Reviews

May

Teaching Methods for Children with ADHD

May 15, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

As the name Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder suggests, children who have ADHD are often hyper and extremely active. Parenting a child with ADHD cannot only be difficult but at times it can be overwhelming. Children with ADHD often have trouble focusing and retaining information while they are in school which can make doing homework with children at home extremely difficult.

Rather than fighting your child’s ADHD and trying to force them to concentrate until their assignment is done, understand that they may be unable to complete everything in one try. Instead of focusing on what remains of the lesson, focus on a timed period for homework. As your child may be unable to concentrate for long periods, break homework into sections. It is important that your child does not feel like lessons and homework are a punishment so inform them that they are expected to do their homework for a certain amount of time and then they may have a break. Breaking up the homework into timed slots will help your child concentrate.

Also, understand that your child may not learn the same way that you did. Children learn in different ways so try to teach lessons in a variety of ways rather than just using flashcards or paper lessons. If your child is struggling to pay attention and is fidgeting while you do fraction flash cards let your child play with measuring spoons for the lesson instead. Not only will the lesson be more interesting but it will likely have a greater impact on your child than simply staring at a sheet of paper.

May

Great Books for Your Little Girl

May 8, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

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Many parents want to start off right with getting their children to love reading. There are many ways to do this, and one of the best ways is to find a series that you child enjoys. You can read this book or series to your child when they are young, and as they get older, you can read it with them. You may even be able to start transitioning to having your child read it to you.

The American Girl series is a series that many feel is a great option for little girls. The books show the courage and strength of girls from all types of backgrounds. Today, there are even a variety of different American Girl dolls, and you can get American Girl doll clothes. This can help your child understand the girls in the series a little better. They are able to visualize the characters and the clothes that are worn.

Another great series for little girls is the Wizard of Oz series. Many people do not know that there are multiple books in the series written by Frank L. Baum. This series can show your little girl the wonderful things that a girl can do when armed with her imagination.

There are classics that are known for being great for children, and there are always new books coming out. Finding the right book or series to jump start your child’s thirst for more is simply a process of reading to them when they are young. The more you do this, the more they will enjoy it when they are older.

Mar

The Best Books for Little Bobby or Betsy

March 24, 2011 By admin 7 Comments

Buying a young child a book is one of the best gifts you can give. Encouraging children to begin reading at a young age promotes education years down the line. But what kind of books do you buy a toddler? They can’t read yet, at least not fluently, and how can you be sure they understand the material? Studies show that whether or not young children understand every word of a book doesn’t really matter. What matters is the brain activity that is sparked when following a story. The following list provides a number of book titles beneficial for young children.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Written by Eric Carle, this book combines simple words with an intriguing story. There are only 225 words in the story, but the beautiful illustrations speak thousands more. It’s a story of transformation and is considered an American classic.
Goodnight Moon: The bedtime story is a specific subset of children’s books. It has to have a certain quality that makes it both intriguing and lulling. “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown has that quality. Its parallel structure is soothing and the repetition of words is helpful for young children.
Are You My Mother?: This story is another example of a children’s book that utilizes repetition to tell a story. A young bird goes looking for his mother, asking various animals in his search if they are his mother. It’s a cute way to describe different animals and the plot will keep a young child entertained.

Mar

Greyhounds Make Reading Fun

March 7, 2011 By admin 5 Comments

Primary schools in Staffordshire, England have started an unexpected program to help kids build confidence in reading. Instead of reading to a human audience, kids read aloud to the classroom’s “listening dog,” a greyhound named Danny.

The program, which originated in the U.S., is called Reading Education Assistance Dogs, or READ for short. The program pairs retired racing greyhounds with children who have difficulty reading aloud. To improve their reading skills, the children read to the greyhounds. Unlike human listeners, greyhounds do not correct children or show impatience when they stumble over words. In turn, the patience of their audience gives children increased confidence in their reading skills.

The program is one of the many innovative teaching methods designed for making reading fun. One of the perks of the READ program is starting early: even kids who cannot yet read may share books with the dogs, often showing the dogs the pictures as they interpret the story. The program therefore encourages literacy skills starting with pre-readers, as well as encouraging both literacy and public speaking skills in older children.

The READ program relies on greyhounds because of their uniquely calm temperaments. When they’re not running, greyhounds are typically calm, relaxed dogs who rarely bark. In addition, their short coats are less likely than those of other dogs to trigger allergies, giving more children the chance to show off their reading skills to their new audience. READ’s greyhound “staff members” go through about five months of training to prepare them for working with children.

Teachers in charge of the Staffordshire program report that they are already seeing improvements among their students. These include improved reading and speaking skills in one student with Down’s Syndrome, whose relationship with the class’s READ greyhound has also developed her self-confidence when dealing with her teacher and classmates.

Feb

Good Property Management is the Key to City Schools

February 18, 2011 By admin 11 Comments

One of the most important features of any city is its school system. In fact, it is one of the primary considerations for families in deciding where they want to live. Thus, for a city to prosper, it needs to have a good school system.

The road to a good school system is good property management, not only for the schools themselves, but for their surrounding areas as well. Cities have to make property management a high priority for the good of its schools and residents.

The Risks of Poor Property Management

A city’s school system can significantly suffer from poor zoning management. If the area surrounding the school is impoverished, then families will not want to send their children there. Subsequently, without a well managed school, the neighborhood suffers and is more at risk to crime.

Such a situation can create white flight or school segregation as families with means relocate to areas with better performing schools. This then hurts the students and teachers who find themselves academically bereft. Poor property management by a city can also mean schools get built in overly urban areas that lack park space and are full of congestion, giving children less to do.

Benefits of Good Property Management

On the other hand, a city that exhibits successful property management can better the lives of its residents with its school system. By providing better places for families and teachers to live, and better property where schools can thrive, the overall city benefits from an increase in population and cultural opportunities.

Students can experience more after-school programs, as well as the integration with others from different backgrounds and races. Schools that are in demand create neighborhoods that are in demand.

Cities need to operate like Mesa property management or property management companies in its jurisdiction. Taking this approach will ensure thoughtful planning, which leads to less urban sprawl and better schools.

Feb

Using Creative Movement to Enhance Reading Skills

February 8, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

One of the more innovative teaching practices is using dance and creative movement to teach reading skills to young children. At first glance it may seem that the two skill sets are unrelated. However, closely examining the relationship creates a more convincing argument for integrating the arts, such as creative movement, into the traditional classroom.

Exploring Individual Learning Styles

Understanding the effectiveness of creative movement in teaching a child how to read requires first acknowledging that not all individuals learn the same way. The typical approach to teaching reading is through trial and error and teacher correction, where the correct alphabet sounds and words are eventually mastered. When it comes to learning, one child may need visual images and pictures of the words being spoken. Another child may need to hear the words spoken more than others. A third child may need to get up and move around, to write the words or to draw pictures of the images or stories being read.

Creative Movement and Reading

Studies show that integrating a dance or creative movement element into reading instruction does indeed accelerate the learning process. There may be a variety of reasons for this. The varied activity very likely captures the attention of children when compared with the less stimulating sit-down approach. It may also be that being tasked with dancing out the story of the reading passage increases students’ focus and encourages them to make a greater effort in understanding the words.

Implementing Creative Movement in the Reading Classroom

Teachers do not have to be trained dancers to use this technique. Children are quite creative and just need permission to move around. Playing music and writing words on the board will help young children to imitate the movements of their favorite animals. Telling students that they will be dancing out the story encourages them to tune in to every detail. Using creative movement in the reading classroom is an effective way to improve reading comprehension and an understanding of the chronology of events.

Jan

English Literacy for ESL Students

January 27, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

A large number of those who immigrate to America, either by legal or by illegal means, do so without knowing how to speak the national language of English. For this reason, English as a Second Language instruction is essential to helping them integrate into the existing population and become functioning and successful members of society. However, because second languages are so much more difficult for adults to learn, ESL education poses some significant challenges. Additionally, many natural American citizens are far less than understanding when it comes to helping new arrivals get acclimated.

Even though teaching second languages is part of the curriculum of most secondary schools in the United States, most ESL classes are aimed at adults and are held on weekends and evenings. When children of immigrants face the same problems and discrimination in their schools, adults may struggle even harder to learn to speak the language. Unfortunately, speaking the language is only the first part of becoming literate in English. One must also be able to read and write in order to be considered fully literate.

While Americans may balk at the idea that they also need to learn a second language, if for no other reason than to be able to communicate with those from other countries who are immigrating here, there a great deal of evidence supporting it. For instance, it is much easier to teach someone how to speak your language if you can speak theirs; otherwise communication between two individuals is near impossible. English Literacy for ESL students and legal immigrants is of prime importance, especially within the first few months of arrival. This will ensure a much easier transition into society with a greater opportunity for success and productivity. There is little reason to fear opening our doors to honest newcomers if they are willing to help America work toward the common goal.

Jan

Literacy in Countries with More Than One Language

January 25, 2011 By admin 13 Comments

Multilingualism is a term meaning fluent in more than two languages. While that may seem extreme for Americans, it is more common than one might think. For instance, there are many countries in the world with more than one national language, plus some religions like Judaism also feature a unique language. There are seven different dialects of the Chinese language, not counting minority languages. In addition, most literate residents of European non-English speaking countries learn two or more additional languages in the primary school years.

The literacy rate in countries where more than one language is deemed official is surprisingly low. For instance, there a a large number of languages spoken in the combined Arab world, including Arabic, Farsi, Persian, Kurdish, Turkish and Punjabi, yet the literacy rate in most countries there is well below average. In fact, some countries may have a literacy rate of less than 75%, such as Mauritania and Yemen where the rate is barely over 50%. The gender distribution of illiterate adults is also rather shocking, with women accounting for more than two-thirds of those deemed illiterate.

In China, however, with its many different dialects of the Chinese language, the literacy rate is at approximately 93%, with little disparity between men and women. The literacy in this part of the world have been attributed mainly to advances in human rights, but China has also announced initiatives to make education of its people a top priority in recent years. The prospects are not quite so encouraging in countries like Nicaragua, whose people speak Spanish, English and a variety of ethnic dialects. There the literacy rate is only hovering at about 78%, and while an equal number of men and women are illiterate, women make up a much larger percentage of Nicaragua’s poor. There have been a number of literacy campaigns in this country, and they continue to make progress.

Jan

Best Tactics for Teaching Kids to Read

January 8, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

With advanced programs, American children are learning to read earlier than ever. Teaching your child to read can be a fun and rewarding process, especially for those who enjoy reading as a pastime themselves. The most important consideration is that children should never feel rushed. Pushing children to read before they are ready may cause dyslexia and other learning problems.

Parents who wish for their children to have a head start in reading, vocabulary and literacy should begin reading short, simple books to their children from the earliest ages. Once a child begins to memorize a favorite story, have him or her watch your finger move along the words on the page in time to your voice. Children will begin to recognize the words they see and associate them with the way they sound. The second part of real literacy is when children associate the word they hear and the written word with the idea that it represents. For a child to see the word, “apple,” hear the word spoken, and be able to connect that in their own mind with the shape, smell and taste of the fruit is the key to literacy.

Being able to recite the alphabet is not enough, although it is a great place to start. Children should be taught how to make the letters and how to make the sounds that each letter represents. Make sure to start with the simplest words and common sounds like cat, hat and bat. Introducing homophones and exceptions to phonetic rules will not happen for quite some time. The next step is to have the child read the memorized story with you, taking turns reading each line, while following along the words with your fingertip. Using these tips, your child will be reading well before he is ready to start kindergarten, and will have a head start on his academic career.

Jan

Literacy Starts at Home

January 4, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

Moving through grade levels in many states or countries has the requirement of passing state or government specific testing. Students of all ages feel the pressure to pass. Teacher performance reviews and staying employed is all connected to how well their students score on state or national tests.

Teaching methods in overcrowded classrooms are often geared at covering the basic information required to pass the tests. Basic skills like phonetics are not always encouraged for those learning to read. Sight words and weekly vocabulary lists often prevail in primary classes and first grade classrooms. Many children who do not read at home often fall behind as they progress through the different grade levels in school. Reading aloud often becomes embarrassing and is avoided at all costs.

Parents who are active in reading to their children often create a desire to learn to read early on. Children by nature often imitate the behavior of their parents or guardians. Good teaching methods help to ensure that students of all ages can read, pronounce, and comprehend what they are reading.

Parents and can expose their children to literature that stimulates and challenges the imagination. Reading excerpts aloud or silently from books that have action, adventure, or mystery helps to move away from seeing reading as a chore. People that are exposed to literature on a regular basis can hear and identify proper grammar easily.

Educators often do a good job teaching basic skills in literature. New teaching strategies that are effective should be introduced as needed. Struggling students can be exposed to new techniques and any accompanying technology.

Working closely to improve teaching methods of literature is important. People of all ages who can comprehend what they read will do better on all education and employment related testing they are faced with throughout their lifetime.