The Power of Words

Confluence...synchronicity...alignment... Ever feel your worlds aligning?  This post is the result of such a feeling...

From: blog.omegazadvisors.com

It is "W" week for ABCWednesday, my good friend Karin posted the powerful YouTube video (below) on Facebook, and it is the end of the year...we reflect and make resolutions for 2013, and a colleague totally misunderstood an email of mine and was hurt (you know who you are - and I am sorry)... So what am I writing about this week?

The Power of Words 

It seems like such a simple thing - words. We use them all the time, often not really thinking about our choices or their indirect effect. Writing emails, letters, speaking with friends... word choices can make such a huge difference, and so often we forget this.

Choosing words wisely and contemplating their significance takes time and consideration. And, while essential, EDITING is often a quick afterthought. Truth is, editing is a skill - and one that most of my students are so reluctant to do. They hate it and in truth, I often do too.  But,we all need to remember to look at spelling, grammar, keeping the content in one consistent tense, and most importantly, word choice (one of my 2013 resolutions).

I have a friend and colleague who is young, single, and dating.  She advises her single girl-friends that before emailing a guy they're interested in, to send it off first to a girl-friend (whom she calls a 'gate keeper')  for two reasons. One to pause and reconsider even sending it (is she sounding too eager, too harsh, too sassy, too cute....) and if she should send it, does it convey the message she wants. She's smart!

So here is my gift to you, my loyal friends, followers, and valued guests...


 The Gift of Words -in three parts

•  a video
•  editing guidelines / advice
• suggested links or editing resources and for illustrating lighter side of word power

Here is a video "Change Your Words - Change your Worlds." While this ironically also emphasizes the power of image (visual literacy), it is provides a powerful punch at the end emphasizing how the words we chose to use can make a huge difference.  Enjoy - it's worth the time!

So what can we do? Here or some suggestions I give to students and revisit myself.

From: languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu

Editing advice:

• Write a draft in a "Word" document. When finished look for red squiggly lines (that point out spelling errors) and green squiggly lines (pointing out grammar and tense errors).  Work on getting rid of those lines. Often the word program will give suggestions (especially with the spelling).
• Once you've taken care of the red and green lines (spelling, grammar and formatting), go back and re-read your piece. Read it OUT LOUD.  This way you can hear as well as see awkward, incomplete, or over-burdened sentences.  IF you have trouble reading the sentence or passage smoothly, your readers will too - so change it!
• Now reread it another time with these guidelines in mind:
• Trim long sentences
• focus on word choices - are they used correctly? Do they convey what you want to convey?
• Do your sentences and paragraphs flow one into the other or do you need a sentence here and there to bridge your thoughts/points?
• Check that names are spelled correctly, check that you are using the appropriate synonym, homophone and tense.
• Take a rest but don't send it yet.  Come back after some time and read it over one more time. Read it one final time:
• Does it say exactly what you want it to say? 
•  Is the message clear and succinct? Will your readers understand the intent, inferences and content? 
• If yes, you're ready. If not, rework it a bit.

My favorite books for kids illustrating the power of words:

• Douglas Fredericks and the House of They written by Joe Kelly, illustrated by Ben Roman is about a boy who wants to do so many creative things but "They Say" it can't be done.  This is a wonderful book about language and the power of creativity and determination. (Ages 6+)
• Frindle by Andrew Clemens is an awesome book about what makes a word a word. (Ages 6+)
• Many Luscious Lollipops (a vibrantly illustrated kids' book about adjectives and rhyming); A Cache of Jewels (a vibrantly illustrated book about collective nouns); Kites Sail High (all about verbs) ---by Ruth Heller are three of her books about words (ages 5-8)
  

  
  

  
  

Awesome word-related links:

• For laughs on POOR word choices that could not be retrieved here are some sadly funny political gaffes and "Quayleisms:
• For more laughs emphasizing the power and need of proofreading and editing, here is an awesome video of Taylor Mali's slam poem "The The Impotence of Proof Reading"
• Here is a post on how to "Understand Spelling Errors to Raise Better Writers"
• Here is a with a nice editing checklist



From: pingler.com







• This is a SUPER handout from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Writing Center on Word Choice. It discusses misused words, jargon, 'loaded language', wordiness, cliches, writing for an academic audience, repetition vs. redundancy, building clear thesis statements, strategies for successful word choice, final editing questions to ask yourself, and it contains additional references.

Thank you all for your visit.  Please leave some of your editing tips or word of reflection or kindness in the comments.

From: languagegarden.wordpress.com

Investing in luck Or..Providing a Greater Sense of Freedom and Power

My mother says that luck entails being at the right place, at the right time, and using the right words.  Taking her advice at face value (which I do), I believe we can help stack our luck, invest in it, so to speak.  Here are some suggestions on how we can help our kids stack their luck as they navigate school and friends.  I'd love to hear some of your ideas.  Please read through and let me know what you do! 

Investing in Luck is two-fold.  One: prepare your child for what to expect.  Two: demonstrate, model and brainstorm how to navigate.  Teach your child to understand where to be and when, and how to navigate social, academic, and classroom situations.

Prepare yourself, prepare your child.  Preview, brainstorm and role play.  The hardest and most important part:  Keep your anxiety LOW.  This should be tension free - more like an intellectual exercise.  Note:  You cannot anticipate everything but feeling comfortable with options helps.

Scenario #1: New school.  Visit before it begins.  Explore together.  Walk through the halls, look in classrooms, the gym, playground, nurse's office, and school office.  Explain when and why s/he might need to go to the office. Play a game.  One type of game may be to take turns thinking of reasons to go there (either real life situations - you forgot your field trip permission slip, can you call home...or silly ones if your child seems tense - you just got accosted in the bathroom by a purple alien who was begging for a grimple).

Scenario #2: Having a parent conference with a teacher/school administrator.  

•  General or mid year conference:  Look through your child’s materials (school work, tests, doctor/specialist report, etc.).  Look for trends.  Do you like them?  If not, this is something to talk about.  Read teacher comments.  Any questions about them?  What about group placement? Does your child seem happy and eager to talk about his or her day in school?  If not, yep…another thing to discuss.

• Specific topic/IEP/Disciplinary Conference: Gather information (test results, school work, past reports, etc.).  Find out who you are meeting with.  Google them or ask friends about their experiences with them.  Review all materials relevant to the meeting (Please see my blog about IEP’s if appropriate).  You my want to bring an advocate with you if you are asking for particular services.  Any relevant medical and/or psychological reports…bring them too.

Scenario #3:  Your child is meeting with a teacher/administrator 

• Make sure he or she understands the issues (without passing judgements or raising anxiety).  Simply analyze and review what the factors are that brought him or her to this place and brainstorm options.  
• Once options have been brainstormed, role play.  Act out different scenarios.  Which one is your child most comfortable with?  Go with that one.  Have your child visualize this (it will help). Note:  don't over process, this will make your child anxious. Discuss, review, and move on (hugs help).
• Know that you cannot anticipate everything, but feeling comfortable with options helps. 
• Keep anxiety low.  Easier said than done, but super important.  Don’t let your fears/anxieties show and don’t over think. 
• Take cues from your child.  Don’t over think…just prepare.

Scenario #4: Big Report or Assignment Due.    

 Prepare.  As soon as you know of a major project or assignment:

• Break down the assignment into 'manageable' parts based on time available and on intellectual demands.
• Make sure there is a space for your child to work (see previous blog for more on this).
• Coordinate when to make library/supply trips.

Brainstorm.

•  Brainstorm different ways to approach the project.  Discuss what it entails, selecting the 'best choice' option.
• Break down the 'best choice' into 'executable' parts. [Make a check list together of what this involves that your child can refer to as s/he works.]
• Get everything down first, then later...refine and edit.
• Edit some more.  I know kids hate editing but I can't stress enough how important it is. The first round of editing should focus on word choices and whether their point is getting across clearly.  Do the sentences make sense?  The second round of editing should check spelling, grammar, word omissions or repetitions. The final round should simply be a read through with to make sure it all still makes sense.

[Note: you should not be doing this for all projects and assignments.  Do this for the first ones of the year or for the newer larger ones your child may feel overwhelmed about or for a project/paper your child has not previous experience with.]

Scenario #5:  Social interactions.  I cannot stress enough how important it is to prepare your child for social situations.   Regardless of where your child is, playground, classroom, school bus, play date, cafeteria, mall, etc., there are your child must keep s/he must learn how to stand, sit, speak, interact appropriately with others.  Here are some suggestions on how to stack their "luck" when interacting with others:

• Validate feelings but point out realities (see previous blog for more).
• Brainstorm what may or may not have happened to contribute to the situation- to better understand it.
• Discuss word choices and tones of voice.
• Discuss concept of space and of respecting the space of others.
• Discuss boundaries (setting them and accepting them).
• Brainstorm options.
• Practice/role play best and worst case scenarios.

These are just some ideas and scenarios.. what do you think?  What do you do?

Understanding Spelling Errors to Raise Better Writers

Commenting on my last entry, AlwaysMomof4 asked a question that merits more than a cursory response:

I have a 6th grade daughter who struggles with spelling. She does well on spelling tests and well in reading. When she is writing, particularly longer pieces she has many spelling errors where she spells phonetically instead of remembering the rules. Any suggestions? 

Writing's challenging is the simultaneous coordination and feedback between:

• higher order cognitive systems - analyzing, brainstorming and/or creating content ideas;
• sequencing systems organizing what to say so it makes most sense;
• memory - remembering what they are supposed to be writing about and how to do this while remembering the words they want to use, along with proper tense, spelling and grammar;
• attention - continuous monitoring making sure they are responding accurately, appropriately, and with correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation;
• graphomotor coordination -coordinating muscle memory while entering the correct letters/words; and
• language - recalling vocabulary and rules of grammar and syntax.

Spelling's challenge is having to learn and focus on graphic and language details while remembering letter sequences (their rules and their exceptions) and memorizing an infinite number of words and their correct spelling format, all while making sure they are written down correctly. 

Analyzing spelling errors provides a window into your child's language, memory, attention, sequencing and cognitive skills.

What to look for in your child's spelling errors:

• Phonetic accuracy.  Words that sound 'right' but are misspelled show that your child can distinguish between letter sounds and  knows the component sounds of the word she is trying to write.  She just either didn't notice the error or  could not recall the correct spelling.   These types of errors often arise because of overloads or weaknesses in attention or memory - which are understandable given the incredible demands writing places on the brain.
• Letter sequencing.  Are letters reversed or a bit jumbled?  If so, your child may have trouble remembering or attending to sequences. 
• Handwriting.   Is it getting sloppier as he or she writes?  IF so, her hands may be tiring.  Check the grip ((where and how tightly the pencil is held) and  how heavily she presses down.  If her grip is too tight, too light, too heavy, this could tire her and drain attention.
• Inconsistent, random errors. Your child could also have trouble focusing on small details.  If this is the case, have her slow down when she works.  Also, point out details and how they are so important when following instructions or directions. The focusing on details, however, should be done during edits and not necessarily on the first draft.  [On the first draft, focus should be on generating and sequencing ideas.]

Suggestions:

1. Leave enough time between assignment and due date to write in stages.   FIRST - make sure your child gets her ideas down on paper in some informal outline or draft.  SECOND - review the outline/notes/draft making sure it responds to the writing prompt.  THIRD - make sure what's written is presented in an organized, flowing manner.  FOURTH - check spelling, grammar, syntax, and punctuation.  You may also want to reread it a final time just 'to make sure' you got everything.
2. Edit.  Depending on your child's ability to attend to detail and multiple facets at a time, this may have to be done in stages, much like those described in the item above.  The first edit may be to simply focus on the flow of the paper.  The next on spelling and or grammar.
3. To strengthen sequencing skills:  help your child focus on patterns and sequences around her.  Help her recognize the beginning, middle or end of a story; sing songs with multiple verses; have your child teach you or a sibling how to tie a shoe, cook a favorite dish, follow a familiar recipe.

Making Editing More Fun:
I am still working on this.  Part of the problem is that editing requires attending to detail.  Those of us who prefer the forest from the trees find this hard to do.  In my experience, the key is using reinforcements, prompts, and turning editing into a habit not a chore.  Point out and reinforce better grades and better teacher comments and reinforce their editing more frequently (maybe prepare a favorite dinner or dessert because they worked so hard, or allow them an extra half hour of television/computer/game time).  Some parents make charts of progress (in terms of frequency of editing or in writing/spelling grades).  Praise goes a long way!


A final note on spelling tests vs. spelling in writing:
As Alwaysmomof4 writes, there is a difference between our kids' spelling test scores and their applying their spelling prowess in their writing.  Spelling tests simply demand remembering the spelling patterns and attending to the task, making sure they produced the right result.  Writing demands much more.  Keep reinforcing studying and memorizing spelling because it will free the mind to focus on other aspects of writing, and keep that editing alive!

Hopefully this helps.  Let me know what works for you and what issues your child faces when writing or editing.  Also, please let me know if you want more detail on writing, outlining, or editing.