Tag Archives: schema
Here’s how to boost kids’ comprehension. Check out these classroom-perfected success secrets. A big help for Back-To- School gear up! These strategies work with Non-fiction/infotext, a big focus in Common Core. Most kids K-8 benefit from many of my favorite activities. As easy as A B C D E! #Let’s Plain Talk, Together! What really matters to help kids understand what they read? A. Make Connections. Start by connecting to the prior lesson, as a quick review. Find out what…..
Where did summer go? It seems like school is starting early this year. I hope you had a super break with your kiddos and I’m sure there was no “summer academic slide” in your house. So here we are, getting classrooms ready, at home and school. Once your room environment is ready for action, whether a traditional classroom at school, or a table, nooks and crannies at home, focus turns to curriculum and lesson design. This blog focuses on two…..
This is the blog I did not want to write. Why so many tests? Be sure to read an eloquent post by Diane Ravitch about saving No Child Left behind after I share a few thoughts. People have never agreed on the best curriculum, pedagogy (methods) and materials. Programs come and go, but skills remain the same. Meanwhile, teachers and principals spend their own money to provide for kids. How did we become a nation of testers instead of learners? Why was…..
Children make sense of their expanding world through discovery. Reading opens many doors and is the best play adventure of all. Meeting new friends, taking trips to unusual places, learning about komodo dragons and tiny hamsters are all part of the fun. The joy of reading all kinds of books, including both fiction and non-fiction, is as natural as learning to walk and talk. Comprehension is the goal of reading at all grade levels. Having a purpose gives meaning to…..
Every family member makes a New Year’s reading goal. Make sure your child has a need to know, a reason for learning or reading something. Assess background knowledge. Capitalize on it, or add it. “Schema” is prior knowledge (“schemata“, plural). Anticipate what the reading will be about. “Guess what it’s about.” Note the author’s paragraph writing pattern. Is the main idea at the top, middle, or end? Preview, read, and review text in DRA’s. Directed Reading Activities. Previewing includes questioning, predicting, and determining…..