Mastery vs. Grades Students educated at home often work on a task until they master it. A math paper can be corrected. An essay can be re-written until it is concise. A book may be read and discussed. A project might be started, abandoned, and then taken up again. Working toward mastery rather than grades means […]
Answers or Assumptions? A dyslexia diagnosis sends parents looking for answers. Often, the people with the answers are also the people with a program to sell. A common assumption is that children need to do well in school in order to do well in life. Another assumption is that the only way to succeed in […]
Teaching Reading Requires Multiple Methods Marion Blank, Ph.D, authored several great books as well as Reading Kingdom, an online reading curriculum. In this post, I highlight the reading techniques she uses. Dr. Blank doesn’t specifically target students with dyslexia — rather she acknowledges that children come with a variety of brains, some of which are […]
A Diagnosis Brings Relief and Panic Parents who consult with me following a dyslexia diagnosis report two emotions: relief that they know why the student is struggling to read, and panic about the resources needed. Both responses are realistic. Happily, the panic can be laid aside once the parent has more information. From my experience […]
What is Phonics? Phonics is linking speech sounds (phonemes) to letters and groups of letters, providing a way to decode written text. More than Phonics May be Needed Education wars erupt between those who favor phonics and those who favor whole language approaches. For the sake of students with dyslexia, it’s essential to use both! […]
Dyslexia Tutoring is Expensive! At a homeschool conference in Idaho I overheard a conversation that stopped me in my tracks. I listened, with some horror, as a mom told how the family sold their home and moved into a crowded apartment in order to afford dyslexia tutoring and private school for one of their children. […]
Wishes Aren’t Enough Students with dyslexia are often wildly creative and productive. They learn with joy and energy. They amaze their teachers and parents. But they can’t do this if they are forced to focus on nothing but their difficulty with written language. Too often, students with dyslexia miss out on the things they do […]
Online School is Hard on Kids with Dyslexia Obviously, online school work presents special challenges for all students and teachers. But there’s an extra challenge for students with dyslexia and the teachers who are doing their best to provide a great education under difficult circumstances. Students with dyslexia often depend on classroom discussion to correct […]
Testing Doesn’t Improve Reading Here’s why some teachers focus on test scores such as DIBEL, RAZ or Lexile. Test scores provide verifiable data that students are progressing. Unfortunately, teachers feel pressure to produce such evidence. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be acceptable to report that “Johnny now loves reading whereas last year he hated it.” […]
