The End of Print as We Know It?
As far as reading goes, while I still read books, I now spend copious amounts of time reading material on the Internet - much more than I do reading from the pages of reference books or magazines. It's amazing to me that in fewer than a dozen years of my life, my experience of text has changed so drastically that now much of it happens electronically.
2 Comments Posted Friday, March 14, 2008
Let’s Go Learn Co-Founder Featured in District Administration Article
District Administration has released an article highlighting the need for diagnostic assessment in the classroom. Featured in their article is Dr. Richard McCallum, co-founder of Let's Go Learn.
0 Comments Posted Friday, March 07, 2008
Resolution for the Year of the Rat
Let us hold on to our promises to kids – for California, to really make this the “Year of Education,” for the U.K. to encourage others to make this the “National Year of Reading” – and stop for a moment and make a resolution to see education as something beyond the books, classroom lessons, and homework assignments – to see the face of real children whose lives affect us and are affected by us. Let’s make this year, perhaps this era, one for the prosperity of our children and youth.
0 Comments Posted Friday, February 15, 2008
Alternate Materials: Engaging the Reluctant Reader
When it comes down to it, whether our kids are reading "the classics" or Sports Illustrated for Kids shouldn't be our greatest concern. Really, the question is whether they are reading at all. And if we can find materials to engage them, they will!
1 Comments Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Freedom Writers
As I see it, when kids truly want to learn something - especially from curricula that encourage them to deal with real life issues like race and violence, while helping them develop strong enough literacy skills to make it to college - we do them more of a disservice by not allowing them to explore those materials.
0 Comments Posted Monday, February 04, 2008
Should Reading Be So Hard?
With the drudgery of some reading programs which employ rote tasks that aren't applicable to authentic and meaningful textual experiences, I fear that we make reading much harder for kids than it should be...
0 Comments Posted Friday, January 25, 2008
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a….Reading Teacher?!
According to a New York Times article, "Superman Finds New Fans Among Reading Instructors," the Maryland State Department of Education is planning on expanding a literacy program which employs comic books as part of its curriculum after seeing positive results in a pilot program...
2 Comments Posted Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Calculators in the Classroom
Since the invention of the calculator forty years ago, educators have debated the value of such tools in the classroom.
3 Comments Posted Thursday, December 13, 2007
U.S. Flatlines on PISA
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recently released the results of its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
0 Comments Posted Monday, December 10, 2007
Building our Children’s Brains
Carol S. Dweck identifies two different mindsets in students: the fixed mindset, which believes that success stems from ability, and the growth mindset, which believes success comes from growth. Dweck's research has shown that students who are spoken to with a growth mindset are the students for whom growth is more likely, and success greater.
0 Comments Posted Thursday, December 06, 2007
Never Underestimate the Importance of Informal Assessment
Documenting student reading behavior has always been a challenge, and with the stress now on formal reading assessments, it's important to remember that reading is a distinctly personal process--and to remember that we're not teaching reading; we're teaching children.
4 Comments Posted Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Pinky Promises
In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, forget for a moment about tests, NCLB, and what our kids can't do; instead, think about what your kids are capable of doing, what they're really thinking about the things we throw at them, and the various blessings they offer you.
0 Comments Posted Friday, November 16, 2007