On July 21, 2018, Forbes.com published an op-ed piece by LIU Post economist Panos Mourdoukoutas under the headline “Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries to Save Taxpayers Money.” Don’t try to find the article – Forbes pulled it down shortly after posting it due to the enormous backlash from librarians, educators, and the public as a … Continue reading “Why Libraries are Irreplaceable”
Guest Blog, Elizabeth Smith – Ace Reader: A Solution to a Multi-Faceted Problem
According to the 2015 NAEP Report (the last year that twelfth graders were included), slightly over 1/3 of public school fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders read at a proficient level or above.[1] The overwhelming majority of that 37% is at the proficient level. As most teachers know, “proficient” isn’t equivalent with grade level. The statistics … Continue reading “Guest Blog, Elizabeth Smith – Ace Reader: A Solution to a Multi-Faceted Problem”
Stop the Summer Reading Slide
Today’s post is a re-post of a blog we ran last year. As this year the summer slide seems even more entrenched than ever, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the topic. As the last of the school bells ring, kids head off to a summer that (they hope) will be … Continue reading “Stop the Summer Reading Slide”
Does Spacing after a Period Affect Reading Speed and Comprehension?
Ever since there has been typesetting and printed text, there has been a debate about spacing, particularly about the spacing after a period – should there be one space or two? The first printers used two space sizes. A regular space was used for separating words, and a slightly larger space (called the emspace) was … Continue reading “Does Spacing after a Period Affect Reading Speed and Comprehension?”
Listening in on the Relationship between Audiobooks and Reading Comprehension
In this day and age of technological everything, the debate about whether people should read on a screen or from a printed page rages on. A less obvious, but equally important, debate centers on whether students should be encouraged to “read” using audiobooks instead of traditional media, especially when they’re doing it outside of a … Continue reading “Listening in on the Relationship between Audiobooks and Reading Comprehension”
Joumana Kalouch – Multilingual Teacher, Writer, and Avid Reader
[Editor’s note: This interview was conducted by Miriam Ruff, and it is the third installment in what will be a series of interviews about the different approaches people take to discover and learn new topics. It was lightly edited for clarity.] MR: We’re talking today with Joumana Kalouch, a multilingual teacher and avid reader, whom … Continue reading “Joumana Kalouch – Multilingual Teacher, Writer, and Avid Reader”
AceReader in the Educational Environment
In some ways, reading education has not changed much over the past hundred years or so – teachers still confront the issues of how to instruct students effectively in the basic issues of learning phonemic awareness, decoding text, mastering understanding of text material (comprehension), and achieving reading fluency. What has changed is our understanding of … Continue reading “AceReader in the Educational Environment”
Books and Movie Adaptations – What Does it Take to Get it Right?
What was the latest book you’ve watched? It seems today, more than ever, Hollywood studios are turning stories, comics, and best-selling books into what they hope will be blockbuster movies. Not all books, though, are conducive to becoming movies, and, even if they are, not all adaptations turn out well. What needs to happen to … Continue reading “Books and Movie Adaptations – What Does it Take to Get it Right?”
How to Track Student Progress
Better Readers Make Better Learners Today’s AceReader Tip: How to Track Students’ Progress A great goal is to get students through two course levels in a semester. At that point, students will have completed enough of the reading improvement activities to show good progress, and you will have enough data to complete a realistic analysis. As … Continue reading “How to Track Student Progress”
AceReader and the Assessment Process
Now that the school year is coming to a close, both teachers and students may wonder how AceReader’s Assessment tests can help determine the amount students have improved in their reading fluency skills over the past academic semester or year, as well as how they demonstrate the program’s effectiveness for reading instruction. When working through … Continue reading “AceReader and the Assessment Process”