Did you know that a baby’s brain is developing the most rapidly during the first two years of life? These early years offer a critical window of opportunity, like no other time, to launch language early and get a jump start on school success. Learn the milestones that develop from 1–24 months.
Concrete suggestions for teachers who want to communicate well with all of their students, especially English language learners and students with learning disabilities.
Communities In Schools (CIS) works within the public school system, determining student needs and establishing relationships with local businesses, social service agencies, health care providers, and parent and volunteer organizations to provide needed resources. CIS strategically aligns and delivers needed resources so that students can focus on learning.
Literacy activities can take on a new meaning when students are reading and writing about their own community. Children learn the true value of print when they document the oral histories of the elders in their town.
This article explains how to teach students to identify the compare-contrast text structure, and to use this structure to support their comprehension. It also shows how to use compare-contrast texts to activate and extend students’ background knowledge and expand and enrich their vocabulary.
A collection of research-based screening tools for children under the age of five years old. Practitioners in early care and education, primary health care, and other systems can use this reference to learn cost, administration time, training required, and age range covered for each screening tool. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Less is known about the components of effective mathematics instruction than about the components of effective reading instruction, because research in math is less extensive than in reading.
In the last few years, an alarm has sounded throughout the nation’s middle and high schools: too many students cannot read well. It isn’t that they don’t know their ABCs or how to read words. It’s that they cannot understand or explain what they’re reading. Johnny can read, but he doesn’t understand.
First graders are learning to think actively as they read. They use their experiences and knowledge of the world, vocabulary, a growing understanding how language works, and reading strategies to make sense of what they’re reading.
Kindergartners are just beginning their journey as readers, yet they are actively absorbing language and experiences to make sense of the world around them. Encourage your child to think and talk about shared oral stories and books that are read aloud. You can also help by exposing your child to lots of interesting words — vocabulary is key to comprehension.
Second graders are learning to think actively as they read. They use their experiences and knowledge of the world, vocabulary, a growing understanding how language works, and reading strategies to make sense of what they’re reading.
New research indicates that the processing of texts on screens is faster and shallower than on paper. Students don’t comprehend digital text as well as they do paper text. But they must and they could.
ELL experts Cynthia Lundgren and Kristina Robertson discussing effective reading comprehension strategies for teaching English language learner students.
