Kristi Lange was written off by her teachers as �lazy� in elementary school. Even with a father who was principal of her middle school, surrounded by teachers who were family friends, Kristi was not diagnosed as dyslexic until she was nineteen and in college. She found a way to compensate, learning coping skills and taught herself. Kristi now teaches at Liberty Middle School in Madison. Kristi gave us great practical things to try with our dyslexic kids.
For her, THE GIFT OF DYSLEXIA by Mr. Davis was an eye opening book. For her, the theory that dyslexics think by pictures, association, and colors made sense. Kristi says 85% of people are verbal conceptualizers, and 15% are nonverbal conceptualizers who think terms of picture in their mind�s eye.
Kristi discussed reading comprehension in terms of four terms teachers use, explaining each one.
1. Phonemic awareness in the early grades is what teachers look for to see where kids are having problems. Many dyslexics never grasp phonics, including herself Kristi told us. Kristi recommended the sight word flash cards you can buy at Wal-mart or you can make your own. She uses the EASY SIGHT WORDS by Frank Schatter Publications. Kristi recommended breaking those words into syllables, �little words you recognize�.
2. Fluency is how you sound when you read �that you can read quickly and accurately with expression. Kristi said the only way to improve fluency is to practice. She suggested taking your kids to a bookstore and letting them pick out a book they wanted to read. You read two pages, and then have your child read one page.
3. Vocabulary is word recognition. Kristi uses magnetic tape to make flash cards or vocabulary word cards stick to the fridge so kids can physically manipulate the words or syllables to �fit�.
4. text comprehension: crucial in middle and high school years. Kids need to learn how to ask questions while they read. She recommended sticky notes being available as a child reads, so that at the end of each chapter they can make a one or two sentence summary of the chapter, or note any words they have trouble with on the note. Then when they are done reading, they can collect those sticky notes and organize them by chapter and have the summary.
Kristi recommended two of her favorite books �MY NAME IS BRAIN, BRIAN� by Jeanne Betancourt, and �THANK YOU MR. FALKER�by Patricia Polacco. Both books tell the struggles of a child with dyslexia to get help. These books help kids feel that they are not alone.
Kristi had a wealth of handouts. I have the extras and will bring them to future meetings to share.
Her tips included highlighters, using index cards to make your own flash cards, color overlays for kids who have text wiggle on the page, and she walked us through using �frames� sheets that help break down the topic with one sentence in the various aspects of the topic.
We thank Kristi for her great enthusiasm and understanding of the dyslexia dilemma, and for taking a day off from work, getting a sub, so that she could share her tips with us. Liberty Middle is blessed to have such a wonderful teacher helping students! Thank you Kristi!