Book Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum My rating: 4 of 5 stars I remember having this book read to me as a first-grader and being surprised at how different it was from the movie. Beyond that, I only had a vague recollection of the plot, so I thought it was time I …

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Book Review: Loki: Where Mischief Lies

Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars The problem with writing a book about one of the most popular characters in the MCU is that every Loki fan goes into the story with high expectations of how they want their boy to be written. As a fan of the …

Book Review: The Second Worst Restaurant in France

The Second Worst Restaurant in France by Alexander McCall Smith My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars I will be the first to offer plaudits to the genius and gentle humor of Alexander McCall Smith. However, this sequel to the free-standing My Italian Bulldozer reads like it was the product of the publishers, not the author. …

Book Review: The Rosie Result

The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion My rating: 4 of 5 stars "I had observed that neurotypicals criticised autistic people for lacking empathy -- towards them -- but seldom made any effort to improve their own empathy towards autistic people."Boom. What a statement, and so incredibly true. My sister is totally empathetic, yet neurotypical people …

Book Review: Jeremy Poldark

Jeremy Poldark by Winston Graham My rating: 3 of 5 stars This novel is what we refer to as a "bridge" book or a "filler" book. There is very little plot that happens, but it wraps up story lines from the previous two novels as well as sets up some events that will resonate in …

Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties: Chapter Thirteen

For our last reading response of the course, we skipped ahead to chapter 13, which focused on teaching writing to struggling students.Writing has five main processes, which are as follows:Brainstorming—a time for generating ideas, stimulating thinking, making plans and creating the desire to write.Composing—Drafting thoughts, getting ideas down on paper and getting a purpose and …

Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties: Chapter Eleven

Given the fact that Chapter Eleven is over forty pages long, it is safe to surmise that comprehension is one of the most important factors in reading. According to Gunning, comprehension requires at least five basic processing abilities: activating schema, “understanding key details at a literal level, integrating text across sentences and paragraphs, making inferences, …

Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties: Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten focused on the importance of developing a child’s vocabulary knowledge. There are two ways to teach vocab to children: the incidental approach, where skills are taught as the need arises in the child’s life, or the systematic approach, where skills are taught on a regular, planned basis (Gunning 331). Not surprisingly, most teachers …

Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties: Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine continues looking at the decoding of language, this time focusing on reading multisyllabic words. There are two approaches to teaching syllabic analysis: the rules approach and the pattern approach, and both techniques can be used in conjunction with the pronounceable word-part and analogy strategies that were discussed in the previous chapter. In the rules …

Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties: Chapter Eight

In the span of 78 pages, Gunning explains the appropriate strategies for teaching phonics, high-frequency words (also known as sight words for our ability to recognize them on sight), and fluency to struggling readers. Chapter eight begins with methods for teaching children the letters of the alphabet, starting with consonants, then working with short vowels, …