School Professionals’ Post

Learning early literacy skills is essential for children, and phonics plays a vital role in this process. How can you help your child start or continue building these important skills? This article offers valuable tips and advice to make teaching phonics both easy and effective! https://lnkd.in/ez53J2sM

Make the Morning Message more than just a greeting. Ideas to make the message a quick and fun way to incorporate literacy learning into this daily routine including access free templates that can be customized by preschool and elementary teachers. https://bit.ly/3VE8D6t

📢 New Literacy Screening in Calgary Schools! 📚 Calgary schools are rolling out mandatory literacy screening for all kindergarten to Grade 3 students, aiming to catch reading challenges early. With 1,000 teachers retrained, this initiative helps identify struggling readers before they fall behind. Krista Poole, CEO of CanLearn Society, emphasizes that early intervention is key: "Not every child responds to the same instruction." This initiative ensures more students get the support they need, when they need it. Read the full article: New Testing Aims to Catch Kids 'Faking' Their Reading Skills and Actually Get Help https://lnkd.in/g3f6TKpZ

Reading is when we look at words or pictures in a book or on paper and understand what they mean. For preschoolers, reading often starts with looking at pictures and listening to someone tell the story. Reading can help preschoolers to learn new things, discover the joy that books can bring, get lost in stories and go on adventures without leaving home. Reading habits set the foundation for success in school by building literacy skills. Reading with preschoolers creates a special bonding time, making learning enjoyable and comforting. Encouraging preschoolers to read can be fun. Here are some ways to inspire a love of reading: Reading with them daily. Visiting the Library. Choosing colorful pictures-rich books. Modeling reading. Creating a reading routine. Making reading fun, varied, and interactive will encourage preschoolers to feel excited to explore more books. #earlyyears #earlylearning #earlychildhoodeducation #dearteacherseries #profgeedee

When Do Kids Learn to Read? This is a question that I get often as a preschool literacy teacher! Check out this article I was featured in in Today's Parent, where we dive into when and how. My input...whether a teacher or parent teaching your child to read, you must follow the science.

Do classrooms in your program have a "letter of the week?" On the blog, we share why this may not be the best way for young children to build early literacy skills, and explore alternative strategies that are intentional, authentic, and hands-on. https://bit.ly/3vz5RVP

📚 Looking to spark early literacy in preschool classrooms? Our new blog shares engaging activities to foster essential reading skills and inspire young learners. #EarlyLiteracy #PreschoolEducation #ChildDevelopment Check it out 👉 https://bit.ly/3Bh8M88

“New York City has adopted a new literacy regimen under which many public elementary schools are effectively giving up the teaching of books, Xochitl Gonzalez writes. The initiative is called, ironically, NYC Reads.⁠ https://lnkd.in/eW9pGbgS ⁠ Schools can choose one of three programs: two of which implement the science of reading by teaching whole books, and a third, named Into Reading, that replaces individual books with one textbook for each grade, all called “myBook.” Those textbooks include phonics lessons and excerpts of longer narratives. Instead of reading and discussing whole books, students will frequently study a few paragraphs at a time.⁠ ⁠ More than two-thirds of New York City school districts have selected the Into Reading curriculum; Phase 1 of the program began in 2023, and districts had to adopt a curriculum immediately. While some full books are included within “myBook,” and the publisher says students have opportunities to read whole books, teachers, parents, and students have had a different experience with the curriculum, Gonzalez writes. At Brooklyn School of Inquiry, parent Alina Lewis successfully opposed Into Reading, organizing the community based on its disenchantment with the curriculum. Testimonies from students revealed they missed reading books and were bored.⁠ ⁠ Not all schools have parents with the resources and know-how of BSI. Phase 1 included many of the districts in the city’s most heavily immigrant, Black, and brown areas, Gonzalez writes. Schools in Phase 2 had more time to evaluate programs and train teachers on the curriculum. “It’s not an accident who is Phase 1 and Phase 2,” Lewis, a former teacher and school administrator, told Gonzalez. “I think we took them by surprise, because they literally sought all the either Black and brown districts or the heavily immigrant districts. And they figured they’d be quiet.” ⁠ ⁠ “Knowing how to read is crucial, but loving to read is a form of power, one that helps kids grow into curious, engaged, and empathetic adults," Gonzalez continues. “And it shouldn’t belong only to New York’s most privileged students.”⁠ ⁠ Read more: https://lnkd.in/eW9pGbgS 🎨: Tyler Comrie for The Atlantic

This is a really helpful infographic from IES's REL West on joyful early literacy instruction in pre-K, kindergarten, and the early grades of elementary school. The document highlights the evidence for caring and playful literacy environments, higher-order literacy skills, and foundational literacy skills. Too much early literacy instruction in the early grades is focused on the foundational skills delivered in a didactic way. And, that's not the best way to improve children's literacy! https://lnkd.in/ejSwppQ9

Learn-to-Write Workbook: Practice Basic Line Tracing, Letters and Numbers for Kids, Toddlers, Preschool, and Kindergarten Kids Ages 3 - 5 Beginners ... Book For Kindergarteners & Preschoolers. https://a.co/d/cDDbbVi