, should be assigned work with children who can benefit from their assistance, and they should operate consistently with the reading program of the school.
(1) Start at the beginning. Setting the foundation for reading success is necessary before your child begins first grade, and will be crucial to academic achievement in a variety of subjects. Research shows that reading to children as early as infancy can give them a strong base for language concepts and cognitive skills related to print. Introduce your children to colorful story and picture books to foster a love of reading. Establish a routine; reading stories at bedtime is a cozy way to promote literacy. Make it interactive. Have children help turn pages and encourage them to discuss the story’s plot and characters. (2) Explore your neighborhood library together. Take your children to the local library and introduce them to the wide selection of books, newspapers, magazines, and story telling programs that they have to offer. Also, don’t forget that your library’s computer provides the perfect opportunity to introduce your children to the Internet. Go online with them and show them how to do research for school projects and papers. (3) Volunteer at your child’s school. Studies show that parent involvement is correlated with reading achievement. Given adequate training, parents can help in the classroom by volunteering to serve as tutors in the school. Support the school’s literacy efforts and advocate for effective instructional materials and modern technology, including computers and access to the Internet, so that all children have excellent learning opportunities. Work through a parent organization, like the PTA, to develop and build strong relationships between parents and educators. Discuss ways that reading performance can be reinforced in the home. (4) Write it out. Writing gives children opportunities to use their reading competence. Support your children’s creative and expository writing efforts and encourage them to keep a journal or diary so they can practice at home. (5) Enroll your children in after-school, child care, or summer programs that cultivate and reinforce reading skills. If your school doesn’t offer these types of programs, urge the school’s administrators and the school board to provide them. (6) Be a "study buddy." You can help your child organize information, look for key ideas in books, and practice reading out loud. Point out everyday tasks like interpreting instructions, recipes, and road signs, that require solid reading skills. Be sure to have plenty of interesting reading materials at home such as books, magazines, and newspapers to encourage your child to read more frequently. Practice makes perfect. (7) Ask for help. If your child is having difficulty with reading, speak with your child’s educator about having the problem addressed. (8) Support school reform. Advocate at the local, state, and national levels for school reform efforts, like class size, teacher training, and parent involvement, which are proven to make a difference in early reading performance and other subjects. (9) Start the day off right. Make sure your kids are well rested, organized, and have a nutritious breakfast every day so that they arrive at school ready to learn. (10) Rhyme to reason. Giving children experience with rhyming is an effective way to build phonemic awareness and requires children to focus on the sounds inside words. |