A common concern for parents and teachers is that even when the children score perfectly on their spelling tests, they don’t always carry that knowledge over into their reading and writing. In other words, they memorize and write their spelling words for the test, but their new-found knowledge is not carrying over into practice. There are also children who find it nearly impossible to memorize spelling words, so they consistently fail spelling tests. This inability…
The assignment is due when? Tomorrow? We’ve all been there at some point. Somehow, that assignment due date can slip right up on you without you noticing. That is why using a planner and building organizational skills are so important to school performance. Who wants to get an “F” because they’ve forgotten to put their completed project in their book bag the night before it was due? Here are 8 tips for students on using…
Maintaining a planner for school can help you complete all of your assignments on time. Once you’ve chosen the type of planner you want, create sections for each subject and fill in all the information you already have. Each day you can look at what’s on the agenda and add any new information. Things like color-coding your planner and making sure to add all types of obligations will also help you stay on top of…
Back to school time is here, and some students may struggle with the transition from summer to school. Here are our 5 top study tips that can make all the difference. 1. Make the time. If you’ve already got a full plate, finding room for study time is going to be a challenge. But in order to get the most out of school, you’re going to have to take the time to reinforce what you…
Of the five senses, the ability to sense sound is undervalued and under-appreciated, and yet inextricably tied to our understanding of the world. Our culture is very much visually oriented, but just as visual objects have elements of size, texture, and color, so, too, does sound. Though sound is invisible, it consists of so much information: pitch, timing, rhythm, timbre and phrase, says neuroscientist Nina Kraus. Kraus’s new book, “Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain…
Teaching a child with dyspraxia can be a frustrating experience due to the wide range of symptoms they may present. However, while dyspraxia is a neurological condition that commonly causes movement and coordination issues, it does not affect intelligence. Children with dyspraxia are perfectly capable of learning alongside their peers, they may just need some extra attention and support from time to time. Awareness is the first step and can make all of the difference…
The first time you hear that your 7-year-old is weak in “executive functions,” it sounds like a joke. No kidding—that’s why they’re a first grader, not a CEO. But executive functions are the essential self-regulating skills that we all use every day to accomplish just about everything. They help us plan, organize, make decisions, shift between situations or thoughts, control our emotions and impulsivity, and learn from past mistakes. Kids rely on their executive functions…
Many students struggle with math and math anxiety, but for those with dyscalculia, math classes and tests present seemingly insurmountable obstacles that can affect academic success and lower self-esteem. People with the math-related learning disability dyscalculia have a deficit in the brain’s ability to process number-related information. They may have trouble with math operations, memorizing multiplication tables and understanding math concepts. In a broader sense, they have difficulties with sequencing information, budgeting time and keeping…
Heather Bradley is an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she teaches adult ESOL students. When the English language proficiency assessment her program uses moved online several years ago, many of its corresponding course materials also went virtual, making her program’s transition to distance learning less difficult materials-wise. Yet towards the end of their first semester of virtual learning, Bradley began encouraging her students to write their notes…
Getting and staying focused can be a challenge in the best of times, but with everything going on in the world right now, trying to focus can often feel downright impossible. Testament to this focus challenge is the growing self-help industry bursting with books, blogs, videos and TED Talks on the topic. There’s even a site called Caveday where the focus-challenged gather together on Zoom — computer cameras switched on for accountability, all other technology put…
