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Topic Archives: Reading & Vocabulary

Re-thinking the Academic Three R’s

August 24, 2021

Despite what social media might have you believe, the academic Three R’s, Reading, (w)Riting and (a)Rithmetic, are still the foundation for all learning. Without these essential skills, students will not have the building blocks for the higher-order thinking that drives 21st century skills like computation, communication and collaboration. This back-to-school, students of all ages might struggle to meet grade level standards. The natural reaction might be to load up on more practice — make up for lost time during virtual learning! While that’s an understandable response, the reality is more might not be better. Instead, students might need something a little different. Consider the Cognitive Three R’s For students at risk of falling behind, we’d strongly encourage you to consider the Three R’s from cognitive science, that is… Read More

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Reversing Declines in Reading Scores in Middle and High School

January 22, 2018

It’s a common concern that only one-third of fourth graders’ reading scores are at grade level. A lesser known statistic is that despite remediation and intervention, 66% of students aren’t reading at grade level in 8th grade. This latter statistic suggests two crucial problems: For many, when students receive reading remediation in elementary school it’s not lasting after the support ends; Students who are good readers in elementary school aren’t continuing to develop they way they should The implications of poor reading skills are well-known and well-documented, affecting all aspects of career success. So if you are concerned, don’t wait and hope it fixes itself. Why do reading scores decline in middle and high school (even if they are fine elementary readers)? A strikingly… Read More

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Identify Learning Difficulties: Observation Checklist

June 28, 2016

Are you worried about your student’s grades or difficulties in school? The best way to help is to start with an accurate idea of what exactly is the problem. Use this checklist to identify it. Then click on the skill in parentheses to learn more. Once you know the underlying reason your child is struggling, use your Mindprint Toolbox to figure out exactly what to do next. Always remember that the best way to have a full understanding is a combination of observational data and cognitive testing. While a psycho-educational evaluation can be expensive, you can start with a cognitive screener to determine if a full evaluation is warranted. Executive Functions Does she have trouble staying focused for longer tasks or those she has… Read More

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Exclusive Mindprint Guide: Ideas for Reluctant Readers

June 26, 2016

  This is one of many exclusive Mindprint guides found in the FREE Parent & Teacher Resources section of the Mindprint website. Independent reading is so important for students of all ages. We hope this list enables you to successfully foster a love of reading. If your child is reading below grade level consider audio books to help keep him engaged. But be sure to get to the root cause of a learning struggle. Early intervention can make all the difference. You can learn more about the potential causes of reading difficulties here.

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Now You See it, Now You Don’t: Cognitive Blindness

October 25, 2014

By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff A few days ago, my six-year-old brought home a book from school that was considered a “right-fit”. Her assignment was to read the book to me out loud. We’ve been doing this since the start of the school year. It was a routine assignment and from what I could tell from the book’s jacket, a routine kind of book for a typical first grader. But this was not routine. A few pages into the story, she lost much of the fluency I would have expected given the book’s vocabulary. And why? Because she was distracted by the pictures. “That man is not wearing a helmet,” she said, looking at a man on a motorcycle depicted… Read More

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5 Tips to Help them Finish their Summer Reading (and math)

August 15, 2014

By Sarah Vander Schaaff Perhaps you, too, once had a weekend in college when you realized you had two days to read 700 pages of Dostoyevsky. I planted myself in a coffee shop and inhaled The Brothers Karamazov, along with the fumes of java, until I got the job done, my own form of crime and punishment. With a few weeks left of summer, I can’t send my kids to a coffee shop, not without a hefty Starbucks bill and some raised eyebrows. But we have work to do! Sure, we’ve been reading, and yes, we’ve been doing math, but there are papers to fill out and more math to be done. How are we going to get it all… Read More

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Meeting Paul O. Zelinsky: The Man Behind the Books your kids have chewed, read, and loved

April 25, 2014

By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff When children’s book illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky was first starting out, he took a bus from New Haven to New York City to show his work to an editor at The New York Times. The meeting got him his first assignment with the paper. Back in New Haven a few days later, he saw his work in print. “Hey, Zelinsky,” a professor said, calling into his studio, “there’s a cartoonist at The Times with your name.” I was in the art gallery of my daughter’s school when I heard Zelinksy tell this story. The room was full of parents, some of us clutching tattered or newly purchased copies of his Wheels on the Bus, or… Read More

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How Did You Learn to Read?

April 4, 2014

By Sarah Vander Schaaff Editor’s Note: This was originally written in 2015 and edited by Mindprint staff in 2019. Structured phonics is proven to be the most effective instruction for all students, particularly struggling readers. If your student needs help to learn to read, our learning specialists recommend these reading strategies. Erika Bird was standing in front of a table ready to demonstrate The Reading Game at the Toy Fair in New York when I first met her. With my five-year-old in mind, I stopped. Her system was an alternative to BOB, she said, when I told her of my daughter’s devotion to the early reader books created by a teacher named Bobby Lynn Maslen. The Reading Game was invented by Bird’s father, Kenneth Hodkinson, known… Read More

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Vocab Words only a Colonist Can Teach You

March 21, 2014

By Sarah Vander Schaaff We’ve recently returned to the twenty-first century having spent a few days hanging out with the settlers and revolutionaries of Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg. My kids will be talking about the experience for days and years to come, and certainly testing out the new words they learned during our trip back in time. Take, for example, cannibalism. I’m sure our readers know the definition, but suffice it to say, my eight-year-old took a few seconds to process the term when she heard it for the first time moments after entering the visitor’s center in Jamestown. Our present weather woes look lovely compared to the  “starving winter” of 1609-1610, when the settlers in the first English colony… Read More

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Learn with Homer: This Pigeon’s Got Wings

March 7, 2014

By Sarah Vander Schaaff When Peggy Kaye was first starting out in teaching, a parent asked if there was something she could use for the classroom. “Yes,” she said, “a tape recorder.” The parent got her one, and Kaye recorded herself reading books her students could later listen to on their own. Today, Kaye is Director of Joyful Learning for the Learn with Homer App, and it’s children who have the ability to record their voices in the product designed for beginning readers. She’s come a long way, it seems, from the days of analog cassettes. But Learn with Homer is all about blending the creative and imaginative traditions of the past with the capabilities of the present  moment. As… Read More

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