GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT LITERACY AND READING

The issue of Literacy and Functional Literacy is far more important than the attention it gets. When children enter High School unable to function at grade level they are destined for lowered confidence, truant behavior and failure at testing and evaluation. It is a fact that all examinations have a component which requires reading, understanding, thinking, and responding. It is therefore imperative that all students have the ability to read and understand at grade level. It is time to reform curriculum to first address the issue of literacy then gradually add content making connections between the fundamentals of reading and the understanding of material being read.Without a foundation on which to scaffold we are wasting time in education as our focus is always on the pass rate in terms of how we word the assessment but we know what we really focus on is the percentage of failure based on the number of students who would have written the exams.

ADD/ADHD

Hey Folks, I hope you find this useful for assisting your students!

5 Ways to Build Confidence in a Child With ADD/ADHD

ADD/ADHD can sap a child's self-esteem and self-confidence. Read on to learn ways to boost your child's morale and keep him feeling good about himself.

By Alyson McNutt English

Many children with attention deficit disorder (ADD)/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also struggle with anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. These troubles often stem from the lack of control they feel over what they experience, says Dr. Steven Kurtz, director of clinical services for the ADHD Institute at the New York University Trial Study Center, NYU Medical School.

"These kids have the sense that they're putting a lot of effort into something and they're not getting enough in return compared to their peers," Dr. Kurtz says. "When you don't have successful experiences, you can't build self-esteem."

According to Dr. Kurtz, boosting self-esteem in kids with ADD/ADHD boils down to one simple principle: "It's really about building skills and reinforcing those skills."

To lay the foundation for social and scholastic success for a child with ADD/ADHD, here are some guidelines to help build his or her skills and self-esteem:

· Focus on strengths. The first step in trying to build self-esteem in a child with ADHD is playing to his or her strengths. "If a kid is struggling in school, try to find something outside of school that he or she can feel successful at," Dr. Kurtz says. Then, as the child gains more self-confidence, offer frequent reminders that he or she can be successful in school. Also, work with the child's teachers to continue to encourage him or her academically by playing to specific scholastic strengths.

· Accommodate in school. To help support that scholastic success, Dr. Kurtz says parents must be willing to learn about education laws and request any accommodations needed for their child. "Parents and teachers need to work together to come up with a plan," he says, which should include making sure that learning materials at the child's level are used and that instruction is tailored to his or her needs, whether that means more individual attention or having specific learning aids, such as a laptop or tape recorder, available in class for note-taking.

· Keep instructions positive. Kids with ADD/ADHD hear a lot of negative words, Dr. Kurtz says, because many people don't know how to correct their problem behavior. "There's a mantra that parents sometimes get into, overusing negative words like 'no, don't, stop, and quit,'" he says. "If you find yourself doing this, remember that the key is to tell your child what you want him or her to do, not just what you want them not to do." Many kids with ADD/ADHD really need to know what the appropriate or expected behavior is, he adds, and parents and teachers must be on the spot, redirecting inappropriate behaviors and instructing the child on what he or she should be doing instead.

· Boost success. Taking on complex, multistep projects is tough for children with ADD/ADHD, even if the instructions seem simple to others. Dr. Kurtz recalls how he worked with one father on redirecting the behavior of his daughter. For example, the father would say to his daughter, "It's time to pick up the toys now," expecting her to understand. But according to Dr. Kurtz, a better phrase would be, "Please pick up the toys." This narrower parameter makes it easier for kids with ADD/ADHD to organize what they need to do to complete the task. "Kids with ADD/ADHD have more difficulty directing toward long-term goals," Dr. Kurtz says. "Giving instructions in developmentally appropriate bite-size pieces helps your child build those skills, which benefits them long-term."

· Use rewards. In general, it's not a good idea for parents to bribe their children into good behavior, but Dr. Kurtz believes that while some may find the practice controversial, it can actually be a helpful tool for parents and teachers of kids with ADD/ADHD. "Frankly, I advise parents and teachers to feel comfortable using rewards," he says. "These can be very helpful in getting a positive behavior started. Then, once the child sees that the behavior makes sense, he or she won't need the rewards anymore."

Software Evaluation

Learning to evaluate software give a definite advantage to a Reading specialist, as it allows for authentic student learning. Damage can be done to any student if the technology used is not relevant to their needs. Many manufactures attempt only to become commercially viable and seek to make sales by making false claims. If a Reading Specialist falls for this children can receive the wrong teaching causing them to find it difficult to cope with literacy. It is a serious responsibility to be given into your care a soul which must be molded and given hope and skills to survive and contribute positively to society. It is therefore very important to be able to evaluate the web 2.0 technologies and any other new technologies which may come to the fore for the benefit of improving student literacy. For this we must thank Ms. Aisha Wood-Jackson who brought this out as it threw new light on how careful one must be in selecting material for the benefit of our students.

Dropbox

I have discovered a tool called drop box. I like it because it offers the opportunity to access your files from anywhere. You can synchronize your devices so that you can access your files from anywhere in the world and from any technology such as a cell phone or laptop. Drop box offers a free two gig space with the option to purchase more space if needed. I am encouraging everyone to go and check it out and see the various features. I am sure that you will find it useful and relevant to your field of work. http://cdn.dropbox.com/Dropbox%200.7.110.exe.

Networking

The networking aspect of Wikis is amazing, it is so easy to coordinate events or share information via this web page. For example i was able to link with my classmates to find out about class schedules and changes to our program. The responses came quickly and other members of the group were able to benefit from the responses. So apart from sharing vocabulary words, building word walls, and developing comprehension and constructing pieces of writing students can use wikis as a very effective tool to network or communicate and work on projects which will benefit their literacy development.

ebooks

Well we learnt how to crate eBooks and i must tell you that we were all excited about what we learnt. The use of navigation nubs and the adding of sound to the project was exciting for us as we were able to create an eBook which we did not know how to create before. I am just thinking that if we were so excited and motivated by our experience creating eBooks and our students are more technology based than us, then what will happen when we begin to teach them to do this. I can picture the excitement and the motivation they will have to learn to create through Web 2.0 technology. We can teach phonics, phonemic awareness, letter sound co-relation, comprehension, listening skills and much more. This tool is surely a winner in student literacy and the mastery of reading.

Blogging-Creative expression

One advantage of being able to blogs is the ability to be creatively expressive. Students can use expression and explore emotive language which is essential for human development. Students can express as well, how they feel about the technology they are using. In this way the teacher can gage the students attitude toward the task they are doing and the medium they are using to do it. Teachers can then adjust tasks and select more appropriate technology to meet the needs of the students. The creativity of the student can then be brought out as they will have a space to express themselves in writing. When they read their peers work they can comment on it as well as get valuable reading practice from a medium with which they are comfortable. Web 2.0 offers students the ability to improve their reading and writing fluency through interactive tools which allow them to confidently express themselves in both reading and writing.