Reading is essential to academic success. Learning to read involves acquisition of complex skills. These skills include understanding how sounds are connected to print, developing reading fluency, and constructing meaning from print. The components of reading include phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary development, and comprehension.

How do children learn to read?

Children learn to read by understanding how sounds are connected to print. By making these connections, children are able to decode written words. After children begin to decode words, they must also develop the ability to read fluently in order to comprehend what is read. This occurs as children read large amounts of texts at their independent reading levels. The ultimate goal of reading is for children to understand what they read. This happens as children construct meaning from words and text. Many times the development of this meaning is a result of what children have experienced in their lives since birth.

Why do some children have trouble learning to read?

The causes of reading failure can be environmental or genetic in nature. Limited exposure to oral language interactions, little prior understanding of concepts related to the sounds of language, letter knowledge, and print, and the lack of general verbal skills can cause reading difficulties. Children raised in poverty, with limited proficiency in English, with speech and hearing impairments, or from homes where very little reading takes place can also be at risk.

How can you reach out to the community for help In preventing reading failure?

The foundation for early literacy is established before children begin school and develops in part from the experiences they have at home. It would be helpful to find ways to show parents of preschoolers what they can do before their children enter school. Reach out to those who live in your school neighborhood and find
ways to involve the community in literacy and language acquisition. Build partnerships with non-profit organizations who promote literacy, such as the adult literacy council in your community. Ask these groups to partner with you in hosting community literacy activities or to come to your school and teach literacy classes to parents. Establish a family literacy center on your campus. This center could be a meeting place for parenting classes and could be a resource center as well. Work with the public library in your community to distribute information about what they offer to preschoolers and families. Distribute information about early literacy in places in your neighborhood where people or groups reach out to community members. Search for opportunities to apply for family literacy grants through educational agencies or local foundations. Teach parents how to promote literacy in their homes.

What do young children need?
Young children need to:

• explore their environment through meaningful play
• listen to and discuss books read aloud
• participate in rhyming activities and hear nursery rhymes and poetry read aloud
• engage in language games and meaningful conversation
• understand that print carries a message
• experiment with writing

What can parents do to foster early literacy?
Parents can foster early literacy by:

• sharing books with their children from the time they are born
• talking to their children and extending their play
• engaging their children n songs, rhymes, and oral stories
• asking open-ended questions as their children observe and explore the world
• allowing their children to solve their own problems
• involving their children n household chores (cooking, cleaning)
• providing materials that promote learning for their children (blocks, clay, dress-up clothes, musical instruments, equipment that promotes motor development, and writing materials)
• teaching their children to learn, to think, and to talk

Working with the larger school community can reap many benefits for the students in your school. Imagine what could happen if all children came to school with the skills they need to become successful readers!

Include time for teachers to interact and exchange ideas during faculty meetings. Interacting with peers exposes teachers to a broader scope of the school. Sharing ideas about classroom management will add stability to uncertain new teachers and provide a more objective view of classroom problems. Offering instructional suggestions can lead to teacher and student success. Every teacher can benefit from the ideas and expertise of others on the faculty.

Learning mathematics without a foundation in the language of mathematics is akin to navigating the Amazon without a guide – a journey potentially filled with hazards and confusion.

The correlation between vocabulary knowledge and achievement has been documented repeatedly by research. Direct instruction of content vocabulary builds the essential background knowledge needed for success in mathematics. The following research emphasizes the importance of direct vocabulary instruction:

• The ability of students to achieve in math and science is dependent on language (Buxton, 1998; Lee & Fradd, 1998).
• All students need and benefit from direct vocabulary instruction (Gunning, 2003; Vacca, Vacca, Cove, Burkey, Lenhart, & McKeon, 2003).
• Teaching content vocabulary using a systematic approach appears to be a powerful tool for student success (Marzano & Pickering, 2005).
• Any intervention for the achievement of students should identify increasing students’ content vocabulary knowledge through direct instruction as a leading priority (Marzano, 2004).
• Kindergarten students’ vocabulary size is a predictor of comprehension in middle school (Scarborough, 1998).

There are many reasons why mathematics vocabulary may be confusing to students. Some mathematics terms, such as mean, prime, or pound, have a different meaning in everyday English than in mathematics. To compound the problem, other words, such as square, round, degree, or second, have more than one meaning in mathematics. In addition, students often confuse the meanings of mathematics terms that are closely related, such as area and perimeter, factor and multiple, or numerator and denominator. Speaking the language of mathematics is a critical factor in understanding mathematics. Keeping the results of research in mind, what is an obvious action plan for educators seeking to increase student mathematics achievement? Robert Marzano advocates systematic vocabulary instruction in all content areas. So, one of the first steps in improving students’ mathematics scores is identifying essential mathematics vocabulary for each grade level or mathematics course. Teachers then need to plan and use a variety of strategies and engaging activities to teach, review, and reinforce vocabulary on a daily basis. A thorough knowledge of mathematics vocabulary provides the foundation for skill building, problem solving, and critical thinking. Armed with fundamental background knowledge, our students are equipped to begin their journey through mathematics.

Tips for Today’s Administrators

Teachers desire great leadership! They often look to their principal for inspiration and encouragement. Encouraging teachers with genuine praise can change a teacher’s total outlook. Here are a few simple ideas to help you become an inspirational leader:

1. Always encourage teachers to do what is best for their profession, school, and students. When leaders make teachers feel like professionals, they are more willing to do whatever it takes to be successful.
2. Take the time to visit as many classrooms as possible each day. Teachers truly enjoy administrators coming in their classrooms and observing daily activities.
3. Create an environment in your school where conversations are invited through questioning and sharing of ideas. Look for opportunities to talk personally with staff.
4. Be visible and accessible, spending as little time as possible behind closed doors.
5. Share your beliefs and expectations. People want to know what a leader believes and what he/she expects.
6. Take time to show appreciation by sending teachers thank you notes, or small, tangible tokens of appreciation. (e.g., an apple, candies, bookmarks, etc.)

By Michael L. Lujan, M. Ed.

Have you noticed when people speak of prestigious occupations they usually list them in the order of Doctor-Lawyer-Teacher? Well it’s time to change that often quoted reference according to a recently released survey of more than 1200 adults.

Every year the Harris organization conducts a poll of the occupations with highest (and lowest) prestige in America. With the seemingly deteriorating respect for teachers and the teaching profession, one would expect that doctors and lawyers would command a much higher level of prestige, or that celebrity-obsessed Americans would hold entertainers, athletes, and actors in high regard. Incredible as it may seem, none of those apparent “high profile” occupations hold the same stature as that of teacher.

Only one profession has steadily gained prestige since 1977, and that is the teaching profession. Only 29% of respondents in 1977 (28% in 1982) thought that teaching was a highly prestigious profession compared to a respectful increase of 54% in 2007. The largest decline since Harris began conducting these surveys was with lawyers. In 1977 36% of people ranked lawyer as a high prestige job, but by 2007, only 22% agreed with that assessment.

What is most significant is the data seems to support the notion
that Americans consider professions that help others to be the highest prestige professions. Without regard to fame or money, teachers and administrators are truly the backbone of our society today and the hope of our future. Educators can proudly hold their heads high knowing that they are making an impact on the hearts and minds of children everyday.