Dialogic Reading

We’ve known for a long time that reading to children is critical in their language development.  However, we now know that the way in which we read to children is important also.  Dialogic reading can be described as a conversation between an adult and a child (or children) about a book.  It is a very powerful tool in language development, particularly vocabulary development.  The goal in dialogic reading is for the child to move from being an active listener to a storyteller.  

As with reading any book, start by having the child look at the cover and tell you what he thinks the book is about.  Then read the book normally so that the child can become familiar with the story.  In subsequent readings of the book, you can use dialogic reading.  (Children enjoy repetition; repeated reading is another great technique to improve language skills.)

The method used in dialogic reading is known by the acronym PEER. 

• Prompt—ask the child a “what” question about the book.  What did you see on that page? 
• Evaluate—either reinforce the child’s correct answer or guide the child to the correct answer.  Yes, you saw a man on that page.
• Expand—expand the child’s answer with additional details.  (You can provide the details right away or ask the child to provide more details before you expand the answer even more.)  That man is a fireman, standing next to his fire truck. 
• Repeat—have the child repeat your phrase or part of your phrase.  Can you say “fireman”?

Try to ask a variety of questions instead of just asking “what happened” over and over again.  The acronym CROWD provides suggestions for types of questions to ask.

• Completion—have the child complete your sentence about the story.  The fireman is standing next to his _________.  (truck)
• Recall—ask the child to recall a detail from the story.  What did the fireman do when he heard the alarm?
• Open-ended—ask the child a question without a specific answer.  What do you think the fireman is going to do next?
• WH questions—who, what, where, when, why (and how).  Where did the fireman go in his truck?
• Distancing—ask the child to relate the story to something in his own life.  Have you seen a fire truck?  Where did you see it?  What was it like?

And, of course, after reading and discussing the story, have the child give you an overview of it.  This will help you to make sure that the child is comprehending what you are reading.  Most importantly, read, read, read (and have fun with it).

Misty

Phonological Memory and Early Reading

Phonological memory refers to a person’s ability to retain phonological (sound) information for a short period of time.  Difficulties with phonological memory often signal future struggles with reading and vocabulary acquisition.  Phonological memory skills can be practiced with remembering lists of words, strings of digits, multi-syllable nonsense words, sentence or story details, or multi-step directions.  Helping children improve their phonological memories is one way to help them avoid future reading problems.  And, like most things, these skills can be developed in fun ways.

• Going to New York—Tell the child, “I’m going to New York and I packed a …”.  Name something you packed.  The child then repeats the phrase, what you packed, then adds what they packed.  (“I’m going to New York and I packed a … and a …”)  Continue the game until the list gets too long to remember.
• Repetition—Read a book with a repetitive phrase (like “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”) and have the child repeat the repetitive phrase at the appropriate time.
• Rhythm Clapping—Clap out a rhythm and have the child repeat the rhythm.
• Calculations—Read a string of digits from a prepared card (2-7 digits, depending upon the child’s ability) to a child.  Have the child repeat the digits to himself over and over while walking across the room to a calculator.  The child presses the buttons on the calculator in the order in which they were read.  Compare the number on the calculator to the prepared card so the child can see if he remembered the digits correctly.
• Play Mother May I
• Stringing Beads—Give a child a direction of what 2 colors of beads to put on a string, in order.  Increase the number of beads as the child’s ability increases.

To help children develop their phonological memories, teachers or parents can also teach the children strategies for remembering.  For example, a 7-digit phone number is chunked into 3 digits followed by 4 digits.  Repetition, like in the Calculations game, helps to keep those digits in memory until the task can be completed.  Tapping along with “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” can provide a needed reminder.  Some children will pick up these strategies on their own and some will need to be explicitly taught the strategies.

Misty

5 Numbers to Know

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has a new, interactive multi-media presentation entitled “Five Numbers to RememberAbout Early Child Development”.  The numbers are:

• 700 Per Second—In a young child’s brain, new neural connections are formed at the rate of 700 per second.  Reciprocal interactions with adults are one of the primary methods through which these neurons develop.
• 18 Months—By the age of 18 months, disparities in vocabulary, based upon the education level of the child’s parents, begin to appear.  By the age of 3 years, children of college-educated parents may have a vocabulary 2-3 times that of children whose parents have not completed high school.
• 90-100%—Children who are faced with 6-7 risk factors (poverty, parent/caregiver mental illness, maltreatment, etc.) in the first 3 years of life have a 90-100% chance of developmental delays. 
• 3:1 Odds—Similarly, children who are faced with 7-8 risk factors are 3 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease as adults.
• 4-9 Dollars—Several longitudinal studies on the impact of high-quality early childhood education programs have demonstrated that every dollar invested yields $4-9 in future returns.

So, what does this research tell us?  Early childhood education is extraordinarily important and well worth the investment.  A relatively small investment early in a child’s life can prevent lifelong problems. Children in difficult home environments may need more extensive interventions.  Quality early childhood education benefits not just the child and parents, but all of society.

Misty

International Mud Day Activities

Until recently, I never realized there was an international mud day. But, it sure sounds like fun.  I spent my childhood puddle jumping, tree climbing, and playing in mud.  It seems like a lot of children today do not have that opportunity.  With appropriate care and supervision, mud activities can be safe and fun.

Here are some possibilities for celebrating International Mud Day on June 29^th (and perhaps all week). 

• Make mud bricks in ice cube trays or muffin tins.  Bake in a 250 oven for about 15 minutes to dry the bricks (if you don’t want to wait for them to air dry).  Use additional mud or plaster of paris as mortar to build with the bricks.
• Create mud sculptures.  Add sticks, leaves, rocks, etc.
• Paint with mud.  Paintbrushes or fingers on canvas, cardboard, wood, or the side of your building or fence. 
• Build a mud puddle for some free play (make sure it’s not too deep and that children are well supervised).  If, like me, your local soil is clay, bring in a few bags of topsoil to make the mud.  If a full-on mud puddle is too much, you can do your mud play in a dishpan.

Have a hose ready for rinse-off, some clean clothes ready for the young adventurers, and enjoy your muddy day!

Misty

Stop the Summer Brain Drain

Every year, students experience a phenomenon known as the “brain drain” or “Summer slide”.  During summer vacation, the average child loses 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in math and reading.  Because children’s brains develop at such a rapid pace, taking 3 months off from learning over the summer can be quite detrimental.

The first thing we can do to stop this brain drain is to teach and show children that learning does not just occur in a classroom.  There are things to be learned everywhere if we can just help them to see the opportunities.  Of course most children enjoy a break during the summer, but they don’t need a break from learning.  An ideal summer will blend rest and relaxation with fun, hands-on learning.

We have compiled a few ideas of how to keep children having fun and learning throughout the summer.

• Cook together—cooking provides opportunities for learning about sequencing, cause and effect, fractions, and calculations like how to double a recipe.
• Keep a lot of reading material around—books, magazines, comic books—and read to and with the children.
• Check out your library’s summer reading program.
• Before heading to the beach or a baseball game, pick out a book that discusses the activity.
• Make a comic strip—it’s really easy to make a template on Excel. 
• Write postcards to friends, family, or pen pals.
• Go on a tour—there are many free ones around—jellybean or chocolate factories,  sporting venues, police and fire departments, etc.
• Plant a garden.
• Learn a new art technique or style.

Have a great summer!

Misty

Do You Know the Signs of Drowning?

I read an article on FaceBook the other day that still has me shaking my head and sharing it with everyone I possibly can.  It’s one of the most surprising and possibly most important things I have ever read.  It is from Mario Vittone and is entitled “Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning”.  

My two sons are pretty well grown now, but, having a pool in my backyard and practically living in it every summer, I always thought I would know what it would look like if one of them or one of their friends was drowning in our pool.  After all, how do you miss a child that is gasping and flailing in the water?  I always assumed that, when someone drowns, it is because the pool, lake, whatever, was too busy, too loud, too big, etc. for the victim’s thrashing to be seen before it was too late.  Turns out I was wrong.  Vittone calls the type of drowning I envisioned to be “Hollywood drowning”.  Or, to be more kind, “aquatic distress”; the person is in trouble in the water, but has not yet started the actual process of drowning. 

Vittone describes a “Instinctive Drowning Response” as:

• The victim cannot call for help.  As speech is a secondary function of the respiratory system, in distress, the primary function of breathing overwhelms the ability to speak.
• The victim cannot wave for help.  The victim instinctively extends his or her arms horizontally across the surface of the water to push down on it in an attempt to lift his or her mouth out of the water.  Again, waving for help would be a secondary function.  Similarly, a person who is drowning cannot aid in their own rescue by swimming toward a potential rescuer or reaching for a life ring, etc.
• The victim will remain upright in the water rather than rolling over and kicking.

In these situations, a potential rescuer usually has from 20-60 seconds to reach the victim before he or she is submerged.

The Centers for Disease Control list drowning as the second most common cause of death in children under the age of 15 (behind vehicle accidents).  Vittone cautions that, just like many things with a child, if the child is being quiet, that is the time to be worried.  Please share this information with anyone you can.  If they already know it, great.  If they don’t already know it, the info may just save a life.

Misty