Tag: Literacy

For students who struggle with reading, adding technology can be hugely beneficial. But there’s still a lot to be said about old school methods.

Beverley Brenna knows what children like to read. She has written award-winning children’s books. She teaches prospective English teachers in the University of Saskatchewan’s education program. Before that, she was a classroom teacher—a reading specialist for several years. But she’s “regretful” she couldn’t offer her students a valuable tool: graphic novels.

There’s a greater push to teach kids computer coding at school. But you don’t need to be a technology whiz to introduce it to your students.

I avidly recall a second grade class that would excitedly huddle around my rocking chair for story time. Students scrambled around sliding chairs to the carpet where I read heartwarming and sometimes zany tales, they reminded me that story time was counted among the most meaningful and cherished moments of a child’s day. Story time is a child’s portal into endless worlds, kingdoms, and dimensions.

“Words from other countries can be difficult to spell. Italian gave us macaroni and broccoli, as well.”

Silent letters can be tricky to grasp for young students. One way of introducing them to students is to show that those letters aren’t always silent. They can be heard in similar words. For example, the b may be silent in debt, but it’s heard in debit.

Try reading the poem as a group sitting in a circle. The poem is read with each person reading one word in turn.