Unique Solutions for Unique Learners
Written by, Alona Erbst, Speech Therapist Learning to communicate is a very important aspect of a child’s development. Whether he/she is stating an opinion, answering a question in class, or holding a conversation with a friend, effective communication can help young people succeed in school, and later in life. As a school-based speech-language pathologist in read more…
Young children are very curious about their world. They learn by interacting with their environment, posing questions, and exploring the possibilities. Stimulating activities spark their curiosities and promote critical thinking and increased motivation. As they begin to develop phonemic awareness, for example, they recognize that sounds are like building blocks that can be used to read more…
Written by Noemi Schor, Humanities, History and Writing One of the first things I noticed when I moved here was how creatively New Yorkers utilize the limited space they have. It’s not quite newsworthy to comment on how hard-pressed we are to find room to stretch our limbs in this cramped city, but it is read more…
A comprehensive balanced literacy approach addresses reading, writing, and word work. Successful implementation requires careful planning using a backward design model to ensure that teaching matches desired learning outcomes. There is a plethora of research, including the National Reading Panel’s findings and recommendations, supporting that a strong reading program provides explicit instruction and practice within read more…
Phonics? Phoneme? Phonemic Awareness? These are words that are constantly thrown around almost interchangeably in the education world, but many parents do not know the difference between these words or even their true meaning. So what is “phonics” and why is it important? More importantly, why do parents need to know more than just the read more…
Today’s successful reader must demonstrate “thoughtful literacy.” Thoughtful literacy, according to Dr. Dorothy Strickland and Dr. Richard Allington, emphasizes students’ comprehension performance. Beyond recalling facts, we want students to be able to personalize, think about, and analyze text. We want students to be able to apply a repertoire of strategies to approach different types of read more…
Many students have trouble reading longer, multisyllabic words. They often look at the beginning of the word and guess at the rest of it, which usually leads to errors and thus affects their comprehension. I like to follow a plan that combines decoding the words more carefully using syllabication rules—there are 6 syllable types—with using read more…
We asked the My Learning Springboard teachers to share some their favorite holiday books with us. Do you have a favorite book you like to read during the holidays? 1. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, Eric Kimmel 2. When Mindy Saved Hanukkah, Eric Kimmel 3. Twas the Night Before Christmas, Anonymous and Matt Tavares 4. read more…
As a strategy to teach decoding, students can learn to identify and categorize within 6 syllable types. The acronym CLOVER helps students to remember the 6 types. Closed Consonant Le Open Vowel Pair Magic E Bossy R Once students develop an understanding of these six syllable types and can accurately code words by categorizing the read more…
The start of a new year brings new trends, new authors and new books to the shelves. Scholastic Book Clubs editor David Allender discusses what to watch for in the coming year. Any of these books would be perfect for a book club or a literature circle. Contact My Learning Springboard today to get started.
Are you heading out of town over winter break and looking for a list of great books to read? Marisa Page, a junior at University of Chicago Lab, shares her list of 5 books she thinks every high school student should read before college. Click here to read her article in full on HuffingtonPost.com. “The Catcher read more…
Written By Amy Shapiro, Executive Director and National Board Certified Teacher In March 2012, I attended Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. During that two day conference Michelle introduced the participants to a variety of ways to assess and develop social thinking in children. One of the techniques she introduced was the read more…
