Decoding Learning Differences with Kimberlynn Lavelle

Writer’s Block Wesley: A Case Study

Background

Wesley was brilliant in so many ways.  He could read and comprehend grade-level texts.  He understood math.  And he was reluctant to write ANYTHING!

 

He would sit for an hour staring at a blank page.  If anyone asked if he needed help, he’d say no, “I’m thinking.”

 

Spelling was difficult for him and he had fine motor difficulty as well.  I know this was PART of his writing reluctance.  It wasn’t the whole story though.

 

Wesley just couldn’t figure out how to put his thoughts into words.  I suspect he thought in pictures and emotions more than in words.

 

What worked?

It took a variety of strategies to help Wesley.

 

To start with, we’d supply sentence starters when he was stuck.  As he got better at it, we would question him so that he could be the one that was creating the sentence starter when answering a question.

 

I would also offer idea choices.  These are those suggestions that most of us are already doing.  I tried to do it based on conversations we’ve already had.

 

Having conversations with Wesley was very helpful.  We’d talk about the question he was trying to answer, the essay he was trying to write, or anything related that might provide information or background knowledge.  I would ask questions to get more information on the topic, and also just to try to get the ideas flowing!

 

I would usually scribe for Wesley, writing down for him what he was saying.  This was because he had difficulty with spelling and with fine motor tasks such as forming letters.  

 

These difficulties made the task of writing significantly MORE difficult by requiring concentration and use of additional skills that he hadn’t yet mastered- splitting his attention and making it harder to focus on the already difficult task of thinking about what to write!

 

Besides my scribing, Wesley also had access to Voice Typing whenever he wanted to use it, but this was rarely sufficient.  He needed help in getting his thoughts on what to write.

 

There were times, however, when all of these supports just weren’t what Wesley needed.  Sometimes, he did just need time to sit and think or for the writing assignment to be put aside for a while.  

 

Do you have a kiddo who struggles to come up with what to write?  What works for your child?  Please share!

Reading Comprehension and Disabilities

Reading Comprehension is often impacted by learning disabilities.  

 

Some learning disabilities impact a child’s ability to comprehend anything, such as with a language processing disorder.  

 

Some learning disabilities impact a child’s ability to just read the words, which then brings down their reading comprehension score.  If you can’t read a text, you’re not going to be able to comprehend it without it being read aloud to you.

 

And that’s how you can tell the difference, most of the time.  Typically, if a child can understand what they listen to (a story or directions, etc), they will be able to understand it when they read it to themselves (with sufficient accuracy and fluency).  

 

However, if a child can’t understand what is read aloud, then they are less likely to understand what they are reading, regardless of how well they can read.

 

Essentially, if a child has a strong reading ability, their reading comprehension and listening comprehension should be equal.

 

We also have to discuss the levels of comprehension.

 

Some kids are able to recite back the basic facts of a story, and this is considered the base level of comprehension.  “Just the facts!”

 

Kids then need to be able to answer inferential and analytical questions, making sense of what they are reading in a deeper way.  They know not just that the character wore a red jacket, but that they must have worn a red jacket because it was cold, further validated by the description of gray clouds in the sky.

 

They also need to be able to make predictions about what may happen next, using logic, background knowledge, and an understanding of what has happened thus far.

 

Further, kids need to be able to evaluate what they are reading.  Does it make sense or are their plot holes?  Does it do an adequate job of describing people, places, events, etc?  How well can the reader relate to the story?  Who was the likely intended audience?  What was the author’s purpose?  And on and on.

 

So how do we boost reading comprehension?

There are many ideas in the Octopus’s Guide to Reading Comprehension, so download that guide, if you haven’t already! (And if you have, refer back to it!)

 

Beyond that, we can also simply make deep discussions a regular part of our day.  We can discuss books that we read aloud to our children, or that they read aloud to us.  We can discuss audiobooks that we listen to together.  And we can also discuss shows and movies in much the same way, asking the same sorts of questions and validating our children’s thoughts and ideas.

 

How is your child doing with comprehension?  What have you noticed?

 

Email me! Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Motivational Reading

Wanting to motivate your child to read?

 

So many of us parents are avid readers and want to instill a love of reading into our children.  However, it’s not something that can be achieved through force.  In fact, any coercion is likely to have the opposite effect!

 

However, we can inspire our children to want to read.  But to do so, we may have to think outside of the box.

 

First, we have to meet our kids where they’re at.  We have to take into consideration any learning disabilities/ challenges that they have.  If they have a short attention span, we can’t expect them to sit down to read a novel.  If they struggle to decode words or to read fluently, we can’t expect them to read for long without wearing out mentally.

 

We also have to take into consideration their interests.  Allowing them to read books of their choice is paramount, but we may also need to consider other reading activities beyond books.   

 

For example, putting captions on a TV show or movie can help reinforce reading.  Allowing kids to play video games can be a very motivating way for many kids to read.  I’ve heard many times that it was wanting to be able to read a video game that led a child to learn to read, or to become better at reading. (To be clear- the reading is part of the video game, not a requirement to be allowed to play the video game.)

 

A child may be capable of reading at an 8th grade level, but still gravitate toward the picture books.  Let them.  Many picture books are actually written at a high level, and the pictures may be supporting their comprehension or the short stories may be supporting their attention span and mental effort.  There is no harm in kids who are “capable” of reading high level books choosing to read simple books or picture books, as long as they are wanting to read!

 

Similarly, many kids enjoy graphic novels.  Some parents worry that it is too little reading, but the same principles as with picture books would apply here.

 

Similar to graphic novels is visual novels, a type of video game that is telling a story.  Again, there is a lot of reading involved in this, and it can be very engaging for kids.

 

As you can probably guess, I have no problem with kids reading books that are above or below their “ability” level, if it is what they are wanting to read.  When kids are interested, they’re engaging in learning.  Even if the words are easy, they’ll get something out of it, or they wouldn’t bother reading it.

 

A final tip- model a love of reading to your kids.  Read books yourself, where they can see you.  Talk to them about books you are reading and enjoying, and books that you read and enjoyed when you were younger, closer to their age or ability level.

 

What’s working for you?

Uncomprehending Clarissa

Clarissa started speaking at the expected time, she was very social, she had no articulation errors (her speech sounds were correct), and she could read books that were close to her grade-level.  However, she could not understand what she read.  The level that she could comprehend was far below the level at which she could read.  And she could not understand any directions that were more than a single, simple step.

 

So what did we do for dear Clarissa?

 

We started with an additional assessment by a speech and language pathologist (SLP), who determined that Clarissa has a language processing disorder and recommended speech and language services.

 

With these services added, I was able to collaborate with the SLP to reinforce what was being worked on there.  My main focus was working on building up Clarissa’s reading comprehension. 

 

I had Clarissa read texts in small chunks, just one or two sentences at a time.  These texts were well below her reading ability level, and she read them multiple times.

 

Then we focused on visualization of these 1-2 simple sentences.  I would have her describe what the sentences she had just read LOOKED like.  At times, I would have her draw something she had just read about (she enjoyed art).  She also would act out some of what she read.

 

We bolstered her vocabulary knowledge explicitly and had her act or draw out the vocabulary within the context of what she was reading. 

 

We helped build connections between what she was reading and any other background knowledge she might need to better understand it.

 

And we focused on her interests- providing books that she wanted to read, and texts about subjects that she was interested in.

 

With time and a lot of patient practice, Clarissa began to more quickly comprehend what she was reading, and was able to comprehend most of what she was reading.  She still had more to practice, but she was on the way!

Interview with Aditya of Elephant Learning

I was hesitant to hold this interview, but went forward with it.  I was then hesitant to publish this interview, but have decided to do so.

 

I am not endorsing the product, Elephant Learning.  I’m also not saying that you shouldn’t use it!

 

I was not given access to Elephant Learning to trial so I can’t speak to it from any personal experience/ first-hand knowledge.

 

Before you listen to the interview, I want to share my thoughts.

First, the pros:

• Data- allows for a clear picture of how well a child is learning various skills; motivates a child to see their own progress 
• Individualized- pre-assessment and monitoring allow each child to receive just the lessons/practice that they need
• Instructs in math language, which can otherwise hinder a child from understanding what their teacher is talking about
• Support is available to help parents work through difficulties and know how to best teach their kids

Now, the cons:

• I’m not sure that it actually teaches math concepts, possibly just math vocabulary?
• If a child struggles, there is no reteaching of a concept in a new way (I have yet to see a program actually do this)
• Requires parent/teacher involvement if a child gets “stuck”; meaning that you are likely to have to teach your child how to do all of the math.  However, teaching them so that they can make progress can help kids want to learn the math that you are teaching.
• They claim 1 ½ years of growth in a 3 month period but I’m not clear that any outside assessments confirm this rate of growth and I’ve seen similar claims made by other programs that are really just using their own data and skewing things in their favor.  Outside measures don’t support the claims from these other programs, and I’m not sure that Elephant Math is actually any different.
• Not a full curriculum, only supplementary.
• Might be too language-heavy for some kids who need more of a visual or kinesthetic understanding of math as their foundation prior to learning any vocabulary.  (Aditya says that math is best learned through discovering concepts, but they start each lesson with definitions…)

 

What I hope you get out of listening:

• Your own thoughts and insights into whether this program or one of the MANY others like it would be good for your family
• What to consider when making these purchases
  • What a math program should include
  • Be aware of the emotional appeal these products are making

Addition Strategies Across Grade Levels

Addition is such a common math skill and yet, you may have found yourself wondering HOW to teach it!

 

To begin with, kids need a few “pre-adding skills”, skills that they must be comfortable with before they can successfully learn to add.  They must be able to count, they must recognize numbers and the plus and equals symbols, and they must have 1:1 correspondence.

 

All math skills should be taught first with concrete exploration, then pictorial representation, and finally with abstract practice (such as standard algorithms). 

 

Early Addition (K - 1st)

Addition starts with just adding small numbers within 5, then within 10, within 20, and within 100.  Each step takes on a new level of difficulty for a child.  Some progress quickly but others need time to work through each new challenge.  

 

Rushing kids through any level is likely to cause difficulty later on.

 

When introducing addition to your child for the first time, be sure to have lots of practice with physical objects.  To start with, your child will just be exposed to conversations about addition. “You have two carrots.  If I give you two more, you’ll have 4!”

 

When the concept of adding objects is solid, they can be presented with pictures and discuss the addition represented by those pictures.

 

Finally, the algorithm can be presented.  In the course of all of these (concrete, pictorial, and abstract), stories about the numbers should be used.  This helps to make the connection between numbers/addition and story problems, helping to prevent difficulty with “word problems” later on.

 

Before moving into double-digit addition, addition of multiple addends should be introduced (5 + 4 + 3 + 2).  

 

Multiple-digit Addition (2nd - 4th)

Once kids are adding single digit numbers to double-digit numbers with confidence, they’ll move into adding 2 two-digit numbers, first without regrouping (also called carrying), and then with regrouping (carrying).  

 

Again, we want to introduce this concept with concrete and pictorial before jumping to the abstract with just numbers and symbols.  The tendency to rush kids through these skills can lead to kids knowing tricks and performing the addition task without truly understanding how the numbers are working, which can cause difficulty later.

 

I highly encourage the use of base ten blocks, or the Montessori “Golden Beads” to support the understanding of place value with addition.  A 100s Number Table is also beneficial in moving from concrete through to abstract (and in supporting abstract).

 

Decimal Addition

After children have mastered adding multiple-digit numbers with regrouping, they can start to add decimal numbers.  First, they’ll add numbers that have the same number of decimal places.  (3.56 + 4.12) But then they’ll start to have numbers with different numbers of decimals places. (3.56 + 2.3)

 

To be successful at this level, kids need to have a strong understanding of place value and exactly what decimal places are representing.  Many kids will think that 2.567 is a larger value than 35.3, for example.

 

One way to support this understanding of place value is to use those same base ten blocks as before, or something similar, perhaps using a different color for decimals, to avoid some confusion.

 

Once at the abstract stage, I would suggest setting the problems up horizontally so that the child has to then “stack” the problem accurately, understanding how it must line up.

 

Fraction Addition

Around the same time, and possibly prior to, decimal addition, children will often be taught fraction addition.  First, the numbers will have the same denominator.  Working with fraction tiles, legos, or evenly sliced foods (such as pie) are all helpful concrete representations of what a fraction is and how it works.  

 

 And it is critical for kids to truly understand what numerators and denominators represent before attempting to manipulate fractions by adding them.

 

When moving from concrete and pictorial to abstract in this step, I often encourage kids to think of the denominator as “apples” to help them remember not to add the denominators!  Instead of ⅜ + 2/8 they might say, “3 apples plus 2 apples”.  This can help them to remember that denominators are the name of the size of the object, not a number to be manipulated during addition. Side warning: never teach multiplication and division of fractions at the same time as addition and subtraction.  The different rules can be very confusing to keep straight!

 

Once adding small fractions of the same denominator are solid, you’ll add in adding fractions more than 1, and learning how to turn an “improper fraction” (also called “a fraction greater than 1”) into a “mixed number”.  

 

Then kids will add different denominators, first less than 1, and then more than 1, and mixed numbers together. 

 

Again, having something physical to represent those numbers is important in demonstrating why ⅔ + ¾ does NOT equal 5/7, as they are likely to want to try.  They need to see and feel why different denominators require first finding a common denominator (or “cutting all the pieces to be the same size”).

 

With fractions, use concrete and pictorial representations for longer than you think necessary as anything with fractions tend to be confusing to kids, even after they seem to have mastered it.  Also, be sure you are practicing it frequently after it is mastered so that it stays fresh for them.

 

Algebraic Addition

Having letters and symbols represent a missing number can happen early on, as soon as a child seems to have first mastered adding using an algorithm.  This makes them truly understand all of the pieces of the algorithm and what each piece represents.  It may not be how you were taught, but it can be beneficial for your own kids!

 

Takeaway

Addition requires skills to be mastered before beginning and new skills before increasing the difficulty.  Use concrete, pictorial, and then abstract when teaching addition (and all math skills).

Motivational Autonomy

Your spouse/partner comes to you and says, “Hey, I need you to organize the shelves in the garage this weekend.”

-OR-

“Hey, I’d love to get the garage organized this weekend!  Would you be willing to handle the shelves?  Or would you rather tackle the pile of tools?”

 

Which would most get you on board with their project?

 

I am certainly MUCH more motivated when I’m not being told what to do, but being given choice.

 

As promised, I’m back with more ideas on what TO DO to motivate your learner!

 

Back in January, I had a fabulous discussion with Vibha Arora in which she suggested giving a child autonomy if they are shutting down and refusing to work.

 

I agreed with Vibha on so many things, and this was no exception!

 

Autonomy is very motivating!

 

When a child is told that they “have to” do something, a child’s autonomy is being removed and they will fight to get it back.  “You have to ____” is instantly going to make a child less willing and interested in doing that thing.

 

Autonomy’s definition is: “the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision”.  When we are using rewards and punishments, we are using coercion.

 

How do we boost autonomy and motivation?

 

Give Choices!

Give developmentally-appropriate choices.  Two choices for some kids, and many more for others.

 

Give meaningful choices.  Asking “do you want to use the crayon or colored pencil?” is less meaningful than “do you want to practice counting or do you want to practice your letters?”  Both kinds of choices can boost autonomy, but more meaningful choices will go further in this aim.

 

When kids feel powerless, they fight back.  Which then causes us to up-level our authoritarian instincts (or is it just me?).  We start to threaten or punish and they feel more powerless and things just spiral…

 

But the opposite is also true: the more often we give choices, the more empowered they feel.

 

When giving choices, you can give information about what is important to you.  “It is important that you work on learning your letter sounds.”  Then asking them how they’d like to do it, but offering choices that they can select from.  

 

Younger kids will have had less exposure to all the different options in how to learn something, so giving them a variety to choose from is helpful in their selecting a choice.  Older kids won’t necessarily need specific choice, but just the freedom to come up with ideas on how to achieve the goal.

 

Give Responsibility

When you are giving meaningful choices, you are giving kids control over something and allowing them to recognize that their choices are important.

 

Don’t force the responsibility, but allow for it.  Allow them to engage meaningfully in the family and participate in what needs to happen.

 

Rather than choosing a curriculum for your child, allow them to choose for themselves.  This might be between two choices you’ve looked at, or it might be more open-ended and allowing them to do all the research behind it (for older kids).  (“Would you like to use A or B for your reading curriculum? Look at these features…”  or  “We need a reading curriculum for next school year, do you want to take the lead on researching and choosing one?”)

 

We might also allow our child to choose how or where they go to school.  Maybe they can choose between two nearby schools, or maybe they can choose home school or public school.  Maybe you homeschool, but are open to them selecting the style of homeschooling.

 

You can allow them to take responsibility over their work space.  And with that and other responsibilities, you can give parameters around what is acceptable to you, and establish what is important to them.  “You need a clear space where you can focus on your studies.”  and “I need this desk kept cleared off when you’re not using it because having clutter in the living room doesn’t work for me.”

 

Give responsibility as a gift.  Responsibility comes with benefits and consequences.  It can allow for more freedom, but also more opportunity for messing up and needing to make repairs.  Give responsibility and trust in your child.

 

Follow Their Lead

Whatever a child is already interested in, they’re already intrinsically motivated toward.  Encourage and support these interests as well as doing whatever you can to encourage them in developing new interests.  (These are the WORST times to utilize rewards!)

 

Takeaway: Autonomy can be very motivating!

 

How do YOU foster autonomy?

Finger-Counting Freddy

When asked to add two numbers, what is your child’s strategy?

 

Kids like “Freddy” add by always starting at 1, instead of “counting on” from one of the two numbers.

 

For kid’s like Freddy, there is a lack of number sense that is slowing them down and can cause bigger problems later, so it’s worth fixing now!

 

What worked- Asking Questions

“How many fingers are on that hand?” 

 

“What comes after 5?”

 

For a lot of kids, these questions aren’t enough because they haven’t practiced counting on so they aren’t able to.

 

What worked- Practice Counting On

Build into your routine regularly starting the count from numbers other than 1 and zero!

 

As you’re out on a walk or driving in the car, just start counting on from a different number and then stop to let your kiddo take over. “3, 4, 5…” “32, 33, 34….”  

 

At home, start counting on, and then mime handing the mic over to your kid for them to then continue.  Then switch and have them start and hand you the mic.

 

*Keep in mind that the biggest challenge in counting on for most kids is “29…” (and 39, 49, 59, etc).  I would recommend practicing this after they’re more comfortable with the easier ones, and then be sure to practice this one A LOT!  You’d be shocked how many older kids still struggle with this!

 

Model

“7 + 2.  Okay, 7, 8, 9! 7 + 2 is 9!”

 

Explicit Instruction

You can explicitly teach a child to use the counting-on strategy.  This should be a quick 5 minute lesson in which you show your child.  “I’m going to show you a way to add a little faster! Watch me.”

 

Specific Practice

Once your child has learned this strategy, let them know that they are going to practice it and then  have them do a few problems on a worksheet to practice.  You can also play games instead.  I like using cards or dice to mix things up a bit.  I might roll two dice and have my child write down the numbers and then I’ll cover the die that has the higher value, encouraging them to count on from that number.  With cards, I’ll do essentially the same.  (I also might practice without writing anything down)

Work Completion is NOT the Goal!

“When you finish that math worksheet, you have the reading comprehension one from yesterday to finish.”

 

Does that sound reasonable?

 

To most of us, it does.  We have likely heard and maybe said something very similar ourselves.

 

In a society focused on how “productive” a person is, we expect kids to finish worksheets like it is their job.

 

We even talk about school being a child’s job, and some parents pay kids for how well they do at their job! (Please see the episode “Motivation Killers” on why I don’t support this practice)

 

But learning is way more important than a job.  We can choose to quit a job, and we can choose to quit doing a “learning activity”, but the actual learning is happening.  Kids are constantly learning, especially when they are having fun and are interested in what they’re doing.

 

The more focused we are on a particular task being completed, the more likely it is that our child will find the task unpleasant and learn little from it.

 

Instead, ask yourself, “what is my goal in giving my child this task?”

 

Now, a worksheet to practice a particular math strategy is totally valid.  I recommend starting with hands-on learning first, and then worksheets can provide good practice and review.  

 

However, the goal of the worksheet is to allow for that practice, not to finish a worksheet.  And maybe completing two problems is sufficient practice.  Maybe two full pages is more appropriate.

 

And there are plenty of times that a worksheet is too easy and not helpful practice, or too difficult and getting the child to complete it leads to a child who has a finished worksheet that they have no idea how to do or what they were supposed to have learned from it.

 

I see this last one all the time.  The other day I was given an incomplete comprehension page that one of my students was supposed to finish with me because they didn’t do it in class.  I immediately could see that the worksheet was at a much higher reading level than this child’s ability, and was not on a topic the child was interested in.

 

I certainly could have gotten that worksheet finished with the child, but I have limited time with these kids and I want the time that I do have with them to be used wisely.  So, instead of doing the worksheet, we worked on what I had planned already- some reading and math activities that were at her level.

 

The next time you are about to ask your child to complete something, question yourself: what is the purpose of this activity?  At what point will it have fulfilled its function?  Is it an appropriate level for my child? And then make an appropriate plan with that information.

Phonics and Dyslexia

Phonics is all about the relationship between sounds and letters and using that letter-sound knowledge to read and spell words!

 

With a strong phonics knowledge, your child will be able to read and spell unfamiliar words.

 

But phonics can also be confusing!  In English, there are 44 sounds, 26 letters, and 75 basic phonograms (single or multi-letter representations of sounds).

 

And kids with dyslexia REALLY struggle with phonics!

 

If you show your child a nonsense word (like fisp), can they read it?  If you ask them to spell ‘plit’, how do they do?

 

If your child is struggling with phonics development, there are things we can do to help them!

 

First of all, there are Orton-Gillingham based programs that provide a strong phonemic awareness and phonics foundation.  

 

But you can also follow the same basic process at home, by following a few steps:

 

Step 1: Start by developing phonemic awareness!  Check out the episode on phonemic awareness for specific steps on how to do this part yourself!

 

Step 2: Be sure your child knows the letter and sound correspondences.  For most kids, this is just about plenty of exposure and practice.  It could be flashcards, but multi-sensory approaches typically work best.  

• Write letters in sand, build them with playdough, make whole body dance moves about letters and sounds!  
• Some kids with dyslexia need the mouth formation for each letter sound really demonstrated explicitly for them.

• Keep in mind that there are 75 basic phonograms and many of those 26 letters have multiple sounds

 

Step 3: Have your child put their letter-sound knowledge to use!  Reading is typically easier than spelling for most kids, so reading will develop faster.  Take each at their own pace!

Get progressively more complex (C = consonant sound; V = Vowel sound): 

• CVC
• VCC
• CCV
• CVCC
• CCVC
• CCVCC 

 

Step 4: Next come the multisyllabic words!  

• Take individual words that they can read and make compound words.  
• Then use prefixes and suffixes.  

Many multi-syllabic words are VERY phonetic, making them easy to read and spell once a child knows how to chunk them and use phonics skills!

 

Takeaway: Phonics is important, but can be difficult for those with dyslexia.  A systematic intervention is necessary (but it is also something that you can provide completely for free!)

 

If you suspect your child may have dyslexia, take the quiz “Is My Child Dyslexic?” here to find out how likely it is!  (This is not a diagnostic tool, but a simple pre-screener that you can use to help guide you!)