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Showing posts from December, 2015

Executive Functioning Game: In or Out

I'm so pleased to announce the release of my new Publication: Executive Functioning Game: In or Out! It is the first of a series of executive functioning games that I have been creating over the past six months. Card Descriptions: All 30 cards include two images: an inner image and an outer image. There are six images: a car, a light bulb, an alien, a raindrop, a flower and a hand. In addition, there are five different colors: yellow, red, blue, green and purple. It is a complex matching game that requires players to remember and utilize rules to search for commonalities amongst cards. The black symbol in the middle of the inner image directs players to look at the inner image or the outer image. Then players compare cards from their deck to the image in the discard pile. The black cat is simply a distractor and has no other purpose in the game. What Population of Learners Does This Serve? In or Out is a fabulously fun game for anyone, but it also serves as a cognitive, re

Asking Students to Sit Still Can Have Dire Consequences

Sitting and limited activity can have detrimental effects on the elderly, but did you know that this can also have negative consequences for children too? What we are discovering is that excessive sedentary behavior has serious health ramifications at all ages, and one of the biggest culprits that breeds inactivity is school. Stuck seated motionless behind desks only to come home with a full agenda of homework, results in school children spending an average of 8.5 hours of their day sitting . In fact, sitting increases after age 8 when school, homework, and technology consumes their time. What's more, youngsters are continually asked to sit still, as movement is often labeled distracting to classmates as well as the teacher. These learners that wiggle and squirm in and out of their seats are often considered troublesome and some of these kinesthetic kids are even placed on ADHD medications to temper their excessive commotion and exuberance. What are the Deleterious Ef

Pros and Cons of Every Student Succeeds Act for Dyslexia

On Friday, December 10th, 2015 Barack Obama Signed the Every Students Succeeds Act. This new law now rewrites the No Child Left Behind Act and offers a number of changes that could have both positive and negative ramifications for students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. As with any new law, the true pros and cons will be revealed over time, but here is a list of considerations. The true test of this law lies in the specifics that will soon be defined by each state. Clearly, it will be important for advocates to speak with state representatives and be involved with the creative process so that the needs of students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities are addressed and supported. Pros of ESSA Cons of ESSA The Common Core curriculum can be adopted by states, but it is no longer required. Annually, 3rd through 8th grade students will still have to be tested in Math and English. In addition, high school students will be tested once. School acc

Nurturing Grit and Resilience: Classroom Strategies for Success

Resilience and grit are two popular terms in education that are associated with student happiness, motivation, and academic success. These are learnable behaviors, thoughts, and actions that help learners cope with stress, face adversity or trauma, and bounce back from challenging experiences. Angela Duckworth proposes that the development of grit is an important skill to teach our students. In fact, Duckworth shows in her research that grit is a better gauge of academic achievement and success than one's IQ! What is Resilience? Resilience is an attribute or skill that helps us recover from negative events or feelings, cope with challenges and adversity, and take care of ourselves. What is Grit? Grit is the ability to maintain passion, motivation, and effort when developing a mastery or an expertise. Some of the Most Important Characteristics of Grit and Resilience Include: Managing Emotions - being open to one’s feelings and able to modulate them in oneself. Awaren

Number 1 Trick to Improving a Student's Writing

There are many effective strategies worth instructing that can improve a student's writing, but my number one, favorite strategy is teaching the effective use of a thesaurus. What is a Thesaurus? A thesaurus is a book or online site that lists words in groups of synonyms or related concepts. What are the Benefits of Teaching Students to Use a Thesaurus? Teach your students or children to use a thesaurus. This offers many gains and can be used to: Expand vocabulary - Using a thesaurus helps students increase their usable word choices. Avoid repetition - Consulting a thesaurus guides students to alternate word choices when they are concerned with the overuse of a single word within their composition. Improve writing quality and sophistication - Utilizing a thesaurus assists students to select more appropriate or mature wording. Select descriptive words - Consulting a thesaurus helps students find more descriptive words that will enable their audience to better visu

Learning Specialist and Teacher Materials - Good Sensory Learning

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