Put Some Writing in Your Life
Writing clarifies our thoughts, focuses us, and leads us to new ideas. Why don’t we write for ourselves more? Writing shouldn’t be an occasional high-stakes writing project, cover letter, professional email, or summary. Write for yourself before you write for others. My writing groups kickstart people into the habit of personal writing for journal and […]
Summer Reading Work
Summer Reading for your student will be here soon. This means 1-3 books will have to be read and finished by August or September 2023. Tests, essays, and projects based on assigned summer reading await, so students have to read with enough retention to do well. Summer reading can be fun! I approach it like […]
How Does Online Learning Work?
Your kids are now home. They are either sitting at the kitchen table with a laptop and the insides of their backpack surrounding them, or they are slumped against pillows in bed with a laptop perched on their laps. Now what? What are they doing? Exactly what is Online Learning? Here are excerpts from my 2018 […]
Spring Cleaning for Students and Tech
Does this bookbag look familiar? After hard-earned R and R, it’s time for Student Spring Cleaning. Spring Cleaning of materials is a tradition, but the next step of Tech Spring Cleaning is vital to student success. Most email accounts, Google Drives, and computers look like the digital form of this bookbag. They’ve got to be purged! […]
Assistive Technologies for Written Expression Support
Writing Support for Struggling Writers Some students with documented learning disorders in Written Expression need more support than teacher-guidance and graphic organizers. The best way to get their thoughts on the page is to verbalize them. The biggest challenge for impeded writers is Starting, and if they can talk their thoughts onto the page, the […]
High Interest Reading Topics and Written Expression for Students of All Levels
I’m always hunting for high-interest reading topics for reading comprehension, written expression, and academic writing. I work with grades 3- university, so I go for current, deep themes I come across in school curricula. Sourcing High-Interest Reading Materials My primary methodology is used by New York City public schools and Teacher’s College at Columbia University. The emphasis […]
Modifying Multiple Choice
Multiple Choice Assessments Most middle and high school students in America takes hundreds of objective tests that use the Multiple Choice format. The activity is an online, traditional Multiple Choice quiz- http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/ap_world_history/global_interactions_c_1450__c_1750/quiz6233.html Audience: Educators Learning Goal: Content assessment Extraneous Load. Multiple Choice carries a significant extraneous cognitive load in reading skill and speed. Students cannot […]
What’s An Academic Coach?
I didn’t know what an Academic Coach was the first time I heard the term, and it was used about me! An Academic Coach can have many different meanings and functions. Just like any sports coach, an academic coach watches a student in action, then coaches on specific academic techniques and skills. We don’t yell “Play […]
Online Assessments & Homework
The Digital Classroom and Materials Most of our class materials are digital: Canvas, Schoology, Google Drive, and more. Many of my academic coaching and tutoring students have challenges with their executive functions or learning disabilities. Here is what I see: It takes more time to find materials online than opening up a textbook, and some of my students still grapple here. They […]
Student Organization: Calendars are Vital
Does your calendar run your life? Good! Mine does too. In fact, I have calendar – S that determine my hourly whereabouts and tasks. Students today have to follow calendars to navigate their lives and school work, but many younger high schoolers and middle schoolers have real challenges with calendar management. Why Can’t Kids Stick to […]