tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post3110830186252563554..comments2024-03-26T04:19:38.862-07:00Comments on kitchen table math, the sequel: decline at the top part 2Catherine Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-4303337296630071742008-09-26T04:45:00.000-07:002008-09-26T04:45:00.000-07:00Dee-Dee:Megawords is a remedial series for older c...Dee-Dee:<BR/>Megawords is a remedial series for older children. If you need just the spelling part and aren't playing catch-up, the Spelling Workout series by Modern Curriculum Press does the same job of presenting the spelling rules precisely. Both are refreshing when compared to the watered down Houghton Mifflin series our public school choose, which even in the Grade 5 book never uses the word 'syllable', prefering to use the word 'sounds' instead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-25797390764669660702008-09-26T04:36:00.000-07:002008-09-26T04:36:00.000-07:00Anon - The teacher's guide is a bit confusing but ...Anon - The teacher's guide is a bit confusing but I've definitely found it helpful. If you want some more help with this then http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/ has a lot of parents who are using Megawords and can help you. <BR/><BR/>Personally I LOVE Megawords. We're just in book 1 and I can already see an effect on my daughter's reading and spelling.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05895897568006441289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-6625107858317947402008-09-25T21:00:00.000-07:002008-09-25T21:00:00.000-07:00DeeDee-You could also try Webster's Speller follow...DeeDee-<BR/><BR/>You could also try Webster's Speller followed by M.K. Henry's "Words." You can get the Speller for free on Don Potter's Page, and I have some posts here about how to use it. The posts link back to my phonics page, which links to the Speller on Don's page. Henry's "Words" is usually cheaper from Pro-Ed than from Amazon.ElizabethBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06128884454595561057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-45678294872177394912008-09-25T19:11:00.000-07:002008-09-25T19:11:00.000-07:00I took the principle that if reading was fun and e...I took the principle that if reading was fun and easy, then later everything else would be all fine and dandy, which indeed it was with my girls.<BR/><BR/>Things became a little more complicated with the boys, both of whom were hyperlexic but with full comprehension. [which I believe is less commonplace]<BR/><BR/>When one of the boys completely lost the ability to read [where did it go?] we had to start from scratch again.<BR/><BR/>I don't think we'd enjoy being stuck in a group with only one label. It's much more of a challenge to squeeze through the cracks.<BR/>Best wishesMaddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05828186178060722812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-3961721503451864952008-09-25T15:41:00.000-07:002008-09-25T15:41:00.000-07:00I homeschool my children and would like to use Meg...I homeschool my children and would like to use Megawords as you have. Do I need the teacher's guide as well?<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your blog, I enjoy it a great deal.<BR/><BR/>Dee-DeeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-69108067507644416132008-09-24T19:48:00.000-07:002008-09-24T19:48:00.000-07:00"One English professor at OSU told me that she no ..."<I>One English professor at OSU told me that she no longer can teach Dickens because the sentences are too long (i.e. readability level too high). If any group of college students were immersed in whole language, it's in Ohio where WL is still the order of the day.</I>"<BR/><BR/>This could be whole language. Or it could that more kids are attending college (and thus the average academic skills of the students is lower).<BR/><BR/>This nice site:<BR/> <A HREF="http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/97trends/ea1-6.htm" REL="nofollow">http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/97trends/ea1-6.htm</A><BR/><BR/>shows a jump in college attendance starting in 1990.<BR/><BR/>So I'm far from convinced that we can blame an inability of college students as OSU on whole language.<BR/><BR/>This site:<BR/> <A HREF="http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/09/16/OSU_class.ART_ART_09-16-08_B1_TQBBBQQ.html" REL="nofollow">http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/09/16/OSU_class.ART_ART_09-16-08_B1_TQBBBQQ.html</A><BR/><BR/>puts the average SAT score of the 2008 OSU incoming class at about 1230 (new scale ... so about 1130ish pre-1995 scale). That isn't horrible by any means, but it isn't super-good, either. Maybe (I'm guessing here) ¼ of the class would have scored below 1,000 on the pre-1995 SAT. Dickens is going to be tough for those kids.<BR/><BR/>Now ... we might have relatively low SAT scores [and I don't have comparable numbers from 20 years ago ... so maybe they haven't dropped] *because* of whole language. But the case is far from proven.<BR/><BR/>This page:<BR/> <A HREF="http://www.mistybeach.com/mbra/topics/reading/reading_chart.html" REL="nofollow">http://www.mistybeach.com/mbra/topics/reading/reading_chart.html</A><BR/><BR/>has a lovely chart showing that we had a *huge* drop in the average sentence length of 6th grade readers when we went from 1930s Elson Readers (which were some of the early whole-word texts) to 1950s Dick-and-Jane Readers (also whole-word). So maybe a lot of the blame should be put on that. But we don't really know.<BR/><BR/>-Mark RouloMark Roulohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09361464305104325702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-87543846356049620962008-09-24T19:34:00.000-07:002008-09-24T19:34:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Mark Roulohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09361464305104325702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-22660518535876492202008-09-24T18:48:00.000-07:002008-09-24T18:48:00.000-07:00Reading Facts Reading difficulty is a problem that...<B>Reading Facts</B><BR/> <BR/>Reading difficulty is a problem that extends across socioeconomic strata - affluence is no guarantee of reading success. <BR/><I>American Federation of Teachers</I><BR/><BR/>Learning to read is a crucial step in children's education because those who fare poorly in the early grades are unlikely to catch up with their more skilled classmates. <BR/><I>Scientific American, March 2002</I><BR/><BR/>Estimates indicate that at least 20 million of the nation's 53 million school-age children are poor readers - about two out of five children. <BR/><I>National Institutes of Health</I><BR/><BR/>If a child is a poor reader at the end of First Grade, there is an almost 90% probability that the child will be a poor reader at the end of Fourth Grade.<BR/><I>The Public Library Association</I><BR/><BR/>Three-quarters of students who are poor readers in Third Grade will remain poor readers in high school.<BR/><I>Yale University</I><BR/><BR/>Approximately one-third of all poorly performing Fourth Graders have college-educated parents.<BR/><I>National Assessment of Educational Progress</I><BR/><BR/>Nearly 40% of Fourth Graders have not mastered basic reading skills. It's nearly 60% in California, and almost half of these children live with college-educated parents.<BR/><I>Council for Basic Education</I><BR/><BR/>Experts say about 5% of the nation's children learn to read with ease, almost intuitively. An additional 20% to 30% learn to read with relative ease once they begin some kind of formal instruction. However, the bulk of children (about 60%) have difficulty.<BR/><I>Council for Basic Education</I><BR/><BR/>60% of our nation's children experience formidable challenges learning to read, and for at least 20-30%, learning to read is one of the most difficult tasks they will confront in school.<BR/><I>National Institute of Child Health & Human Development</I><BR/><BR/>For 90-95% of poor readers, prevention and early intervention programs that combine instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, reading fluency, and reading comprehension can increase reading skills to average reading levels. <BR/><I>National Institute of Child Health & Human Development</I><BR/><BR/>Research results from a variety of studies clearly support the conclusion that early systematic phonics instruction significantly improves reading and spelling abilities for all children, and ideally, should be made available to children before First Grade.<BR/><I>Congressionally-mandated National Reading Panel Report, April 2000</I> <BR/><BR/>Sobering stuff compiled by the good people over at Headsprout.<BR/><BR/>http://www.headsprout.com/home/readingFacts.cfmconcernedCTparenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09755180042426047454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-17547323174345479872008-09-24T18:38:00.000-07:002008-09-24T18:38:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.concernedCTparenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09755180042426047454noreply@blogger.com