ISSUE A publication of the Tennessee Branch of the International DYSLEXIA Association 19 Volunteer Voice MARCH 2010 this issue From the President P.02 RISE Conference P.07 ITS Corner P.09 Service Area Reports P.12 Membership Form P.13 Board P.14 Mission Statement The mission of the Tennessee branch of the International Dyslexia Association (TN IDA) is to support the goals of IDA by providing professional development and training opportunities for teachers, assisting families in their search for service providers, actively working with policy makers to improve state and local education and services for teachers and individuals with dyslexia and related disorders and increasing the awareness of families and professionals. Get Familiar with the Law by Helen Dainty, Ph. D. President TN-IDA In 2008, The Tennessee State Department of Education revised the Special Education Manual. This is an important document which needs to be reviewed and book-marked by every educator, administrator, special education director, and parent who knows or works with a child with a disability. Unfortunately there is much misinformation about special education and services, and it is our duty to be sure we are familiar with and adhering to the guidelines and laws under the auspices of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments (IDEA, 2004). The following link will provide you access to the aforementioned manual:* Although dyslexia is not a Òstand aloneÓ disability in the state of Tennessee, it does meet the criteria to be identified as a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). If one goes to page 56 of the state manual, you will note the definition of SLD as, Òa disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, and that adversely affects a childÕs educational performance.Ó The definition goes on to state that it includes such conditions as dyslexia. The special education manual continues to discuss if a (continued pg. 4) Calendar Events 4/17 RISE Conference 10/27-30 IDA Conference, Phoenix, AZ * http://www.state.tn.us/education/speced/doc/80608SEMManualfinal.pdf Helen Dainty Winter is often thought of as a dormant time of year. However, during this winter your TN-IDA board has been working hard to bring you, our members, quality programs and information. Most of the winter months have been spent preparing for our 8th annual Reading Instruction Successfully Enhanced (RISE) Conference. The conference this year is returning to a former site, Currey Ingram Academy in Brentwood, TN on Saturday, April 17. There are four strands with programs ranging from preschool through college transition. If you want to learn about dyslexia, know someone who has dyslexia, or want to advocate or teach someone with dyslexia, the RISE Conference is for you. The conference begins with a keynote address by Debbie Silver followed by 52 educational sessions. Please join us for an educational and enlightening day of learning and exploration and bring a friend to share the experience. Even though the RISE Conference is our major endeavor, multiple events take place throughout the course of the year. There have been over ten events sponsored by TN-IDA throughout the state. Be sure to bookmark the following links to TN-IDA and the International Branch so you can be aware of and participate in events throughout the year. In an attempt to provide universal access, we will be reconstructing our website. The website will utilize Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) which provide equal access and equal opportunity for persons with disabilities. Both modern browsers and software are compatible with CSS. Stacey Plant will reconstruct the website over the next few months with a final launch date of April 10, 2010. Continuing with our Ògoing greenÓ and recognizing the distance across our state and the many service areas, we held our first ever phone conference meeting on February 6. It was a snowy winter morning yet we were still able to meet. Several groups met in their service areas and others called in as individuals. Our first phone conference was another TN-IDA successful endeavor! Although I am the President of the TN branch of IDA, I am just one of many. TN-IDA is composed of six service areas, approximately 23 board members, and almost 120 members. I would like to publicly thank my board, who are the most dedicated and hard-working people I know. I would also like to thank you, our members for supporting all our endeavors, and I want to encourage you to become as involved as your schedules allow. If you have an interest in serving as a board member, please contact me. We have a responsibility to all individuals with dyslexia and together we can make a difference. 2 | Volunteer Voice Important Links Tennessee Branch of the International Dyslexia Association http://www.tn-interdys.org International Dyslexia Association http://www.interdys.org Helen Dainty email htdainty@gmail.com Volunteer Voice | 3 (continued from pg. 1) child is being taught within the general education setting with scientifically research based methods and is still not achieving proficiency on grade level standards in written expression, basic reading skills, reading fluency, and/or reading comprehension, the child may be considered as having a Specific Learning Disability. The International Dyslexia Association also identifies dyslexia as a Òspecific learning disability.Ó Part of TN-IDAÕs mission is to disseminate information to benefit families and professionals in order to better serve children with dyslexia or related disorders. Understanding current state definitions allows our members to have a knowledgeable voice from which to advocate. So, why are parents told in school districts that dyslexia does not exist and that the State of Tennessee does not recognize dyslexia? Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to that question but I do have a solution. LetÕs all become knowledgeable about dyslexia and specific learning disabilities and guarantee all children, as mandated by IDEA, a free, appropriate, public education. Knowledge is power and together we can make a difference. This article is dedicated to the memory of Fletcher Dyer. Fletcher is the son of one of our board members, Barb Dyer. Fletcher had a specific learning disability and in his memory we need to educate ourselves for the benefit of all children. ÒKnowledge is power and together we can make a difference.Ó Becoming a Fluent Reader by Jane N. Hannah, Ed.D. Most children learn to read despite the method used; however, approximately 20 percent of school-age children demonstrate significant struggles learning to read. As evidenced by the work of Sally Shaywitz, M.D., this struggle in reading is no longer viewed as a hidden disability. Dr. Shaywitz reports a difference in the activation of neural pathways when comparing skilled readers to those with dyslexia. She reports that skilled readers demonstrate strong activation in the back of the brain and less activity in the front. In contrast, as struggling readers age, brain imaging studies reveal increased activation in the frontal regions (Shaywitz, pg. 81). So, how does a child become a fluent reader if he/she is among the 20 percent who struggle to learn to read? In April 2000, the ÒReport of the National Reading PanelÓ reviewed evidence- based research and made recommendations for reading instruction. The panelÕs recommendations included the need to identify children before third grade who were Òat riskÓ for reading failure and to begin remediation strategies as early as possible. This panel stressed that a wait-and-see approach to intervention can have serious impact on a childÕs academic gains, as well as on his/her self-esteem. Recommendations from the National Reading Panel include the following (Shaywitz, pgs. 258 Ð 260): 1. Students need intensive, specialized instruction four to five days per week in a group no larger than four students. 2. Students should receive approximately 90 minutes of reading instruction on most school days for approximately three years. However, the longer the delay in receiving instruction, the longer it will take to remediate the deficit areas. 4 | Volunteer Voice Volunteer Voice | 5 3. Students should be provided high-quality instruction by highly qualified teachers. Louisa Moats, renowned educator, researcher and author says, ÒTeaching reading is rocket science.Ó Dr. Shaywitz goes on to say that Òa teacherÕs knowledge of how children learn to read, as well as her experience teaching a specific program, will ultimately determine the success of even the best reading programÓ (pg. 258). 4. Struggling readers must receive explicit, systematic instruction in reading. It must be an interactive process between teacher and student, and the primary focus should not be about completing workbook pages or working on a computer program. 5. The panel recommended that a high- quality reading program should contain five instructional components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Of these five, three will be briefly discussed in this article and the other two, comprehension and vocabulary, will be discussed in later articles. Fluent readers understand that words are made up of small units of speech sounds. This skill is known as phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to 1) isolate sounds in a word (e.g., ÒWhat is the first sound in van?Ó); 2) recognize the same sounds in different words (e.g., ÒWhat sound is the same in fun, fall, and for?Ó); 3) recognize the word in a set of three or four words that has the ÒoddÓ sound (e.g., Which word does not belong? bat, bun, rug); 4) listen to a sequence of separately spoken phonemes (sounds) and then combine them to form a word (e.g., ÒWhat word is /m/ /a/ /t/?Ó); and 5) manipulate 6 | Volunteer Voice Volunteer Voice | 7 the individual sounds in words (e.g., ÒSay bat, say bat again but change the /b/ to /f/.Ó). Another early step toward becoming a skilled reader is a childÕs ability to turn letters into sounds, blend these sounds together to read words, learn different patterns of letters, and learn the rules and the exceptions to rules. This process is referred to as phonics. Research supports that the majority of students who struggle to learn to read demonstrate significant difficulty with the process of phonics. Did you know that 50 percent of the words you read are wholly decodable and 37 percent are only off by one sound (Reading First Initiative)? Once readers have accumulated the knowledge and strategies for decoding words, they rarely use context or pictures to help them attack an unknown word. The ultimate goal, however, in learning phonics is not to Òlearn to decode wordsÓ but to recognize words Òquickly and automatically so that they (students) can turn their attention to (continued pg. 10) 8 | Volunteer Voice Corner Welcome to our new ÒITSÓ corner: Ideas To Share with teachers and parents. Each newsletter we will feature a strategy that will help our children and students learn a skill. We encourage our readers to submit their ideas to share to htdainty@ gmail.com. Together we can make a difference! ItÕs Doubling Time! Invented by Helen Dainty Use math to determine when you need to double the final consonant before adding ÒingÓ or ÒedÓ to a single syllable word. This works for all single syllable closed consonant words except for words ending in ÒxÓ where you just add the ending (fixing, fixed). 1. Look at your word and go directly to the vowel. hop jump look 2. Count the number of vowel(s) and place the number above the vowel(s). 1 1 2 hop jump look 3. Count the number of consonant(s) following the vowel(s) and place that number above the consonant(s). 1+1 1+2 2+1 hop jump look 4. Add the numbers together. 1+1=2 1+2=3 2+1=3 hop jump look 5. If you get a 2 for your answer then you need to double the final consonant before you add the ending. hopping hopped 6. If you get any other number just add your ending. jumping jumped looking looked Volunteer Voice | 9 (continued from pg. 8) comprehensionÓ (Steven Stahl, 1997). Until a child learns to read quickly and automatically, he/she usually chooses to read as little as possible because so much energy is used just to read each word. Thus, the importance of fluency is recognized. Meyer and Felton define fluency as Òthe ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decodingÓ (1999, pg. 284). To gain fluency in reading, children must not only learn and apply the rules and strategies for decoding individual words, but they must also read large amounts of material at their independent reading level. Independent level (or easy text) is the level at which a person can read 95 percent of the words accurately (or no more than 1 word in 20 is difficult). Thus, a portion of reading instruction includes reading books at the independent level. Sometimes, teachers will give independent level reading assignments to be completed at home. Even if the book seems too easy, it is an important component of the total reading program, and the struggling reader must read ÒeasyÓ text many times. Asking a child to read only books at his/her frustration level will not build fluency and will only make him/her dislike reading. The frustration level is the level at which one in 10 words is difficult. The U.S. Department of Education suggests that oral reading rate and fluency should be between 66 and 104 words per minute for students in second grade, 86 to 124 words per minute for students in third grade, and 95 to 130 words per minute for students in fourth grade (Taylor, Harris, Pearson, & Garcia, 1995). Below are several suggestions that you can implement at home to help your child become a fluent reader: 1. Read with your child at least three to five nights each week. The Òbrain learns by practiceÓ (Shaywitz, pg. 188). 2. Have your child listen to you read while following along with his/her finger or a guide. 3. Practice reading lists of irregular words that do not follow a pattern (e.g., what, have, was, said). You can make games with these words. 4. Read together (Òchoral readÓ) with your child - you and your child read at the same time while using a guide (or finger) as you read. 5. Re-read the same book at least four times. Memorizing a story, however, is not reading. 6. Read, re-read and then tape a favorite story and send the tape to a relative. 7. Allow your child to read many books or poems at his/her independent reading level and read them more than once. In closing, it is critical that struggling readers be identified early. They also must receive systematic, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics. It must be delivered in small groups and last long enough to show positive results. Then, children should read material many times that will increase his/her fluency and be taught to apply acquired skills in their reading and writing. Teaching reading truly is Òrocket science.Ó 10 | Volunteer Voice campspringcreek.org ¥ info@campspringcreek.org ¥ 828-688-10002010 Camp Looks Great! Art Classes, Woodshop, SwimmingWater Skiing, Kayaking, River TubingHiking & Camping, Artist Studio ToursSupervised Study Hall, Keyboarding & Writing SkillsSupervised Independent Reading1-on-1 Orton-Gillingham Tutoring! ÒItÕs really amazing. It usually takes me four months to read one book but here, IÕve read three books in one month!Ó Ð Jake Magruder, 2009 Camper Offering ÒflexÓ Schedule Camp Programs for Dyslexic Kids Ages 6-14. Start on one of 4 SundaysÑEnd on one of 2 Fridays2010Dates through: June 20th to Aug. 6th ¥ Camp Spring Creek is One of Only 3 AOGPE Accredited Camps in the Country! ¥ Volunteer Voice | 11 References: Hayes, D.A. & Stahl, S.A. (1997). Instructional Models of Instruction. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Meyer, M. S. & Felton, R. H. (1999). Repeated reading to enhance fluency: Old approaches and new directions. Annals of Dyslexia, 49, 283-306. Shaywitz, S. (2006). Overcoming Dyslexia. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Taylor, B., Harris, L.A., Pearson, P.D., & Garcia, G. (1995). Reading Difficulties (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. (* This article is a re-print from the 12/04/08 edition of the Pony Express.) Service Area Reports Diana Shepard, Service Area 1 VP Service Area 1 Service Area 1 sponsored a very successful dyslexia forum this past October. Even though it occurred during a torrential rainstorm, attendance was good. We had a majority of educators in attendance and made some good contacts with parents. The forum was made up of educators, an attorney, parents, an advocate and a private tutor. Evaluations of the event were positive. The Utah video was very informative and we had a good question and answer period at the end. As a result, we have been contacted by a local school system to come and present a power point presentation on the symptoms and treatment of reading disabilities. This was our second annual forum and we look forward to sponsoring the third one in October, 2010. Exhibits Committee The exhibits committee is very pleased with the caliber of exhibitors that are coming to the RISE Conference in April. Exhibitors include Camp Spring Creek in Spruce Pine, N.C., The Horizons School in Birmingham, ThirdWave Learning, Wilson Language Training, Learning Center in Buckhannon, W.V., EPS- School Specialty Intervention, and Really Great Reading. Also, Slingerland Institute for Literacy will have materials on a take one table. We will be offering door prizes from participating exhibitors so donÕt forget to visit each table in the exhibit hall. 12 | Volunteer Voice About The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Our Mission: The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is an international organization that concerns itself with the complex issues of dyslexia. The IDA membership consists of a variety of professionals in partnership with people with dyslexia and their families and all others interested in The AssociationÕs mission. We believe that all individuals have the right to achieve their potential, that individual learning abilities can be strengthened and that social, educational and cultural barriers to language acquisition and use must be removed. The IDA actively promotes effective teaching approaches and related clinical educational intervention strategies for people with dyslexia. We support and encourage interdisciplinary research. We facilitate the exploration of the causes and early identification of dyslexia and are committed to the responsible and wide dissemination of research based knowledge. Volunteer Voice | 13 OFFICERS President Helen Dainty Recording Secretary Karen Jones Treasurer Paul Thompson Membership Secretary Sandi Sanders Past President Latricia Phillips SERVICE AREA VPs Tri-Cities Service Area 1 Diana Shepard Smoky Mountain Service Area 2 Emily Dempster Southeast Service Area 3 Laura Graves North Central Service Area 4A Janet Camp South Central Service Area 4B Leslie Winter Delta Service Area 5 Molly Cameron Advisor to the President Martie Wood DIRECTORS Barbara Dyer (1) Chester Goad (2) Debbie Christiansen (2) Janet Sexton (2) Dana Work (3) Kim OÕKelly Wingate (3) Laura Graves (3) Lauren Duckworth (4A) Jean Hutchinson (4A) Lindsay Naylor (4B) Kathy Boles (4B) Jennifer Jordan (5) Molly Cameron (5) Deborah Bellamy (6) NOMINATING COMMITTEE Martie Wood (2) Cherrie Farnette (4A) Rosemary Williams (5) EditorÕs note TN IDA accepts paid advertising in the Volunteer Voice, however, TN IDA does not endorse any specific product, school, teaching method, publication, technology, etc. Furthermore, TN IDA encourages careful evaluation of any program before subscribing to its principles. Remediation for individuals with dyslexia is not one- size-fits-all. Likewise, IDA does not endorse any specific program, speaker, product or instructional material, noting that there are a number of such which present the critical components of instruction as defined by IDA. IDA supports efforts to provide individuals with dyslexia with appropriate instruction and to identify these individuals at an early age. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication. If, however, there are any errors, please accept our sincere apologies and notify the editor staceyjplant@gmail.com 14 | Volunteer Voice