Your child reads the passage. You ask what it was about. They stare at you. Not because they weren't paying attention — because their brain processes information differently, and passive reading doesn't give it anything to hold onto. Here are four visual annotation strategies that change that: text mapping, color-coded sticky notes, GIST summaries, and sketchnotes. No tutoring required.

In 1988, researchers gave 7th and 8th graders a passage about baseball. The result stunned them: weak readers who knew the sport outperformed strong readers who didn't. Background knowledge mattered more than reading ability. Here's what that finding means for your ADHD or dyslexia family — and three things you can build at home starting tonight, with no curriculum and no tutoring.