Relying on technology isn't enough to ensure good writing and reading skills, especially since computer spell checkers cannot distinguish the difference or proper use of "there," "their" and "they're" in a sentence. What are some ways that kids, parents and teachers can sharpen their reading and spelling skills?
Join Evelyn Vuko and Marcia K. Henry, Ph.D., author of "Unlocking Literacy: Effective Decoding & Spelling Instruction," online Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss how to help "kids of all ages" boost their skills, improve spelling and break the phonics code.
Evelyn Vuko
(washingtonpost.com)
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Henry has over 40 years experience in the field of reading, dyslexia and special education as a diagnostician, tutor, teacher and professor.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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Evelyn Vuko: Happy New Year and welcome. One of the best new year's resolutions we can make for ourselves and our kids (aside from laying off the junk food) is to improve our spelling and reading skills. Dr. Henry and I are here today to help you do just that so let's get started...
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Laurel, Md. :
I am the mother of a six year old who is currently a fluent reader. I would like to know of ways to help him strengthen his writing, spelling and comprehension skills. He is in first grade but reads on a 3rd grade level or higher. I do have him take
pictures when we go to museums and write about each one after the pictures are developed. He has his own special book for this activity. What else would you suggest?
Thank you
Shawne
Marcia K. Henry: You're doing a great job already! Writing a journal is always motivating to children. The more writing he can do, and you can monitor, the better. Have your child look for prefixes and suffixes in articles so he/she becomes acquainted with these important word parts.
Evelyn Vuko: One of my favorite things to do with young readers is to get them to predict what is going to happen in a story, a movie or a trip to a museum. This lets me know the extent of the information they already have about a topic and gives me a focus point as we begin each new literary experience. Some of the steps in this process are as follows: talk about general ideas they might encounter (be sure to include some obviously false suggestions stimulates thinking), talk about any special interests they have in the topic or any experiences they've already had. Ask them to guess several specific things they might see or experience. Then begin your literary journey. As you're moving along, talk about how the information you predicted compares to actual materials. This help kids link prior knowledge to new learning and helps sort and categorize information. Happy learning in the new year!
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Bala-Cynwyd, Pa.:
Do you have any new ideas for teaching a list of spelling words to a classroom of third graders?
Marcia K. Henry: I like to use my own lists of words, not those found in many of the commercial spelling books. I'd have about 10 words based on patterns found in numerous words (i.e., -tch in pitch, stitch, batch, crutch, etc.). Then I would select words from content area texts and literature that my students are reading, and that I want them to know for both reading and spelling. Students need to develop strategies for spelling words, and not only depend on memorizing weekly lists. Many students can memorize the words one week, but they are gone in a week or two.
Evelyn Vuko: When I substitute teach, one of my favorite things to do with kids is have them invent ways to memorize words. Their assignment is to come up with a way to learn words other than reciting them till you're blue in the face or writing each word 100 times. I tell them to remember they can use movement, singing or draw pictures. One of my favorite ways was a group of boys who became "a band," one tapped his foot and said a vowe, one sang the consonants and the last one tapped all the letters, like a drummer, on his desk. The class loved it and many painlessly learned some new spelling words.
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Fairfax, Va. :
Submitting early, and possibly off topic: My 9 year-old niece loves to read. We share a problem, however. Neither one of us can read BEHIND the lines. If it's there in black and white, we're fine. If we have to read for meaning, we're lost. I'm probably too old to learn, but what can I do to help her? Thank you.
Marcia K. Henry: This is a problem for many readers. You may want to do some work on inference. Also, knowing the structural cues in texts is helpful. For example, stories (narratives or fiction) have plots, characters, setting, and themes that can be discussed. Expository text (the non-fiction, factual text found in social studies, science and math texts) can be descriptive, sequential, or argumentative/persuasive. You can discuss these aspects of text as you consider the main ideas and supporting details in various paragraphs. Several good books on reading comprehension may be helpful. See books by Joanne Carlisle and Katherine Maria on reading comprehension.
Working together and discussing will be a great benefit.
Evelyn Vuko: "Cooperative learning" is big stuff in education these days and you and your niece can do just that by continuing to read together. To get behind the words, discuss in your own words what is being said on the page. Have her read a few sentences and stop. Then restate what she just read in her own words. Do you agree or disagree? Do you have something to add or to correct? Speak up now. When you both feel satisfied that you've dissected this part enough, it's your time to read. Read, then restate in your own words. Have her critique your interpretation. If you are both puzzled, check a resource or ask another person for an opinion. The more you reinterpret what is being said, the better you'll both become at understanding the nuance behind an author's words. Happy reading together in the new year.
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Great Falls, Va.:
Happy New Year to both of you and thank you for taking my question! I would like to know how to get my 12 year old son to become interested in proof-reading his hand-written work. He will often rush through his work and turn in, what looks like, his first draft. Is there a particular strategy that you recommend?
Marcia K. Henry: This is such an important question! You might try to encourage his teacher to have students do peer reviews of first drafts. Students learn to critically examine their classmates drafts, and make constructive suggestions for editing. This way they learn how to proof read and edit their own work. It also helps them learn to work cooperatively with others and to suggest and receive criticism.
Evelyn Vuko: Make a production of proof-reading! The more of a show you put on, the more you give the process the importance it deserves. Tell him that when he's finished his writing you want him to "perform it" for you and you will bring refreshments. Ask your spouse or a sibling to "attend," too. Sit in front of him with your cups of hot tea and cookies and settle in to listen as he reads aloud. If he knows he's going to have an audience, chances are he will proof read! And chances are if there is an inconsistency or an error in his work, he will catch it as he reads aloud. When he's finished, audience members can ask him to go back and have him reread areas they want clarified or make suggestions for how to make the writing "smoother." After all the suggestions are handled, don't forget the applause.
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Alexandria, Va.:
My daughter is in third grade, but spells as if she is in 1st. Her skills in math are very good, but she doesn't seem to retain spelling words. Anything I can do to help?
Evelyn Vuko: Sounds like you need to get a move on it! Movement aids and boosts memory. Decide together how she will move or what she will do to distinguish the different letters in a word. Will she wiggle every time she says a vowel or tap her foot for the consonants? Perhaps she'll wave her hands in the air whenever she comes to a prefix or suffix. She might jump like she's playing hop scotch for each part of a compound word. If she's not fond of moving and jumping, she might sing the letters or make meaningful designs over and around each letter or group of letters so that she can better picture how it looks when she goes to spell it. Hoppy new year...sorry, I couldn't help myself. Have fun!
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Reston, Va.:
I have a 1st grade son, who like the first child mentioned in the first message reads well above his grade level. He reads silently and quickly and has plowed through more books than I can possibly keep up with. However, he is not very interested in writing, particularly creative writing. I was wondering if it is normal for these skills to develop at different times?
Marcia K. Henry: This is a very interesting question, and I'm not sure I have a definitive answer. Usually children write creatively later than they learn to read, but many take off on writing first. I'd encourage your child to write about things he enjoys. Ask him which recent book he liked most, and have him write a brief summary; or describe the most interesting character. For most avid readers, the writing will come along.
Evelyn Vuko: I have to add my two cents here...I think you can captitalize on his love of reading to encourage his creative writing by making him feel like he can step into the story and make a few changes. How hr would change the story if he could? Would he make the character find her cat after all? Would the main character have three sisters instead of two? Discussing how the changes he would like to make will change the story provides you an excellent chance to gauge his reading comprehension, too. Or, ask him what he thinks happens after the story ends. Did the boy and the girl get to go that very special beach with their dad? Use a tape recorder to tape some of his ideas or take notes as he talks and then type them and print them for him to see. Maybe he'll like creative writing more when he can use an author's ideas as his creative springboard. Enjoy!
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Tampa, Fla.:
My question is, when my 8 year old son reads he often confuses easy words like 'and' or 'the'and when corrected, he gets very furstrated. He will often see the and say and or the other way around. Why is that?
Marcia K. Henry: Does he confuse the main content words as well as the and and? If so, he needs to learn the common patterns found in short, first grade text. These include single letter consonants and vowels as well as consonant blends and digraphs, and vowel digraphs.
If he only confuses short function words such as and, or, and the, encourage him to slow down and look carefully at the first letter of each word. If he only confuses a few words you could put them on flash cards and show them to him frequently. Have him write the words as he says them. These techniques will help him gain fluency in these important function words.
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From a decent speller:
I consider myself a decent speller (certainly a grammar fanatic to a fault sometimes) -- I know my to, two, and too's and there's, etc. A big influence was playing Scrabble with my parents and it's still one of my favorite games. A friend just gave me Scrabble Express -- a hand held game that will make my train commute a little easier. For the avid readers -- how about book reports?
Marcia K. Henry: Yes! SCRABBLE is a great way to increase spelling skills. For avid readers, book reports, research reports, and extensions of their reading are all good tasks. I'm glad you said you were a "grammar fanatic." I visit many classrooms throughout the US and find that two subjects are almost being eliminated in many classrooms. These are grammar, and handwriting.
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Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
Our school spelling program consists of a list of commonly encountered words, increasing in difficulty at each grade level. Students are given 8 to 10 words a week, taken alphabetically from the list, then do daily study activities, and have a test on Friday. Our child gets a 100 on all the tests, but at the end of the year still misspells 40-60% of those same words on a cumulative test and in his daily writing. What can be done so that he retains and uses the correct spellings?
Marcia K. Henry: Yes, this is very typical for many children. Memorizing a list of words alphabetically provides no independent strategies for the child to use. That's why spelling tasks should focus on common patterns. If teachers present patterns such as ar, or, ea, -tch, -ck, etc., that are used in thousands of words, they can give words containing those patterns as part of the weekly list. Only about 1/2 the list should consist of memory words and these should be non-phonetic words (such as eye, laugh, rough, their, friend) and words important for literature or content area textbooks.
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Washington, D.C.:
Is aproxia of speech associated with spelling difficulties? If so, how?
Marcia K. Henry: Although I'm not a speech pathologist, I believe that any articulation problems and/or hearing problems will influence how a child spells a word. If the child hears or says "dis" for "this" he/she is likely to spell it incorrectly. Speech therapists do a great deal of work in this area, and happily more and more of them are connecting the speech work with written language. I'd see if your child's school has help available.
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Springfield, Va.:
My four year old knows all the letters and sounds, but isn't "reading." He can figure out a word like "PIG" if I tell him D - I - G is "DIG" but he gives up when he tries to sound something on his own. How do you get kids to link sounds to a word?
Marcia K. Henry: Associating letters with their corresponding sounds is usually taught in kindergarten and beginning first grade. I wouldn't be too concerned if your child has difficulty with this at age 4. You can play games...you could show the letter m, and say words such as mother, mouse, man, motorcycle, money, monkey, etc...showing him the m sounds like /m/. Begin introducing rhyming words to get him thinking about how sounds relate in words. At this point, just have lots of word play and fun with language.
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Alexandria, Va.:
Have you had any experience with foreign adoptees and learning/language delays in middle school or high school years?
Marcia K. Henry: When I taught at San Jose State University, I had many students in a developmental reading class who were new to English. In fact, in one class of 27 students, I had students with 13 different first languages. I found that teaching them the structure of the English language, based on the 3 primary word origins influencing English (Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Greek). Students learned to differentiate the 3 major structural parts of words (i.e., letter-sound correspondences [phonics], syllable patterns, and morpheme patterns). They had been taught that English was a language of exceptions, and were surprised that by understanding the structure and word origins, almost 80% of English words are phonetic. My book and instructional materials focus on these dimensions for teaching decoding, spelling, and vocabulary.
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Anonymous:
Is it just me, or are we a nation of really bad spellers? I pride myself on being able to spell just about anything - and I am appalled by some emails I will get from 23 year olds. (I am 38). I think I do well because I have always been a voracious reader - of books and print mags and papers - as opposed to today's youth who if they read, are reading websites which are likely using godawful spelling as well.
Are boys a lot worse than girls?
And are the technical types the worst of all? Guess they don't need no stinkin' spelling!
Marcia K. Henry: You are right that many words are spelled incorrectly, not only on websites, but everywhere...consider donuts, Rite aid, 4 sale, etc. The Internet communication certainly interferes with spelling, grammar, and mechanics. My own daughter never uses capital letters or punctuation marks in her e-mail messages. It's a terrible habit, and may transfer to more formal writing. Just keep trying to be a good model to others in your spelling.
No, I doubt if boys are worse than girls, and I won't comment about technical types as my husband is an engineering physicist!
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Dulles, Va.:
Hello. Why do people always use "i.e." when they should use "e.g."? I see this all the time in newspapers, and I would think editors would know the difference (i.e. - id est- means "as in" or "in other words" whereas e.g. -exempli gratia- means for example.)
Marcia K. Henry: Great question, but I'm not sure I have the answer. It's like the affect/effect confusion. And, people don't get much instruction on abbreviations.
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Baltimore, Md.:
Where can I purchase a copy of your book? Who is your publisher and how much does your book cost?
Marcia K. Henry: Thanks for asking! Unlocking Literacy is published by Brookes Publishing...go to www.brookespublishing.com
Or, of course, on Amazon.com.
I also have an instructional program "Patterns for Success in Reading and Spelling" co=authored with Nancy Redding and published by Pro-Ed. Go to www.proedinc.com
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Silver Spring, Md.:
I've always been a good reader (several grades above level in grade school), but a -very- poor speller. How common is this? I think that I probably have a learning/reading disability, but I've never been diagnosed. Could this be?
Marcia K. Henry: Yes! Because reading is somewhat easier than spelling (the code is there in front of you), many people are better at reading than at spelling. Think about the strategies you use to read unfamiliar words. These strategies may be helpful for spelling. For example, you can use the letter sounds for short words if you know phonics. For longer words, you can use syllables or morphemes (the prefixes, suffixes, and word roots in words). You can find lots of word lists that contain these morphemes in my book, "Unlocking Literacy."
Evelyn Vuko: Dr. Henry wants you to know that she is not making a diagnosis here. She suggests that you might go to a learning center or an educational diagnostician for a diagnosis of your reading/spelling disparity. Not only will you get a comprehensive evaluation of your skills, you will undoubtedly get some personalized strategies to make your skills in these areas more equivalent.
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Anonymous:
Hi,
Where can I find sources of materials that can be useful to teach foreign kids who want to learn English?
Marcia K. Henry: "Patterns for Success in Reading and Spelling" will be useful for all children, regardless of first language. You could do an Internet search on English language learners for additional materials that will be helpful. Check with your school's librarian or ESL/bilingual faculty for material they find beneficial.
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Washiington, D.C.:
Not a question, but a comment:
I became a much better writer by being edited. I had a few teachers who were great editors, and a lot (especially in college) who weren't. It's not enough to like to write--you have to know what you're doing. I have a fair amount of friends who consider themselves to be good writers who aren't. I don't know what this is a result of, but I think it's a combination of never being corrected and believing that breaking rules means that you are more creative.
Evelyn Vuko: I have to include your comment here because to get good editing is invaluable to a writer, especially if you write professionally or for a large audience, such as providing a newletter for your organization or your clients. There is much to be gained by having another person critique your work: clarity, consistency and flow. Even though editing can be painful, it is well worth it in improving the final product.
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Washington, D.C.:
Dear Teacher Says,
My fourth grade son struggles with spelling and math. My neighbor tells me that the two are related, both requiring sequencing skills. Is that true? Can you explain? Any suggestions about what I an do help him in both areas?
Terry
Marcia K. Henry: Thanks for your question. It makes me remember how different children are, and how we must consider each situation independently. Some children who are poor spellers are poor at math, and some are extremely good at math. Children with math problems may have difficulty with calculation or with math concepts or both. Explicit, sequential and cumulative instruction will be useful whether in spelling or math. Multisensory instruction involving auditory, visual and kinesthetic-tactile linkages is helpful for both. Thanks.
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Springfield, Va.:
My son started reading by himself at age 3. In the early grades, he was a good speller, but now he's a sixth grader and his spelling is terrible! He just writes jumbles of letters and won't go back and correct them. How can I help him improve? The problem seems to be that he never learned how to sound out words or look for letter patterns, since reading came so easily.
Marcia K. Henry: Thanks for the important question! Since your son is now in 6th grade, i'd teach him the common prefixes and suffixes (there are about 40 of each), and the Latin and Greek word roots. These are mostly phonetic, and important to learning for reading, spelling, and vocabulary at your son's age. By focusing on these morphemes, he'll have a new strategy for spelling longer words. There are word lists of all these patterns in "Unlocking Literacy" and other materials referenced in my book.
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Rockville, Md.:
This may be slightly off topic, but I was wondering if IM was a benefit or a curse. My soon-to-be 12-year old is IMing her firends a lot this year and I've noticed that it has really improved her typing skills dramatically. But I'm wondering if all these shortcuts on words will hurt her spelling skills. Are there any studies out in the literature as to whether spelling skills are hurt by using IM a lot?
Evelyn Vuko: I am not aware of any studies about the impact of IM'ing (if there is such a word!) I do believe, however, and I might get some rocks thrown at me here, that IM'ing can strengthening writing in a cock-eyed kind of way. It forces kids to conceptualize their thoughts on paper, to compose their ideas logically, and to think about phonics, because those abbreviations they use have to be pretty accurately related to the actual word for their friends to be able to understand what in the world they're talkin about!
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Anonymous:
Hello, Dr. Henry. Could you please discuss your feelings about invented spelling? Is this a good idea for kids. I know it supposedly encourages them to write and not worry about spelling but doesn't it reinforce bad patterns?
Marcia K. Henry: Yes, inventive spelling was first described as a developmental model. A 4-year old spelling was as wz understood that letters have corresponding sounds. But, once the child enters first or second grade, he or she needs to be taught the consonant and vowel patterns, and encouraged to spell correctly.
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Boston, Mass.:
How do you help a high school student who is has trouble with spelling because he still can't distinguish subtle vowel sounds?
Marcia K. Henry: We're running out of time, but i'd love to try to answer this. Teach the important prefixes that begin with short vowel sounds such as i in in, a in ac, e in ex, u in un, and o in oc. Then continue with other prefixes, suffixes, and Latin and Greek roots.
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Anonymous - Out of state:
Happy New Year - do you have any thoughts on methods for teaching a dyslexic child to spell without stiffeling his love of writing.
Marcia K. Henry: Yes. Dyslexic children need to be taught the structure of the language in a very structured, sequential way. As they learn the structure of written English, they will both read and write more confidently. this teaching doesn't have to diminish creativity, it should enhance it. You might want to access information from the International Dyslexia Association at www.interdys.org
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Evelyn Vuko: We covered some mighty broad ground here today on the topic of reading and spelling! Dr. Henry and I are delighted that you took the time today come and share your concerns with us. Remember that it is never too late to improve your kids' skills, and your own. And don't forget that bringing some wiggling silliness to the exacting task of spelling takes the burden off, boosts memory and makes the whole job so much more fun! Join me again on January 18th to chat about helping homeschoolers prepare for college.
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