Category Archives: Home Schooling

Scaffolding Really Does Matter

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My husband is a techie.  He clicks around with confidence and persists until he finds the solution.  He makes problem solving on the computer look easy-shmeasy.

After 14 years in the first grade classroom, I certainly understand how painful (literally) it is for Franklin to watch me fumble around the menus, but how am I to learn if I am not given an opportunity to engage and thoughtfully attempt in a trial and error process?  I need Franklin to sit beside me, leading me with questions that help me think more fully about the task at hand, because on-point scaffolding Really Does Matter.

book stairs.scaffolding

In 1999 I trained in a one-on-one tutoring program called Reading Recovery®.  A tenet of Reading Recovery® is very specific and powerful use of questioning and prompting to scaffold (support and guide) a child’s attempts while reading.   I took the essence of several of the scaffolding techniques from Reading Recovery®and used them with great success in teaching reading in a classroom setting.  You can too!

Let me explain.

Introducing a new book (before the first read) is an important scaffold.  The introduction allows you to set the stage for reading, giving your child a reason to read and some background or a real-world application for the content.  Below you will “see” that in the introduction to Me and Thee Studios’ “The Fish and The Temple Tax.”

scaffolds.introduction

In addition to introducing the content, a “picture walk” is another fantastic scaffold.  It might sound something like this:  Let’s find out how Jesus took care of the temple tax.  The introduction says it’s amazing.  Why don’t you look through the pictures in the story and tell me about what happens.  Where does the story begin?  Who do you think that might be?  What happens?  What happens next?

While you’re shoulder to shoulder with your child for the first read, ask questions rather than simply telling your child every unknown word.  Powerful questions help guide your child in the development of reading strategies (thinking about reading and problem solving at the point of difficulty).  Your questions (scaffolds) should be prompts to each of 3 information sources your child needs to use interchangeably to make sense of text.

Scaffolds for visual work might sound something like this –

  • Try that.
  • Get your mouth ready for the first sound.
  • You know what the sh sounds like because you know the word she.  Write the word she.  Now try the new word.
  • You know that “chunk” from the word see, what does the ee sound like in see?
  • You know the sounds for the oo.  Try one of the sounds.  Try a different sound.

Scaffolds for meaning work might sound something like this –

  • What would make sense?
  • What might happen next?
  • Who could that be in the story?
  • You’re right, that’s a fish, but the word names the object in the fish’s mouth, what could it be?
  • You said … did that make sense?
  • Reread this sentence and look at the picture, what else could you call the … ?

Scaffolds for syntax/structure work might sound something like this –

  • You said … is that how you would hear me say that?
  • How could you say that so it sounds right?

Scaffolding as your child learns new skills can happen regardless of the “setting”.  Help your child think about the how and why with powerful questions in the kitchen, the garage, and the backyard in addition to the classroom.  Scaffolding takes a little more time and can be frustrating if a child is accustomed to getting the answer whenever he appeals for help.   Ultimately, you’re teaching your child to fish when you give him the framework for thinking and problem solving, requiring that he begins to wrestle with his own learning.

How do you use scaffolds and on-point questioning to help your child incrementally accept more responsibility for his own learning?  Please join the conversation by replying at the top of this post.

Before you leave the site, why not follow my blog (top, right of this post)?  It’s quick and easy 

For more from Marea, check out Me and Thee Studios’ faith based leveled readers for 1st-2nd graders at http://www.meandtheestudios.com/early-reader-collection.html.

Zone of Proximal Development Really Does Matter

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In 1932 Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky introduced a theory of developmental readiness he called Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).  You might be wondering, “What in the world does ZPD have to do with parenting?”  Well, I’m glad you asked.

From teaching a two year old to eat at the table with the family to helping your child ride a bike, parents naturally employ an understanding of ZPD.  We intuitively know that our children must first master finger foods before handling glassware and steak knives.  We also know that learning to ride a bike will require countless trips up and down the block, jogging beside our child, holding onto the seat and handlebars as they learn to balance, pedal, and brake with confidence.  Those incremental steps in mastering new skills, with the support of a more proficient mentor, are a picture of ZPD.  Regardless of what we’re learning, Zone of Proximal Development Really Does Matter.

 ZPD

The graphic above helps us understand the concept of Zone of Proximal Development more fully.  Consider the 5 year old who is learning to ride his two-wheeled bike.  He can ride his bike with training wheels (what the learner can do unaided) but he cannot ride without his training wheels yet.  He needs the support of a more proficient mentor.  With a little bit of assistance (but not yet independently), the learner is successful with the new task.

Zone of Proximal Development is critically important when teaching children to read and write.  As a classroom teacher, I met many parents who assumed that any book from the children’s section of the library would be beneficial in teaching their child to read.

Do you remember Little Golden Books from your childhood?    Let’s take a look at the first page of text from The Lone Ranger.  While the publisher’s information recommends this book for children 2-5 years of age, the text is actually written at a 2nd grade reading level.  This book may be suitable for a 2-5 year old as a Read Aloud but asking a child in kindergarten or first grade (who is just learning to read) to read this book independently would cause undue stress.  This book is not within a very young reader’s ZPD.

Golden Book

You might have heard the term leveled readers.  Leveled readers refer to books that are written with a child’s Zone of Proximal Development in mind.  Leveled readers are meant to introduce children incrementally to new challenges in their reading.  With a little bit of support, the child can successfully read a leveled text.  When books are chosen based on a child’s ZPD, reading becomes an opportunity for a little bit of teaching and a whole lot of praise.  We want to avoid stressful sessions that highlight what a child can’t yet do.

Below is a snapshot of the text from Me and Thee Studios’ “The Writing on the Wall”.  The high frequency words and new spellings in leveled readers are specifically controlled to support young readers as they progress through the intricacies of reading development.

Leveled Book

By the way – if you haven’t checked out Me and Thee Studios’ Early Reader Collection, you’ll want to!  Our leveled readers are perfect for home discipleship, whether you home school your children or not.

In writing, try “sharing the pen” with your child.  In short, hold your child responsible for everything you know they can do independently.  If your child has mastered all short vowel and consonant sounds, help him “stretch” the sounds orally and write the letters for CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words like hot, run, cap, and him.  Also, hold your child accountable, with support, for the new things they have been introduced to.  However, if you know your child hasn’t yet learned the ee ( as in the word see) or the ea (as in the word eat), add those letters for your child in their writing.  “Share the pen” to support their progress in a non-threatening experience.

As you consider your child’s ZPD, are there changes you need to make that will make your reading and writing time together more pleasurable for both of you?  Join the conversation by replying at the top of this post.

Before you leave the site, why not follow my blog (top, right of this post)?  It’s quick and easy 

For more from Marea, check out Me and Thee Studios’ faith based leveled readers for 1st-2nd graders at http://www.meandtheestudios.com/early-reader-collection.html.