Tips for Student Engagement

I received an email containing a newsletter from Edutopia today on "Tips for Increasing Student Engagement".  Head on over to http://www.edutopia.org/files/existing/edutopianews.html and take a look for yourself.  Do you have any tips or ideas?  Please share them in the comments section.

Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

By: Reading Rockets (2011)

Observations occur when we can see something happening. In contrast, inferences are what we figure out based on an experience. Helping your child understand when information is implied, or not directly stated, will improve her skill in drawing conclusions and making inferences. These skills will be needed for all sorts of school assignments, including reading, science and social studies. Inferential thinking is a complex skill that will develop over time and with experience.

Families can create opportunities to practice inferential thinking. Below are a few ways to help familiarize your child with this way of thinking and learning:

• Explain to your child that we make conclusions about things and draw inferences all the time. Draw a conclusion together and then talk about what clues were used to come to that conclusion. For example, Erin played outside today. How can we tell? Muddy shoes, jump rope on front porch, water bottle out. Dad seems tired tonight. How can we tell? He's rubbing his eyes, he's on the couch, he was yawning at the dinner table.
• Paper bag mystery person: Put a few items into a brown paper bag. Tell your child the bag belongs to a certain type of person. Their job is to tell you something about the person. Then, take out each item one by one and talk about it.
• Example #1: goggles, a swim cap, a swim ribbon, a stop watch
• Example #2: a bookmark, a library card, a stuffed animal, a book
• Wordless picture books provide your child with practice using clues to create meaning. There are no wrong stories with wordless picture books, only variations based on what the "reader" sees and puts together. Rosie's Walk (Hutchins), Good Dog, Carl (Day), and Beaver Is Lost (Cooper) are all interesting and fun wordless picture books to explore.
• Play twenty questions! This familiar word game helps build inference skills. As your child develops skill with the game, encourage him to avoid asking direct questions like, "Is it a dog?" Rather, encourage him to ask broader questions, "Does it walk on four feet?" Then, when your child figures it out, ask him to tell you the clues that lead to the right answer.
• Create scenarios in which your child must use what they already know to predict an outcome. For example, growing seeds. Present your child with various scenarios (a seed will be given water and sunlight, a seed will get no water, a seed will be in a dark room). Ask your child to predict whether the seed will grow. Help your child become aware that she used information she knew about growing seeds, combined with new information, to fill in information about the seeds.

Learning to draw conclusions and inferences is a skill that develops over time. The skill requires children to put together various pieces of information, and relies on good word knowledge. Help your child develop skill by providing experience with inferential information, making implied information more clear, and helping your child draw conclusions based on the evidence.

• Download this article as a PDF document.*
• View this article in Spanish.

*To view this file, you will need a copy of Acrobat Reader. If it is not already installed on your computer, you can download it from the Adobe website.

For more resources on literacy, science, and math, visit:

• Literacy in the Sciences >

Reading Skills: Figuring Out an Unfamiliar Word

One strategy that is important for students to learn is how to figure out an unfamiliar or new word in a reading passage.  

1. The student could look for a definition of the unknown word inside the sentence.  Clue words might be "is", "are", and "has".
2. The student could look for a synonym.  Clue words would be "or", "in other words", "that is", and "similarly".
3. The student could look for examples that show the meaning of the unknown word.  Clue words would be "such as" and "for instance".
4. The student could look for a cause-effect relationship.  Clue words would be "therefore", "as a result", and "due to".

What are some strategies that you teach your students for figuring out an unfamiliar word in a reading passage?

The new school year has begun!

Ahhhh....the beginning of school.  Moms and Dads everywhere smile with glee and teachers across the nation start the frantic race to prepare their classrooms for the invasion of students.  Many companies choose this time to start posting information about free materials and resources right about now.  I thought I would pass along some of them so you can check them out.

• Verizon Foundation:  They give grants every year to support literacy, education, technology, and other causes.  Grants can be for up to $10,000.  Take a look at www.verizonfoundation.org/grant/guidelines.shtml.
• Farmers Insurance Education Programs:  K-12 teachers can use free teaching tools about history, democracy, diversity, literacy, the arts, fire safety, and more.  You can get the full curriculum through Farmers Insurance agents or look online at www.GoFarmersEd.com.
• My Storymaker:  This is a free website where kids can click on icons to choose and control the characters, settings, and objects in their stories and the website creates the sentences.  Try it out at http://carnegielibrary.org/kids/storymaker.
• Parent Workshop Survival Kit:  Teachers, you can enter to win a CD of parent N'vites each week in August and the grand prize winner will receive a parent workshop survival kit valued at $500.  This parent workshop talks with parents about good reading strategies.  The CD includes a slide presentation with a script and parent handouts.  To enter to to www.k5kaplan.com/contest.

Those are just a few of the resources I've found lately.  Come back soon and I will post more!

Reading Rockets: Using Graphic Organizers in Literature-Based Science Instruction

Reading Rockets: Using Graphic Organizers in Literature-Based Science Instruction

Take a look at this great resource for using graphic organizers in science instruction. More and more districts are emphasizing embedding literature into subjects other than just reading class. How do you incorporate literature into other subjects?

Communities helping students succeed.

Every Year

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

WHAT SCHOOLS CAN DO 

WHAT COMMUNITY AGENCIES CAN DO 

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

Inform parents about what children are expected to learn and do at every grade level through school orientations as well as school newsletters.

Hold parent/teacher conferences to identify strengths and strategies for improving student success in school.

Identify non-traditional ways to connect with parents unable to attend regularly scheduled parent/teacher conferences.

Communicate regularly about children's progress, not just when problems arise.

Send home homework or learning assignments.

Hold family math and literacy workshops aimed at helping parents learn about what they can do at home to help children advance their skills.

Partner with schools to help parents understand what to expect in a high quality educational program and how to determine the best match for their child.

Help to identify positive solutions when conflicts arise between school staff and parents about how to promote a child’s academic achievement.

Assist parents in identifying when their child might be at risk because of an undetected learning disability and/or they are disengaging from school.

Partner with schools to offer workshops on family math and literacy as well as other relevant parenting topics.

Use home visitors who reflect the cultural and linguistic background of families to help parents acquire skills to help their children at home.

Create lending libraries offering families access to learning materials that they can use at home.

Think about the kind of educational program your child needs to learn and thrive, and seek placement in those schools which meet his or her needs.

Know your child's teachers. Let teachers know that you want to be contacted immediately about any concerns.

Attend parent-teacher conferences and regularly seek out information about your child's progress.

Request a developmental assessment if a learning disability is suspected.

Watch for signs that your child might be at risk.

Use activities at home to develop their knowledge and skills, and utilize community resources (museums, libraries, youth centers) to create additional opportunities for learning.

Recognizing the Signs When ELLs Struggle

With the rise of ELL/ESL students enrolling in our schools, teachers often look for resources in a variety of places.  Colorin Colorado is a fantastic place to find such resources.  It has many wonderful ideas for parents and teachers to use with students.  Linked to this entry is a chart of how to recognize the signs when ELLs struggle.  Have you seen these characteristics in your students?  Do you have any to add?  Just click here:  http://www.colorincolorado.org/pdfs/behaviors.pdf.