Learn about three strategies that can help create a meaningful curriculum to engage middle-level learners. The strategies draw from effective classroom practices across grade levels, as well as from research about the social, emotional, and physical development of middle-level learners.
Frequently we encounter students in the 4th grade and above who have huge gaps in their literacy skills and are two or more grade levels behind academically. How do we teach these students foundational literacy skills, word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension and what materials/resources do you recommend that do not seem babyish?
You are not alone in having large numbers of students who are struggling readers and writers and in having great concern about what to do to help these students improve their literacy skills. The scope of this problem is huge: According to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) approximately two-thirds of 8th- and 12th-graders read below the proficient level, and about one-quarter are unable to read at the most basic level. The solution to this problem must include school- or district-wide literacy planning that is more than just simply placing “band-aids” on the problem.
Teachers can help students build confidence in their ability to comprehend content-area texts, by providing a supportive environment and offering information on how reading strategies can be modified to fit various tasks. Teachers should also make literacy experiences more relevant to students’ interests, everyday life, or important current events.
Eli tells us what it is like to have dysgraphia. Regina Richards, a well-known expert on dysgraphia (and Eli’s mom), explains how to help children who struggle with the challenges Eli describes. Practical techniques discussed include POWER (Prepare, Organize, Write, Edit, Revise).
Hooker, S. & Brand, B. (2009). Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond. Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum.
How can you hold an effective parent-teacher conference with the parents of English language learners if they can’t communicate comfortably in English? This article provides a number of tips to help you bridge the language gap, take cultural expectations about education into account, and provide your students’ parents with the information they need about their children’s progress in school.
