Good evening internet denizens! Yes, I’m back. Why am I back? I finally have a break in my workload. Yes, I’m still a full-time teacher in a pandemic. Turns out, this leaves very little time for trivial things like cleaning, socially-distanced socializing, or blogging, or twittering. (Hi, Twitter followers, and those who share my posts on Facebook. Sorry I left. But quick note: I’m Akiva, not Aviva. Verrrrry different. Look it up).
So. Everyone is struggling. I’m struggling, you’re struggling. But children with reading difficulties often struggle the most, because they have to depend on the grown-up strugglers like you and me. This series of posts is aimed at you, their families and teachers. The posts in this series (except this one, sadly, due to some MEA scheduling conflicts) will also be posted in Spanish, courtesy of a friend of mine, to reach as many people as possible. I’m unable to pay to get it translated into Somali, Hmong, Arabic, Karen, or any of the other languages I know it should be translated into, and for that I’m deeply and truly sorry. I will try to save up some money and get it translated, if I can. I know that’s not enough, but right now it’s all I can give.
First of all, let me say this: this series is for you, and your student. You deserve accurate information about how children learn to read. You also have the right to advocate for your child. Especially if you suspect, or know, that your child is a struggling reader. If you feel that something isn’t right, say something. Say a lot of somethings. Don’t let people brush you off. If the school or teacher makes you feel hesitant, or like you are a nuisance, that is not your fault. That is something that the school or teacher needs to work on. Trust me, I’m a teacher. It’s my job, and my school’s job, to serve you and your children. There is nothing wrong with asking us to do our jobs. If a teacher or school insinuates that you are a nuisance for insisting that your child learn to read, then I would humbly submit that you reconsider if that teacher or that school is right for your child.
With that in mind, here’s what I’m going to do in this series of posts.
Post 1: Identifying a Struggling Reader at Home
Post 2: Phonemic Awareness
Post 3: Phonics, Part A
Post 4: Phonics, Part B
Post 5: Fluency and Connected Text
Post 6: Vocabulary, Background Knowledge, Comprehension
Post 7: A Deeper Look at Multisyllabic Words
Post 8: Becoming a Strong Reader
Post 9: Minnesota Resources for Struggling Readers
Post 10: Advocacy Opportunities and Final Thoughts
This post serves as an introduction to the series, just as a roadmap to let you know where we’re going with this. Yes, I am committing to all 10 posts. I will make them as regular as I can. It’s a crazy time, and in my own small way, I want to help. This is how I’ve decided to do it.
Before I get started, I thought I’d put this out there and leave an open call to families and teachers. What concerns you about the reading instruction your student is getting right now? What do you wish you knew? What knowledge are you hungry for? What do you want to read from me in this series; is there anything in my list that I’m missing?
What I want, what we all want, is to avoid situations like the one in this video. Our children deserve reading instruction that works, not instruction that teaches them to guess and sets them up to struggle.
Stay safe out there, and sound off in the comments.
MN Edu Obsession 
Incredibly grateful for your insights and perspective, and for your focus on struggling readers. Looking forward to reading your series.
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Thank you, Sara, I appreciate it! Please let me know if there is anything you want to make sure I cover specifically.
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echoing that gratitude! I was just looking up how on earth to teach my kid phonics. Looking forward to your posts! Your last series was how I became aware of the three cueing method, which has its hooks in my seven year old. Very excited to stop the guesswork and get him some phonics instruction!
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Hi Mary! I tried replying to this from my WordPress Dashboard but it didn’t go through; hopefully this way will work. Thank you for your kind words. I am so glad that you are wanting to work on phonics with your child. I am going to try to have that first post up soon, but in the meantime feel free to email me at akivalocal@gmail.com if you have more specific questions in the interim.
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