Although occasionally frustrating, spelling is logical, learnable, and critical to reading as well as to writing — but the most important thing is, it makes sense.
Multilingual families can be powerful partners on behalf of their children. Yet what these partnerships look like will be unique to each school setting and community — and may require some thinking outside of the box. This section includes some key tips and recommended resources from our sister site, Colorín Colorado.
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.
Letter writing can be fun, help children learn to compose written text, and provide handwriting practice — and letters are valuable keepsakes. This article contains activities to help children ages 5–9 put pen to paper and make someone’s day with a handwritten letter.
Media-rich and interactive websites can play an essential role in science instruction. They can encourage students to think critically, by providing tools for modeling, visualization, and simulation tools; discussion and scaffolding; and data collection and analysis.
Whether your child is lost in a haze of elementary grammar rules, sinking fast in a jumble of Newton’s laws in middle school, or lost in the details of an AP biology class, you need help quickly, before your child falls way behind the class and never recovers. So, what exactly can you do….now?
Reading Rockets is pleased to offer this exclusive digital version of Abigail & John, which offers young readers a look at American history through the remarkable lives of one of the country’s most beloved couples — Abigail and John Adams.
How do you pick the best school for your child? The following sections have questions for you to consider as you go through the process of choosing a school for your child. Remember, you are looking for a school that will make the educational experience for your child and you as rewarding as possible
As students grow older, they are asked by their teachers to do more and more with the information they have stored in their brains. These types of requests require accessing higher order thinking (HOT).
Young children learn by doing. Discovering what they can do with objects leads to learning to talk and to pretend. Find out what actions with objects children should be learning each month from 9 to 16 months. By 16 months, children should use at least 16 actions with objects.
Many school districts have adopted instructional coaching as a model for teachers’ professional development. This brief offers guidance on how school leaders can tailor the most promising coaching strategies to the needs of their schools.
Award-winning author of acclaimed middle-grade novels Sally J. Pla talks (The Someday Birds) about how her own autism informs the characters and stories she writes.
In plain language, find out what the Common Core Standards are, how student progress will be measured, their impact on English language learners, and how to stay informed.
In this excerpt from the book Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule Is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents & Safer Neighborhoods, the authors discuss how a longer school day can support achievement in reading and math while providing a richer, broader curriculum. The book discusses extended day success stories in public schools throughout the country, the impact on teachers and families, and benefits for English language learners and children with learning disabilities.
Hours of test preparation, especially in underperforming schools, has left little time for electives or even some of the un-tested basic subjects. Adding time to the school day and year has helped some schools improve their scores and flesh out their curriculums.
Activities that stimulate phonemic awareness in preschool and elementary school children are one sure way to get a child ready for reading! Here are eight of them from expert Marilyn Jager Adams.
Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM), which teachers use on an ongoing basis to track students’ progress toward annual goals, offers a number of benefits to parents and students, as well as teachers.
Research shows that 3- and 4-year-olds who attend a high-quality preschool are more successful in kindergarten and beyond. But research also shows that most preschool programs are not high-quality. This policy brief looks at what “high-quality” means, and how early childhood education can be improved.
