Everyday activities are a natural and effective way to begin teaching your young child about letters and words. Download and print these colorful “take-along” activities the next time you go to the grocery store or farmer’s market. Turn your regular trip into a reading adventure!
There are certain characteristics of groups and individual children that increase their likelihood of struggling with reading. Find out how to use knowledge of these risk factors to help prevent reading problems for these children.
Identifying a reading problem is a challenge without a sense for what typical literacy development looks like. Find out what language accomplishments are typical for most children at the age of three to four.
Identifying a reading problem is a challenge without a sense for what typical literacy development looks like. Find out what language accomplishments are typical for most children at age five.
Ahoy, mateys! Meet award-winning writer, poet, and stealth pirate Mary Quattlebaum, whose 2011 book, Pirate vs. Pirate, is a blustery adventure pitting Mean Mo against Bad Bart to determine who has the most impressive pirate skills (cannonball tossing! hardtack eating!). Other titles include Jo MacDonald Saw a Pond, with its celebration of nature through rhythm, wordplay, and onomatopoeia; the Jackson Jones series, spirited and true-to-life stories about a 10-year-old boy (Jackson) and his urban neighborhood community; and many other books for young children and teens. Huzzah!
Todd R. Risley was a professor of psychology at the University of Alaska and former professor of human development and senior scientist of the Bureau of Child Research at the University of Kansas. He is the co-author, with Betty Hart, of the book Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children.
Inclusion begins with the belief that all children should have equal access to education and should learn alongside their same-age peers. Discover all 10 reasons that inclusive schools are good for children and the wider community.
Author, editor, publisher, and speaker Marc Aronson believes passionately in the power of great nonfiction — in building background knowledge, nourishing children’s interest in the real world, and helping young people become critical readers and thinkers. He has written history and biography books for middle school children and young adults, including books about the secrets of Stonehenge, the sugar trade (Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science), and the life of John Henry (Ain’t Nothing but a Man). His biography of Sir Walter Raleigh (Sir Walter Raleigh and the Quest for El Dorado won the ALA’s first Robert L. Sibert Information Book Award for nonfiction and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.
For an extended interview with Aronson and a list of his YA books, visit our sister site, AdLit.org.
Brain breaks are quick, structured breaks using physical movement, mindfulness exercises, or sensory activities. Learn how to use this strategy andwhy it works, and see it in action. A printable “brain break” bank is also provided.
We need to ensure that classrooms are running well, instruction is strong across classrooms, and grade levels are building upon each other’s work. To provide the leadership that increases student learning, we as school leaders have to be present where the learning happens — in our classrooms during daily instruction.
Individual children may come to school with conditions that make them more likely to experience trouble learning to read. Find out more about these conditions, such as cognitive, hearing, or language problems.
Identifying a reading problem is a challenge without a sense for what typical literacy development looks like. Find out what language accomplishments are typical for most children at age six.
Confused about inclusion and what a student’s experience is like in an inclusive classroom? Use this handy chart to help you understand what inclusion is and isn’t!
