Is your child not making sufficient progress in reading? Are you suspecting that your child might have dyslexia? Don't second guessing yourself! Research supports the idea of early identification. The earlier that students are identified with dyslexia, the sooner they can receive the support and remediation they need.
ProLearning offers dyslexia testing in our center at a scheduled time that is convenient for your family, including weekends. Our testing includes:
1. a written report that can be presented to public, private, and charter schools;
2. a consultation meeting to review and discuss the results; and
3. recommendations for next steps.
Not sure if your child's reading behaviors exhibit dyslexia? Check out our resource page for some common characteristics. Remember, no two students are alike. Students may or may not exhibit all of the characteristics listed.
Give us a call today to schedule an appointment for a dyslexia evaluation.
This is a multisensory activity to teach and reinforce rhyming. While rhyming is on the lower continuum of phonological skills, it can still be very difficult for students. Often times, students want to focus on the initial sound when rhyming; however, it is truly the medial and final sound that determines if words rhyme. This activity helps students not only hear rhyming, but also "see" it.
For a video on how to best use this resource, check out our YouTube page. https://youtu.be/BJb5kYK7d5o
This decodable dice activity reinforces reading practice of previously learned letters and sounds.
All you need is a die and these free decodable reading practice pages to get started!
Students with phonological awareness and/or speech difficulties often times find it not only difficult to difficult to differentiate similar sounds, but they often struggle with the production of the sounds as well.
This FREE activitiy reinforces similar sounds that students often struggle with that negatively impacts reading and spelling.
This or That! FREE activity with instructions and word list included.
Suggested use:
Review mouth positions for sounds using mirrors and mouth pictures
Select a target sound /th/ or /f/
Point to a picture, provide the word, student repeats the word in the mirror
Student decides if the target sound is both heard and seen/felt (mouth position)
Student uses a marker/counter if the selected sound is identified
Review all covered pictures to reinforce sound/mouth position
This or That! is also available for /p/ or /b/ and /sh/ or /ch/.
Many families look to private tutors to help their child academically. With so many options available, you may be wondering where do I even begin? Let’s explore the two most common types of tutoring available through reading and math clinics and tutoring centers.
Reading and math clinics are centers that provide specialized instruction and remediation to students with unique learning needs.
Learning clinics are designed to support students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Whether they have been previously evaluated for a learning disability or not, students who are performing significantly below grade level and/or find learning difficult are best suited for this type of support, as opposed to any other type of tutoring. In order to make the greatest gains, they need an environment that not only understands their needs, but also has experience and expertise in working with these types of learners.
Reading and math clinics employ highly credentialed and experienced professionals. They are specialists in their content or field with advanced degrees, training, and licenses/certifications.
The goal of a learning clinic is to provide a prescriptive remediation plan, specific to the students' needs. This could include closing students' academic gaps in learning and/or teaching students strategies that are necessary to support their needs. In addition to the actual instruction, learning clinics typically also provide diagnostic assessments, as well as comprehensive assessments to identify learning difficulties or disabilities.
Tutoring centers are traditional learning centers that provide academic support by grade level. This is typically done by supporting students with what they are currently learning in the classroom through additional practice or homework help. Additionally, tutoring centers may also provide enrichment opportunities for students who are working above grade level.
Students who are performing slightly below grade or are on/above grade level, would benefit most from tutoring centers. This is also ideal for students who may just need a slower pace of learning than what was presented in the classroom, but are able to catch up quickly with additional instruction and repeated practice.
Staff at a traditional tutoring center, especially large chains or franchises, may or may not employ certified teachers. In fact, oftentimes, tutors that work at these types of centers are students themselves or those without a background in education.
Centers that hire certified teachers are likely able to better provide academic support than those that do not. Additionally, there are certified teachers with advanced degrees and training in their content area that also work at tutoring centers. If your child is able to be tutored by a specialist, this is the most ideal option.
The goals of traditional tutoring are typically centered around grades in school. These are the best measures of success since this type of tutoring focuses on current grade level learning.
The best way to decide if your child would be best served at a learning clinic or tutoring center is to think about your child as a learner.
Are they someone with learning difficulties/disabilities? Perhaps they are someone who has been tutored in the past with no significant progress. If so, a learning clinic is the most appropriate setting for them to receive the support they need.
Does your child typically perform satisfactorily, but they aren’t reaching their potential? Or maybe as a parent, you don’t have the time in the evenings or are unable to support your child with homework. Either of these scenarios would suggest that tutoring centers are the best option for your child.
Unfortunately, student needs aren’t the only driving force behind the decision between the two.. Learning clinics, because of the need for highly credentialed staff, aren’t readily available in all areas. If this is the case, you may want to explore additional options as a tutoring center will not likely yield the best results because often times, they don’t employ staff that are equipped with the skills and experience to provide intensive individualized reading and math therapy.
Making the decision to enroll your child in a reading or math clinic or tutoring center can be a worthwhile investment.
Fortunately for those in the Dallas-Fort Worth and surrounding areas, ProLearning is centrally located in Arlington. ProLearning operates as both a reading and math clinic with certified reading and math specialists and dyslexia therapists, and as a tutoring center, also with certified educators.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help meet the needs of your child!
Math Problem Solving Planner - Free Download
Math Word Problem Solving Strategies Poster - Free Download
As parents, it is important to stay on top of your child's learning. The best way to do so, is to understand your child as a learner. A diagnostic placement can help with this.
There are a number of widely used and available assessments. However; it is important to understand the difference between a diagnostic assessment and a placement assessment.
Dignostic Assessment - A test to assess a student's relative strengths and weaknesses in a given subject and the results provide an analysis of students' proficiency
Placement Assessment - A test to determine a student's current skill level and is usually associated with a grade level
So what are diagnostic placement assessments? Diagnostic placement assessments combine the benefits of both an individual diagnostic test and a placement assessment test. They provide information about where along the continuum of learning students are performing with their current skills, and they also provide specific information about a students' strengths and weaknesses.
ProLearning can help you learn more about your child's learning. We offers diagnostic placement assessments for students in kinder through 8th grade in both reading and math.
How can diagnostic placement assessments support learning?
Identify student strengths and weaknesses, including gaps in learning and areas students are reading to learn
Determine a grade level equivalency of students’ current performance
Support the development of an instructional plan
Serve as a starting point to monitor progress and measure growth
There are a number of benefits of including diagnostic placement assessments in your child’s educational journey. Ultimately, the goal is to improve student learning outcomes.
Learn more about how ProLearning’s diagnostic placement assessments can help your child reach learning goals.
“Just give them time.”
“They’re young.”
“They’ll catch up.”
These are the lines that parents of struggling readers in kindergarten and 1st grade are all too familiar with. While these primary students are young in age, research has shown us “The importance of early reading cannot be understated. Children who struggle with reading in the early grades often remain behind their peers throughout school, and academic progress in all subject areas suffers (McIntyre et al., 2005).”
Now enrolling for the upcoming semester. Our small group tutoring Early Literacy and Foundational Skills program (kinder, 1st & 2nd grade) is designed with beginning readers in mind. Focused on essential literacy skills such as: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension; students will begin to learn to unlock the “code” for reading.
This small group meets three (3) times during the week.
As students progress through schooling, parents often begin noticing academic strengths and weaknesses within their child by observing homework time, meeting with their child’s teacher, or even reviewing grades.
If you begin to wonder about the need for a tutor to help your child in school catch up, keep up, or even stay ahead, consider the following signs to determine if a tutor is right for you.
ProLearning supports local schools, PTAs, non-profits, and other community organizations!
We are available for dyslexia awareness presentations, parent seminars, test prep workshops, teacher professional developments and more! Give us a call 682-561-5876 or email us at info@prolearningservices.com to discuss how we may be able to support your group or organization.
Is your child not making sufficient progress in reading? Are you suspecting that your child might have dyslexia? Don't second guessing yourself! Research supports the idea of early identification. The earlier that students are identified with dyslexia, the sooner they can receive the support and remediation they need.
ProLearning offers dyslexia testing in our center at a scheduled time that is convenient for your family, including weekends. Our testing includes:
1. a written report that can be presented to public, private, and charter schools;
2. a consultation meeting to review and discuss the results; and
3. recommendations for next steps.
Not sure if your child's reading behaviors exhibit dyslexia? Check out our resource page for some common characteristics. Remember, no two students are alike. Students may or may not exhibit all of the characteristics listed.
Give us a call today to schedule an appointment for a dyslexia evaluation.