November/December 2009 NewsletterDecember 7, 2009
November/December, 2009
An update from the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation Learning Centres for Children –
WORDS
Frequently in the last few months, I have been part of, or exposed to, conversations about the role of vocabulary in reading development.
One of the workshops I attended at the International Dyslexia Association Conference in November included a section on just that. The presenter explained that, by the age of 3, average children in a professional family have been exposed to 45 million words. Children of the same age in an underprivileged family will have heard only 13 million words. That's a 32 million word gap! This was not a new stat to me but it is one that hasn't lost any power. We're talking about a richness of words too – “travel” instead of “go”. Equally sobering was the research supported statement that oral vocabulary in grade one predicted reading comprehension ten years later! It’s not enough to teach children to decode words if they are not able to grasp what those words mean.
One of the keynote addresses at the Conference was delivered by Dr. Charles Perfetti, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Learning Research and
So, what does all this mean for us? Well, for me there is that challenge to throw those ‘rich’ words into conversation with children, making sure that they understand what I mean, either through context or direct instruction. We also need to be deliberate and take time, in the midst of the reading we do with children, to talk about the new words we encounter. These are powerful and important conversations and must not be limited to classrooms and tutoring sessions.
Use your words well!
Thelma Gregan, Director
CENTRE CALENDAR
December 11-12– Barb here for Training, Testing and Observations
December 19– Last Tutoring Sessions for 2009
January 4– Centre reopens for 2010!
BOOK WORM
The race is on to complete the goal of encircling the Centre with our bookworm in 2009. Don’t forget to fill in a segment with the title of your most recent book - email contributions greatly appreciated!
RECYCLING AND
If you’ve stopped by the Centre in the past month, you will have noticed that we have begun a sharing bookcase for recycling used books. The idea is that you might take away something that looks interesting to you, or leave a book that you have already enjoyed. It doesn’t need to be an exchange – just a chance to share. Please take a few minutes to see if there is something that looks like you! Hey, working with a tight budget? Get your Christmas gifts here and share the gift of reading with someone you love!
CONTACT US
Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of
Learning Centres for Children – Halifax
1A
Phone (902) 405-3895
Email: thelma@srlcfc.com
Website: www.dyslexiacentrehalifax.com BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!
Close to sixty Centre friends joined us for our Third Birthday Party Open House on October 25th! It was a wonderful celebration with great food and lots of smiles and conversation. Thanks to all who participated in some way.
Miriam, Devin and Josh blow out the candle!
INTRODUCING GINGER SOFTWARE
“The Write Solution”
The Exhibition Hall at the IDA Conference is an amazing place to see the newest assistive technology people with learning difficulties. One of the most outstanding products I saw demonstrated was “Ginger Software”. This software corrects whole sentences with one click and tracks errors and corrections so you can learn from them. A brochure explaining more about it is on the bulletin board in the reception area and a free trial version is available from their website: www.GingerSoftware.com. If you like what you see, there is a 10% off code from the Conference which is good until the end of December. (IDA 0910). Let me know what you think!
Wishing you joy, anticipation, wonder and peace as we enter this Christmas Season.
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