501 Nugent Ave Johnson City, TX 78636 | 830-868-4469
501 Nugent Ave Johnson City, TX 78636 | 830-868-4469
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SIT! STAY! READ!
Know When Your Child Is Struggling with Reading
Once your child moves into first, second, and third grade, being able to read fluently and comprehend what he or she reads become critical for future success in school.
Here are some things to watch for that may suggest that your child is a struggling reader.
Does your child:
•Have difficulty remembering lessons?
•Hate to read aloud?
•Guess at words?
•Continue to need to sound out most words on a page?
•Struggle as he is working to sound out the words?
•Read slowly with a very choppy sound?
•Complain that he or she doesn't understand what he or she's read?
If so, sign your child up for the Johnson City Library program: SIT! STAY! READ!
This program meets on Wednesday, after school
There is currently a waiting list. but if your child can benefit from this program I encourage you to sign up.
Can dogs teach kids to read?
New anecdotal evidence suggests that kids who practice reading to dogs become more adept than kids who read to humans
Is there something about a dog's attentive, uncritical gaze that encourages children to master reading more quickly?
Is there anything dogs can't do? From helping witnesses give courtroom testimony to grieving impressively for long-lost owners, our canine companions are intimately involved in many aspects of our lives — including childhood education. Researchers at Tufts University recently completed a study that suggested dogs can help children improve their reading skills. Here, a brief guide to this research:
How was this study conducted?
Over the span of five summer weeks, 18 second-graders were divided into two groups; one group read aloud to another person for 30 minutes once a week, and the other group read aloud to a dog. The canines chosen to participate were from a local Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) Program, which pairs therapy dogs with children.
What did the researchers find?
Some surprising differences between the two groups emerged. The children who read to a dog saw a slight increase in their words-per-minute reading rate, whereas the children who read to a human experienced a slight decrease. Additionally, one-third of the children who read to a human failed to complete the five-week program, while none of the children paired with pooches dropped out.
But wait — this study is too small to be meaningful, right?
Right. While the study is anecdotally interesting, the sample size isn't nearly large or random enough to be considered statistically significant.
Did the dogs derive any benefit?
None have taken up reading, but they seemed to enjoy the program. "My dog, when she recognizes the building that the reading program is in, she gets very excited," says Tufts professor Lisa Freeman, as quoted in the Boston Globe. "That’s important — having everybody happy on both sides of the leash is going to be very important."
Sources: Boston Globe, EurekAlert, UPI