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TWLS Core Academics & Reading: Part 1
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Post by Ann Rooney
“It is often been said
there’s so much to be read,
you never can cram all those
words in your head.”
-Dr. Seuss
The center of a TWLS education is our Core Academics program. In Core Academics, we teach all the essential skills a child needs to go out into the adult world ready for its challenges and opportunities. Not only do we teach the basics of reading, writing, and math, but we also teach life skills and social skills, those intangibles that everyone needs and yet all too few people have really mastered. We teach the whole child.
Out of all the topics we cover in Core Academics, we’re first going to talk about reading. You have heard it said before, reading is fundamental. A basic and necessary component of everyday life, it is essential for success at home, in school and in the working world.
In 2000, The National Institute of Literacy, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the U.S. Department of Education commissioned an evidence based assessment of scientific literature on reading. The National Reading Panel was charged with reviewing more than 100,000 studies in reading instruction and identifying methods that consistently relate to reading success. The panel’s report provides analysis in the five areas of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and text comprehension.
At The Whole Learning School, we use scientific evidence to build a foundation for instructional practices. Check back next week for more specific information on how TWLS integrates the five areas of reading instruction for targeted success and effectiveness.
Ann Rooney is Head of School at The Whole Learning School. She has worked in special needs education for 16 years after receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in K-12 special education from St. Cloud State University and Master of Education degree from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. She holds licensures in Specific Learning Disabilities, Developmental Cognitive Disabilities and Emotional Behavior Disabilities.