Golden retriever Tobias lends a
listening ear to help Mundelien students improve reading skills
On a recent afternoon, 11-year-old Sebastian Marinez saddled up to
Tobias, the reading dog, inside Carl Sandburg Middle School in Mundelein as if
they were long lost pals.
“It’s fun to read to him,” said Sebastian, a sixth-grader at the school.
“He can hear how I can read and how good.”
Tobias, 3, is a golden retriever owned by Lord of Glory Lutheran Church
in Grayslake who regularly visits Sandburg and Mechanics Grove Elementary in
Mundelein School District 75 throughout the school year for one purpose, said
district spokeswoman Janet McMahan.
For the past two years, students at both schools have taken turns once a
month reading aloud to Tobias. Many are struggling readers who have been
criticized for their reading skills, but the presence of Tobias makes them want
to read more, McMahan said.
Not only do students want to read more but, studies have shown, they
actually improve their reading skills, said Kathy Kotz, executive director of
Intermountain Therapy Animals in Salt Lake City, Utah, which began offering
reading education assistance dogs in 1999.
“Even 15 to 20 minutes a week can increase reading levels by two to four
grades in one year,” Kotz said. “They just flourish because it’s fun, they look
forward to it and suddenly the idea of reading isn’t so daunting.”
Intermountain launched READ, the first dog-reading therapy program,
after Kotz saw the effect dogs had on children staying at hospitals and other
settings, she said.
Dogs don’t criticize or comment on the reading. They just listen, Kotz
said.
Brian O'Mahoney/Pioneer Press
Sebastian Marinez, 11, reads to "Tobias," a comfort dog who
recently visited Carl Sandburg Middle School in Mundelein.
Sebastian Marinez, 11, reads to "Tobias," a comfort dog who
recently visited Carl Sandburg Middle School in Mundelein. (Brian
O'Mahoney/Pioneer Press)
“When we first started, I wondered if it would be a flash in the pan,
but it turned it out to be so legitimate and powerful,” she said. “It has all
the proper elements.”
Intermountain Therapy Animals has since registered over 6,000 READ
program users in 25 other countries, Kotz said.
Tobias’ handler and caregiver, Jenni Hoffmeyer, said the golden
retriever received more than 2,000 hours of training over 19 months before
sitting with children readers.
He is part of a national ministry that serves readers in 25 states in
nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals and schools, Hoffmeyer
said.
Heather Condron, a special education teacher at Sandburg, invited Tobias
and Hoffmeyer, a substitute teacher at the school, to visit Mundelein after
Hoffmeyer shared stories of her work with Tobias.
The individualized education programs, or IEPs, for each of Condron’s
students include goals for improving reading fluency, she said. Since Tobias
began visiting with students, their reading scores have improved, Condron said.
“They’re just feeling comfortable,” she said. “It’s a dog. If you make a
mistake, the dog won’t interrupt or correct you.”
Sebastian said he likes reading, but he declined to talk about reading
for other people.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Reading to Tobias is different because it’s
like reading to a dog. I like it better because he’s just still and he just
listens.”
Brian O'Mahoney/Pioneer Press
Kelly Molina, 12, reads to "Tobias," a comfort dog who
recently visited Carl Sandburg Middle School in Mundelein.
Kelly Molina, 12, reads to "Tobias," a comfort dog who
recently visited Carl Sandburg Middle School in Mundelein. (Brian
O'Mahoney/Pioneer Press)
02
A note to readers about Reading Eagle
filing for bankruptcy protection
", "", "" ] }, { "position":
"bottom", "content": [ "Follow us ",
"", "" ] } ] }, { offCanvas: { pageSelector:
"#mm-off-canvas-content" } }); var mmenuapi = $("#mm-menu").data(
"mmenu" ); $("#menuFlyOutLogInPopUp").click(function() {
mmenuapi.close(); displayLogInPopUp(); }); checkStatus(); /*var loginDivTemp =
document.getElementById("loginDiv"); var subscribeDivTemp =
document.getElementById("subscribeDiv"); var loginDivClone = loginDivTemp.cloneNode(true);
var subscribeDivClone = subscribeDivTemp.cloneNode(true); var loginPlaceholder
= document.getElementById("loginDivPlaceholder"); var
subscribePlaceholder =
document.getElementById("subscribeDivPlaceholder"); loginPlaceholder.appendChild(loginDivClone);
subscribePlaceholder.appendChild(subscribeDivClone);
$("#fade").click(function () { closeSplashAndSetCookie(); });*/ });
function displayLogInPopUp() {
document.getElementById('fade').style.display='block'; document.getElementById('logInPopUpForm').style.display='block';
} function getParameterByName(name) { var match = RegExp('[?&]' + name +
'=([^&]*)').exec(window.location.search); return match &&
decodeURIComponent(match[1].replace(/\+/g, ' ')); } //what-input.js !function
(e, t) { "object" == typeof exports && "object" ==
typeof module ? module.exports = t() : "function" == typeof define
&& define.amd ? define("whatInput", [], t) :
"object" == typeof exports ? exports.whatInput = t() : e.whatInput =
t() }(this, function () { return function (e) { function t(o) { if (n[o])
return n[o].exports; var i = n[o] = { exports: {}, id: o, loaded: !1 }; return
e[o].call(i.exports, i, i.exports, t), i.loaded = !0, i.exports } var n = {};
return t.m = e, t.c = n, t.p = "", t(0) }([function (e, t) {
e.exports = function () { var e = document.documentElement, t =
"initial", n = null, o = ["input", "select",
"textarea"], i = [16, 17, 18, 91, 93], r = { keyup:
"keyboard", mousedown: "mouse", mousemove:
"mouse", MSPointerDown: "pointer", MSPointerMove: "pointer",
pointerdown: "pointer", pointermove: "pointer", touchstart:
"touch" }, u = [], d = !1, a = { 2: "touch", 3:
"touch", 4: "mouse" }, s = null, p = function () {
window.PointerEvent ? (e.addEventListener("pointerdown", c),
e.addEventListener("pointermove", m)) : window.MSPointerEvent ?
(e.addEventListener("MSPointerDown", c),
e.addEventListener("MSPointerMove", m)) :
(e.addEventListener("mousedown", c),
e.addEventListener("mousemove", m), "ontouchstart" in
window && e.addEventListener("touchstart", v)); var t = !1;
try { var n = Object.defineProperty({}, "passive", { get: function ()
{ t = !0 } }); window.addEventListener("test", null, n) } catch (e) {
} e.addEventListener(l(), m, !!t && { passive: !0 }), e.addEventListener("keydown",
c), e.addEventListener("keyup", c) }, c = function (e) { if (!d) {
var u = e.which, a = r[e.type]; if ("pointer" === a && (a =
w(e)), t !== a || n !== a) { var s = !(!document.activeElement || -1 !==
o.indexOf(document.activeElement.nodeName.toLowerCase())); ("touch"
=== a || "mouse" === a && -1 === i.indexOf(u) ||
"keyboard" === a && s) && (t = n = a, f()) } } }, f =
function () { e.setAttribute("data-whatinput", t),
e.setAttribute("data-whatintent", t), -1 === u.indexOf(t) &&
(u.push(t), e.className += " whatinput-types-" + t) }, m = function
(t) { if (!d) { var o = r[t.type]; "pointer" === o && (o =
w(t)), n !== o && (n = o, e.setAttribute("data-whatintent",
n)) } }, v = function (e) { window.clearTimeout(s), c(e), d = !0, s = window.setTimeout(function
() { d = !1 }, 200) }, w = function (e) { return "number" == typeof
e.pointerType ? a[e.pointerType] : "pen" === e.pointerType ?
"touch" : e.pointerType }, l = function () { return
"onwheel" in document.createElement("div") ?
"wheel" : void 0 !== document.onmousewheel ? "mousewheel" :
"DOMMouseScroll" }; return "addEventListener" in window
&& Array.prototype.indexOf && (r[l()] = "mouse", p(),
f()), { ask: function (e) { return "loose" === e ? n : t }, types:
function () { return u } } }() }]) }); //headerweatericon.js if (window.matchMedia("(min-width:
39.9375em)").matches) { var weatherScript =
document.createElement("script"); weatherScript.src =
"/js/min/weatherbug.min.js";
document.head.appendChild(weatherScript); } $(document).foundation(); function
getCookie(cname) { var name = cname + "="; var decodedCookie =
decodeURIComponent(document.cookie); var ca = decodedCookie.split(';'); for(var
i = 0; i
03
Reading Eagle's CFO proposes plan to
keep newspaper local
";return o};var
h=function(o){var p=function(q){var r=this.owl.currentItem+1;q.siblings(".carousel-counter").find(".page-current").text(r)};var
n={navigation:true,singleItem:true,autoHeight:true,afterAction:p};o.owlCarousel(n)};var
m=function(){var r,q="",t='',n=j(''),p=j(''),s=j('').css("background-color",f.color);if(k.totalCount>1){r='
';r+='1 /';r+=''+k.totalCount+"";r+="
"}if(f.displayBySeverity){var
o=["Extreme","Severe","Moderate","Minor","Unknown"];j.each(k.wxAlertMasterBean.weatherAlerts,function(u,w){var
v=o.indexOf(w.severity);w.severityRank=vn.alertDesc?1:-1}};var e=function(){var
p="";var o=function(s,r){var
q=f.customText.replace("%",s);q=q.replace("%",r);return
q};var n=function(q,t,s){var
r=t===1?"single":"multiple",u={numberOfAlerts:{single:"There
is 1 weather alert.",multiple:"There are "+t+" weather alerts."},numberOfAreasWithAlerts:{single:"There
is 1 area with 1 active weather alert.",singleAreaWithMultiple:"There
is 1 area with "+s+" active weather
alerts.",multiple:"There are "+t+" areas with "+s+"
active weather alerts."},numberOfAreas:{single:"There is 1 area under
alert.",multiple:"There are "+t+" areas under
alert."}};if(q==="numberOfAreasWithAlerts"&&t===1&&s>1){r="singleAreaWithMultiple"}if(f.textUsed==="custom_text"){p=o(t,s)}else{p=u[q][r]}};switch(f.alertBarText){case"number_of_alerts":n("numberOfAlerts",k.totalCount,k.totalCount);break;case"number_of_areas_with_alerts":n("numberOfAreasWithAlerts",k.totalTargetAreas,k.totalCount);break;default:n("numberOfAreas",k.totalTargetAreas,k.totalCount);break}return
p+" DETAILS >>>"};var i=function(){var
n="";if(f.useDefaultImage){var p='',o=j('').append(p).css("background-image",'url("")');n=j('').append(o)}return
n};var l=function(){var
q='",o=j('').append(i()).append(q),n=j('').append(o),p=j('').append(n),s='',r=j('').append(s).append(p).css("background-color",f.color);b.before(r)};var
d=function(){k=EP.WeatherService.model;if(k.hasAlerts){if(f.displayAsCarousel){m()}else{l()}}};if(EP&&EP.WeatherService){EP.WeatherService.loadQueueCallback(d)}})(jQuery,AUI());
No comments:
Post a Comment