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This summer would be a great time to visit the public library.  If you want to increase your reading fluency, you need to practice reading.  Check out some good books and enjoy.  Library cards are free.  Go to your local library and get a card if you don’t have one yet.

Your local library might also provide literacy classes or one-on-one tutoring.  Many libraries use our books for their literacy classes.  Other libraries carry our workbooks.

Libraries have summer reading programs for children.  Often children get prizes for reading so many books.  Libraries may also have special hour programs for children.

Before making a trip to your local library, check their hours.  They may be closed on certain days.

If you don’t have time to go to a literacy class or tutoring sessions, you can learn on your own.  Our workbooks from our literacy series are good books to use. They can be used in conjunction with each other.  For example: English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker Book 1 can be used with English Reading Comprehension for the Spanish Speaker Book 1, English Writing Composition for the Spanish Speaker Book 1 and English Vocabulary for the Spanish Speaker Book 1.  Each series has six workbooks.

Visit our website at www.Fisher-Hill.com to find out more about our workbooks that can help Spanish-speaking teens and adults learn how to read, write and speak English.

Unlike oral language, which is learned naturally from infancy, reading is a skill that is acquired at an older age, through instruction and with effort.  Some children read with less effort than others.  I’m sure you’ve heard parents say, my child just started reading one day.  Other parents will say, I’ve read books to my children since they were infants and they still do not have interest in learning to read or have difficulty learning to read.  Reading is a complex process and requires may skills:  the perception and discrimination of forms and sounds; appearance of letters; linkage of names and meanings with clusters of letters and words; and memory, motor, visual, and auditory factors.

“Developmental dyslexia is a disorder manifest by difficulty in learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and socio-cultural opportunity” (Critchley 1969)  Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin.

A definition currently supported by the National Institutes of Health states that dyslexia is inaccurate and/or slow, effortful reading that typically originates with weaknesses in the phonological processing system of language, although weaknesses in many other language functions may be observed.  For example, text reading fluency, vocabulary acquisition, and reading comprehension are adversely affected by this impairment.

Kindergarten and first grade children with poor abilities in phonological awareness (the ability to identify and mentally manipulate the speech sounds) and timed letter naming are likely to experience reading failure unless appropriated instruction is given.  If at-risk children are taught in kindergaten and first grade, outcomes are significantly better than if treatment is withheld until later.  First grade intervention takes less time, has more benefit in the long term and is likely to prevent secondary emotional problems, in comparison to programs implemented at the third grade or later.

Effective classroom-based programs that minimize reading failure in all but 2-5% of children include several components:  structured phonemic awareness (orally identifying and manipulating syllables and speech sounds), phonics (making associations between sounds and letters), fluency (developing speed and automaticity in accurate letter, word and text reading), and vocabulary expansion and text comprehension.  (Louisa Moats 2014)

Fisher Hill’s literacy series support these different components. Each series has six workbooks and each series can be used in conjunction with the other three series.  For example the Book Ones in each series can be used together.  The titles of these series are:

English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker

English Reading Comprehension for the Spanish Speaker

English Writing Composition for the Spanish Speaker

English Vocabulary for the Spanish Speaker

Visit our website at www.Fisher-Hill.com to find out more about our workbooks that help Spanish-speaking teens and adults learn how to read, write and speak English.

Here is a list of the wars the USA has fought in:

Afghanistan War (October 7, 2001 to present)
U.S. Casualties: 1,098 deaths; 2,379 wounded in action
 
Iraq War (March 20, 2003 to December 15, 2011)
U.S. Casualties: 4,404 deaths; 31,827 wounded in action
 
Vietnam War (1959 to April 30, 1975)
U.S. Casualties: 58,193 deaths; 153,303 wounded in action
 
Gulf War (August 2, 1990 to February 28, 1991)
U.S. Casualties: 378 deaths; less than 1000 wounded in action
 
Korean War (June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953)
U.S. Casualties: 54,246 deaths; 8142 wounded in action
 
World War II (December 8, 1941 to August 14, 1945)
U.S. Casualties: 407,300 deaths; 670,846 wounded in action
 
World War 1 (August 1914 to November 11, 1918)
U.S. Casualties: 53,402 deaths; 204,002 wounded in action
 
Spanish-American War (April 25 to August 12, 1898)
U.S. Casualties: 332 deaths
 
American Civil War (April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865)
Casualties: 203,000 deaths; 412,200+ wounded in action
 
Mexican-American War (1846 to 1848)
U.S. Casualties: 13,271 deaths; 4152 wounded in action
 
War of 1812 (1812 to 1815)
U.S. Casualties: 20,000 deaths; 4505 wounded in action
 
American Revolution (1775 to 1783)
U.S. Casualties: 4435 deaths; 6188 wounded in action
 

This information comes from americanveterans.homestead.com website.

There has been too many wars causing too many deaths, wounded soldiers, and destruction of land and property.

On Memorial Day, we remember all the soldiers who have died or been wounded in the many wars that the United States has fought in.

Maybe you know a Spanish-speaking veteran who wants to learn English.  Visit our website at www.Fisher-Hill.com to obtain information about our workbooks that help Spanish-speaking teens and adults learn how to read, write and speak English.

People’s language abilities greatly influence their every day lives and their capacity to learn.  In school, good language foundations help students acquire the essential skills for reading, writing and math.

What are the necessary elements of language?

Phonology:  Phonology is the study of the sound system of a language and the rules that govern how phonemes combine into words. Phonemes are the most basic unit of sound.  For example:  the word back has three phonemes:  /b/, /a/, /k/.  The ability to identify and manipulate the sounds within a word is essential to reading and writing.  People who have good phonic skills know that the /k/ sound in back is spelled with a ck. Students who struggle with phonological skills will most likely experience difficultly learning to read and write.

Morphology:  Morphology is the structure of a word.  Words are comprised of base words, prefixes and suffixes.  The combination of the different parts of a word will impact its meaning.  For example, if you add the prefix un to the word done it will change the meaning of the the base word to its opposite meaning:  done vs undone.  The suffix ed added to a verb indicates the action has already happened:  cook vs cooked.  Mastery of morphology has a significant impact on a person’s ability to read, spell and comprehend.

Semantics:  Semantics is the study of the meaning of words.  To master semantic skills, students  must develop knowledge of vocabulary and the functions of language that convey meaning. Students must understand that a word can have multiple meanings.  For example:  the word bank can mean the building where a person goes to withdraw money from their account or it can mean the land along side a river.

Syntax:  Syntax refers to the rules that determine the order and functions of the words in a sentence.  It includes grammar and requires knowledge of the mechanics of different types of sentences.  When writing and speaking, proper sentence structure and punctuation will help convey an accurate message.

Fisher Hill’s literacy workbook series:  English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker, English Reading Comprehension for the Spanish Speaker, English Writing Composition for the Spanish Speaker and English Vocabulary for the Spanish Speaker provide the necessary skill practice for  Spanish-speaking teens and adults to develop knowledge of these different elements of the English language.

Visit our website at www.Fisher-Hill.com to obtain information about our literacy workbook series and other series that are excellent for Spanish-speaking teens and adults who want to learn how to read, write and speak English.

Our new series English Vocabulary for the Spanish Speaker helps Spanish-speaking teens and adults increase their English vocabulary. Vocabulary improves listening and reading comprehension and writing composition. This new series is great to use with our other series for Spanish speakers: English Reading and Spelling for the Spanish Speaker, English Reading Comprehension for the Spanish Speaker and English Writing Composition for the Spanish Speaker because it reinforces the vocabulary presented in these three literacy series. Vocabulary is learned through the many uses of new words. Multiple encounters of a new word is required before a word is really known. Repeated exposure to a word in a variety of contexts can add dimension to what is known about the word. “The more opportunities students have to think about and use the words they are learning, the more elaborate their mental representations of the words will be.” (Bringing Words to Life by Isabel Beck.) Vocabulary knowledge is also related to writing proficiency. Word choice is one of the features included on rubrics used to evaluate student writing. In the book Bringing Words to Life, Beck talks about vocabulary comprising of three tiers. The first tier consists of words most often used in daily conversations. The second tier contains words that are found in written text and are used across a variety of domains. Examples of tier two words would be precede, retrospect, and contradict. Tier three words are the content words for science and social studies. In our series English Vocabulary for the Spanish Speaker, we expose the learner to all three tiers. Spanish speakers need practice learning tier one words for daily conversations. Tier two words are necessary for reading comprehension and writing composition. Tier three words are included in the science and social study activity pages that are included in the workbooks. Through May 31, 2014, we have a special offer for books from our new series, Buy 2, Get 1 Free. Visit our website at fisher-hill.com to get more information about this special offer.