Welcome to March and National Reading Month! Participating in literacy and reading activities is an important part of life. Through reading we learn academic content as well as having access to the joy of leisure reading. One strategy to improve reading skills is to increase reading enjoyable texts (Brozo & Flynt, 2008). To help educators… Read More Looking for a Few Good Books?
Testing vs. Teaching Questions
Reading a book with your class should be an engaging and immersive experience. One storybook strategy we often draw attention to is questioning, since it is something that should occur before, during and after reading activities. Traditional questions are often aimed at retrieval of information from a text, whereas the focus of querying is to… Read More Testing vs. Teaching Questions
Try These VESOL Lesson Plans that Promote Cross-Content Instruction
If you use the Virginia Essentialized Standards of Learning (VESOL) in your daily instruction, then it is likely that you are tasked with teaching multiple content areas to your class. Perhaps you are responsible for teaching Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies to your students. Maybe you are part of a teaching team, where… Read More Try These VESOL Lesson Plans that Promote Cross-Content Instruction
Seven Super Ways to Update Your VESOL Instruction
Spring is here. We are in the final quarter of the school year and the VESOL testing window will soon be closed. This is a great time to try a new resource or teaching strategy. Consider the following ideas and pick one or two to try with your students. 1) Content Teaching Academy This June, James Madison University… Read More Seven Super Ways to Update Your VESOL Instruction
What? That’s AT?
In our last issue, Game On!!, gamification of academic information was reviewed. In keeping with this gaming theme, can you answer these questions about Assistive Technology? Want to learn more about Assistive Technology? Consider these resources in the T-TAC ODU Lending Library: Access Technology for Blind and Low Vision Accessibility Assistive Technology in Special Education:… Read More What? That’s AT?
Innovative Strategies for VESOL Instruction
On January 18, 2023, T-TAC ODU hosted The VESOL Alliance at the Newport News Marriott. This unique professional learning event offered a range of high-interest sessions and free resources to over 80 attendees from across regions 2 & 3. Our expert presenters shared VESOL-referenced lesson plans that can be used to engage learners of all ages. If you were not able… Read More Innovative Strategies for VESOL Instruction
Keeping Up with the Virginia Literacy Act
Did you know that 3 out of 4 students (grades K-2) in Virginia are reported to be at medium to high risk for not being able to read at grade level? In response to recent early literacy data, The Virginia Literacy Act was passed to ensure all students K-3 will receive evidence-based literacy instruction and… Read More Keeping Up with the Virginia Literacy Act
