2010 August | Imagine This!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Thirty-one book recommendations for Read-A-New-Book Month

The start of the school year is all about new things—new classrooms, new students, new friends, and that newly-sharpened pencil smell come to mind. The back-to-school season is also the perfect opportunity to find a new favorite book. September is Read-A-New-Book Month, and it’s the perfect time to challenge your students (and yourself!) to pick up a good book and have a new adventure.

There are a lot of great resources out there with wonderful suggestions of books for struggling readers, English learners, students with disabilities, and early childhood education students. I’ve gathered a few suggestions here just to get you started, including award-winners, picks from the American Library Association, and favorites from some of us here at Imagine Learning. I’ve included thirty-one books—one for each day of Read-A-New-Book Month, plus a spare, just in case.

If you have a book recommendation, please add it to the comments section!

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Posted by Brenda in Early Childhood Education, English Learners, ESL, Struggling Readers, Students with Disabilities | 8 Comments »

Friday, August 20, 2010

Five essential components of an effective program for struggling readers

If you were tasked with creating a program to help struggling readers, what would your program include? That’s a question that two researchers (Crystal Kelly, a teacher practitioner, and Linda Campbell, a university professor) set out to answer by comparing several struggling reading programs and interviewing teachers and reading specialists. They found that these sources agreed significantly on both the reasons why some students struggle with reading and the components an effective reading program must have. Read more »

Posted by Jim in Early Childhood Education, Struggling Readers | No Comments »

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Three back-to-school ideas for pre-K English learners

Over the next few weeks, more than one million early childhood education students will head off to their very first day of school. And while most of these students will be nervous about meeting their teachers, finding their cubbies, and making new friends, some of them will be apprehensive about something else entirely: learning a whole new language.

English learners at the pre-K level need support from their teachers just as much as English learners in K–6 grades. In fact, supporting young English learners in preschool is critical to their success in later years. NAESP President Barbara Chester notes that “when kids come to kindergarten unprepared, they struggle and continue to struggle.” In other words, getting off on the right foot with your young English learners can make a big difference as they progress to kindergarten and beyond.

So how can you help your early childhood English learners feel welcome in your classroom and get ready for kindergarten? One of the beset things you can do is create a positive learning environment. Here are three tips for getting ready for a new school year with your linguistically and culturally diverse (LCD) students:

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Posted by Lauren in Early Childhood Education, ESL | 8 Comments »

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Five Twitter tips for your PLN

Recently, members of the Imagine Learning instructional design and writing teams have started using Twitter to connect with educational communities. In this way we have each developed our own personal learning network (PLN), and we retweet the best of what we discover through our @ImagineLearning account. By doing so we have found a powerful space in which educators can interact with developers. Here we learn about student needs and teacher challenges.

These vital conversations allow developers to build pragmatic tools that can ease teachers’ burden of addressing individual student needs, ultimately translating into more effective learning environments. We’re grateful to you for allowing us to participate in these online communities and are excited about our future involvement and the new discoveries we will find together.

Using Twitter has helped me stay connected to the educational community. Yet I realize the hesitancy some may have about using Twitter. This post’s aim is to help you maximize your Twitter experience and grow your PLN. Read more »

Posted by Taylor in ESL | 2 Comments »

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Eight tips to make your student a back-to-school champ

Summer is winding to a close, and that means a new school year is just around the corner. But back-to-school time doesn’t always mean excitement. Both students who struggle in school and those who excel may be less than enthused about starting a new year. I remember having mixed feelings at the start of each school year: excitement to see old friends, eagerness to escape summer boredom, anxiousness at meeting new people, and fear that I might not know anyone in my classes.

Many students face similar fears and apprehensions. As parents, how can you help your students focus on the positive and get excited about going back to school? Here are eight tips to get you started.