For many families, reading is a pleasurable activity when kids are young, but then as kids get older, they start to hate reading. Parents are more aware than ever that strong reading skills are fundamental to academic success. Teachers also feel pressure to make sure students are reading on or above grade level, often with their evaluations and salaries hanging in the balance. On top of it all, kids may be quick to claim they…
Whether you’re a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or muggle still hoping your Hogwarts letter will arrive by owl, it is undeniable that Harry Potter has had a lasting impact throughout the world. Quidditch is no longer just a game of fantasy. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is more than a textbook to pick up in Diagon Alley. Hogwarts is no longer a place you can only dream of visiting. Let’s take a look…
It’s a new year and a new decade, and with the changing of the season comes the opportunity to put in place some new habits that can help your children build their literacy skills. Here are four practical ideas to help your family kick-off the new year. 1. Create a Nightly Reading Routine When it comes to nighttime, many families with younger children like to follow the “Triple B Routine:” bath, books, and bed. Right before…
Every January, Nashville teacher Joel Bezaire reads The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time aloud to his students. Sounds pretty standard, right? It would be for an English class, but Bezaire is teaching reading in math class. The novel is part of a unit on number sense. While it’s easy to envision using math picture books in elementary school classrooms, literature for older grades poses a bigger challenge. Can reading fit into the…
Recent studies have shown that there are several benefits to being bilingual. Learning a second language could give your child a serious advantage in conceptual thinking. It may even broaden their perspectives and understanding of the world. Improving The Executive Function According to an article put out by Psychology Today, one of the several benefits to being bilingual is it improves brain activity functions. The executive function, for example, which is the control system of…
September has arrived, and the feeling of fall is in the air. With the changing of the season comes the opportunity to put in place some back-to-school habits that can help your children build their literacy skills. Here are four practical ideas to help your family kick-off the school year. 1. Keep Up With a Reading Log Many schools request children to read at home several times a week. Even if the school does not…
Math is at play in every sphere of our lives, from recipes to internet security to the electoral college, but that reality can be difficult to make kids understand. They can get weighed down in the drills, static numbers, and strict rules that make up so much of K-12 math education. One way to bring the subject to life is through literature. Books connect students with their sense of wonder, imagination, and creativity. Here are…
I love listening to audiobooks, but sometimes my enthusiasm for them is met with comments such as “That’s not really reading, is it?” or “That’s cheating.” Listening to books is certainly different from reading books, but is it cheating? Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? I suppose the answer to that question must come from one’s own definition of reading. If reading is understanding the content of the story or the theme, then audiobooks…
If you are reading a fiction or poetry passage, your goal is to think about the type of mood the author is creating, which is similar to the tone, and how the details are used to help you understand the mood the author is trying to create. Pay special attention to symbolism and imagery throughout the piece. Read the following passage, and think carefully about the details that are being used. Notice the use of…
September is upon us and the children have gone back to school, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to enjoy some of the best books of the summer! Check out these great young adult books released in summer 2017. Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh. The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning, which…
