Helpers Surrounding Us

Like many people this week, words just don't come for me right now.  My heart aches for the families and friends of those beautiful children who were lost and the teachers and administrators who died trying to protect them.  My heart also aches for a mother who lost her battle to save her son, losing her own life in the process, and for a young man who was troubled beyond anyone's imaginings.  

How do we possibly explain this to children when we can't understand it ourselves?  How do we assure them that they will be safe when we know that, regardless of how well we plan for emergencies, we simply can't anticipate every possibility?

I don't have the answers, but I think Mr. Rogers has the best response I have heard yet.  “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world.” 

While we can't lie to children and tell them that bad things don't happen, we can show them very clearly how many helpers there are who are willing to do anything, including laying down their own lives, to help them.  I think that's the best we can do right now.  

Misty

Encouraging Words

I was in the grocery store the other day and saw a young boy, 8 years old or so, perusing the different flavors of ice cream and trying to settle on just one.  As his mother walked up, he made his decision, grabbed a gallon, and, showing it to his mother, excitedly asked "What is eggnog?"  He didn't know what it was, but had decided that it sounded more intriguing than any of the other options.  His mother's response was "Um, I really don't know what it is, but it's...something weird."  Obviously, he returned the eggnog ice cream to the freezer and made another selection. 

This interaction saddened me.  As parents, teachers, care providers, whatever our roles may be, we have a huge influence on the lives of children.  Many of their habits, preferences, and ideas are formed, in large part, through their interactions with us.  We have opportunities every day to encourage children to step outside of their comfort zones and try something new.  This is very difficult if we aren't willing to do the same thing ourselves.  

If I'm honest with myself, I know that I haven't always encouraged my students, or even my own sons, to try things with which they weren't comfortable.  I know my own biases  have influenced them.  (Sorry, but I just really can't stand pickles and, strangely, neither can my sons.)  My new challenge for myself is to back off on my own opinions, encourage them to try things for themselves (safe things, of course), and see what happens.

What if that young boy's mother had said "Gee, I don't know what eggnog is, but let's find out."?  Maybe they could have found a smaller container of ice cream, bought a bit of eggnog, or even found a recipe to make eggnog themselves.  Perhaps he wouldn't have liked either eggnog or eggnog ice cream, but I sure would have loved to have seen him have the chance to try it out for himself. 

Misty

Early Literacy

A research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Lead for Literacy, is publishing a series of simple, one-page memos to address current pitfalls in literacy education and propose solutions to these pitfalls. 

 

One of the memos ("Literacy Unpacked: What Do We Mean by Literacy?") simply defines what we mean by the term literacy and the educational implications for that understanding.  A key component of their explanation is that literacy is not simple; it requires a very complex set of skills and knowledge. 

 

The skills involved in literacy are:

• Concepts about print
• The ability to hear & work with spoken sounds
• Alphabet knowledge
• Word reading
• Spelling
• Fluency

The knowledge required for literacy includes:

• Concepts about the world
• The ability to understand & express complex ideas
• Vocabulary
• Oral language skills

The biggest educational implications of this understanding is that most of the literacy skills are acquired by 3rd grade and these skills are heavily influenced by relatively short periods of instruction.  However, the knowledge component of literacy is acquired throughout a lifetime; infancy to adulthood.  This component requires "sustained instruction, beginning in early childhood".  

While it's never too late to learn to read, this deconstruction of the components of literacy make a very strong case for early literacy education to help prevent future reading difficulties.

To see all of the memos, visit the Harvard Graduate School of Education Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group at http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=lesaux&pageid=icb.page541445

Misty

Multiple Intelligences for Struggling Readers

Last week we talked about Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences:

•  Verbal/Linguistic or Word Smart
•  Logical/Mathematical or Math Smart
•  Musical/Rhythmical or Music Smart
•  Visual/Spatial or Art Smart
•  Bodily/Kinesthetic or Body Smart
•  Intrapersonal or  Self Smart
•  Interpersonal or People Smart
•  Naturalistic or Nature Smart

Now, the question is, how do we use these multiple intelligences to help our struggling readers?  Here are some reading activities for each of the intelligences.

Verbal/Linguistic

• Read an alphabet book.  
• Listen to stories on tape (follow along in the book).   
• Make a picture dictionary. 
• Come up with a mnemonic device for spelling tricky words (example--"oh, you lucky dog" to remember the last 4 letters in "could", "would", and "should" ).

Logical/Mathematical

• Put words on index cards and sort according to common characteristics. 
• Do or create a crossword puzzles.
• Predict the ending of a story.
• Deduce spelling rules based on examples.

Musical/Rhythmical

• Play classical music in the background to help students focus.   
• Sing the alphabet. 
• Put the lesson to music (like the Schoolhouse Rock clips).
• Play rhyming games.

Visual/Spatial

• Paint letters or words.
• Lindamood Bell's Visualizing and Verbalizing program.
• Write words with "problem letters" in a different color.
• Make letters or words out of clay.

Bodily/Kinesthetic

• Use flashlight to write letter/word in the air.  
• Wet, dry, try (on chalkboard)—to write letters.
• Visualize key word for vowel.  Use first two fingers to tap out word and vowel sound.
• Concentration game for words or letters.

Intrapersonal

• Student helps set personal goals and evaluate performance.   
• Teach what is relevant to the student (vocabulary, spelling words, etc.).  
• Allow plenty of processing time.   
• Metacognition techniques--thinking about thinking.

Interpersonal

• Reader's Theater.   
• Play a learning game.   
• Read to a younger student. 
• Teach a spelling rule to a classmate.

Naturalistic

• Write letters/words in sand. 
• Step outside to work.   
• Blindfolded listening--sound discrimination--sounds, letters, words.   
• Read National Geographic books, etc.

If you have anything else you have used with your student(s), I would love to hear it!

Misty

Image courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

 

Howard Gardner, a contemporary American developmental psychologist, rejected the traditional theory of general intelligence, instead identifying intelligence as the ability to solve problems and to generate new problems to solve.  He identified eight types of intelligence: 

Type of Intelligence		Method of Processing	Potential Careers
Verbal/Linguistic	Word Smart	Process through words and language	Author, newscaster, journalist, attorney
Logical/Mathematical	Math Smart	Process through analyzing, grouping, quantifying, and characterizing information	Scientist, accountant, philosopher, computer programmer
Musical/Rhythmical	Music Smart	Process through sound, rhythm, and music	Musician, entertainer, instrument-maker, composer
Visual/Spatial	Art Smart	Process through pictures, visuals, and images	Architect, engineer, sculptor, pilot
Bodily/Kinesthetic	Body Smart	Process through movement and sensation	Athlete, craftsman, dancer, surgeon
Intrapersonal	Self Smart	Process through self-reflection and understanding of themselves	Poet, theologian, psychologist, philosopher
Interpersonal	People Smart	Process through understanding and relating to others	Counselor, minister, teacher, politician
Naturalistic	Nature Smart	Process through an understanding of natural systems	Farmer, landscaper, botanist, ecologist

Gardner determined that most people primarily use one or two intelligences.  He stated that although no one type of intelligence is better than another, different cultures do have biases toward different intelligences, respecting those intelligences more than others.  As the culture in America tends to favor verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematical intelligences, we tend to teach and test to those intelligences.  That is fine for students who are "word smart" or "math smart", but leaves out those who learn better through any of the other 6 intelligences.  

Next week, we'll talk about specific activities to help students learn to read through multiple intelligences.

Misty