August 1, 2022 by User

By Valerie Chernek

What is Social-Emotional Development?

Social emotional development refers to our ability to “experience, manage and express” our feelings; to build positive relationships, and actively explore our environment. It is an understanding of how our minds and hearts think and feel about situations as they relate to the world around us. Considerations of social-emotional development aren't just about discrete skills that a child needs to learn, but all aspects of scenarios that impact their learning and development, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma.

Early childhood is the time to be aware of ACEs and how this can affect a child's long-term emotional stability and learning success. When a child feels safe and calm, we can help them recognize different emotions and how each emotion makes them feel. We can help children learn to self-regulate emotions when they occur. When a child does not feel safe, they will not feel calm, nor be able to grow in the learning process.

In elementary school, social-emotional development often focuses on executive functioning skills, such as memory and self-control. When students engage in play-based skills, they learn to advocate for themselves and practice empathy for others. In middle school, teens are figuring out their own identity and how they fit into the world. They become aware of their bodies and minds. This is a time to understand how we all experience emotions differently and how our reactions affect our social communication. In high school, as our relationships with peer groups grow to be important, we begin to see ourselves in a multitude of roles that add to the formulation of who we will become as an adult.

Embracing Social Emotional Learning in Whole Child Literacy

Embracing the theory of the "whole child" is a critical part of educating youth today. Whole child literacy builds on “whole child” pedagogy. It encompasses factors that impact a child’s ability to learn to read proficiently through evidence-based reading instruction with an understanding of the cognitive variables and socio-emotional influences of a child's home and cultural environment. Parents, caregivers, teachers are all primary sources to help children grow in their social emotional development, but it takes all of us - you - me, neighbors, peers, our communities, our leaders, our nation, to support every child's well-being.

For all children to be safe, calm, literate, and ready to learn, they require a "whole child" literacy approach, including the necessary evidence-based academic reading instruction, grounded in the science of reading, along with social and emotional skills to manage their world. In turn, they will become thriving human beings who grow up capable in their own life journey to lend a hand for others to be socially and emotionally capable of succeeding too.     

This article, written by Valerie Chernek, was originally published by SEL Today at the American Consortium for Equity in Education.

Learning Ally is a leading education nonprofit dedicated to empowering educators with proven solutions that help new and struggling learners reach their potential. Our range of literacy-focused offerings for students in Pre-K to 12th grade and catalog of professional learning allows us to support more than 1.6 million students and 260,000 educators across the United States.  Our programs incorporate a whole child literacy approach driven by brain-based research that is grounded in the science of reading, and an understanding of the cognitive variables and socio-emotional influences of a student’s home and environment that impact learning.

Read More about Social Emotional Learning...What It Means For Children

Categories: Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Educators, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices

July 25, 2022 by User

Rebuilding a struggling learner's confidence isn’t easy, but it is possible. 

In this blog, we learn from Katherine York, a reading specialist at Walt Whitman Middle School, in Fairfax, VA.  "There is no better feeling than the joy of seeing a struggling reader succeed," said Ms. York, "but students are failing by the time they come to my class. It makes me sad to think about all the students who would rather do anything else but read." 

Giving students hope to improve their reading ability is what this educator does best. A common theme among struggling readers is the lack of honest conversations about their reading barriers with a friend, teacher or family member. "It’s a terrible cycle of failure," says Ms. York. "They can't read. They don't talk about it. They read poorly. Their test scores show it. They don’t want to read.”

Why are so many students struggling to read well? In Ms. York’s classes, she cites these situations. 

• Teachers need to be fully resourced and knowledgeable about evidence-based reading instruction grounded in leading brain science.

• Students don’t think it’s cool to carry books and are often bullied for doing so.

• Students have a learning difference that impedes their ability to process information in print, such as dyslexia.

• English isn’t their first language.

• Students don’t understand how to navigate the maze of books in school libraries.

• Students aren’t given many opportunities to select culturally-relevant books that interest them.

• Academic conversations about books aren’t part of the curriculum.

• Students come from lower socioeconomic status families and typically have less access to books and reading role models.

• Students don’t know what kind of books they like to read.

• Students don’t have class time to delve into a book for independent reading practice.

Making Time for Independent Reading

Class time for independent reading is a frequent challenge for many schools, but Ms. York's Virginia school district allots 90 minutes of reading time three times a week. Ms. York believes in-class reading is beneficial and notes that if students know they have time to read, their commitment is stronger. She wants her students to feel relaxed and comfortable, so they can focus on the task of reading. She gives students choices of reading in comfy bean bag chairs, swivel chairs and rockers. She even has an exercise bike. One student listening to an audiobook was so caught up in a story, he rode three miles!"

For the first half hour of class, students don their headsets and dive into an audiobook from Learning Ally's library. They pair with a classmate to discuss the story and decide how to demonstrate their comprehension in the form of a book report, an oral report, acting out a scene, designing a poster, a fun guessing game of “who am I,” or Q&A with Ms. York. "Multiple ways of learning resonate with struggling readers," she emphasizes. This strategy is called UDL or universal design for learning. 

Part of keeping students on goal is to make sure they understand their Lexile level at the beginning of class. They take quarterly assessments to measure reading progress. They read independently – a critical part of becoming a good reader. They commit to read for 30 minutes a day in school and at home. Through probing discussions, students explore topics that interest them. They learn about various genres and authors. They read diverse literature and books about celebrities like LeBron James and Henry Winkler who struggled to read. Small rewards keep them motivated—from a simple hug or a sympathetic ear, to reading certificates and class recognition. 

One student didn’t like to read anything. Ms. York assigned him Kwame Alexander’s book Swing from the Learning Ally library. "He couldn’t put the book down," said Ms. York. "He hugged me and told me how much he enjoyed it. He related to the story and the characters. He felt enormous pride that he read the book cover to cover. I saw a change in his demeanor – a tangible result of giving him the right book at the right time."

Read More about Practitioner Shares Situations Why Students Fail to Read Well

Categories: Audiobook Library, Curriculum & Access, dyslexia, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Educators, Learning Ally “How-To Use”, Learning Disabilities, Reading Strategies for K-12, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices

July 18, 2022 by User

Learning isn't just for the classroom. 

For many kids, after the summer bell rings, learning doesn’t happen at all. 

Summer reading loss is steep -- especially for marginalized children and adolescents. Studies show that children lose significant knowledge in reading and math during summer break — approximately two months of reading skills and 2.6 months of math computational skills — which tends to have a snowball effect as they experience subsequent skill loss each year, leading to decreased reading and math proficiency. 

Teachers also lose precious instruction time reteaching information students have already learned. Research shows that teachers may take an average of six weeks each year in the fall to reteach material that was forgotten over the summer.

Turn summer skills slide into summer reading pride

 As a member of Learning Ally, students can participate in our Summer Reading Together program. We are in alignment with the Collaborative Summer Library Program and libraries across the country. We’ve pulled together some of our favorite stories to align with the 2022 Oceans of Possibilities summer reading theme. Check out these titles for Elementary School, Middle School, and High School.

 It's easy to participate!

Teachers can assign audiobooks for students and students can select their own. There are downloadables and printables to make participation easy and to motivate students to read. You can use a template letter to describe the program to parents. There are certificates for reading, sample lesson plans, progress tracking calendars, and prizes! 

This year, participants have fun art projects and you-tube videos inspired by the books and Ocean of Possibilities. 

 

Recognition and Prizes

Each month, four winners are selected to win prizes. At the end of the summer, four overall winners will win big ($100 gift cards) for reading the most audiobooks across all three summer months, and for the most days they spent reading. 

We get so excited to learn about the clever ways teachers and parents are motivating children to read, while building skills, and having fun! 

Want to learn what other schools and districts are doing? Check out this awesome summer reading program of the East Orange School District in New Jersey. 

Learn more about Learning Ally’s Summer Reading Together program!

Read More about Prevent Summer Learning Loss... Join Our Summer Reading Together Program

Categories: Activities, Audiobook Library, General, Learning Ally “How-To Use”, Reading Strategies for K-12, Student Centric Learning, The Digital Age

July 11, 2022 by User

It was late October when Dr. Molly Ness, a reading researcher and Vice President of Academic Content at Learning Ally, received a greeting card that inspired a new path for her research. The card depicted two dyslexic ghosts who exclaimed “OOB” instead of “BOO”. 

As an expert on dyslexia and reading education, Dr. Ness immediately noticed the common misconception being portrayed in the card. While many people believe that Dyslexia is a primarily visual disability, it’s much more nuanced than just seeing letters backward. “It’s actually phonological” explains Dr. Ness. “It has to do with the sound structure.”

While awareness of the dyslexic experiences has increased dramatically in recent years, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Stereotypes, like backward letters in the greeting card, perpetuate confusion about dyslexia and make it more challenging for young readers to get the resources they need.

In an effort to stop this spread of misinformation, Dr. Ness teamed up with Professor of Education, Dr. Susan Chambre, to find out where these myths were coming from, and how they can be corrected. The two presented some of their findings to an eager audience of educators at Learning Ally’s Spotlight on Dyslexia 2022 (SPOD22). 

In order to interrogate these Neuro-Myths, Ness and Chambre needed to find out what educators actually knew about dyslexia. In a 2010 study of pre-service teachers (PST), they found that 75% of participants labeled Dyslexia as “seeing letters backward,” while only 2% could identify it as a phonological disability. Then, in 2013, a majority of PST in the US and UK erroneously responded that dyslexia is caused by visual perception deficits. Later, a similar study in 2017 confirmed that novice teachers were failing to understand the neurobiological components of the condition. 

“All around me, I started seeing these misconceptions” explains Dr. Ness. “Unfortunately these misconceptions have often led to people making money off of parents and educators who are eager to do the right thing… but too many of these products are snake oil”. 

Thankfully, Ness and Chambre are sharing their findings with education communities. “[The research] shows the work we still have to do to better prepare teachers to recognize, to provide instruction, and to be knowledgeable about what dyslexia is and what it isn’t”. With a special focus on the content being taught in education masters programs, Dr. Ness and Dr. Chambre are working to improve teacher knowledge. “Are we creating experiences for early career teachers to shadow psychologists?” asks Chambre. 

Meanwhile, programming like Learning Ally’s SPOD22 plays a major role in bringing this information to experienced teachers and school leaders who are already active members of the industry. “As dismal as those numbers were… we’re at an exciting time,” Ness admits. “We’re choosing to embrace the changing culture… where teachers are saying ‘we want more’... The landscape is shifting”. As evidence, Ness references the Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College Facebook group which has over 160 thousand members. “There’s no shame,” Ness explains. Members of the group discuss what they wish they knew. Then, they comfort each other noting, “When you know better, you do better”.

To watch Dr. Ness and Dr. Chambre’s full presentation register for Learning Ally’s Spotlight on Dyslexia on Demand (SPOD22).

Read More about Neuro-Myth Busting with Dr. Molly Ness: Interrogating Misinformation and Redirecting on Dyslexia

Categories: dyslexia, Education & Teaching, Educators, Learning Disabilities, Reading Strategies for K-12, Teacher Best Practices

June 27, 2022 by User

When we restrict content for struggling readers due to low decoding ability, we fail to consider their personal and cultural interests, as well as their academic potential. Being singled out from a rich reading experience impacts not only a child’s learning potential, but often their social and emotional psyche, leaving a feeling of inferiority that will last well beyond their K-12 years.  

Setting the Scene

You walk inside your school library. The librarian leads you to a small, dedicated cart. You think, these are the books that someone decided is within my ability to read. The cart is small, the books are few, and the covers don't catch your eye. Around you the library is buzzing with other students. Vibrant book covers stare at you but are out of reach. Other learners are bustling to select books, pulling them off the shelf, thumbing through pages, inspecting book covers. Their “book finding mission” repeats until they find the title that suits their interest, curiosity or class requirement. You look at the limited cart of books selected for you. It makes you sad. This is what it's like for struggling readers relegated to books that might not interest them, but are within their ability to decode. They see others carrying off grade-level books to engage with their peers or friends. They know they will be stuck reading low-level books and will not be able to engage. 

The Magic of Human-Narrated Audiobooks 

Now imagine that you look up from your small, restricted book cart and find yourself sitting at a computer connected to Learning Ally’s audiobook library. You quickly search for topics that interest you. You find the required curriculum you need for school. You can hear books narrated by award-winning voice professionals like Dave Fennoy and Grant Patrizio. Hearing a book read by authentic authors is eye-opening. Professional voice artists are among a thousand volunteers, authors and subject experts who provide voice narration to Learning Ally. Each title is carefully, culturally cast by a narrator best suited to bring a story or curriculum to life. 

Access to New Worlds

Enabling unlimited access to a world of words, thoughts, academic ingenuity, and imagination through authentic and captivating voices is the magic of human-read audiobooks. This experience can have an amazing effect on students who have been restricted to uninteresting, and uninviting book sections. 

Dr. Maryanne Wolf, author of ‘Proust, and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain,” says, “While reading, we can leave our own consciousness, and pass over into the consciousness of another person, another age, another culture. "Passing over," a term used by the theologian John Dunne, describes the process through which reading enables us to try on, identify with, and ultimately enter for a brief time the wholly different perspective of another person's consciousness. When we pass over into how a knight thinks, how a slave feels, how a heroine behaves, and how an evildoer can regret or deny wrongdoing, we never come back quite the same; sometimes we're inspired, sometimes saddened, but we are always enriched. Through this exposure we learn both the commonality and the uniqueness of our own thoughts -- that we are individuals, but not alone.” This listening experience can happen with human read audiobooks! 

Schools Gives Unlimited Access 

Patricia Verrilli, MLIS, Ed.D, Media and Information Technology Specialist, Lexington KY, says, “Learning Ally affords our students the ability to browse and find books of cultural interests, and our teachers the ability to assign, tens of thousand books by category, genre, curriculum, title, ISBN, or author. Our school's media center cannot begin to provide such a vast array of reading materials that cater to all students’ interests and reading levels. I am thankful my district encourages the use of Learning Ally because it is equity-driven.” In 2020, her district began providing Chromebooks, as well as hot spots, to students in homes with limited to no internet service. The school media center was still tethered to the traditional "check-out" and "pick-up" systems and needed a way to provide a library of books through a seamless, digital experience for struggling readers. They did it through Learning Ally. This school’s commitment to net neutrality helped bolster student access to quality online resources regardless of their socio-economic status. 

Access Can Be Liberating

Human-narrated audiobooks grab readers’ attention no matter the reading level or grade-level. They augment students’ decoding processes and allow cognitive capacity to take over. They help students think critically, comprehend deeply, understand, imagine, and be free to thrive in new journeys and learning experiences, especially those on grade-level. No matter the learning environment – virtual, hybrid, or in-person – students can access textbooks and novels with Learning Ally. They can read at their grade and cognitive level and gain access to a high-quality educational experience. When students are given the freedom to choose books, read what their friends are reading and feel prepared for the day's lesson, academic, and social-emotional gains are inevitable. 

There is a time and a place for struggling readers to read within their decoding ability – when working on explicit skill building in a one-to-one or small group setting. All other times, when students need to read for grade-level assignments and participate in classwork or self-select titles for pleasure reading, they need access at their grade-level or cognitive level. Learning Ally can make this happen for your students. A Denver case study confirms this finding. When students read with fidelity with Learning Ally, their rate of reading growth doubled. 

Start unlocking the library for your struggling readers now. 

Read More about Unlock the Library For Struggling Readers…Give Them Access to New Worlds and Higher Learning Potential

Categories: Books, Authors, & Movies, Curriculum & Access, Education & Teaching, Educators, Learning Ally “How-To Use”, Reading Strategies for K-12, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices