Mornington Peninsula Literacy
“No skill is more crucial to the future of a child than literacy.”
Los Angeles Times (2017)
I've just realised my child is struggling at school
Why didn't I know?
You may have just realised your child is struggling at school. Even if you suspected your child was weaker in certain areas, most parents expect the school to recognise this and make the necessary changes. This is a reasonable expectation, however there are many ways a child's needs may slip through the cracks.
Teachers do their best to reach all students, but there are many reasons why teachers may not realise the student is not coping:
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The student has been relying on their sight memory rather than understanding how to perform the task
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The student has been relying on other students
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The student doesn't feel confident to speak up and continues to struggle
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The student appears to be managing well
When testing indicates your child's skills are weak, the teacher will normally take steps to help, but these steps may not be sufficient for long-term growth. There are times when teachers believe weak results are a result of the student not paying attention in class or not studying. At other times, the teacher may not be trained in explicit ways to recognise and address the student's deficit or they may simply not have the time to provide the one-on-one help the student needs.
Unfortunately, sometimes the weaknesses students are coping with become apparent only when workloads and demands increase and they are unable to cope on their own.
The Reading/Spelling Connection
All students should have the opportunity to master their own language and to feel confident and in control of their learning. However, students who have weak reading skills tend to fall further behind, year after year, in typical school settings. If they also struggle with sounding out words, and are slow readers, they may have weak symbol imagery—the ability to visualize letters in words. This difficulty is not only frustrating for a student, but prevents them from accessing school curriculum alongside peers.
If a student has poor spelling skills which are not addressed at school, it can cause them to lose confidence and enjoyment of learning. Many schools, and in fact most teacher training institutions, fail to explicitly teach reading and spelling strategies that allow ALL students to decode their own language. This results in many students feeling they are incapable, they “switch off” and assume school – and learning - just isn’t for them.
At Mornington Peninsula Literacy, we provide research-validated instruction that addresses the cause of poor reading and spelling and offer concrete strategies to overcome these difficulties.
What can I do?
If you suspect your child has some difficulty at school, your first port of call should always be the teacher. The teacher may be able to help and if not, there are specialist teachers who you may be referred to. If you find this still doesn't help, specialist teachers at your school can recommend further professional testing through an educational psychologist to identify specific deficits.
Professional, research-based tutoring is then a natural option to provide the one-on-one instruction in these specific areas to support your child's development.
At Mornington Peninsula Literacy, we will test the following areas:
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sounding out words
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word reading
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paragraph reading
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reading comprehension
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spelling
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vocabulary
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writing (syntax, morphology, including word choice, sentence structure, etc.)
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following verbal and written instructions.
We will then begin a programme to improve your child's skills and confidence week by week.
A summary of what is being taught and what will be taught is provided after each lesson so you can feel confident your child's needs are being specifically addressed.
The Reading/Imagery Connection for Comprehension
While most schools challenge students to comprehend and think, they may not address the needs of students who have an underlying comprehension weakness. High expectations and the opportunity to practice are simply not enough for many learners. They may be attending school, but missing out on the big picture for this year’s learning. A cause of comprehension difficulties is weak concept imagery—the ability to create an imagined gestalt (whole) from language. The development of concept imagery improves reading and listening comprehension, memory, oral vocabulary, critical thinking, and writing.
Mornington Peninsula Literacy can develop the imagery-language connection as a foundation for learning. This method can be appropriate for a wide range of students who need to improve their ability to comprehend their reading more readily and with greater depth.
Writing Development
If students have weaknesses in spelling, reading or reading comprehension, their writing will be affected. This will become more apparent as they proceed through high school when workloads and expectations become increasingly challenging. Mornington Peninsula Literacy may help these students develop the writing skills they need to improve their confidence and their outcomes. This is achieved through developing specific skills in morphology (the structure of words), word choice and syntax (the arrangement of words and phrases). Through regular, one-on-one instruction, many deficits can be significantly improved through research-based strategies. Most importantly, these strategies can make a significant difference to a student’s confidence, their assessment of their own abilities and their future choices. Our goal is to help every child become a confident, life-long learner.