| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 5/12/2010 6:06:14 PM Home School Legal Defense Association HSLDA's Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner Newsletter |
|
---------------------------------------------------------------- HSLDA's Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner Newsletter May 20101--Using the Dictionary: Going from Drudgery to Delight ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---[ Say Goodbye to Reading Struggles! ]------------------------------ Stop the reading struggle once and for all! Discover the breakthrough home study program that has an astounding 95% success rate in helping young students eliminate all reading difficulties, build confidence and self-esteem, and excel to the head of the class in school...all in as little as 30 days! http://www.hslda.org/alink.asp?ID=226 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Using the Dictionary--Going from Drudgery to Delight by Betty Statnick, M. Ed. HSLDA Special Needs Coordinator The command to "look it up!" may still be echoing in your mind. It may have been extremely distasteful for you to comply with that order. Furthermore, you can't recall having received any formal instruction in "using the dictionary." Some of you will admit that there was no drab-looking volume called a dictionary in the home where you grew up. So any "looking it up" had to be done at school or in a library. How the scene has changed! My observation is that editors and publishers of some current dictionaries have gone from "drab to fab." Since they know that we learn from seeing pictures, they have included not just "words about words" but also colorful photographs and drawings in their dictionaries. Joseph Pickett, executive editor of "The American Heritage Student Dictionary" (2007 edition), may have been eavesdropping on some of my sessions with students, for he has paraphrased what I have often set forth to students: "Imagine that you are lucky: You have a good friend who is always there for you, full of useful information and advice, and who lets you take what you need whenever you want. This friend promises to stick with you in good times and bad, to help you when you are in need, and even be a source of entertainment from time to time. Imagine no further. That friend is this dictionary. It is designed to introduce you to new words and new facts that are essential to your success in learning new subjects..." The preface to the "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary for Children" (especially for students ages 8-11, grades 3-5) explains, "You will get help with understanding meanings and with spelling and pronouncing new words. You will learn much grammar and usage. And you will find out the differences between words with similar meanings and discover interesting history of many words." In the back of this same dictionary there is a section on "confused, misused, and misspelled words." I am especially pleased that this section includes, among other things, instruction regarding use of "it's" and "its," "who" and "whom," and "you're" and "your." Those three pairs of words are still problematic for many adults. Imagine how wonderful it would be for a student to learn their correct usage before he even embarks on high school. Dictionaries certainly do have their place in teaching students new vocabulary. However, in my teaching experience, I have found two specific things which have caused students to have animosity toward using the dictionary: 1. Requiring that students write the dictionary definition for each word on their spelling list. (Many of you agree that this may be more an exercise in penmanship than in vocabulary development). 2. Directing a student to stop and look up a word in the dictionary while he is engaged in a reading lesson. This interrupts the flow, takes words out of context, and comprehension likely will suffer. New vocabulary words should be identified and discussed prior to beginning the reading lesson. (Of course, a purpose for reading should also be established, but that is beyond the scope of this newsletter.) When you model before your child your use of the dictionary and you also teach him how to use the dictionary, you will see those actions continue to pay dividends for the rest of that child's life. It is my conviction that the dictionary "look it up and search it out" habit is somewhat akin to the Berean approach of Acts 17:10, 11. In that scripture reference the Bereans were said to be "more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so...." Most of you do tell me that you do want to give your child the opportunity to live life to his full potential and to his maximum usefulness for his Creator and Redeemer. Look for a future e-newsletter about some nuts and bolts for teaching dictionary skills. It will be designed especially for those learners who are not now as efficient or interested in using the dictionary as they would like to be. In the meantime, when you are selecting curriculum for the upcoming school year don't forget to purchase a children's dictionary (preferably one for each student). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Is customer service an art or a science? For us, good customer service is both an art and a science -it should appeal to our members and be effective. Consider what our members say about us: The freedom HSLDA allows me to have as I homeschool is wonderful! They handle the law and I get to dedicate the time to my daughter. - National City, CA HSLDA members since 1993, our membership is just as important to us as our children's curriculum. Thank you HSLDA for all you do on our behalf! - West Valley, NY More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1941 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: ##ToAddress## - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. If this is an invalid email address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
