1. AutoDraw AutoDraw is a tool that uses artificial intelligence to guess what you’re trying to draw. You start with a blank screen, begin sketching something, and AutoDraw gives you a strip of professionally illustrated images to choose from, based on what the tool thinks you’re trying to draw. 2. Book Creator Book Creator is a… Read More Six Great Technology Tools for Teachers
Executive Skills and Reading Comprehension
According to Dr. Kelly Cartwright, author of Executive Skills and Reading Comprehension, three core executive skills are cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibition. Cognitive Flexibility allows student to shift attention between components of a task (i.e. decoding and text meaning). Working Memory is the capacity to be able to work with and hold information in… Read More Executive Skills and Reading Comprehension
Writing Strategies for Students Who Struggle
Research indicates that the Self-Regulation Strategy Development (SRSD) model is more effective at improving writing performance than are all other instructional approaches. The POW+TREE strategy, a SRSD writing strategy, can help students produce better persuasive essays. You can complete the IRIS Center module, Improving Writing Performance: A Strategy for Writing Persuasive Essays. It highlights the… Read More Writing Strategies for Students Who Struggle
Word Workers In The Reading Classroom: Word Study That Supports Differentiated Literacy Instruction
A differentiated, small-group, word study program provides students with the foundation for establishing important reading skills. Every group of students receives quality instruction matched to their reading stage, and instruction can be paced to accommodate the needs of beginning and struggling readers. Assessment is ongoing, and directly linked to instruction, so you can track students’… Read More Word Workers In The Reading Classroom: Word Study That Supports Differentiated Literacy Instruction
Read Aloud, Think Aloud and Write Aloud to Build Confident and Independent Writers
To make writing instruction meaningful, students need explicit instruction that presents them with writing models and teaches them skills within a community of writers. By using an “ I do , We do , You do ” approach, shift responsibility to students and help them develop the skills and confidence to write for real purposes…. Read More Read Aloud, Think Aloud and Write Aloud to Build Confident and Independent Writers
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Thoughts: Using Visual Imagery that Improves Working Memory
“Unless new information makes meaningful connections, it remains in working memory for about 20 seconds and is then discarded (Watson & Gable, 2011).” Because visual imagery can improve memory, it can help students make those connections. Visual images can help students make sense of math problems, remember fictional text, and comprehend a reading passage. Research… Read More A Picture is Worth a Thousand Thoughts: Using Visual Imagery that Improves Working Memory
Invitation to Read: A Classroom that Supports Reading for Every Student
Create an inviting, literacy rich, and motivating classroom that supports reading, while students actively engage with text, peers, and others. Engineer your classroom as an environment where students are enticed to learn to read, discuss their reading, and consequently, become motivated by their own reading successes. Research To improve reading skills, students must read. Students… Read More Invitation to Read: A Classroom that Supports Reading for Every Student