Can We Talk?

Adapted from an article "Can We Talk - Yes, you can bring back the art of family conversation and promote trust and respect at the same time." by Melody Warnick

1. Set ground rules - Consider these questions: Everyone believes there should be no put downs, but what will you do if this happens? How will you disagree? How will you bring up ideas?

2. Teach the graces - model the types of responses you would like to get.

3. Ask interesting questions.

4. Let bad grammar slide.

5. Pull the plug...on technology.

6. Share family stories. Share about your life before your children were in it! Marshall P. Duke, professor of clinical psychology, "When they hear family stories, children realize that they are part of a tale that goes back yo before they were born. That gives them a sense of security and stability."

7. Drop the platitudes...be REAL.

8. Learn together - Bring up topics that you'd like to learn more about. OR let your child teach you something that you truly didn't know before.

9. Let kids express their feelings. Ask them to elaborate on feelings...even if you wish they weren't having them!

10. Dig deeper. Ask quality questions that get you to deeper levels!

Games for conversation:

Food for Talk - collection of cards with questions and topic designed to take dinner-table conversation to the next level. (foodfortalk.net)

Table Topics - compelling conversation starters can be shared over dinner. Topics for family, teen, couples, and girls night out. (tabletopics.com)

4 Kinds of Secondary (any level?) Reader (learner?)

This is from Teaching Reading in the Middle School by Laura Robb

There are 4 kinds of Secondary Readers:

1. Struggling reader - This student avoids reading; s/he is often disfluent - meaning s/he reads word by word; s/he has a limited vocabulary due to a lack of reading. The goal is to teach word attack strategies and build prior knowledge for reading materials.
2. Reluctant reader - This student does not enjoy books - and never has. The goal is to find books that create personal connections. We should strive to find THAT book that turns this reluctant reader into a reader. The goal is to hear, "I couldn't put it down!" Think outside the usual genre with this reader!
3. Grade Level Reader - This student reads at grade level, but s/he is often balancing many different interests. Sports, school work, social life issues may take the place of reading. The goal for this read is to read more and continue to increase vocabulary. We don't want good reading strategies to allow vocabulary to stalemate.
4. Proficient Reader - This student understands and uses a lot of reading strategies. Goals for this reader are to think more deeply about mood, tone and theme. Deeper, more meaningful connections are also important to keeping him/her interested.