Tips To Improve Reading Comprehension

The key to improving reading comprehension is using strategies that support working memory when reading. We want information to stay in working
memory, and to be processed there, for as long as possible. This is especially important with new material or when students don’t personally relate to the information. There are various methods of doing this that may work for your student:

Highlight Important Information

Highlighting important information tells the brain that it’s unique and significant, so it ‘stands out’ in our working memory. Use highlight tape to have students highlight information when they don’t own the book. 

Tape Summarizations

Have kids use a tape recorder, or work with a partner if a recorder is not available, to summarize their reading. When they get to the end of a page, have them stop and summarize what they just read into a tape recorder. Now they’ve read the material and have had to think about it again right away. This repetition keeps what they just read in working memory longer and increases the likelihood they will remember it. 

Ask Questions

Another effective strategy is to ask questions at the end of a reading. Have a template with questions like: Has anything like this ever happened to me? Did I ever feel this way?  Does this happen in my neighborhood?  At the end of each reading, have students answer a question in their journal or notebook, or answer a question to a partner.  This strategy can also be used for homework by sending a list of questions home with a reading assignment. 

Use Storyboards

To make a storyboard, have students fold a piece of paper into squares and draw about what they read. They might do this while they read a story for the first time, as a review with a partner, or for homework after a reading assignment. The process of turning verbal information into a visual format reinforces the learning and helps keep the information in working memory longer.

Teach Each Other

Research shows that teaching each other, or peer teaching, is one of the most powerful ways to learn. After teaching for seven to ten minutes, give students one to three minutes to share with each other. Talking it out with a partner lets students correct misconceptions and reinforces the material by keeping it in working memory long enough to make an impact.

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By: Susan Fitzell, M. Ed.

Accreditation for Online Education

There is no way to express the importance of accreditation for online education. When a school is accredited, that means it has been recognized by an accrediting institution (which itself is recognized by the United States Department of Education) based on a specific set of criteria.
With peer reviews and professional qualifications, these accrediting bodies determine the legitimacy of online schools based on factors such as curriculum, admission requirements, faculty, mission, school resources and much more.

Why You Should Care About Accreditation for Your Online Education

Schools are not required to be accredited, and accrediting agencies are typically private organizations. So why should you care about the accreditation of your online education program? Well, there are several reasons, which will be explained further below.

• Employers care.

The fact that your education might not qualify you for any good jobs should make you stop and listen. If you get a degree or certificate from an online school that isn’t accredited, chances are that most potential employers you apply to work for will not find your education sufficient. Unfortunately, some employers might also question the validity of an online degree, but with accreditation, there is legitimate proof that your learning experience was just as valid as someone who attended classes on a campus.

• Schools care.

If you are ever going to continue your education or you think that you could possibly switch schools at some point in the future, you definitely want to make sure the online school you’re going to now is accredited. The credits earned from an unaccredited school will more than likely not transfer to any other legitimate educational institution.

• The U.S. Department of Education cares.

Like many college students, you probably plan on filling out a FAFSA and applying for federal student aid, ranging from grants and scholarships to subsidized loans and work study programs. You won’t be able to qualify for any of these financial aid options, however, if you are attending an unaccredited online school.

Check the Accreditation of Online Schools

So how do you check the accreditation for online education? It shouldn’t be too hard—just don’t believe every claim you hear. The accrediting agency of the school should be listed on their website in a location that is easy to find. From there, you can go to the U.S. Department of Education website to make sure they recognize that accrediting agency.

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By: Nail Walter

12 Surefire Ways to Co-Teach Successfully!

Have you ever watched cheerleaders at a football game doing stunts? They often have a flyer, the person up in the air, and two or three bases, the cheerleaders supporting or catching the flyer. For the flyer to perform to the best of her ability, she needs her bases working together
to support her and keep her safe. 

Now, imagine that the flyer is your student and that you and your co-teacher are the bases. Just as it is critical for the bases in a cheering squad to work together, it is critical for co-teachers to collaborate. It's not easy working with another 

teacher, yet it is important for your students to have the sturdiest support possible. 

So to help you out, this month we have 12 surefire ways to co-teach successfully! We hope that these ideas come in handy and that you have an excellent rest of the year!

12 Surefire Ways to Co-Teach Successfully!

1. Introduce each other's roles in the classroom as equal but different. For example, the general education teacher is introduced as the content area specialist and the special education teacher is introduced as the learning strategies specialist. Other co-teaching teams choose to not identify role differences and simply introduce 

themselves as "the teachers" of the class. 

2. Gain an understanding of personality styles. This knowledge can change your life as well as improve all your collaborative relationships. Co-teaching is like an arranged marriage. How you deal with your colleague's personality can make or break the relationship.

3. Plan daily lessons, activities, tests, assignments, etc. in collaboration with each other. 

4. As much as possible, make sure the entire team is working together, including the teacher, co-teacher, paraprofessional, parents, and students.

5. Work with each other to effectively implement adaptations, modifications, and accommodations required by the IEP without reducing content. 

6. Collaborate with each other to develop a discipline policy and determine the roles you will play when discipline is necessary.

7. Make sure both teacher and co-teacher work with all students on an individual and group basis.

8. Teach, and re-teach, specific learning skills to students that need them. Reinforce alternative learning techniques.

9. Prep time is minimal and precious, and is not always the same for both co-teachers. Therefore, share as much information beforehand as possible through your school's teacher mailboxes or email so your planning time can be used with maximum benefit.

10. Partner with colleges and universities to have students who are studying to be teachers present activities, provide demonstrations, review with games, and help with test prep to free up time for co-teachers to plan. Teachers will need to plan in the room because of liability issues; however it's a viable option when planning time is 

scarce.

11. Use email and Microsoft Word's "Insert Comments" and "Track Changes" (under "Tools") features to collaborate on accommodations and adaptations.

12. Be flexible, identify and focus on each co-teacher's strengths, adopt a "They are ALL my students" attitude, and consider the impact of personality, gender, and culture differences on your relationship with your co-teacher.

Susan Fitzell is a nationally recognized speaker and author of several educational resource books. She has over two decades of experience with differentiated instruction, teaching youth with special needs, students with behavioral and anger management issues, and students who experience bullying. Susan focuses on building caring school communities. Contact Susan at sfitzell@susanfitzell.com or visit her 

website, www.susanfitzell.com.

By: Susan Fitzell

10 tips to save fuel and reduce your carbon footprint

This is known as eco-driving and the more you can do this the better, because it saves you money as well as helping the environment by reducing your carbon footprint.

Eco-driving is beginning to be taught more and more on your Driving Lessons Sheffield as well as other areas in the UK. We have 10 excellent tips to reduce your carbon footprint and save you money on fuel:

1. Regular Services- Regularly servicing your car will make sure it keeps running at maximum efficiency. This may cost you to service it but it will save you a lot more money on fuel.

2. Tyre Pressure- This is another vital element when maintaining your car, the more inflated the wheels are the easier it is to roll them and less fuel is used. So think about that when on your Driving Lessons!

3. Lose Weight- No we don't mean you, we mean in your car! Got anything in the boot that you don't need? Then take it out because it's costing you money and and reducing your car's fuel efficiency.

4. Streamline-The more streamline your car is the less fuel it uses, placing roof boxes on your car increases drag and it is harder for the car to get up to speed, resulting in more fuel! So if you don't need it then take it off. When on your Driving Lessons in Sheffield you will notice that there are head boards on the car, however this is a must because instructors need to make other drivers aware they have a learner driver in the car.

5. Turn the engine off- If you have the engine on unnecessarily then you are using more fuel than you need to. If you are sat waiting for someone, or in a queue of traffic that doesn't look like it is going to move for couple of minutes then turn your engine off and save fuel.

6. Accelerate and avoid- After finishing your Driving Lessons you should make sure you stick to the same thing you are taught by your instructor. Accelerate smoothly, and plan ahead to avoid any unnecessary hard breaking and you will find yourself not filling up the petrol tank as much. Driving Schools try to drill this into pupil's heads because it makes them better driver and reduces Co2 emissions.

7. Air Conditioning- To save fuel air conditioning is better used at high speeds because you can barley notice a difference in fuel consumption but at low speeds it uses a lot more. So if it's a hot day and you are traveling through the city centre then put the windows down, it's a lot cheaper!

8. It pays to go slow- The faster you go the more fuel you use and the greater your carbon footprint becomes. Driving at 70mph uses up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and 15% more than at 50mph. At 80mph you use up to 25% more fuel than going at 70! This may make you think twice before getting in the far right hand lane of a motorway and breaking the speed limit.

9. Change your gears earlier- Changing your gears earlier can reduce fuel consumption massively. On a diesel car you should be looking at changing your gears around 2,000 RPM and a petrol car a little higher at 2,500 RPM. This is what you are taught to do on your Driving Lessons Sheffield.

10. Consider alternatives- If you only need to go around the corner then maybe you should consider alternatives to your car, maybe walk or even use a push bike. It will keep you fit and healthy as well as reducing your carbon footprint resulting in you saving you money.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

By: Luke Hirst

Kindle Vouchers – Brief discussion

If you like reading and love books, the perfect gadget device for you is eBook reader Kindle. There are many devices on the market today and reading is getting more and more popular. It is obvious from the sales of these devices. The sales exploded around the world. The past generation devices had led screens with back-lights. These kinds of devices were not comfortable for the eyes due to resolution of screen and poor overall performance. If you compare quality of Kindle latest generations you will know why the sales have exploded. 

The devices are small and eye catchy gadgets with beautiful design and good overall performance. The devices come without back-light but special monochrome screen is so sharp that you can compare reading from it with reading from real book. You can read it in the bright sun and the vision is great. Imagine yourself on vacation reading your favorite book on the beach. 

If you like watching futuristic series on television, like star trek and similar, then you will love Kindle also. It’s the same device widely used from those TV futuristic characters like Spock, Bellana and Tom Paris. These mini devices really promote reading and reading start to gets a new trend and certainly will be in a future. The same impacts it has on writers, especially amateur ones. The Amazon is full on mini novels you can get for few bucks from those amateur authors – simple people like you and me. Reading their novels can get you into their mind, you can read their hearts and minds. Just chose your subject, whether it is action, drama, futuristic novels and even erotica, Amazon have it all. 

Children like kindle. It’s great gadget that can help you to get your children into reading. They adore the device, and you can provide Kindle vouchers to them so they don’t have to use credit card when they want to read. You can buy them appropriate books as gifts, and those books you choose will be delivered by Amazon to their kindles. 

Imagine your 12 years old reading few hours a day. You cannot get better amusement for them; they will improve their language skills from reading in short period. Reading is what some refers as culture. You cannot just get enough of it. If your child is not natural English speaker you can gift him with a kindle to improve his English language. It’s just fantastic how these kids like to use that device. They are so motivated to read that they will start reading on other languages they are learning in schools. Consider it as homework for them.

I didn’t like reading when i was a child and later i enjoyed these role fantasy games on my ATARI computer it was model 512ST with 1 MB of RAM. It was beautiful to play the secret of Monkey Island on that computer. Kids use to learn language skills from interaction within these games. Parents loved their children sitting in from computer and playing those. It was fantastic. Today’s games are all the same and are so much sophisticated with no true stories. It’s like movies. It just can’t compete with good reading.

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By: Ben Bradock

Schooling Options For Smart Kids: Private Schools And More

Every parent wants their kids to do well in school. If your child shows a special aptitude for math, science, language, music or all of the above, you're probably looking into ways you can cultivate that interest and aptitude. However, many parents are stumped when it comes to finding schools for the gifted. If you're not sure where to start, consider looking into private schools, a charter school, educational programs and more to make sure you're providing your child with the best possible education.

Private Schools For The Gifted

One of the easiest ways to make sure your child is getting the education they deserve is to look into schools for gifted children. These private schools have rigorous educational programs designed for kids who have proven to be advanced in one or more subjects. Many of these educational institutions are more likely to offer college track programs, including advanced placement courses at the high school level. Some students who attend private schools for the gifted might even be able to receive college credit during their high school years.

While private schools for gifted children usually have a reputation for being expensive, that's not always the case. Many of these educational institutions are more affordable than parents initially think and some even report that a majority of the students receive some sort of financial aid.

Look For A Charter School

A charter school is typically a part of a public system, but they focus on one or more specializations. It's possible to find one with an accelerated music program, or advanced math and sciences services. These educational institutions can be difficult to get into -- often enrollment is determined by lottery, which means parents and students don't have any control over whether they're able to attend. Another negative is that they can be placed all over the city, meaning that working parents might have a difficult time arranging transportation before and after classes.

Other Educational Programs

If the educational institutions mentioned above aren't an option, you're not limited to only a public education. Parents can find many educational programs that cater to gifted kids. From orchestras to choirs, and art classes to academic competitions, an after school program can be a great alternative to a full-time gifted program at school.

However, these programs can come with some problems for parents. If your children aren't able to drive themselves, parents will need to act as a chauffer to take them from activity to activity every day. Additionally, an activity every day of the week can sometimes prove to be too much for some kids. Different children need varying amounts of downtime so check to make sure your child isn't overscheduled.

Having a gifted child can be a big responsibility. Parents need to work to make sure that their kids are getting the academic stimulation they need, while still allowing them to be kids. Whether you're looking for private schools for gifted children, or have researched an area charter school or other local educational programs, check to make sure you're doing the best for your children. What works for one family might not work for another so take your family's personal needs and the needs of your children into consideration before finding a program for your kids.

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By: Chris Harmen