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Keys to Literacy Professional Development: Onsite, Online Learning that Lasts

With offerings tailored for grades K-3, elementary, middle and high school, our instructional practices and practical training methods ensure that schools improve literacy levels as their students improve their literacy skills. Download a summary of the research supporting our instructional practices.

View our variety of topics below. Keys to Literacy professional development was recommended in the National Council on Teacher Quality's Four Pillars to Reading Success Action Guide.

a professional development planning guide.

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Professional Development Offerings - Keys to Literacy

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Keys to Literacy Professional Development: Onsite, Online Learning that Lasts With offerings tailored for grades K-3, elementary, middle and high school, our instructional practices and practical training methods ensure that schools improve literacy levels as their students improve their literacy skills. Download a summary of the research supporting our instructional practices.

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The ability to read allows individuals access to the full range of a culture's artistic and scientific knowledge. Reading is a complex act.

Jim's Hints

Literacy Web: Reading Comprehension Links. Browse through a large and varied list of recommended reading-instruction links grouped into the following categories: (1) vocabulary instruction, (2) text comprehension instruction, (3) teacher preparation and comprehension strategies instruction, and (4) websites for comprehension practice. This page is a part of 'The Literacy Web', a wonderful cataloging of literacy links and Internet resources created by Dr. Donald J. Leu and Julie Coiro at the University of Connecticut.

Reading Interventions for K-1. Created by the Florida Center for Reading Research, this site contains short, research-based student reading activities suitable for grades K-1. The activities cover phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Reading Quest: Improving Comprehension of Textbook Material. Find ideas to help students to grapple with and better understand their textbook readings. Teachers can discover how to use a 'K-W-L' (Known-Want [to Learn]-Learned) chart to encourage students to engage prior knowledge of a topic, encourage students to take notes using a 'Power Thinking' approach, and many other ideas. The site was created by Raymond C. Jones, assistant professor of social studies education at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC.

Reading Strategies: A-Z. Visit the site 'Reading Rockets' to discover many articles with intervention and instructional ideas to help struggling readers. Reading Rockets is supported by WETA, the Washington, D.C. public television and radio station and is funded by a major grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

Scaffolded Reading Comprehension Ideas. The Greece (NY) school district has posted 22 reading comprehension strategies to 'scaffold students' interactions with texts'. These strategies are organized according to the stage of the reading process (pre-reading, reading, post-reading) that they address. Each strategy write-up includes a brief introduction, steps to implement, and ideas to adapt or differentiate the strategy with different student groups or instructional objectives.

The Savvy Teacher's Guide: Reading Interventions That Work. This free 52-page manual (Adobe Acrobat format) contains 4 teacher intervention scripts to build student reading fluency and 10 scripts to boost comprehension. Strategies in the manual are based on practices recommended by the National Reading Panel.

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The ability to read allows individuals access to the full range of a culture's artistic and scientific knowledge. Reading is a complex act. Literacy Web: Reading Comprehension Links. Browse through a large and varied list of recommended reading-instruction links grouped into the following categories: (1) vocabulary instruction, (2) text comprehension instruction, (3) teacher preparation and comprehension strategies instruction, and (4) websites for comprehension practice.

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Working Memory IEP goals

Does your child struggle with Working Memory issues, and you want them added to the IEP? Have you heard parents talk about working memory skills, but you're not sure what they are?

Ok, remember these?

I'm dating myself a bit, I know. But these are a great example of how we exercised our working memory. If you wanted to make a call, you looked up the number. You quickly memorized it while you walked to the telephone (which was attached to the wall!).

When you got to the phone, you dialed the number, recalling it using your working memory.

Has it ever been raining when you went to work...but not on the way home? And then you forgot to bring your umbrella home, right?

Because your working memory did not remind you! If the rain was not present to remind you to grab an umbrella, you forgot.

Functions of Working Memory:

Working memory is considered one of our Executive Functions. Here are some examples of how working memory can affect you at school or at home.

help you solve math problems

make and achieve time management goals

allow you to complete a longer reading passage and remember the beginning, and it's relevance to the rest of the story/book

ability to look in your fridge or pantry and remember what you need to buy at the grocery store

ability to remember to bring home important things (like homework, shoes, coats)

We all do this all the time! In the morning it's cool, so we wear a jacket or sweater. In the afternoon, it's warm, so we forget to bring home that jacket or sweater.

Throw in a few sensory issues, and it makes perfect sense why your kid came home only wearing one shoe. It happens!

Lack of a strong working memory can often be mistaken for cognitive and academic deficits, so interventions are definitely warranted. Working memory involves the ability to keep information active in your mind for a short time (2-3 seconds) to be able to use it for further processing.

Working memory is our temporary storage system and helps us with our day-to-day tasks (e.g. following instructions, responding in conversations, listening and reading comprehension, organization).

Can your child follow directions that are 2-3 steps? If not, they likely lack working memory skills.

Again, this is one of those invisible skills, or at least it is invisible if it's present. If a person is lacking good working memory skills, then it's very visible and often treated punitively rather than being supported.

How many times do you see an adult with a phone number or short phrase written on their hand? That is their own accommodation for working memory!

Cog-Med has some excellent charts and graphics that show working memory skills. Take a look.

Working Memory Skills for Kids

Choose the skill that your child is lacking, or what they are exhibiting that may be due to a lack of a skill set. Then, plug that skill into the IEP goal formula.

Working Memory Skills-Adult Examples

Working Memory IEP Goals

Goals should be developed using the student's baselines defined in IEP Present Levels. From there, I would take the area of need and using the baseline and the IEP goal formula, make it measurable (flow chart below).

1. The student will accurately repeat verbal instructions with 80% accuracy before beginning assignment as evidenced by teacher/staff observation and data.

2. The student will accurately follow classroom procedures for turning in assignments with 80% accuracy 4 out of 5 consecutive days.

3. The student will use mnemonics to aid in memorization of content material 4 out of 5 times as measured by teacher observations and data.

4. The student will use graphic organizers to record or recall content knowledge 8 out of 10 times as evidenced by teacher feedback.

5. The student will use an app or designated system to record questions that cannot be answered immediately.

Printable List of Working Memory Interventions

I found this online and while it overlaps a lot of the EF skills, it's a good resource.

Working Memory Skills-Fluctuations

Many students lack working memory skills, or our skills fluctuate depending on age and stage of life. When we are stressed, we forget things. When we're sick, unhealthy, distracted, the importance of the item...all of these things can affect working memory.

I can remember exactly what brands and varieties of foods Kevin will eat and which restaurants have items for him.

But I cannot buy my husband a 6-pack of beer that he likes and I continually buy him the wrong packs of sushi at Wegman's. One item is just more important for me to remember.

If you're aware of your issues, most adults compensate and find their own accommodations, such as creating a shopping list before you go to the grocery store.

But if you have other learning disabilities or problem-solving is not your strong suit, the student may need accommodations and practice. Your working memory can improve with practice.

Working Memory IEP Accommodations

Here is a great chart I found from LD Canada.

In addition to IEP goals and SDIs that address working memory, you want it to be fun. There are many categories of board games and puzzles that will exercise your working memory.

A final note: I have seen so many kids who are punished for forgetting homework. Punished for forgetting to bring something to school or home. Yes, to function in society, it's important to learn working memory skills or have our own set of supports.

I cannot stress enough to work with the child, get their input and ideas and suggestions. I have seen too many kids just get downtrodden and deflated, because they are punished or grounded, over and over for something they are having trouble learning.

Most kids want to improve these skills and are not just being defiant by not bringing in homework.

Stick with your child and get your team on board with supports and activities that help your child learn these skills....not just continually being punished for not having them.

Good luck!

Working Memory Games for Kids

Bestseller No. 4

When you purchase items from Amazon from this site, I receive a small percentage at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting A Day in our Shoes.

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Working Memory IEP Goals | Examples | Accommodations

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Lack of working memory is often treated punitively, rather than teaching the skill or accommodating the lack of skill. Read and adjust your child's IEP.

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Home

CHALLENGING MATH PROBLEMS WORTH SOLVING

DOWNLOAD OUR FAVORITE PROBLEMS FROM EVERY GRADE LEVEL

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HERE'S OUR GROWING COLLECTION

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CHECK OUT THESE FREE WEBINARS TO HELP TEACHERS RETHINK CLASSWORK

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CHALLENGING MATH PROBLEMS WORTH SOLVING DOWNLOAD OUR FAVORITE PROBLEMS FROM EVERY GRADE LEVEL Get Our Favorite Problems Take The Online Workshop WANT GOOGLE SLIDE VERSIONS OF ALL PROBLEMS? HERE’S OUR GROWING COLLECTION Get Google Slide Versions WANT TO SHARE OPEN MIDDLE WITH OTHERS? CHECK OUT THESE FREE WEBINARS TO HELP TEACHERS RETHINK CLASSWORK Elementary Version

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Lots of videos of teachers implementing! 

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Lots of videos of teachers implementing! 

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"phonemic awareness" phonics literacy reading heggerty "phonological awareness"

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Heggerty Phonemic Awareness is a well-organized 35-week curriculum of daily phonemic awareness lesson plans. Developed on a systematic scope and sequence of skills, each level focuses on eight phonemic awareness Skills, along with two additional activities to develop Letter and Sound recognition, and Language Awareness.

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What's the difference between Phonics and Phonemic Awareness?

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Phonemic Awareness, Phonics & Phonological Awareness | Kathleen Jasper

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As a special education teacher, it is mandatory to set appropriate goals on your Individualized Education Program (IEP) annually. Appropriately setting well-thought-out goals on the IEP allows students, with any disability, to achieve success, growth, and increase positive behaviors.

By tracking progress accurately, you can make sure success is happening. Overall, we know that this can be a daunting task; you have to know the student's baseline, make sure you understand how the student learns and processes new information, accurately progress monitor the goals over time, and then determine if the student has mastered their goal. It takes a team to set these goals, including getting additional input from parents, principal, therapists, school nurse, and support staff.

"Each student's IEP is unique and lays out the roadmap for their education journey, providing support, modifications, and accommodations that allow the student to achieve the most success possible in the school setting."

Goal mastery changes year to year. Your student's road to success will be directed by your daily instruction based on your IEP goals, so here are some thoughtful and helpful tips to move forward with drafting an IEP.

1. Use parent input when possible.

Before you draft your initial IEP goals for each student, it is imperative that you include a case history review or interview with the student's parents. The parent plays one of the most vital roles in their child's education, and understanding their concerns regarding their student's needs helps to set achievable goals for the future growth of their child. Providing opportunities for the parent to communicate with you about their overall thoughts on the challenges their student's are experiencing will offer more information for you as a teacher and help you to better understand the student's strengths, challenges, weaknesses, and overall learning style.

Parents are, by law, required to be an equal partner in their child's IEP. Not only can they provide insight, but they can help collect valuable information along the way as their student works on their IEP goals. Use the parents as a tool to set up an IEP that creates measurable and attainable goals. Parents can be key when developing successful IEP goals for that particular student.

2. Use SMART IEP goals.

This acronym is short for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, and T ime-Bound. Provide goals that are very specific to a subject or skill. If these points are not considered, a goal will easily fail as it does not provide enough detail.

Every goal should be measurable. Start with a data chart, curriculum, or tests to help measure progress. Attainable is one of the most important aspects of setting goals since it can help increase independence in your students. It can also discourage students from completing them if the goal is not clearly laid out and realistic. Results-Oriented can start small so the student can easily meet their goal and build upon that as they progress. Finally, Time-Bound-set these goals for the week, month, three months, and so on. Setting the endpoint gives the student a time frame and targets to achieve. It is also essential to make sure that your IEP is set to curriculum standards within your state.

The goal is specific to a subject or skill

Measurable

Use: Data Charts, Curriculum, and tests to measure

Attainable

Make sure the goal is clearly laid out and realistic

Results-Oriented

Start with a small goal and build upon it so that the goal grows bigger

Goals should be set for: Weekly, Monthly, Three Months, etc.

3. Use resources to help plan.

In addition to setting appropriate goals for your student's IEP, it is important to help use resources to guide your process. State standards and regulations may change, so not only are you responsible for knowing what the student needs but for implementing these standards into each IEP goal. Take the extra step by setting up a resource binder (or an online file folder) filled with articles, a goal bank to build from, lesson plans, state standards, and more. References and tools will help guide you to better manage your classroom and communication with your student, their parents, and appropriate administration.

Here is a list of our trusted resources that can help you when planning.

These are just a few resources and ideas to help get you started and guide you on creating successful, individualized IEP goals for your students. Creating and cultivating relationships with your students and parents plays a vital role in the educational progress of each student. The best piece of advice is to keep up with state standards and regulations for your school district. Happy goal-setting!

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Practical Tips For Setting Student IEP Goals

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As a special education teacher, it is mandatory to set appropriate goals on your Individualized Education Program (IEP) annually. Appropriately setting well-thought-out goals on the IEP allows students, with any disability, to achieve success, growth, and increase positive behaviors. By tracking progress accurately, you can make sure success is happening.

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Top 5 Strategies for Motivating Students 

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Top 5 Strategies for Motivating Students 

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Luke Wilcox, NBCT June 4, 2018

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Teachers spend years of hard work and thousands of dollars to become experts in their content areas, with degrees and teaching certification to prove it. We develop curriculum maps and teaching calendars to be sure to cover the appropriate standards. We endure hours of professional development so that we are well versed in all the current educational pedagogy. We collaborate with colleagues so that we are all using best practices in the classroom. We develop assessments for students so that we can track their progress. When all this doesn't work, we have intentional interventions aimed at getting students back on track.

And students are still failing.

The problem is that many students are not motivated to learn. Even with the perfect lesson plan in place, an unmotivated student will not learn. Some teachers claim that motivating students is not their job. It is a teacher's job to know the content and to teach it well; the student must take responsibility for his or her learning and find his or her own motivation. This old-fashioned idea is what limits many teachers to being average. A great teacher recognizes that student motivation is necessary for success in learning and that teachers are in the perfect position to improve student motivation. Here are some strategies that can be used in the classroom to help motivate students:
1. Promote growth mindset over fixed mindset.
In her book, Mindset, Carol Dweck argues that students have an underlying belief about learning: either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset belief suggests that people are born with or without certain abilities and talents, and that abilities cannot be changed. Fixed mindset learners try to prove themselves and will often shy away from challenges because they do not want to appear to be struggling. A growth mindset learner, on the other hand, believes that abilities and talents can be cultivated and improved through hard work. Growth mindset students enjoy a challenge and see struggles and failures as necessary parts of growth. Learners with a growth mindset are certainly more motivated to work hard.

How do we foster a growth mindset in the classroom?

One of the most powerful elements of feedback for our learners is to praise them for their efforts and hard work. "I can tell that you have been practicing your reading," or "The practice is paying off on your times tables," tells learners that they have the power to improve their academic success. That said, we must stop praising ability: "Wow, you are such a smart math student," or "You are such an incredible reader." Praise for abilities over efforts reinforces the fixed mindset that students have the ability or they don't and no amount of hard work on the learner's part can change the outcome. We are all learners, and should be encouraged as such.

Throughout a learning cycle, teachers assess student progress by incorporating formative and summative assessments. The purpose of formative assessment is to pinpoint the learning needed for ultimate success on a later summative assessment. Formative assessment informs teachers and students about student and classroom needs for improvement so both can act accordingly to improve performance on the final assessment. Some formative assessments are: a thumbs up/thumbs down check for understanding, a quiz in small groups, or an exit slip at the end of a lesson. What is important is that students get timely and descriptive feedback from the assessment so that they can move forward in their learning. This cycle of learning will improve results on a later summative assessment.

As teachers, we can model the growth mindset. Have courage! Ask students for feedback about your teaching and be willing to make necessary changes. Be dedicated! Work hard for students and share how hard work and dedication translates to success and growth. This feedback shows that we, too, are learners. It also invites our students to continue on the learning journey alongside us. Students are always willing to work hard for a teacher that is reciprocating that hard work.
2. Develop meaningful and respectful relationships with your students.
If we are going to truly inspire and motivate all of our students, we should know each of them on a personal level. We need to know their interests and hobbies, who they hang out with, their family situations, and what gets them excited. Each student is going to require different motivational strategies, and we have to know them to be able to predict what strategies might work.

In order to begin that "knowing," try allowing for five minutes where students may share "Good News." For example, student A shares, "I am a new uncle! My sister had a new baby boy this weekend!" This is an opportunity for us to learn about our students as people and to let them know that we care about them individually. This also provides an avenue for teachers to share some details about their lives outside of school. When teachers are willing to share personally and become vulnerable, students are more likely to do the same. When learners see one another as whole people, they are more willing to take risks, and ask the questions they need to ask in order to obtain success.

We all learn differently. In each classroom several types of learners exist: visual, tactile, verbal and more reserved. We can see it as our responsibility to discover this by knowing them and endeavor to teach them accordingly. This work results in our ability to know our students which leads to a more cohesive, open learning community.
3. Grow a community of learners in your classroom.
Students need a classroom environment that is safe, where they are willing to take risks and struggle. To achieve this goal, the students and teacher must work together towards common collective goals. Students must be willing to work with and assist other students in class. Struggle should be acceptable and encouraged as a part of the learning process.

Traditional teaching consists of teachers lecturing and learners taking notes, followed by the learners doing independent work to check for understanding. Transforming this outdated model to include more time where students are talking to students brings about true community. Collaborative group work should be the activity between the teacher lecture and the independent work. This is the time when students can digest information and ask questions collectively. Learners participate in what could be considered the "problem solving" phase of their development with new ideas, and together they come to new learnings. This gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student encourages deeper understanding of lesson rather than rote memorization; thus the students are participants in their own learning, rather than witnesses to the instructor's knowledge.

Student work should be proudly displayed throughout the classroom. This sends a message to students that they are active participants in creating the knowledge in the classroom. The teacher is not the sole holder of knowledge. Additionally, teachers can use language that promotes the community of learners - including the teacher - rather than a room full of individual learners. Using the words "we" and "our" rather than "I" and "you" has a significant impact on classroom culture, and how students function as interdependent learners.
4. Establish high expectations and establish clear goals.
Setting high expectations and supporting students as they struggle allows learners to rise to meet those expectations. When expectations are transparent, students know where their learning is headed and are motivated to get there because it seems possible: the path is visible. Working towards daily, weekly, and yearly goals gives students a purpose and a meaning for the hard work that they do.

Daily learning goals (learning targets, or "I can" statements) should be posted, visible and referenced on a daily basis. Establishing the "goal of the day" at the start of the lesson gives students a purpose for their learning. Students can also formatively assess themselves at the end of each lesson by checking to be sure they have met the learning goals.

Maintaining high expectations for academics is tantamount to learning, but high standards for behavior, academic language, group work, and even the length and format of individual work is also necessary for deep learning. We cannot assume that students know these expectations. They must be clearly outlined. If we expect students to interact in a certain way together, we need to teach them how, and hold them accountable. If we want an assignment displayed in a certain format, we need to model it and expect it. Once the routines to support expectations are established and clear to the learning community, learning becomes the most important action in the classroom.
5. Be inspirational.
Most adults can recall a specific teacher from their childhood who had a lasting impact. These are the teachers that have inspired, challenged, and motivated students enough to be memorable years later.

What makes these teachers inspirational?

Inspirational teachers represent success to their students. Teacher success might be: completing a 10K race, owning a small business, or receiving a teaching award. We each have successes to share. Through our triumphs, students can learn what success looks like and go after it. Once our students decide that they want success, they pay close attention to the behaviors and choices and even sacrifices that led us to our success. These behaviors include hard work, willingness to struggle, and ability to learn from our mistakes. Students internalize our behaviors and strategies as a way to accomplish their own goals. We give them an opportunity to do so in our everyday routines, assignments and encounters with them.

A huge thank you to Tracey Kooy for helping me develop as a writer.

What might be some other strategies we can use to intrinsically motivate students to learn?
This blog originally appeared on Luke Wilcox's website.

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Top 5 Strategies for Motivating Students - NBPTS

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Teachers spend years of hard work and thousands of dollars to become experts in their content areas, with degrees and teaching certification to prove it. We develop curriculum maps and teaching calendars to be sure to cover the appropriate standards. We endure hours of professional development so that we are well versed in all the current educational pedagogy.

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for Beginning Readers

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Build Sight Word Vocabulary With the Reading Racetrack

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Build Sight Word Vocabulary With the Reading Racetrack

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Teachers use different strategies to help students learn.

The best strategies are backed by research.

Some strategies are extra helpful for students who learn and think differently.

Your child's teachers may use a variety of teaching strategies in their classrooms. But do these strategies help kids who learn and think differently?

There's no one way for teachers to deliver instruction to their students. However, some strategies are backed by research and are more effective than others.

These approaches and techniques can benefit all students. But they're especially helpful to kids who learn and think differently. They can make a big difference in how well struggling students take in and work with information. (Some may even be used as formal accommodations in IEPs and 504 plans .)

You may have heard of one or more of these strategies from your child's classroom or special education teachers. If not, you can ask the teachers whether they use the strategies and how you might adapt them to use at home.

Here are six common teaching strategies. Learn more about what they are and how they can help kids who learn and think differently.

"Wait time" (or "think time") is a three- to seven-second pause after a teacher says something or asks a question. Instead of calling on the first student who raises her hand, the teacher will stop and wait.

This strategy can help with the following issues:

2. Multisensory Instruction

Multisensory instruction is a way of teaching that engages more than one sense at a time. A teacher might help kids learn information using touch, movement, sight and hearing.

This way of teaching can help with these issues:

Dyscalculia: Multisensory instruction is helpful in math, too. Teachers often use hands-on tools like blocks and drawings. These tools help kids to "see" math concepts. Adding 2 + 2 is more concrete when you combine four blocks in front of you. You may hear teachers refer to these tools as manipulatives.

Most kids don't learn simply by being told what to do. Teachers use a strategy called "I Do, We Do, You Do" to model a skill. The teacher will show how to do something ("I do"), such as how to do a math problem. Next, she will invite kids to do a problem with her ("we do"). Then, kids will try a math problem on their own ("you do").

This strategy can help with these issues:

All learning and thinking differences: When used correctly, I Do, We Do, You Do can benefit all learners. That's because a teacher can provide support during each phase. However, teachers must know what support to provide. They also need to know when students understand a concept well enough to work on their own. Think of it like riding a bike: The teacher needs to know when to take off the training wheels.

Graphic organizers are visual tools. They show information or the connection between ideas. They also help kids organize what they've learned or what they have to do. Teachers use these tools to "scaffold," or provide support around, the learning process for struggling learners. (It's the same idea as when workers put up scaffolding to help construct a building.)

There are many different kinds of graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and flow charts. They can be especially helpful with these issues:

5. One-on-One and Small Group Instruction

One strategy that teachers use is to vary the size of the group they teach to. Some lessons are taught to the whole class. Others are better for a small group of students or one student. Learning in a small group or one-on-one can be very helpful to kids with learning and thinking differences.

Some kids are placed in small groups because of their IEPs or an intervention. But that's not always the case. Teachers often meet with small groups or one student as a way to differentiate instruction. This means that they tailor the lesson to the needs of the student.

This strategy helps with:

Dyslexia: Students with dyslexia frequently meet in small group settings for reading. In the general classroom, teachers often work with a small group of kids at the same reading level or to focus on a specific skill. They might also meet because kids have a common interest in a book.

Dyscalculia: For kids with dyscalculia, teachers gather one or more students to practice skills that some students (but not the whole class) need extra help with.

Dysgraphia: In many classrooms, teachers hold "writing conferences." They meet with students one-on-one to talk about their progress with what they're writing. For students with dysgraphia, a teacher can use this opportunity to check in and focus on specific skills for that student.

ADHD and executive functioning issues: This type of instruction often takes place in settings with fewer distractions. The teacher can also help students stay on task and learn skills like self-monitoring.

6. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Strategies

UDL is a type of teaching that gives all students flexible ways to learn and succeed. UDL strategies allow kids to access materials, engage with them and show what they know in different ways. There are many examples of how these strategies help kids who learn and think differently.

Dyslexia: When teachers follow UDL principles, they present information in many different ways. For instance, instead of telling students they must read a book, they would be invited to listen to an audiobook. This removes a barrier for students who struggle with reading.

Dysgraphia: One UDL strategy is to give assignment choices. Kids with dysgraphia may struggle to show how much they know about history by writing an essay. But they may shine when delivering a presentation or acting out a historical skit.

Some teaching strategies may be part of a child's IEP or 504 plan.

The strategies aim to give kids needed support as they learn.

Talk with your child's teachers about the strategies they use.

About the Author

About the Author

The Understood Team&nbsp

is made up of passionate writers, editors, and community moderators. Many of them learn and think differently, or have kids who do.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Jenn Osen-Foss, MAT&nbsp

is an instructional coach, supporting teachers in using differentiated instruction, interventions, and co-planning.

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6 Strategies Teachers Use to Help Kids Who Learn and Think Differently

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Teachers use different strategies to help students learn. The best strategies are backed by research. Some strategies are extra helpful for students who learn and think differently. Your child's teachers may use a variety of teaching strategies in their classrooms. But do these strategies help kids who learn and think differently?

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Vol. 77

No. 2

Abstract

1. Expect Unexpected Responses

2. Employ Thoughtful Interactions

3. Be Specific About Relationship Building

4. Promote Predictability and Consistency

5. Teach Strategies to "Change the Channel"

6. Give Supportive Feedback to Reduce Negative Thinking

7. Create Islands of Competence

8. Limit Exclusionary Practices

Fostering a Feeling of Safety

Small changes in classroom interactions can make a big difference for traumatized students.

Credit: Shannon Fagan

Abstract

1. Expect Unexpected Responses

2. Employ Thoughtful Interactions

3. Be Specific About Relationship Building

4. Promote Predictability and Consistency

5. Teach Strategies to "Change the Channel"

6. Give Supportive Feedback to Reduce Negative Thinking

7. Create Islands of Competence

8. Limit Exclusionary Practices

Fostering a Feeling of Safety

Up to two-thirds of U.S. children have experienced at least one type of serious childhood trauma, such as abuse, neglect, natural disaster, or experiencing or witnessing violence. Trauma is possibly the largest public health issue facing our children today (CDC, 2019). Traumatized students are especially prone to difficulty in self-regulation, negative thinking, being on high alert, difficulty trusting adults, and inappropriate social interactions (Lacoe, 2013; Terrasi & de Galarce, 2017). They often haven't learned to express emotions healthily and instead show their distress through aggression, avoidance, shutting down, or other off-putting behaviors. These actions can feel antagonistic to teachers who don't understand the root cause of the student's behavior, which can lead to misunderstandings, ineffective interventions, and missed learning time.

Neurobiologically, students can't learn if they don't feel safe, known, and cared for within their schools (Aupperle et al., 2012). When teachers are proactive and responsive to the needs of students suffering from traumatic stress and make small changes in the classroom that foster a feeling of safety, it makes a huge difference in their ability to learn. Here are some examples.

1. Expect Unexpected Responses

First, teachers must learn to put students' reactions into context-and not to take them personally. Students with trauma histories can react and behave in seemingly unexpected ways, such as having a sudden outburst during a favorite activity or crying out of the blue one second after laughing. Teachers may be taken by surprise. They say things like, "But he was fine this morning, I didn't see that coming!" or "She normally loves playing the drums in music class. I have no idea where her reaction came from." This uncertainty leaves the teacher in a constant state of hyper-alertness when interacting with the student. This in turn can result in fatigue, as the teacher is guarded and unable to predict what will happen from one moment to another.

One way to understand these reactions is to think of the student as a soda can, and events that may trigger their trauma stress as shaking that can. We can't tell by looking if the can was recently shaken, but if it was, opening the can results in an unexpected explosive, messy reaction. If a student is triggered and experiencing heightened emotion, even a benign direction such as, "Please move over to make room for Jenny" could result in an "explosion" that the teacher never saw coming. By using trauma-sensitive strategies in the classroom, we can help reduce the times our students are "shaken."

2. Employ Thoughtful Interactions

Traumatized students often behave in ways that may interfere with teaching and learning, which can be frustrating. Teachers are in a position of power, and these students may be overly defensive, anticipating adult criticism, or defiant, as a way to assert control (Jennings, 2018). Yet for traumatized students, the ability to learn and behave appropriately can be person-dependent. When they are with a safe and supportive adult, their behavior reflects that.

Consider this scenario drawn from schools I've worked with: Trevor, a 6th grader whose father overdosed on heroin two years ago and who has witnessed ongoing domestic abuse throughout his childhood, was in Ms. Carlton's class for part of the day and Ms. Finch's class for the other part. Ms. Carlton had a reputation of working well with hard-to-reach kids, and sure enough, Trevor behaved in a stellar way in her class. When he was with Ms. Finch, however, he was sent to the office nearly three times a week for explosive behavior.

The teacher is 50 percent of every interaction with a student: By changing the way we give a direction or respond, we can reduce problematic behavior. Ms. Carlton had taken the time to build a trusting relationship with Trevor and learned to give directions in a way that he would respond well to. Interaction strategies are a type of accommodation that typically go unnamed and unwritten, but they were the reason that Trevor could feel safe and access the curriculum (Minahan & Rappaport, 2012).

If Ms. Carlton had written down the successful strategies she used with Trevor, the list might have started with avoiding authoritative directives such as, "Pick that up." To give Trevor a sense of control, Ms. Carlton always embedded choice in her directions, asking, "Do you want to be in the front of the line or the back of the line?" instead of simply telling him to "line up." This helped prevent a poor reaction (Minahan, 2019).

Ms. Carlton also conveyed respect and transparency by providing the reason behind each direction. Instead of saying, "No backpacks on the floor. I don't want to trip and fall!" Ms. Carlton would say, "Oh dear, I hope I don't fall. I have a bad knee! Could you please move your backpack?" Stating the reason first assured that Trevor knew the context (and necessity) of the demand.

Conversely, Ms. Finch would often go up close to Trevor, tower over him, and say in front of his peers, "Stop tapping your pencil!" This typically ended in a power struggle and Trevor's escalating behavior. Trevor, like many traumatized students, had experienced a loss of control in his life, and power struggles with an authoritative figure were particularly triggering. Ms. Carlton instinctively knew that a more private nonverbal direction could be less confrontational for a student in "fight or flight" mode. She would write, "Please stop tapping" on a piece of paper, put it gently on Trevor's desk without his peers noticing, and then give him space by walking away quickly. When possible, she also gave Trevor extended time to comply with directions to avoid power struggles, asking, for example, "Can you please pick that up before lunch?" rather than, "Pick that up now" (Minahan, 2019). This allowed Trevor time to decompress and respond rationally.

3. Be Specific About Relationship Building

At one point in the year, Ms. Carlton told Ms. Finch that building a relationship with Trevor was key to her success with him, and she suggested that Ms. Finch do the same. Unfortunately, saying, "Build a relationship" is too vague and leaves too much up to the teacher's instincts. Instead, Ms. Carlton could have told Ms. Finch that she greeted Trevor every day at the classroom door and asked him about the Avengers or basketball. She could have told Ms. Finch how she used the "two by ten" rule; she talked to him for two minutes a day for 10 days in a row about topics unrelated to academics or behavior. Whenever Ms. Carlton could see she wouldn't have time for this in the 10-day period, she asked the counselor or special education teacher to cover her class for two minutes so she could go for a walk with Trevor. She repeated this trust-building strategy several times throughout the year, especially after he exhibited anger or frustration and after school vacations and long weekends.

Ms. Carlton skillfully used relationship-building and interaction strategies to work with Trevor. Yet the impact could have been greater had she written and shared those strategies with Ms. Finch and the rest of Trevor's team via a shared document, behavior plan, or student success plan (Minahan, 2019). Likewise, if counselors, school nurses, and psychologists write and share such techniques with each classroom teacher, kids like Trevor, when triggered, wouldn't always have to leave class to find a safe adult.

Not knowing what is coming next can put anyone on high alert, especially traumatized students. Providing predictability through visual schedules of the class agenda or school day can help. Ms. Carlton was adamant about previewing any changes to the normal routine ahead of time (saying, "We are going to have indoor recess today because of the snow," or "The DVD player isn't working so we can't watch a science video at the end of class today"). This prepared Trevor and thus elicited a calmer response.

A teacher's behavior can also feel unpredictable to traumatized students. When students are working independently and quietly-doing what they are supposed to be doing-they don't know when they will get the teacher's attention. But when students are doing the wrong thing-like drumming on the desk with a pencil in each hand or swearing-teachers are more predictable and react quickly! Because predictability is comforting to students with anxiety and trauma histories, they may resort to getting the teacher's attention through inappropriate means. Trevor could get Ms. Finch to react immediately by flipping his water bottle noisily, but could go 20 minutes without so much as eye contact from her when he was quietly reading.

To counter this imbalance and create an overall feeling of safety, teachers can use predictable positive attention (Minahan, 2014). During independent work time, if a teacher says to a student "Great work! I'll be back to check on you," the student has no way of predicting how long they need to wait-and from past experience they know that the teacher may forget to return altogether. Using predictable positive attention, however, the teacher can say, "I am going to check on you in 10 minutes," put a timer on the student's desk, and add, "Come tap me on the shoulder when the timer goes off." If the teacher has many students in the class that could benefit from this, she could transfer the strategy to small groups: "I will check on this desk group at X time."

Another strategy for providing predictable attention, especially for middle and high school students, is to hand an anxious or traumatized student a sticky note with a time on it as they walk into class each day. The first time, the note will need to be explained: "If you don't understand something in class, please don't worry-I am going to check on you during independent work time at 11:45, and I will answer any questions you have then." Ms. Carlton found this strategy comforting to Trevor. This predictable check-in pairs the negative thoughts the student may have ("I don't know how to do this") with a reassuring thought ("But my teacher will be here in seven minutes!"). The student can better tolerate uncomfortable feelings when they know help and a positive interaction are coming. Telling the student what will happen and when and always following through establishes the teacher as a consistent, reliable adult.

5. Teach Strategies to "Change the Channel"

Traumatized students often engage in inaccurate thinking, tending to focus on the negative. Common classroom management strategies often only exasperate this tendency. How many of us have seen frequent movement breaks on a student's IEP or student success plan? It is one of the most common accommodations that we offer to students who seem dysregulated. Unfortunately, during these breaks, students can ruminate on negative memories, current stressors, angry thoughts, or worries. If we ask a high school student who is getting angry and becoming agitated to take a walk, he may ruminate the whole time and return just as angry. Sending a 1st grader to a "calming chair" can leave her to perseverate on worrying thoughts. Instead, we need to help them "change the channel." Both Ms. Carlton and Ms. Finch used breaks with Trevor, but in vastly different ways.

When adults can't sleep, we often read a book or watch TV, which distracts us from uncomfortable thoughts so we can fall back asleep. Teachers can use the same principle for kids with trauma and anxiety: Teach students that their brain is like a remote control that they can use to "switch the channel" to help them calm down (Minahan & Rappaport, 2012). These switching activities are called cognitive distractions or thought breaks and are incompatible with negative thinking. A listening center or "find the picture" activity can be helpful to young children. For older students, you might try Mad Libs, trivia, or more abstract strategies such as counting all the green items in the room, saying the alphabet backwards, or thinking of the first 10 lines of a favorite movie. Ms. Carlton taught Trevor to do Star Wars trivia when he was upset, which helped him calm down quickly. Conversely when Ms. Finch had Trevor go for a walk, his negative thinking would escalate, and he would often not return to class.

6. Give Supportive Feedback to Reduce Negative Thinking

Many traumatized students interpret information through a negativity amplifier. When a teacher says, "Please correct the first problem," the student might hear, "You are stupid." Or a student might report that the teacher screamed at her when the teacher was really using a calm tone, as even neutral facial expressions can be misinterpreted. It is helpful to smile and explicitly say when you are happy with the student, a strategy Ms. Carlton utilized. When giving negative feedback, teachers can use the positive sandwich approach-starting and ending with a positive comment: (1) "I love how you remembered the formula," (2) "You made a small calculation error there," (3) "Great job getting problem #3 correct."

7. Create Islands of Competence

Recognizing areas of strength in students is a powerful way to combat the poor self-concept and negative thinking associated with trauma (Jennings, 2018). To support a more accurate self-concept, teachers can provide what Robert Brooks calls "islands of competence" for students swimming in a sea of inadequacy (2003). When a student thinks negatively, the negative moments during the day tend to weigh more heavily than the positive moments. We need to counter this effect with positive experiences. Educator teams need to ask themselves, "Does the student feel competent during the day?" If the answer is no, contriving an island of competence for the student is in order. Ms. Carlton often asked Trevor to help a younger student or a peer who was struggling in an academic area Trevor was strong in, or had him fix the stapler when it was malfunctioning. She would also point out in a written note to Trevor that he was the first student to finish a math activity. In high school, educators may want to foster students' talents by never letting them drop electives (which might require creativity in scheduling academic support in core classes).

It is important that students experience competence to develop a more accurate self-narrative and to begin to create a positive future picture of themselves. We want them to say, "I really helped that student with her artwork. When I grow up, I could work with kids." Or "I am good at fixing things. I could be a mechanic someday."

8. Limit Exclusionary Practices

Behavior is communication, and we've looked at how traumatized students often communicate feelings through their behavior. Teachers' behavior is also communication-and it may not be communicating the message we are striving to send. Common teacher practices such as ignoring inappropriate behavior, sending students to the office, or sending younger kids to sit alone at a back table or in the hallway can unintentionally trigger students who have experienced abandonment or neglect. We need to remember that when some of our students were young and cried, no one came. Ignoring them can trigger a trauma response and make them feel the teacher doesn't like them or is even happy that they are upset.

Ms. Finch would ignore Trevor when he was expressing anger, such as by crumpling up a paper, growling, or slinging a book from his desk onto the floor. On the other hand, Ms. Carlton responded to such moments at the beginning of the year by validating Trevor's feelings ("I am sorry you are upset" or "I see that you are angry"). This is a much more empathetic approach, will preserve the relationship, and will avoid triggering a trauma response in the student.

Another practice to be cautious about is using time with a preferred adult as an incentive. For example, a principal might say, "If you get all your homework done this week, you and I will have lunch together!" The problem with this is that if the student doesn't get all their homework done, then the principal withholds their attention and time. This implies the relationship is conditional and can trigger an abandonment trauma response for some students. It is better to use one-to-one time with students in a noncontingent way. This way adults are communicating, "I like you for who you are," not "I like you when you behave the right way."

Fostering a Feeling of Safety

Students can't learn unless they feel safe. When it comes to student trauma, there is much that is beyond educators' power, but there is also a great deal they can do to build a supportive and sensitive environment where students feel safe, comfortable, take risks, learn, and even heal.

Reflect & Discuss

➛ As Minahan writes, "Students can't learn if they don't feel safe." What small changes are you willing to try in your classroom to foster a sense of safety among traumatized students?

➛ Think about one of your students who struggles with behavior. How could you help him "switch the channel" when he is upset?

➛ Do you routinely share-and exchange ideas about-what's working with a traumatized student? How could you better improve lines of communication across the whole support team?

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

Let us help you put your vision into action.

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Vol. 77 No. 2 Abstract 1. Expect Unexpected Responses 2. Employ Thoughtful Interactions 3. Be Specific About Relationship Building 4. Promote Predictability and Consistency 5. Teach Strategies to "Change the Channel" 6. Give Supportive Feedback to Reduce Negative Thinking 7. Create Islands of Competence 8.

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The principal of an internationally recognized trauma-informed school explains what this form of education is-and what it isn't.

ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) have made their way into the mainstream over the past couple of years, even showing up in a segment that Oprah did for 60 Minutes. And because ACEs have a profound effect on children, the concept has been taken up in the world of education. Approaching education with an understanding of the physiological, social, emotional, and academic impacts of trauma and adversity on our students is driving changes in our systems.

However, these changes are not coming without misconceptions. As the principal of Fall-Hamilton Elementary, an internationally recognized trauma-informed school, I've encountered many misconceptions about trauma-informed education over the past five years. As educators move toward understanding the impact of trauma, including ACEs, and how creating and maintaining positive relationships can serve as a buffer to the negative impacts of trauma, it's vitally important to understand what trauma-informed education is and is not.

6 Misconceptions About Trauma-Informed Education

1. Trauma-Informed education is solely about a student's ACE score: The ACE study conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC is credited with increasing public awareness of the potential negative health outcomes of adults based on their adverse childhood experiences.

That increased awareness is good, but trauma-informed education is not solely concerned with students' ACE score. We should use the ACE study as a catalyst to look deeper into understanding the broad scope of adversity that children are experiencing but that the study did not include. Trauma-informed education includes examining the influence and impact on students in our schools of factors such as racism (explicit, implicit, and systematic; and microaggressions) as well as poverty, peer victimization, community violence, and bullying.

2. Educators must know a student's ACE score to successfully intervene: It is not imperative to know a child's ACE score or specific traumatic experience to provide effective interventions. Being trauma-informed is a mindset with which educators approach all children.

Research indicates that strong, stable, and nurturing relationships foster a feeling of belonging that is essential for all students but is absolutely imperative for healing with students who have experienced trauma. Karen Treisman, a clinical psychology specialist, says, " Every interaction is an intervention." As educators, we must understand the impact of daily positive interactions and affirmations for our students.

3. Trauma-informed education is about fixing kids: Our kids are not broken, but our systems are. Operating in a trauma-informed way does not fix children; it is aimed at fixing broken and unjust systems and structures that alienate and discard students who are marginalized.

If we view our trauma-informed approach as fixing kids, that creates a deficit mindset. Many kids are doing the best they can in the moment. We must meet all students where they are while supporting them with strong, stable, and nurturing relationships.

4. Trauma-informed educators don't give students consequences for inappropriate behavior: There needs to be a clear understanding of the difference between consequences and punishment. Consequences by definition are designed to teach, while punishment relates to personal suffering.

It's important to set clear boundaries and expectations and then to support students into success. When students do not meet expectations or disregard boundaries, it is imperative to teach and reteach the expectations through consistent consequences.

5. Sometimes you have to escalate a confrontation with a student to calm them down: Co-regulation is the idea of keeping calm in order to help calm a student who is experiencing anger, frustration, or fear. A dysregulated adult cannot regulate a dysregulated child. Raising our level of intensity is not a strategy that works.

We should instead use strategies that honor the student's emotions and need for space while also getting their systems to calm in a safe way. This can be accomplished through first making sure that we really are calm and then by validating the student's experiences and emotions in order to get to the root of what is causing those emotions.

This doesn't mean excusing any poor choices the student may have made-it means ensuring that they're in a state where they can understand and accept any consequences, which is necessary if they are to learn from the experience.

6. I'm a teacher, not a therapist-this isn't my job: As educators explore the complexities of being trauma-informed, we need to remember that trauma-informed work is a journey and not a destination. It doesn't mean that teachers need to do the work of professional therapists. Our part in helping students with trauma is focusing on relationships, just as we do with all of our students. The strong, stable, and nurturing relationships that we build with our students and families can serve as a conduit for healing and increasing resilience.

Becoming trauma-informed in our daily practice is truly a process of learning and adjustment, but it is a worthwhile process.

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The principal of an internationally recognized trauma-informed school explains what this form of education is-and what it isn't. ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) have made their way into the mainstream over the past couple of years, even showing up in a segment that Oprah did for 60 Minutes .

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Supporting Students with Autism: 10 Ideas for Inclusive Classrooms

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Students with autism may have unique needs with learning, social skills, and communication. These ten simple ideas will help teachers address some of these needs and provide guidance for bringing out the best in learners with autism.

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Impossible. That was my first thought when I saw the class roster. In one of my ninth grade English classes, 13 of my 27 students had IEPs. Additionally, about one-third of the students had failed the class the previous year. I dreaded the first day of school. But then something wonderful happened: The principal assigned me a co-teacher, a special education expert to serve as another set of hands (and eyes and ears!) during this class every day. I was thrilled.

My co-teacher Sandie was a joy to collaborate with, but our relationship was by no means perfect, especially at the beginning. We often struggled to find planning time. Sometimes we disagreed about how to best help a particular student. However, we nurtured the co-teaching relationship and, in time, found a rhythm that worked for us-and for the students we served.

In the years since I co-taught with Sandie and other teachers, I've coached and consulted with dozens of successful and not-so-successful teams. Co-teaching, when done well, offers benefits for both students and teachers. When not done well, it can be confusing or downright frustrating for all involved. If you are or will be part of a co-teaching partnership, this post will show you some ways to make your partnership work beautifully.

What is Co-Teaching?

In a co-teaching relationship, also known as a "push-in" arrangement, a general education teacher partners with a specialist who may be certified in teaching English Language Learners (ELLs), students with learning disabilities, or some other special population. A co-teaching team works in the general ed classroom; for the majority of the time, students with special needs are not pulled out to receive services in another location.

For instance, a middle school social studies teacher may have an ELL teacher co-teaching with him during one class period because five students in that class are newcomers to the United States and speak only Arabic fluently. A high school teacher may have one or two sections of biology to which many students with IEPs for reading are channeled; a co-teacher who specializes in reading disabilities co-teaches in these classes. A 4th grade teacher may have two students with 504 plans and another three who have specific learning disabilities in her class; she works alongside a special education teacher daily during lessons in the four core academic subject areas.

For more background, download this Brief History of Co-Teaching.

Co-Teaching Structures

General education teachers working with specialists in a "push-in" model often work in one of the following structures described by Friend and Cook (1996):

One teach, one observe: One teacher delivers instruction while the other observes student learning. Usually the observer collects data on student understanding so that the co-teaching team can better plan future instruction. Sometimes, specific students are watched closely so that the teachers can determine new strategies to use with them.

One teach, one assist: One teacher takes the lead in providing instruction while the other moves around the classroom, assisting struggling students. This help is not limited to students with special needs; the assisting professional is there to serve whomever needs support.

Parallel teaching: The class is divided in two groups and the same material is presented simultaneously by both teachers. The teachers plan the two groups deliberately to maximize the success of all students; this is not simply a "pull-out" or intervention group sitting in the same room.

Station teaching: Both teachers are actively involved in instruction as students are divided into groups and rotate from one station to the next. There may be stations where students work independently or with a paraprofessional in addition to the two stations the co-teachers facilitate.

Alternative teaching: One teacher takes a small group of students and provides them more intensive or specialized instruction that is different than what the large group receives from the other teacher.

Team teaching: Both teachers teach the content at the same time in tandem or "tag team" fashion.

It is important to note that both teachers have equal status and equal responsibility in all six of these arrangements. In the co-teaching relationships that work best, at no time is one teacher seen as subordinate to the other. Both professionals are credentialed professionals, although each may have his or her specific areas of expertise.

How to Make the Most of a Co-Teaching Partnership

Researchers and practitioners have tons of advice about how to co-teach effectively, and as a person who has been "in the trenches" with several different co-teachers, so do I. The advice below sums up the most common recommendations.

1. Respect each other.

Not surprisingly, mutual respect is critical to the co-teaching relationship. You'll have to share ideas openly and do much of your work facing students together, so respecting each other is paramount. Sometimes you'll disagree, and that's to be expected. As co-teacher and ELL specialist Melissa Eddington says, it's fine to disagree with someone's ideas, but don't make the disagreement about the person.

Teachers in co-teaching situations that don't work well often report feeling disrespected. Amy* is an ELL specialist paired with a middle school social studies teacher. When they collaborate, Amy feels her suggestions for tweaking whole-class lessons are not taken seriously by her partner. "She respects me as a professional," Amy says of her co-teacher, "but I think because I'm not experienced in her content, she doesn't see my input as valuable."

Susan*, who is licensed in both secondary science and learning disabilities, works with two physical science teachers and one biology teacher. The physical science teachers welcome her ideas and eagerly adjust their lessons based on her suggestions. They are seeing a steady increase of students mastering the required standards in the classes Susan supports. The biology teacher, however, dismisses many of Susan's ideas and accuses her of "dumbing down" his content. Susan feels disrespected and finds it hard to even be in the room with the biology teacher because he constantly positions himself as "the expert" and places her in a subordinate role.

Words and gestures speak volumes. Take care to show respect for your partner in all you do.

2. Clearly define roles and responsibilities.

Co-teaching works better when the partners agree on who does what, when. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities prevent either partner from feeling the other has overstepped a boundary or shirked responsibilities.

Natalie Marston (2002-2015), an elementary special ed teacher, recommends co-teachers reach agreement on scheduling, classroom procedures and behaviors, classwork and homework policies, grading, and school/home communication together so they present a united front at all times.

Obviously this type of planning requires a great deal of time, ideally before school starts. If extended time is not available prior to the beginning of the school year, then the co-teaching team should expect to put in extra hours before and after school in the first few weeks so things get off to a good start.

My co-teacher Sandie and I did not have advance warning of our assignment. We found out about it on the first teacher workday, leaving us only a few days before the students arrived. For weeks, we both felt like we were playing "catch up and keep up," but found that having lunch together (and some happy hours together) helped us stay in sync.

3. Be flexible.

Innovation is difficult. That's why so many teachers find themselves falling back on comfortable (and even tired) activities and strategies. Co-teaching allows you to gain another person's perspective on how instruction might be improved, how students might be best assessed, what resources to use, and so much more. Sometimes this means one person has to put aside his or her favorite tried-and-true strategy and try something different.

When Susan suggested a tactile, quiz-like method for reviewing the periodic table to her physical science co-teaching partners, they were skeptical about the time and materials it might require. They initially felt it would be more efficient to simply give additional notes to their students and then pair students to quiz each other. However, they agreed to try the review Susan's way. The students loved the activity, and almost every student with special needs passed the chapter test two days later. All three teachers were thrilled and committed to using the activity in future years.

4. Plan together.

The co-teaching relationship brings together two people with wonderfully rich expertise and experiences. Special educators are typically skilled in individualizing curriculum and instruction based on children's needs (Dettmer et al., 2005; Volonino & Zigmond, 2007). General educators, on the other hand, tend to have broad knowledge of the curriculum, standards, and desired outcomes for the larger group. Therefore, when general educators plan lessons, they tend to aim for the masses (Dettmer et al., 2005). Both perspectives are important, and co-teaching teams need ample planning time to work through how to best utilize each one.

Lack of planning time can lead to territorialism. Without time to plan for a good balance of content and individualization, a general ed teacher may become protective of his subject matter, or a specialist may become protective of his students. Emma*, a high school special ed teacher partnered with two geometry teachers, has experienced this. One teacher often asks Emma to pull aside the five or six students with specific disabilities within his class and work only with them. He sometimes says to her, "You worry about your kids. I'll worry about geometry." The principal is now providing an additional hour of planning time for Emma and this teacher. An assistant principal who oversees the math department facilitates the meetings so Emma feels supported and the geometry teacher has another content-area expert to hash things out with.

Keep in mind that planning must include both instruction and assessment. Considering many students with special needs have legal accommodations for assessment (like being provided translation, extended time, or oral reading), it's best to include both partners fully in designing quizzes, tests, papers, and other high-stakes assessment tasks.

How much time is ideal? One study found that co-teachers desired, on average, 15 minutes to an hour each day for planning (Dieker & Murawski, 2003). This figure corresponds to what worked for my co-teacher and me, and it also confirms what I hear from many co-teachers in the field. Strive to find that time any way you can.

5. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Innovation requires failure. Many times, teachers feel they've failed somehow during instruction, and in reality, the students haven't even noticed. We are often our own worst critics. Revisiting or correcting something later in the day (or the next day) doesn't mean you failed earlier. It means you've learned something since. This is the kind of ongoing learning we want to model for our students.

And, as in most situations in life, a little bit of humor goes a long way. Laugh with your co-teacher. Allow students to see both of you laughing with each other and with them when something is surprising, silly, or just doesn't go the way you planned. In the words of Jennifer Wolf who co-teaches with Melissa Eddington, "Take the work seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously."

Eddington adds, "You gotta laugh at each other! Our job is hard, and if you're not laughing and making light of some things, then it's just not going to be a good place to be."

6. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Planning time is one thing; constant communication is another. Not only should co-teachers frequently plan for what standards will be covered, how material will be taught, and how students will be assessed, they should also regularly communicate in less formal ways.

Co-teaching teams have different methods to create and sustain that communication:

Eddington and Wolf use the Voxer app throughout the school day and on their drives home to send messages back and forth. Voxer works like a walkie-talkie and allows back-and-forth conversation in real time when two people are not physically close to each other. Melissa says, "We're constantly communicating. We're talking about specific students. We're looking at assessments to see what areas are lacking...different things we want to bring to the classroom, things we don't want to do..."

Some other teams I've worked with use texting and emails throughout each day to share updates. Voxer, texts, and emails can all work well, especially if one teacher has urgent information or an urgent question about a particular student.

Teams can use Google Docs or other shared documents to keep track of lesson planning and to share feedback with each other on how lessons went. Collaborative documents can also be used to provide each other with information about targeted students.

In addition to ongoing communication, Ariel Sacks (2014) reminds us to periodically check in with our co-teacher about how we are doing in general. She recommends asking your partner the following:

Are there management items we should clarify, such as when are students allowed to go to the bathroom?

Are we sharing airtime well?

Are we dividing grading in an equitable way?

Would different teaching formats better utilize the two of us in the classroom?

Finally, co-teachers need to present a united front when dealing with parents. Some partners go as far as to create a shared email address from which all communication flows. This may or may not be practical in your situation. At the very least, important parent communication about a student's progress should be drafted by both parties.

For more in-depth information about communicating and collaborating with your co-teacher, see Communicating and Collaborating in Co-Taught Classrooms (Conderman et al., 2009).

7. Seek administrative support.

Sometimes, teachers have been scheduled to co-teach by administrators but didn't have much advance notice. This is what happened with Sandie and me. We were able to find snippets of time during the school day to use for planning and checking in with each other, but we had no common planning period. If you and your partner don't have a common planning time when you can frequently collaborate, ask for it. Go to your principal with a couple of proposals about how this can work without too much disruption to the rest of the schedule.

Sometimes co-teachers may not understand fully why they are being asked to team. If this is the case, ask for a meeting with the principal and any others responsible for the assignment. Ask them why they thought the two of you would be a good fit and what they hope you will accomplish with students.

If you're already in a co-teaching partnership that's not working well, and you've tried to address this with your partner, turn to a trusted administrator next for advice. If you and your co-teacher have not recently been observed, ask the administrator to come sit in on part of a lesson. Tell him or her what you'd like feedback on or what feels like it's not working well. Debrief with the administrator, ideally with your co-teaching partner. When an observer offers data and feedback to both of you, it may feel different for your partner than when you share things from your perspective. (This co-teaching observation form can help.)

It's important not to go to other teachers with your concerns. Respect the collegial relationship you have with your co-teacher and don't do anything that might undermine it. And it should go without saying that you don't want students to perceive any problems within the co-teaching relationship. Be cognizant of your demeanor, tone, and body language. Students are quite perceptive and can easily spot trouble. They are also experts at "good cop/bad cop." Don't let students play you and your partner against each other. If your colleagues or students give you any evidence that they know the co-teaching arrangement is ineffective, head straight for that trusted administrator to support you. ♦

*These names have been changed.
References:
Conderman, G., Johnston-Rodriguez, S., & Hartman, P. (2009). Communicating and collaborating in co-taught classrooms. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus,5(5). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ967751.pdf

Dettmer, P., Thurston, L., Knackendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. (2009). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork (6th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.

Dieker, Lisa A., Murawski, W. M. (2003). "Co-teaching at the Secondary Level: Unique Issues, Current Trends, and Suggestions for Success." The High School Journal, 86(4). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220220652/13494E2D48D1DB506F0/8

Friend, M. & Cook, L. (1996). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. White Plains, NY: Longman.

Marston, N. (2002-2015). Six steps to successful co-teaching: Helping special and regular education teachers work together. National Education Association. Retrieved January 26, 2017 from http://www.nea.org/tools/6-steps-to-successful-co-teaching.html

Sacks, A. (2014, October 15). Blog post. Eight tips for making the most of co-teaching. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/10/15/ctq_sacks_coteaching.html

Volonino, V. & Zigmond, N. (2007). Promoting research-based practices through inclusion. Theory into Practice, 46(4), 291-300.

Learn More

Angela Peery is the author of The Co-Teacher's Playbook, which will be available in September 2019.

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When done well, co-teaching offers benefits for both students and teachers. When not done well, it can be confusing or downright frustrating for all involved.

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Options to use for almost every situation

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In their book, Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook identify "co-teaching as a specific service delivery option that is based on collaboration." As a service delivery option, co-teaching is designed to meet the educational needs of students with diverse learning options.

Students at all academic levels benefit from alternative assignments and greater teacher attention in small-group activities that co-teaching makes possible. Co-teaching allows for more intense and individualized instruction in the general education setting increasing access to the general education curriculum while decreasing stigma for students with special needs. Students have an opportunity to increase their understanding and respect for students with special needs. Students with special needs have a greater opportunity for continuity of instruction as the teachers benefit from the professional support and exchange of teaching practices as they work collaboratively.

Co-teaching involves two or more certified professionals who contract to share instructional responsibility for a single group of students primarily in a single classroom or workspace for specific content or objectives with mutual ownership, pooled resources and joint accountability. (Friend & Cook 2016)

Six Approaches to Co-Teaching

1. One Teach, One Observe. One of the advantages in co-teaching is that more detailed observation of students engaged in the learning process can occur. With this approach, for example, co-teachers can decide in advance what types of specific observational information to gather during instruction and can agree on a system for gathering the data. Afterward, the teachers should analyze the information together.

2. One Teach, One Assist. In a second approach to co-teaching, one person would keep primary responsibility for teaching while the other professional circulated through the room providing unobtrusive assistance to students as needed.

3. Parallel Teaching. On occasion, student learning would be greatly facilitated if they just had more supervision by the teacher or more opportunity to respond. In parallel teaching, the teachers are both covering the same information, but they divide the class into two groups and teach simultaneously.

4. Station Teaching. In this co-teaching approach, teachers divide content and students. Each teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the instruction for the other group. If appropriate, a third station could give students an opportunity to work independently.

5. Alternative Teaching: In most class groups, occasions arise in which several students need specialized attention. In alternative teaching, one teacher takes responsibility for the large group while the other works with a smaller group.

6. Team Teaching: In team teaching, both teachers are delivering the same instruction at the same time. Some teachers refer to this as having one brain in two bodies. Others call it tag team teaching. Most co-teachers consider this approach the most complex but satisfying way to co-teach, but the approach that is most dependent on teachers' styles.

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Six Approaches to Co-Teaching - State Education Resource Center

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In their book, Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook identify "co-teaching as a specific service delivery option that is based on collaboration." As a service delivery option, co-teaching is designed to meet the educational needs of studen...

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When children experience a speech-language disorder, their learning may be affected. This does not just mean learning at school, but general learning within the home and other environments, as well.
Ways Speech & Language Disorders Affect Learning
A child diagnosed with a speech-language disorder, and especially a receptive language disorder, will have difficulty understanding and processing verbal information. When that information is presented in the form of something the child is to remember for home or school, it can be difficult for the child to even understand what was said, let alone the ability to remember it. The lack of ability to understand and remember verbal information or instructions correctly can significantly impact the child's ability to complete tasks or assignments as expected. This can be very problematic when a child is given instructions. A child with a speech-language delay is likely to have difficulty following instructions, especially if the instructions are only given orally and if they contain multiple words and/or steps.

In addition, children who have problems with speech-language skills may also have difficulty learning how to read and spell. Research has shown that verbal skills are very influential in developing reading skills. And children who have difficulty with verbal production need to be able to associate sounds with letters, and then segment those apart in order to successfully learn to read and spell. This skill can be especially hard for children who struggle with a speech-language disorder.
How to Help Learning for a Child Diagnosed with Speech-Language Disorder
To help children diagnosed with speech-language disorders remembering what was said and/or with following directions, it is best to break the information down into smaller chunks, with repetition as necessary until the child is able to encode all of the information. Having written information to accompany what is being said can also be very helpful to the child.

Sometimes children who have a difficult time with verbal information or instructions can be seen as less intelligent than they really are because they are not able to process the information as well as other students. This can lead to inappropriate placement in school settings. However, if the information is repeated or presented in an alternative way, the child may be able to perform on par with his or her peers. In addition, a child may be seen as ignoring what was said or even being defiant by not following through. This may lead to undue punishment, and this can be demoralizing to a child and discourage further attempts at learning. This is obviously not fair to the child, and it is important for parents, caregivers, teachers, and professionals who may be working with the child to advocate for understanding of the child's problems with age-appropriate speech-language skills.

To assist with reading and spelling skills, it will be important for children to have repetition and practice with these skills. This can come with practice at home with parents and/or caregivers, or potentially special practice with tutors or special education services within the school system. Hopefully, children struggling with speech-language skills have been evaluated and are being treated by a speech-language pathologist who can assist the child's caregivers and teachers with ways to best understand and help the child.

It is important for those caring for and working with children diagnosed with a speech-language disorder to understand that these potential difficulties with learning exist. These children need patience from the adults around them, understanding of their diagnosis, advocates to help get the services and accommodations they need, and encouragement that they are capable of learning.

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How Do Speech & Language Disorders Affect Learning?

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When children experience a speech-language disorder, their learning may be affected. This does not just mean learning at school, but general learning within the home and other environments, as well. Ways Speech & Language Disorders Affect Learning A child diagnosed with a speech-language disorder, and especially a receptive language disorder, will have difficulty understanding and processing verbal information.

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Reading is a fundamental skill that we all use every single day.

We read newspapers, books, directions, text messages, recipes, emails, safety warnings...Reading is everywhere!

It's no secret that developing proficient reading skills from a young age is essential not only for academic success, but for success in all areas and stages of life!

However, reading can be a challenging skill that many students struggle to master. And as teachers, we want nothing more than to help our students become comfortable and confident readers.

Guest post by Margot Carmichael from Carmichael's Class

Growing up, I loved to read. It was my greatest passion and the perfect escape from reality. It came naturally to me and luckily, I never really struggled with it. But teaching in a school with an extremely high population of ELL students, I've spent years watching my kids struggle with learning how to read.

So, how can we better equip ourselves to help our students overcome their reading struggles?

Things like patience, dedication, and encouragement are certainly cornerstones of teaching reading to primary learners. But having an arsenal of effective reading strategies is also incredibly helpful.

Now, don't get me wrong...I don't think there's one magic solution or perfect formula for teaching reading. All teachers and students are different and find success with different programs or techniques. After all, there's so many factors to consider when teaching and learning reading - phonics, fluency, comprehension - the list goes on and on.

And if you teach reading, you already know all of this. And you probably already have a pretty solid arsenal of strategies in your back pocket. But in an effort to collectively boost literacy for all of our little learners, I'd like to share with you a few strategies that I've found useful in my own classroom!
1. Focus on Fluency and Phonics Simultaneously
Phonics and fluency truly go hand in hand - you can't really have one without the other.

So, why not teach them together?

Merging subjects in school and teaching them simultaneously is pretty trendy right now in the world of education. And while phonics and fluency pretty closely aligned, you can easily dip your toe in this trend by teaching them at the same time.

Fluency can be defined as being able to decode text and read with accuracy, speed, and proper expression. Basically, it's the ability to easily read through a text without stumbling over words or sounding choppy and awkward.

It's pretty essential for kids to become fluent readers in order to focus on comprehension. When they're struggling to pronounce or decode, words, they can't give the necessary attention to understanding the text.

Phonics is often thought of as a precursor to fluency. It deals with beginning readers understanding the correspondence between letters and sounds. Fluent readers often rely on their knowledge of letter-sound relationships to decode words.

Without phonics, it's pretty tough to become a fluent reader. By teaching phonics while working on fluency, your students have the opportunity to grow exponentially as readers.

There are a ton of products out there that can help you combine these two essential reading skills into your lessons but one of my favorites are these Reading Comprehension & Fluency Passages. This resource features 89 passages that focus on each phonics component while building fluency as well.

If your students are ready for more, we also offer our Practically 1st, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, and 3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Passages!
Click here to learn more about this Reading Comprehension Passages Bundle
Multitasking is a skill that all teachers are masters at! Why not use your multitasking skills in your reading instruction by simultaneously teaching phonics and fluency?!
2. Explicitly Teach and Display Strategies
We all know that amazing feeling that comes with creating the perfectly decorated classroom. Everything is in its place and perfectly organized - until the kids get there, of course.

But when it comes to room décor, it shouldn't just be pretty - it should be meaningful. You can make your classroom décor a powerful part of your reading curriculum by displaying strategies around the room.

Displaying and explicitly teaching strategies that your students can use while reading. By keeping useful strategies displayed, you allow your students an element of independence. They can take control of their own reading and help themselves get through tough words or pronunciation issues!

Plus, depending on what strategy posters you decide to use, you can add to the adorable-ness of your room! These Reading Strategy Posters are so useful to both teachers and kids! They offer your students purposeful and specific strategies with beautifully illustrated designs!

You can even purchase the bundle and give each student their own set of strategy cards or keep sets in your reading corner for shared use!
3. Graphic Organizers
When it comes to reading comprehension, graphic organizers are an incredibly useful strategy and tool to support this vital aspect of becoming proficient readers.

The students in your classroom are undoubtedly a diverse bunch with each of them learning and absorbing information in different ways. Using graphic organizers allows you to address a variety of learning modalities at once during reading instruction.

Graphic organizers let students process information both visually and spatially which encourages them to internalize the material. The very nature of graphic organizers enables students to quite literally see the connections in what they are reading.

There are a slew of graphic organizer products out there or you can even have your students create their own! Here are some of examples of how you can pair graphic organizers to any unit you teach! Find more close reading units with graphic organizers here!

4. Employ the 3-2-1 Strategy

A fun technique to use when teaching reading is something called the 3-2-1 strategy. This can be very helpful in ensuring and monitoring student engagement.

If students are not fully engaged in their endeavor to learn how to read, their progress will occur at a much slower rate.

After students complete a passage, ask them to write down 3 things that they learned, 2 things that are interesting, and 1 question that they have.

By using this simple strategy, you not only boost their engagement but you allow them to purposefully improve their reading comprehension.

5. Decoding: Focus on Problem Sounds

Decoding is a common skill that students employ when learning to read. I like to think of it like a 'word attack' technique that helps my students translate printed words to speech.

While it is important to focus on decoding all words - from simple to challenging - placing a pointed focus on decoding problem sounds can do wonders for improving your student's reading skills.

But focusing on problem sounds while decoding can be a difficult and tedious process. Finding ways to make this process fun can help keep your students engaged and making steady progress.

Using manipulatives to teach letter-sound relationships is a great technique. You can try counters, magnetic letters, or sound boxes.

Another fun idea is to ask students to identify when you make 'on-purpose' mistakes. Kids love catching errors that teachers make and using this technique when decoding problem sounds is very effective. When they identify an error, have them correct it as well!

There are a slew of products out there that can help make decoding problem sounds more fun for your students. One of my favorites is the Crowns Bundle. This bundle is a fun and purposeful way to introduce each alphabet sound, blend, trigraph, or diphthong.

6. Use Metacognition

Metacognition can be defined as "thinking about thinking". What exactly does that mean when it comes to your reading instruction?

Basically, by using metacognition, you help get your students in the habit of thinking about their reading before, during, and after a text.

Before reading a text, you might ask your students to discuss their purpose for reading and preview the text.

During reading, you can guide students to continually monitor their understanding, adjust the speed they are reading to ensure that it aligns with the difficulty, or address any possible comprehension issues that they come across.

After reading, you can use various methods such as finger signs, sticky note questions, or round robin activities to check your students understanding of what they read.

When first using metacognition, you will likely have to offer quite a bit of support to your students and 'train' them to get in the habit of metacognition strategies. The goal is to scaffold until they can get into the habit of thinking about their reading on their own.

By making text to life connections and activating prior knowledge, students become invested in their reading. This can be a powerful tool to keep them engaged and motivated when it comes to working on their reading skills.

Furthermore, connecting what your students are reading to their lives in addition to activating prior knowledge often helps students retain more of what they read.

Asking students questions like:

Is this subject familiar? What do you know about this topic?

Do these characters remind you of anyone from your own life?

What event from your life does this text remind you of?

How do the ideas in the text relate to your own life or experiences?

8. Word Walls Word Walls
These are just a few of the many possible questions that you can ask to effectively activate prior knowledge and help students personally connect to a text. By doing this you keep your little readers actively engaged and involved in their reading. When students care about and connect with their reading, they tend to soar academically.

A word wall is often seen as simply a classroom decoration or fancy bulletin board, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Maintaining a word wall is a highly effective strategy for promoting literacy in your classroom.

Word walls are powerful tools to help students work on their spelling, vocabulary, and reading skills. They help promote a literacy-focused environment that's rich in printed text. Students can refer to the word wall for

When creating your word wall, don't feel as if it needs to be a static resource! They can be utilized daily by incorporating various activities and word wall lessons into your curriculum.

Word walls should be referred to on a daily basis. A few fun activities might include:

Hot Seat: A student in the "hot seat" asks the other students questions to try and figure out the secret word.

OOPS: Pass around a box filled with word wall cards and each student draws a card, shows the class, and reads the word. If they read it correctly, they keep it!

Vocab Toss: Split the class into teams. Say a synonym or antonym of a word wall word, say a sentence missing the word wall word, or provide a definition of a word wall word. Student must guess the correct word. If correct, they get to make a basket using paper and the trashcan to double their score.

9. More Than Just Books
These are just a few of the countless ways that you can integrate word walls into your lessons!! Remember, word walls can be a beautiful addition to classroom decoration, but they can also be a useful strategy to employ in your reading curriculum.

Kids often associate reading with boring school textbooks or assigned chapter books that are of no interest to them. You can effectively change this association by allowing students to read the world around them!

When you open up your student's eyes to new and exciting reading material, you help them see the world in a whole new literacy-rich way.

Allow your students time to explore nontraditional reading material that interests them. This will not only motivate them and keep them excited about reading, but it will offer reading challenges that typical texts may not.
10. Voice and Choice
Suggest material like newspapers, magazines, recipes, comic-books, blogs, or song lyrics! Keep it fresh and fun and your students will be dying to read more!

Kids are opinionated - about EVERYTHING! What they read is no different. The voice and choice strategy is an effective way to get kids wanting to read.

If you were forced to read a book about a topic that was of no interest to you, would you be excited? Would you put forth your best effort?

Probably not.

But if you were allowed to choose what book you wanted to read, chances are that you would be much more motivated and engaged.

Start by having a conversation with your students about what their interests are or what they would like to know more about.

Discuss your students hobbies, fears, curiosities.
11. Integrate Technology
Based on these conversations, you can select a variety of different content for your student's to choose from that will help them stay excited about learning to read.

We all know that kids tend to excel at the things that they are interested in or care about. And I haven't come across a child today that doesn't love all things technology.

Technology is the perfect way to not only get your kids excited about reading, but offer them the opportunity to work on a variety of reading skills. Aside from the obvious use of reading on a kindle or other e-reader device, there are countless apps and programs out there that help build fluency and comprehension in engaging ways.

Try allowing your students to play around with one of these apps or websites:

ABC Spy App: actively helps kids learn letters and pronunciations

Bookster App: storytelling app that reads to kids and allows them to record their voice to the story as well

Seuss's ABC App: kids have the option to read the book or have it read to them; words are highlighted for easy follow along

MeeGenius App: audio playback; personalization where child can substitute their name in the book; toddler to young teen

readtomelv.com: celebrities reading books aloud; Common Core aligned activities and discussion questions accompany each book

Pbskids.org has a wide variety of different reading based games with characters that kids know and love.

roythezebra.com offers different interactive reading games that focus on rhyming, word stops, capital letters, and much more.

suessville.com brings Dr. Suess books to life with fun and interactive games that kids can play after reading Dr. Suess books online.

randomhousekids.com offers two reading games that focus on matching and drawing to bring a creative element to reading.

http://www.thepixiepit.co.uk/games_menu.htm for slightly older kids, this website offers TONS of different word and letter games that help with a multitude of reading related skills.

12. Write to Read
The innate understanding that kids today have with technology makes it an amazing strategy for boosting learning and engagement during your reading instruction.

It's common knowledge that great readers often produce great writers, and vice versa. Reading and writing go hand in hand, both skills work together to improve each other.

When students are engaged in writing, they end up working on their reading skills at the same time! Using writing as a strategy to improve reading skills is a sneaky way to disguise practicing things like fluency, comprehension, and phonics.

One fun way to use writing as a reading strategy is by asking students to become authors! They can write a mini-book, picture book, or even try their hand at a chapter book or comic-book.

In order to write a book, students will need to rely on their knowledge of reading conventions such as creating a cover, illustrations, text, chapter titles, and back cover description.
13. Make It A Game!
Plus, when kids are reviewing their stories, they unknowingly edit and proofread their work. All of these skills help to improve reading skills in your classroom!

Everyone loves games! They offer healthy competition, the possibility to win, and the opportunity to be engaged in something fun! Adding games to your reading instruction is a great strategy to improve literacy skills.

There are a ton of simple ways that you can turn reading into game...

...or you can use reading inspired games to help increase literacy skills!

For creative students, you might let them brainstorm some ideas for reading games in order to give them some control and a chance to flex their creative muscles! You might be surprised with what they come up with!

If you want a bit more control over the types of reading game you play, try suggesting some of the following:
14. Avoid Over-Correcting

Each of you can take turns guessing what is going to happen next in the story based on the pictures - then discuss who was more accurate.

Implement a word hunt where your reader has to shout out a pre-determined 'buzz' word (any adjectives or verbs or main character's name). If shouting is outside your zone, perhaps they have to touch their nose or clap their hands when they come across a 'buzz' word.

Try finding little words inside bigger words or asking your child to replace one word on each page with a synonym or antonym.

Ask your reader to read a page in the text to themselves. Then, let them act out what happened and you have to guess, or vice versa.

As teachers, it's second nature to want to correct your students when they make a mistake. This urge to correct or jump in and help a struggling student simply comes love and wanting to help them learn and improve.

I've always struggled with this particular teaching strategy. I actually started wearing a rubber-band around my wrist as a painful reminder to not over-correct. When I get the urge to constantly correct or too-quickly help a struggling student, I snap the band to remind myself to pause and shut my big mouth!

Even though most over-correction truly does come from a place of kindness and an urge to help, these corrections can often feel like hurtful criticisms to young readers.

As teachers, it can be difficult to balance when it's appropriate to correct a student's mispronunciation or incorrect inflection while reading. It helps to always remind yourself that the goal is progress, not perfection. And part of progress is building confidence.

A few things to keep in mind and phrases to avoid when correcting your readers:

As a general rule when a student is reading through a text for the first time, do not interrupt them. Ever. Let them get through it, mistakes and all. Before their second time reading through the text, discuss any unknown words or mistakes made. Then you can model the correct pronunciation for troublesome words or mistakes.

Avoid saying, "Come on, hurry up!" or "Whoa, slow down!" Fluency can be a challenging skill to master and one that will take time and practice. Now, there's no rule about saying "C'mon, hurry up", in your head after hearing a student stumble through a text for the tenth time!

Try not to say, "Stop. Reread that line correctly." If the mistake did not interfere with the meaning, let it go and review it later rather than interrupting. This will help them focus on fluency and build confidence.

Do. Not. Laugh. Never laugh. This is the most damaging thing that you can do when teaching reading. Now, if your student laughs at their mistake, it is okay to laugh together - but NEVER laugh at your reader. This seems like an obvious bit of advice...but you would be surprised how hysterical some word mispronunciations can be! Especially if the student unknowingly mispronounces something as an 'adult word'. Regardless - don't laugh!
15. Offer Proper PRAISE!
The not over-correcting strategy is especially important with new readers. In the early stages of learning to read, building confidence is often the main objective. So, try to keep the corrections and comments to a minimum. Once you have a confident reader, you can focus more on improving accuracy, fluency, and pronunciation.

Of all the strategies that have been discussed, praising your students is by far the most critical one to utilize when teaching reading.

You may think that this strategy is pretty self-explanatory...but all praise is actually not created equal. There's a specific way in which you should deliver praise to your budding readers.

First and foremost, praise your student's successes, no matter how big or small - and praise them often. It is important to offer praise for your student's efforts, their dedication, and even their struggles.

It is inherently in a child's nature to want to make their teachers proud. When they feel as if they have accomplished this, it has the ability to seriously motivate and encourage them to keep reading.

We all want to feel appreciated, especially when it comes to our jobs. For kids, learning to read is essentially part of their 'job' as students. When your students feel as if they're failing at their 'job', or that their efforts are not being acknowledged, there's a good chance that their intrinsic interest or motivation in reading will plummet.

When using praise as a strategy for teaching reading, it's vital that you understand the most effective way to offer praise to your students.

A commonly used sentiment may sound something like, "You read that perfectly, you are so smart!" And while this sounds harmless, you're actually inadvertently planting a seed in their mind telling them they're only smart if they get something right.

The drawback to this type of statement is that it can end up discouraging them when they make mistakes.

Instead, offer your students praise for their efforts, perseverance, or progress made rather than their simply praising their perfection or intelligence. Praising specific efforts or pointing out accomplishments allows them to feel proud of what they have done, while still encouraging them to keep trying.

Practice celebrating the efforts or the strategies that your students employ while reading. This will teach them to utilize these skills again in the future.

Some things to keep in mind:

Praise specific efforts: "You worked really hard using your context clues to figure out that word."

Encourage your reader regardless of what level they're at. If your child is reading two grade levels below where they should be, praise their perseverance and hard work without mentioning their reading level.

Be one-hundred percent sincere! Kids are EXTREMELY intuitive and they will sense false or empty praise when it's offered, which will only discount their hard work.

Praise is one of the simplest strategies that you can utilize when teaching reading! If done correctly, it can seriously impact your student's reading success!

Guest post by Margot Carmichael from Carmichael's Class

"Teaching 4th grade for four years has helped shape me as a teacher who is passionate about creating a classroom that engages and inspires my students, integrates technology-driven learning, offers real-world experiences, and breeds creativity. I have taught highly diverse classes with high populations of ESL learners, Special Ed learners, and behavior challenges-granting me a deep understanding on the importance of personalizing learning for each and every student. As a teacher, I am constantly learning and evolving, but the one constant is always putting my students first!"

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15 Reading Strategies for Primary Learners

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It's no secret that developing proficient reading skills from a young age is essential not only for academic success, but for success in all areas and stages of life! However, reading can be a challenging skill that many students struggle to master.

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Promoting Reading Comprehension in Secondary Students with LD

Prepared by Marcia Kosanovich,Ph.D.
Network of Educators, LLC
(Revised August 2013)

Reading comprehension is "the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language" (Snow, 2002, p.11). Extracting meaning from text is to understand what the author has explicitly or implicitly stated. Constructing meaning is to interpret what the author has written based on the reader's background knowledge, experiences, capabilities, and abilities.

Why is reading comprehension important for secondary struggling readers?

Students in Grades 4-12 spend the majority of their days in content-area classes. As students advance in school, researchers suggest reading instruction should become more disciplinary (tied to content areas), reinforcing and supporting students' academic performance (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008). All content-area instruction (e.g., English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies) utilizes literary or informational text in some manner, so students must comprehend specific texts and grasp the concepts being communicated in them. This is a particular concern as the texts students are asked to read become increasingly complex with unique linguistic and cognitive features that are not necessarily shared across disciplines.

What is the goal of reading comprehension instruction for secondary students with learning disabilities?

The goal of reading comprehension instruction is to help students understand written language. Students who comprehend well monitor their understanding as they read and use fix-up strategies, such as re-reading or summarizing, when understanding breaks down. Self-monitoring also helps students relate new information to their prior knowledge, fostering better understanding. However, many adolescents struggle to comprehend text due to a lack of background knowledge, an inability to relate content to prior knowledge, an inability to read text fluently, difficulty decoding words, an inability to attend to meaning while reading, an inability to use comprehension strategies, deficits in metacognition (often not aware they are not comprehending), or difficulty understanding the meanings of words (Boardman et al., 2008; Pressley, 2006; Reed & Vaughn, 2010).

We teach comprehension so that all students "can read a variety of materials with ease and interest, can read for varying purposes, and can read with comprehension even when the material is neither easy to understand nor intrinsically interesting" (Snow, 2002, p. xiii). This is particularly true for adolescent readers who increasingly need to gain meaning from conceptually dense texts, as well as to remember and use the information (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004; Perfetti, Landi, & Oakhill, 2005).

What are comprehension research-based guidelines and strategies to implement with secondary students with learning disabilities?

In Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (Kamil et al., 2008), the panel describes elements important for those adolescents who need more support in reading comprehension. Students' learning needs should be identified through the use of an initial screening test or a threshold score on a required reading test and subsequent use of a diagnostic reading test administered, scored, and interpreted by a specialist. Then, the selection of a supplemental, intensive, and individualized reading intervention needs to be made. The intervention program or approach should provide an explicit instructional focus targeted to meet the learners' needs. The intervention should be provided by a reading specialist or teacher who has participated in thorough training in the use of the program or approach. Teachers or reading specialists should also have professional development to increase their understanding of adolescent struggling readers. Other elements for effective interventions noted by the panel include:

Word level interventions (e.g., systematic training in metacognitive decoding skills, such as subsyllabic segmentation)

Explicit instruction, with scaffolding and feedback, of approaches that help students become more active, strategic readers

Student collaboration in comprehension strategies (relies on teacher guidance)

Reciprocal Teaching

Graphic organizers to assist in understanding relationships among key concepts represented in texts

Specific instruction on text structures, organizational patterns, and linguistic conventions commonly found in expository text

Work in small groups or individually to increase intensity.

An increased amount of time and frequency working with students who are struggling.

Progress monitoring to determine if interventions are effective and to make instructional adjustments.

Most students demonstrate improved reading achievement when their teachers incorporate the following components of effective comprehension instruction before, during, and after reading (Edmonds et al., 2009; Snow, 2002):

purposeful and explicit teaching,

classroom interactions that support the understanding of content area texts,

instruction in the skills and strategies used by expert readers, and

content-area texts that are appropriately matched to students' abilities and the specific strategy being implemented.

These instructional practices usually can be implemented class-wide in any content area. In fact, comprehension strategies work best when taught and practiced in meaningful contexts, so using authentic material in core academic classes makes sense.

Before Reading

Teach students how to activate their background knowledge in connection with the topic to be read. Students better understand, think about, and retain new information when they are familiar with or taught background knowledge of a topic before reading. Activate prior knowledge by previewing text before reading:

1. Use specific strategies to activate prior knowledge, such as previewing headings or key concepts, or making a prediction and confirmation chart.

2. Prepare and guide previewing activities to support and focus the connections students make.

3. Use graphic organizers to introduce important information, solicit prior knowledge from students, and make predictions.

4. Avoid soliciting guesses from students without guidance or feedback.

5. Keep it short. Previewing should not take longer than 5 minutes, especially if a teacher has limited time with students.

6. Revisit after reading to assist in reviewing, confirming, or refuting predictions, summarizing, and making connections.

Explicitly teach key specialized vocabulary related to the topic.

Teach and have students practice how to set a purpose for reading.

Use an anticipation-reaction guide to help students link new and prior knowledge and activate students' interest and curiosity for the topic, promoting motivation and engagement.

During Reading

Explicitly teach students to ask and answer questions about text.

1. Teach students to ask and answer specific types of questions, such as questions whose answers are explicitly stated in the text and those that require students to make inferences based on what they have read (e.g., Question-Answer Relationship).

2. Use question generation on its own or as part of multi-strategy (e.g., Reciprocal Teaching) instruction.

3. Provide students with strategies to evaluate teacher-generated questions. For example, it is important to know if the answer will be found in the text or if it should be inferred.

Use graphic organizers which are visual representations that help students identify, organize, and remember important ideas from what they read. Adapt graphic organizers to text type (e.g., Venn diagram for compare/contrast informational text; story grammar map for literary text). Explicitly teach the use of graphic organizers to

1. represent and discuss connections,

2. confirm or refute predictions, and

3. record important information.

Explicitly teach comprehension monitoring strategies, or fix-up strategies when comprehension breaks down such as

1. Re-reading,

2. Asking someone questions about the text,

3. Considering relevant background knowledge, and

4. Examining the graphics more carefully

After Reading

Teach students how to use self-questioning strategies to reflect on what they have read.

Explicitly teach students to summarize the main ideas of what they read:

1. Teach students to summarize small amounts of text such as a short paragraph before summarizing longer sections.

2. Provide modeling, feedback, and many opportunities to practice summarization rules such as:

1. Selecting a topic sentence or inventing a topic sentence if one is not explicitly stated;

2. Using one word to replace a list of related items;

3. Deleting trivial and redundant information; and

4. Re-reading to make sure your summary makes sense.

3. Teach students how to use graphic organizers to write summaries.

4. Provide examples and non-examples of summaries to help students recognize and produce summaries that contain only key ideas.

Explicitly teach the use of graphic organizers to

1. write summaries,

2. review information, and

3. make connections

What are some guidelines for English-language learners (ELL)?

Francis et al., (2007) outline recommendations to guide the planning and implementation of any instructional approach or academic intervention to promote ELLs' reading ability:

ELLs need early, explicit, and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and phonics in order to build decoding skills.

K-12 classrooms across the nation must increase opportunities for ELLs to develop sophisticated vocabulary knowledge.

Reading instruction in K-12 classrooms must equip ELLs with strategies and knowledge to comprehend and analyze challenging narrative and expository texts.

Instruction and intervention to promote ELLs' reading fluency must focus on vocabulary and increased exposure to print.

In all K-12 classrooms across the U.S., ELLs need significant opportunities to engage in structured, academic talk.

Independent reading is only beneficial when it is structured and purposeful, and there is a good reader-text match.

What materials can be used to teach reading comprehension to struggling secondary students?

Any other text such as magazines, newspaper articles, Internet sources, library books, all of which can supplement content area learning. These sources need to be of high interest to and appropriate for secondary students.

Ways for students to monitor their reading such as graphic organizers, study guides, note-taking charts, reading logs, timelines, checklists, cloze activities, journals.

Sticky notes, index cards, or any type of paper for students to write summaries, predictions, questions, and unknown words as they read sections of text.

Informative posters, definitions, charts, maps, and graphs on the walls in the classroom to reinforce concepts and vocabulary.

References

Biancarosa, G., & Snow, C. E. (2004). Reading next-A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy: A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

Boardman, A. G., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J., Murray, C. S., & Kosanovich, M. (2008). Effective instruction for adolescent struggling readers: A practice brief. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/Practice%20Brief%2DStruggling%20Readers%2Epdf

Edmonds, M. S., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J., Reutebuch, C., Cable, A., Tackett, K. K., & Schnakenberg, J. W. (2009). A synthesis of reading interventions and effects on reading comprehension outcomes for older struggling readers. Review of Educational Research, 79, 262-300.doi: 10.3102/0034654308325998

Francis, D. J., Rivera, M., Lesaux, N., Kieffer, M., & Rivera, H. (2006). Practical guidelines for the education of English language learners: Research-based recommendations for instruction and academic interventions. Portsmouth, NH: Center on Instruction, RMC Research Cooperation.

Kamil, M. L., Borman, G. D., Dole, J., Kral, C. C., Salinger, T., and Torgesen, J. (2008). Improving adolescent literacy: Effective classroom and intervention practices: A Practice Guide (NCEE #2008-4027). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc.

Perfetti, C. A., Landi, N., & Oakhill, J. (2005). The acquisition of reading comprehension skill. In M. J. Snowling& C. Hulme (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 227-247). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Pressley, M. (2006). Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.

Reed, D. K., & Vaughn, S. (2010). Reading interventions for older students. In T. A.Glover & S. Vaughn (Eds.), Response to intervention: Empowering all students to learn, a critical account of the science and practice (pp. 143-186). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking content-area literacy. Adolescent Literacy, 78(1), 40-59.

Snow, C. E. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R & D program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.

Recommend Readings

Alfassi, M. (2004). Reading to learn: Effects of combined strategy instruction on high school students. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(4), 171-184.doi: 10.3200/JOER.97.4.171-185

Almasi, J. F. (2003). Teaching strategic processes in reading. New York, NY:Guilford.

Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2001). Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read. Jessup, MD: National Institute forLiteracy.

Blanchowicz, C., & Ogle, D. (2001). Reading comprehension: Strategies for independent learners. New York, NY: Guilford.

Brown, A. L., & Palinscar, A. S. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension: Fostering and monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1, 117-175.

Bryant, D. P., Vaughn, S., Linan-Thompson, S., Ugel, N., Hamff, A., & Hougen, M. (2000). Reading outcomes for students with and without reading disabilities in general education middle school content area classes. Learning Disability Quarterly, 23, 24-38.doi: 10.2307/1511347

Chin, C. (2007). Teacher questioning in science classrooms: Approaches that stimulate productive thinking. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(6),815-843.doi: 10.1002/tea.20171

DiCecco, V.M.,& Gleason, M.M. (2002). Using graphic organizers to attain relational knowledge from expository text. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(4), 306-320.doi:10.1177/00222194020350040201

Flick, L. B., & Lederman, N. G. (2002).The value of teaching reading in the context of science and mathematics. School Science and Mathematics, 102(3),105-106.

Gersten, R., Fuchs, L. S., Williams, J. P., & Baker, S. (2001). Teaching reading comprehension strategies to students with learning disabilities. Review of Educational Research, 71, 279-320.doi: 10.3102/00346543071002279

Gersten, R., & Jimenez, R. (1998). Promoting learning for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Jitendra, A. K., Hoppes, M. K., & Xin, Y. P. (2000). Enhancing main idea comprehension for students with learning problems: The role of a summarization strategy and self-monitoring instruction. The Journal of Special Education, 34(3), 127-139.doi: 10.1177/002246690003400302

Kosanovich, M. L., Reed, D. K., & Miller, D. H. (2010). Bringing literacy strategies into content instruction: Professional learning for secondary-level teachers. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. Retrieved from http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/Bringing%20Literacy%20Strategies%20into%20Content%20Instruction%2Epdf

Klingner, J. K., Vaughn, S., & Boardman, A. (2007). Teaching reading comprehension to students with learning difficulties. New York, NY: Guilford.doi: 10.1177/002246690003400302

Lovett, M.,& Steinbach, K. (1997). The effectiveness of remedial programs for reading disabled children of different ages: Does the benefit decrease for older children? Learning Disability Quarterly, 20(3), 189-210.doi: 10.2307/1511308

Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Spencer, V., & Fontana, J. (2003). Promoting success in high school world history: Peer tutoring versus guided notes. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 18(1), 52-65.doi: 10.1111/1540-5826.00057

McKeown, M.B., Beck,I.L., & Blake, R.G.K. (2009). Rethinking reading comprehension instruction: A comparison of instruction for strategies and content approaches. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(3) pp. 218-253. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.44.3.1

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups. (NIH Publication No. 00-4754).Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Raphael, T. E., & Au, K. H. (2005). QAR: Enhancing comprehension and test taking across grades and content areas. Reading Teacher, 59, 206-221.doi: 10.1598/RT.59.3.1

Shanahan, T., Callison, K., Carriere, C., Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D., Schatschneider, C., & Torgesen, J. (2010). Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: A practice guide(NCEE 2010-4038). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from whatworks.ed.gov/publications/practiceguides.

Spencer, V. G., Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2003). Content area learning in middle school social studies classrooms and student with emotional orbehavioral disorders: A comparison of strategies. Behavioral Disorders, 28(2),77-93.

Taylor, B. M., Pearson, P. D., Peterson, D. S., & Rodriguez, M. C. (2005). The CIERA school change framework: An evidence-based approach to professional development and school reading improvement. Reading Research Quarterly,40(1), 40-69.doi: 10.1598/RRQ.40.1.3

Taboada, A., & Guthrie, J. (2006). Contributions of student questioning and prior knowledge to construction of knowledge from reading information text. Journal of Literacy Research, 38(1), 1-35.doi: 10.1207/s15548430jlr3801_1

Torgesen, J. K., Houston, D. D., Rissman, L. M., Decker, S. M., Roberts, G.,Vaughn, S., & Lesaux, N. (2007). Academic literacy instruction for adolescents: A guidance document from the Center on Instruction. Portsmouth, NH: RMCCorporation, Center on Instruction.

Trabasso, T., & Bouchard, E. (2002). Teaching readers how to comprehend text strategically. In C. C. Pressley & M. Pressley (Eds.), Comprehension instruction: Research-based best practices (pp. 176-200). New York, NY: Guilford.

Van Garderen, D. (2004). Reciprocal teaching as a comprehension strategy for understanding mathematical word problems. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 20,225-229.doi: 10.1080/10573560490272702

Vaughn, S., Klinger, J. K., & Bryant, D. P. (2001). Collaborative strategic reading as ameans to enhance peer-mediated instruction for reading comprehension and content area learning. Remedial and Special Education, 22(2), 66-74.doi: 10.1177/074193250102200201

Vaughn, S., & Klinger, J. K. (1999).Teaching reading comprehension through collaborative strategic reading. Intervention in School and Clinic, 34, 284-292.doi: 10.1177/105345129903400505

Williams, J., Stafford, K., Lauer, K., Hall, K., & Pollini, S. (2009). Embedding reading comprehension training in content area instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(1), 1-20.doi: 10.1037/a0013152

Wilder, A.A., & Williams, J.P. (2001). Students with severe learning disabilities can learn higher order comprehension skills. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(2), 268-278.doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.93.2.268

Suggested Resources

Kosanovich M. L., Logan, T., Magill, K., & Weinstein, C. (2007). Fourth and Fifth Grade Student Center Activities. Florida Center for Reading Research. http://www.fcrr.org/curriculum/studentCenterActivities45.shtm

Kosanovich, M. L.,& MaGill, K. (2007). Teacher Resource Guide (with professional development DVD) to accompany the Fourth and Fifth Student Center Activities. Florida Center for Reading Research. http://www.fcrr.org/curriculum/studentCenterActivities45.shtm

Murray, C. S., Wexler, J., Vaughn, S., Roberts, G., Tackett. K. K., & Kosanovich, M. (2008). Effective instruction for adolescent struggling readers: Professional development module. Facilitator's guide. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/EIASR%20FG%202nd%20Ed%2E.pdf

Note: The first edition of this InfoSheet was prepared by Diane Pedrotty Bryant, Judy Englehard, and Linda Reetz.

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Promoting Reading Comprehension in Secondary Students with LD

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Promoting Reading Comprehension in Secondary Students with LD Prepared by Marcia Kosanovich,Ph.D. Network of Educators, LLC (Revised August 2013) Reading comprehension is "the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language" (Snow, 2002, p.11). Extracting meaning from text is to understand what the author has explicitly or implicitly stated.

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Grades 3-8

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Creativity is the key to improving reading comprehension among middle school students. Youth at that age are open-minded and eager to express their imagination. Although most middle school adolescents are good readers, reading comprehension abilities can always be tweaked and enhanced in preparation for high school and college environments. Reading comprehension and general comprehension skills are predictors of potential success with the educational process and within the future workplace.

The National Reading Panel has stated that comprehension is an active process requiring a thoughtful and intentional interaction between both the reader and the text being read. Improving reading comprehension middle school students will be much better prepared to take on the more challenging curriculum in high school and college.

There are a number of ways that teachers can help improve the reading comprehension of middle schoolers. Here are four to get you started:

Creative quizzes and worksheets

This is one of the most time-tested ways to test comprehension, but there's no reason your quizzes and worksheets have to be ordinary. Once your students have read a passage or book, give them a quiz or worksheet that is actually fun for them to complete. Make a game of it! Include a mixture of questions requiring specific answers as well as more open-ended, fun questions. Include a mixture of simple as well as more challenging items so that you can gauge the true level and depth of each student's level of reading comprehension. Ask for descriptions of main characters, or perhaps even drawings of them or pivotal scenes in the book.

Post-it note page markers

Give each student a pack of post-it notes and have them bookmark pivotal moments in the book they are reading. You can have a pre-printed list of things to look for, or have students choose moments to bookmark and discuss later. If they are doing the choosing, have them write down why they've marked the page; they can do so either on the post-it note or on a separate piece of paper. (If on a separate sheet, you can have them number what they've written and then write the number on the post-it note that corresponds with the appropriate page of the book.)

Mind-map it

Have each student create a mind map about the book or material they have just read. A mind map is an illustration that starts with the central theme or the subject in the middle, and then radiates out from there. In the case of a book, the central hub could be the main theme or the main character (protagonist) of the book. From there, each "spoke" of the wheel could relate to a tangential character or sub-theme. Encourage the kids to get as creative and descriptive as possible. They can draw pictures on it or even "collage" their mind map. Ask them to make connections and draw conclusions about the story, characters and themes as they create their mind map.

The "Who Am I" game

For this fun and creative game, write the names of people, places, ideas, objects and vocabulary words from the book on pieces of paper. Randomly tape them to students' backs without them knowing their word/concept. Then have the students mingle with one another in the classroom. Have them ask one another questions to help each student guess what word they might be wearing. Any student may answer the questions asked. With each correct answer and guess, discuss what the person, idea or word means to the story. This is an engaging and memorable way for students to remember and comprehend what they've read.

When it comes to improving reading comprehension middle school students really appreciate a break from the norm. Try and inject some fun and creativity whenever possible into their school day. Just about any book or reading material comprehension exercise can be made into a game. Even traditional worksheets and quizzes can be creative.

The most important thing is that your students become better readers and better able to comprehend what they are reading. Reading comprehension ability sets the stage for success in many other areas of education, so this is one area where success is crucial. Use your imagination and stay vigilant for creative ways to help students better comprehend what they are reading.
Our MEd degree concentration that focuses on reading and literacy for adolescent youth provides strategies and helpful knowledge that applies to middle school educators. Click here to learn more.

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Tags: Language Arts, Middle School (Grades: 6-8)

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Improving Middle School Reading Comprehension | Resilient Educator

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Creativity is the key to improving reading comprehension among middle school students. Youth at that age are open-minded and eager to express their imagination. Although most middle school adolescents are good readers, reading comprehension abilities can always be tweaked and enhanced in preparation for high school and college environments.

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It's important to help "other" students in the class respond appropriately and kindly when a peer is struggling.

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7 ideas for teaching empathy in the classroom to help kids develop compassion and build social skills through mindful lessons, discussions, and activities.
It is not uncommon to find a lack of empathy in our children's interactions. Many have experienced a world of self-preservation and independence that makes empathy unnatural or difficult to express. There are ways you can go about teaching empathy in the classroom to meet those children's needs and help them become more socially aware.

Empathy is a trait that people experience naturally when someone is hurt or expresses a need. It's a way we respond to others who have less than we do. Children are usually gracious givers of empathy. They are also keenly aware of their friends or classmates who are sad or lonely. A lack of empathy develops when children aren't given opportunities to express emotions and feelings to each other. Our classrooms can become a dog-eat-dog world, where children only care about themselves. It's up to us to teach, encourage them, and talk about emotions and social awareness.

Teaching Empathy to Build a Strong Classroom Community

Your classroom is a community. Helping build healthy social-emotional skills in your students will benefit your class, as well as future classrooms. Classes cannot function well if classroom community standards aren't discussed and encouraged. You will build a strong classroom community by doing these things often:

Modeling - Model good behavior for your students. Your attitude, demeanor, language, and expressions will be the defining attitude that your children copy. Make choices in how you lead your students that encourage empathy and social awareness.

Listen Actively - Listen to your students when they express themselves. Explicitly teach them how it looks to be an active listener. Describe how your whole body expresses attentiveness when you actively listen to someone who is speaking. Classroom meetings are the best place to practice these skills. Also, an activity that helps practice listening skills are these listening mats.

Teach Explicitly - Take the time to teach these skills to your students. Even 15 minutes once per week is enough to make a huge difference in your classroom! Cover the topics of how our feelings and behaviors affect others, and developing and displaying empathy.

Teaching Empathy as a Leadership Skill

Teach point of view - It's important that students learn the necessary social skill of understanding point of view. They don't always have to accept others' point of view, but they should understand that not everyone sees things the way they do and that they should respect that. Compassion and understanding is a skill that good leaders have learned and put into practice, and you can instill those traits in your students. By understanding the fact that everyone sees things differently, acceptance and tolerance are improved, and classroom relationships can flourish.

Leadership requires empathy - You're teaching your children to be leaders, thinkers, and to be socially responsible. To lead effectively, you yourself must model empathy with the children under your guidance. They, in turn, will practice empathy in their own moments of leadership within your classroom. Hopefully, they will adopt the trait for use in future relationships as well.

Lessons for Teaching Empathy

Books that teach different perspectives

One way to encourage children to display empathy is to read literature examples where empathy is portrayed through a story. One such story is The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. Incorporate activities centered around the book's message of inclusion, acceptance, and compassion.

Play the Empathy Game

This is a game that helps students identify and develop empathy. Give students scenarios and have them discuss and act out how the people in the scenarios might feel. This printable game is included in the Empathy Curriculum.

Empathy Concept - Someone Else's Shoes

Teach students what this phrase means: walking in someone else's shoes. Then, have them practice putting themselves into others' shoes to imagine how they would feel in different circumstances. Giving them a craftivity and writing to complete, such as the one below, while discussing this topic will enforce the idea.

Teaching Empathy with A Wrinkled Heart

The Wrinkled Heart is a popular poem and activity for teaching children how our feelings and behaviors affect others. Give children their own heart to hold. Take turns saying unkind things and acts that could hurt someone's feelings, while each time making a fold on the heart. After, unfold the heart and recognize the wrinkles that can't be taken away. Discuss with your students what happens when they say or do certain things, and how it affects other people. Powerful!

Teaching Empathy Through Classroom Inclusivity

Building an inclusive classroom fosters compassion for others. Activities you can do include discussing and brainstorming ways to show compassion. You can make a welcome book for new students. Create a class contract with ideas about what a great classroom looks, sounds, and feels like. Host inclusive class meetings. The opportunities are endless!

Empathy and social awareness are important skills to be taught in a classroom setting. They are easy to teach and encourage, but sometimes we forget to include activities, experiences, and lessons that allow students to practice and adopt such skills. Take the time to focus on social-emotional learning in your classroom, and make it (and the world) a better place!

Resources for Teaching Empathy

FREE Wrinkled Heart Poem & Activity

Give one of our engaging digital SEL activities a try! Get a FREE copy of the Wrinkled Heart activity. This activity includes a poem and online read-aloud formatted for Google Slides, plus a printable heart template for your empathy lesson.
Click the image below to grab a copy.

Social Awareness + Empathy Curriculum

The Social Awareness SEL Curriculum includes 5 lessons and many activities to help build empathy, community, and inclusion in your classroom.

Mind+Heart Social Emotional Learning Curriculum

The mind + heart Social Emotional Learning Curriculum includes 8 units with 5+ detailed, character education, research-based LESSONS filled with TONS of hands-on and mindful ACTIVITIES that encourage children to express themselves and build important emotional and social skills.

More Social and Emotional Learning Ideas
Teaching Respect Empathy Skills Books & Videos Social Emotional Learning Games PIN

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7 ideas for teaching empathy in the classroom to help kids develop compassion and build social skills through mindful lessons, discussions, and activities.

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Any student may refuse to cooperate at times, but handling students with oppositional defiant disorder requires that teachers have a plan.

We all have students who test our limits. Most kids can be uncooperative at times, especially if they're tired, hungry, or feeling overwhelmed. For certain age groups, like 2- to 3-year-olds and teenagers, noncooperative behavior is a normal part of development.

In addition, up to 16 percent of all children and 40 percent of students diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), which is characterized by a pattern, in multiple settings over time, of consistent negative and hostile behavior that can include deliberately annoying or upsetting others, explosions of anger and hostility, defiance or frequent arguing with adults, and then blaming others for misbehavior.

Often teachers react defensively to obstinate behavior, creating a situation where teacher and student may become locked in a power struggle or an ineffective pattern of communication.

So how does a teacher handle a student who openly defies rules, purposely tries to irritate the teacher, or has a pattern of hostile behavior toward authority? Here are some suggestions to help you avoid problems or to manage them when they arise.

Remain Calm

As a new teacher, I quickly determined that showing anger was counterproductive with students who were oppositional. It made the behavior worse as they were often amused or encouraged by upsetting an adult.

Even when you're upset or frustrated, it's important not to allow the child to see your emotional response. Keep a positive tone to your voice, and adopt neutral body language by keeping your hands by your sides. Be cautious about approaching the student or entering their personal space as this might escalate the situation.

Choose Your Words Carefully

Learning to use "I statements" helped me immensely in working with students with difficult behavior. When a student is noncompliant, often our first impulse as teachers is to point out the behavior by using a statement that begins with "You" and gives a command. For example, "You never listen and follow directions. Don't get out of your seat again!"

Rephrasing this as an "I statement" is much more effective. For example, "I would like for all of my students to sit down, listen, and follow directions so that they know what to do next."

This statement is less judgmental, and it instructs by describing the positive behavior desired. Remember to keep directions concise and deliver them in multiple ways (in writing, spoken aloud, or using signals, for example).

When possible, offer choices where you will be happy with either outcome. For example, "Students may sit on the beanbags or at their desks to work quietly." Choices make students feel like they have agency without having to display defiant behavior.

Reinforce Positive Behavior

Switch your focus from recognizing negative behavior to seeking out demonstrations of positive behavior. Look for and reward even small steps toward flexibility, compliance, and cooperation.

When a student shows improvement, give it attention. I found positive notes home to be especially effective. I sent postcards to my students who demonstrated improvement in their behavior. A parent once told me that not only was this the first positive note the student had received, but he was so proud of it that he kept it on the refrigerator to look at every day. Don't underestimate the power of positive words in shaping behavior.

Determine the Cause of the Behavior

When does this behavior happen or not happen?

What happens before and after the behavior?

Who is the audience?

Are there factors outside of the student's control that might be causing or contributing to the behaviors? (For example, has the student experienced trauma? Does he or she come from a household with housing or food instability?)

What alternative behavior would be more acceptable than the one being displayed?

Behaviors help students obtain something desirable or escape something undesirable. Learning to think of behavior as feedback or a form of communication helped me to work more effectively as a teacher with students who display problem behaviors.

Consider that there may be understandable reasons for the misbehavior. For example, as a teacher I often saw students create a problem to avoid doing work that was too difficult for them. Some students act out because of difficult issues in their homes or communities. I also saw students act tough or argumentative to impress peers or avoid bullying or victimization by other students.

Understanding the cause of the behavior will help in establishing a plan to address the challenges.

If a student frequently displays problematic behavior, it also may be possible to request a functional behavior assessment (FBA), which looks at academic and non-academic factors that could be contributing to or triggering behavior. While the law only requires an FBA after a suspension of 10 days or more, an FBA may be requested at any time. An FBA is usually conducted by a team, which can include a special education teacher, general education teachers, parent or guardian, school administrators, and specialists (such as a speech therapist, psychologist, or behavior specialist). The FBA is then used to create a detailed behavior intervention plan (BIP).

Once a behavior is identified and assessed, a plan may be developed to prevent it from continuing. A BIP outlines steps a teacher will take when a problem behavior occurs.

A BIP should teach the student more productive behaviors and strategies, reward positive and appropriate behaviors, and outline who is responsible for each intervention.

Perhaps changes can be made in the environment, like moving the student's seat, or instructional methodology changes could be made, like shortening or modifying an assignment to match the student's capability for independent work. Teachers could also consider altering routines if there are times when the behavior is likely to occur.

The teacher will provide the student with a set of questions about the lesson to answer on paper and turn in instead of answering questions aloud.

The student will be responsible for asking for a short break or alternative location to complete assignments when they are feeling overwhelmed.

Each day, if the student turns in their answers after the lesson, they will receive a positive note home and 5-10 minutes to work on their art projects.

For example, if a student is having an outburst every time they're called on in class or asked to present information in front of their peers, the plan might offer alternatives such as:

The behavior plan that the team comes up with should be implemented in all classes. The team should meet to hear teacher and parent/guardian feedback, and the plan should be revisited periodically to change ineffective interventions or modify interventions where the student shows improvement.

We all have the capacity to learn, change, and grow. When given the right tools and environment, students with problematic behavior can learn more productive strategies that will help them have positive and effective interactions with others.

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Any student may refuse to cooperate at times, but handling students with oppositional defiant disorder requires that teachers have a plan.

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And the order in which students learn to read. Great Article!

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Great resources for enriching Math Instruction

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I have no idea why this picture came up.

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Children use problem-solving skills on a constant basis - when they experiment and investigate, when they select materials, and when they try to work together: "How far will that water squirt?" "Where is that sound coming from?" "What do you think will happen if we add one more block?" We often divide children's learning into emotional, social, creative, cognitive, and physical. But watching children as they go about their day reveals that problem solving encompasses all of these areas of development.
TOTAL THINKING
Creative-thinking and critical-thinking skills are essential components of problem solving.

Creative thinking is the ability to look at a problem in many different ways. This might involve seeing a different way to do something, generating new ideas, or using materials in unique ways. Basic to being a creative thinker is a willingness to take risks, to experiment, and even to make mistakes.

What you can do: Part of encouraging creative thinking is helping children become both fluent and flexible thinkers. Fluent thinkers have the ability to come up with ideas; flexible thinkers are able to see many possibilities or view objects or situations in new ways. Just as problem solving takes place all day long, so can the activities you do to encourage children to be creative thinkers. Here are a few suggestions:

Brainstorm. Invite children to be fluent thinkers by asking them to respond to questions that have many right answers. Incorporate these questions into the interests children are involved with and the situations they are in. For instance, if children are having a discussion about nighttime, you might ask them to think of everything that lights up in the night, all the people who work at night, all the things they'd like to do if they stayed up all night.

Reflect. Help children to be flexible thinkers by asking them to comment on specific objects or situations in your room. (Remember, this activity, too, works best in the context of what is going on.) For instance, Carla needs a hat in the dramatic-play corner and can't find one. What are some other things she could use as a hat? Are there any ways to make a hat? Or, during group time, you're reading a book and the boy on the cover looks sad. What are some reasons he might look this way?

Critical Thinking is the ability to mentally break down a problem or an idea into parts and analyze them. Sorting, classifying, and comparing similarities and differences are all a part of this important skill. Critical thinking can also be called logical thinking.

What you can do: When you break larger problems into smaller parts, they become easier to understand and to solve.

Challenge. Encourage children to practice critical and logical thinking by asking them open-ended questions, such as "How many ways can you sort these blocks?" "How many different ways can you make a building using these blocks?" "How would the building be different if you used blocks that were all the same size?"

Listen. Asking questions about things that don't make sense is another way children express critical thinking. When a child wonders, "Why do I have a shadow on the playground but not inside?" or "Why can't I see the wind?" you don't need to respond with one right answer. Instead, encourage children to express their ideas.

YOUR ROLE
You help foster problem solving not so much by providing special materials or specific activities but by having a responsive, accepting attitude. Here are other key ways to facilitate children's growth:

Provide plenty of time every day for children to choose activities based on their interests and developmental levels. Free-play situations create endless opportunities for children to identify and solve problems.

Follow children's leads. By observing children's interactions and dilemmas, you can support their problem-solving efforts and help them accomplish their goals.

Reinforce children's solutions. Let children know that their ideas and efforts are valued.

Extend creative thinking and problem solving. Ask open-ended questions about activities to help children see the problem they are trying to solve in new and different ways.
NURTURING PROBLEM SOLVERS
Think of yourself as having four roles observer, supporter, facilitator, and model watching, encouraging, interacting as a questioning partner, and sharing with children how you solve problems.
As an observer:
Step back and watch children's independent problem solving. Sometimes it may seem easier and faster to jump in and solve a problem for children or to show them the "right" way But stepping in too early can stifle their thinking or send a subtle message that you're not confident they can think problems through by themselves. Instead of intervening right away, step back and watch children's problem-solving skills unfold. Keep in mind that children's problem solving doesn't always look like a thinking activity. In fact, it can look like an argument, an experiment, or an unusual and messy way to use materials.

Focus on the process children are engaged in. Try to be patient while you encourage children to try new ways and look at problems from new perspectives.
As a supporter:
Acknowledge children's efforts, letting them know that what they are doing is important. Offer verbal support: "Look at all the different ways you're trying to make that piece fit in your puzzle. You're working hard to figure it out, aren't you?" At times, nonverbal support may be all that's needed - a smile, an understanding nod, or a thumbsup can show support and encourage children to continue in their thinking process. Remember too, that just by sitting quietly next to a child, you can communicate: "I understand what you're doing, and I know it's important."

Create accepting environments where children feel free to express their ideas without fear of being wrong or of not being taken seriously. Make sure your setting is a protective "laboratory" where children know they can experiment and practice problem-solving skills throughout each day.

Give children opportunities for open ended play activities in long periods of time. Create opportunities for children to initiate and solve their own problems and plenty of time to test out possible ideas and solutions.
As a facilitator:
Watch for times when children are engaged in problem solving and interject provocative questions to propel them into new ways of thinking. Remember open-ended, divergent questions have many possible answers and, so, invite children to think and problemsolve. Closed-ended, convergent questions have right and wrong answers and can actually block children's thinking processes. (See "What Makes a Good Question?" below).

Encourage children to express themselves. Rather than telling children about what they can make at the art table today, try showing them the materials and inviting them to brainstorm ideas. You might say, "I need your help. I brought in this bag full of art materials. What do you think we can make?" Then let children act on their ideas and make whatever they choose, offering your suggestions too. This approach is a very successful way to help children feel comfortable solving problems. When they see that you don't have one "right" answer or method in mind, they can move past fears of being "wrong" and draw on their wonderful creative thinking.

Provide a variety of problem-solving experiences. Offer games, puzzles, discussions, literature, and projects that children design - a wide range of activities that inspire creative and critical thinking and encourage children to stretch their minds.
As a model:
Think about your own approach to problem solving. Whether you're aware of it or not, children are always watching you. They observe how you deal with problems as examples of ways they might solve problems themselves. Talk about problem solving. When problems arise in the room, discuss your thought processes as you work through the problem. For example, you might say, "I have a problem. I planned to put out finger-painting materials today, but we've run out of finger-painting paper. What do you think we should do? Should we use different paper? I wonder how that would work? Should we wait until tomorrow because I can buy some tonight? Or maybe I could ask the teacher next door if she has some we could borrow " In other words, model fluid thinking and a positive attitude as well as a process for solving the small problems of everyday life. And involve children further by asking them to suggest their own solutions.

Emphasize the vocabulary of problem solving. As you speak with children, use the words problem, think, ideas, and solve. Children will begin to use them to define and describe their own thinking.

Be willing to make mistakes. It is reassuring to children to discover that adults make mistakes too. So let children see some of the mistakes you make, then ask them to help you solve the resulting problems. They feel important and, at the same time, learn that making mistakes isn't really such a bad thing after all. Instead, it's an opportunity for learning.

Problem solving is not about memorizing facts like the names of colors or shapes or the letters of the alphabet. Instead, it is about using two very important skills - the ability to think logically and the ability to think creatively when using and applying facts to solve problems. Child-centered, child-- initiated problem-solving activities play a vital role in developing children's ability to learn, think, feel confident, and be competent at understanding their world. What could be more important!
Great Books!
If the Shoe Fits by Carolyn Chapman (Skylight); Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development by Rima Shore (Family and Work Institute); Suppose the Wolf Were an Octopus by Joyce Paster Foley and Michael T Bagley (Trillium Press); Think It Through: Developing Thinking Skills With Young Children by Martha Hayes and Kathy Faggella (First Teachers Press); and What Will Happen If ...? by Barbara Sprung, Merle Froschl, and Patricia Campbell (Educational Equity Concepts).

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How You Can Help Children Solve Problems | Scholastic

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Children use problem-solving skills on a constant basis - when they experiment and investigate, when they select materials, and when they try to work together: "How far will that water squirt?" "Where is that sound coming from?" "What do you think will happen if we add one more block?"

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For 3-12 year olds

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How to Teach Problem-Solving Skills to Kids (Ages 3-14)

THIS ARTICLE INCLUDES A FREE PRINTABLE

Whether it's a toy-related conflict, a tough math equation, or negative peer pressure, kids of ALL ages face problems and challenges on a daily basis.

As parents or teachers, we can't always be there to solve every problem for our children. In fact, this isn't our job. Our job is to TEACH our children how to solve problems by . This way, they can become themselves, independent, and successful individuals.

Instead of giving up or getting frustrated when they encounter a challenge, kids with problem-solving skills manage their emotions, think creatively, and persist until they find a solution. Naturally, these abilities go hand-in-hand with a

Before you move on, be sure to sign up for our FREE weekly printables carefully crafted to teach your kids growth mindset, resilience, and much more. Sign up below to make sure you're on the list!

Once signed up, you will immediately receive our popular Parent's Guide to a Growth Mindset.
So HOW do you teach problem-solving skills to kids?

Well, it depends on their age. As cognitive abilities and the size of the child's challenges grow/evolve over time, so should your approach to teaching problem-solving skills.

Read on to learn key strategies of teaching problem-solving to kids, as well as some age-by-age ideas and activities.

3 General Strategies to Teach Problem-Solving at Any Age

1. Model Effective Problem-Solving

When YOU encounter a challenge, do a "think-aloud" for the benefit of your child. MODEL how to apply the same problem-solving skills you've been working on together, giving the real-world examples that she can implement in her own life.

At the same time, show your child a willingness to make . Everyone encounters problems, and that's okay. Sometimes the first solution you try won't work, and that's okay too!

When you model problem-solving, explain that there are some things which are out of our control. As we're solving a problem at hand we should focus on the things we CAN actually control.

You can show the Circle of Control printable included in the Growth Mindset Printables Kit.

2. Ask for Advice

Ask your kids for advice when you have a problem. This teaches them that it's common to make mistakes and face challenges. It also gives them the opportunity to practice problem-solving skills.

Plus, when you indicate that their ideas are they'll gain the valued, confidence to attempt solving problems on their own.

3. Don't Provide "The Answer"

As difficult as it may be, allow your child to struggle, sometimes , and ultimately LEARN from experiencing consequences.

3-5 Years

Use Emotion Coaching

To step into a problem-solving mindset, young children need to first learn to manage their emotions. After all, it's difficult for a small child to logically consider solutions to a problem if he's mid-tantrum.

One way to accomplish this is by using the emotion coaching process outlined by John Gottman.

First, teach your kids that ALL emotions are acceptable. There are NO "bad" emotions. Even seemingly negative emotions like anger, sadness, and frustration can teach us valuable lessons. What matters is how we respond to these emotions.

Second, follow this process:

When your child is upset, help her process the way she's feeling. Say something like, Step One: Naming and validating emotions."I understand that you're upset because Jessica is playing with the toy you wanted."

Guide your child to her calming space. If she doesn't have one, it's a good idea to create one. Let her calm her body and process her emotions so she can problem-solve, learn, and grow.

Step Three: Problem Solving. Brainstorm solutions with your child, doing moreLISTENINGthan talking during the conversation. This allows your child to practice her problem-solving skills, and she's more likely to actually implement the solutions she came up with herself.

Say, "Show Me the Hard Part"

When your child struggles or feels frustrated, try a technique suggested by mom and parenting blogger Lauren Tamm . Simply say, "Show me the hard part."

Repeat back what your child says, "So you're saying..."

Once you both understand the real problem, prompt your child to come up with . solutions "There must be some way you can fix that..." or "There must be something you can do..."

Now that your child has identified "the hard part," she'll likely be able to come up with a solution. If not, help her brainstorm some ideas. You may try asking the question, "If you know, what would you think?" and see what she comes up with.

Your child can practice finding solutions to obstacles they're facing with My Mighty Treasure Coins printable found in the Self-Esteem & Confidence Kit.

Problem-Solve with Creative Play

Allow your child to choose activities and games based on her interests. Free play provides plenty of opportunities to navigate and creatively solve problems.

Children often learn best through PLAY. Playing with items like blocks, simple puzzles, and dress-up clothes can teach your child the process of problem-solving.

Even while playing, your child thinks critically: Where does this puzzle piece fit? What does this do? I want to dress up as a queen. What should I wear? Where did I put my tiara? Is it under the couch?

Encourage creative play, creative thinking, and problem-solving with our fabulous Growth Mindset Activity Kit for children!

Problem-Solve with Storybooks

Read age-appropriate stories featuring characters who experience problems, such as:

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by Jacky Davis: The story of two friends who want to play together but can't find a game to agree on. After taking turns making suggestions, they arrive at a game they both want to play: Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy.

The Curious George Series by Margaret and H.E. Rey: A curious little monkey gets into and out of dilemmas, teaching kids to find solutions to problems of their own.

Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber: Ira's thrilled to have a sleepover at his friend Reggie's house. But there's one problem: Should he or should he not bring his teddy bear? It may seem small, but this is the type of early social problem your child might relate to.

Connect these experiences to similar events in your child's own life, and ASK your child HOW the characters in these stories could solve their problems. Encourage a variety of solutions, and discuss the possible outcomes of each.

This is a form of dialogue reading, or actively ENGAGING your child in the reading experience. Interacting with the text instead of passively listening can "turbocharge" the development of literacy skills such as comprehension in preschool-aged children.

By asking questions about the characters' challenges, you can also give your child's problem-solving abilities a boost.

For book suggestions, refer to the printable Top 85 Growth Mindset Books for Children & Adults in our Growth Mindset Printables Kit.

5-7 Years

Teach the Problem-Solving Steps

Come up with a simple problem-solving process for your child, one that you can consistently implement. For example, you might try the following five steps:

Help your child understand what she's feeling in the moment (frustration, anger, curiosity, disappointment, excitement, etc.) Noticing and naming emotions will diffuse their charge and give your child a chance to take a step back.

problem. In most cases, help her take responsibility for what happened rather than Step 2: What's the problem? Guide your child to identify the specific pointing fingers. For instance, instead of, "Joey got me in trouble at recess," your child might say, "I got in trouble at recess for arguing with Joey."

Step 3: What are the solutions? Encourage your child to come up with as many solutions as possible. At this point, they don't even need to be "good" solutions. They're just brainstorming here, not yet evaluating the ideas they've generated.

Step 4: What would happen if...? What would happen if your child attempted each of these solutions? Is the solution safe and fair? How will it make others feel? You can also try role playing at this step. It's important for your child to consider BOTH positive and negative consequences of her actions.

Step 5: Which one will I try? Ask your child to pick one or more solutions to try. If the solution didn't work, discuss WHY and move on to another one. Encourage your child to keep trying until the problem is solved.

Consistently practice these steps so that they become second nature, and model solving problems of your own the same way. It's a good idea to reflect: What worked? What didn't? What can you do differently next time?

Help your child visualize and practice this process using the colorful in the My Problem-Solving printable Self-Esteem & Confidence Kit .

Problem-Solve with Craft Materials

Crafting is another form of play that can teach kids to solve problems creatively.

Provide your child with markers, modeling clay, cardboard boxes, tape, paper, etc. They'll come up with all sorts of interesting creations and inventive games with these simple materials.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Asking open-ended questions improves a child's ability to think critically and creatively, ultimately making them better problem-solvers. Examples of open-ended questions include:

How could we work together to solve this?

How did you work it out? or How do you know that?

Tell me about what you built, made, or created.

What do you think will happen next?

What do you think would happen if...?

What did you learn?

What was easy? What was hard?

What would you do differently next time?

Open-ended questions have no right answer and can't be answered with a simple "Yes" or "No."

You can ask open-ended questions even when your child isn't currently solving a problem to help her practice her thinking skills, which will come in handy when she have a problem to solve.

For more question ideas, use "10 Growth Mindset Questions To Ask Your Kids at the Dinner Table" in our . Growth Mindset Printables Kit

7-9 Years

Break Down Problems into Chunks

This strategy is a more advanced version of "Show me the hard part."

For instance, let's say your child has a poor grade in history class. Why is the grade so low? What are the causes of this problem?

If the low grade is the result of missing assignments, perhaps your child can make a list of these assignments and tackle one at a time. Or if tests are the issue, what's causing your child to struggle on exams?

Perhaps she's distracted by friends in the class, has trouble asking for help, and doesn't spend enough time studying at home. Once you've identified these "chunks," help your child tackle them one at a time until the problem is solved.

Make sure to use our printable cards "Problem-Solving Steps for Kids" (available in theGrowth Mindset Activity Kit). This is a fun and interactive way your child can learn the steps to problem-solving and have confidence in the process.

Discuss the importance of embracing challenges and solving problems independently with the "broken escalator video."

In the video, an escalator unexpectedly breaks. The people on the escalator are "stuck" and yelling for help. At this age, it's likely that your child will find the video funny and immediately offer a solution: "Just walk! Get off the escalator!"

Tell your child that this is a simple example of how people sometimes act in difficult situations. Ask, "Why do you think they didn't get off the escalator?" (they didn't know how, they were waiting for help, etc.)

9-11 Years

Problem-Solve with Prompts

Provide your child or a group of children with materials such as straws, cotton balls, yarn, clothespins, tape, paper clips, sticky notes, Popsicle sticks, etc.

With just these materials, challenge your kids to solve unusual problems like:

Make a leprechaun trap

Create a jump ramp for cars

Design your own game with rules

Make a device for two people to communicate with one another

This is a fun way to practice critical thinking and creative problem-solving. Most likely, it will take multiple attempts to find a solution that works, which can apply to just about any aspect of life.

Make Them Work for It

When your child asks for a new toy, technology, or clothes, have her make a plan to obtain the desired item herself. Not only will your child have to brainstorm and evaluate solutions, but she'll also gain confidence .

Ask your child HOW she can earn the money for the item that she wants, and encourage her as she works toward her goal.

Put It on Paper

For example, use this graphic organizer developed by The New York Times Learning Network . Your child can identify her problem and brainstorm solutions.

But now, she takes this process a step further: After attempting each solution, which succeeded? Which were unsuccessful? ?

This helps your child reflect on various outcomes, learning what works and what doesn't. The lessons she learns here will be useful when she encounters similar problems in the future.

Ages 12+

Play Chess Together

Learning to play chess is a great way for kids to learn problem-solving AND build their brains at the same time. It requires players to use critical thinking, creativity, analysis of the board, recognize pattern and more. There are online versions of the game, books on how to play, videos and other resources. Don't know how to play? Learn with your teen to connect problem solve together!

Have Them Learn To Code

Our teens and tweens are already tech-savvy and can use their skills to solve problems by learning to code. Coding promotes creativity, logic, planning, and persistence. There are many great tools and online or in-person programs that can boost your child's coding skills.

Encourage to Start a Meaningful Project

This project has to be meaningful to your teen, for example starting a YouTube channel. Your teen will practice problem-solving skills as they're figuring out how to grow their audience, how to have their videos discovered, and much more.

In the Big Life Journal - Teen Edition, there's a section that guides them through planning their YouTube channel and beginning the problem-solving process.

Apply the SODAS Method

Looking for a game plan that your teen can employ when faced with a problem? The SODAS method can be used for big or small problems. Just remember this simple acronym and follow these ideas:

Encourage to Join Problem-Solving Groups

Does your teen enjoy solving problems in a team? Have them join a group or club that helps them hone their skills in a variety of settings--from science and robotics to debating and international affairs. Some examples of groups include:

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How to Teach Problem-Solving Skills to Kids (Ages 3-14)

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Whether it's a toy-related conflict, a tough math equation, or negative peer pressure, kids of ALL ages face problems and challenges on a daily basis. As parents or teachers, we can't always be there to solve every problem for our children. In fact, this isn't OUR job.

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Share your PD Ideas Here!

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This is a North Carolina article, but the information about the research is the same.

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Since 2013, the Belk Foundation has been focused on early grade reading achievement. Our approach leans heavily on our grantee partners, educators, and experts to guide us toward high impact ways to invest and uphold our mission. Much of our learning in recent years has been understanding the research base, commonly referred to as the "science of reading," and the ways evidence-based strategies are used in teaching children to read. The body of research is vast, evolving, and highly nuanced. That's why I was so disheartened to see the recent oversimplified and combative coverage of our state's momentum related to better applying this research to support reading instruction.

I wanted to write a response to clarify the research, explain why it matters and why we should be hopeful by the collective action in our state towards applying it. As I sat down to write, though, I realized that I'd be repeating a practice I'm trying to confront: not elevating the very experts who are some of our most valuable resources in this work.

Fortunately, three dedicated and knowledgeable experts in reading instruction answered my call to collaborate on a clarification statement on the science of reading. It's their voices, and the voices of our effective teachers, literacy coaches, school leaders, and faculty, that too often get drowned out in conversations about literacy improvement. I am grateful for their willingness to help present the vast, evolving, and highly nuanced research base in a more digestible way for folks like me. And with that, I pass the pen.

North Carolina, we need a common understanding of what the "science of reading" really means.

In the past week, much has been written and said in reaction to the reference to science of reading in the Excellent Public Schools Act of 2021. We've heard it called a phonics-based approach, a program, and even the victor in a long-running battle. Let's be clear: Very few educators in North Carolina are resistant to using rigorous evidence to inform how reading is taught. But there is discomfort among many educators - including educational leaders and researchers - with the way the term "science of reading" has been politicized. Many of us worry that it has been turned into a catchy slogan - a bumper sticker that oversimplifies an immense body of scientific research about one of the most amazing and sophisticated human accomplishments: learning to read.

Learning to read is too important for us to get stymied by politics. Far too much of the discussion so far has misrepresented what the science of reading really offers for improving reading instruction. It's time to get on the same page. Below, we offer some clarification about the evidence base for teaching reading effectively.

The science of reading is not a narrow program. The science of reading is a vast body of peer-reviewed research from the disciplines of education, psychology, linguistics, and cognitive science, to name a few. The insights emerging from this research are found in numerous publications and reports, including the Educator Practice Guides published by the Institute of Education Sciences. The science of reading is not a program or a simple recipe for how to teach reading. It's not a product you can purchase in a shiny box. It's not a name brand or a proper noun. It's knowledge of how literacy develops that can provide guidance for strengthening student outcomes through a coordinated emphasis on language acquisition, phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

The science of reading is not just about phonics. An approach rooted in the science of reading supports children in becoming skilled word readers (teaching letters, sounds, and how they come together to make words) and in learning to comprehend text (understand the meaning). Without comprehension, it's just word calling, not reading. We want to be extremely clear on this point because the position taken by university literacy faculty is often misunderstood or misinterpreted. Acknowledging that phonics operates within a broader arrangement of language and literacy skills is not an anti-phonics position. The evidence is clear that children benefit from systematic, explicit phonics instruction to learn to read words efficiently. Phonics is absolutely necessary, but it alone is not sufficient, and it is not the entirety, or even the preponderance, of the science of reading.

The science of reading does not limit teachers. No student is standard, so no standard approach can reach all students. There is no single science of reading curriculum or program that teachers can follow word-for-word. It doesn't exist. Teaching kids according to the research requires investing in teachers, building knowledge of how children learn to read and what type of instruction is most effective in the moment for the children in front of them. Part of the difficulty with the current approach in many of our schools is that instruction is overly dependent on the curriculum rather than the teacher. When teachers are smarter than the curricula and programs they use, they can determine how to reach each of their students. An approach grounded in the science of reading puts teachers in charge.

The science of reading does not limit student engagement. An approach grounded in the science of reading depends on student engagement with text. Children have to read more to read better. Children have to want to read to read more. Children need to be exposed to a wide variety of text formats and genres in which they can see themselves and others represented. The science of reading requires classroom libraries rich with authentic, diverse, and engaging literature, as well as informational texts that pique children's curiosity and build background knowledge.

The science of reading includes writing. Reading and writing are reciprocal processes that develop in tandem. We would not expect an infant or toddler to learn language by only listening and never speaking; we should not expect literacy to develop by only reading and never writing. It's the exercise of listening and speaking over time that allows for language acquisition. It is no different for literacy development. Writing is a central aspect of the science of reading - though perhaps the nomenclature often makes us forget its critical role in literacy development.

The science of reading is not a magic cure for instant improvements. Just like there is no single science of reading curriculum that teachers can blindly follow, the science of reading is not a "plug and play" set of instructional routines. What science does best is rule out what doesn't align to evidence - and those practices (like asking children to guess words) should be avoided. Although the evidence base makes a few principles of effective instruction extremely clear (and that's what we need to make sure teachers know), there are many questions still being examined by researchers about how to best translate these principles into classroom practice.

Over the past several years, school districts and educator preparation programs have been grappling with the reading proficiency of North Carolina children and investigating ways to better support students. At system levels, we've had the State Board of Education Task Force on Literacy present a comprehensive set of recommendations, the UNC System Literacy Fellows outline a Framework for Literacy on expectations for preparing teachers to be literacy teachers, and the NC Community College System build their new teacher preparation programs centering on the science of reading. Local school districts across the state are expanding and updating their professional development offerings.

We as a literacy community are actively working to improve the literacy instruction children receive. Declaring that classroom instruction should be aligned to current evidence is a good start, but not the end, of this work. We need to invest in teachers as knowledgeable and capable professionals. We need to provide quality instructional coaching to our teachers as they continue to grow and develop across their careers. These are the investments that will pay dividends for our children and their children. It is not a simple solution - but it is what will work.
Editor's note: The Belk Foundation supports the work of EducationNC.

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Perspective | We need a common understanding of the science of reading

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Since 2013, the Belk Foundation has been focused on early grade reading achievement. Our approach leans heavily on our grantee partners, educators, and experts to guide us toward high impact ways to invest and uphold our mission.

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Do you have a few little friends in your classroom who have a HARD TIME working independently?

As in...you get everyone started in centers or independent work, and these little friends just can't seem to get started ...or stay engaged and on-task?

If so, you are not alone!

It seems like I always have at least 1 or 2 kids in my class (if not more!) who have a very hard time working independently. And I've talked to SO many other teachers who are facing the same challenge!

In my opinion, it's just as important to teach kids independent work skills as it is to teach academics!

It's easy to get frustrated when we've prepared great independent work activities and thoroughly modeled them-and some kids still don't get on board. BUT we have to remember that, like any skill, teaching independence takes time.

So in today's post, I'll share 3 things I do to help K-2 students improve their independent work skills. (There's a little freebie for you, too!)
Photo Credit: Dragon Images, Shutterstock
1. Look for possible causes of the behavior, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

If you have a child who is really struggling to stay on-task during independent work time, it's important to figure out WHY that might be happening.

Consider setting aside 5-10 minutes to observe the child from a distance.

Ask yourself:

Is the work too easy or difficult for the child?

Does the child know what to do?

Is the child seeking attention from peers or me?

Does the child struggle with sitting still or attending to one thing for a long period of time?

Based upon what you learn, you might:

Adjust the difficulty level of activities for the child

Use small-group or one-on-one reteaching to ensure the child knows how to do activities (or involve the child more actively during whole group demonstrations)

Teach the child how to appropriately get attention from you and/or peers

Offer different options to the child to help him/her focus, like allowing the child to stand up to complete activities, use a timer, or allow frequent drink/stretch breaks

If you find that having a student work with their peers just ISN'T working right now, consider modifying the type of work you assign.

As much as I love partner games and group activities, sometimes a student (or students) just need to master working by themselves first. And that's okay!

If you need engaging "solo" activities so that students can strengthen their independent work skills, check out my Solo Literacy Centers.

Many of the solo literacy center activities are designed to feel "game-like" - they're not your average worksheet! They provide meaningful independent practice for those times when you need students to work on their own.

2. Track students' behavior with them, and encourage self-reflection.

If the ideas in #1 don't yield results, try tracking students' behavior on a daily basis.

If you're familiar with the PBIS behavior system, then you might already use "check in/check out" sheets with students.

I know that all schools implement these sheets differently, but if you're not familiar with them, they are daily sheets that certain students carry with them throughout the school day. After each subject or block of time, the teacher rates the student's behavior (with student input). These sheets are sometimes used to improve overall behavior, or to focus on a specific goal like participating more in class, or using a quiet voice.

Anyway, the reason I bring up check-in/check-out sheets is because the concept can be applied to helping kids work more independently during centers or other independent work times.

Even if a child doesn't need a check-in/check-out sheet for the entire day, a simple behavior chart might be helpful for independent work time.

There are lots of ways to implement these, but here's one strategy:

1. Give students their independent work sheets at the beginning of centers. Provide a little reminder about what you expect.

2. During centers, keep an eye on these students as much as possible (or get help from an aide/volunteer).

3. After centers, have each student come to you individually. Ask the student how he/she thinks it went. With the student, rate his/her behavior. (Have the child mark it on the actual paper, if possible.)

4. Do this on a daily basis, until the student reaches a certain goal, like 5 days in a row of smiley faces (you would share this goal with him/her beforehand).

As you can probably guess, this procedure can become unmanageable if you use these sheets with more than 3-4 kids. These behavior sheets are designed to be a support for a small group of students. (If you find that many more of your students are struggling, you might want to adjust your overall approach/strategy for centers.)

Also, if you choose to associate rewards with a behavior sheet, I recommend selecting prizes like getting to eat lunch with you, a special note or phone call home about the excellent behavior, or something along those lines.

We want to develop intrinsic motivation in our students. When I discuss kids' progress with them, I say things like, "Wow, you must really be proud of yourself" or "You got a whole lot of learning done today because you were so focused!" I try to emphasize their OWN feelings of pride in their accomplishments, rather than communicating that the goal is to make me (the teacher) happy.

If you're interested in this type of chart, click on the image below to get my free literacy centers toolkit (the chart is included in the download).

3. If all else fails, forget the whole "independent" thing altogether (temporarily).

Let's say that you've tried all of these strategies, and you're still not getting anywhere. And maybe the child is a) harming other students, or b) distracting other students so that they aren't getting any work done.

I have been in this situation before, and it's a tough position to be in-especially if you don't have an aide or other adult help in the classroom.

On one hand, you want to give the child an opportunity to learn and practice independent work skills. But at the same time, you can't compromise other students' rights to safety and learning.

I don't do this often, but in extreme situations, I will temporarily take away the privilege of independent work.

I'll explain to the child, "I know that you want to work on your own, just like all the other kids. I want you to do that too. But getting to work on your own is also a privilege. And you're not showing me that you're ready for that privilege yet. So for right now, you will be doing your work right by my table. And we will work together to help you practice _________ (staying focused/keeping your hands to yourself/whatever the child's main problem is). I know you'll work hard so that you can be with everyone else again!"

Then, I have the child complete the same (or similar) independent work activities-but while sitting on the floor near my guided reading or small group. I have the child face away from the group, so that they don't distract us. But the student is still close enough for me to supervise.

I hate to isolate kids, so I make sure that this is a temporary intervention. Again, I use it sparingly, and only when other kids' safety and learning is being affected.

Conclusion

These are my 3 main strategies for helping kids learn to work more independently. What are yours? You can leave your ideas or tips in a comment. I'd love to hear them!

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How to Support Primary Students Who Struggle to Work Independently - Learning at the Primary Pond

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Do you have a few little friends in your classroom who have a HARD TIME working independently? As in...you get everyone started in centers or independent work, and these little friends just can't seem to get started ...or stay engaged and on-task? If so, you are not alone!

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This article provides helpful classroom modifications for those kids that struggle with slow processing speed. Free printable included below. Integrated Learning Strategies (ILS) is a learning and academic center. As a reminder, ILS is not a health care provider and none of our materials or services provide a diagnosis or treatment of a specific condition or learning challenge you may see in your child or student. If you seek a diagnosis or treatment for your child or student, please contact a trained professional who can provide an evaluation of the child.
Children that struggle with in the classroom may have difficulty remembering instructions in the classroom or retaining important details for an assignment or exam. These children are often labeled "dumb" or "lazy" when they are often very intelligent, but don't process information as quickly as their classmates.

If your child has difficulty with slow processing, you may notice the following signs:

Unorganized, often loses or forgets homework

Rarely completes tests on time and leaves multiple questions unanswered on timed exams

Can't perform simple math problems, sequences or calculations

Turns in incomplete homework because the child did not understand the instructions

Needs a quiet area to study and is often distracted by background noise

You can identify children with slow processing delays if they demonstrate personality characteristics that look like "Chill Kids" (lazy or take it easy), "Anxious Kids" (always nervous), or "Daydreamer Kids" (lost, withdrawn). More details about how to identify each characteristic .

Classroom Modifications

Teachers, parents and other educators can adapt lesson plans, assignments, tests, chores and other tasks in a way that helps children with slow processing. These different methods can be beneficial for these types of students and can bring out their true academic potential. (Print your copy below)

Classroom Modification Printable (Free)

To print a copy of these modifications for your classroom, parents or practice, please complete the information below.
Integrated Learning Strategies is a Utah-based center dedicated to helping mainstream children and children with learning challenges achieve academic success. Our services provide kids with non-traditional tutoring programs within the Davis County, Kaysville, Layton, Syracuse, Farmington, and Centerville areas. Areas to find Integrated Learning Strategies include: Reading tutors in Kaysville, Math tutors in Kaysville, Common Core Tutors in Kaysville, Tutors in Utah, Utah Tutoring Programs

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CLASSROOM MODIFICATIONS for Students that Struggle with Slow Processing Speed

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Classroom Modifications for Students that Struggle with Slow Processing Speed This article provides helpful classroom modifications for those kids that struggle with slow processing speed. Free printable included below. Integrated Learning Strategies (ILS) is a learning and academic center.

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About the Author

About the Author

worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

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Classroom Accommodations for Slow Processing Speed

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worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

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Co-teachers in a special education classroom focus on building a community of learners with a focus on real-world skills.

The self-contained classroom has been deemed the most exclusive learning environment within a school, a place where special education teachers are able to accommodate individual students who typically exhibit the greatest learning challenges as a result of significant cognitive, emotional, and/or physical delays.

While a self-contained classroom offers features such as smaller class size and higher staff-to-student ratio, what students tend to value most is the comfort of a close-knit community for learning. In our co-taught self-contained high school classroom, we've found success by embracing a culture that embodies opportunity for students to share, think, and develop unified success. We promote the idea that students should take initiative and pride in being part of a community, and should take on responsibilities.

We focus on real-world applications, and work to impart skills that students with learning disabilities will need in their lives after high school.

The planning and implementation that go into a self-contained classroom take a lot of commitment, but with the right mindset, this type of classroom can become a place for growth on all levels.

4 Strategies We Focus On in Our Self-Contained Classroom

1. Create a sense of community: Building and maintaining strong relationships with students, parents, and colleagues goes a long way. We are lucky to work with highly committed support staff who are willing to be trained and follow through with expectations, and this is crucial. Collaboration on shared expectations is invaluable.

We start by getting to know students' interests, strengths, and needs-not only from the IEP, but through interest inventories and conversations with students, parents, and previous teachers. We also reach out to families early on and continuously throughout the year, inviting and welcoming parent feedback. And we share students' successes, not just their challenges or concerns.

We collaborate with other teachers across disciplines to make our program more inclusive. For example, we work with English, history, and science teachers to connect ideas such as the sequencing of events like geological events. We connect that to the sequencing of events in a story, and use a timeline like they do in history class. We have also collaborated with the art classes to have students make a model of the life sequence of a star or layers of rock when we study those concepts.

We also work to connect our students to their peers through our peer mentorship program, where students can earn credits for serving as buddies for our students. Peer mentors are assigned to a self-contained class, assist students with activities within the class, accompany them on community-based trips, eat lunch with them, and lead extracurricular events including dances, game nights, and other events, all of which foster a sense of belonging and community.

2. Establish routines, but encourage flexibility: When students are taught the importance of routines and also how to be flexible in certain situations, they are more prepared for life after school.

We divide our class periods into learning blocks. This allows for structured movement while opening up the idea of being flexible in learning material in different ways. We also encourage flexibility by offering students choice and differentiation in learning.

We start each day with a check-in. This routine helps us gain perspective about each and every student in the room and allows us to gauge students' level of energy, focus, and readiness to learn. We end class with an exit ticket. It doesn't have to be about what they have learned-sometimes it's a simple statement on how each student feels after a lesson or activity.

Providing choices for students is important-allowing them to show their understanding of a concept through creating a game, drawing a picture, completing a worksheet, or discussing it within a group helps improve their engagement with content. We also revisit and practice important content and skills daily; reinforcing the skills within a subject such as mathematics helps students build working memory.

3. Employ varied instructional approaches: Varying instructional approaches in the classroom offers opportunities for students to learn in different ways and helps keep their engagement level up.

We integrate learning stations often to encourage physical movement, opportunities to differentiate, and exploration of concepts through different mediums. We also like to provide opportunities for the students to teach and create-when they attempt to teach concepts, they gain a better understanding of the material.

Varying instructional materials is another way to boost engagement, and we frequently switch between hands-on activities, computer apps, and lab and data collection activities. We also try to make learning fun by setting up games and fun activities with tools like Kahoot and Quizlet to reinforce skills while keeping things enjoyable.

4. Integrate community-based instruction (CBI): When students are immersed in a specific setting they often learn more. An example of this is taking students out into the community to develop useful skills. This allows them to see real-world situations they will encounter after school.

We offer students the opportunity to assist with local fundraisers, agencies, and community support systems by connecting with nonprofits, libraries, and organizations like United Way. This helps foster a sense of belonging and encourages them to become contributing members of society. Some examples are helping out at local agencies, learning about a community garden, working at a food bank, performing at a senior center, and making a craft with seniors.

We also elicit community support to offer extracurricular activities like sports teams and clubs that include students with and without intellectual disabilities-for example, our cheerleaders teach students who want to learn how to cheer, and they perform at halftime for unified basketball games.

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4 Tips for a Successful Self-Contained Classroom

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Co-teachers in a special education classroom focus on building a community of learners with a focus on real-world skills. The self-contained classroom has been deemed the most exclusive learning environment within a school, a place where special education teachers are able to accommodate individual students who typically exhibit the greatest learning challenges as a result of significant cognitive, emotional, and/or physical delays.

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Fluency develops gradually over time and with practice. Early in reading development, oral reading is slow and labored because students are just learning to "break the code" - to attach sounds to letters and to blend letter sounds into recognizable words.

Even when students recognize many words automatically, they may not yet be reading with appropriate expression. To read with expression, readers must be able to break the text into meaningful chunks.

For this reason, fluency requires strong language comprehension skills. Young readers must know to pause appropriately within and at the ends of sentences and when to change emphasis and tone. For example, a reader who lacks fluency may read, probably in a monotone, a line from Bill Martin Jr.'s Brown Bear, Brown Bear as if it were a list of words rather than a connected text, pausing at inappropriate places:

A fluent reader will read the same line as:

Brown bear/
Brown bear/
What do you see?/

The difference between fluency and automaticity

Although the terms automaticity and fluency often are used interchangeably, they are not the same thing.

Automaticity is the fast, effortless word recognition that comes with a great deal of reading practice. In the early stages of learning to read, readers may be accurate but slow and inefficient at recognizing words. Continued reading practice helps word recognition become more automatic, rapid, and effortless.

Automaticity refers only to accurate, speedy word recognition, not to reading passages or connected text with ease and good expression. Therefore, automaticity (or automatic word recognition) is necessary, but not sufficient, for fluency. Language comprehension is also important for fluency development. For example, students might read passages with excellent word accuracy, yet might still read very slowly or without expression, because they cannot understand what they are reading.

Slow reading can sometimes be an adaptive strategy on the student's part; a student may deliberately read slowly in order to try to improve comprehension. If this is the case, we probably do not want to push the student to read faster! Therefore, when assessing students with fluency difficulties, we should consider the possible role of language comprehension difficulties as well as poor or nonautomatic decoding.

Even very skilled readers may read in a slow, labored manner when reading texts with many unfamiliar words or topics. For example, readers who are usually fluent may not be able to read technical material fluently, such as a textbook about nuclear physics or an article in a medical journal.

Fluency will vary based on what kind of text is being read, how familiar the student is with the vocabulary, and how much practice they've had in reading aloud.

Fluency rate (speed) is less important than accuracy and easeof reading. When students are being timed, they may believe that speed is the goal. The fluency rate that we should measure is the speed at which the student is reading accurately and with reasonable expression. Sometimes that means slowing kids down in order to read the big and little words accurately!

That is why fluency instruction should be done with a text that is not too difficult for a student. If a student is still struggling to decode many words in a text accurately, it will be difficult for him or her to build fluency in that text. Texts at either an instructional or independent level, not a frustration level, will usually be most appropriate for fluency practice.

Independent Level: Relatively easy for the student to read (at least 95% word accuracy).

Instructional Level: Challenging but manageable for the reader with the help of a teacher (90% to 94% word accuracy).

Frustrational Level: Difficult text for the student to read even with the help of a teacher (less than 90% word accuracy).

In an effort to help teachers gain knowledgeof fluency instruction, researchers have investigated two major instructional approaches related to fluency. In the first approach, repeated and monitored oral reading (commonly called "repeated reading"), students read passages aloud several times and receive guidance and feedback from the teacher. In the second approach, independent silent reading, students are encouraged to read extensively on their own.

Guided and repeated oral reading

Repeated and monitored oral reading improves reading fluency and overall reading achievement, as does guided oral reading with appropriate teacher feedback. In guided oral reading, a student reads an instructional level text aloud to a teacher, with the teacher providing cues to decoding errors - for example, pointing to the part of a word that the student read incorrectly, or drawing the child's attention to a letter pattern within a word. (e.g., "What sound does igh make?") Cues focus the child's attention on applying their phonics skills, not guessing at words based on pictures or sentence context. When a troublesome word has been successfully decoded, it is helpful to have the child re-read the sentence to establish fluency and comprehension.

Repeated oral reading of familiar texts can substantially improve reading fluency in typical elementary students as well as struggling readers at higher grade levels, and it can improve reading comprehension as well.

Researchers have found several effective techniques related to repeated oral reading:

Students read and reread a text a certain number of times or until a certain level of fluency is reached. Four re-readings are sufficient for most students.

Oral reading practice is increased through the use of audio recordings, tutors, peer guidance, or other means.

Silent, independent reading

One of the major differences between good and poor readers is the amount of time they spend reading independently. Many studies have found a strong relationship between reading ability and how much a student reads for pleasure. On the basis of this evidence, we have long been encouraged to promote voluntary reading in the classroom. Teacher-education and reading-education literature often recommends in-class procedures for encouraging students to read on their own, such as Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) or Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.).

However, currently there is little evidence to support allocating large amounts of valuable classroom instructional time to having all children read independently (see Isn't Independent Reading a Research-Based Practice?). This time may be especially problematic for the weaker readers in a class, who may not read well enough to read independently. Using classroom reading time for direct instruction in reading is therefore more likely to be beneficial for children. Learn more in this article by fluency expert Jan Hasbrouck: For Students Who Are Not Yet Fluent, Silent Reading Is Not the Best Use of Classroom Time.

Nevertheless, we still can and should try to promote children's choice of reading as a free time activity in school (e.g., after they complete assignments), or for pleasure reading at home. Assigning independent reading for homework, in order to help children build fluency, is also helpful. If independent reading is assigned as homework, we should monitor children's reading choices to ensure that they are at the appropriate level of difficulty for the individual student. Struggling readers will often pick books that are too difficult for them in order to "save face" or because books at their level are not available.

Helping children find books at the right level, on topics of interest to them, is very important. Even young children can be helped to understand the "Goldilocks" principle, that in order to learn well, material has to be at the right level of difficulty - not too easy, not too hard.With continued practice and effort, the book that is too hard right now will not be too hard in the future.

Adapted from: Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read Kindergarten Through Grade 3, a publication of The Partnership for Reading.

Reference

Samuels, S. (2006). Reading fluency: Its past, present, and future. In T. Rasinksi, C. Blachowicz, & K. Lems (Eds.), Fluency instruction: Research-based best practices (pp. 7-20). New York, Guillford Press.

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Fluency develops gradually over time and with practice. Early in reading development, oral reading is slow and labored because students are just learning to "break the code" - to attach sounds to letters and to blend letter sounds into recognizable words.

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These strategies can help students who are able to decode well but have difficulty understanding what they read-and they're beneficial for all students.

monkeybusinessimages / iStock

When we think of reading issues, we often imagine children who struggle to decode the letters in text and turn them into spoken language. This type of struggling reader has a very difficult time figuring out what many of the words are and has poor phonological (speech-sound) skills. However, there are also many students who sound like they're reading beautifully but have difficulty with understanding vocabulary and figurative language, inferencing, verbal reasoning, grammatical development, and oral expression.

As children get older, if they are decoding text well we assume they are reading well. Once a person learns to decode, reading comprehension becomes more about language comprehension and focus. At this transition, starting around third grade, teachers may begin to notice some students who decode text fluently but are not understanding.

Since this type of struggling reader is less noticeable than ones who have difficulty decoding, they often slip under the radar until they begin to fail standardized state comprehension tests. Even then, their issues may go undetected for a long time, resulting in middle and high school students who sound like they're reading but understand nothing that they have read.

These struggling readers should be targeted for remediation-the earlier the better. However, remediation consisting of practice passages and questions may be ineffective as it focuses too narrowly on text-based skills.

Supporting Students Who Struggle With Comprehension

Here are five strategies to try out with students who read fluently but struggle to comprehend what they're reading.

1. Target overall comprehension of language: Recent research reveals that reading comprehension difficulties may stem from an underlying oral language weakness that exists from early childhood, before reading is even taught. It turns out that students who have poor reading comprehension also often understand fewer spoken words and less of what they hear, and have worse spoken grammar. So, to address reading comprehension deficits effectively, educators may have to use an approach that teaches vocabulary, thinking skills, and comprehension first in spoken language and then in reading and written language.

2. Teach vocabulary: Because students with poor comprehension often have poor vocabulary skills and understand less of what they hear, it's helpful to teach the meanings of new words through the use of multisensory strategies like graphic organizers, pictures, and mnemonics. Improving their overall language skills increases the likelihood that they will understand the words they encounter in written text. Since it is impossible to know every word one might encounter, students should be taught about the different types of context clues and how to use them to determine the meaning of unknown words.

Discussing or activating prior knowledge,

Developing questions while reading,

Connecting what they are reading to another text, something they have seen, or something they have experienced,

Visualizing or picturing what they are reading,

Making predictions about what will come next in the text,

Looking back for keywords and rereading in order to clarify or answer questions, and

Thinking aloud to model the strategies and thought processes needed for comprehension.

3. Teach thinking strategies: Once students have the vocabulary to be able to make it through a text, they often struggle with the complex thinking or sustained attention required to keep up with all of the important details and to access information that is implied but not directly stated. Teachers can instruct students on cognitive strategies they can use. Many common text reading strategies-such as annotation, SQ3R, and the KWL chart -make use of these thinking strategies, including:

Students can learn and then use the strategies that work best for them depending on the text they're reading. Pulling deeper meaning out of text through the use of thinking strategies can be beneficial not just to reading comprehension but also to writing.

Questioner, who poses questions about parts of the lesson, discussion, or text that are unclear or confusing, or to help make connections with previously learned material.

Summarizer, who sums up each important point or detail from the lesson, discussion, or text.

Clarifier, who tries to address the Questioner's issues and make sure that parts they found confusing are clear to others.

Predictor, who makes a prediction about what will happen next based on what was presented, discussed, or read,

4. Have students practice reciprocal teaching: Once taught, cognitive strategies can be consistently practiced and implemented through the use of reciprocal teaching, which encourages students to take a leadership role in their learning and begin to think about their thought process while listening or reading. Teachers can use reciprocal teaching during class discussions, with text that is read aloud, and later with text that is read in groups. The students should rotate between the following roles:

5. Directly teach comprehension skills: Students should be directly taught comprehension skills such as sequencing, story structure using the plot mountain, how to make an inference and draw a conclusion, and the different types of figurative language. Students should have the opportunity to first use the skills with text that they hear the teacher read aloud, and then later with text that they read independently at their own level.

The comprehension skills and strategies listed above can be used with the whole class, as they closely align with reading and language arts standards for elementary and middle school students. Teachers can help students select reading material with vocabulary that matches their current ability levels so that within a classroom, students are reading text and working on vocabulary at levels that are accessible for each of them.

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5 Ways to Support Students Who Struggle With Reading Comprehension

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These strategies can help students who are able to decode well but have difficulty understanding what they read-and they're beneficial for all students.

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What Leader in Me Schools DO

The Framework provides a unique approach to integrating highly effective practices throughout a school's culture.

Instead of focusing on academic measures alone, Leader in Me embodies a holistic approach to education, redefining how schools measure success. This approach empowers educators with effective practices and tools to:

teach LEADERSHIP to every student,

create a CULTURE of student empowerment,

and align systems to drive results in ACADEMICS.

View/Download Framework

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What is Leader in Me? - Educational Leadership Program - Leader in Me

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Instead of focusing on academic measures alone, Leader in Me embodies a holistic approach to education, redefining how schools measure success. This approach empowers educators with effective practices and tools to: teach LEADERSHIP to every student, create a CULTURE of student empowerment, and align systems to drive results in ACADEMICS.

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Leader In Me/ CICO...

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Fall-Hamilton Elementary: Transitioning to Trauma-Informed Practices to Support Learning

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Executive Functioning for Tweens and Teens

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Executive Functioning for Tweens and Teens

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Kross agrees. "Even among neuroscientists, there are probably eight different definitions of executive function," he notes. "When thinking about kids in school, moving up one level to the question of self-control-which I define broadly as a person's ability to align their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors with their goals-ends up being a lot more productive."

We took some of their best insights, and pored over recent research, to find eight powerful, evidence-based strategies.

Talking Ourselves Into It

Consider these strategies:

Have kids write about it.

Learning-Do It On Purpose

To link learning and purpose, try these approaches:

Ask about interests and passions.

Pass the torch to the kids.

Make time for (rigorous) projects.

Plan to Practice, Practice to Plan

Keep these tactics top of mind:

Scaffold scheduling, deadlines, and study habits.

Introduce your tech tools.

Introducing a calendar once or twice during the year is not the same as integrating one into classroom routines, and a great gulf lies between assigning an essay that connects learning and purpose, and asking students to make those connections weekly. To get teens to start "aligning goals with behaviors," in Kross' words, we need to find ways to get them to practice, fail, and practice again.

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8 Ways to Bolster Executive Function in Teens and Tweens

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Discover kernels-simple, quick, and reliable ways to deal with behavior challenges.

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Do unresolved behavior issues keep you awake at night thinking about what strategies might enhance responsible decision making and increase academic learning time? It's natural to feel personally and professionally challenged-as I have, too many times to count.

The good news is that there are some research-based strategies called kernels that you can add to your classroom management toolkit.

What Are Kernels?

In a 2008 paper published in Clinical Child and Family Psychology, Dennis Embry and Anthony Biglan describe kernels as "fundamental units of behavioral influence"-bite-size strategies that are validated by mountains of empirical evidence and teacher experience. (Barry Parsonson's " Evidence-Based Classroom Behavior Management Strategies " offers another deep dive into the research.)

Embry and Biglan describe how a kernel might help the parent whose child is struggling to get out the door on time for school: "Alone, such a complaint does not merit implementing parenting skills training. However, a simple behavior change strategy, such as the 'Beat the Timer' game ( Adams and Drabman 1995), in which the child receives a reward for completing a behavior before the timer goes off, could solve the problem, and prevent parent-child conflict."

Particularly at the beginning of the year, before you've had a chance to develop deeper relationships with your students, kernels can offer useful approaches to classroom management. Administrators and coaches recommend kernels because implementing them with fidelity is intuitive and observable. They require neither special training nor expensive consultants.

11 Classroom Management Kernels

While veteran teachers may read the annotated list of kernels as common knowledge, their ubiquity is an advantage. You'll often find them embedded in more complex constellations of evidence-based behavioral programs because of their effectiveness in cuing self-awareness, self-regulation, and pro-academic dispositions.

3. Timeouts: Hundreds of studies support the timeout strategy, which is now considered an indispensable component of many evidence-based behavior management systems. Unlike the dunce cap punishment, which intentionally shames and stigmatizes students, a timeout is now used in progressive classrooms to provide an emotional breather in a less socially charged area of the room. It's also a way for students to decompress, reflect on and enhance their self-awareness, and then return to their seats with improved self-regulation.

6. Private Reminders: When partnered with discreet praise, private reminders to students about how to act responsibly increase on-task behaviors. Researchers recommend using short and unemotional reminders.

7. Greetings: It might seem like an insignificant gesture, but greeting students by name and making a positive statement enhances their self-regulation and increases class participation. Example: "Hey, Marcus. How is my brilliant student today?"

An overwhelming number of studies recommend that classroom instructors systematically teach self-regulation, relationship management, and responsible decision making at the beginning of the school year, so implement these kernels soon.

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Discover kernels-simple, quick, and reliable ways to deal with behavior challenges.