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    Rethink Reading Strategies
    Rethink Reading Strategies
    Rethink Reading Strategies
    Ebook163 pages2 hours

    Rethink Reading Strategies

    By Suki Stone

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Dr. Suki Stone is on a mission to teach children with learning differences to read. She says, “Phonics is NOT ALWAYS the answer!”

    Dr. Suki is passionate about her position as a literacy advocate, and knows that teaching children to read changes lives.
    Her revolutionary program, Rethink Reading Strategies, has a 98 percent success rate. Most children are dismissed from their special education placements after just 14 sessions with Dr. Suki.

    The media in San Diego adore her and have covered her story. Many parents, teachers, and children testify about their positive results.
    Students are graduating from college when they were told in elementary school they had no chance of reading beyond the 3rd grade level.

    Read this book to find out how this powerful program is creating miracles among the children who are struggling to read, learn and grow.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSuki Stone
    Release dateSep 24, 2014
    ISBN9781310710117
    Rethink Reading Strategies
    Author

    Suki Stone

    Dr. Suki Stone is on a Mission to Teach Learning Disabled Children to Read Dr. Suki is passionate about her position as a literacy advocate. Since she has spent the last 30 years teaching children with special education, Dr. Suki had no option, but to create an entirely new method to teach these forgotten children to read, the You Read program. She is creator, founder, and author of Rethink Reading Strategies a revolutionary system designed to teach writing, reading, and comprehension to kids with learning disabilities, dyslexia or ADD. Since receiving her PhD from Claremont Graduate University jointly with San Diego State University she has led a crusade to help LD children recognize, they are brilliant, passionate, and able to read independently. She begins with the writing process. Dr. Suki has a 98% success rate and most children are dismissed from their special education placements after just 14 sessions with her!

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      Book preview

      Rethink Reading Strategies - Suki Stone

      RETHINK READING STRATEGIES

      Teaching Children with Learning Differences

      to Read in 14 Days, Really!

      © 2016 by Suki Stone, PhD

      Smashwords Edition

      Third Edition

      Stonebridge Academic Publishing

      San Diego, California

      ISBN-978-0-9861147-0-0

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author at: drsuki@youread.org

      DISCLAIMER: The contents of this publication are intended for educational and informative use only and not to be considered a directive nor a guide to self-diagnosis or self-treatment.

      Cover and Interior Design by Victoria Vinton

      Suki Stone wants to get America reading, and parents and teachers should start with this fascinating, valuable book that could get kids away from television and back to reading books. Of course, this is bad news for TV writers like me. My four siblings are all teachers, and they’re each getting a copy of this important book for Christmas.

      — Mike Reiss

      Emmy-winning Writer/Producer The Simpsons

      The pages of Dr. Stone’s wise and caring Rethink Reading Strategies glow with the author’s passion to change the world, one child at a time.

      — Richard Lederer, Ph.D.

      Author of The Gift of Age and A Tribute to Teachers

      Rethink Reading Strategies – do it now! The answer already lies within your child…their own personal knowledge will unlock their reading potential. Rethink your child's reading strategies; let Dr. Stone show you how!

      — Don Brown

      Author of Bring Out the Best in Every Employee

      and What Got You Here Won't Get You There in Sales

      Acknowledgments

      I want to acknowledge my family for their constant support and love, especially my brothers Richard and Robert, who supported the vision of my life’s work as I engaged in writing this book. Pat Tannagon, my colleague for thirty years, first suggested many years ago that I needed to write a book. She said it was important to tell my story so that all children could benefit from knowing help was available for them to succeed. Pat has been a special friend who really saw how much I cared for every child to have the potential to read. She has always been an inspiration to me. I want to thank my friend and colleague Deborah Storton, a school speech therapist, who was always encouraging me to write this book. We shared teaching some of the same children, and she believed my writing a book would send the message that parents and teachers need to recognize and acknowledge their children were truly smart. Julie Johnson-Berg, my colleague, helped me realize that the children’s voices were important and that they needed the recognition they deserved. Julie championed my efforts and vision with positive encouragement. I want to thank Dr. Alice Quiocho, who became my mentor as I took steps to help other teachers. She gave me the opportunity to speak about new approaches to teaching reading in her university classes and set the stage for my program to be used in teacher training.

      My colleague, Jacquie Montegue, gave her special education students an opportunity to improve their reading skills with my program You Read. Those experiences provided the scenarios for this book. I am truly grateful for Jacquie’s faith and trust that would enable her students to become grade-level readers. I want to thank my colleague and friend, Dr. Unoma Comer, who reassured me that this was truly the time to write about new ways to teach children with learning disabilities to read. She reinforced my recognition that children had learning differences, not disabilities. Dr. Etta Baldwin, a supervisor of district libraries in Greensboro, North Carolina, believed it was necessary to discuss core standards for reading regarding children with learning disabilities. The chapter entitled Skill Development Begins with the Child, Not the Reading Skills was her suggestion. I am grateful to Dr. James Jaurez, who encouraged me to use the computer as a new tool for You Read. He knew there was a way writing tablets could enhance my process. A special thank you goes to Dr. Albert Cruz and his student, Emily Choi.

      With their extensive experience and knowledge of information technology, they provided the research material on the importance of using technology for children with learning disabilities. This was important in understanding how technology is definitely an asset for improving literacy skills. To Liz Goodgold, my faithful marketing sage, I am truly grateful for her coaching, recommendations, and conviction in knowing that I needed to share my knowledge and my work to help children and give them a voice.

      I want to recognize Alan Townsend, who has a great love for my reading-challenged children and recognizes them personally when they succeed. He and his staff have helped me by providing a teaching space. A thank you to my good friends Wendy Vaughn, Steve Hostetler, Shirley Ginsberg, and Miriam Plotkin, who saw me through the times I questioned whether I had anything to say that would fill the pages for a book. A special thank you to Shirley for the first edits and to Victoria Vinton who greatly assisted with the publication. Their knowledge and experience made the printed words a reality.

      I owe a special thank you to all the children who have successfully completed my program. Their parents and grandparents wanted to make sure they had the best chance to succeed.

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated to my parents, Millie and Sheldon Stone, who knew I had something to share with children and encouraged me to never give up on my mission. Their support and love have always been the light that shines in my life.

      Preface

      Rethink Reading Strategies is written for parents who see their children struggle with reading and writing skills and to help parents and teachers realize their children can truly learn and achieve at their highest potential by changing how they think about themselves. This change begins with the fact that they need to be referred to as children with learning differences, not learning disabilities. The famous people we hear about—Albert Einstein, Richard Branson, Steven Spielberg, Orlando Bloom, Cher, and Jay Leno—refer to themselves as having dyslexia or learning disabilities, but they are really extraordinary people who learn differently. This book is about acknowledging children’s differences as strengths and changing the way we, as parents and teachers, refer to these children, treat, and teach them. The premise identifies children as being able to be our teachers, looks at a new standard and theory about how to teach children with disabilities, and accepts the children for what they can do rather than try and fix what they can’t do. Although children in the book are referred to as having learning disabilities, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder (ADD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and have been given these labels, they are really children who have different ways of learning. The term learning disabilities will be used throughout the book to represent those labels. Join me in this new journey to recognize children for their strengths, talents, and creativity, while learning how to provide the support, encouragement, and foundation for children’s success.

      Contents

      Chapter 1

      What Needs to Change in the Teaching of Reading

      Chapter 2

      What Your Child Will Teach You Will Amaze You

      Chapter 3

      Why Your Children’s Personal Knowledge

      Is Important to Reading

      Chapter 4

      Skill Development Begins with the Child—Not the

      Reading Skills

      Chapter 5

      Teachers Share Their Power and Help Children

      Accept Their Own Power

      Chapter 6

      Oral Vocabulary is the Foundation for Learning

      to Read

      Chapter 7

      How to Be an Advocate for Your Children

      Chapter 8

      Using Information Technology as an Effective

      Tool for Literacy

      Chapter 1

      What Needs to Change in the Teaching of Reading

      Roger was a high school senior. He was large in stature and was covered with tattoos. Initially, I wasn’t comfortable around Roger—he frightened me. The tattoos and his stature were intimidating. He was a student in a special education resource room and was academically failing in his major subject areas, except recess and lunch. He had been in special education classes since fourth grade, but teachers told him he would never advance beyond reading at the first-grade level. I approached him just like any one of my school children who knew they were smart, but couldn’t read.

      I was confident that I could teach Roger, and I wanted him to understand that he had the ability to succeed. I told Roger he would learn to read proficiently and pass all his classes in his last year of high school. He was puzzled because I had no books or workbooks to use with him. I explained that his life experiences were the basis for teaching him reading skills and asked him to share what he considered his passions. The first idea he shared was his love for raising his pot belly pig. (I was fascinated that he was raising a pig; it is not something I hear every day.)

      As an authentic teacher/mentor, I needed to make sure Roger knew my sincerity when I asked him, You’re raising a what? You like raising a pig? He laughed and said, You’re going to teach me to read by my telling you about raising a pot belly pig? I replied emphatically, Yes! You have all the knowledge you need now to get started.

      We proceeded with the process and his reading improved to such a degree that he received A's and one B in all classes related to his language and literacy skills for his last semester of classes in high school.

      If changes were made in the current educational system, children who are failing would have a chance to actually become successful readers. But first, we need to look at what needs to change.

      Introduction

      As an educator and teacher of children with learning disabilities for over thirty years, I feel your anguish and understand your frustration in trying to help your children with learning differences to read. They are different and therefore we need to teach them how to read differently.

      While teaching in a traditional setting, I was also disappointed that I couldn’t find the type of program I needed. I interviewed my students and changed the approach I was using. I believed my children had the answers for me. The children were very verbal and talkative regarding what they knew and what they thought were their reading problems. Each child I spoke with talked about how difficult it was to remember sounds, but they could remember other things, so they knew they didn’t have memory problems. One thing I learned is that when children know your question is authentic, they are very honest with their response. They speak from their heart. They wanted me to get it. That’s when I realized how much they knew and could communicate effectively with me. I became the learner. What a change in my thought process. I was able to reflect and know I would receive the answer for helping them. I didn’t realize this calm would help me create a reading program to help these children become successful readers.

      This book

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