Super Skills of Reading: how to help your child become a better reader
This reading thing…… I know from teaching experience that the path to literacy isn’t always straightforward or pain-free. In 20+ years of teaching and tutoring, I’ve seen children chip away at the reading process ~ and when a child cracks the code it’s a wonderful thing. And if you have a struggling reader, they need…
Inspiring kids to read – 6 ways to create a more literate environment
Reading instruction is much more than explaining. The ultimate goal is to inspire students to be readers. As educators we need to create an inspiring literate environment – that is, an environment that immerses students in genuinely literate activity. But what does a “literate environment” look like? Do we emphasise recreational reading? Or understanding humanity through…
Punctuate like a Pro: from dashes to colons and more!
How do your kiddos do with punctuation? Do they typically forget basic punctuation marks? Do their sentences lack pizazz? Punctuation is one of the key elements to complete and accurate sentences, and many students: 1) don’t know the different types they can use, and 2) don’t know how those different types even work! Yes – proper punctuation is a…
NAPLAN shows 1 in 7 Year 9 boys can’t read at a basic level
Whether you are Team NAPLAN or not, today’s findings aren’t encouraging: one in seven boys in Year 9 can’t read at a basic level. The policy makers at schools, education authorities and governments need to act now to reverse this trend.
Beating the back-to-school blues
Helping our students to start the new year off on the right foot involves more than shiny shoes and crisp new books. Let’s look at what they need to boost their confidence as they walk into the playground and classroom. 1) Resilience A tough day may leave a child or teen feeling overwhelmed. However, try…
LFK’s New Feature to closely track students’ reading skills
Literacy and numeracy are fundamental to a student’s ability to learn at school and to engage productively in society. Improving literacy development is a priority for many schools going into 2023. The development of Literacy and Numeracy Progressions has been identified as an area for national action. In support of the ACARA National Literacy Learning…
Literacy for Kids 100% improves reading comprehension
Online literacy programs can be effective in improving reading skills and we have the latest data as proof. A case study school showed that 100% of students in their Year 6 cohort improved their reading comprehension after using our program in 2022! We are beyond thrilled with these results. It’s important to note that…
Moving On Up – transitioning to Year 7 or a new school
Starting high school is a big deal. In most cases, children are entering a new school environment and community, walking into a cohort where half their fellow students are adult-sized! For an 11 or 12-year-old making the leap, the prospect can be exciting and daunting. Let’s look at ways to make that transition a little…
Why adults need to read for pleasure
I advocate strongly about why it’s important that children read for pleasure, but we don’t seem to place that same importance on adults’ reading habits. So, is it important that adults read for enjoyment? And if so, how many adults actually read for pleasure on a regular basis? Besides modelling reading for our children (this…
4 Ways to Cleverly Sneak Writing into Other Subject Areas
If you’re getting pushback from students about writing tasks, you will find today’s article helpful. Just like when parents sneak vegetables into their children’s dinner and snacks, the same principle applies when it comes to sneaking writing into other parts of your school day. There are so many great benefits to this, even if your…