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How Will You Grade Your Students?

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One major aspect about school that concerns teachers, students, and parents alike is grades. States and school districts all have a set standard for grades and grading. They have a grading scale for all schools that places a numerical number with a letter grade. While teachers are bound to these numbers and letters to try to ensure that all students are grade as equally as possible, there are still many different levels of grading. Within their own classroom teachers can use many different methods and styles to grade their students. In addition to having different methods of obtaining grades, teachers … Continue reading →

More about Reading and First Grade Students

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Previously I gave some insight into the first grade classroom. I discussed listening, speech, books and print and writing. All of these are very important to the development of a child’s reading skills. Students in the first grade should be able to quickly name the letters and sounds of the alphabet. They should be using these skills when carrying out their writing and spelling. The teacher should instruct the students on appropriate times to use uppercase and lowercase letters. Segmentation, blending, phoneme addition and deletion, and phoneme substitution should all be carried out in the first grade classroom. The teacher … Continue reading →

Cons of Students Knowing Skill Levels

Previously, I discussed how it was brought to my attention that some schools are now helping students to understand their skill levels. The students are being given a skill number that helps them know where they stand academically. In my last article I discussed the pros of students knowing their skill levels. In this article I will address some cons of students knowing and understanding how they compare academically. Lack of Effort When an intelligent student is given a very high skill number and realizes that his or her number is much higher than some other students, the child may … Continue reading →

Student Skill Levels

Recently I received a private message from Valorie. Valorie writes in the homeschool section but is very much in touch with education in general. In her message she stated that the school systems in her area were now informing students of their skill levels. She questioned if my area did the same. We do not inform students of what level that they are working on. The only level that is given to students is their reading level as determined by a STAR test on the computer. This level is an approximate grade level range in which books would best suit … Continue reading →

More about Taking Students above and Beyond

My last article detailed my frustrations with teachers not raising the bar and taking the students beyond what is expected. By staying on level, teachers are not meeting the needs of the above average students. Many teachers feel that it takes extra work or extra planning to meet the needs of every level of the class. This does not always hold true. In my classroom, I have three phases that occur each day. I call these phases, reinforcement, teaching, and exposure. During reinforcement, I review skills that have previously been taught. In this phase, struggling students are given the extra … Continue reading →

Expanding Across the Grade Levels

Many corresponding grade level teachers meet on a regular basis. Many common grade level teachers become close friends and plan together naturally and out of habit. They share ideas and thoughts and frustrations. Unfortunately in most schools that is the extent of grade level communicating. Beyond your own grade level, you rarely know what is happening. I am unaware of big projects or exciting news in other grade levels than my own. I can actually go days and never see teachers from particular grades. In many schools this grade level division exists and prohibits true unity of the school. When … Continue reading →

Homeschool Curriculum Glossary (Blumenfelds- Building Spelling Skills)

Blumenfelds Alpha Phonics is a program that is available in book form or CD-rom. It is a ‘systematic intensive phonics reading program is SIMPLE and very easy to teach and very easy for the student to follow/learn”. “Bob Books was developed as a step-by-step, book-by-book program to guide your child gently through the early stages of reading.” This is a phonics based reading program. Bob Jones University provides everything from books to full curriculums for homeschoolers, Christian schools, churches, and individuals. In additions, the BS HomeSat and BJ LINC are distance-learning programs through Bob Jones University. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers provides textbooks … Continue reading →

Inclusive Fun for Kids With Special Needs

Parents who have kids with special needs quickly discover that the majority of playgrounds were not designed to accommodate all children. Here is a brief list of places to play, and have fun, that do include kids who have special needs. We need more of these! Sky High Sports is an indoor playground with plenty of trampolines to bounce on and some foam pits to jump into. The Sky High Sports in Naperville, Illinois, sets time aside for kids who have special needs. On the first Tuesday of every month, from 3:00 in the afternoon until 6:00 in the afternoon, … Continue reading →

Music Therapy Benefits Children With Special Needs

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Music is powerful. It can evoke strong emotions, inspire people to dance, and bring back memories of the past. There are many ways that music therapy can help children who have a special need. Parents interested in having their child try music therapy should seek out a licensed music therapist. Music therapy is an evidence based use of music interventions in order to assist a child with accomplishing specific goals. People who are licensed music therapists are part of an established health profession. The music therapist and the child he or she is working with will use this therapeutic relationship … Continue reading →

Critical Thinking in Mental Health

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Research, whether about mental health topics or something else, always has to be examined with a skeptical eye. In a course I teach for psychology majors I hammer the concept of critical thinking. Critical thinking is not just a psychology issue though – anyone can use critical thinking skills to make better decisions and really think about things before they act. So what is critical thinking? Basically it is just thinking about the evidence before you and measuring the likelihood of it being true or false, or partly true or partly false. There is even a Foundation and Center for … Continue reading →