Anybody still confused about why we're having so much trouble with reading should look at this short article.

It explains why reading and phonics should be considered interchangeable terms.

You cannot teach a phonetic language without phonics. Phonic, phonics, and phonetic are equivalent derivatives from the Greek word for sound. That's the beginning and…

Using Students’ “Daily News” Stories in Primary-Grade ELL Classes

In this article in The Reading Teacher, University of Wyoming/Laramie researcher Patrick Manyak describes “Daily News”, a literacy activity he observed in two California English-immersion grade 1 and 2 classrooms. This was one of a number of balanced literacy strategies used by these two teachers. Here’s how this 15-minute activity…

Family Conferences

By Marion Ivey October 30, 2015 4:00 am…

Are We Surrendering Too Easily to Digital Distractions?

In this article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Frank Furedi (University of Kent, England) says many U.S. college professors believe that digital devices have made today’s students so distracted, fragmented, and unfocused that they can’t be expected to read books all the way through. Sadly, he says, “reading is not seen as a cause worth fighting…

Teacher involvement key to 1:1 device success

Dive…

In a business that calls for its leaders and teachers to be problem solvers all of the time, it seems that staying on task and doing what needs to be done may not lead to anything more than solving the problem at hand. Since we hold the work close and it is always somewhere in our thinking, allowing attention to disconnect, may just be the route to more innovative solutions. Then, disconnecting creates the space for attention to other things; allowing the mind to wander into new places…

6 WAYS TO MOTIVATE TEACHERS: BE THE HOPE

by Vicki Davis…

Memo to Teachers’ Unions: Now Might Be a Good Time to Start Panicking

By Joshua Dunn 02/25/2015

LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY…

…For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

It seems that there is an app for everything.  From communicating with students and parents, to apps that help you easily grade exams and quizzes.  I believe that all educators could benefit from collaborating on best practices with educational technology, which is why I am working on developing a website called AppsEducator.com.

I am looking for bloggers who have used apps in the classroom or in some aspect of education.  The more we share, the more we help each other to…

Practitioners and researchers offer that practicing mindfulness leads to an increased ability to focus and concentrate, greater self-awareness, reduced stress, increased empathy, and improved impulse control. My personal experience with mindfulness over the past eight years affirms these claims. I have come to recognize that my mindfulness practice has helped me to more fully engage in conversations and truly listen to others, better understand the emotional state and needs of those I am…