Language, Literature & Literacy - Homeschool Blogger

Build Your Vocabulary!

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:32:00 -0500

Here are Ten Tips to Build English Vocabulary.

Handwriting Doomed?

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:12:00 -0600

Is cursive handwriting going the way of the dinosaur?

Read the Boston Globe article, "Cursive, foiled again." Learn the history of cursive writing and why it is important that your children learn it.

Reading comprehension requires prior knowledge

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:02:00 -0600

See why having prior knowledge of the world is critical to reading comprehension.

Check out this 10 minute YouTube video by Professor Dan Willingham of the University of Virginia.

How Ben Franklin Learned to Write

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 07:11:00 -0600

Interesting story on how Ben Franklin learned to be such a great writer. The main "ingredient" in his writing "recipe" was that he read often and a lot!

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing."

- Benjamin Franklin

How Ben Franklin Learned to Write

By John Forde

Eight times, Ben Franklin crossed the Atlantic.

France, Spain, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany - he hit them all. And his fame reached even further. His ideas were talked about in Sweden, Russia, China, and North Africa, all during his lifetime.

It was Ben who discovered the Gulf Stream. He also invented swim fins, the odometer, and bifocals. And it was Ben who came up with Daylight Savings Time, as a joke for a Paris newspaper. (He never realized it would catch on.)

But for all his accomplishments, there's one thread that's common to all of them. The man could write like a dream.

His writing is what helped pass on his legacy as a founding father. It's what made him one of the most persuasive diplomats in U.S. history. And it's one of the main reasons we remember so much of what he did today.

"Either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing," he once said. Well put. And he did both. Which is why I'm evoking the spirit of Ben Franklin in today's article, so he can teach us what he learned.

See, before Ben became one of America's best-known and most influential writers, he wasn't much of a writer at all.

Or at least that's what his father thought.

At one point, he scolded Ben for what he felt was the low quality of writing in letters written to a friend. The letters, he told Ben, "lacked eloquence."

So Ben set out to make a change. He invented a precise system for teaching himself to write better, which you can find outlined in his famous autobiography.

Here's how it works...

1. Role-Model Reading

Before Ben wrote, he read. Often and a lot. He'd pick out a piece of writing he admired and actually wanted to imitate, and study it, front to back. He made notes on the outline and structure of paragraphs. He memorized phrases. He noted the general themes in the piece. That taught him the style used by the authors he admired.

You can do this just by digging into the magazines and books you already like to read. Not reading them the way you once did, flipping the pages. But really reading. Study them for structure. How do they start? What's common between one article or chapter and the next? And what's not? Spend at least 30 minutes a day doing this. You'll be shocked at how much better your writing will become.

2. Flattering by Imitation

This was one of Ben's favorite tricks. I'm predicting it's the one you'll talk about one day when you're teaching someone else how to write. It's simple. Just take one of those pieces of writing you admire and copy it. Literally. By hand. Word for word. You'll pick up nuances you didn't notice when you were reading it. And, except for a sore elbow, it'll give you a painless education.

Of course, Ben took this exercise even further: "I took some of the papers, and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, try'd to compleat the papers again."

That is, he not only studied the original and copied it, he actually tried to reproduce its key themes from memory... in his own words.

Where he made mistakes, he'd fix them. But sometimes he found that just by rethinking the original ideas, he found ways to improve upon them. And this happened more and more often as he wrote.

Again, you can do the same thing. Take a few short magazine articles. Study them until you've soaked up the core ideas. Then, on a blank sheet of paper, try to write out the same ideas from memory, but in your own words. You'll be surprised by what you remember. You'll be even more surprised by the new ideas that pop into your head as you write.

3. Organizing a Mental Toolbox

The real power of a good solid piece of writing is the part you DON'T see - the underlying outline.

Ben saw that too.

He found, in his early rewrites of others' works, that his thoughts got jumbled and confused. So he took his paragraphs and copied them on separate pieces of paper. Then he reassembled them in an order closer to the original outline.

You can take an outline from an article you like and use that to build a new article, even one about a completely unrelated idea. It's amazing how facts and details come together when you have a structure to hang them on.

I do this all the time.

When I'm researching, my notes come at random. The more I research, the more the framework takes shape. When I understand the idea I'm writing about, I stop to sketch out the outline.

I actually have a program on my Mac that helps me do this - a feature in the Mac version of Microsoft Office called "Notebook Layout." It looks exactly like a school notebook with tabbed pages. I type in my notes as they come. When I'm done, I drag and drop the tabs to reorganize the pieces according to my outline.

Having an outline in advance lets you focus on gathering up ideas and details freely, because you know you have a tool to help you sort them out and put everything into place.

If you don't have a program to help you do this, try using a handwritten outline and index cards.

Ben Franklin put his writing self-improvement system to good use. In his lifetime, he wrote thousands of articles, letters, and persuasive pitches for his ideas. Some helped sell Franklin stoves. Others helped sell the leaders of Europe on supporting young America.

Mastering the printed word was the key to his success. It could be yours too.

Technology vs. Reading

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 13:27:00 -0600

Is exposure to too much technology affecting our children's ability to read?

An Associated Press article, "Scientists ask: Is technology rewiring our brains?" highlights the life of a 19-yr-old computer enthusiast who spends 6 to 12 hours online daily. He admits that he spends a lot of time online with his friends, but insists that they lead totally normal and perfect socials lives. But, I have to ask, when does he have the time for reading books, let alone obtaining the ability to read literature requiring deep thought and reflection?

Excerpt from article:

"Life in the age of Google may even change how we read.

Normally, as a child learns to read, the brain builds pathways that gradually allow for more sophisticated analysis and comprehension, says Maryanne Wolf of Tufts University, author of "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain."

She calls that analysis and comprehension "deep reading." But that takes time, even if it's just a fraction of a second, and today's wired world is all about speed, gathering a lot of superficial information fast.

Wolf asks what will happen as young children do more and more early reading online. Will their brains respond by short-circuiting parts of the normal reading pathways that lead to deeper reading but which also take more time? And will that harm their ability to reflect on what they've read?"

"Trouble with Textbooks"

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 07:43:00 -0600

All textbooks are written from a point of view. The question is, which view? Now we have some answers that should give pause to Christians and others who seek the truth in academic subjects.

Here is a short interview with the authors of the book The Trouble With Textbooks - Distorting History and Religion.

Q: You say American textbooks are "flawed," with many the product of "shoddy scholarship." But isn't there also a problem with the way the books are published and sold?
A: Textbooks are adopted at a statewide level in 21 states, including California and Texas. Developing a textbook and getting it adopted in these two major states is so expensive that only those competitors with the deepest pockets stand a chance to succeed.

Three mega-publishers control the K-12 market, meaning that more and more titles are concentrated in fewer hands. Errors in one book now stand a greater chance of replicating themselves across other books because they may originate from the same source.

Q: So how do special interests get their point across?
A: Through the state adoption process and local district textbook selection. It is so expensive to get a book into a classroom that publishers will do their best not to offend various user groups along the way. Publishers' timidity and their reluctance to offend any group result in the dumbing-down of lessons to the lowest common denominator.

Shoddy scholarship also plays a role. Editors and publishers are simply not as vigilant as they should be, and are also under the impression that "experts" from university faculty are unbiased resources.

Q: So they're not real experts?
A: Sometimes the well-credentialed scholars whose names appear as authors of the textbooks have little if anything to do with the actual writing or content of the book.

Prestigious names may have been at one point associated with the publisher. They may have provided an initial outline, provided a cursory read of the material, perhaps an edit, or they may simply have used their scholarly reputation to lend legitimacy to the textbooks.

The workhorses who actually write the text — whether they're in-house writers or employees of a textbook development agency — may have a great deal or little expertise. Publishers also use "chop shops," or development agencies, for a section or an entire book. Staffed mainly with educational specialists and writers, the agencies follow standards and guidelines supplied by the publishers, but subject-matter experts in history, religion, civics and so on can be notably absent.

Q: How can parents get involved if they have concerns about a textbook?
A: We strongly recommend that parents, educators and elected officials pay much closer attention to what is presented in social studies textbooks.

Fed Program Problems

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:07:00 -0600

Study of Reading Program Finds a Lack of Progress

By Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 19, 2008; A06

Students in the $6 billion Reading First program have not made greater progress in understanding what they read than have peers outside the program, according to a congressionally mandated study.

The final version of the study, released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education, found that students in schools that use Reading First, a program at the core of the No Child Left Behind law, scored no better on comprehension tests than students in similar schools that do not get the funding.

"It is a program that needs to be improved," said Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst, director of the Institute of Education Sciences, the department's research arm. "I don't think anyone should be celebrating that the federal government has spent $6 billion on a reading program that has had no impact on reading comprehension."

Whitehurst said the study showed some benefits. First-graders in Reading First classrooms were better able to decode, or recognize, printed words than students in schools without the program. Decoding is a key step in learning to read.

Reading First, though popular with educators, has been tarnished by allegations of conflicts of interest and mismanagement in recent years. Federal investigators have found that some people who helped oversee the program had financial ties to the publishers of Reading First materials.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has assured lawmakers that measures were taken to prevent future management troubles.

"Reading First helps our most vulnerable students learn the fundamental elements of reading while helping teachers improve instruction," Spellings said. "Instead of reversing the progress we have made by cutting funding, we must enhance Reading First and help more students benefit from research-based instruction."

The study, among the largest ever conducted by the department, tracked the progress of tens of thousands of students in 248 schools nationwide over three academic years. The students took a widely used reading comprehension test, and researchers observed classrooms.

Reading First, which requires schools to use instructional techniques supported by scientific research, provides grants for reading instruction. It focuses on five areas: awareness of individual sounds, phonics, vocabulary, reading fluency and comprehension.

Teens Losing Touch

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:51:00 -0600

Our teens are losing the idioms and historical markers of American culture, a new study finds.

Big Brother. McCarthyism. The Patience of Job. All references to common historical knowledge that bind us together as Americans. These are no longer being taught or referenced in our schools.

Parents, it's up to you to teach your children. The next generation depends on you!

College life?

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 08:52:00 -0600

College environments today are a lot different from yesteryear. For those who have an idyllic vision of what your child will be experiencing, you need to read Susan Kinzie's 2005 Washington Post article.

Here's a small sample:

"The number one medication in college is antidepressants," said Richard Kadison of Harvard University,
whose book about the growing mental health crisis at colleges was published last year. "It's surpassed
birth control pills."

At Georgetown this fall, a student drowned in an accident in the Potomac River and a senior died in a fire
at his apartment. A student was killed at Johns Hopkins University this winter, just months after another
was stabbed to death. And the body of a University of Maryland student was found floating in the
Anacostia River this semester, days before a senior died in a fire.

"We have an idealized notion that this is a carefree time," said Linda Clement, vice president for student
affairs at U-Md. For many, college is the best time in life -- the most fun, the most exploratory, the most
illuminating -- but it brings challenges, too.

Kevin Kruger used to have that job at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and he was always
on edge, he said. Any late phone call would trigger a surge of adrenaline. "When the phone rings, you
don't know what's on the other end . . . suicide, rape, knifing, fight. . . .

"I can't even begin to count the number of times at 3 in the morning I threw on jeans, drove to campus, dealt
with whatever was there, maybe 10 minutes after a student was stabbed. Or a kid up on a tower trying to jump
off the tower."

Deans of student life came along early in the 20th century when university presidents didn't want to deal with
disciplinary problems, said Kruger, who is associate executive director of NASPA Student Affairs Administrators
in Higher Education. As colleges grew, the deans acted like parents, setting strict rules: Girls visiting boys must
keep their feet firmly planted on the floor at all times. Then came the 1960s and '70s, drugs and Vietnam and the
sexual revolution, and students demanded to be treated as adults.

The job isn't getting any easier, for a bunch of reasons: Overprotective parents. Terrorist threats. Lawsuits.
And teenagers who get to campus already burned out from stressful high schools.

Most schools are reporting increasing numbers of students seeking counseling, and more freshmen arrive
already taking psychiatric medications.

Some of those increases come because students today are more likely to report problems and ask for help
and schools are more likely to offer and promote counseling.

But psychiatric drugs such as Prozac that popped up in the 1980s and '90s have changed the culture of
campus life; they've made it possible for many teenagers who wouldn't have made it to college in the past
to get in.

In the past 25 years or so, Kadison said, the likelihood of suffering depression on campus has doubled,
serious thoughts about committing suicide have tripled and sexual assaults have quadrupled.

Now, one in 10 students seriously considers suicide in college. Nearly half get so depressed that they
can't function, according to the American College Health Association, and every year, about 1,400
college students die from injuries related to drinking alcohol.

Paying attention

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 08:20:00 -0600

An important aspect that a reading instruction program must have is getting children to pay attention. That's why Orton-based The Writing & Spelling Road to Reading & Thinking is an effective method. Through use of memory devices like Socratic questioning and a mnemonic marking system, children are trained to listen and focus on the learning process.

Here is some additional information taken from an excerpt of New Scientist magazine, 28 May 2005, page 28:

 
PAYING attention is a complex mental process, an interplay of zooming in on 
detail and stepping back to survey the big picture. So unfortunately there 
is no single remedy to enhance your concentration. But there are a few ways 
to improve it.
 
The first is to raise your arousal levels. The brain's attentional state is 
controlled by the neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenalin. Dopamine 
encourages a persistent, goal-centred state of mind whereas noradrenalin 
produces an outward-looking, vigilant state. So not surprisingly, anything 
that raises dopamine levels can boost your powers of concentration.
 
One way to do this is with drugs (My comments: Not recommended!) 
such as amphetamines and the ADHD drug methylphenidate, better
known as Ritalin. Caffeine also works. But if you prefer the drug-free 
approach, the best strategy is to sleep well, eat foods packed with 
slow-release sugars, and take lots of exercise. It also helps if 
you are trying to focus on something that you find interesting.
 
The second step is to cut down on distractions. Workplace studies have found 
that it takes up to 15 minutes to regain a deep state of concentration after 
a distraction such as a phone call. Just a few such interruptions and half 
the day is wasted.
 
Music can help as long as you listen to something familiar and soothing that 
serves primarily to drown out background noise. Psychologists also recommend 
that you avoid working near potential diversions, such as the fridge.
 
There are mental drills to deal with distractions. College counsellors 
routinely teach students to recognise when their thoughts are wandering, and 
catch themselves by saying "Stop! Be here now!" It sounds corny but can 
develop into a valuable habit.....