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Showing posts from March, 2017

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...
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Motivating Students - 3 Misconceptions and 10 Strategies for Success

Motivation is purported to be a common obstacle that obstructs academic success, however this is a misconception. As  Rick Lavoie  said, "It is not that students become unmotivated, because all human behavior is motivated." Instead, other core factors such as depression, anxiety, a poor self concept, and learning disabilities are the source that affect learning and appear to impact motivation. Assisting Students that Appear Unmotivated? To help students that appear unmotivated, first we must investigate the cause of the academic struggle or unwanted behavior. One can attempt to uncover these stumbling blocks through mindful discussions, but it may be best to pursue additional assistance from a therapist, educational therapist or learning specialist that has some training in psychology. In addition, if the student’s difficulties manifest as poor grades, a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation can help to uncover the core problem. Once the underlying causes h...
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Fractions Lesson Activities and Free Video

Fractions are often a complicated mathematical concept for many young learners to conceptualize. What’s more, understanding how fractions relate to everyday life can be an added challenge. In my practice, I continually design and redesign my lessons to be concrete, memorable and fun. I love nothing more than to come up with strategies and materials that really work for struggling learners and I strive to use engaging characters, implement animations, and integrate joyful and amusing activities. I regularly ask my students to provide feedback, so that I can tweak and refine my methods.  In March of 2017, I finally put my fraction ideas and materials together and created 31 PowerPoint slides as well as a 25-page adjoining document with interactive activities. I got a number of my students involved in the project, and I must say that I’m quite proud of the finished product. This new publication is available at Good Sensory Learning and it is titled Fractions are Fun: Animated...
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Learning to a Beat Can Improve Student Mood Attention and Stamina

Having to complete homework after a full day of school is really challenging for some learners. The thought of having to pull out books and get back to work after sitting at a desk for most of the day can be an overwhelming and daunting undertaking. In fact, many students would rather do just about anything than school work. So what can we do to help them get through their assignments in a focused and mindful manner? A Consistent Beat Can Help Improve Mood, Attention, Processing Speed and Stamina Metronomes have been used to enhance abilities in sports and music for decades, and but did you know that for some learners, a consistent beat playing in the background can help to improve mood, attention, processing speed and stamina? A metronome is a device that produces an audible beat—a click or other sound—at regular and consistent intervals. While a slow beat can be calming, a fast beat can increase one’s energy level and processing speed. The trick is to use a device th...
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How Can I Improve my Executive Functioning?

What is Executive Functioning? Executive functioning, or what I like to call the conductor of the brain, is the process of the mind gathering together and making sense of all the information we receive from our instruments or senses. Helping us to create meaning from what we see, hear, touch, taste and experience, executive functioning also allows us to focus our attention, think about new information, and make connections to what we already know. Many teachers and parents have trouble understanding how simple tasks such as remembering appointments, using an agenda or turning in assignments can be difficult, but unfortunately these and other similar tasks can be extremely challenging for some individuals. However, the good news is the part of the brain that manages executive functioning, which is called the frontal lobe, continues to develop through high school and college. Therefore, many kids that struggle with executive functioning can significantly improve their abilities....
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