The Deaf and Reading Comprehension – Part 2 (Phonics Instruction)

[Editor’s note: This is the second post of a five-part series on the deaf and educational interventions to ensure effective reading comprehension and fluency. To read the first part, go here.] Chamberlain & Mayberry (2000) indicate that reading requires two related abilities. First, you must be familiar with a language. Second, you must understand the … Continue reading “The Deaf and Reading Comprehension – Part 2 (Phonics Instruction)”


The Deaf and Reading Comprehension – Part 1 (Overview)

[Editor’s note: This is the first post of a five-part series on the deaf and educational interventions to ensure reading comprehension and fluency.] Chamberlain & Mayberry (2000) indicate that reading requires two related abilities. First, you must be familiar with a language. Second, you must understand the mapping between that language and the printed word … Continue reading “The Deaf and Reading Comprehension – Part 1 (Overview)”


The Many Traits of Critical Thinking

We’ve talked a number of times about the need for students to use critical thinking to effectively evaluate and process new knowledge [see here and here]. It helps, though, to understand the specific steps that make up the critical thinking process. Here are nine steps, adapted from an infographic designed by Mentoring Minds. Examine Use … Continue reading “The Many Traits of Critical Thinking”


Excused Absences for Mental Health

It used to be that excused absences for missing school focused solely on the visible: a broken bone, a severe illness, the death of a family member. But even before the pandemic started throwing up warning signs about students’ poor mental health, governments and school districts alike were making time for mental health days, citing … Continue reading “Excused Absences for Mental Health”


AceReader Wins 2021 Homeschooling Award

We’re delighted and honored to announce that AceReader has won the Best Middle & High School Homeschool Curriculum & Resources award from How To Homeschool. With hundreds of nominations and rigorous criteria to win, we’re deeply grateful for this recognition and remain committed to the schools, homeschoolers, and individual consumers.   For more information about … Continue reading “AceReader Wins 2021 Homeschooling Award”


Study Skills — Becoming an Effective Learner

Effective learners, whether they’re in school or out in the world, are those who discover how to study smarter, not harder. For the purposes of this blog, we’re going to be focusing on classroom learning, and in that environment, studying smarter is key to managing your time efficiently, getting good grades, building upon what you’ve … Continue reading “Study Skills — Becoming an Effective Learner”


Communicating in a Word Desert

[Editor’s note: The content of this blog is the opinion of the author, writer Miriam Ruff, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of AceReader, Inc. or its employees.] The word “communication” comes from the Latin noun communicatio, which meant a sharing or imparting having to do with an exchange or goods possessed by more than one … Continue reading “Communicating in a Word Desert”


Artificial Intelligence and Reading Comprehension

If you believe the sensational headlines from January 2018, both Microsoft and Alibaba have developed computer programs that outperform humans on reading comprehension. Can this be correct? Well, it really depends on how you define “comprehension.” Let’s first start with the claims. The test given to the programs is actually a dataset compiled by a … Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence and Reading Comprehension”