The Literacy Blog: Emotional literacy key to better results

The Literacy Blog: Emotional literacy key to better results: "Emotional literacy key to better resultsI subscribe to an e-newsletter 'Education Review'. The importance of including social emotional pr..."

Emotional literacy key to better results

I subscribe to an e-newsletter 'Education Review'.  The importance of including social emotional programs within our schools is vital.  I have published this article in its entirety for you to have a look at.

"Social emotional development programs must be integral part of schooling, US expert to tell Australian audience.
Many teachers and parents should learn better emotional and social skills in order to help children boost their school or university performance, according to a leading US research scientist.
Dr Marc A. Brackett, deputy director of Yale University’s Health, Emotion, and Behaviour Laboratory, is in Australia to present a keynote address to the Australian Psychological Society’s College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists national conference, to be held at the University of Melbourne tomorrow.
Speaking ahead of the conference, Brackett said that programs to help combat social problems in schools, such as underperformance, anxiety and bullying, were becoming more common. However, the most lasting results – and the greatest improvement in academic results – occurred only when family members and adults working with children also improved their emotional skills, he said.
Brackett has devised a program called RULER (therulerapproach.org), which sets out five skills that helps children and adults to better manage their emotions. Since its creation eight years ago, his team has helped children and adults develop the skills of recognising, understanding, labelling, expressing and regulating emotions. RULER has now been adopted by hundreds of schools in the US.
Research into the program suggests that students armed with the RULER program had 17 per cent fewer problems such as learning and attention difficulties. They also recorded 19 per cent better study, social and leadership skills, and 11 per cent better marks.
“Most schools invite us in because they want students to be better at regulating their emotions, but you can’t succeed at one aspect of this without developing the other RULER skills
“These programs are often seen as an add-on, but in fact they must be fully integrated into every aspect of the day. To be effective, teachers, school leaders and even parents or other family members need to make sure they are living these principles,” Brackett said.
In Australia, social and emotional education has been pioneered by the Federal Government-funded KidsMatter Primary program, which has been piloted in more than 100 schools since 2006. The Australian Psychological Society is a development partner in the initiative, on which Professor Lyn Littlefield, executive director, will give a keynote address at the conference.
Professor Andrew Martin, of the University of Sydney, will also speak on motivation and engagement and local psychologists will present research papers on the effectiveness of whole-school anti-bullying policies and the heightened prevalence of autism among hearing-impaired children."
Go to www.psychology.org.au or www.kidsmatter.edu.au

How can I help my child to read before they start school?

I am planning my talk to our new parents for next year and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the partnership between school and home. Research shows that student performance and results improve when  parents help at their school is some capacity.
Here are a few ideas that you as a parent can be doing with your child pre school and even in the early years of school to develop a love of Reading. If you would like a copy of the handout I am giving to the parents about how to develop a love of reading, please click the link below.
Cheers Christine
Building a Love of Reading handout

The Literacy Blog: The Irlen Revolution

The Literacy Blog: The Irlen Revolution: "School Psychologist Response to CriticsI am in my 31st year as a school psychologist. I am so grateful to have learned of the Irlen Method ..."

The Irlen Revolution

School Psychologist Response to Critics

I am in my 31^st year as a school psychologist.  I am so grateful to have learned of the Irlen Method relatively early on in my career.  Like you, I was very skeptical when I first heard of this process.  It sounded too easy; another educational fad.  Fortunately, I had the opportunity to witness first-hand the difference identification and treatment can make for someone who has this visual-perceptual disorder.

In my school system, we have seen test scores increase significantly when students are regularly screened for this problem.  In addition, teachers report that the attitude their students have toward reading has greatly improved; students come to class eager to read.

The local community college now has students complete a Reading Strategies Questionnaire when they enroll in the Adult Basic Skills Program.  The questionnaire helps identify students who need to be screened so that they can use a colored overlay, if needed, to take their placement tests.  This process was implemented after test administrators saw test scores improve anywhere from 1.3 to 6.5 grade levels (as measured by the TABE) for students who had originally failed the test.  (The students were screened after they failed the test, given an overlay, and took a second form of the test.  No instruction was provided in the interim.)

By the way, students are allowed to use colored overlays on the GED in addition to other placement tests.  They are allowed on End of Grade and End of Course tests in North Carolina.  They are allowed on tests such as the SAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc., with prior documentation.

There is now a great deal of research documenting the effectiveness of this process.  Among the most exciting are SPEC scans documenting the differences in brain functioning and the improvements made with color modification.

I have worked with the Irlen Method for over 20 years now.  During that time, I have met many, many individuals who have suffered needlessly because this simple screening was not made available to them.  This process should be available in all schools.  I encourage everyone in this field to keep an open mind and look further into this process.

Susan Youngman,School Psychologist

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, North Carolina

Do you want to be a great teacher?

It's that time of year when reports are due and teachers are busy finishing the testing of  their students. They are exhausted! I have a mantra that I like to say : 'every day is a new day'. I really like that one because it works especially well when you have had a very bad day at school.  It was then that a timely article came to my inbox from D. Trinidad Hunt, and I thought I would share it at our next Literacy PLT. I'm also pasting it here for you. Have a look.
Jim Collins in his now classic book From Good to Great said the hardest leap to make is the leap from good to great. Collins was talking about making the leap as an organization. Yet the same thing can be applied to leadership in schools and in the classroom.
The longest mile seems to be the stretch from being good at what we do to becoming great at what we do. There is a tendency to accept good as ‘good enough’. But this will never make you a great teacher and great teachers are made not born. There is a choice involved and practice required.
The first step in this journey necessitates becoming aware of this tendency to accept good as ‘good enough’. When you feel you are a good teacher, reflect for a moment… has good become good enough? Are you settling for less than your personal professional best?
If you became a teacher, as I did, because of the love of children and a passion for learning, then you won’t settle for good. But how do you recognize the plateau of rest and status quo Vs reflection and preparation (to move to higher heights).
I can remember the moment that I confronted this place in my own life. I had taught for twenty years. I was tired of it. I wanted to quit. In truth, I had hit the wall! And the wall was the barrier between being a good teacher and moving up to the level of great.
There was another mountain peak before me and I knew that it would require all of my resilience, my grit and my commitment. It would require a critical eye, and authentic self-assessment. I would have to be brutally honest with myself about my inner feelings as well as my outer actions.
In fact, I would have to change and from my perspective at that time change took work! The stages I went through look like this:

Denial: In my mind I didn’t need to improve. I wanted to quit. It all looked too hard for me and I justified these feelings by saying it was time to change profession. I explained it as burn out. I denied that what might be up here was a breakthrough. If I admitted it, I might have to embrace the change and I was not ready to do that!
Acceptance: This is not the acceptance of a need to change. This was the beginning of a realization and an acceptance that something was going on with me. I started to become aware that something was trying to break through into consciousness. I sensed that there was a deeper message here. I began to feel that I needed to listen to it.
Willingness: Then came the stage of willingness. I was now willing to make a change. I was in the middle of a full teaching schedule and I wasn’t willing to leave all the people I was teaching in the lurch. So maybe, I thought, I better let go of my resistance and go with the flow, at least for the moment!
Decision: So I made a decision to put one foot in front of the other and really give it my all for the next six weeks.
Action: Having made this decision, I went to work. I taught with all my heart and at the end of the day I assessed my score on a metaphorical score card made of the questions below. I practiced my craft and I assessed my results with an intention to improve daily.

After six months I was renewed with the love of the game of teaching and I was getting better at it every single day. That’s when I realized that there is no arrival. Every day is a new day. Every mountain top reveals a view of another and even higher mountain behind it.
So here are a few mantras that have helped me continue my passage from good to great:

• Put one foot in front of the other.
• As I make a positive choice, that choice begins to remake me!
• Remember to remember why I do what I do!
• Gratitude is my attitude of choice!

Along with the mantras, here are a few questions that help me keep expanding and growing daily.  I invite you to ask these questions of yourself every day for 30 days. I guarantee that if you are honest and work at it, they will change your life.

1. What have I done today that demonstrates being a true and great professional in my field?
2. What have I done inadvertently that might demonstrate something different from this?
3. What do I need to do differently tomorrow to more fully express my love for those I serve and my passion for my profession?

Share and Enjoy!

The Literacy Blog: Types of Bullying-Harassment

The Literacy Blog: Types of Bullying-Harassment: "Bullyproof Your Child For Life: Protect Your Child from Teasing, Taunting, and Bullying for Good The last type of bullying to be discussed i..."

What is Dyslexia?

I recently attended a conference in Australia on Dyslexia. The keynote speaker was Dr Craig Wright, a cognitive psychologist. He spoke about Dyslexia and what we can do as educators to help learners with this difficulty.  So what is Dyslexia?  'Dys' means poor and 'lexia' means words. So Dyslexia means poor with single words. To translate, I like to refer to Dyslexia as having difficulty reading words on a page. The main difficulty with Dyslexic students is that they have difficulty reading single words on a page. So, if you are going to test these types of students for automaticity using single word tests such as the BURT Word Test, then don't be surprised when they perform poorly.  It's actually easier for Dyslexics to read words in context.

Pattern Interrupt

I subscribe to a newsletter from D. Trinidad Hunt. some of my staff have attended her PD's and have found them very useful and very practical. She often talks about Pattern Interrupt which is basically when you do something to interrupt the normal pattern of the brain. This could be the way you behave, the way you talk-just do something you  would not normally do . This allows new patterns of behaviour to emerge from old situations.
Here is a link to her latest article:

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DTrinidadHunt/~3/7Qy-wEBsz6U/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email

Types of Bullying-Harassment

Bullyproof Your Child For Life: Protect Your Child from Teasing, Taunting, and Bullying for Good
The last type of bullying to be discussed is 'Harassment'.
This type is generally about race, gender, nationality etc and is usually quite frequent. Some examples of this type of bullying may include the following:

• pulling at clothing etc
• looking under the toilet door
• use of intimidating and offensive language
• stalking and following
• making unwelcome advances or requests of a sexual nature

Bullying is a game when some children abuse their power. The target or the person that is being bullied can stop getting hurt by blocking the bullying. This can be by removing oneself  or by becoming detached.
So, how does the game of bullying work? Well, there are some rules to this game. I will follow up on these rules in my next blog. In the meantime, I have a selection of recommended books to purchase from Amazon that may help you. Please visit my astore at http://astore.amazon.com/theliteracyblog-20

Types of Bullying - physical

Bullying and Me: Schoolyard StoriesThis type of bullying involves the attack of someone who is weaker. This doesn't just happen in a school setting, it occurs in the workplace as well. It can be directly aggressive such as hitting, kicking, spitting or indirect such as by gesture, suggestions, stalking and defacing or hiding of property. So if you notice a family member coming home with ripped clothes for example, stay alert and mindful of their behaviour as this type of bullying could be happening. Some specific examples of physical bullying include:

• pushing, kicking, hitting, bumping, hair pulling, tripping
• pulling the chair out just as someone is about to sit down
• flicking water, paper etc
• locking them in a cupboard or the toilets
• throwing belongings around the room
• interfering with someones belongings in their locker or desk
• damaging clothes
• stealing their lunch or things from their desk or bag

I'm feeling distressed just at the thought of this type of behaviour. Do you have any thoughts? As always, your thoughts and comments are most welcome.

The Literacy Blog: Bullying - no way!

The Literacy Blog: Bullying - no way!: "Trinidad Hunt posted this information on bullying on her blog today. I have copied it here for you to read. It's compelling stuff. 'How many..."

Bullying - no way!

Trinidad Hunt posted this information on bullying on her blog today. I have copied it here for you to read. It's compelling stuff.
"How many students must we lose before we raise our heads and confront the elephant in the room? And how long will we wait before we shake off the torpor and rise to the challenge before us?
In the last six weeks the United States alone lost four young people to the torments and taunting of their peers.

• Seth Walsh a thirteen year old from California hung himself from a tree in the families’ back yard. He was taunted for being gay.
• Asher Brown a thirteen year old from Texas shot himself in the head. He was taunted by four other students for being gay.
• Billy Lucas, a fifteen year old from Greensburg, Indiana hanged himself in his grandmother’s barn. His tormenters questioned his sexual orientation.
• Tyler Clementi a freshman at Rutgers University jumped from the George Washington Bridge. His roommate streamed a live video of him in an intimate encounter with another male student.

And these are the only ones that reached the headlines. And this is only the U. S.. But I would venture to say that this is only the tip of the iceberg worldwide.
How many more must we lose? How long will we wait?
For these parents, we have already lost too many and we have already waited too long."

As always, I would love your response to this topic. Please feel free to comment below.
Cheers
Christine

Puzzles

If you have time and would like to do some brain teasers for a bit of fun, click on the link below.

http://www.world4teachers.com/puzzles-of-the-day.html

The Literacy Blog: Types of Bullying-exclusion

The Literacy Blog: Types of Bullying-exclusion: "The second type of bullying I will highlight here is 'exclusion'. This form of bullying can be expressed openly in front of others (you can'..."

Types of Bullying-exclusion

The second type of bullying I will highlight here is 'exclusion'. This form of bullying can be expressed openly in front of others (you can't sit here) or discreetly (rolling of the eyes). With this type of bullying, the bully often manipulates the group. The group members can be referred to as bystanders. That is, they stand by and do nothing to help the person that is being bullied because they know that if they do intervene, they might be next.  This just builds the social power of the bully. This is a very sad state of affairs and teachers need to be aware of this type of bullying and encourage bystanders to not support this behaviour. It could simply be by encouraging the bystander to just  move away from the group when the bully is using this type of bullying behaviour.

Bullying - No way!

Types of Bullying-teasing

Bullying is a very upsetting thing to happen to anyone, to say the least. It is so damaging to the victim. There are 4 main categories of bullying. I will be highlighting each one over the course of the week. The first one I would like to talk about is teasing.  Teasing, put another way, is verbal violence and girls especially, are very, very good at doing it.  It is mostly related to how you look, your sexuality and the level of social acceptance of the victim. The teasing includes the following: name calling, harassing and insulting, verbal demands/threats, doing something when the target/victim walks past like rolling the eyes and of course, cyber bullying which includes texting, internet and email.
This usually happens on a regular basis and is so hurtful to the victim!

Teens with Aspergers- anger

Teens with Aspergers are prone to anger outbursts.This may be because they have difficulty communicating their feelings. It can be a common reaction in friendships, other relationships and even in the workplace. Sometimes they will be calm, often just minutes after an angry outburst. As parents or co workers, we can struggle with this and have difficulty understanding what has happened. That's ok too. So, what can I do? Once you understand that the Aspergers child or Teen, has trouble controlling their anger, then you can help them acknowledge this too. They need to realise they have an anger problem. When this happens, they can then start to respond in other ways to manage their anger.

How do children learn to read words?

There are 4 levels that children progress through when learning to read words:
1. Linking spoken and written words - this is when children start to make the links between what they hear and what they see by  memorising certain parts of words, convert letters into a sound then a blend ie 'sh' or use the first part of the word together with meaning.
2. Recognising letter-groups and words - at this stage, children are beginning to learn how to actually recode a letter cluster as a sound pattern. This is when THRASS is a useful tool for students to use when working with words.
3. Reading words directly - Children at this stage are now reading words using their phonemic and orthographic knowledge. This is when they start to make analogies with words that they know. For example, if the unknown word is 'lay' they may remember the word 'd + ay = day' and use this word to help them problem solve the unknown word.
4. Reading words of two or more syllables - at this stage, children are now combining segments of words, manipulating stress patterns in words and recognising smaller words within words and base words.

Teaching Phonics

Read Write Inc. is a UK literacy teaching program based on synthetic phonics, developed by Ruth Miskin and published by Oxford University Press. Ruth Miskin is a former Head Teacher and a leading practitioner of synthetic phonics in the UK. The Read Write Inc. program was initially introduced in her own school, a disadvantaged school in East London. Following the success of the program in raising the achievement levels of the disadvantaged students at this school, the program has been commercially published and is now widely used in the UK and in other countries. Further information regarding the program can be found on the Read Write Inc. website at http://www.oup.com/oxed/primary/rwi/aboutrwi/ The training Workshops in Australia will be in January, with a Workshop in Queensland on the 20th to 21st January and one in Perth on 31st January to 1st February.