http://www.johnlocke.org/acrobat/pope_articles/cunninghameducationschools.pdf

Janis

http://drrobertepstein.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=11&Itemid=30

Cordially, /re

I think you’re absolutely right that it is not necessary to send students to k with 2nd grade reading levels, even if we could do that for most children. So far as I know, there is no evidence that such acceleration of formal reading instruction makes a difference in students when they are 18.

* what are good ways to teach mathematical vocabulary
I find lately that through rythmic repetition of sound pattenrs students are enjoying learning new things in math. There must be joy in learning. Imagine a bird that flies from the nest the first time and then matsers it. We can bring this attitude and experience to teachers everywhere to spread it around.

* what are the underlying brain activities that are related to math
We could experiment with more workshops to answer this fully but in general we have: Math and music, Math Theatre, joyful repetitions… The teachers are the first ones to experience it and then they will give it to their students.

* how can we get students motivated about math

By being motivated ourselves. Once we are and we see math as it really is and that we are in born with the gift of Math our students will receive it from us. This is why teacher workshops are so important. Teachers need and can be empowered but it takes some time to undo the past.

* is it wrong to give middle school students a printed multiplication table when doing their work
I do not think this is wrong, but we can have the goal to play with numbers in such a way that multiplcation becomes natural and easy. Fear never helps learning since the cells contract.

I’ll try to have a post soon about the topic of multisensory education, because there are many interesting and complex ideas embedded within that concept.

The short answer regarding the multisensory character of ABCD is as follows:

Every lesson is designed to show the student how letters represent sounds. In almost every exercise, therefore, students are seeing a letter or letter combination and saying its corresponding sound in isolation. Sometimes this is done by manipulating letter cards, and sometimes by writing letters. Formal handwriting instruction is integrated into the beginning level of the program, and students at all levels regularly “say-and-write” the words under study, i.e., they say the sounds of the word one at a time as they write how the sounds are spelled.

There is, however, no skywriting or tracing letters in shaving cream or tracing sandpaper letters or that sort of thing. I think those activities are rather benign, so I wouldn’t object per se if a teacher used them while doing ABCD lessons, but I am concerned that in some classrooms they take away from the kinds of focused practice that most efficiently helps students learn to read and spell words. The kinesthetic activity that is most germane to beginning reading/spelling is handwriting and actually writing the letters and words.

I know there will be parents and teachers who will swear that skywriting or some such technique was the activity that opened up reading for their child. But my understanding of the research is that for kinesthetic practice activities other than fluency writing letters and words, the evidence base in their support, as they say, is slim. Reid Lyon, for instance, has nothing very positive to say about these techniques.

There are, however, very interesting and unresolved issues regarding certain rhythmic motor gestures that might help with timing issues in the brain associated with fluency and retrieval. I’m thinking of the work that people have done over the years with regard to the relationship between music and phonics, the work of the Interactive Metronome people, and to some extent, even the work of the FastForword people. On this topic, however, we still have more questions than answers. I am agnostic, but curious.

This might be more detail than you wanted for a reply. In the event that you were a died-in-the-wool Orton-Gillingham proponent, I thought I should have a somewhat lengthy reply that you could disagree with. If, on the other hand, you are yourself agnostic and curious, I hope my comments have given you something interesting to think about.

Happy Teaching!

Michael

Thanks So Much!

Kathryn