Write your thoughts about what the author says

● There are no areas of the brain that specialize in reading

● What cultures don’t emphasize reading?
Note the page numbers and provide three quotations or more across the text assignment.
● “Because the ability to read is so strongly dependent on the word forms learned during
this period, a child’s beginning reading will be more successful if most of the reading
material contains words the child is already using. The phoneme-grapheme connection
can be made more easily and strengthened”(Sousa 93).
● “This lack of sound-to-letter correspondence makes it difficult for the young brain to
recognize patterns and affects the child’s confidence and ability to spell with accuracy
and to read with meaning. Eventually, the brain must connect the 26 letters of the
alphabet (graphemes) to the 44-plus sounds of spoken English (phonemes) that the
child has been using successfully for years. But it is not easy. You may be surprised to
learn that because of the complexity of English orthography, there are more than 1,100
ways to spell the sounds of the 44-plus phonemes in English”(Sousa 96).
● “Black and Hispanic children may be performing poorly on reading tests because their
home language differs substantially from the language used in reading
instruction”(Sousa 99).
Make at least one connection to personal experience, other texts you’ve read, and/or what you
know about schools.
● One student I worked with was a third grader who spoke Spanish and could not read or
write in English or Spanish. At the time, I did not know what the issue with her writing
was, as her peers who also only spoke Spanish could write significantly better in
Spanish than she could. After reading this, I imagine there was an issue with neither
language being spoken enough to her. It’s also possible that, because she had not been
at that school long, she had a reading or writing disability that had not been diagnosed
yet.
What are the words, phrases, and sentences that strike you? Include any pieces you do not
want to forget that deal with characteristics, adaptations, and strategies on this graphic
organizer. Do not worry if you have just a few, as other chapters will be full of these for your
learning going forward.
● Asses students for reading and writing and make changes in the 4th grade
● Indicators of dyslexia: difficulty recognizing written words, difficulty rhyming or
sequencing syllables, difficulty encoding words, delayed spoken language, confusion
about left and right-handedness, difficulty with handwriting, etc.
● Let students with dyslexia use text-to-speach