Poetry has a place in education, even among the elementary grades. It can be included as part of reading, writing, and language lessons, and adds additional value to classroom themes, projects, celebrations, and other important events. Here are five good reasons to include poetry in the classroom. Builds reading, speaking, and listening skills Children who … Continue reading “Teaching Poetry in the Classroom”
Tag: Fluency
Improving Reading and Writing Skills
In a recent Education Week post, Mike Schmoker described three key elements for teachers to use to impart core literacy skills to their students: purposeful reading, discussion, and writing. He advocated for 90-120 minutes engagement each day, spread throughout the curriculum. To understand just what this means for classroom instruction, let’s examine the three skills, … Continue reading “Improving Reading and Writing Skills”
Teachers’ Social-Emotional Support Can Help Struggling Readers
Students who struggle with foundational reading skills need more than remedial instruction to make them successful students; they need their teachers’ social and emotional support as well. Many students who read below grade level and have difficulty mastering basic concepts like phonics, vocabulary acquisition, fluency, and prosody feel anxious, frustrated, and even ashamed of their … Continue reading “Teachers’ Social-Emotional Support Can Help Struggling Readers”
Guest Blog: Digital Trends that Will Transform the Future of Teaching
[Editor’s note: This blog has been edited for length and clarity.] In 2021, the digital transition accelerated its pace. Nowadays, tech inventions are a must-have in the workplace and in education. Since new technologies have generally made the world a better place, more companies are investing money in tech. During the COVID-19 lockdown, companies in … Continue reading “Guest Blog: Digital Trends that Will Transform the Future of Teaching”
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)”
Balancing Literacy: What Makes for Good Reading Instruction?
In a September 8, 2021 opinion post, Education Week described two educators’ concerns over the polarization of literary instruction and the distortion of the term “balanced literacy” from its original meaning.[1] To address the former, we have to look no farther than the hotly debated “war” between phonics and whole-word instruction, which we dealt with … Continue reading “Balancing Literacy: What Makes for Good Reading Instruction?”
Teaching All the Foundational Reading Skills
Learning to read is a complex process — as is teaching reading skills to young learners. Most of the debate about the best approach seems to center around the whole-word approach versus phonics, with the latter being the better supported. However, according to a recent post in Education Week, that debate misses out on the … Continue reading “Teaching All the Foundational Reading Skills”
Remote Support for Students with Dyslexia
We’ve previously discussed the challenges of reading for students who have dyslexia (links to all blog posts here), but our extended experience of remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic has led these students to face a new host of difficulties in education in general and reading in particular. Some students discovered their support services, including … Continue reading “Remote Support for Students with Dyslexia”
Has the Coronavirus Created a Generational Gap in Education?
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted our lives in numerous ways, from limiting social gatherings to seeing businesses close and even fold from the loss of income. One of the biggest ways it’s impacted us as a society, though, is one that has even greater implications for the future — the movement of education to strictly … Continue reading “Has the Coronavirus Created a Generational Gap in Education?”
Guest Blog: Online Tools to Improve One’s Literacy
[Editor’s note: Today’s blog was written by Jane Miller, a freelance writer, part-time high school English teacher, and a graduate student based in Seattle, Washington. It has been lightly edited for clarity.] Literacy goes beyond just reading and writing. These skills allow us to communicate effectively, and, just as importantly, they give us the ability … Continue reading “Guest Blog: Online Tools to Improve One’s Literacy”