The process of learning to read starts long before kids actually sound out letters on a page. Here’s how parents can lay the ground work and help kids gain some basic skills at home. 1. Start with the basics The first step toward reading is oral proficiency and doesn’t involve any printed letters at all. Rather, it’s teaching phonological awareness, which is the ability to identify and work with sounds in words. According to David A. Kilpatrick, a psychology professor and author of Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties, a deficit in this area is actually the most common reason why children struggle with reading words, which is often called dyslexia or can be classified as a learning...
Are you one of those people who, no matter how much you are enjoying it, simply cannot wait to finish the book you are reading when another interesting title catches your eye? Me too. Unfortunately, a busy schedule limits my dedicated reading time. So what’s a bibliophile to do? Simple. I read multiple books at the same time. Some of my friends exclaim, “I don’t know how you can do that! If I tried to read more than one book at a time, my brain would explode.” Well, since I do perform this brain-multitasking feat on a daily basis, I thought I’d do some research to determine whether it really was hurting – or helping – my cognitive abilities as...
Have you joined the Simply FREE library yet? What are you waiting for?! Are you ready to have access to hundreds of FREE downloads at your fingertips? I’m talking about FREE digital downloads, FREE printable centers, FREE visual schedules, FREE recipes…and the list goes on! Here are 6 reasons to join the Simply FREE Library TODAY: You get access to tons of FREE downloads as a NEW special education teacher Are you a NEW special education teacher? Being new to the field can be overwhelming because sometimes you are starting from scratch in your classroom. I remember when I first started teaching, my classroom was empty and I easily spent over $500 my first year filling it up with resources...
French is a romantic and sophisticated language. If not for the beauty of the French language itself, then the career opportunities that come alongside learning French should be inspiration enough to begin the process of language learning. Effective and inexpensive resources for learning how to speak like a native French speaker include great podcasts that immerse language learners into fascinating discussions. There exists a large variety of entertaining podcasts for learning French online. These podcasts offer resources that range from beginner level audio to intermediate and advanced level episodes to help expand your vocabulary and enhance your listening comprehension skills. These podcasts also often display or discuss French culture and topics known to arise in real-life conversations with French speakers....
Image source: www.bigstockphoto.com Reading can be a very challenging skill for ESL learners. Teachers also know that individual students may respond differently to different styles of instruction. Fortunately, we have access to both explicit teaching techniques and structured experience techniques. Even though ESL teachers themselves may be more comfortable with one or the other of these options, it is well worth taking both of them seriously because each can make a contribution. Part I of this series covers explicit teaching techniques and Part II covers structured experience techniques. I will offer practical advice regarding both approaches, and explain three proposed techniques for each. Explicit teaching taps into the trust and confidence that clear, direct instruction can inspire. It has...
