Parenting

What Parents Need to Know About Teaching Letter Names AND/OR Letter Sounds…and Which to Teach First…Get On the Train!

The Train is in the Station –The Toddler The Question… As many of my readers are aware, I am a Moderator of the 242+K member FaceBook Group, Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College. So…I see, read, and respond to many questions on an almost daily basis. It is one way I can […]

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One Great Teacher + One Great Idea = Recipe for Change in the Right Direction

Teachers who teach families about The Science of Reading are doing kids a lot of good. Even if it’s just one school at a time. Who Is This Great Teacher? Meet Rosemary Shaver One day last fall, I received an email from a teacher named Rosemary. She asked if I had a Study Guide for

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NAEP SCORES ARE ‘DOWN’ and ‘OUT’…WHY READ ‘Calling All Neurons!’ NOW?

The Prelude The results of NAEP 2024 (National Assessment of Educational Progress-otherwise known as the ‘Nation’s Report Card) for grades 4, 8 and 12 are now available. The 2024 scores provide nationwide information in the areas of reading, mathematics, and grade 8 science. For the purposes of this article, I focus only on the reading

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I Was Going to Write About the Nation’s Reading Report Card (NAEP)…But “My Mother Let Go of the Grass”

Most recently, the release of the new NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress–often thought of as the Nation’s Report Card) scores reveals that our nation’s 4th and 8th graders’ reading and math scores remain dismal and have not risen since the past administration in 2022. The aftermath of the pandemic is real and our nation’s

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A Parent’s Plea: How Can I Help My Child With Reading At Home?

Recently, I came upon a “not infrequently” posed question from a teacher on behalf of a ‘distraught parent’: “I work with a student whose parent was distraught after seeing the results of routine mid-year screening. As one can imagine, this student did poorly on the screening and reportedly has been diagnosed with dyslexia. The parent

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Kids and Adults: Time to Chill Out Because Winter Solstice is Upon Us

Each year on December 21, 22, or 23, darkness envelops Earth’s Northern Hemisphere for a bit longer than normal. While what we now know to be the winter solstice has a straightforward astronomical explanation, early myths of why the solstice takes place also share insights into early civilizations’ steps into science. Science ATL Image by

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Sharing GRATITUDE…a Timely Topic to Discuss with Families and Students

What is GRATITUDE? Gratitude is far more than being simply ‘thankful’. According to Brian Tracy, a Canadian-American motivational speaker, these are the “4 A’s of Gratitude”: Professor Andrea Hussong of The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, believes in the NOTICE-THINK-FEEL-DO method of practicing gratitude: Any time of year is a good time to teach

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What Parents Need to Know About Literacy ‘Words’-It Can Be CONFUSING!?#@

The new school year is now pretty well underway, so many students have been screened, tested, assessed–whatever your child(ren)’s school(s) wish to call it. Getting the results, as well as the ‘plans’ for literacy instruction can be confusing–if not a bit overwhelming. You will likely receive, or have received, paperwork with these terms, as well

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October is DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH…Let Me Share a Story and a Perspective

Image by Lori Josephson “Dyslexia is not contagious. I go to tutoring. I love to read, write and draw. I am a normal kid like you.” This is what one of my former students wrote and shared with me perhaps in late second grade or early third grade, but certainly once I had taught her

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What Parents Need to Know About “New School Year’s Eve”… and The Wizard of Oz!

It’s All About YOUR Perspective… Are you the giraffe looking down on your primary age kiddos? You then might see the top of this model’s hat, although I doubt it very highly. Are you looking at your students from all dimensions? Are you looking at your child(ren) face to face, especially if you are a

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