Jump-Starting Boys: Help Your Reluctant Reader Find Success in School and Life

While parents may "feel" that their sons are falling behind in school, and teachers may have evidence of the shift in boys' academic performance, the reasons why this is occurring and what to do about it are not as clear. This issue, and ways parents and teachers can help boys to achieve and do well in school, is the topic of the newly released book, Jump-Starting Boys by Pam Withers and Cynthia Gill.

This easy-to-read handbook sets the stage for readers by discussing the reasons why somewhere around fourth grade, bright, eager, and up until then, engaged boys begin to fail in school, and become discouraged reluctant learners.

At the heart of the solution Withers and Gill offer is an emphasis on helping boys to become better readers - they see success in reading as the key to academic success and success in life beyond school. In the Introduction to Jump-Starting Boys, they say, "We firmly believe that reading confidence is a keystone to educational success, which in turn increases one's chances of a more stable, satisfying life."

The "Boy" Problem

This book presents a great discussion of the "problem" and offers a multitude of solutions that can be used in both school and home. This is an engaging read filled with hands-on ideas and tips in plain language - not "academic-speak" as the authors call it.

The authors begin with a short discussion of the seven reasons why boys are underachieving: Physical, Reading/writing gap, Home structure, School structure, fear-based backlash, Morals and Parenting styles, followed by seven tips for ways to turn boys around. There is an excellent chapter on what holds boys back, including learning disabilities, learning styles, developmental issues and how parents can help with those issues.

The topics of the influence of Dads and mentors are discussed, as well as ways to encourage boys to become better readers and to writers.

Hands-On Ways to Help Boys Succeed

The book contains to in-depth discussions of over 200 hands-on approaches that parents can adopt and use at home right away - and ideas that can be used in school as well. There are also many success stories describing the effects of these ideas on real-life boys and their achievement. Subject-specific ideas and advice fill this book - with emphasis on reading and writing especially. The research is well cited and there is a full and very user-friendly appendix of sources, recommended readings and useful websites.

In this book, Withers and Gill teach parents and teachers to:

• "Determine their son’s learning style and how best to help him learn.
• Encourage a reluctant reader via book clubs, graphic novels, and kinesthetic activities related to reading.
• Emphasize on one-on-one interaction during reading time.
• Limit screen time without coming across as a tyrant.
• Use their son’s interest in technology to foster excitement about learning and forming good reading habits.
• Teach their son to be a self-motivated, lifelong reader." [Viva Editions]

About the Authors

Pam Withers is a former business journalist and the bestselling, award-nominated author of more than a dozen adventure novels particularly popular with teen boys. She is also co-author with John Izzo of the highly acclaimed Values Shift: The New Work Ethic and What It Means for Business (Prentice Hall Canada 2000). Her magazine writing credits include McCalls, Working Woman, Profit and numerous inflight magazines. Withers travels North America extensively, speaking at schools, librarians’ and writers’ conferences. She’s a dual U.S./Canadian citizen. The second of six siblings, she spent her growing-up years trying to measure up to her smarter, better-looking older sister, Cynthia. (She has just about outgrown that.) Withers and her husband, a university professor, live in Vancouver, Canada, where they recently completed raising a high-energy son who spent his adolescence as the official teen editor of her teen adventure novels.

During her thirty-year career as a high school teacher, Cynthia Gill, M.A., L.M.F.T. worked on innovative curricula development and served as an academic dean, while winning acclaim for her work in the classroom. She completed her master's degree in Adlerian psychotherapy and counseling in 2006, and has since worked with adolescents, children and families as a licensed marriage and family therapist. Gill has taught as an adjunct faculty member at Globe University and enjoys public speaking, particularly on parent education. She has led numerous groups of students on educational and service trips to Russia, Germany and Latin America. A former homeschooling mom, she also served as a consultant to homeschooling families with an accrediting organization. She and her husband live in Minneapolis and like to travel in between visits from their three grown sons, two daughters-in-law and three grandchildren.

A Great Resource for Parents and Teachers

Jump-Starting Boys is a great resource for parents and teachers of reluctant learners - especially boys. It is a must-read for anyone dealing with an underachieving boy - and contains a wealth of advice that can be instrumental in helping that learner find success in school - and in life!

Readers may enjoy an reading an excerpt from Chapter Four of Jump-Starting Boys: What Hold Smart Kids Back?

Reference

Withers, Pam and Gill, Cynthia. Jump-Starting Boys: Help Your Reluctant Reader Find Success in School and Life. Viva Editions. 2013.

Author bios courtesy of Viva Editions.

Copyright 2013 Irene Taylor. Permission to republish in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Common Core Standards: Do Kids Need to Learn Math Facts?

Image courtesy of Melinda Kolk

Math facts! Some kids love 'em, most hate 'em! But one thing is for sure. Success with these facts will help to insure success in future mathematics studies.

Back in the "olden days" teachers and parents used to drill kids in their number facts. This idea fell out of favor in the late 1980s and 1990s in favor of a more concept-oriented approach. Some of us still expected mastery of those facts, but with the advent of calculators and computers, proficiency in math facts wasn't as highly emphasized. Turns out - knowing those facts IS important, and "math fact fluency" is now part of the Common Core Standards that have been adopted by the education departments of 45 states.

What are the Common Core Standards?

A complete discussion of the Common Core would take volumes. The Common Core State Standards Initiative says, "The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce."

Standards have been developed for mathematics and English/Language Arts and there are detailed standards for each grade level, kindergarten through grade 12. If you live in a Common Core state, you probably have already heard of the standards. The question is - how can parents and teachers help children meet these standards?

Do Kids Need to Learn Math Facts?

First, some background. According to the The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, "Computational proficiency with whole number operations is dependent on sufficient and appropriate practice to develop automatic recall of addition and related subtraction facts, and of multiplication and related division facts."

The Common Core emphasizes learning on many levels, but, building on the findings of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, it does call for "fluency" in addition and subtraction for second graders and fluency in multiplication and division for third graders - and learning those number facts is a way to gain fluency.

• 2.OA.2. Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies. By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.
• 3.OA.7. Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.

Knowing those facts is important! So, how can teachers help their students at school? How can you help your child at home?

You can help by giving your child some strategies for learning important math facts. Strategies for Learning Math Facts has a few "tricks" I use at school, which you can share with your child at home. After your child has mastered these strategies, he can apply them in everyday math work.

Resources

Common Core Standards Initiative. About the Standards. (2012). Accessed August 1, 2013.

US Department of Education. The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. (2008). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Common Core Standards Initiative.  Common Core Math Scope & Sequence.(2010). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Lewin, Tamar. "Panel Proposes Streamlining Math." New York Times. (2008). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Taylor, Irene. Study Skills and Learning Games. (2012).

Taylor, Irene. Homework Help: A Success Guide for Teachers and Parents. (2012).

Laura Candler's Mastering Math Facts - Multiplication & Division: Aligned with the Common Core. (2013).

Copyright 2013 Irene Taylor. Permission to republish in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Strategies for Learning Math Facts - Addition and Subtraction Facts

Image courtesy of Dave.

Math facts are a fact of school life - given new emphasis in the Common Core Standards adopted by 45 states. How can you help your children learn these facts so that they can move on to more advanced mathematical concepts?

General Strategies for Learning Math Facts

Learning facts in families is a good way to increase mastery. Always have your child learn facts in related groups. 2+3, 3+2, 5-3, and 5-2 are all related facts. So are 4x6, 6x4, 24 divided by 4, and 24 divided by 6. If a child learns facts in groups, it will actually lower the number of "new" facts to be learned. For a good way to practice (here's an oldie but goodie!), make flash cards with two related facts together on the same card (for example, both 4+5 and 5+4 on the front of the same card with 9 on the back as the answer to both problems).

Have your students learn all of the "doubles" first. These are easy ones to remember, and there are only two related facts for each double: 4+4 and 8-4, for example.

No matter which facts your child is learning, it is a good idea to mark off the facts that have already been mastered on a fact chart. This helps to track progress, and also is a good visual for seeing how few facts there are left to learn. For example, by the time your child gets to the 6 times table, she already should know:

• 1x6
• 2x6
• 3x6
• 4x6
• 5x6
• and 6x6 

from the previous times tables and the doubles. That only leaves three new facts: 7x6, 8x6,and 9x6 to be learned. Looking at the few new ones is much more encouraging than looking at the whole table, and students will be happy to see how many they already knows.

Addition and Subtraction Fact Strategies

Doubles Plus One - Once your student has mastered the doubles, teach the "doubles plus one" strategy. For all facts that are one away from a "double" - for example, 4+5 , it is easy to remember the double fact, 4+4, and just add one to the answer. So if 4+4=8, then 4+5 is 9, one more than 8. This will also work as a "doubles minus one" strategy. In the above example, if the student knows 5+5 better, then 4+5 is one LESS than 10.

Counting On - For addition facts that involve a larger number plus 2, 3, or 4, teach students to "count on" to find the answer. For example, in 3+8, have students start with the 8 and count on three more - "nine, ten, eleven" to find the answer.

Strategies for learning multiplication and division facts will be the topic of a related article.

Learn those Basic Number Facts

Number facts are the building blocks of all other computation. According to the Common Core, by the end of Grade 2, children should be proficient in addition and subtraction of single digit numbers. One children have learned the basics, they are then free to apply those to the range of mathematical concepts that the standards encompass.

Working with your child at home is important, and will help him to memorize these basic facts to that he will be free to move on to higher and more complex mathematical learning. Make learning them fun for your child. Encourage success, and he or she will continue to be successful in all math endeavors. Have some fun with those facts, and your child will learn them in no time!

Resources

Common Core Standards Initiative. About the Standards. (2012). Accessed August 1, 2013.

US Department of Education. The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. (2008). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Candler, Laura. Math Fact Mastery and the Common Core. (2013). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Expert Corner: Math Fact Fluency and the Common Core. (2012). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Common Core Standards Initiative.  Common Core Math Scope & Sequence.(2010). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Shenendahowa Central School. Math Facts. (2010). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Lewin, Tamar. "Panel Proposes Streamlining Math." New York Times. (2008). Accessed August 1, 2013.

Taylor, Irene. Common Core Standards: Do Kids need to Learn Math Facts? (2013).

Taylor, Irene. Study Skills and Learning Games. (2012).

Taylor, Irene. Helping with Homework: A Success Guide for Teachers and Parents. (2012).

Copyright 2013 Irene Taylor. Permission to republish in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.