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Components Of Effective Reading

For reading to be effective, it is important for it to be a motivating experience. So, in order to ensure effective reading among students, it is important for teachers to use instructional materials with decodable texts and rich literature. They should use reading assessment tools, practice timely intervention with struggling readers and create an enthusiasm and appreciation for books among students at an early age.

Let us take a look at each of the components of effective reading in detail:

  • Phonemic Awareness: The smallest unit of a sound is called a phoneme; phonemic awareness refers to the knowledge of how combinations of sounds make up words. It is the ability to differentiate each sound and blend the sounds into a word. Exposure to print is one of the most effective ways of increasing phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness improves printed word recognition and helps children to identify and manipulate sounds while speaking.
  • Fluent Reading: To be a fluent reader, one should be able to read, write and speak smoothly and accurately. Higher word recognition skills are needed for a child to be a fluent speaker. The child progresses from decoding individual words to sight-reading. The best way to increase fluency is to practice reading in the form of oral reading for beginners, listening to fluent readers, and so on.
  • Vocabulary: As children read, interact with others or are read to by someone, they begin discovering, understanding and using new words in their daily lives. The knowledge of new words is essential to their reading comprehension and writing abilities. To improve vocabulary, children should be helped with processing word meanings and understanding their usage. This can be done by encouraging them to learn high frequency words by reading both fiction and non-fiction.
  • Text Comprehension: The whole purpose of reading is to be able to understand/comprehend what is being read. The level of reading comprehension depends on a child’s vocabulary and quality of instruction that the child receives. Comprehension can be improved through activities such as answering questions about what has been read, making mental images, learning to recognize clues in the text, using graphic organizers, drawing on previous knowledge or retelling a story.
  • Written Expression: Writing and reading are like two sides of the same coin; the components of each offer strength and support to one another to create an effective literacy program. Writing improves phonemic awareness, reinforces phonics instruction, helps in understanding different text styles and also improves comprehension skills.

See-n-Read Reading Tools help in developing effective reading skills. The tools aim at improving varied reading components including vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, etc. For more details on components of effective reading, visit 2533 Sutton Lane, Aurora, IL – 60502, or call at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Importance Of Reading In Life

Reading is a workout for the mind; it keeps the mind fresh, sharp and calm. It impacts every area of an individual’s life right from school to one’s career and beyond. Reading teaches, inspires, nudges and helps us in becoming the best version of ourselves. It is never too early or too late to start reading and reap its benefits.

Following are some of the ways with which reading enriches the lives of readers:

  • Improves Communication Skills: Good communication skills rely on the choice of words. Reading not only broadens one’s choice of words, but also refines the way a person communicates with others orally or by written mode. It inspires to learn from the way different writers portray their messages, the theme they use, their expressions and choice/use of words.
  • Builds Self Image: Ardent readers have a higher self image owing to their high confidence levels. They carry themselves confidently in any type of gathering and are at ease with expressing their ideas and thoughts eloquently.
  • Academic Benefits: Those who read get smarter with time and perform better at academics. Reading boosts knowledge and intellectual capabilities of students by exposing them to various sources of written information from all over the world.
  • Boosts Vocabulary: Reading is one of the best ways to boost one’s vocabulary as it exposes the reader to innumerable new words through every book. It is believed that if one reads a book daily, it will amount to approximately 4 million words in a year.
  • Improves Comprehension: School going kids who read extensively experience immense improvement in their overall comprehension abilities. As a result, they have a better understanding of what they read at school.
  • Mental Well-Being: Reading enriches internal dialogue and the interpretation of what goes on around an individual. The ability to look at events and happenings from a broader perspective makes a person more empathetic, calm and adjusting.
  • Boosts Imagination And Creativity: Visual imagination is an intrinsic part of reading. The more one reads, the better his imaginative and creative skills get as reading stimulates the mind to create images.
  • Aids In Sleep: For many people, reading is the perfect remedy for a sound night’s sleep. It calms the senses by encouraging the reader to sit at one place and concentrate on reading only. Around 6 minutes of reading are enough to reduce stress levels and calm down the mind and body.

See-n-Read Reading Tools help in improving reading skills. Reading has immense benefits including better vocabulary, improved imagination skills, higher comprehension skills, etc. For more details on importance of reading in life, visit 2533 Sutton Lane, Aurora, IL – 60502, or call at (630) 236 – 5592.

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How To Polish Reading Comprehension Skills

Building reading comprehension skills helps a reader in understanding the material being read to the best of his/her abilities. Better comprehension skills improve the experience of reading by making it enjoyable and easier. Examples of comprehension skills include summarizing, comparison, contrasting, problem-solving, self questioning, etc.

Let us take a look at some ways to polish reading comprehension skills:

 

  • Vocabulary Enrichment: Level up your reading comprehension skills by improving and adding to your vocabulary. Understanding what you read makes it is easier to make sense of the content and assimilate it. To improve vocabulary, you can take online vocabulary classes, quiz yourself with the help of flashcards, apply newly used words in your verbal and written communication, use a dictionary, create word associations to recall difficult words and diversify your reading material.
  • Identify The Main Idea: To get a better grasp of the content you are reading, try to identify the main idea behind it. Take small pauses as you read, to think about what the author wants to convey to the reader at different junctures in the text. This will improve your level of understanding and also keep you motivated/interested to know more.
  • Context Clues: Even if you do not understand some of the words used in the text, you can still make out what the author is conveying by paying attention to the words and sentences used around the unfamiliar words. Context clues help a reader understand the main idea of the content by focusing on phrases and ideas used in a sentence or paragraph.
  • Ask Questions: Increase your involvement in what you read by asking questions to explore different angles of looking at the same thing. Question yourself about the themes used in the book, its characters, components and motifs to get a deeper insight into what the author wants to convey.
  • Summarize: A great way of memorizing what you have read is to summarize the entire content in a few words of your own. The process of summarizing prompts you to dig deeper and remember what you have read and understood. Also consider breaking down the content into sizeable chunks that can be easily read without getting stressed. For example, aim for a minimum of two paragraphs in one reading shift; after reading, pause for some time, reflect on what you read and summarize it in your own words. The results will be phenomenal!

See-n-Read Reading Tools provides a complete range of online products and tools to develop reading comprehension skills in kids. The tools have been developed based on tested technology. For more details on how to polish reading comprehension in kids, visit 2533 Sutton Lane, Aurora, IL – 60502, or call at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Tips To Improve Learning Problems In Kids

Early discovery of learning disabilities in kids can help in developing optimal strategies to improve them. Children with learning disabilities require social and emotional support to work through the challenges. Such positive reinforcement can help ensure that they emerge with a strong sense of self-worth, confidence, and determination to improve their learning problem.

Tips To Help Kids With Learning Problems:
• Take Charge Of The Kid’s Education: Parent’s role in the child’s education is very important. They should take an active charge and make note of tasks they can do to help the child in the learning process. It is important for them to be good observers and keep focus on their child’s learning patterns.

• Identify How The Kid Learns Best: Every kid, even the one without a learning disability, has a unique style of learning. A child can be a visual learner, an auditory learner, or a kinesthetic learner. Figure out how he learns the best and take steps to ensure that his style of learning is reinforced during the study.

• Think About The Kid’s Success In Life: For kids with learning problems, self-awareness and self-confidence are very important. Ask the child to list his strengths and weaknesses to identify potential problems. For people with learning disabilities, being proactive also involves self-advocacy and the willingness to take responsibility for choices. Children with learning problems may need to work harder and longer because of their disability. So, talk with the child about problem solving and how to approach problems in life. Perseverance keeps a child focused despite challenges and failures.

• Emphasize Healthy Lifestyle Habits: Learning involves the body as well as the brain; so, the child’s eating, sleeping, and exercising habits maybe even more important than you think. If kids with learning disabilities are eating right and getting enough sleep and exercise, they will be better able to focus, concentrate, and work hard. In addition to healthy physical habits, kids also need encouragement to have healthy emotional habits. It is important because they might be frustrated due to the challenges presented by their learning disability.

See-n-Read Reading Tools provide various online products and tools to help improve learning problems in kids. Easy to improve intervention methods are provided to help kids enhance their learning skills.

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Fluency Strategies For Struggling Readers

Fluency defines the ability to read with speed, accuracy and proper expression. Fluency speeds up the reading and makes it easier to comprehend complex text by improving vocabulary. It has immense impact on performance across all areas of the curriculum including writing skills. However, some readers may have reading disabilities that hamper their skills to read a text fluently.

Here are a few strategies to develop fluency in struggling readers:

• Allow Students To Read Aloud: If readers are facing problem in reading certain sound-letter combination or words, they should be allowed to read aloud. This will help tutors in identifying and providing targeted help.

• Use Tools To Follow Along: Fluency issues may be caused by word or line jumping. So, ask the struggling readers to use a ruler, finger or specially designed reading tools to follow along the text. This helps in improving focus on the sentence being read leading to better fluency.

• Read The Same Thing Several Times: Repetitive exposure to the words and phrases helps the reader by etching out the text in his memory. This strategy is helpful in improving the fluency and comprehension of the text as it gives the reader extended time to understand the conceptual cues.

• Pre-Teach Vocabulary: Teach the words a student is going to see in a text and practice reading them in isolation or in phrases. It will be much easier to read a word if it is fresh in memory.

• Drill Sight Words: Sight words are common words that constitute 90 percent of the text. Writing down these words and teaching them to the struggling readers before a reading exercise will help them in being fluent when reading the text.

• Use Variety Of Books & Materials: Where fluency is concerned, the emphasis should be laid on the quality of the student’s reading. Make use of reading tools and materials that excite the readers and are of interest to them.

• Try Different Fonts & Text Sizes: There are specific fonts and text sizes that are more appropriate for anyone with learning difficulties, including dyslexia. Using a colored background for the text can also be useful in building fluency in case of some readers.

• Create Stress-Free Environment: Motivate the readers to follow their pace and focus on the quality of reading. It is important to create a stress-free environment by removing any deadlines or assessment goals as anxiety may negatively affect the fluency in struggling readers.

See-n-Read Reading Tools provides tools and products that help in improving reading fluency. For further details on fluency strategies for struggling readers, visit 2533 Sutton Lane, Aurora, IL 60502. You can also call at (630) 236 – 5592.

Fluency Interventions, Uncategorized

Identifying Reading Problems In Kids

According to various certified surveys, one in five school going kids have reading problems. The extent of reading problems may differ from child to child as each one has a different pace of learning. If a child has a reading problem (struggles to understand written words), it is important to determine its extent in order to provide timely assistance to improve his reading capabilities.

Ways in which reading difficulties in kids can be identified are:

  • Slow And Effortful Reading: If a child is reading a book of his age level (for example, a phonic book for a 5 year old) with a lot of effort and considers it to be difficult task, then the child can be identified for having reading problems.
  • Frequent Reading Errors: During reading, recognize if the child adds, replaces, or omits words. All these are signs of reading inaccuracies which cause problems with the child’s understanding of sentences as the meanings of the context are changed.
  • Tracking Issues: To identify directional tracking issues, pay attention to the direction in which the child reads. If the child is reading from the right side towards the left, reverses letters in a word or skips lines, it could be a sign of a reading issue.
  • Comprehension Skills: These skills help to follow directions, understand what others are saying, and remember a series of words or numbers. Children with reading issues are usually not able to do these things and should be tested for different auditory processing disorders.
  • Decoding Issues: Decoding issues could be a sign of Dyslexia or other auditory processing disorders. These can be identified when the child finds it difficult to break down large words into smaller words or syllables (due to phonetics and fluency issues).
  • Other Signs: For a child going to school, observe whether he displays signs of poor attention, gets distracted easily, asks for the same information repeatedly, squints a lot, lacks focus, etc. These traits could be indicative of deeper issues along with reading disabilities that require timely intervention.

Conclusion

If the child shows poor reading signs, try to get in touch with a speech pathologist for identifying the exact cause of the reading problem. Consult the child’s teacher and pediatrician for better insight into the child’s behavior. Timely support is crucial for a child with reading issues so it is important for parents to be pro-active with getting help in the form of reading tools and remedial reading help (understanding phonetics, decoding and vocabulary aids, cognitive training; concentration, perceptual skills, logical thinking and reasoning, spatial relations, etc.)

See-n-Read Reading Tools provides a variety of reading products to kids facing reading problems. The tools help the kids to improve moderate to severe reading skills deficiencies. For more details on identifying reading problems in kids, visit 2533 Sutton Lane, Aurora, IL – 60502. You can also contact (630) 236 – 5592.

Comprehension Improvement Tools

Ways To Ensure That Digital Tools Are Transforming Education

One of the most transformative effects of digitalization can be seen in the education/learning department. Digital tools such as computers, smartphones, interactive white boards, cameras, online learning and reading products, etc. have made learning engaging and effective. However, in order to realize the full potential of digital education and integrate technology into learning activities, there are certain strategies that should be implemented.

Following are the ways with which the effectiveness of digital tools can be ensured in the current education system:

• Collaboration: For digital tools to be effective, there should be a way with which students can collaborate and share what they have learnt as a means of providing feedback to each other. Learning activities should be designed in a way that enables students to use digital tools and explore a topic with other students across the globe. Shared screen collaboration encourages students to work together for a common goal, think critically and interact with their peers.

• Questioning: Questioning is an intrinsic part of the learning process that should be integrated into digital tools to facilitate exploration and get answers for deep questions. Students should be trained to evaluate online resources and websites when looking for answers. They should be encouraged to ask questions and share their findings in the process.

• Connection: Digital tools can be transformative when used as a means of connecting and sharing information with others even after school is over. When students have an authentic audience in the form of listeners, readers and viewers interested in their work, they feel motivated. Teachers can create an online platform/community for students to share their suggestions, ideas, or queries at any time.

• Communication: Online seminars and webinars are effective digital learning tools that rely on two-way communication between a teacher and student. However, for their optimal utility, a teacher should be skilled at keeping students engaged and interested in the class by asking questions or seeking their opinions on a point.

• Creation Tools: These tools are used to encourage students to showcase their understanding of a lesson/activity in the form of storytelling, video or voice recordings. However, for them to be effective modes of sharing, they should be enhanced with features that make them seamless to use.

• Learning Experience: When using technology, a teacher should prioritize the learning experiences of students for effectively harnessing their curiosity to discover new things and explore topics of interest. For instance, to get them excited about an online class, the teacher can ask them to do some online research beforehand and reward them for their efforts in digital research.
See-n-Read Reading Tools provides effective reading and learning tools. The tools help students in transforming their reading and learning skills. To know more about ways to ensure that digital tools are transforming education, visit 2533 Sutton Lane, Aurora, IL – 60502. You can also call at (630) 236 – 5592.

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Strategies To Help Students With Learning Differences Improve Their Focus

To make a child focus on a subject/topic and get the most out of a curriculum, it is important for him to develop a genuine interest in the same. But every child is different in terms of learning capabilities. When it comes to students with learning differences, making them focus requires more effort on the part of the instructor in terms of support and a unique learning approach.

Following are some strategies that can be helpful for improving the focus of children with learning difficulties:

  • Calm The Nervous System: An instructor should help students to calm their brains before the class commences. The instructions to calm down should be given with a soothing voice and simple clear instructions. They should be encouraged to do some breathing exercises to focus on their breath.
  • Encourage Movement: If a student finds it difficult to sit at one place for a long time, he should be allowed to move as it will increase blood flow in his brain and stimulate its neural networks. Movement helps to improve memory and retrieval, enhance motivation to learn and improve morale.
  • Work On Cognitive Skills: Cognitive skills like processing speed, memory and attention should be worked upon to improve focus. Children should be encouraged to practice reading and language skills with the help of certain tools and technology.
  • Identify A Child’s Learning Style: Every child has a favorite learning style i.e. visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners focus better when taught with books, visual aids, flashcards, drawings, illustrations, etc. Auditory learners prefer reading aloud, talking things through, verbal repetition, listening to audio recordings, etc. Kinesthetic learners prefer hands-on learning like field trips, experiments, memory games, role-playing and more.
  • Use UDL (Universal Design for Learning) Strategies: This approach makes learning a fun and flexible experience for students who find it difficult to focus. The strategy allows children to use materials of their choice and engage with them in different ways. For instance, a teacher can tweak the environment for the child, use different instruction formats, preferential seating, give assignment choices, etc.
  • Provide Sensory Breaks: If a student is displaying aggressive, over-active and non-compliant behavior, he should be provided with a sensory break. During this break, a student can use sensory tools like calming coloring books, mermaid pillows and kinetic sand to de-stress. To avoid sensory overstimulation, visual distractions in the class should be kept to a minimum.

See-n-Read Reading Tools provide various products to help students with learning differences improve their focus. The learning tools are research-based and offer easy to use intervention methods. For more details on strategies to help students with learning differences improve their focus, visit 2533 Sutton Lane, Aurora, IL – 60502. You can also call (630) 236 – 5592.

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What is An Effective Reading Strategy?

For a reading strategy to be effective, it should enhance a learner’s comprehensive ability i.e. the student should be able to pay attention to details, understand the reading material and retain it. Reading is an active process of making links, understanding opinions, researching, developing knowledge and applying what has been learned.

Listed below are some strategies to help students become effective readers and retain what they read:

  • Previewing: The first thing to do is to preview the material to be read without delving into the body of the text. This helps the reader get a general idea of what to expect in the content and pinpoint important sections.
  • Stimulate Previous Knowledge: To make the process of reading stimulating and engaging, a reader should figure out whether he has any previous knowledge about the topic. This will help in building the connection with the current topic and lead to better comprehension.
  • Skimming: Skimming refers to the process of reading small chunks of information from the entire text in order to identify key ideas. It is a good strategy if you want to get a gist of the text to be read and decide whether it is relevant or not.
  •  Scanning: This helps to look for specific information/details related to a topic by scanning the contents page, reading chapter headings, searching the index for keywords or topics of relevance, reading footnotes and endnotes, etc.
  • Questions: Students should be encouraged to frame questions before and after reading, to improve comprehension. They should frame questions about the essence of the material to be read and what they have learnt. These question help them probe further into the topic.
  • Analyze Text Structure: Analyzing and comprehending text structure improves comprehension of a topic and helps students understand the writer’s approach towards organizing the material i.e. cause and effect patterns, web/matrix pattern, descriptive pattern or problem-solution pattern. For a better understanding of text structure, students should use labels, subheadings, tables, captions, graphs, etc.
  •  Visualize: Forming visual images (structural images and diagrams) while reading, improves comprehension as the brain retains such images better than mere text.
  • Note Taking: Students can try methods of note-taking such as glossing and outlining. Glossing involves writing a summary of the text in your own words on a sticky note, notebook or margins. Outlining involves using phrases and abbreviations to write key ideas.
  •  Summarize: The process of summarizing what has been read enhances comprehension by deleting irrelevant details, combining similar ideas, making concise statements by connecting major themes, etc. The material can be summarized in the form of flowcharts (visually or in writing).

See-n-Read Reading Tools offer a variety of effective reading products and tools. Our reading tools are designed for improving reading skills and deficiencies in people. For further details on an effective reading strategy, visit 2533 Sutton Lane | Aurora, IL – 60502. You can also call (630) 236 – 5592.

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How Does Technology Impact Student Learning

Incorporating technology in education is believed to increase student engagement, spark innovation, enhance learning and encourage collaboration. Students can now use learning management systems to access online courses and avail help from teachers across the globe. With availability of such information, the process of learning has become boundless.

Let us take a look at the different ways in which technology has impacted the modern-day learning environment:

  • Provides Better Access To Resources: Technology has made it possible for students to have 24/7 access to various learning resources. These resources include educational apps, interactive edutainment, resources from prestigious educational institutes around the world, research materials, e-books, audio-books, wikis and cloud-based apps for online discussions, etc.
  • Improves Student Engagement: The process of learning has become collaborative and interactive due to engaging course material. Students can be a part of interactive quizzes, tech-enabled discussion forums, educational games, virtual science labs, virtual field trips, etc.
  • Encourages Self-Paced Learning: Online assignments take away the pressure of catching up with fellow classmates, as a student can complete an assignment at his own pace. They can also access additional coursework and guided exercises after school on the internet.
  • Expands Classroom Boundaries: Technology has dissolved classroom walls as students have access to numerous teachers and resources on the internet. They are no longer bound to a single teacher within the walls of a classroom.
  • Innovative Learning Techniques: Technology has provided new and innovative techniques for teaching students in the classroom. Students can watch video-recorded lectures, access materials provided by teachers online, use learning tools, etc.
  • Effective Assessments: Students can be assessed more effectively with the help of technology. It is easier to track their progress accurately in the form of digital assessments and analyze their learning graph in the class and get a better insight into their overall progress.
  • Open Education: Free resources are available on the internet for students in need of additional information. These resources are in the form of micro-learning courses, archives by prestigious colleges, endless articles, videos, etc.
  • Simulation And Modeling: Technology has made it possible for all types of learners to access information as per their liking. Visual or tactile learners can improve their understanding of difficult concepts with the help of technological advancements like digital simulations and modeling. Simulation software makes it possible for students to see innovative activities without leaving the classroom. For example, they can see how dinosaurs lived, the development of a tornado, planetary movements, etc. Modeling software allows students to experience the dynamic characteristics of models and not just view them in static form.

 

See-n-Read Reading Tools offers a variety of products that positively impact student learning. The reading tools are designed to improve concentration, build spelling and academic vocabulary, improving learning strategies, etc. To know more about how does technology impact student learning, visit 2533 Sutton Lane, Aurora, IL – 60502. You can also call at (630) 236 – 5592.