Tag Archives: ELL

30 Mar

A is for alphabet! I love teaching the alphabet. So will you.  Here are fun, easy to do activities to help your kids learn the alphabet. A reminder that each letter stands for one or more sounds. I suggest you start with the sounds kids feel vibrating in their throats, such as ‘m’. But there are other simple tricks I want to share with you. This is how I teach the alphabet. There are 4 lowercase letters with tails: y,…..

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16 Mar

This is the blog I did not want to write. Why so many tests?  Be sure to read an eloquent post  by Diane Ravitch about saving No Child Left behind after I share a few thoughts. People have never agreed on the best curriculum, pedagogy (methods) and materials. Programs come and go, but skills remain the same. Meanwhile, teachers and principals spend their own money to provide for kids. How did we become a nation of testers instead of learners? Why was…..

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04 Jan

Go Ducks! Holidays and the big Eugene game are over.  Teachers everywhere are writing lesson plans while I finish this post which I started and deleted many times already. I am now stuffed, hearing Norman The Worm (U Tube) in my head, and Frozen is screaming out at me. Yikes. Since I believe all children learn best, differently, mini lessons are the perfect answer to meeting the literacy goals of Common Core.  I like the intent of Common Core, universal…..

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