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      Many meaningful report card comments have been lost once this report has been read.  This can be attributed to students difficulty with connecting these comments to work completed daily.  While the teacher’s relationships with the student does have an impact on the likelihood that these comments will shape the child’s performance, often this is alone is not sufficient.  In these cases, a simple post-it can make all the difference!

      As I mentioned in a previous post, a student that I work with on writing recently received his report card.  We discussed the comments recorded on this report.  Using this conversation as a catalyst, we drafted a checklist of 5 areas to be edited upon his completion of a piece.  He was excited and motivated by this idea.  Through this conversation and tool, he was able to implement the daily directive given by his teacher to edit his writing.  He heard and understood the importance of this request however he struggled to implement a plan for completing editing.  As Paula Moraine states in her text, he could see the big picture, needing to edit his writing, but struggled to pinpoint specific traits to check.  Therefore, this tool provided him a method for doing so. 

      This tool is not simply limited in its use to editing writing pieces.  For example, while reading, a post-it can be created featuring a specific type of comprehension question, including main idea and details.  This post-it can be placed on each page read.  After reading a given page, the child needs to answer a main idea and details question given by the adult.  Some students struggle to recall the steps in a math problem.  A post-it featuring the steps in order can be placed at the top of a page of math homework to assist with ease of completion.  Once the child gains confidence and ease in completing the problem, the post-it can then be removed. 

      Beyond the vast array of experiences this tool can enhance, the discussion and active involvement of the student in the learning process is essential.  The better a child understands him/herself as a learner, the better equipped they will be to use this tool and others like it to assist their learning.  Empowering students to take ownership for their own learning is the key to the successful implementation of any new tool or strategy.   

In a previous post, I shared the powerful impact visualizing can have on improving student comprehension.  However, this technique is not limited to reading comprehension.  Preview and Review highlighted in “Helping Students Take Control of Everyday Executive Functions” by Paula Moraine also sheds light on this powerful tool.  While this text and technique are targeting students with executive function challenges, its scope is much larger. This technique can be used to help prepare students for everyday occurrences, building their self-awareness and empowerment.   For example, to begin each student session, I always provide the students with an overview of the lesson and activities that will be encountered.  This provides me with valuable insight regarding student motivation, current energy levels and confidence in approaching the tasks as often students share their thoughts and feelings regarding these activities. Initial session time is also used to review concepts previously visited and clarify any lingering questions that may have been encountered.  At the conclusion of the session, there is always a time for review and a discussion of what’s to come.  I have found this method to be invaluable.  Not only does it allow the student to connect with the material learned and ask questions, it provides them with the opportunity to share their voice.  In sharing their voice, students gain the awareness that this is their learning journey.  I am there to guide them, providing tools and techniques as needed.  However, the student learns more about themselves and their value.  The question then becomes, how can this technique be applied outside of session?  As I shared, the scope of this technique is quite broad and its application will depend on the individual needs of the student.  It could be used as a morning and evening routine to discuss upcoming chores and tasks that will need to be completed around the home.  It could also be used to prepare the child for upcoming assignments and tests.  However, I believe you will find, the individualized application of this technique will yield positive lasting results.

      During an initial consultation, I always present families with a learning styles inventory.  Due to the nature of the information yielded from this tool, it proves invaluable as the sessions begin.  This inventory helps guide strategies and tools presented, methods for lesson instruction, and reinforcement.  Using this information, I have found the use of visualization to be beneficial in assisting students with a visual-spatial learning style to build comprehension.  However, it is an invaluable tool for all students.  To begin, I often present a striking image such as shark posing at an interesting angle or a valley with vibrant fall colors.  The student is then asked a very general question, “What do you notice?”  The answers yielded from this question are as diverse as the learners I guide.  This question and the responses are then used to introduce and discuss the strategy of visualization.  This strategy allows the reader to create images of the characters, setting and other contents of a book studied in their minds.  While many readers are able to complete this skill automatically, the value of this skill is often overlooked.  With a visual image created in one’s mind, or better yet drawn on paper, comprehension skills relating to main idea and details, inferences and vocabulary are all made much easier to complete.  In implementing this technique with a student who was able to read fluently, yet struggled to comprehend what he read, visualization proved to be the key to unlocking his ability to comprehend the text.  His ability to draw the images, later automatically creating these images in his mind, allowed him to understand the main idea and details in the text.  He was able to articulate vividly the important details and how these ideas related to the main idea.  The question then becomes how can this technique be used at home to assist students?  Follow these steps for easy application:

1.        Allow the child to read a self-selected yet, on-level text aloud.

2.       Select one particularly vivid or exciting sentence or paragraph to reread.

3.       Once a single reread has been conducted, encourage the child to close their eyes and reread the selection 2-3 more times. 

4.       Once the passage has been reread, with their eyes closed, encourage the child to share what images have been created in their mind.  For instance, What characters do you see?  Where are these characters?  How are these characters behaving? 

Keep in mind, this technique is applicable to both fiction and non-fiction texts.  While the images created during visualization may vary, the effect remains the same.  The child is able to “see” what is occurring in the text.

My hope is the implementation and continued use of this technique will help build your child’s understanding of the text.  Equally as important however, this technique helps to foster imagination and creativity.