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Showing posts from October, 2015

100 Powerful Learning Specialist and Educational Therapy Materials

This week I wanted to tell you about my online store, Good Sensory Learning. I’m Dr. Erica Warren, and I established this site so I could share all the materials that I have created over the last 20+ years as a learning specialist and educational therapist. When I first began my private practice, Learning to Learn, I had great difficulty finding fun and multisensory materials for my students that were effective and engaging. So back in 2005, I made it my mission to design and distribute high-end, remedial products as well as memorable, motivating lessons that bring delight to learning. If you would like to try a free sampling of my activities , CLICK HERE . How Are the Products Organized at Good Sensory Learning? You can download my Free Printable Catalog or you can browse the site using the grey “search all products” bar in the top right of any page with keywords such as dyslexia, working memory, and executive functioning. What’s more, drop down menus in the red banner allow you t

Technology Shortcuts Every Teacher Should Know

With busy schedules, keyboard shortcuts can save a lot of time and frustration. Committing a few of your favorites to memory is worth the effort, and I have also created an image that you can print so that these tricks can be posted beside your computer - when needed.  Shortcuts often require you to hold down one or more modifier keys while pressing another key. For example, to use the print shortcut, Command-P (print), hold down Command and press P, and then release both keys. Here is a list of the modifier keys: Command ⌘ Shift ⇧ Option/alt ⌥ Control ⌃ Caps Lock ⇪ Function fn Here are my favorite shortcuts: Command Option ESC – Force Quit Command Q – Quit active application Command W – Close active window Command H – Hides active window Command M – Minimizes active window (This is a favorite as I can maximize when needed) Command N – Opens new doc or Internet page Command P – Print active screen or doc Command S – Saves active doc or tab Command Z

Dietary Changes Can Cure Learning Disabilities and ADHD Symptoms

Did you know that comfort foods such as ice cream, chips, cereal, and cookies can impact children's health, behaviors and ability to learn? As a child, I learned that I was allergic to preservatives, and once I got off of processed foods, I felt tremendous cognitive gains. There is a multitude of reported, dietary remedies for students with learning disabilities and ADHD, however, what works for one individual often does not work for another. The reason for this is that each individual has their own background, genetic makeup, and sensitivities. As a result, finding a natural remedy can be a bit of a process, but I believe that it is best to address the cause then to treat the symptoms with medications. Do Allergens/Intolerances Impact the Brain? Everyone's body reacts differently to food allergens and intolerances. Some common indicators are hives, sneezing, coughing, a swollen tongue or lips, and a stomach ache. However, because allergens travel in the bloodstream

Vocabulary Development: Why Reading is Not Enough

You often hear that children's vocabulary will improve if they read more. As a result, many teachers and parents place a lot of pressure on students to pick up a book. However, poor vocabulary can make reading a chore and can turn students off to reading altogether! Here is a better way to think about it: A rich vocabulary improves reading. Research now shows that direct instruction on vocabulary has a greater impact on reading comprehension than comprehension strategies and even phonics programs. Why Reading is Inadequate for Building Vocabulary? Students often skip over or misread unknown words, so even if they glean the meaning in the larger context, it is often not associated with the word. Readers rarely, if ever, stop to look up a word when they don't understand the word in context. Learners will most likely learn a new word when there is repetition. Therefore, when a new word is mentioned only once in a text, the likelihood of them learning it is very small.