I have described how some students that are labeled with a reading learning disability are actually suffers of scotopic sensitivity syndrome. This means that they are sensitive to light. These students find it very painful to read. In may last article I discussed how students with scotopic sensitivity syndrome are good at listening, working in groups, and comprehension. However, when you ask one of these students to read aloud you will see the child change completely. He or she will often begin to wiggle around in his or her seat. He or she may rub his or her eyes and … Continue reading →

When it comes to reading there are all different types of learning disorders that children are thought to have. While it is true that many children struggle when it comes to fluent reading, it is not always necessarily a learning disorder that is the cause of the trouble. One study suggests that almost one half of the people who are thought to have a learning disability in reading are actually suffering from scotopic sensitivity syndrome. These people have a sensitivity to light. They have a difficult time reading and at times find it even painful to read when the text … Continue reading →

Once a child learns to read some believe that reading instruction should stop and that the job is complete. However there is much more to reading than simply being able to call the words. After a child has mastered being able to read we then must focus on how he or she reads. It is the goal for all readers to be fluent. Fluency is the ability of a reader to be able to read a passage of text accurately and quickly. A fluent reader can read aloud with expression and without struggle. Readers who are less fluent read slower … Continue reading →

My last article began giving more details on phonemic awareness instruction. It listed some activities that primary level teachers may use in order to help students gain certain concepts. I will continue to name educational and fun activities for children in this article and go into more detail about teaching children phonemic awareness skills. Phoneme Deletion: In this activity students are asked to say a word without a particular sound. It is usually helpful if the children say the word first then omit the sound. For example the teacher will instruct the students to say rose first then say it … Continue reading →

First, let me say a big thank you for Karri for letting me pick this up and offer a different opinion. While I agree with her that choosing students might seemingly create a system that is unfair, while being a slap in the face for students who have worked hard all along–I suggest to you that paying students (and even their parents in some cases) might not be that bad of an idea. For some of you reading who don’t know, I live in the inner city of New York. Before I was a full time homeschooling mom, I was … Continue reading →

First of all, let me express the fact that I love my job. I really do. Teaching is something that I wanted to do for quite some time. When I finally received my degree, I wasn’t sure what grade level I wanted to teach. I was aiming for junior high or high school; however, I didn’t know which one. In the end, I had several offers but one stood out more than the rest. It was an offer to teach special education at a high school about half an hour from my house. I had never thought about going into … Continue reading →