Caregiver and community engagement #1

By Carissa Lellos

Teaching, like many other jobs, relies entirely on the relationships you build. Unlike other jobs, there is regular changeover, and it’s not just your success that depends on your ability to connect. One of the hardest lessons I learned during my years as a teacher was the importance of building mutually beneficial relationships with my students’ caregivers. I was trained during my graduate studies to embrace caregivers and community members and to include them in the goings on of my classroom, but was initially resistant. I worried that by inviting them in, all I was doing was providing fodder for criticism. It took work to put my pride aside and put my students’ needs ahead of my own insecurities. Doing so made all the difference. 

It was not easy work, and amid the thousands of other plates teachers are expected to keep spinning, it may seem like a luxury instead of a must-have. 
In this article, we will dissect the importance of building healthy caregiver-teacher relationships and becoming the Dream Team. In the rest of this series, we will provide concrete tips and resources for taking this important step.

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Demystifying the science of reading #4: Instruction That Works

We’ve moved beyond the buzzwords and uncovered the mystery of the science of reading. Now we’ll talk practically about five essential reading domains, critical pillars that will lead to student reading achievement. While there’s no single set of instructions for teaching each of these domains, science of reading research has shown that spending instructional time building skills in these domains will set students up to be successful readers. In this final installment of the Demystifying the Science of Reading Teacher Tip Tuesday series, we’ll talk about ways you can address these essential domains in your reading instruction and offer some tools to make it easy and fun!

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Demystifying the science of reading #3: How exactly do we learn how to read?

We know that learning to speak and learning to read are not the same in the brain. Learning to speak is innate, while learning to read is not. Reading must be systematically, explicitly taught to bridge the connection between oral language development and reading proficiency. In this installment of our Teacher Tip Tuesday series: Demystifying the Science of Reading, we’ll discuss how decades of reading science research describes the act of learning to read. We’ll also discuss why even the most successful teachers can benefit from science of reading research and research-informed practices.

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Demystifying the science of reading #2: Learning to read is not an innate process

Why do some students develop as readers more easily than others? Why do most developing readers need more than being immersed in a language-rich environment? The answers lie in the brain and have major implications for teaching reading. In this installment of Teacher Tip Tuesday: Demystifying The Science of Reading, we’ll talk about the research behind how exactly we learn to read.

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Demystifying the science of reading #1: What it is, and what it isn’t

science of reading

You’ve probably heard the phrase “the science of reading” being tossed around lately. Your district or school may be taking initiatives to align to the science of reading, and may even be changing your curricula after years or even decades. Why all the hullabaloo? Let’s talk about what the science of reading really is, what it isn’t, and why it matters.

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Stress-Free Classroom Management: Integrating Technology into Classroom Management

classroom management

In recent years, educational technology has revolutionized the classroom experience for students and teachers alike. There are many benefits to integrating technology into your classroom; one major thing technology can help with is streamlining your administrative tasks and reducing the stress involved with classroom management. From behavior tracking apps to comprehensive classroom management software, tech-based solutions can transform your teaching experience. Let’s explore some invaluable tools that can revolutionize your classroom management strategy and save you time and trouble.

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Stress-Free Classroom Management: Building Student-Teacher Relationships

Strong classroom management is built on strong student-teacher relationships. Without the foundation of this strong relationship, classroom management can become stressful and the success of your routines and procedures can become less dependable. This week, we’ll focus on strengthening the bond between you and your students to augment classroom management and help your students achieve the best learning outcomes. Here are 7 surefire ways to promote mutual understanding, respect, and care between you and your students. 

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Stress-Free Classroom Management: Routines and Procedures

Effective classroom management is the cornerstone of a successful teaching experience, and it doesn’t have to be stressful! One way to stay ahead of the curve of classroom management is having consistent routines and procedures for your students. Believe it or not, these little routines can, when used effectively, save you hundreds of valuable minutes of instruction time per week. Read on for examples of routines and procedures that really work, and how to maintain them all year long.

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