Category: Instructional Tips
How to Apply Concept Imagery to Increase Vocabulary
February 3, 2020
“It is impossible even to think without a mental picture.” – Aristotle In the field of reading, educators work with struggling students to develop phonemic awareness, sight words, and fluency. Many students have success in increasing their decoding skills, yet they may still struggle with background knowledge, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. They often continue to […]
Help Your Students Love History!
May 1, 2018
Like many of you, I’ve had the privilege of teaching children and adults over the years. Time and again, when I asked my students what they visualized for history, I was met with a blank stare. Not only did these students have difficulty visualizing and comprehending language, but they also had enormous information gaps. Many […]
Word Problems Made Easy
February 23, 2018
By Nanci Bell Why can’t everyone think with numbers? What cognitive processes do some have that others do not? Some individuals easily understand the concepts underlying math processes. They quickly perform math calculations, mentally or on paper, and have an innate sense of whether or not an answer is correct. But for others math is […]
3 Tips for Developing Sight Word Vocabulary
May 15, 2017
Nanci Bell working with a student on sight words.
The complex skill of reading requires the integration of auditory, visual, and language skills. Word recognition (orthographic processing and instant recognition of sight words) is a necessary component in the cascade of sub-skills needed for global reading. Students need extensive practice to acquire a substantial sight word vocabulary (words that are recognized by sight, […]
Strategies to Improve Comprehension
April 17, 2017
The Imagine That! Stories are a great supplement to the Visualizing and Verbalizing® program. They are also used with Seeing Stars® and LiPS® students to develop fluency and comprehension. These high-interest and engaging stories include graded reading levels to develop the imagery-language connection for listening and reading comprehension. Here are some helpful hints to improve […]
7 Best Practices to Improve Reading and Comprehension for Your English Learners
January 10, 2017
Visualizing and Verbalizing (V/V) Our sensory-cognitive programs are often a critical missing piece in English Language Development. By adding the overlooked component of explicit sensory-cognitive instruction, we have seen evidence of an acceleration of language and literacy skills for many English Learners. Here’s how our programs work: Oral Language Development Learning a language is a […]
How to Deliver an Effective Seeing Stars® Lesson: 3 Tips for Dynamic Instruction
October 17, 2016
Tip 1: DRIVE THE SENSORY BUS. Use language to directly and explicitly stimulate the sensory input of symbol imagery. For example, the language “What letters do you picture for the word ‘thought’?” stimulates imagery, whereas the language, “How do you spell ‘thought’?” does not. Tip 2: EMPHASIZE ORTHOGRAPHIC PROCESSING. In Seeing Stars, only a few […]
How to Deliver an Effective Visualizing and Verbalizing Lesson: 3 Tips for Dynamic Instruction
September 15, 2016
Tip 1: RELEVANT QUESTIONING IS THE ESSENCE OF GOOD V/V. The quality of your questioning is the difference between concept imagery developing quickly and accurately, and concept imagery remaining weak and unstable. Remember the Goldilocks principle: not too much, not too little, but just right. Your questions should be focused on the gestalt of the […]
Seven Essential Strategies to Strengthen Language and Literacy Skills for English Learners
January 8, 2016
by Margaret Towner What do you picture for “See ya”? A teacher stood at her 4th-grade classroom door to say goodbye to her students. “See ya!” she said. Maribel looked at her in bewilderment and said, “Silla?” The teacher nodded and again said, “See ya. See ya tomorrow.” Maribel nodded her head and left the classroom. […]
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