Age group(s) for which this technique is helpful:
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Primarily used to improve behavior:
At Home
At School
Both At Home and At School

Instructions for using this technique:
When a child (as well as an adult!) can't sit still, gets anxious, goes blank on the subject matter at hand, starts behaving badly, gets sleepy while reading or in a particular class, has a short attention span, cuts class... they've past a word or words they don't understand. It's as simple as that. Find where the child was last doing well in the reading material or subject. At the tail end of the material right before, there is a word or words the person doesn't understand. Ask them if there's a word or symbol they don't understand. If yes, ask them to go to a very simple dictionary and find the right definition of the word or symbol (period, comma, etc.), have them use it in sentences until they fully understand it. Then do the same for all the definitions. Go back to the material and read forward. If the student doesn't brighten up, go back again and look for another word. If they say there's no word, spot check them. Ask them what "so and so" means. Do NOT assume that it's the big words. It can be simple works like "the" or "and"... Once you find the word, have them make a few sentences until they fully get it, then do the same for all the definitions of the word. This works miraculously!

Other information parents should consider before using this technique:
The books "Study Skills for Life and Learning How to Learn," "Basic Study Manual," and "How to Use a Dictionary" give further explanation of how -- and why -- this works -- please contact the Ability School at 201-871-8808.