Many of the adults in your child’s life are unfamiliar with learning disorders in general, or your child’s unique pattern of strengths and limitations. Developing a one- to three-page dossier that provides useful information about your child can help their babysitters, coaches, teachers, bus drivers, school support staff, neighbors, and relatives understand their limitations. This article describes key elements of such a document and provides a sample.
Concerns about how to build academic vocabulary and weave its instruction into curricula are common among classroom teachers. This article reviews the research and offers some practical suggestions for teachers.
Adolescents who lack advanced word-level skills often have difficulty decoding multisyllabic and unusual words, difficulty reading and writing words that have irregular spellings, and less developed vocabulary knowledge. Luckily, targeted instruction can help!
Hepper, J. and Therriault, S.B. (2008). Developing Early Warning Systems to Identify Potential High School Dropouts. Washington, D.C.: National High School Center.
Fluency is the missing piece of the reading puzzle for many older students. They can decode, but they cannot do it automatically and accurately enough to comprehend text. Here are some fluency-building activities to complement content delivery. See also Teach Students How to Fluently Read Multisyllabic Content Vocabulary.
Giving students opportunities to read like mathematicians as they explore content has the potential to move their thinking and understandings in monumental ways. Each chapter presented in this volume provides readers with approaches and activities for pairing a young adult novel with specific mathematics concepts. Chapters include several instructional activities for before, during, and after reading as well as extension activities that move beyond the text as students continue to develop mathematical literacy.
Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement
What is meant by “school climate”, and how can you assess the climate at your school? Read on for helpful definitions, assessment ideas, tools, and resources.
Students should learn specific vocabulary and academic language to comprehend content text, but they should also become independent in understanding and owning vocabulary. This article offers tips for developing students’ “vocabulary ownership.”
