# data[].attributes.body
Because of the shutdown of schools in the middle of COVID children paid the piece in education. We need to fill the gaps before it too late.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CBS Pittsburgh 3 days ago John Shumway

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With every passing day of the new school year, teachers are having to pull double duty as they teach this year's lessons, but also are trying to make up for the pandemic gap.

It's a real issue in virtually every classroom and KDKA's John Shumway took a look at how teachers are trying to handle it.

First off, no one is to blame for the gap -- not students, schools, or teachers, but the gap needs to be addressed or it will only get larger and the kids will pay the price.

There is a general assumption that because the kids are back in school, that all is back to normal.

Dr. Leanna Lawson, the Program Director of Training and Consultation at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit says that that there are numerous requests for help coming in from the 42 school districts in the AIU.

"It becomes very challenging to figure out what needs addressed for individual students and then the students as a whole," Lawson said.

Carlynton School Superintendent Dr. John Kreider says the gaps aren't just academic.

"We're coming along. We are recognizing that there are gaps in learning but our teachers are working very hard and I know it's not just the Carlynton -- it's schools across Allegheny County, across Pennsylvania, and across the United States to fill in those gaps," Kreider said.

Kreider says that there are some students entering kindergarten that didn't attend preschool or students entering 1st grade that didn't attend kindergarten.

In addition to an academic gap, this can also cause a socialization and emotional gap.

"We want kids to be fostering their peer relationships and friendships and that sense of belonging in a school environment, Lawson said.

These issues aren't limited to younger students, as Lawson says issues are being recognized across all grades and that all issues are not the same.

Part of the issue is that every child's gap is different, so the schools are working to get them caught up while continuing this year's work.

The inconsistency of education, online, in-person, or virtual learning over the past couple years has helped create the gap because students haven't learned evenly and are missing things.

"Many schools have hired different personal reading specialists or math specialists to help close those gaps with with individual children who are experiencing those difficulties especially in reading and math," Kreider said.

"Reading and math has a lot of connections to the sciences to extracurriculars and so on. So that's where a lot of schools put put some of their efforts," Kreider said.

With the number of hours available in school, the pressure is on.

"Because they not only need to close some of those gaps, but they need to keep the learning going so that kids don't fall further and further behind," Lawson said.

Lawson says parents shouldn't assume their child is gapless and suggests reaching out to their teacher or teachers.

"Teachers can often be very explicit about what kinds of skills that kids might need to practice at home to to help being caught up," Lawson.

Lawson and Kreider both say that the recovery from the pandemic gap won't come quickly and that it's critical for high schoolers who need to cram it in quickly -- for the younger kids, the full catch-up might be measured in years.

As a parent, if your child's teacher identifies a particular skill, you can follow their lead and work with the children.

This gap is a significant issue and the schools are dealing with it head-on every day.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Measuring the impact of COVID-19 on the education gap in classrooms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CBS Pittsburgh 3 days ago John Shumway PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With every passing day of the new school year, teachers are having to pull double duty as they teach this year's lessons, but also are trying to make up for the pandemic gap.

# data[].attributes.body
This video shows the different ways people learn. Seeing it, hearing it, doing it, and writing it down.

# data[].attributes.body
Pinterest is a great way to get ideas for your class assignments. Easy fun ideas for any topic.

# data[].attributes.body
Great activities for team building and working on social skills.

# data[].attributes.body
This website has fun ideas on games to help with sight words.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do you have a child reading sight words right now? You probably know that it's not very much fun to practice these with flashcards. Learning to read sight words through hands-on activities is much more fun!

Why are sight words important to practice? These words help beginning readers learn to read. Sight words are words that are most frequently used and words that can't necessarily be sounded out, so they need to be memorized. For example, if you sound out the word 'with' it would sound totally different than how it should be pronounced. Instead of using flashcards to practice these words, I recommend doing hands-on activities. Your kids will love it!

Here are some of my favorite ideas:

Salt Tray from Mama. Papa. Bubba

Sight Word Match with Yarn from Hands On As We Grow

Sight Word Games from Playdough to Plato

Fishing Game from This Reading Mama

Bear Game from Sprinkles to Kindergarten

Sight Word Board Game from Brain Power Boy

Sight Word Blackout from This Reading Mama

Sight Word Slap from Hands on As We Grow

Fizzy Reading from I Can Teach My Child

Sight Words Dominoes from Sight Words

You can also practice sight words with shaving cream. Just spray some in a tray and smooth it out with a spatula. Use a finger to write the sight word.

Lastly, I recommend using my free sight word reader booklets. I have nearly 30 sets of booklets that you can get here.

What other ideas do you have?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Do you have a child reading sight words right now? You probably know that it's not very much fun to practice these with flashcards. Learning to read sight words through hands-on activities is much more fun! Why are sight words important to practice? These words help beginning readers learn to read.