How to Adjust to the Time Change Table of Contents Overview Sleep problems can affect all of us and are especially difficult with the time change. Sleep is critical for our minds, memory, learning, and development. While sleeping, your brain organizes information, makes connections, and even solves problems. Sleeping tips and solutions can help you…
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Background Knowledge and Reading Comprehension
Factual knowledge, also known as background knowledge, can make the difference from not having a clue what you have read to comprehending and completely understanding what you have read.
What is Reading Fluency?
Reading Fluency Definition Reading fluency is the ability to read smoothly, easily, and quickly. Good readers can read words automatically without having to sound out each syllable (also known as decoding). In other words, you don’t have to spend a lot of effort and attention on the mechanics of reading. Reading becomes easy. Word recognition…
Executive Function and Reading
“If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail.”– Benjamin Franklin Executive function is all about planning and organizing. It’s also your ability to strategize and pay attention to and remember details. Executive function also involves flexible thinking. This is used when you have an assignment, project, or problem that can be done in several…
Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids
Holidays like Valentine’s Day are perfect for reinforcing learning skills with activities, crafts, and games for kids. It is one of our favorite days of the year. Valentine’s Day is a time of love and reflection on our family relationships and friends. We have 3 simple activities that you can do with your kids this…
Phonemic Awareness and Reading
What is Phonemic Awareness? Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds – phonemes – in spoken words. A phoneme is a unit of sound that distinguishes one word from another, for example, /b/, /k/, and /s/ in the words bat, cat, and sat. Phonemic awareness is critical to reading and…
Choosing the Best Dictionary for Students
Selecting the best dictionary for your students can make all the difference. As parents and teachers, we know the value of reference books like the dictionary and the thesaurus. These reference books help us to understand what we read, build our vocabulary, and improve our writing skills. As a teacher, I have a variety of…
What Causes Problems with Spelling?
Many children and even adults have problems with spelling. Spell check can often only get you so far. Sometimes spell check cannot even tell what word it is you are trying to spell. You may have even written a word that is a word but not the word you intended to write. Poor spelling abilities…
4 Steps to Goal Setting for Kids
Table of Contents Overview Executive Function Skills and Goal Setting SMART Goals (Free Printable Poster) 4 Steps to Help Your Kids Set Goals Goal Setting Template (Free Printable Worksheet) Daily Planner for Students Overview How Does Goal Setting Help Kids? Goal setting for kids is one of the best ways to increase motivation. Defining, setting,…
Educational Games for Kids (and Adults!)
The best educational games for kids are sometimes the games that don’t even seem like they are educational. The games are fun and engaging. Each player can make substantial choices throughout the game. The gameplay makes you think. Kids and even adults become more engaged in games that have greater levels of choice than those…
