All posts by Amy Kessler

Assessments 101: Identify and Address Why Your Students are Struggling

For Schools, Professional Development, RTI, , ,

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Students in Tiers II and III can spend years receiving services and still struggle in school. Many of these students lack the basic connections needed for reading and comprehension, and the root cause of their weakness may not be addressed with traditional interventions.

 

This does not have to be the case.

 

We believe all students can learn how to read and comprehend to their potential.

 

Reading requires an integration of component parts which must be developed for each individual. While individuals have learning differences, the processes required for reading are not different. The diagram below symbolically represents the subskills which integrate for independent, global reading.

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The Primary Cause of Weak Language and Literacy Skills

Reading is an integration of processing skills: phonological processing, word attack, orthographic processing, word recognition, contextual fluency, oral vocabulary, and comprehension. The primary cause of a weakness in language and literacy skills is a weakness in one or more of the following:

 

Phoneme awareness – The ability to auditorily perceive sounds within words.

Symbol imagery – The ability to create mental imagery for sounds and letters within words.

Concept imagery – The ability to create mental representations for the whole; the dynamic imagery of actions, scenes, movement, etc.

 

The right instruction can bring these abilities to consciousness and change an individual’s ability to read and comprehend.

 

Aligning Student Needs and Instruction

Use assessments to identify specific weaknesses (phoneme awareness, symbol imagery, or concept imagery); and turn those weaknesses into strengths by addressing them head-on.

 

Consider the following for students who have been identified for services:

 

1. Assessing the Skills Needed for Reading

Review your current testing protocol to ensure there is a clear picture for student ability in each of the component parts of reading. More general assessments will not provide the information necessary to make decisions about instruction.

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2. Addressing Individual Learning Needs

It is often easy to spot a student who is having a difficult time with reading. Skill assessments help educators know why their student is struggling as well as provide them with ideas for what to do to help.
For example, a student who struggles with reading may have good word attack skills but poor word recognition (see Student A below), or may have deficits in both areas (Student B). Some students may be struggling with reading comprehension due to a weakness in decoding (Students A and B), or may have a separate comprehension issue (Student C).

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3. Instruction That Makes the Connection

Instruction that changes learning is based on an individual’s needs. Use the results from the skills assessed to choose an intervention that will address the cause of your student’s weaknesses. Too often, students are provided with services that only address symptoms. For example, traditional reading remediation programs focus on how to sound out words as well as reading and spelling rules. While these activities have value, they do not affect how a student is processing language.

 

Lindamood-Bell’s research-validated programs address the imagery-language connection that is a silent partner to cognition and literacy—often the missing piece in helping students close the achievement gap. Our programs are listed below:

 

Reading and Spelling Programs

Seeing Stars (SI)

Symbol Imagery for Phonological and Orthographic Processing in Reading and Spelling

 

Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing(LiPS)

Phonemic Awareness for Reading, Spelling, and Speech

 

Comprehension Programs

Visualizing and Verbalizing(VV)

Concept Imagery for Language Comprehension, Thinking, and Memory

 

Talkies

Foundational Development in Concept Imagery, Oral Language Comprehension, and Expression

 

A note on group instruction:

Each of the sample students in the table above requires a different learning plan; those requirements, along with grade level performance, can be used for appropriate grouping.

 

Our unique programs can help diverse groups of students learn to read and comprehend to their potential, including students with minor to severe learning challenges and English Language Learners. Lindamood-Bell for Schools provides professional development to individual educators and groups; and we help schools set up RtI models that transform learning. Contact us to learn how to get started: 800-233-1819.

Homework 101: Tips for Better Study Skills

Helpful Tips

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As a parent, you know the importance of completing homework and strong study skills, yet many kids don’t know where to begin. To avoid the constant nagging, battles, and lost papers, it’s time to get your kids organized. After all, there’s no reason for both you and your kids to dread school.

 

Here’s how to help them hit the books and develop good study habits for a successful school year:

 

1. Start Strong


Make sure your child understands the directions for every assignment and/or task and takes the time to complete homework accurately. Have her read through written directions before beginning to work. Does she understand what she needs to do? Ask her, “What does that look like?” or “What do you picture for that?” For example, if the assignment is to read Chapter 2 of her history textbook, take notes on what she’s reading, and then answer the questions at the end of the chapter, make sure she is creating an image for each of these tasks. If not, she may miss an important piece of information and not receive full credit for the assignment. Also, remind your kids that school is not a race! The first one done with homework does not get a prize. The real prize is learning! Encourage your children to read carefully and think through their answers.

 

2. Encourage questions


Have your child ask questions if they aren’t sure what they are supposed to do or what is expected of them. Remind your child that it is always okay to clarify directions or check for understanding with their teacher. It’s better to ask a question and fully understand than it is to guess and complete work incorrectly. However, if you notice your child continues to struggle with understanding even after talking with his teacher, there could be a comprehension weakness interfering with his understanding.

 

3. Spend time on vocabulary


Before diving into new material, check on your child’s understanding of key vocabulary words. When she encounters an unfamiliar word, work with her to develop a mental picture for it. For example, rather than jumping to memorizing the definition of photosynthesis, ask her questions like, “What are you picturing for the sunlight? What do you see happening?”

 

To commit new terms to memory, flashcards are a great tool for practice. Have your child write the word on one side of the card. The other side should include the definition, a hand drawn picture, and a brief sentence using the word in context.

 

During practice, use language that prompts her to draw on her images. Instead of, “Do you remember the steps of photosynthesis?” ask, “What are you picturing for photosynthesis?” and “What do you see happening next?” If a term is unstable, flip over the card for her definition and drawing to discuss. Create piles for her “fast,” “medium,” and “slow” cards to help focus practice sessions.

 

4. Establish a steady pace


Make sure your child divides her studying time over a number of days, rather than leaving it all for the night before. Also, have your kids stay on top of homework—slow and steady progress throughout the year is a good way to prepare for tests. Trying to cram for a test the night before isn’t effective. It’s important that your child practices the imaging techniques he’s been working on while studying in order to apply to the content being covered on the exam.

 

5. Organize for efficient study sessions


Easy access to their review materials—practice tests, homework assignments, sample problems, the textbook, and class notes—will allow for a much less stressful study session. For example, have her put the main ideas/information/formulas onto a sheet that can be quickly reviewed. Make sure she is creating images for the key concepts, such as dates, names, places, new vocabulary, etc., that will be on the test to help with her understanding and recall.

 

We hope homework time is battle-free for your family this school year. If your child needs more help, check out Homework Matters at your Lindamood-Bell Learning Center. Homework Matters is supervised homework help, 1-4 afternoons per week. We create an environment that motivates and focuses students on getting their homework done. Our skilled instructors take the struggle out of homework for families by helping students get their work done. We can answer your child’s questions and assist when necessary. Homework Matters is available at our learning centers or online.

 
If you would like further information or have questions regarding your child’s language comprehension skills, please contact the learning center at 800.300.1818.

NBC WSMV-TV Channel 4 Nashville Reports on Lindamood-Bell Robot Helping Teachers

* News, For Schools, Professional Development,

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Photo Credit: DoubleRobotics Case Study Video

Lindamood-Bell for Schools Instruction Robot: News Roundup

  • NBC WSMV-TV Channel 4 Nashville Reports on Lindamood-Bell Robot Helping Teachers
  • Tullahoma News Reports on Instruction Robot
  • [Case Study] Lindamood-Bell for Schools Instruction Robot
  • Double Robotics Case Study: Lindamood-Bell Deploys 50 Doubles in Largest Deployment Yet

 

NBC WSMV-TV Channel 4 Nashville Reports on Lindamood-Bell Robot Helping Teachers

TULLAHOMA, TN (WSMV) –The coolest classroom gadgets on two wheels are making a difference and teaching Tullahoma City Schools students to read.

A group of third graders at Tullahoma’s Robert E. Lee Elementary School are taking part in a groundbreaking reading program now in its second year with the district.

Reading specialist Dr. Joanne Coggins is new to the program.

“This one helps students that have difficulty with reading words accurately and decoding words they don’t know,” Coggins said.

And with a new program comes a steep learning curve, even for the teacher. That’s where Jessica comes in.

More than 1,200 miles away in Denver, Jessica watches the reading group through cameras connected to a robot, which she controls from her keyboard.

Watch their news story and read the full article here.

 

The Tullahoma News Reports on Instruction Robot

The Tullahoma News interviewed school administrators and teachers about this groundbreaking literacy initiative for their article, “Young readers learn with help of robots”; and submitted a follow-up report, “Scores up following use of iPad Robots.”

 

[Case Study] Lindamood-Bell for Schools Instruction Robot

Student growth data, as well as more information about the programs and professional development employed in Tullahoma schools can be found in the following article: [Case Study] Lindamood-Bell for Schools Instruction Robot.

 

Double Robotics Case Study: Lindamood-Bell Deploys 50 Doubles in Largest Deployment Yet

Learn more about how schools are using technology to make Lindamood-Bell Professional Development more affordable than ever in a recent video case study produced by Double Robotics. Double Robotics is the creator of Double, the world’s leading telepresence robot:

From Double Robotics: “Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, a leading education services agency that provides professional development and best practices for teachers, has deployed 50 telepresence robots from Double Robotics in the largest deployment of Double Robotics to date.

Traditionally, a Lindamood-Bell staff member would travel onsite to a school and embed him/herself in the community by living there full-time, from anywhere between six months to a few years. Now, rather than sending a person, Lindamood-Bell sends a Double, allowing staff members to visit schools anywhere in the world, from Colorado to Alaska to Honduras, without having to spend the time or money associated with physical travel. Double allows Lindamood-Bell to provide the same high-quality instruction in a more efficient and cost-effective way. With Double, Lindamood-Bell employees to have greater flexibility to visit multiple sites per day or per week, all while saving the school thousands of dollars per year.”

Tips for Coaching Youth Sports: The Imagery-Language Connection for Sports

Comprehension, Helpful Tips, ,

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Did you recently volunteer for a coaching position? Have you coached before? Are you tired of yelling at your team but don’t know how to get them to follow directions? Do you want this year to be a more positive experience for you and your players? If you answered yes to any of these questions, a few simple changes to the language you use as a coach may help you create the success you’re looking for.
As a coach, it’s important to understand that your team is comprised of many players with different personalities as well as learning abilities. You may have a player, or players, with an identified comprehension weakness, or an ADHD diagnosis. Parents often pursue help for their child’s academics, but may not realize that their language comprehension concerns can also affect their performance in other areas of life, including sports.

 

A primary cause of language comprehension problems is difficulty creating an imagined gestalt (whole). This is called weak concept imagery. This weakness causes individuals to understand only “parts” of information they read or hear, but not the whole.

 

Check out some examples of how concept imagery issues can affect a child at school and on the field or court:

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The imagery-language connection is necessary for good thinking and communication, which is essential for a team to be successful. You may be able to help a struggling player (and the whole team!) by modifying the language you use while coaching. See the following tips for how to strengthen the imagery-language connection for your players:

 

Give Instructions

Establish the imagery-language connection to stimulate thinking and make sure you check for understanding.  For example, when giving your team instructions for a drill (e.g. “Dribble the ball to the far left cone. Leave it there and sprint back to the goal”), have them visualize the activity you are describing, and call on individuals to recall what they are picturing.

Discuss Strategies

Help your athletes monitor their understanding of their actions, as well as problem solving skills, by targeting specific images they’re creating. Teach them to continually ask themselves whether they understand what the consequences may be of certain actions, and if they’re able to picture the outcome: “If I do this, what might happen? What does that look like?”

 

Introduce New Vocabulary

Similar to subjects in school, sports have their own unique vocabulary. It’s important to ask questions, such as “What do you picture for for the words inning, dribble, defense, out of bounds, and guard?” Many coaches already familiar with the sport assume their players understand and are able to visualize these vocabulary words and concepts.  Identify your sport’s key words and phrases and ask players to visualize them. They should be able to tell you what they are picturing. If they don’t have a picture, they will have a difficult time understanding what the word or concept means. Create a diagram on a whiteboard or provide examples to assist with their understanding.

 

Post Game Recap

During discussions with your team after the game, ask imagery-stimulating questions. For example, instead of just asking, “What do you think we need to work on?” you can add, “What do you see yourself doing differently? What does that look like?” You can expand upon these questions to dive into their images even more, by adding choice/contrast questions like, “Do you you see yourself running faster or slower?” or “Do you picture yourself in the same part of the field as you were today or are you moving around more?”

 

If you need further information or have questions regarding ways to address language comprehension weakness, please contact us at 800.300.1818.

Lindamood-Bell eLearning for Teachers [VIDEO]

For Schools, Professional Development, ,

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Lindamood-Bell for Schools has a new way to help teachers.

 

Teachers who take an introductory workshop can now access Lindamood-Bell eLearning courses! Get prepared to use our programs with your students. Our eLearning courses address common questions about using our programs, feature small-group instruction demonstrations, and offer opportunities to ask our instructional experts about the content you’re learning.

 

These online courses are self-paced and tablet friendly, allowing you to take the course anytime, anywhere, at your convenience. Each course is approximately one hour and accessible for 30 days.

 

 

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Lindamood-Bell eLearning courses are an efficient way to get more familiar with the steps of our programs, so you can get back to making a difference for your students. Learn more and register here.

[Case Study] Lindamood-Bell for Schools Instruction Robot

For Schools, Professional Development, , , ,

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It might sound strange, but with the help of robots, a school district in Tennessee is meeting the learning needs of its struggling readers like never before.

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Tullahoma City Schools serves a large percentage of students who are at-risk of reading failure. In 2014, school leaders began an initiative to change how they serve students. They aimed to discover why their students were struggling and to make a difference for each of them. Like many students identified for intervention around the country, Tullahoma’s struggling learners were lacking basic connections needed for reading and comprehension.

 

Teachers attended Lindamood-Bell Workshops to learn the steps of Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking and Seeing Stars for Reading and Spelling.  These research validated programs address the imagery-language connection. To bolster the quality of instruction students would receive—especially from teachers who had only spent a few days at a workshop—they also partnered with Lindamood-Bell to provide job-embedded professional development throughout the year.

 

Lindamood-Bell provided onsite support in the classroom through the use of a state-of-the-art robot. This cost-effective solution was described by school administrators and teachers in The Tullahoma News and has transformed the lives of their students.

 

A recent article was published about the benefits to students. For growth data, the following case study:

 

Tennessee Students Receiving Seeing Stars® Instruction Make Significant Improvements in Reading

 

Background
Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Tullahoma, Tennessee, serves a large percentage of students who are at-risk of reading failure. During the 2015-16 school year, Lee implemented Lindamood-Bell® instruction to address the specific needs of this student population. Nineteen students received an average of 87 hours of primarily Seeing Stars instruction to develop symbol imagery for reading. Instruction was delivered by Lee teachers who received professional development in the Lindamood-Bell programs. Student gains were measured with a battery of reading assessments.

 

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Results
On average, Seeing Stars students achieved significant improvements in reading. They made large standard score changes on all measures. Additionally, the 32-point percentile increase in Symbol Imagery put these students within the normal range (25th-75th percentile). Their pre- to posttest results were statistically significant on all measures. The results of this study illustrate that Lindamood-Bell instruction in the Seeing Stars program leads to improved reading, which is essential to achieving success with school curricula.

 

Profile
School Years: 2015-16
Number of Schools: 1
Number of Students: 19
Grade Levels: 1st-5th

 

Lindamood-Bell Programs Implemented:
•Seeing Stars®
•Visualizing and Verbalizing®

 

Focus of Lindamood-Bell Services:

– Teacher Workshops

– Coaching via Telepresence Robot

– Instructional Leadership Support

 

Lindamood-Bell instruction can change learning for students, regardless of their previous struggle with language and literacy. Contact us to learn how your school can get started: 800-233-1819.

 

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{INFOGRAPHIC} Kindergarten, Here I Come! Creating the Magic of Learning Right from the Start

Australia, Instruction, , ,

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If your child is starting kindergarten this year, you know his teacher will have a long list of goals to accomplish before the end of the school year. To some degree, your child will definitely be working on:

 

  • Letter names and sounds
  • Sounding out for reading and writing
  • Sight word recognition and spelling
  • Printing letters and numbers
  • Understanding stories
  • Listening comprehension
  • Oral and written communication
  • Counting and understanding numbers
  • Addition and subtraction

Whether you are hoping to support your child’s learning at home, or are preparing your preschooler for next year, now is the time to familiarize your child with the activities they will be exposed to—so they can feel great about the new year. “Where to start?” may be on your mind.

 

You may already be following the common advice to “read with your child 20 minutes per day.” However, for parents of young learners, this advice can be somewhat confusing, considering all the new things your child is just learning how to do.

 

If you are like most parents, you wonder:

 

“What if my child can’t read yet? Does it “count” if I do the reading? What kind of books should we read? How do I know if my child is “getting it?” And, what about math?”

 

We answer these questions and more in our FREE Parent Guide:

 

DOWNLOAD: The 3 Best Activities for Boosting Kindergarten Learning

 

We break down the major goals of kindergarten into three categories: reading, comprehension, and math, and provide you with an activity to support each of them. A few adjustments to the daily reading you already do, such as asking your child about the letters in words and pictures in a story, can have a huge impact on school confidence!

 

Need more support for your child? Our learning centers provide Kindergarten Boost Instruction. Students can spend a few weeks working on the basics in order to make the school year easier. We work to strengthen the imagery-language connection as a foundation for reading, spelling, comprehension, and math. We want to help create the Magic of Learning right from the start of your child’s academic career! Learn More.

Lindamood-Bell Named a Top Back to Homeschool Resource of 2016

* News, Academy, Homeschool

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Homeschool.com researched products, curriculum, websites, and fun books, to come up with their Top Back to Homeschool Resources. We are honored to be chosen as one of the “best of the best!”

Check out Homeschool.com’s Top Back to Homeschool Resources.

Contact us to discuss how we can help your family go back to homeschool, and have a great year: 800-233-1819

It’s Not Too Late: A Lot Can Happen in One Week

Instruction,

It's-Not-Too-Late-Blog-Cover

If you’re like most parents, school is starting for your kids in just a few short weeks, maybe even sooner! Are you ready? Are your kids ready? You’ve been down this road before and know what to expect: excitement, nervousness, maybe a little trepidation about what the school year will bring.

 

If you feel your child isn’t quite ready to tackle the new school year’s curriculum, you may be wondering what you can do to help in such a short amount of time. It’s not too late! We can help get your student ready in as little as one week! One week? Yes!

 

Here’s what we can work on with your child in just one week of intensive instruction, or one more week if he/she is currently enrolled at one of our learning centers:

 

  • Help your student apply new sensory-cognitive processing skills to grade level content. Your child has just spent weeks learning how to image letters within words for reading and spelling, or image concepts for comprehension.   Now it’s time to apply these new skills to their schoolwork.   
  • Help your child use their improved vocabulary skills to incorporate new words into their writing.
  • Ensure your child, who worked hard to improve her concept imagery ability, is now pulling relevant content into her note taking and leaving the nonsense behind.
  • Work with your student to confirm his math skills are continuing to improve. Now that he’s worked on strengthening his numeral imagery and concept imagery skills, how are his math facts? Is he able to successfully solve word problems?  
  • If your student attended one of our learning centers last summer, it’s time to bring those skills back to conscious awareness after a summer of no school.
  • Build Independence in EVERY sensory-cognitive processing skill by asking the student to monitor herself!
  • Work with your child to continue to build her sight word base. The more sight words she recognizes, the more fluently she’ll read in context.
  • Get your child started with intensive instruction, so we can incorporate their new sensory-cognitive skills into their school day more easily.

 

In other words, in just ONE week (or one MORE week) we can make possibly the biggest difference of all—the one where your child will head back to school feeling confident and prepared.

 

We want the 2016-2017 school year to be your child’s best ever.  His backpack is full of supplies. Let’s make sure his brain is full of the skills necessary for success!

 
For more information on how one week of intensive instruction can make a difference, please contact your local learning center.

Afterschool Learning to the Rescue! Reasons to Get Help

Instruction, , ,

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If your family is like most, you’ve enjoyed summer break—and may not exactly be looking forward to the school year’s relentless schedule of project deadlines, events, and class obligations. And if last year ended on a sour note—either because your child has a learning difficulty or because getting through homework was just rough—you may be looking towards the new school year, and the increasingly challenging curriculum, with actual dread.

 

As you prepare for the new year, consider afterschool help to address the issues that are making school hard for your child. Though every student is unique, extra learning after school can make the year easier.

 

Stop the Homework Battles

Do you find yourself in full-on homework battles most nights of the week? It’s no surprise that most children and teens will dig in their heels when it comes to doing schoolwork. Can you blame them? It’s always tough to get started on something we don’t particularly enjoy. Most would prefer to be playing video games, chatting and texting with friends, riding their bikes, watching television—just about anything other than homework—especially after the school day.

 

To avoid the battles, parents should: 1) establish a daily homework routine  2) implement and monitor an organization system for assignments and projects 3) provide a distraction-free homework zone, and, 4) be available during homework time for questions and monitoring progress. Most kids benefit from structured homework time with parents, and having clear expectations can eliminate a lot of conflict.

 

But for many busy families, protected homework time is not always practical, at least not for every night of the school week. Whether it’s a work schedule that keeps us from homework help until after dinner, or the myriad other family activities bustling around the studying child—our best laid plans for homework time can quickly go out the window.

 

Homework Matters at Lindamood-Bell

Homework Matters is supervised homework help, 1-4 afternoons per week.

We create an environment that motivates and focuses students on getting their homework done. Our skilled instructors take the struggle out of homework for families by helping students get their work done. We can answer your child’s questions and assist when necessary. 

 

Improve Skills

Students who struggle in school may have a weakness that is affecting learning. Unfortunately, these students typically fall further behind as the year goes on. Students with poor comprehension, critical thinking, writing and memory may have weak concept imagery—the ability to create an imagined gestalt (whole) from language; students who are poor decoders and spellers, or slow readers, may have weak symbol imagery—the ability to visualize letters in words. These difficulties are not only frustrating for a student, but prevent them from accessing school curriculum.

 

Sensory-Cognitive Instruction at Lindamood-Bell

We start by identifying strengths and weaknesses that may be affecting performance in reading, comprehension, and math.  And, we make recommendations for individualized instruction plans that create learning gains. Sensory-Cognitive instruction is available at the learning center or online.

 

Build Confidence

Students who attend our learning centers may benefit from a bridge between their new skills and their school work. For example, a student who received comprehension instruction may have made great progress, but could use help applying his new skills to a book report assignment.

 

Application to Content at Lindamood-Bell

Students who have completed sensory-cognitive instruction at Lindamood-Bell can get help applying their new skills to school. 

 

Call us to chat about how you can use after school to make an impact on your child’s learning! 800-233-1819

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New to Lindamood-Bell? The first step is to see what may be affecting your child’s performance in the classroom. A learning evaluation will uncover the strengths and weaknesses that are affecting school. In a thorough results consultation, we will discuss an individualized learning plan to make school easier.