Wiring the Brain for Reading

Marilee Sprenger is an independent educational consultant. She consults and presents nationally on topics of learning, memory, differentiated instruction, and brain-based teaching practices. A former teacher, she is an adjunct professor at Aurora University. Often known as the "Brainlady," she is affiliated with both the American Academy of Neurology and the Learning and the Brain Society and is the author of several books on the brain and learning.

Acknowledgments ix About the Author xi About the Book xiii Chapter 1 Language Development 1 From Neural Sensitivity to Neural Commitment 2 The Right Way to Babble 4 Encouraging Speech 5 Windows of Opportunity 8 Experience and Brain Development 9 Ages and Stages in Language Development 11 An Enriched Environment for Language Development 13 Language and Gender 16 Speaking Out of Both Sides of the Brain 18 Activities 20 Summary 23 Chapter 2 Imaging and Imagining the Brain 25 The Structure of the Brain 26 How We See the Brain 29 Brain Cells 32 How Cells Communicate 35 What We Thought We Knew 37 What We Found Out Along the Way 38 Two Diverging Roads 40 Learning and Memory: A Definition 43 Summary 46 Chapter 3 The Body-Brain Connection 47 Food, Glorious Food! 48 The Learning Brains Diet 54 To Sleep; Perchance to Remember 57 Making the Right Moves 62 Sunshine Came Softly Through My Window 64 Brain-Body Basics 65 Stress Can Hurt the Body and the Brain 68 What Does Bullying Do to the Brain? 71 Summary 72 Chapter 4 Breaking the Code 75 Phonemic Awareness 78 The ABCs of the ABCs 82 Mirror, Mirror 82 Neurons That Fire Together 83 Dr. Seuss and Mother Goose? 84 Getting to the Core 85 Teaching Phonemic Awareness 87 Activities 87 Summary 95 Chapter 5 Patterns and Programs and Phonics! Oh, My! 97 Patterns and Programs 98 The Alphabetic Principle 102 One to One? Not Exactly 103 The Common Core: Where Do We Stand with the Standards? 103 Decoding Development in the Brain 104 Phonics Instruction 107 Factors That Lead to Learning 108 Eenie, Meenie, Minee, Moe. Or Is It Eeny, Meany, Miny, Mo? 109 Activities 111 Summary 113 Chapter 6 The Fluent Reader 115 What Fluency Means 117 The Brains Pathway to Fluency 119 Reading Is Pleasure 120 High-Frequency and Sight Words 121 Some Steps to Fluency 122 Activities 125 Summary 127 Chapter 7 Building Vocabulary 129 Two Types of Vocabulary 130 Vocabulary Development 131 The Common Core State Standards and Vocabulary 132 The Common Core College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language 134 Choosing Our Words Carefully 135 Activities 139 Summary 143 Chapter 8 Comprehension 145 Modeling Comprehension 147 Comprehension Strategies 149 Before, During, and After Reading: What These Strategies Have to Do with the Brain 158 Activities 161 Summary 186 Chapter 9 Putting It All Together 187 For Parents 187 For Teachers 188 Keep Learning About the Brain 189 References 191 Index 201