What are the skills a child needs for kindergarten? There is one skill that matters above all others, because it is the prime predictor of school success or failure: the child’s vocabulary upon entering school. Yes, the child goes to school to learn new words, but the words he or she already knows determine how much of what the teacher says will be understood. And since most instruction for the first four years of school is oral, the child who has the largest vocabulary will understand

The findings of this most recent National Institutes of Health-funded study add further confirmation about what we know from more than two decades of cumulative and convergent research in the area of specific learning disabilities in reading (dyslexia) – LD is real (brain scans don’t lie!) – and go one step further, stating (again) that there is no scientific justification to delaying targeted and intensive instruction and support to students who struggle with reading based on their having

Bullying takes many forms, including intimidation in classrooms by peers, or at times, by teachers. Intentional or not, when students don't feel safe to participate in the classroom, their learning is severely impaired. Even the most stellar curriculum cannot get through when students are worried about negative reactions when they participate in class. Creating Relationship-Centered Classrooms and Schools The following is a condensed list obtained from the SECD Laminated Guide. If teac

New role for teacher: selling lesson plans A trained teacher, Rachel Lynette no longer spends her days in a classroom. Even so, she's hard at work on lesson plans. Those work sheets, it turns out, are valuable commodities. "I earn about two-thirds of my living this way," the Bothell woman said. "My goal is $100 a day, every day -- seven days a week, not five." When The New York Times published an article about TeachersPayTeachers in 2009, the site had more than 200,000 registered use

Preschool students with poor language skills show much greater improvement if they're placed in a classroom with higher-achieving children, compared to being in a class with other low-achievers, researchers say. The findings are important because many preschool programs in the United States are targeted to poor children, whose development of language skills may be lagging, according to lead author Laura Justice, a professor at Ohio State University's School of Teaching and Learning. "T

But appropriate screening, monitoring recommended, researchers say TUESDAY, Nov. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Medications commonly used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder don't appear to raise the risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems in children and young adults, new research shows. And if any increased risk from stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta does exist, the danger in absolute numbers would be extremely low, said Dr. William O. Cooper, lea

Face-to-face interaction has its benefits, but busy educators who want to ask advice, offer opinions, and engage in deep discussions with colleagues are increasingly turning to professional learning networks—online communities that allow the sharing of lesson plans, teaching strategies, and student work, as well as collaboration across grade levels and departments. “You get a chance to see what some of the best teachers in the field are doing, and you can do it on your own time at hom

Public school teachers are overpaid. Speaking before a wound-up audience at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, the conservative-leaning think tank that published the study, the researchers said that when wages, benefits, and job security are accounted for, public school teachers are compensated 52 percent more than their skills would garner in the private sector. Jason Richwine, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, another conservative-leaning think ta

Creative movement is an ideal way to help young children develop critical- thinking and problem-solving skills. Most young children are, by nature, extremely physical. They delight in exploring the world with their bodies and expressing their ideas and feelings through movement. When presented with movement ideas or problems that can be solved with a movement response, many young children create movement spontaneously. Furthermore, linking movement experiences with language—both recept

“It’s time to show what you know by finding words,” the announcer says. “In this game, you will click on words that mean the same thing as the word the narrator says. Click on the word that means the same thing as ‘marvelous.’ ” Lena, dressed in her school’s burgundy-plaid uniform, clicks on “wonderful,” and the announcer doesn’t waste time with praise. “Pay attention. Go as fast as you can and do your best,” he says. A few words later, she hesitates over “fragil