Product Description
A neuropsychologist shows how outmoded methods for teaching reading have resulted in plummeting literacy levels and offers a new program, based on careful research, that teaches any child–including those with attention deficits–to read well. 35,000 first printing. Tour.”… More >>
Why Our Children Can’t Read and What We Can Do About It
Tags: About, attention, attention deficits, Can't, careful research, children, DescriptionA, first printing, Literacy, literacy levels, neuropsychologist, outmoded methods, product, program, Read, Reading, research, teaching, teaching reading
#1 by Anonymous on January 30, 2010 - 1:41 pm
I think what we have going on here is a battle of the Perfect phonics program.
This book offers at least a wonderful introduction of the learning stratagies that most public school children are taught. We have teachers who are under qualified, P.E teachers teaching English ect. ect, but overall this book opens the door to a new approach to what happend to the childrens reading style.
The main arguements of the book are the way blends are connected, how words are incorrectly phonetically sounded out, the problems teachers make in teaching phonics in relation to rules, exceptions and sounds, and most importantly, how parents don’t catch reading behavior or lack of it.
Sight and see, is tackled. With concept that was taken from, “Why Johnny Can’t Read: and what you can do about it” (humm, I wonder where he got this title)… this book offers post arguments on the issue of let’s look at a picture book and you can guess at what the words say.
It is an interesting read, but it still leaves you a bit thirsty..for an overall approach I liked it because of the less technical, and boring senerios of lab work, I wish more real life senerios took place.
Don’t buy “Hooked on Phonics” yet, there is hope :-)…just homeschool your children, and learn to read proper phonics preperation books..
Rating: 3 / 5
#2 by K. Daugherty on January 30, 2010 - 2:53 pm
I’m not dissing what the woman is saying about teaching reading but when a person truly has dyslexia, it is a neurological disorder. No one can teach it to you and that’s what this woman is stating. Where’s the research? Does the National Association of Dyslexia back her on this? I’ve emailed them about her quote and they say they have no research to validate her claim. Don’t believe everything you read, no matter how badly you want to believe. People who are dyslexic have to bust their buns to figure out how to read.
Rating: 1 / 5
#3 by Anonymous on January 30, 2010 - 5:28 pm
The only thing new here is the author’s name. This book pitches the ’same old same old’ from a new kid on the block. The one star I’m giving this book is for the forward by Steven Pinker. The rest of this book is unfocused and the argument is inconsistent. The stories of students are stiff. It’s obvious this author doesn’t know many children. This makes the reader question the integrity of the research presented.
Rating: 1 / 5
#4 by Anonymous on January 30, 2010 - 7:10 pm
That, in essence, is what Mencius had advised. It is also what frequently popped into my mind as I read the book.
Some books are written to inform, while others are written for very commercial reasons. Having read Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, I could appreciate the contrasting styles adopted by the authors. One attempted to be objective and scientific, while offering hopes for parents who are agonising over their kids who can’t read; another sought self-promotion by thrashing others and making outrageous claims based on skimpy research, hoping to make offers to parents who are agonising over their kids who can’t read.
A two-star book is not necessarily badly written or worth less a read than a five-star book. In fact, it may prompt you to think harder and read between the lines. Reading two books writing on a similar topic especially helps. If you are into reading difficulties, read Overcoming Dyslexia first.
Rating: 2 / 5
#5 by Anonymous on January 30, 2010 - 9:37 pm
READING TEACHERS BEWARE: The author calls blends ‘clusters’ and rules ‘tendencies’, but it is nothing more than the same old Phonics with several new layers of rules added in. I’ve been working with a boy being taught with the author’s own program called Allographs. He is in worse shape now than when he started, despite the fact that he can recite the author’s charts in the book by rote. The author says that dyslexia is caused by poor instruction and says that her method is the answer, but for this young man it has been a seven month waste of time.
Rating: 1 / 5