KEEP READING PROGRESS GOING IN THE CLASSROOM

Hot, Hot, Hot

Here comes a hot topic, or maybe I should say a “hot under the collar” topic, since so many of us have struggled with this issue.

Some weeks ago I wrote a blog that included tips for proving that your nonverbal child can read. (“Non-Verbal: Conquering Low Expectations for Your Child.”) I talked about using word lotto games, videotaping your child successfully working them, and sending that video to your child’s educators.

Trisha and Andrew

Trisha M. messaged me after reading the blog: “I have a 9 year old son, Andrew, who has Down Syndrome and has been diagnosed with severe apraxia. I just saw your post on Facebook about ‘proving’ our children can read. Brilliant! I did something similar. I actually went to the school, pulled a book off their bookshelf and made my son read it to the Sp Ed teacher last year. Since then, we have a different teacher and I am about to lose my mind with her. She’s keeping my 3rd grade son at a 2nd grade reading level when he can do so much better!”

So let’s dive further into this problem, which many of us have faced.

IEPs

Am I crazy, or is the function and purpose of an IEP to move the child forward in all areas of his education-related skills? And if an IEP fails to recognize a child’s current level in a specific area and therefore contains goals that the child has previously mastered, is there something wrong with this picture? Has the IEP in fact failed the child?

The answers to those questions are brainless, of course. But the school-related problem we run into, particularly with children who are either nonverbal or verbally limited (and the latter would apply to most of our children with Down syndrome,) is that, because of communication problems, educators often have a misunderstanding of the child’s actual ability. Which is why I devoted a blog to that topic; but that blog was geared to emergent readers identifying single isolated words. Let’s move on from that level.

Moving Our “Andrews” Forward

Visual proof in the form of a video of your child reading is worth a thousand passionate declarations that he can, in fact, read.

Numero Uno, remember that the video I’m going to suggest you create should be sent FIRST to the principal, then to the Special Ed supervisor/resource specialist/etc., and then to the teacher. (I got this order of preference from “on high,” from an Inclusion Specialist, who shall remain nameless in order to protect the innocent. What she actually said was, “Just send it to the principal; don’t send it to the teacher.” I thought that was rough advice, so I’ve modified it for you. If you prefer her original version, use it.)

You’ll create this reading video at home when your child is at his/her best. This eliminates the pressure of a command performance, (though Trisha was lucky and Andrew did a great on-the-spot job last year!)

Setting The Stage for the Video

Prepare reading material for your child with these guidelines:

• Use a single sheet of paper for the text
• Type it on computer; no handwriting; use a large font size
• NO PICTURES so there are no visual cues
• Write a simple paragraph that your child can easily read
• Make it dynamic, something that will impress the Powers That Be
• Make it clear: I always double-space between words to help with clarity
• Use a simple sans-serif font (e.g., Tahoma, Arial, etc.)

Make It Dynamic? Like How?

Let’s say your emergent reader has mastered the Pre-Primer high frequency word list and maybe some of the Primer level words, along with of course some high-interest words. You could create a text something like this, one short sentence to a line:

I  am  a  smart  kid.

I  like  to  read.

I  like  to  read  books.

Will  you  help  me  read  more  books?

You  will?

Cool!

Something so simple as that can mightily impress. It doesn’t have to be long (the principal doesn’t have time to watch a long video anyway); it just has to show that my child can read a page of type with no picture cues whatever.

Create it according to your child’s current reading level, whatever that may be, following the guidelines I listed above. Anyone viewing the video will see the obvious: there’s no way this child is faking it. He’s reading.

If Your Child Is Non-Verbal

Your video will be in two parts if your child is non-verbal. The first part will be your child signing each word he will be reading. Our kids with DS tend to be rather vague (not to mention inventive) when it comes to using sign language, so it’s important to document for the viewer the signs your child uses for each word. The second half of the video will be your child reading the page of text by signing.

This kind of video documentation is crucial for educators of kids who are non-verbal; typically, the teacher doesn’t have time to do this kind of creative sleuthing to find out what your child can or cannot read. But you can do it.

Zoe Reads “Peanut Butter Party“

A Text Short Cut

One short cut to creating a page of text is to print a page from one the Printable Discs in my Bundles (Pre-Primer, Primer, or First Grade Levels); all of the high-frequency word books on those discs are PDF files; you can scroll to the page you want and print just that page. Some of the pages have a picture on the page, some not; if the page you choose has a picture, cut it off and have the child read just the type for the camera.

The advantage of using this option is that the work is done for you, and the vocabulary is matched exactly to those three levels, using only high frequency words (which the schools dote on) and a few content words. So if your child is reading below second grade level at the moment, those materials would work.

The picture books included in those Pre-Primer and Primer Bundles also work, as I never put pictures with text at that emergent level; the illustrations always come after the page turn. (See Peanut Butter Party, Spaghetti, and I Want Pizza!) You could even have your child read one of those books in its entirety for your video; reading a “whole book” would definitely impress!

Second Grade and Above

For more advanced readers, build the page of text around something your child absolutely loves; you will want the video to record her being enthusiastic about what she’s reading. Enthusiasm sells, and you’re in the selling business with this. Just remember: no pictures. Just text.

Roll those cameras!