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

New Material Coming Soon

New Material Coming Soon!!!

If I have any faithful readers out there, I am sorry for the lapse of new material. I have a few good reasons but basically, life happens. In May, my oldest graduated from High School. I enjoyed the day so much and was so proud. It was a beautiful day the sun was out and all the pictures came out great. We spent the next several weekends attending graduation parties. In addition to the graduation hoopla, my son’s volleyball team won the Massachusetts State Championship. What fun that was.

During volleyball season, I took the opportunity to learn how to use my camera better. So I have spent a lot of time on line getting support and guidance around that. I am using some new software, and learning that takes time too. I was able to give the volleyball parents many decent action shots of their kids and I put together collages for all the players. The pictures are far from professional but I was happy with the results. If anyone wants to see my volleyball shots, the link to my web album is http://picasaweb.google.com/sportsmamaT . I am shooting with a Nikon D80 and a 50 mm lens.

My youngest also graduated from 8th grade this spring. I am no longer a middle school parent. I hope this doesn’t mean I will loose that connection with who middle schoolers are. I really feel that having kids in middle school while teaching middle school gave me an interesting perspective. Having an inside view of what they liked/disliked, how they talked, how they dressed, learning what was cool and even more important knowing what they thought was babyish has helped me so much as a therapist.

Luckily, my school year ended on an easier note and the paperwork was manageable. If only we public school therapists could spend more time with the kids and less on paperwork. We are finally done with school and I plan to update my blog a little before going to relax at the lake for a week or so.

I know I have asked before but if there are any specific topics related to middle school or speech and language development in general let me know. I am always looking for ideas.

Hope you are enjoying the summer
Teresa

Parent to Parent

Play Skills Are More Important Than You Think!

This morning I read an article in Smithsonian Magazine by Monica Watrous call “Playing for Keepsies”. It was a small article about a gentleman named Bruce Breslow and his Moon Marble Company in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The Moon Marble Company produces both expensive hand crafted marbles and inexpensive machine made marbles. Breslow is a woodworker who became interested in marbles after buying marbles for the wooden board games he made.

This article caught my eye because I loved playing marbles, trading marbles and looking at marbles when I was a kid. But, what was most interesting to me was Breslow’s quote at the end of the article. When asked about the future of marbles he stated, “I am not concerned for the future of marbles I am concerned for the future of play”. Breslow’s quote reminded me of something I have believed for years and that is that kids no longer have as many opportunities to “learn” how to play with others.

When I talk about play, I am referring to free play with other children, not adult organized or adult supervised. Now you might say that daycare or preschool is play but think about it, it is really play with adult rules. Only two kids might be able to play with the blocks, no more than five can be painting, please don’t take the play dough to the coloring station, clean up everything right away and if there is a disagreement there is an adult to step right in and solve the problem. These rules are not bad or outrageous and most are needed in a school type setting. But if a child does not learn to initiate interactions on their own, negotiate with other children or create their own fun, they clearly demonstrate a certain lack of social development and definitely a lack of creativity. I would also venture to say they also demonstrate a lack of work ethic. These kids do not learn how to put effort into playing, which is a kid’s job.

So what is the difference? Adults who grew up in the 60ies or 70ies were probably the last generation to really enjoy playing. We were home more, few kids were in daycare and kindergarten was half day. We had the run of the neighborhoods we went from backyard to backyard, played in the parks and the alleys. We had a different comfort level of safety. We were able to go to the park, the library, the bowling alley, shopping, the dairy queen and the movies alone and on our own. We did not have video games and for some of us television was still in its infancy. When it was nice out, our parents kicked us outdoors. When we wanted to play with someone, we went and stood outside their house and shouted their name is a sing song voice. When we did play dough or played Barbies there was no adult around to tell us what we should do. Our parents allowed us to be creative on our own. Now I know our parents must have had an eye or an ear on us most of the timebut I never had a sense of them hovering. Board games were a staple (along with marbles, pick up sticks, checkers and cards) and actually required you to initiate and interact with others. We also made up a lot of our games or learned made up games from older kids.

In the 80ies and 90ies, the world changed. More couples were working which meant kids went to daycare and after school programs. Parents had to become more aware and concerned with their child’s safety. You could no longer always count on someone being home down the street. Kids started taking lessons after school and organized sports for younger children developed. Time for free play was becoming non-existent. A child’s circle of friends expanded beyond the neighborhood, which meant play dates had to be arranged and rides provided. Kids don’t know all the other kids on their block anymore. It seems that parents also began to compete for who is the best parent. Meaning the more I am involved, the more money I spend and the more accomplished my kids are, became a reflection of good parenting.

Today a kid’s idea of playing might be going over to someone’s house and watching them play a video game. It is so sad and pathetic to watch. Suggest a board game to them and they think you are lame. Make them go outside and that might last a half hour or so at best. Kids will also give a running account of what they are doing. Not just the big stuff like “we are going to the park” but little stuff like we are going to play wiffle ball, we are going to play a video game or we are getting a snack”. It is almost like they are looking for adult approval for their play choices.
So now, I wonder what have we done to the kids to condition them like that? In the process, have we taken away their independence, their ability to make choices and their ability to interact with peers? Many adults think they can teach children how to play but they really can’t. Kids need to teach kids how to play.

If you think kids are getting an opportunity to play at school, think again. Recess and lunch recess is 15 minutes at best these days. Hardly enough time to organize and play anything. Once kids get to middle school, there may be no recess or lunch recess.

If you have younger children try and provide them with lots of opportunities to play with other kids. If play dates are a must, then remain scarce while they are together and let them make decisions and work things out. Leave a lot of toys and games accessible even if it means a mess. That will provide them with ideas and choices. Encourage kids to go outside and create their own games. If you live a safe area, encourage bike rides around the block or trips to the playground. This can instill a real sense of independence.

Older kids should be encouraged to get involved with after school activities. They may need help and guidance to find the right activities. Most communities offer a lot of choices and your school should be able to help you with this. Use common sense; find something they like to do not something you want them to do. It is also your responsibility to know where they are, what they are doing and who they are with. Hanging out outside a convenience score or playing video games 24/7 will not develop any marketable skills that I am aware of.

Social skills and the ability to get along with others is key to success in any relationship, be it a relationship with a boss or co-workers or more intimate relationships with friends, spouses or family. I believe the seeds to good social skills are planted early and developed through experiences and guidance. You may have the brightest child in the world but if they have not had good social exposure, developed good play skills or can’t negotiate with peers, life is going to be really hard and possibly lonely.

Play is important so encourage your child to do it often. However, it is more difficult for some kids to initiate this on their own. For those kids provide opportunities for them to play and socialize with peers. Just remember, instead of being part of the play group, let them figure out what to do, what to talk about, decisions and who will be the leader. If a disagreement occurs don’t step in right away, see if they can resolve it on their own. The same rules apply to your own children. Take a step back, watch and listen to the kids interacting. I know you will enjoy the show.

Parent to Parent

Hi Everyone,

It has been awhile since I had a chance to add anything. Sorry about that. Lots of little issues have come up recently in my personal and professional life that got me thinking about parent responsibilities during the middle school years. Parents really need to take more responsibility for parenting and rely less on the schools to raise their child. I put together some common sense suggestions just to remind parents of little things they can do that make a big difference in the development of their middle school child. Nothing scientific just pulled from my own experiences as a mom and working with middle school families over the years. If you have other suggestions to add, send me an e-mail. I welcome your opinions and ideas.

Thanks for taking a look

Teresa

Being There for Your Middle Schooler

While our kids are young we go out of the way to make sure our kids are safe and cared for especially in our absence. We adjust our schedules, search out the best (and often the most expensive) daycare, enroll the kids in after school programs, take them to lessons, make sure they are active in sports, organize play dates, help with homework/projects, know all their friends and basically supervise all waking hours, just to make sure our kids have a chance and stay out of trouble.
All of a sudden, the kids are older, better able to take care of themselves and frankly pushing their parents away. There is no need to be home the minute they walk in the door. You may want to go back to work or increase your hours significantly. The kids are ready for more independence. However, don’t think they do not need you.
Middle School is a time where kids really need as much if not more supervision than they did when they were little. You just have to do it from a distance. One of the biggest mistakes parents make at the middle school level is to assume they do not have to keep a close eye on their kids.

Here are some simple things to keep in mind……..

*Know where your kids are all the time

*Make sure they know how to get a hold of you all the time-cell phones make it easy but it is not a replacement for your presence. If you are in a position to adjust your schedule so you are around after school do it, don’t think twice or rationalize, it will be the best gift you ever give your child.

*Make an effort to get to know your kids friends and their parents

*Don’t let them go to friends houses unless you have met the parents and call to make sure someone is going to be home

*Encourage them to get involved in after school activities-the advantage of this goes without saying

*Make sure you are available to get them to their activities or that they can get themselves there prepared and on time.

*Arrange pick up times-don’t leave this open ended especially at night. This will avoid begging and pleading via cell phones.

*Middle school aged children may still need some help with organization.

*By 7th or 8th grade, the average student should be independent with homework. However, if your child is having problems sit down with them just like you did when they were little.

*Keep an eye on your child’s progress in school. Lots of schools offer grading systems that are on line. I often know my kids grades before they do.

*A child’s behavior after school is not a school issue it is yours so take responsibility and deal with it.

*Schools are not a replacement for parents

*Don’t make excuses for a middle school age child’s bad behavior. Make them take responsibility for their actions. You will be providing them one of the best life lessons.

*If you child lies, makes bad choices or breaks a simple house rule-get stricter until they earn your trust back.

*Never tolerate bad behavior especially if it is directed at others

*Follow through on all consequences.

*Have expectations for your kids. They need to know effort with school and other activities is expected.

*Praise your child often

*Talk to your child and better yet listen to your child

11-14 years of age is not that old. Kids need to know you are interested and care. Everything mentioned above are common sense suggestions most of us followed religiously when our kids are small. Don’t stop just because your kids are looking and acting a little more grown up. Without parental guidance, it is hard for kids to develop good self image, take advantage of opportunities available and develop good values.

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

Vocabulary Development Is Key to Understanding Higher Level Language

In therapy, I talk a lot to my students about being flexible with language. You may not find much on flexibility with language if you did a search but I think it is one of the most important parts in developing higher level language skills. I just started using the term "flexibility with language" and the kids seemed to get it. I use the term to refer to the ability to look at language in different ways……

• to understand language can have different meanings in different contexts
• to know how to use to use language in different ways to convey a variety of different meanings.

This is all part of developing higher level language abilities. Developing a mature vocabulary is just a first step toward efficient higher level language skills. Below are some simple suggestions to encourage strong vocabulary development during the middle school years.

Vocabulary Development Ideas
After a certain age, children primarily expand their vocabularies through reading. For a child with language or reading disabilities this usually does not come naturally. Children who do not like to read or are not encouraged to read will also have difficulty expanding their vocabulary skills. Without good vocabulary development, students will have little understanding that a word may have two meanings and various spellings. They will not realize that every little change, in how a word is used, can vary the meaning or the message conveyed.
A poor vocabulary affects all areas of language and learning. During the middle school years, a student’s vocabulary should grow by leaps and bounds. Around 7th grade text books become more technical and teachers naturally step up their own use of language. Conversations with peers are becoming more mature and topics kids talk about are more controversial. Without good vocabulary skills, kids will have more difficulty understanding the subtleties or humor in language.

Things to do at home with your middle schooler to encourage vocabulary development:

• Obviously, encourage your child to read. If your child struggles with reading, consult with their teacher about appropriate books at their reading level.
• Vary their reading material. Magazines are wonderful and often peak a child’s interest. Comic books, have your read one lately? Comic books often appear juvenile but some contain a lot of higher level vocabulary and language.
• Talk to your child about current events. Provide some explanation about what is going on and why. Talk to them about your opinions and ask them theirs. Driving in the car is a great time to do this because you have a captive audience.
• Talk about different categories of words. Homonyms, homophones and Homographs to be specific.
• Homonyms are words that sound alike but are spelled different. An example would be: the word bark-the bark of a tree or the bark of a dog http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html
• Homophones are words with two spellings and two meanings but only one pronunciation. An example would be: buy/by/bye
  http://az-aall.org/AALL/Pages/Lessons/Support/HomophoneList.pdf
• Homographs are words which have one spelling but two pronunciations and two different meanings depending on how the word is used. An example would be: Let’s wind up the kite string before the wind gets too wild. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/wordscape/wordlist/homogrph.html
• Do crossword puzzles together and explain answers
• Books on tape are real good. Just keep in mind that reading is still important
• Watch movies with subtitles on when possible. Overwhelming for some kids multi-sensory approach for others.
• Keep checking back I will occasionally add other ideas.

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