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.

Education Article :: Top 12 Things Teachers WON’T Miss During Summer

Education Article :: Top 12 Things Teachers WON’T Miss During Summer

Go on over to this funny article about what teachers won't miss during the summer. It made me smile today!

Behavior Charts - Free Downloadable

Behavior Charts - Free Downloadable

Take a look at these behavior charts that are free to download and use. What do you use with your students?

Accommodations, Modifications, & Interventions

Many times you will hear educators discussing accommodations, modifications, and interventions.  Often those terms will seem interchangeable.  But there is a difference between the terms.

Accommodations are changes made to instruction.  These changes are made to help students fully participate in the general education curriculum without changing the instructional content.  They do not change the learning expectations in regards to the goal being addressed.  Typically the student product produced using accommodations is equal to the student product produced without accommodations.  Some examples of accommodations would be providing more time to complete work, allowing oral responses instead of written responses, or providing a study guide before a test.

Modifications are changes made to instruction that changes or reduces learning expectations.  This can include rewording test questions, shortening an assignment (odd or even numbers only), or using a different grading scale.

Interventions are strategies that are used to teach a skill in a new situation.  They should include an assessment, planning, and data collection from activities of student achievement.  The interventions are to be scientifically research based.  Regular progress monitoring (example: once a week) should occur to determine skill growth and help shape instructional planning.  Examples of scientifically research based interventions would be S.P.I.R.E or Florida Center of Reading Research activities.