​As we near the end of what would have been another school year, the age-old question of grade retention arises.  A parent has asked, “Should my child be retained?  I know he’s struggling.”  My personal response is never.  I am also equally opposed to simply “socially promoting” students on to the next grade.  Neither method works.  Research has shown both methods to be complete failures.
So, what should we do?  Many students have fallen behind during the coronavirus pandemic.  Should these students be retained?  No! 

Megan Andrew, a sociologist from the University of Notre Dame, conducted a study, where she found that students who were retained a grade in between kindergarten and 5th grade were 60% less likely to graduate from high school than those who had similar grades but were not retained.  One of the unique features of this study is that she compared the students who were retained with the students who were also failing but not retained.  She studied more than 37,000 students across the United States and matched students of similar family backgrounds, IQs, and cognitive skills.

We have over 40 years of research showing the harms of retention.  Researchers have stated:  

• "Most children do not 'catch up' when held back.
• "Although some retained students do better at first, these children often fall behind again in later grades.
• "Retention is one of the most powerful predictors of high school dropout; holding a child back twice makes dropping out of school 90% certain."

The researchers went on to say,

“The most notable academic deficit for retained students is in reading…. Students who are unprepared in reading have a 15% chance of succeeding in math and a 1% chance of succeeding in science, while students who are good readers have a 67% chance of succeeding in math and a 32% chance in science.”  

So, what should we do?  Focus on reading.  Focus on teaching reading correctly, using a teaching method that actually works.  We have 8 years of research showing that vowel clustering works with students who failed with phonics and balanced literacy. 
Don’t retain students.  Teach them to read instead.

It’s No Wonder Our Children Cannot Learn to Read with Phonics!  As I went looking for resources, I was astounded at the mountains of inaccurate information that I found on the internet. I know that I promised you a blog about free resources that you could use to teach children while they are at home.  I’m working on it.  I will keep my promise, but I ran into some resources that, I am sorry to say, help us see what is wrong with phonics education.  They also help to show us why reading scores all worse in 2019 and why so many children cannot read across the nation.

As I have mentioned earlier in earlier blog posts, a big problem with phonics is that the rules have so many exceptions the children get confused.  Confusion leads to reading failure. Let’s look at an example.  One seemingly popular phonics internet site says:  “a in ago should say long a for an open syllable, but it is a schwa.”

Yes, letter a is using the schwa sound, but the reasoning in this statement is wrong.  There are words that start with the letter a that use the long a vowel sound:  able, acorn, apron—just to list a few.  There are also words that start with the letter a that do not use the long a vowel sound: ago, among, around, away—again just to mention a few.  Regardless of the phonics rule, the word ago does not use the long a vowel sound, and there is absolutely no reason to assume that it should.  There are plenty of words that start with the letter a that do not use the long a vowel sound.  So, why would a phonics educator think that the word ago would use a long a vowel sound?  

Because they do not understand the rules that they are trying to teach and because the phonics rules are not consistent. This is why it doesn’t work to try and rely on phonics rules.  
Some researchers have counted the number of times phonics rules do not work and have found phonics rules are accurate only 60% of the time.  What should children do the other 40% of the time?  [Check my blog post from 10-26-19 for more data showing how unreliable phonics rules are.]

When the phonics rules have all of these exceptions, it is easy to see how even teachers and resource writers can get confused.  You must be careful when taking worksheets, informational videos, or any other information off the internet--even if you are paying for it.  Just because someone charges a fee, doesn’t mean the material that they are selling you is accurate.  Don’t teach mistakes or incorrect information.  Inaccurate information also leads to reading failure. 

I’ve worked with many students at my reading clinic who were sent to me because they were failing in reading, when their only problem was that they had been taught incorrectly.  They had memorized phonics rules, but the rules were inconsistent.  Therefore, they had become confused.  Confusion leads to failure.

Look in a dictionary or use the dictionary on your computer.  Check to make sure that what you are purchasing or even using for free is accurate.

There are actually 7 different sounds for the letter a.  The schwa sound is not an exception; it is just one of the 7 sounds.
Caption:  There are actually 7 different sounds for the letter a.  The schwa sound is not an exception; it is just one of the 7 sounds.
​

The chant is growing louder, heard from the streets and all the way to the White House—“Send the children back to school.”  If we stop and think, truly analyze what is best for our children? Sending the children back to school right now is not in the best interest of our children.  Yes, it would provide free childcare, but is it safe?  No.  Absolutely no one, except for a few parents marching up and down the street without masks, contends that the best health solution for our children is to send them back to school.  Again, I’m a psychologist; I read what the scientists are saying, not the politicians.

• “…public health experts believe social distancing is the best way to prevent a truly horrific crisis….” ​David Fisman, infectious disease epidemiologist, states that it is not true that children do not get COVID-19.  He clarifies that the “Chinese data suggest that kids get the infection about as often as adults….” He then goes on to explain that “… given the eagerness with which they [children] share their germs, they could still be important infection spreaders.”  


• Epidemiologist Adam Kucharski, author of The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread—and Why They Stop, is saying that the threat from children to adults should “cause us to worry.” 

Therefore, can we truly say that it is safe to open schools-- for the children… for the teachers … for the families who the children go home to each afternoon?  No, we cannot.

So, what are we to do? 
As some have pointed out, we were not doing the absolute very best job of educating children across the nation before the coronavirus pandemic; therefore, this may be an opportunity for us to rebuild our educational system.  Remember, as I stated in my 10-31-19 blog post, reading scores were worse in 2019 than they were in 2017.  Yes, children in the fourth grade dropped from 37% in 2017 to 35% in proficiency in 2019—this is with an emphasis on common core standards, balanced literacy, and phonics.  Students in eighth grade dropped from 36% in 2017 to 34% in eighth grade. Be careful.  This does not mean that only 35% could not read.  No, it means that only 35% could read at the 4th grade level.  That leaves over half of the remaining 4th graders across the nation struggling or failing in reading at the fourth-grade level.  The same is true for eighth graders; over half of the students were struggling or failing.  Read the report correctly.  Yes, it’s misleading. See the Nation's Report Card for details. 

Our schools are failing and have been for a very long time.  So, simply returning children to the classroom will not solve reading failure.  Why?  Experts say, it is because of the way we teach reading in the classroom [see my blog post from 2-14-20, #4, for research facts].  If you are interested in the entire series on why the 2019 scores are worse than 2017, check out my blog posts from 1-5-20, 1-18-20.

So, even if we send children back to the classroom and risk the threat of coronavirus spreading, we are not necessarily improving education for students across the nation.  No, education still receives a failing grade.

Again, I will ask, what are we to do? 
You may be saying, “I’ve heard that phonics is the answer.”  Unfortunately, phonics is not the answer.  Phonics is part of the reason we have so many children failing in reading today.  Read the research, all of the research.  Yes, there are those who are still out there selling phonics, but phonics is not helping our students read better.  Yes, some children do better with phonics than they did with whole language.  That is true, but phonics still leaves many students failing.  Read the test scores.  The 2017 and 2019 scores on the Nation’s Report Card show that over half of the nation’s fourth and eighth grade students were unable to read at their designated age level, both in 2017 and in 2019.  The school pushed phonics in the 2018-2019 school year.  Phonics is not the answer.  For more research on why phonics fails, read my blog post of 10-26-19.

So, if phonics is not the answer and it is dangerous to send children back to the classroom, should we look for other alternatives?  Yes, I think that we should. 

I think for this spring, this summer, and in the fall, we should emphasize and develop an effective online educational program.  No, I’m not saying that we should take education online permanently.  I still very strongly believe in the group approach for teaching, especially hands-on teaching techniques, but I also see the health dangers that we face today and therefore I think that at this time we must do something different than simply giving up and stuffing children back into classrooms.

How?  That will be the subject of my next blog post, and I welcome any online educational experts to weigh in on the subject.

My most recent book contains more research data to show that vowel clustering works better than phonics. 

“Help!” was the word I kept hearing over and over this week when I talked to the parents of several of my former students. 
 
“Please help, he’s totally lost.  The worksheets arrive on the computer screen with absolutely no instructions.  I don’t know what to do.”
 
“Can you help?  She did so well in your program, but now, she just sits and cries.”
 
“You have to find a way to help; we can’t go on like this.  They send so many worksheets that it takes him all day and part of the night to finish.”
 
Teachers, parents, and students are completely and totally frustrated trying to do online education, but, as we discussed in my last blog post, simply opening the schools, rolling out the school buses, and packing the students back into the classrooms during a pandemic is not the best answer.  So, what can we do?
 
Like everything else, my reading clinic is closed because of the coronavirus.  The safety of our children always comes first.  I am presently developing an online program for this summer.  It’s not easy.  First, we are a volunteer organization on a very limited budget.  Second, I run a group-centered program that emphasizes both learning and counseling.  How do I put that online?  That’s also the question many teachers are asking.
 
How do I teach my students online?  The answer is not by attaching as many worksheets as possible to the school computers.  Yes, as I’ve said before and will say again, there are many teachers out there who are doing a phenomenal job, very creative and totally engaging their students in the learning process.  Unfortunately, there are also many teachers out there who are simply attaching one or two worksheets each week and saying to themselves, “that will do.”
 
No, it will not do.  It is not safe to send students back to school, so how can we help teachers do a better job of teaching online?  Yes, there is a difference between teaching online and simply putting worksheets on-screen.
 
Professor Andy Hargreaves at Boston College stated that the important thing is “keeping kids engaged with learning and the idea of learning.”  Professor Hargreaves gives 19 suggestions.  Let’s look at some of his ideas:
 
“Don’t send parents heaps of worksheets.”
 
Yes, some teachers are just stuffing one worksheet after another worksheet on the school computer and sending it home to the students.  Often, teachers do not even explain how to complete the worksheet.  These “on-screen teachers,” as Hargreaves labels them, rarely, if ever, send videos or instructional information home to the students.  The student just gets a pile of worksheets.  The only difference is that instead of photocopying the worksheets for the classroom, the teachers are placing them on-screen.  Sorry, I do not classify that as teaching.  We must do better.
 
Look at this time of homeschooling as an “opportunity for learning, not an interruption.”  
 
In other words, be positive.  This message goes for teachers, parents, and even students—even for grandparents, I know I am working hard to create exciting, engaging lessons for my grandson, but I am also looking at the four hours a day that I am teaching him as a gift.  I know that I do not get this opportunity all the time.  I want to make the best of this time, and as a psychologist, I want to support his mental health as well as his education.  Children and teens are sad.  This time of quarantine has been hard on them.  Yes, it has been hard on parents and teachers as well, but we must remember every day to reach out and try to brighten the world of any and all students that we have the opportunity to teach and work with.
 
Each day we should try to help students “learn a new skill.” 
 
This suggestion is particularly appropriate.  Imagine what would happen if teachers sat down each week to prepare their online lessons, asking themselves—"What new skill can I teach my students this week?”  The same can be said of students.  What if they turned on the computer on Monday morning asking, “I wonder what new skill we’ll be learning this week?”  Wow! What a different approach to education. 
 
I have the children make pop-up books at my reading clinic, and I have introduced making pop-up books to my grandson.  We are on to our second pop-up book.  Recently, I’ve been using pop-up books to teach science lessons. I showed pictures of our coral reef pop-up book earlier.  Our next plans are to make a pop-up outer space book,  If pop-up books are a little more than you want to tackle, try something simpler.  
 
Even young children can make a picture book.  Staple several pages of paper together.  Have the child think of a story that they want to tell.  Then, they may color a picture for each step in telling the story.  Once they have finished the pictures, you can sit down with the child and help them write their story, or you can write the story for very young children. 
 
With a video or Skype lesson, children can make all kinds of projects at home.  Make them new, different, and hands-on.  Research tells us that hands-on learning is the absolute very best way to teach students of any age. 

To create a simple pop-up book like the ones above, children need to follow directions. They can write their stories, or facts they learned in their lessons, inside the books. This makes learning enjoyable and creates intrinsic motivation for them to continue their education.

See my previous post, "Should Schools Be Reopened?"

The battle lines have been drawn.  Protesters have taken to the streets.  Parents are even lining their children up along sidewalks—without masks--giving them cardboard signs that read, “Education is my Right,”  “Open up the zoo,” “I miss my friends.” 
 
Such fanaticism makes me wonder if our concern is about education, or do we just want to get the children out of the house and return to free child care?  Perhaps I am misreading these signs and the primary concern really is the quality of education that our children are receiving. 
 
What should we do?  Is reopening the schools safe?  That is the debate at present.  Some say yes, reopen schools; there are not that many children dying from the virus so it would be okay to reopen schools.  Just send students back to school. However, Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College in London who worked on the scientific modelling in England, advised the government there not to reopen because, as he stated, school closings play an important role in helping the entire country recover.  As Professor Ferguson stated:
 
“When combined with intense social distancing it [school closing] plays an important role in severing remaining contacts between households and thus ensuring transmission declines.” 
 
And yet, here in the U. S., we are still debating what to do.  It has been estimated that one-fourth of our school children do not have adequate internet access. Surveys are showing that some families only have Internet access through their cell phones.  Other families simply do not have high speed Internet access.
 
What can be done to help our children, today? 
 
Let’s turn to an experimental research project being conducted at the International School of Monza.  In this program, students and teachers create short videos to share, do video conferencing, and group work—all from home.  They:

• learn basic skills and knowledge at home from videos.
• come together online to evaluate, analyze, and work in groups.
• use “real-time feedback” from teachers to correct assignments as they are written rather than waiting until completed and simply getting a bad grade if you did not complete the assignment correctly.

 
One teacher explains that this provides a way to reach struggling students. While students are researching and writing, “I can call a weaker student to a private call and quietly work with them giving them the extra support they need,” says Julia Peters who teaches at the International School of Monza.  
 
If this kind of technology is already available, why are we not using it?
 
I have always been an advocate for improving the quality of education.  I am also an advocate for hands-on education rather than computer-based education. Still, during the coronavirus pandemic, I must stand with those who say the best way to educate our children right now is to teach them at home through computer-based learning.
 
Are we doing the best that we can do with computer-based learning?  No, we are not.  Just as when students are sitting in the classroom, some teachers are going out of their way to be as creative and innovative as possible, while, just as when children are in the classroom, some teachers are doing only what is required by their administrator.  As a country, we are not doing the best that we can do.  Our children deserve more.
 
How can we make education better?  As a research psychologist, I will always heavily lean toward what science says.  So, what is research telling us?  One reference that I found very helpful stated that we should: 

1. Require more training and infrastructure for distance learning. Obviously, if your child received a stack of worksheets this week on their school computer with absolutely no explanation for what the worksheets taught or how the student was to complete the worksheets correctly, you know firsthand that  teachers need more training in distance learning.

2. Expand access to broadband. Comcast, Verizon, and charter are mentioned in the article as offering free or low-cost high-speed Internet to low-income families, but we need more.

3.  Broadcast over TV free. The article mentions that PBS is offering some programming at present. So why are we not doing more?  Even most low-income families have TV.  Why are we not turning our televisions into educational classrooms?
 
Andreas Schleicher, the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, of which the U. S. is a member, leaves us with one somber reminder to think about: 
 
“It is clear that this will not reach everyone and it’s not just a matter of access to devices,” he says.  “If you don’t know how to learn on your own, if you don’t know how to manage your time, if you don’t have intrinsic motivation, you won’t be very successful in this [computer-based] environment.”
 
So, what should we do?  Should we continue with the haphazard online education being sent home at present (some good—some not), should we totally embrace online learning as demonstrated at the International School of Monza, or should we just send the children back to school and pretend it’s okay?

We assume that because the child has been shown both capital and lowercase letters that they have learned them. This is not the case, and this is one of the first big mistakes often made in teaching reading.  Just because your child can sing the alphabet song, does not mean that they know the alphabet letters and their sounds.

So, if you are teaching a preschool or kindergarten child, start with the alphabet.  Teach both the capital letters and lowercase letters.  Teach them separately.  Then mix the capital and lowercase letters together, not in alphabetical order and not in pairs, to make sure that children can identify both capitals and lowercase letters.  Rearrange the alphabet letters so that the child is looking at the letter and identifying the letter, not just remembering it from the song

Don’t try to teach reading before you have even laid the foundation for learning about words.  Teach the alphabet first.  Then, you will have a much stronger foundation for teaching reading later.

This is the kind of foundation that vowel clustering is built upon.  Once the child has letter identity, letter shape, and letter sounds, then you are ready to introduce simple words, but not before.  It’s like building a house. Build the foundation before you try to add the roof. 

Handwriting and reading are connected, so, if you want to teach a child to read, you must also teach a child to write.  Improving a child’s handwriting is one of the first steps in helping a child learn to read. It is not enough to just be able to sing the alphabet song; although, the alphabet song is very helpful in learning to alphabetize.  To read, the student must also be able to identify and say the name of each alphabet letter. Then, the student must be able to write the letters correctly. 

Teach handwriting on manuscript writing paper.  I have children use paper that has half-inch ruling with a dotted midline.  Yes, I know that it is hard to find supplies, and we are not allowed to go out shopping right now, so, if you need to, make your own manuscript paper.  You can even use scrap paper or old left-over wrapping paper.  Use the back of a page.  Draw a baseline with a dotted midline and half-inch ruling between.  Use a ruler and maybe a T-square, it’s not difficult to make your own paper. You might also find downloadable templates for manuscript paper. Make sure that they use half-inch ruling with a dotted line in the middle. 

As the stay-at-home orders, school closings, community lock downs, and coronavirus threat continue, many parents and schools are struggling with how to teach children at home.  Yet, while some struggle, a parent I spoke with recently thought their child was doing better with homeschooling than they had in the classroom.  As I have said many times, every single child is different, even identical twins.  Children also learn differently and need different teaching methods. That is why I use 12 different teaching techniques in my Reading Orienteering Club afterschool program.  If you would like to read more about these teaching techniques, I discuss each technique in detail in a series of blogs that I wrote starting on January 16, 2018 and concluding on June 2, 2018.  [Click on the appropriate links on the right to see these posts.]

A parent asked me, “How can I teach vowel clustering to my child while your reading clinic is closed?  You’ve been promising a new parenting book, but I need help now.”  My new book is stuck on the editor’s desk.  I apologize that it’s not ready when we most need it.  I do have an older book on vowel clustering that is available and that some parents have found helpful.  [Click the envelope icon on the top right  to email me if you’re interested.] 

In the meantime, let’s revisit the principles of vowel clustering and how to teach vowel clustering at home.  Yes, however, you can start to teach vowel clustering right now. 

In my last post, I promised to talk about how to work with nonreaders or early readers and that will be the focus of our discussion today.  In kindergarten and in many preschools, children are given a list of words to memorize.  Wrong.  You can go back to almost any of my previous blog posts to find why teaching children to memorize words is a mistake. (See, for example, my blog post of December 31, 2016).  The best answer though is given by Dr. Sally Shaywitz, M. D., dyslexia specialist (see Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia, 2003):  “Children do not learn to read by memorizing a word list. Most children especially those who struggle in reading do not learn to read by memorizing phonics rules” (p. 78).   

What should a parent do instead?

Dr. Shaywitz goes on in her book to say that, if we teach letter sounds instead of memorization, that almost every single child across the nation could learn to read.  Vowel clustering begins by teaching letter sounds.
 
There is nothing wrong if a child wants to learn to read before kindergarten, many children do, but we should never push a child to learn to read that early.  First, we need to remember that normal childhood development for preschool and kindergarten children is focused on action, not sitting.  Therefore, use hands-on learning techniques. 
 
For young children, keep your teaching sessions active. You could make an alphabet train.  Have children line up their stuffed animals, identify each animal by name, and then ask what letter sound the child hears when you say the animal’s name.  Have the child arrange their stuffed animals into alphabetical order.  You’re learning, having fun, and teaching a very important beginning principal needed for reading.  If you do not have a stuffed animal to represent a particular alphabet letter, have the child draw a picture and place a picture of an animal that would fit for the appropriate alphabet letter.  Yes, you may need to get creative, especially with the letter X.  Use the computer and try websites such as this for help: 
 
Older children, able to write or draw, may have fun making an alphabet book.  Kindergartners love to make alphabet books.  Don’t forget free coloring book pages for young children who need help drawing an animal picture.

Instead of memorizing words, preschool and kindergarten children should be working on

1. identifying both capital and lower-case letters (remember to teach lowercase letters separately from uppercase letters.),
2. writing capital and lower-case letters on manuscript paper (again, remember to teach the writing of lowercase alphabet letters separate from uppercase or capital letters.  We mostly read with lower case letters; therefore, children must learn to work with lowercase letters.),
3. learning the sounds for all of the consonant letters.  I do not teach vowel sounds until first grade. 

You and your child can have fun together as the child continues to learn while the schools are closed.  My upcoming post will talk about teaching children to recognize letters by working on their handwriting.   

What can we do to help our children get an education while schools are closed? Any age of child can make a book about birds, and this is a perfect time because many birds can be seen in the yard through the window.  Hummingbirds have returned to my house this week, and I have two very cute new little birds that seem to be checking out the backyard to see if they want to move in.  Birdwatching can be very interesting for children, particularly if the bird lives in their backyard so that they can frequently watch it.  Older students may even try to identify birds from pictures on the Internet.  Here’s one helpful guide.

• Preschool and kindergarten students can sit and watch a video about birds, possibly even a story about a particular bird, and then color a picture of that bird.  There are several free coloring pages available online that you may copy and provide for your child to color.  The child can watch the video and figure out which color each bird should be.  In this way, they are practicing their colors as well as their listening skills.
• First and second graders might also watch a video, color a free coloring page, and then write a sentence or two telling what they learned from the video.  Even if a young child only writes:  “The bird is blue,” that’s a start.  As long as they are writing a complete, correct grammatical sentence, they are learning.
• Third, fourth, and fifth graders can take the next step and write a paragraph about each bird that they view on the video.  Learning to write complete sentences and paragraphs is one of the major learning steps for all elementary students.  This age group may either read an article or watch a video.  Make sure it’s factual and accurate.  Then, have students make a list of the facts they learned and write a paragraph telling what they learned. 
• This could be a project for all ages.  You simply increase the requirements appropriate for the age.  While you work.  They work.  You can make a bird book.  Older students may decide to draw or paint their own pictures.  Use the supplies you have at home and be creative.  Learning really can be fun.

Students can bind their pages with a hole punch and string. They can draw or paint a bird picture on the cover. 
 
Next week, we will look at how to teach beginning letter sounds to young children and how to teach comprehension skills to older children.  Yes, as we pray for everyone’s safety, we can make this time at home an educational time.  Work on a bird report this week and have fun.

A parent emailed me this week saying, “Help!  I’ve run out of worksheets.  The school hasn’t sent anything else.  What do I do?”  For the first week or so, many students were busy working their way through a giant packet of worksheets.  Unfortunately, we’re all still at home and it is not yet safe for schools to reopen.  Some schools have even announced that they are closed indefinitely.  Many say there’s not much of a chance for reopening this year.  Naturally, parents are asking, “Are my children going to simply lose three months of schooling?” 

Yes, some schools are doing a fantastic job and making the most of their computer capabilities.  Other schools are not so sure what to do and thereby leave parents scrambling to provide educational materials.

We all want our children to stay safe, but as parents and grandparents, we are concerned about their education.  If you look online, there are lots of freebies being offered. Some are good.  Many are not.
My suggestions for the week are: 

Scholastic still tops my list because they offer so much variety for all ages.  They also offer new stories and articles each week.  Preschoolers and kindergartners can sit down and listen to someone read a story to them.  There are often even activities included.  Elementary age children have stories and activities that are appropriate for each age.  The list goes up to ninth grade.  Also, look around at each age grouping.  For example, if your child is a third grader but interested in outer space, you might look at the article about people traveling to Mars in the sixth through ninth grade section.  You might need to read this article to your child, but it can generate lots of interesting discussion and maybe even a project or two.  Be creative.  

National Geographic videos will always be on my list.  The photography is fantastic, and they provide accurate facts.  You need to be careful with some information available on the Internet.  Just because it’s on the Internet does not mean it is correct.  Look for quality sources like National Geographic.  

1. Virtual tours can also be educational.  I discovered a virtual tour of the International Space Station this week, and this is just one example.  Go exploring!  
2. I like to look for educational activities that say they are fact checked. I particularly like the example given on one website for learning about different cultures.  You could read, explore, write, and even draw or make costumes for each culture.  Children love to play dress-up. Have them think about how someone would dress in a different country.  You can even make costumes out of old catalogs and recycled paper.  No, it doesn’t have to cost money.  Check for ideas like these.    

 
 Maybe you are saying, “I want to do more than just keep my child occupied and busy; I don’t want my child to fall behind on their schoolwork.”  Good, there’s lots you can do even as you juggle children and your job while you work from home:
​

1. Set a schedule.  Have agreed upon times when you will both sit down and work. The child’s work will, of course, vary depending upon their age.
2. Check with your school.  Many of the math textbooks offer instructional videos that can be used at home.
3. Create projects.  Children and teenagers enjoy working on a project.  My grandson and I are still working on our coral reef pop-up book.  Here we have a simple coral reef popup book and a complicated coral reef popup book that a child could make. 

If this is more than you want to tackle, try making a simpler book. My upcoming post talks about helping children make a simple book about birds while they are stuck indoors during the pandemic.

I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe.  I know that quarantine is difficult, but the health of our children and families must come first.  Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are suffering with the coronavirus, and especially with those who are on the front line helping to save lives.
 
This leaves us as parents, psychologists, and educators to ask ourselves, what can we do to help?  With schools closed and many parents working from home, I want to “push the pause button” on our discussion of 20 reasons for reading failure and instead turn our focus to how we can provide educational opportunities for children at home.
 
Yes, closing the schools was the only intelligent option, and, yet, it does create a major problem for parents who are working from home.  Like everything else, my reading clinic is closed, and I am frustrated to provide help for the children I work with. 
 
Most of us are not in the position to spend lots of money right now.  We are all concerned about the economy, as we should be.  Yet, children still need an education.  What can we do? 
 
I’m starting a series today looking at educational opportunities and ways that we can teach children at home that do not cost money.  How can we use what’s available?
 
Some schools have parents lining up out in the parking lot to pick up packets of worksheets.  I’m not criticizing, but we must remember that a worksheet does not teach.  Yes, it may have information or instructions at the top of the page, but if the student does not understand the concept presented on the worksheet, the student will not be able to complete that worksheet correctly.  Practicing mistakes by completing a worksheet incorrectly is almost worse than just sitting and watching television or playing video games all day.  So, what are parents and schools to do?
 
Worksheets can be used successfully if you have a parent, grandparent, or someone who can sit down, teach, and explain the worksheets to the child.  Yes, this can even be done on the Internet.  You do not need to necessarily be living in the same household.  I have the privilege of getting to teach my grandson.  We work for about four hours each day on Skype.  We have worked our way through his worksheet packet from school, and we are now using the curriculum from my Reading Orienteering Club reading clinic.  We are making a pop-up book about coral reefs and sea creatures that live near coral reefs.  

1. You may be saying “that’s not fair; you’re a teacher.”  Yes, I’m an educational psychologist and have taught and counseled students for many years, and I write and publish reading curriculum. I’m also a grandmother and want to do everything possible to help my family, as all grandmothers do. 

 
I have been teaching for more than 40 years, but I must admit, teaching on Skype is different. My grandson and I have even used the telephone when computer problems arose.
 
If you aren’t craft-oriented, making a simple pop-up book may be more than you expect, but helping with worksheets or helping children find educational videos is something anyone can do.  I’ll offer two suggestions today, and then I plan to offer more ideas in the days to come because I think we are going to be quarantined for a while.
 
Tips to remember for people using Skype to help children with worksheets:

1. You need a copy of the worksheet.  Yes, you can ask a child to hold the worksheet up to the camera so that you can see it, but if your child is like most children, the worksheet is waving up and down in the air.  You may also train the camera on the worksheet and watch as the child works, but again, it is best if you can have facial contact with the child as well as being able to see the worksheet.  How?  Get the parents to send you a copy.  If schools are using a paper packet and parents have a scanner, have them scan and send you a copy.  If the school is sending work home electronically on the computer, have parents forward you a copy.   

2. Do not try to do every single worksheet in one day.  Check with the parents to see when the school expects the worksheets to be completed and returned.  Divide the number of worksheets by the number of days so that children have a prescribed number of sheets that they are working on each day—six or whatever has been assigned.  Children become overwhelmed when they look at a stack of 30 worksheets.  It looks like an impossible task.  They become discouraged before they even start. However, if you say, “We’re going to do six worksheets and then pick a project that you would like to work on,” you can accomplish the work that needs to be done and help the child complete the worksheets without creating enormous stress.  Having a set number of worksheets to work on each day enables the child to know what to expect.  During this time of uncertainty and turmoil, helping students to normalize some of their activities is critical.  We don’t just need to keep people safe and healthy, but we want to preserve mental health as well.   

3. When the worksheets for the day are finished, plan a fun learning experience.  Learning really can be fun.  Some of the large publishers are offering free material for the students while they’re at home.  I’ll try to get a longer list for you later, but two of my favorites are:   
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Scholastic:  https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
 
National Geographic:  https://video.nationalgeographic.com/
 
Scholastic is divided into age groups, so it is a snap to use.  They add new material every week.  You can pick and choose both reading material at the appropriate age level and videos.
 
National Geographic also has a special site for kids.  Some people like it, some do not.  I really like using the regular National Geographic videos listed above.  The photography is fantastic.  For older children, you can even have them write reports.  For example, my grandson and I are making a book about coral reefs; therefore, we search for videos about coral reefs.  He’s taking notes from the video, gathering research, and writing down 10 facts that he wants to use in the article he’s going to write.  Next, we will start the writing process.
 
So, you can help a child at home continue learning.  You can also help a parent who is trying to work from home by helping to teach a child.  Keep it fun.  Keep it interesting.  Keep it educational.​

The pop-up books contain words and content that the student learned, and the students enjoy making them. 

If you read the Nation’s Report Card, one of the best indicators of how well we are teaching children to read in the United States, you will notice that reading scores dropped in 2019.  In other words, fewer children could read at their age-appropriate level in 2019 than in 2017. Why?
 
In the classroom, most public schools are still using whole language techniques or some form of phonics.  For the last two years, there has been a major push to bring back phonics.  If you look on the Internet, the call to bring back phonics is almost worldwide.  The United States, England, and Australia are major supporters for bringing back phonics.  The “new methods” being discussed in schools and in university education departments include phonics or balanced literacy, which is phonics and whole language combined.  What has this push for phonics given us?  Fewer children being able to read.  No, whole language is not the answer; it’s part of the problem.  Phonics is not the answer either, and balanced literacy certainly has not proven to be effective.
 
The 2019 Nation’s Report Card shows that the average reading score for fourth graders is one point lower compared to test results in 2017.  For eighth graders, the average reading score is three points lower than the test results in 2017.  Why?  When schools are stressing phonics as well as balanced literacy more and more, why are reading scores getting worse?
 
Dr. Mark S Seidenberg, a cognitive neuroscientist for the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Language at the Speed of Sight:  How We Read, Why so Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It (2017), said:
 
“How reading is taught is indeed a significant part of the literacy problem in the US and other countries…. In the US, the conflicting and often strongly entrenched interests of various stakeholders—educators, politicians, scientists, taxpayers, labor organizations, parent groups—make it hard to achieve meaningful change within the existing institutional structure of public education.”  (p. 10)
 
The push to use phonics in the classroom is not supported by better test scores or by the number of children learning to read.  Phonics is also not being supported by scientific research:

• Jeanne Sternlicht Chall (1967) an advocate for systematic phonics, visited over 300 classrooms.  While she concluded that systematic phonics was superior to “look say” whole language in 90% of the classrooms, she also clearly stated and warned that a purely phonics approach would leave many students failing.

 

• Linnea C. Ehri studied 66 phonics vs. whole language groups and again found systematic phonics to be superior to whole language but also found that systematic phonics “… did not help low achieving readers that included students with cognitive limitations” (Ehri 2001). 

 

• As the National Reading Panel (National Reading Panel, 2000)  states,  “…systematic phonics approaches are significantly more effective than non-phonics [whole language]…. However, phonics instruction failed to exert a significant impact on the reading performance of low-achieving readers in 2nd through 6th grades….” (p. 94).  Phonics simply does not work for many students. 

 

• Gerald Hughes, Director of the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center and author of the book, Gifted—Not Broken:  Overcoming Dyslexia, ADD and Other Learning Challenges states that long-standing research shows that: “…20% of all children will show little or no lasting improvement in reading ability using phonics-based programs….using a phonics-based program on this particular group of children, is more than likely doomed to failure because it is focused on the very weaknesses of the child. Experience has repeatedly shown that when subjected to an extensive phonics-based program, many of these children will experience frustration, anger and ultimately continued failure.”

 

• In 2013, Tunmer and associates also stated from their research that Reading Recovery (often used to teach struggling students from the classroom) was also not effective with failing, struggling students.  As they stated, “Students with phonological difficulties did poorly [in Reading Recovery].” 

 

• Sebastian P. Suggate’s 2016 study compared 71 phonemic and phonics intervention groups and found that “… phonemic awareness interventions showed good maintenance of effect… phonics tended not to.”

 
So, why, when other research-based methods have been proven to be better, do the schools keep teaching phonics?  We must stop letting old worn-out ideas and theories stand in the way of teaching methods that improve learning in the classroom.

• Neuroimaging research has changed how we view reading:  “Today scientists can actually watch the brain as it works to read; scientist can actually track the printed word as it is perceived as a visual icon and then transformed into the sounds (phonemes) of language and simultaneously interpreted from the meaning that is stored within the brain” (David A. Kilpatrick in Equipped for Reading Success, pp. 59-68).

 

• Reading is more than merely associating letters and sounds: “In order to read, a child must ‘enter the language system;’ this means that the child must activate and use the brain circuits that are already in place for oral language…. Tens of thousands of neurons carrying the final phonological messages necessary for language…. Connect to form the resonating networks that make skilled reading possible….” (Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia, 2003, pp. 59-68).

 

• The new scientific understanding -- orthographic mapping:  “Until recently, almost everyone thought that we store words by having some type of visual image of every word we know….  Many teaching approaches [like phonics and whole language] presume this. We assume that if students see the words enough, they will learn them. This is not true…. I believe this assumption that we store words based on visual memory is a major reason why we have widespread reading difficulties in our country…. The big discovery regarding orthographic mapping is that this oral “filing system” is the foundation of the “filing system” we use for reading words. We have no “visual dictionary” for reading that runs alongside our oral dictionary.”

 
In an interview with the National Institute of Health, Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a leading reading expert, stated that "Teaching matters and good teaching can change the brain in a way that has the potential to benefit struggling readers." 
 
In my program, vowel clustering teaches children to decode or break words down into letter sounds and then to encode or reassemble those sounds back into pronounceable words.  Vowel clustering is not a form of phonics and does not use the phonics teaching approach. Vowel clustering teaches reading, handwriting, spelling, fluency, comprehension, and oral reading.  Vowel clustering has been tested and proven to work with all students, including struggling, at risk, and failing students.  There are new methods available. 
 
So, why are we allowing children to continue to fail in reading?  We need to throw out phonics, whole language, balanced literacy, and Reading Recovery. We need to start start over.  It’s time to put an end to reading failure.
 
Just as at my previous sites, at my Corpus Christi reading clinic, with the Reading Orienteering Club, children are improving in reading each and every day.  These are children who failed in the public-school and some in private schools.  We even had two students move up two grade levels in reading after only 48 hours of instruction this fall.  Yes, we can teach children to read; we just refuse to change from whole language and phonics and do so.

A parent recently asked me, “Your program’s different.  I want my child to learn to read.  Why aren’t you sitting down and helping my child read?”
 
I smiled. I explained that we have more than eight years of research evidence proving the methods and program that I use. I explained that:

• Students who failed under whole language in the school classroom have come to the Reading Orienteering Club—and then returned to the classroom reading at their age level.  Even if a student has been retained, we emphasize sending the child back to the classroom reading at their actual age level—not grade level in school.  Some children have moved up 4 grade levels in reading in one year.
  
• A group of students continued to fail after the school placed them in Reading Recovery, but the same students succeeded with my method of vowel clustering.  They returned to the classroom reading at age level.
• Even when failing special needs students had been placed into one-on-one pull out programs in phonics and still didn’t learn to read, they came to my reading clinic and succeeded.  They learned to read.
• Students who failed under “balanced literacy,” a common school program that combines whole language and phonics, also learned to read at age level using vowel clustering.  We even had two students move up two grade levels in reading after only 48 hours of instruction.

We have 8 years of research evidence to prove that vowel clustering works.

I am not the only psychologist who is publishing research evidence showing that children who are failing in the classroom can be taught to read.  Neuroimaging research shows that:

• Phonemic awareness is the key to improving reading skills--intensive training in phonemes (letter sounds)  allows even struggling at risk students to make significant improvement in reading (Meyler, Keller, Cherkassky, Gabrieli, & Just, 2008).
• Decoding skills are essential. Keller and Just (2009) explain it this way: “…the instruction specifically improved phonological decoding skills more than the standard reading curricula did." (Keller & Just, 2009). 
  
• Leading reading experts Shaywitz and Shaywitz and their colleagues showed in 2004 that: “…the use of an evidence-based phonologic reading intervention facilitates the development of those fast-paced neural systems that underlie skilled reading.”
  

 
As we said under Reason #2 that reading scores have dropped, confusion and misinterpretation often lead to reading failure.

So, you see, we have actual proof of teaching methods that work with at risk struggling students in reading, and we should not let fear stand in the way of using these methods and teaching a child to read. 
 
No, I do not recommend that we experiment with any and every new thing that gets placed on the Internet. Instead, I am suggesting that we need to turn to proven, research-based scientific teaching methods that are available. 
 
Don’t let fear of change keep a child from learning to read.

I want to talk about confusion on the part of teachers, administrators, advocates for particular teaching methods, university education departments, and politicians. I’m not talking about confusion from the student’s perspective, although at-risk students are often confused by teaching methods and we’ll talk about that later. Yes, confusion and misinformation are two of the major reasons we have reading failure in the United States. 

With the Internet, information is a mere fingertip away.  Yet, we must remember that anyone can post information about reading on the Internet which unfortunately leads to lots and lots of misinformation.  There is not a “fact checker” for educational writing as there is for political statements; even though, we desperately need one.  In academia, research journal articles must pass a review to ensure that the information in the article is correct.  No, this is not always perfect, but reviews do ensure a certain degree of imparting correct information that the Internet does not give us.
 
One example of how this problem affects children in the classroom comes from a well-known publisher of school curriculum.  Houghton Mifflin, a nationwide publisher and distributor of reading curriculum to public schools, made the following summary statement of the findings of the 2000 National Reading Panel Report: “Synthetic phonics instruction is the most effective approach.”  This statement was made on page 2 of their summary entitled:  How Houghton Mifflin Reading Meets the Criteria for Effective Reading Instruction, as Established By The National Reading Panel Report. This summary distributed to schools comes from Houghton Mifflin’s marketing department—not their research department.

Unfortunately, if you go back to the actual report, the National Reading Panel’s findings are quite different from the Houghton Mifflin summary.  On page 2-93, the reading panel states, “systematic phonics approaches are significantly more effective than non-phonics.” 

First, systematic and synthetic phonics are two totally different teaching methods. Synthetic phonics teaches students to sound each letter sound and letter combination individually and then to blend these sounds back into word pronunciations. Systematic phonics teaches students in an explicit sequence.
Dr. Timothy Shanahan, member of the National Reading Panel, clarifies the difference:

“The NRP concluded that early, explicit, systematic phonics teaching gives kids a learning advantage. Systematic, not synthetic.”

Second, the reading panel was comparing whole language and phonics.  The reading panel’s conclusion is quite different than Houghton Mifflin’s conclusion.  Yes, reading the actual National Reading Panel’s report is cumbersome and it may be difficult for the general population to understand.  Still, when we summarize research or restate research findings, we must make absolute certain that we summarize and restate those findings accurately.  This one statement by Houghton Mifflin has led many people to conclude that the National Reading Panel said synthetic phonics is best, when in fact, that is not what the National Reading Panel concluded from their research.  Yes, it makes a huge difference to at-risk students who are failing in reading when you prescribe a teaching method that has been proven to be ineffective.
 
Another fact from the actual National Reading Panel report on p. 2-94 that is often ignored is their statement that “phonics instruction failed to exert a significant impact on the reading performance of low achieving readers in second through sixth grade….”  The panel did not draw a definite conclusion from this research data, but said more research was needed before conclusions could be made.  Yet, their findings did highlight that problems do exist between at-risk readers and the phonics teaching method.  We’ll talk more about this later.  At this point, I only want to highlight that sometimes Internet reports and summaries do not actually report the total findings; therefore, confusion and misinformation abounds.  Confusion and misinformation often keep children from learning to read.  Therefore, when we report on scientific research findings, we must report all of the findings, not just the findings that support the teaching method that you think is best.
 
If we are to teach students how to read (and we can), we must learn to read and report scientific findings correctly.  Such confusion on the part of adults can lead to failure for many students.       
If an administrator, school, or teacher believe the National Reading Panel actually said that synthetic phonics is the best way to teach children to read, then they formulate classroom instruction based upon this misstatement of the facts, such confusion and misstatements become a failing policy decision.  Children are often irrevocably harmed by such decisions.  Look once again at the fact that reading failure increased in 2019. [see my blog post from 10-31-19]
 
Another point of confusion that can harm children struggling to read in the classroom is Internet writers that claim a link with scientific research, but in actuality, make claims that are not supported by scientific research. 
 
Confusion abounds on the Internet.  Anyone can write a blog or tweet a comment.  No one checks for accuracy.  So, how do you know when you are reading accurate information on the Internet or when you’re just reading someone else’s opinions?

Some journalists and other writers, who may write and publish on the Internet, write to support their particular viewpoint rather than just reporting the facts.  We all use research to support our point of view or our theory, but we must make sure that we report all of the facts and let our readers draw the conclusions.  When journalists or Internet writers do not report their actual research but just give generalized summaries, they often distort research findings and/or misrepresent what a researcher said. 
 
One example comes from a well-known educational journalist and writer on reading, Emily Hanford.  Ms. Hanford states, “They [children] need explicit, systematic phonics instruction. There are hundreds of studies that back this up.”
 
Remember, Ms. Hanford is a journalist and she did admit that this is an opinion article, but then she states that “hundreds of studies” claim systematic phonics instruction is what these children need.  Her cited research does not back up her claim that “hundreds of studies” insist that systematic phonics is the answer to teaching children how to read.  If you click on the link she provides, the research evidence is not there.  Her list of “hundreds of studies” actually includes 5 actual studies, one concerning IQ scores, one on textbooks, a review article, the 2000 Reading Panel Report, and a 1996 study on “phonological deficits.”  None of the listed “studies” (other than the National Reading Panel Report) confirm that “systematic phonics instruction” is best or even good.  The remainder of her list includes commentary style articles—editorial comments are not scientific studies and cannot be classified as such. 

Yet, this article by Ms. Hanford is published and readily available.  Such misinformation is dangerous to children struggling to learn to read, especially when people take the statement “hundreds of studies” as true without checking the sources.
 
 If you can find “hundreds of studies,” particularly well researched scientific studies, that claim systematic phonics instruction is what children need to become successful readers, then I want to read those studies.  When opinion pieces make unsupported claims most readers do not go back and search for verifiable research that supports such claims.  Confusion and misinformation result.
 
Confusion and misinformation have caused children to struggle in school and fail in reading.  This is just one example; there are many.  Confusion abounds in reading education.
 
This is one of the reasons that my blog posts give you direct quotes and links to the actual research studies.  I want you to have the facts.  I want you to be able to verify every single statement that I make. 
 
Next, we will look at some of these research findings for each of the teaching methods used in the classroom today.  Let’s search for the truth because when we use false information or incorrect information, our children pay the price.  Reading failure is too high a price to pay for confusion, misinformation, and misrepresentation of the facts.  Our children deserve better.  Get the facts.  Do not just assume because something is in print on the Internet that it is correct.  Do not simply assume because someone presents credentials that what they say is correct.  Dig more deeply.  Insist upon Internet writers that provide you with links to the actual research that they are talking about.  Don’t just assume someone is correct--not even me.  Search for the facts; don’t let confusion destroy a child’s chance to learn to read.

At present, the most common teaching methods being used in public school classrooms are whole language, phonics, blended literacy, and cueing. Whole language simply does not work (Yoncheva, Wise, & McCandliss, 2015), neither does phonics (Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia, 2003),  and even when you blend the two together for blended literacy they still do not work (see my blog post from 11/20/18 for more research).  I’ll write more about the problems with each of these teaching methods in the coming days. In this post, I’ll discuss teaching methods in general. Yes, students are failing in reading because of the methods that we use to teach them how to read [see my blog posts of 11-2-18, 9-28-18, 8-26-18, 8-18-18, 8-4-18].
 
Let’s first define terms:
 
Whole language is a teaching method that emphasizes recognizing whole words.
Phonics is a method of teaching reading that group’s letter sounds together and teaches rules that predict when these sounds will appear in a word.
Blended literacy may combine whole language and phonics teaching techniques, and/or it may also involve incorporating technology. 
Cueing is a system of three techniques taught to children to help them interpret word meanings.
 
As you may have already guessed, each of these teaching methods has many different definitions and many different teaching approaches; unfortunately, each of these teaching methods is still in use in the classroom even though they have all been proven to be ineffective.  That is why as we look at our 20 reasons for reading failure, we will examine each of these teaching methods in detail.
 
For now, I simply quote Dr. Sally Shaywitz (see Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia, 2003) she explains the problem best, “Children do not learn to read by memorizing a word list.  Most children, especially those who struggle in reading, do not learn to read by memorizing phonics rules” (p. 78). 
 
Dr. G. Reid Lyon, former Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), said in 1997 when he testified before Congress, the primary reason so many children were failing to learn to read was the methods with which we teach reading (Lyon, 1998).  It was true in 1997, and unfortunately it is still true today.  The teaching methods that we use to teach reading in the classroom are the primary reason that reading scores have dropped in 2019 and that so many children are failing to learn to read.
 
Yes, students who are presently failing can be taught to read.  We have proof. Neuroimaging research clearly shows that at-risk students, who have previously failed in reading, can be taught to read (Keller & Just, 2009).  The neuroimaging study by Keller and Just (2009) showed at-risk children improving in reading.  It’s not the students.  It’s not even the teachers.  The reason that we are failing to teach children to read is the teaching method(s) that we are using to teach reading (Foorman et al., 2015).  It’s time for a change.
 
At my Reading Orienteering Club program this fall, we had two students move up two grade levels in reading after only 48 hours of instruction.  Yes, we can teach children to read, even children who have failed for multiple years (see my blog post from 4/12/19). Unfortunately, we refuse to change our teaching methods. 

Giving a child a book to read? That is one of the best gifts you can ever give, but simply giving a child a book will not teach the child to read.  Nor can you teach a child to read by having them simply sit and listen to you read, even though reading to a child is so very special and important in a child’s development. 
 
Every child should have someone sit down and read at least one book to them every single day, but simply reading to a child is not enough. 
 
As I noted in my previous blog post, reading scores have dropped substantially across the nation.  Why?
 
Most reading experts and researchers say that reading failure is caused by the way we teach reading in the classroom (Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2015).  Yes, the teaching methods that we use in the classroom are causing students to fail in reading (for more research, see my blog post from 9/14/19).  Notice that I did not say teachers. I said teaching methods. Most public-school teachers do not choose the teaching methods that they use in the classroom. Administrators, school boards, and often politicians choose classroom teaching methods. Research shows that many administrators, school boards, and politicians are choosing the wrong teaching methods.
 
I am starting a new blog series, entitled Twenty Reasons Reading Scores Have Dropped.  Over the next couple of months, we will look in depth at 20 reasons that reading scores, according to the Nation’s Report Card, are lower in 2019 than they were in 2017. Stay tuned for more posts in coming days.