Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Education World ® Professional Development Center: Eric Baylin: Son of a Gun! Summer’s Fun

Education World ® Professional Development Center: Eric Baylin: Son of a Gun! Summer’s Fun

I've been reading about how important humor is to teaching; not only with students but with other teachers. It reduces stress, helps to form relationships, and inspires a good laugh! I found this song at Education World. So take a look at this end of the summer song and let it tickle your funny bone. :)

Another summer -- glorious summer -- has come to an end. As we get ready for the new school year, please join in this musical tribute to summer vacation -- a time to tend the garden and nurture the soul.

Son of a Gun! Summer’s Fun

(Sung to the tune of Jambalaya.)

This song, sung to that spirited song from the bayou, Jambalaya, offers teachers a chance to pour out their hearts in praise of summer – and, at the same time, to lament its passing.

Can’t believe that we’re back, me oh my oh.
We’ve been off to Pa-ree and Ohio.
Got some rest, feel less stress, you and I-o.
Now it’s back teaching math, French, and bio.

Chorus:
Son of a gun, Summer’s fun, me oh my oh.
Eating corn, eating blueberry pie oh.
Take a deep breath and let out a sigh oh.
Summer’s leaving us soon, say goodbye-o.

Well, the ease of the summertime frees me
To travel and do things that please me.
Well, it may not be terribly PC
To admit coming back is not easy.

Chorus:
Son of a gun, Summer’s fun, me oh my oh.
Eating corn, eating blueberry pie oh.
Take a deep breath and let out a sigh oh.
Summer’s leaving us soon, say goodbye-o.

Far away from the lads and the lasses
At the beach sporting stylish sunglasses.
Oh, the weeks vanish as summer passes.
I’m not ready to teach all my classes!

Chorus:
Son of a gun, Summer’s fun, me oh my oh.
Eating corn, eating blueberry pie oh.
Take a deep breath and let out a sigh oh.
Summer’s leaving us soon, say goodbye-o.

Once they’re back, kids have no concentration
For the work, all that new information.
We should just have a big celebration,
And start planning our next long vacation.

Chorus:
Son of a gun, Summer’s fun, me oh my oh.
Eating corn, eating blueberry pie oh.
Take a deep breath and let out a sigh oh.
Summer’s leaving us soon, say goodbye-o.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Using Songs As A Memory Booster


Using music as a memory booster can help many children.  How many of you learned how to spell bologna by singing the Oscar Myer song to themselves?  I know I did!  Teachers can use products such as School House Rocks! to teach the parts of a sentence.  There are many books out there who also have songs written to familiar music.  Here is one example from Memory-Boosting Mnemonic Songs Grammar by Pat Walz and Pam McLaughlin set to the music of "Pop Goes the Weasel".  The song is "Introducing Interjections".

"Ow!" is just a single word,
We call an interjection.
It states an emotion-how we feel.
Say it with inflection!

"Eek!  I see a really big bug!"
The mark's an exclamation.
Use a comma in "Whew, he's gone"-
A weaker situation.

This is just one example.  I'm sure many of you have created your own songs.  We would love it if you would share one in the comments area!  Have fun :)

Friday, July 9, 2010

Some great websites to check out...

We have added to our Links section-take a look!  One great website is Mad Scientists.  Scientists from the University of St. Louis answer questions posed by students on the website.  They also have a random knowledge generator, MAD labs, and a MAD Scientist library.  Visit www.madsci.org.

What are some of your favorite websites?  We would love to post your favorites to share with our readers. 

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Reading Rockets: Identifying Risk Factors to Prevent Difficulties

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.
Our review of prediction studies indicates clearly that no single risk factor, on its own, is sufficiently accurate to be of practical use for predicting reading difficulties. In combination, however, measures of various kinds of risk – individual, familial, and demographic – can provide useful estimates of future achievement levels.
Although prediction accuracy is far from perfect, errors of prediction can be tolerated as long as children's progress is carefully monitored during kindergarten and beyond. As discussed below, how different school systems can best use the available information about risk indicators must be tailored to their particular needs, goals, and resources.

Group risk factors

It is abundantly clear that some groups of children are at risk for reading difficulties because they are affected by any or all of the following conditions:
  • They are expected to attend schools in which achievement is chronically low
  • they reside in low-income families and live in poor neighborhoods
  • they have limited proficiency in spoken English
  • they speak a dialect of English that differs substantially from the one used in school

Individual risk factors

The evidence also indicates that individual children, whether or not faced with the adverse conditions just mentioned, may be at greater risk than other otherwise-comparable children for reading difficulties for any or all of the following reasons:
  • They are children of parents with histories of reading difficulty
  • they have acquired less knowledge and skill pertaining to literacy during the preschool years, either through lack of appropriate home literacy experiences and/or as a result of some inherent cognitive limitations
  • they lack age-appropriate skills in literacy-related cognitive-linguistic processing, especially phonological awareness, confrontational naming, sentence/story recall, and general language ability
  • they have been diagnosed as having specific early language impairment
  • they have a hearing impairment
  • they have a primary medical diagnosis with which reading problems tend to occur as a secondary symptom

Practical use of this information

Detecting problems early, in order to avoid other problems later on, is the most practical course. The ease, cost, and reliability with which various risk factors can be measured are therefore a central concern.
Many of the group factors named above (e.g., a child is expected to attend a school in which achievement is chronically low, the child lives in a low-income family and neighborhood) are easily accessible measures. When they are present, effective preventions and early interventions can be provided throughout the age span we are addressing in this report – birth through grade three.
Pediatric screening tools are effective in identifying children who have severe sensory or developmental impairments (hearing impairment, specific language impairment). When these are present, preventions and early interventions can be provided.
There is less practical utility in conducting population-wide individual screening of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who have acquired less knowledge and skills pertaining to literacy during the preschool years, either through lack of appropriate home literacy experiences or as a result of some inherent cognitive limitations, or of those who lack age-appropriate skill in literacy-related cognitive-linguistic processing, for the purpose of identifying those who are at greatest risk for reading difficulties.
Some screening (i.e., language milestones) is already part of regular well-baby visits; in this case the information could help to define risk, especially when aggregated with other risk factors.
Kindergarten screening, in contrast, has become reasonably accurate when a combination of skills is measured (although the optimal combination is not yet identified). Ideally, screening procedures should be quick and inexpensive; they should identify all or most children who have the specific problem; and they should mistakenly detect none or few children who do not have the problem.
To achieve the goal of preventing reading difficulties, it will not be feasible or appropriate to provide the same sort of intervention to all of these groups and individuals, although some kinds of programs may be of benefit to all.
Excerpted from: Snow, C. E., Burns, S. M., & Griffin, P. Editors. (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, Chapter 4: Predictors of Success and Failure in Reading.. National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. Courtesy of National Academy Press. Reprinted with permission.