Children taught to ask questions enter school ready to learn.
Tag Archives: teacher
Support Reading. It’s Right.
Last September the International Literacy Association (ILA is the largest professional literacy educator organization in the world) released the Children’s Rights to Read, a set of 10 rights associated with ensuring all children around the globe learn to read books and grow to be joyful readers throughout their lives. This is not the first time that a “bill of rights” […]
Time and Fun Choices Make For Happy Readers
Good readers don’t necessarily think about wanting to read better, they typically just want more time to read. Struggling readers certainly don’t want to spend any more time reading, they just want to read better–or not at all. Hmmm….but what if struggling readers DID want to spend more time reading? Researchers uniformly predict their reading […]
When a Book Grabs Them and Won’t Let Go
The question echoed quietly down the halls of his school as his teachers shared their concerns. It was a constant topic in telephone calls between his parents and their family members. The question, “So, how’s he doing in school?,” was always answered with: “Stevie doesn’t like to read. It’s a fight.” Stevie is now a […]
(Arithmetic ≠ Mathematics) + (Reading ≠ Literacy)
*Click on images to see larger version. Forty-some years ago I joined the International Reading Association (IRA), a huge collection of reading educators from all over the world. I also joined the National Reading Conference (NRC), which was a rather small organization of reading researchers. Members of these organizations met to share what they’ve been up […]
Plant a Book Garden. Grow Readers.
By Mike McGuffee My mother always had a garden. To be precise, she had lots of gardens. Our yard was dotted with plants that were given the prospect of a good life from my mother’s hands. Through the backyard of my childhood, I grew alongside Black Diamond Watermelons and Paper Shell Pecan Trees. I believe […]
Talking IS Teaching, but…
One of the most powerful gifts that we adults can give infants and toddlers is to shower them all day long with conversation in their home languages. It only costs time and attention, and since language and the family culture that accompanies it fulfill kids’ needs to understand their loved ones and the world around […]
Helping Them WANT to Read
Have you ever tried to teach someone to do something that you yourself didn’t like to do? It’s the very hardest teaching because the primary thing that needs to be developed within every learner is a burning desire to learn whatever it is. The easiest teaching in the world is to help children learn something they are […]
Permit Me to Demonstrate
Ongoing demonstrations are how almost everything in a culture is efficiently passed along to succeeding generations. So it follows suit that learning to read is based upon “observable demonstrations,” actions that those of us who can read, must do for those who are new to reading. Plus, learning to read is largely a social activity. Additionally, for new readers to […]
OUR Magic Wand?
Twenty years ago this week the first Harry Potter book was published. That was a watershed in children’s book publishing in my lifetime, creating a starburst of delight. At the time I had only heard murmurings on local news about this new character. However, the gravity of the impact that Harry, along with Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, […]