The Power of Building Parent Relationships
The Power of Building Parent Relationships
Behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first –Matthew Jacobson
I keep this quote at the heart of my classroom. Each day when the first bell rings and my students skip down the hallway into my classroom, I am reminded that their parents are always their first champions. It is this thought that keeps me knowing that every …
Promoting Summer Growth Through Project Based Learning
When summer vacation hits and students leave their classrooms behind, too often they leave learning behind as well. The result is a “summer slide” that leaves students playing catch-up when they return to school in the fall.
So the problem is, how can we as tutors, educators, and parents help prevent this “summer slide”? One thing is for sure, if we are …
3 Steps to Encourage Student Mindfulness
3 Steps to Encourage Student Mindfulness
As educators, one of our most important roles is helping our students acquire knowledge and giving them authentic opportunities to apply it. Typically, these efforts are focused on curriculum and standards-based skills.
But what about the skills that transcend content? Students in today’s world need help with things like executive functions and 0 Comments
5 Practical Ways to Use Music to Promote Learning
5 Practical Ways to Use Music to Promote Learning
The correlation between music and learning remains a frequent topic of research and inquiry. Whether it’s listening or playing, studies clearly show that music can positively impact the brain’s ability to engage with and learn content.
Of course, there’s more to maximizing this …
Personalizing Student Support
Personalizing Student Support
Support for students is crucial for their growth. More importantly, providing personalized support means that the educator or facilitator of learning sees each student as an individual and makes a plan to meet each one at his or her point of need.
Seemingly more than ever, the focus on the student, the whole student, and nothing but the student is an afterthought. Many other variables mask what …
Three Ways to Boost Vocabulary
Three Ways to Boost Vocabulary
Improving literacy skills can often be a complicated proposition. Successful readers and writers use a combination of several skills such as print awareness, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension skills, grammar, and spelling to be able to both understand and create meaningful text. Improving a student’s overall literacy skill-set requires a multifaceted approach that deals with the individual skills as well as practice putting the skills together.
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Cliffs Notes – Not Just for Cheaters!
Cliffs Notes and Book Summaries – Not Just for Cheaters!
As long as there have been literature courses taught in schools, there have been students looking for short-cuts to avoid long reading assignments. One of the most well-known of these shortcuts (right behind “rent the movie”) has been Cliffs Notes. For decades, students have sought out the infamous black and yellow paperbacks as a way to condense large readings into …
Practical Math Practice: The Grocery Store Game
Practical Math Practice: The Grocery Store Game
Number-sense and the ability to estimate are skills that students will need in their every-day life. Unfortunately, these skills can be some of the most challenging to teach without practical experiences. One of the best places to cultivate the ability to do quick, mental-math estimation is on a trip to the grocery store. Here is a simple Grocery Store Game you can have …
Practical Math Practice: The Tollbooth Game
Practical Math Practice: The Tollbooth Game
Learning is most effective when it is both practical and relevant. Teachers and tutors can maximize their students’ real-world math abilities by creating experiences that mimic how math is used in real life. One of my favorite examples of a hands-on, concrete math practice activity is the Tollbooth Game. I still remember playing this Tollbooth Game decades ago when I was in middle school …