The executive function skills that might be holding your child back as a reader
If you ask any reading teacher to describe the skills students need to be proficient readers, I guarantee they'll list decoding, fluency, and comprehension.
I certainly did in my former role as an English language arts teacher.
When a student struggled with reading, I quickly set to work determining where the weakness was and then planning interventions to strengthen those weak decoding, fluency, or comprehension skills.
But here's the thing...for some students, no matter what strategies I taught and no matter how much they progressed in their decoding, fluency, or comprehension skills, there still seemed to be a missing piece.
My quest to figure that out is part of the reason why I am now an executive function skills coach for students and teachers. If we want to support our children's growth as readers, we cannot only address decoding, fluency, and comprehension. The executive function skills involved in reading must also be directly supported through the strategies we teach.
So today, in honor of Read Across America Week, let's take a look at what that might look like.
But first, let me back up a few steps...
What exactly are executive function skills?
Think of executive function skills as your brain's air traffic control tower.
Your brain is bombarded with information every second. Your executive function skills are responsible for deciding how to prioritize, remember, process, and organize that information.
Most of us have some stronger executive function skills and some weaker ones.
Your executive function skills work together as a team, so let's introduce the team members:
impulse control
emotional control
sustain attention
task initiation
planning and prioritizing
organization
time management
goal-directed persistence
flexible thinking
working memory
self-monitoring and metacognition
Which executive function skills are involved in reading?
Well, pretty much all of them! But here are the main ones:
Task Initiation: responsible for getting your child to pick up the book and actually start reading.
Organization: responsible for helping your child find the book, but also for organizing the information in the book in his or her thinking.
Time management: responsible for making time to read and pacing reading to finish a book.
Goal-directed persistence: responsible for helping your child reach the goal of getting to the last page!
Sustained-attention: responsible for helping your child pay attention to the words on the page (this is a big one!)
Self-monitoring: responsible for helping your child monitor his or her attention and comprehension while reading.
Working memory: responsible for helping your child remember the information read and how it connects together.
If you walk into most ELA classes, you'll find lessons exploring literary elements, character development, or theme. Unfortunately, you most likely won't find lessons on working memory, task initiation or sustained attention.
You can take some simple steps at home to develop these executive function skills as they relate to your child's reading. Today we'll explore strategies to assist with task initiation. Next week we'll dive into strategies for sustained attention and organization.
Reading strategies for children who struggle with task initiation:
When something is part of a daily routine, it eventually becomes a habit. When something is firmly set as a habit, we don't need to rely on task initiation as much because it is something we do more automatically. The following strategies help to develop positive reading habits to support children with weak task initiation skills.
Designate a primary reading location that has good lighting and is quiet and comfortable. Some children prefer to read at their desks, but most enjoy curling up on a couch with a book. Involve your child in selecting the location and personalizing it. Perhaps she wants to add a cozy pillow or a blanket to wrap up in. Choose a nice basket to hold books and bookmarks. This is where your child's book and reading supplies will stay so you won't have any more frantic searches for missing library books. You might need to experiment with a few different locations. For example, if your child decides to read in bed, but you notice he is always falling asleep while reading, then the bed might not be the best location for reading.
Set a time each day for reading when your child is alert and best able to focus. Maybe it's a half hour before dinner or right after breakfast. Figure out what works best for your child and your family. Aim for a time when your child is alert (so right before bed isn't always ideal) and best able to focus (possibly after some physical activity). If possible, join your child and do your own reading during this time.
Make reading a part of every day. When children skip more than a day between reading sessions, it is hard for them to remember what they had previously read and they have a harder time getting back into the book. Think of how much easier it is to exercise if you do it every day than if you do it just once a week. Aim for at least 20 minutes of reading per day, but I always encourage children to read to the end of a chapter. Authors typically end chapters in a way that leaves readers wanting more, so stopping at the end of a chapter will make it easier to get started again the next day.
Stay tuned for more executive function skills tips for reading next week! Be sure to follow me on Instagram for daily tips and video explanations.
Very interesting!