The Summer Reading Blues

Every summer I argue with my kids about summer reading. I did this for seven years while at least one of my kids attended middle school and countless number of years before and after that. It seemed that no matter what approach I took it backfired. I often caught them reading other things so it is not like they hated reading.

Every summer I posed the following questions to myself….Does summer reading really foster a love of reading? Is summer reading just a chore that kids hate to do? Why does summer reading have to be so structured?

I happen to believe that more students hate summer reading than love it. My kids are so sour on the subject that they will not even discuss possible solutions to make it better. Based on Mom observations, I can cite several reasons why students learn to hate summer reading and maybe reading in general.

Just like adults, most children do not like being told what to read.
Do you like being told what to read? I don’t. If I start a book and don’t like it, I am not obligated to finish it. With summer reading, students have to finish the book. It does not matter if they like it or not. Yes, sometimes you have to read things or do work you do not like but remember this is summer reading I am talking about.

Some of the teacher’s book choices are really out there.
I don’t know who recommends book lists for teachers but I can guarantee they do not deal with middle school children on a regular basis. Same goes with award winning book lists. In my opinion, many books that receive recommendations or win awards do so because the subject matter appeals to adults.
Some parents are curious enough to read their child’s summer reading books. . Occasionally I was one of those parents. Chatting with these parents at the beach, many loved the book selections so they expected their kid to like it too. They could not figure out why their boys (especially) were having such a hard time getting into what I considered “chick books”. There are a lot more “chick books” out there than books that appeal to boys. Face it there are a lot more female teachers out there and they tend to recommend books that have more girl appeal. Get a teacher (male or female) with a social cause and all their book recommendations will slant that way.

They dread the follow up project.
If I had to do a project or write a follow up paper every time I read a book, I would never read again. There are at least three sides to this piece. Some children come from a home where parents end up doing a lot of the project because they just want to get it over with. (I admit I was one of those parents) Then you have children who come from homes were no one even cares and they have no support with home work even during the school year. Then there are children where school is just so hard for them that even with help, it is stressful and they fail summer reading too.
I have often wondered what the kids do if they spend the summer at camp. Sure, they could get the reading done but what about the projects. Some summers we have had more than one project per kid.

No time for fun reading.
Some summers my kids had to read more than just 1 or 2 books for summer reading. That left little time for any fun reading choices.

Parents have to police summer reading.
I love spending the summer asking/ arguing with my kids about whether they did their summer reading. I have enough to argue with them about. Just kidding, but it does effect some family harmony.

Please do not get me wrong, as a Speech Language Pathologist I know how important reading is. Kids need to read during the summer. My point is being forced to read can not foster a love of reading. I have no magic thoughts on how to do this. The best success I ever had was when my kids were going into 6th grade. We were given lists of books from different genres and they had to pick one from 2 or 3 genres. We made a special trip to the book store, talked about the selections, went out to lunch and went to the mall. I was lucky I could do that. The library would not have as many choices. I remember those summers were fine (for that one kid) until the projects came along.

For children with reading challenges summer reading can be torture. Perhaps the required reading can be modified but then come September, when projects are due, everyone knows they’ve read different books.

Other than bribery, does anyone have any other solutions to deal with summer reading? I think book groups would be great but accountability would be a problem. It would be difficult for every child to participate in a group unless they met at school. A more diverse choice of books might be a good first step.
Parents your not off the hook either. You need to set a good example by reading a lot yourself. Read lots of different things. Make time to read.

Send me your suggestions, concerns and complaints about summer reading. I would love to hear from middle school Language Arts teachers as well as parents. What are other schools around the country doing to make summer reading more enjoyable? There has to be a better way to motivate children to read. Let me know what you think.

Teresa

Speech and Language Workbooks that Work

Speech and Language Workbooks that Work
At the Middle School Level

Over the years I have purchased many speech and language workbooks to use in therapy. Some of these books have been extremely helpful and some have been a total waste of money. What I want to do is collect a list of workbooks that are actually helpful in therapy.
Therapists, please submit your recommendations to add to the list. If you have the time please mention, the skills targeted and how you use the book either in therapy or in the classroom setting if you do inclusion.
Here are a few of my favorites.

Saying One Thing, Meaning Another
Author: Cecile Cyrul Spector, Ph.D
This book targets a variety of ambiguous and figurative language tasks. It is organized into sections that focus on targets such as homophones, homographs and figurative expressions. The author begins each new concept with a highlighted section that actually helps to identify and understand. Then Spector adds good variety of practice items to help solidify understanding of the concept presented. I like to use this book as an introduction to ambiguous and figurative expressions then supplement with other games and activities.
Submitted by: Teresa S.

Language Remediation and Expansion
Author: Catharine S. Bush
This is a great book. It provides examples of a variety of language concepts. Some that I remember off the top of my head are rhyming synonyms, analogies, homophones, homographs and analogies. The examples provided in this book are at a teaching level. I often take the information and examples in this book and use them in a variety of ways to provide challenging therapy activities. Unfortunately, this book is old and I am sure it is out of print. Since it is old, some of the examples are a little dated. I just skip the dated examples or give them to the kids for fun, then explain. If you have a copy of this book sitting around your office, dust it off and take a good look at it.
Submitted by: Teresa S

HELP 3
Authors: Andrea Lazzari and Patricia Myers Peters
If you are a speech and language pathologist in the public schools, you have to be familiar with the HELP books. HELP 1 and 2 were the first books I bought when I started my career and I used them a lot with younger students or lower functioning students. With the older kids, I use Help 3, which focuses on Concepts, Parapharsing, Critical Thinking and Social Language. The book is organized so it is easy to pick and choose appropriate tasks. I really like the paraphrasing tasks and the way they build from synonyms to paraphrasing paragraphs. When used appropriately, this book helps to demonstrate how to be flexible with language.
Submitted by: Teresa S

Tasks of Problem Solving-Adolescent
Authors: Linda Bowers, Rosemary Huisingh, Carolyn LoGiudice
This is the newest workbook in my collection. When I ordered the updated Test of Problem Solving this book was recommended as a companion purchase. It aligns itself with many of the tasks found on the TOPS. Some of the items might be a little too easy for the sophisticated student with pragmatic issues and there are not always enough examples. However, so far this is the best workbook I have found targeting pragmatic issues with the middle school crowd.

Submitted by: Teresa S

Develop Those Higher Level Language Skills!

During the middle school years, students are beginning to develop higher level language abilities. Most students do this so naturally we do not even notice. Teachers do their best to help students gradually develop mature language skills. However, students with language disabilities or just weak academic habits may have difficulty acquiring these higher level language skills.

What are some higher level language skills?

• Development of mature vocabulary
• Understanding of word relationships such as homophones and homographs
• Understanding and use of figurative expressions
• Organization of mature sentences (oral and written)
• Understanding and use of mature grammatical structures (oral and written)
• Ability to draw conclusions and inferences
• Ability to paraphrase and rephrase with ease
• Ability to reason
• Looking at things from another’s perspective

Concerns when Students do not attain higher level language skills.

• Difficulty with comprehension (oral and written)
• Unable to understand and make connections and associations
• Difficulty understand jokes, riddles and humor in general
• Inability to organize language
• Writing skills will suffer
• Poor problem solving skills
• Inability to be flexible with language ( I will explain more about that later)
• Academic success is effected
• Immature pragmatic abilities (social speech skills)

Many simple activities can help foster development of higher level language skills. Keep an eye on my blog. I will continue to provide information and suggestions for intervention. If you need me to address an area ASAP or you have specific questions drop me a comment.

Teresa

Game Modifications That Work

Game Modifications That Work

Over the past 20 years, I have purchased many games out of therapy catalogs. Few of these specially designed games have lived up to my expectations. Out of sheer desperation for creative therapy ideas that were relevant, would give the students a lot of opportunity to practice the target skill with in a short therapy session and were inexpensive, I began to pull games off our own shelves at home. I was able to take many of my games and modify them to fit my student’s needs.
Even mildly language disabled children might struggle with traditional board games. Language disabled kids are usually not very quick on the draw so playing higher level skill games with peers is not a lot of fun. However, with some simple modifications board games can become fun and educational. Every week, until I run out of ideas I will try to profile a game that I have modified and used successfully in therapy. These modifications are simple and there are obviously no set rules. You can use my suggestions in therapy or at home, with only one child or with a group of children. I have often modified board games for an entire class. Keep in mind that modifications are always based on the child’s specific needs. Modifications that work for one individual or group might not for the next. I know this sounds like a simple idea. It is. Sometimes you just need the idea to get your own creativity flowing.

Sunrise: Manchester By The Sea on a cold January morning and topics to come

Ok so I like to take pictures too. I realize this does not have anything to do with Middle School topics. Topics to come include: Games that actually encourage language development but might not say they are "educational games", the need to development flexibility with language and talking with your child to encourage higher level language skills, mature interests and a better parent child relationship.