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