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Meaningful Ways to Spend Your Summer Break There are so many meaningful ways to spend your summer break. Here are some great ideas to get the ball rolling. First and Foremost, Pamper Yourself It’s critical to take time out just for you, as this is how you recharge and reconnect with yourself. There are many relaxing ways to do this … Read More

The Basic Components of a Children’s Story The Basic Components of a Children’s Story are simple to understand when broken down. Both ELL parents and students would benefit from this handout to review together at home, after they read a book together. Download PDF The Basic Components of a Children’s Story 1. Characters Who is your story about? 2. Setting … Read More

When looking at a statistical portrait on social and emotional issues of children among the races, the ones who are the most overlooked in this country are minority youth and children. A report on racial and ethnic disparities by the Wilder organization, for instance, found that children from minority families … Read More

The Top World Languages Spoken in the USA and Globally For many of us, finding out what the top world languages spoken in the USA and globally are is so interesting! First, let’s take a look at the ones that take front and center stage in the States. The MLA Language website indicates that English is spoken by 80 percent … Read More

Schools should consider adopting this statement “parents as school partners,” as their motto, because these four words say so much. It’s tough to consider how parents and schools could not go hand-in-hand with one another. However, because kids and families come in all shapes, colors and sizes, it’s inevitable that some are going to get lost in the shuffle. What … Read More

Teacher Preparation for Social and Emotional Issues in the Classroom Effective teacher preparation for social and emotional (SEL) issues in the classroom, based on the research that only continues to gain steam in this country, is extremely important. The article “Teacher Prep Slow to Embrace Social-Emotional Learning,” however, that recently came out in Education Week, states that many educators feel … Read More

Applying Scaffolding in Programs with English Language Learners There are a couple of scaffolding techniques that work particularly well when applying scaffolding in programs with English Language Learners (ELLs). Though ELL students benefit from effective teaching like all learners do, they need it to be even more so as they’re working on achieving both their content area learning and English … Read More

Five Reasons to Teach Children a Second Language There are innumerable benefits to teaching kids a foreign language, but for the purposes of this article, let’s just take a look at the top five reasons to teach children a second language. So the first and most obvious is how advantageous it is to know another language when traveling, for career … Read More

The Connection Between School Dropouts and Incarceration The connection between school dropouts and incarceration is a costly proposition for Americans. The figures don’t lie. Let’s take a look. In a detailed report written about in the NY Times, approximately one in 10 male dropouts is either in juvenile hall or jail. The Center for Labor Market Studies states in the … Read More

Creating a Home/School Connection with Hispanics For all kinds of valid reasons, creating a home/school connection with Hispanics may seem challenging at first, but once the process begins, it’s often not half as difficult as first thought. Let’s look at how schools can build a great connection with Hispanics. The answer could lie in a storybook. Family literacy studies indicate … Read More