Month: September 2023

Education transforms lives and breaks the cycle of poverty that traps so many children. Providing a quality education to young children is a vital investment in our future.

Kids’ learning experiences teach them to adapt to new routines in our ever-changing society. This helps them develop a more resilient mindset and build their personalities.

Language and literacy

Developing a strong foundation in language and literacy is key to children’s future success. Literacy includes both receptive-the ability to understand spoken language-and expressive-the ability to communicate with others. Children develop both skills through everyday experiences with their families-reading books together, talking about stories, and using magazines, newspapers, take-out menus, and crayons-as well as through school-based activities.

Children’s literacy development depends on a rich language environment that starts in infancy and continues through early childhood, when the brain is at its most plastic. The type and frequency of language children hear and the amount of reading they do are key predictors of their future academic success.

Children learn to read by connecting what they read with their experience and background knowledge. This is called active reading, and it helps them make meaning from the text. It also allows them to apply the information they’re learning and consider new ideas and perspectives. This is a key aspect of David Kolb’s experiential learning theory, which suggests that children must grasp and transform their experiences in order to learn.

Physical development

Physical development is how infants and toddlers use their bodies to grow, learn and play. It includes large motor skills (using muscles to sit, stand, walk, run and keep balance), and fine motor skills (using hand muscles to grasp, eat, write and draw).

For example, when infants push a button on a toy and hear an exciting sound, they begin to understand that their actions cause certain things to happen. The activity also helps them build the foundation for thinking and learning in other areas of their lives.

Children learn best when they are healthy and active. This is important for their physical, social and emotional development. It is also a good way to help them maintain a healthy weight and develop strong bones, muscles and heart. To support their physical development, infants and toddlers need safe and stimulating environments with plenty of different activities to try. They also need positive relationships with adults that encourage them to participate in daily activities and learn from their experiences.

Social development

For many children, getting along with their peers is a big part of their social-emotional development. Friendships help them expand their horizons beyond the family unit, form a self-image and develop a social support system.

Healthy social development is also an important element of a child’s education. This involves learning about the values, beliefs and behaviours of different people. It also includes resolving conflicts and respecting diversity.

Educators can help students with their social development by encouraging them to express and understand a variety of emotions, work well with others and problem-solve. They can also provide a safe and supportive environment where they can discuss moral issues. For example, they can encourage them to think about how their actions might affect others and consider different viewpoints when making decisions. They can also provide opportunities to cooperate with their peers, such as working together on tasks or games that require group effort.

Emotional development

Emotional development includes how children develop relationships and cooperate with others and their ability to regulate emotions. This area of development varies by individual and also depends on family values, beliefs, expectations and experiences.

For example, a child’s healthy emotional development can be impacted by whether the mother provides her baby with a sense of safety and security. This is a critical element of the developmental process because it has a direct impact on the ability to engage in prosocial behaviour and regulate one’s own emotions in the face of distress.

In preschool, children can learn to regulate their emotions and impulses by learning to rely on adults for guidance. They also practise controlling their aggression and gaining cooperation and sharing skills during interactions with peers, which Erikson called stage 3. Children at this age can start to distinguish between reality and imagination, such as when they play pretend. During middle and late childhood, stable self-concepts emerge, which are based on a child’s typical emotional experiences.

Education Support is a UK charity “dedicated to improving the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and other educational workers.” It offers help and advice over the phone, by email and online.

Participants authorized for Education Support Services must relate to an employment goal documented in their service plan and may include tutoring or formal classes to receive a Test Assessing Secondary Completion diploma, vocational training, apprenticeship programs.

Education Support Professional Job Description

Education support professionals are a vital part of the school system. From clerical staff to paraeducators, cafeteria workers to bus drivers and custodians, these individuals keep schools running smoothly, making sure students are healthy, safe, well-fed, engaged, and challenged so they can learn.

Positions at this level possess broader management responsibilities and accountability for the delivery of professional student support services. Tasks are performed with a degree of independence and latitude in how they are completed, but direction is readily available to ensure tasks are met within the scope of guidelines, established procedures and school policy.

Organizes educational public programs and tour activities; registers tours and program participants; maintains SharePoint inventory repository. Cleans windows, glass partitions and mirrors with soapy water or other cleaners and sponges or squeegees. May perform glucose testing’s and apply first aide/CPR as needed. May also prepare a variety of documents, invoices and reports. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Education Support Job Duties

Education support professionals perform many duties, such as clerical work and administrative tasks. They also help students with their educational goals. This might include tutoring to receive a Test Assessing Secondary Completion diploma, vocational training or an apprenticeship program.

Some ESPs may make classroom observations, taking notes to help teachers improve their teaching techniques. Others help students with basic life skills, such as using the bathroom or brushing their teeth. Still, others help prepare food for students or clean and disinfect school buildings.

National Education Support Professionals Day is held to honor the hardworking ESPs who keep our schools running smoothly. NJEA is proud to advocate for the careers, job security, training and pension and health benefits of these vital educators. Our nation’s classrooms would not be able to function without them! To learn more about the work of ESPs, visit our website.

Education Support Job Requirements

Education support professionals work full-time at the school they are assigned to. They are given several weeks off work each year for school and federal holidays. They primarily report to the school principal or dean of students.

Academic support teachers focus on assisting pupils who require extra help. Their duties include establishing suitable study policies, providing education counseling, and suggesting teaching techniques to improve educational effectiveness.

Technology support staff members perform the first layer of troubleshooting for district software applications. They answer help desk calls and discuss the problem with the end user, then use a remote connection to perform a repair on the system or send a technician to resolve the issue.

The charity Education Support (previously known as Teacher Support Network, Recourse and Worklife Support) champions good mental health and wellbeing for all educators. The organisation was established in 1877 as a benevolent fund for teachers and now includes a telephone counselling service for anyone who is concerned about their mental health or that of another colleague.

Education Support Job Outlook

The job outlook for education support professionals varies greatly by the type of educational field. Teachers in fields like agricultural sciences and English literature can expect to see a lower rate of job growth than those in higher learning or career and technical training.

Many schools provide education support staff with some on-the-job training to familiarize them with the school environment, teaching techniques and student body. This typically takes place during a brief orientation or grace period, which may last up to two weeks at most schools.

Education Support (previously Teacher Support Network, Recourse and Worklife Support Partnership) is a UK charity that champions good mental health and wellbeing among teachers, lecturers and other education staff. It also provides advice and guidance to help them address issues such as finances, housing, care, health, work-related stress and professional development. Its services are open to trainees, newly qualified teachers, serving teachers and heads, as well as retired staff.

School is a fun place where you get to learn all sorts of interesting things. It’s also a great way to meet new people and make friends.

School is where you learn to work as part of a team, which is a very important skill for your career. School also gives you a sense of achievement when you finish.

Origins

Hundreds of years ago, most learning took place at home. Children were taught by their parents or, if the family was wealthy, by private tutors. In the 18th century, after the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson pushed for the establishment of public schools financed by tax dollars. He did not get his way at first, however. Public school systems would differ greatly from state to state.

Horace Mann changed the way schools were viewed, making them available and necessary for every child. He focused on training teachers and expanding elementary education to all. He also separated students by age, eliminating multi-grade classrooms.

Mann’s work paved the way for national standards and testing. He pushed colleges of teacher education to teach candidates a standard curriculum. However, there were many objections to his ideas from all corners of society. Tax payers feared higher taxes, churches contended that public schools would fail to teach religion and social classes felt left out of the process at times.

Types

Schools are organized spaces purposed for teaching and learning. They may contain classrooms, research or laboratory rooms and libraries. They may also have cafeterias or dining halls, schoolyards and sports fields. Some schools are dedicated to a particular subject, like the arts or project-based learning. Others have a more general focus, like STEM education or college preparation. There are also a growing number of students that receive their education through homeschooling or online.

Public schools are generally what most people think of when they imagine a school. These are neighborhood schools funded by local, state and federal government. They usually require teachers to have appropriate licensure, offer free tuition and conform to a variety of state-mandated rules.

Other types of schools include local authority-maintained state schools (also called maintained or grammar schools), academies and free schools, and independent or private schools. There are also boarding schools where students live on campus along with their faculty and staff.

Countries with school systems

In most countries, schools are a big part of life. They can help prepare children for the future, build their confidence, and develop their creative thinking skills. However, the quality of a school system depends on many factors. Some of these include teacher-student ratios, classroom environment, and curriculum.

There are also different methods for assessing students, such as annual standardized testing. However, this may not be the best way to measure the success of a country’s education system.

For example, Finland emphasizes learning through play and makes sure that all children have access to high-quality education. They also have one of the most equal distributions of resources in the OECD. In Denmark, kids start primary school at the age of six and can choose to attend a gymnasium for three years where they will study a specific subject. This allows them to have a flexible education that suits their needs. The UK has one of the oldest education systems in the world and its universities are among the best.

International schools

International schools are a rapidly growing sector in the field of education. They are characterized by a multinational student body and staff, multilingual instruction and curricula that is oriented towards global perspectives and subjects. They have a reputation for being more progressive than traditional schools, with many embracing concepts like world citizenship and intercultural understanding.

Despite these positive aspects, it is important to keep in mind that there are also negatives associated with this type of schooling. For example, the high mobility of students can cause them to feel disconnected from their home culture. Additionally, many international schools are only attended by wealthy families who may put pressure on children to have the latest i-phones and take expensive vacations.

There is no universal definition for what constitutes an international school, with Hill (2016) arguing that it is not ‘a fruitful exercise to continue to search for a single term or definition that will encapsulate the wide range of institutions currently regarded as such’.

Kids in kindergarten may spend large chunks of their day playing with friends. But even when they are organizing blocks by color or setting up their pretend ice cream shop with fake money, they’re learning.

Kindergarten students learn basics such as the alphabet, basic sentence structure and phonics. They also learn about the weather and other natural phenomena.

Language

Developing oral language skills is critical in kindergarten. Students will learn the different parts of speech and expand their vocabulary through literature. They will also be able to use the words they know to create simple sentences and retell stories.

Kindergartners will begin to recognize letters and their sounds as well as the importance of punctuation in writing and speaking. They will be able to identify upper and lower case letters and match them to their sounds. They will also be able to identify the main character, setting and events in a story.

They will also be able to make predictions and ask questions about texts they read. This is a great time to teach comprehension strategies such as using illustrations, context clues and prior knowledge to help children understand what they read.

Math

Kindergarten children learn math concepts through hands-on activities and games. They learn to recognize numbers and the shapes they represent. They also begin to count, identify patterns, sort objects and understand monetary value and time.

They will be introduced to addition and subtraction in small numbers, but the goal is to teach the CONCEPTS of addition and subtraction, not to memorize addition facts (that comes in 1st grade). Kids start by identifying number families (2’s, 3’s, 5’s) and comparing numbers.

Children can practice number recognition by playing games like stacking cups or counting coins, or by using online worksheets to reinforce new skills. Developing pattern recognition is a key aspect of kindergarten math, and helps prepare kids for learning rhyming words, recognizing music notes, and logical reasoning in other subjects as well.

Science

Young children have natural curiosity about the world around them. Their questions and inquiries are valuable contributions to the development of scientific concepts, skills, and attitudes.

Good science investigations take place over extended periods of time. If the investigation is interrupted for other activities, or if the inquiry happens during choice times that are not scheduled regularly throughout the week, continuity is lost and children may lose interest in the investigation.

Kindergarten teachers should consider the many benefits of involving young children in science, and provide a foundation for future learning by exploring phenomena, concepts, and topics related to physical, Earth/space, and life sciences. Read this article to learn more about the benefits of early childhood science learning. Then try some fun experiments with your children like these balloon rockets or this handwashing experiment.

Social Studies

Rather than teaching social studies as a separate subject, teachers at this early stage of education use it to expand students’ sense of community. This helps kids become part of a democratic society, fostering the idea that they can work together to make decisions for their own benefit and the future of the world.

Children also learn about their own cultural heritage and traditions in order to understand and respect the traditions of other people. From there, they can move on to studying other national cultures in order to learn more about the world and its many different people. These are the types of social skills kids will need as they grow to become adults. They will need them as they vote and participate in civic duties, as well as as they develop their own family businesses and explore the economy of their own countries.

Physical Activity

Developing movement skills from an early age promotes physical activity that will last a lifetime. Physical activity strengthens muscles and bones, and provides benefits like lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease later in life.

Young children can benefit from physical activity that is structured and unstructured, including organised sports and activities as well as walking around during play. It is also important that young children do not spend long periods of time inactive, such as when strapped into carseats or in push chairs.

Playing active games with children like “red light, green light” helps improve their balance and co-ordination. It can also help them learn to follow a set of rules and how to respond to the teacher or other players when a green or red light is called.

Reading intervention is one of the most common referrals made to school psychologists. Students with reading problems present characteristics that require a problem-solving/data-based decision-making process to develop effective interventions.

Whether the problem lies at the word level or higher order skills, there are many intervention strategies to choose from. This article will discuss several of these approaches.

Individualized Reading Instruction (IRI)

The goal of IRI is to identify the students reading level and underlying difficulties. This assessment can be administered on a group basis or individually. It is a very useful tool in determining which students need reading intervention. Running records will provide a snapshot of a student’s reading skills and can help determine instructional plans for your students.

IRI assessments typically include error analysis tools and timed reading passages to initially evaluate a student’s fluency, phonics skills, and word recognition strategies. In addition, the miscue analysis features of IRIs can offer valuable insights into a child’s ability to read unfamiliar words in connected text. Some IRIs also feature separate word lists that are useful for English-language learners and adult literacy students. Several IRI instruments are available, and a number of them have been studied and cross-compared with regard to selected features in their most current editions (see the Vocabulary section for more information). Various factors should be considered when selecting an IRI.

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is the single most important activity in developing students’ knowledge for reading success (Neuman, Copple, Bredekamp 2000). It reveals the rewards of reading and develops students’ interest in books. It also provides students with a model of phrased, fluent reading and helps them realize that reading can be fun.

Reading out loud cultivates active listening, which goes beyond hearing words to really internalizing them. This multisensory approach increases comprehension and enables us to extract the core message of the text.

It is also a great way to engage students in the reading process, such as asking open-ended questions about the book or describing pictures. It also teaches students how to make inferences, which is a critical skill that most emerging readers struggle with.

The number of words that children hear in preschool accurately predicts their vocabulary size in kindergarten. They are more likely to learn new words quickly if they are talked to and read to regularly. Reading out loud also exposes children to a wider range of words, sentence structure and grammar than conversations do.

Phonics

Children with poor reading skills often use inefficient visual strategies to guess unfamiliar words, such as relying on the first letter or overall appearance of a word (analogy phonics). Alternatively, they may try to decode words using their own knowledge of a word’s spelling patterns or by comparing it to other known words (analytical phonics). These methods are less effective than a program that teaches systematically and explicitly how letters and sounds correspond.

Systematic synthetic phonics instruction has been shown to have a positive impact on the reading skills of disabled students and low-achieving students who are not disabled. It also has a strong impact on improving reading fluency, an important component of literacy.

Once children have solid decoding skills, they can focus more on comprehending what they read. This means they can visualize a story, laugh at jokes, and gain new perspectives on the lives of people around them. It also opens the door for them to explore more challenging literature.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of the five pillars that supports reading comprehension. A strong vocabulary leads to better writing, reading and listening skills.

Using a variety of methods to teach vocabulary in the classroom will ensure that students are engaged and excited about learning new words. The goal is to foster “word consciousness” — an interest in and curiosity about the new words they encounter in their learning.

To build a student’s vocabulary, teachers should provide meaningful experiences that are contextually-relevant and meaningful to the students. This includes harvesting tricky words from classroom read-alouds and utilizing a variety of strategies that teach word meanings before, during, or after the reading.

Additionally, a dictionary or thesaurus can be very beneficial for building vocabulary as well. It can help a student learn synonyms, root words, and antonyms to expand their vocabulary knowledge. In addition, a dictionary can help a student with their research and writing projects. It can also serve as a bridge to the diverse linguistic backgrounds that may exist in a classroom.

Children need a stimulating environment and key relationships to learn communication, thinking and problem-solving skills. These are the foundations for all future learning and life success.

High-quality education can break down barriers that prevent students from reaching their full potential. This is particularly important for children from low-income families.

Teaching children requires patience, dedication and sensitivity. But if you love working with kids, this can be an incredibly rewarding career.

Socialization

When children socialize with other children, they foster empathy and improve their language skills. This helps them to learn and discover a variety of things, including how to share, work together, and resolve conflicts. This is a critical part of their education, and it can help them become more confident in school.

Sociologists recognize that children are socialized by a number of factors, including family, school, and peers. They also take in societal influences such as religion, race, and social class. For example, poor families tend to emphasize obedience and conformity, while wealthy parents teach their children to be judicious and creative problem solvers.

Schools are important contexts for socialization because they teach children to think critically and communicate their opinions. However, studies of child socialization need to be broader in scope to understand the role of peer interaction and the largely language saturated practices through which children produce their own peer culture. They also need to explore children’s interactions with adults, teachers, and other school staff.

Learning how to think for themselves

During their early years, children experience the fastest cerebral development. This rapid growth is largely due to the environment in which they live and learn. Children need a nurturing and engaging environment that allows them to develop their social skills and creativity. This includes a supportive relationship with a teacher.

A small student-teacher ratio is important for kids because it helps them receive more attention. This will help them learn faster and better. In addition, a smaller student-teacher ratio will help kids to get along with their classmates and teachers better.

One of the most important things a child can learn is how to think for themselves. This is a skill that will come in handy throughout their lives. To build this, children should be given the opportunity to question their beliefs and seek knowledge on their own. They should also be encouraged to take risks and make mistakes. This will allow them to grow more confident in their abilities.

Learning about different cultures

Learning about different cultures is a key element in teaching children that there are people all over the world who are both similar and different from them. This will help them develop empathy, acceptance and understanding of the diversity that exists in the world around them.

Educating kids about different cultures can be as simple as watching a documentary or virtual tour about a place and culture that they’re interested in. They can also try out recipes from other countries or listen to music from various cultures.

Exposing them to new cultures early on will prevent them from developing prejudices and discriminatory thoughts later in life. It will also encourage them to be open to a wider range of opinions, and it may even spark a passion for traveling. Learning about different cultures will also help them understand that there is a fine line between cultural celebration and appropriation. This will be important in their future careers and relationships.

Learning how to interact with others

The social development of children is an important part of their education. They need to learn how to interact with others in order to develop healthy self-esteem, understand the needs of other people, and respect their opinion. The social skills learned in early childhood help kids become able to communicate effectively, make friends, and solve problems.

In ECE, teachers provide many opportunities for students to work together with their peers. From playing with clay to making a team to build something, children are constantly given chances to collaborate. They also learn to recognize their own emotions and the feelings of others. This teaches them to be good sports when something doesn’t go their way, which helps them be successful in the future.

Social interaction skills are important, but they can be difficult to teach. For example, a child may not know when to stop talking in class, and they might interrupt their classmates. It is important to set boundaries for your kids so that they can learn how to respect other people’s boundaries and take turns speaking.

Education support officers often work with children with emotional and behavioural challenges. They need patience and empathy to communicate effectively with these students.

They may also be called on to carry out administration tasks such as organising classroom resources, coordinating excursions and incursions and maintaining student records. This role usually requires little on-the-job training and may be performed by people with different backgrounds.

Education Supporters

Education support professionals are the heart of every school community. They keep classrooms running and students safe in schools, libraries, administration offices, and transportation facilities. Without them, children would get less help and attention. They also serve as role models in the way they treat students.

Education supporters work full-time during school hours. They generally receive several weeks off of work throughout the year for school and federal holidays.

Education support staff members—from teachers aides and secretaries to custodial workers, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers—make up one out of three public school employees nationwide. They are essential to student learning and success and deserve decent wages, good working conditions, and respect for the important role they play in their schools’ communities.

Learning Support Officers

School learning support officers, under the supervision and direction of a teacher, provide a wide range of assistance in classroom activities including helping students with disabilities to manage their behaviour, participate in class lessons and manage routines. They may also assist the teacher in classroom management and the organisation of resources.

Effective communication between teachers and education support staff is essential. In the case of SLSOs, this should be on a professional level and focuses on establishing clear boundaries between them and the role they play in their classroom.

It can be helpful to run the SLSO through a training program and ensure they are aware of how they will fit into your classroom environment. It is important that they understand that their role is not to replace the teacher, rather to supplement and enhance the teaching of the student/s. They should always refer any questions or concerns they have regarding a particular student back to the teacher.

Student Support Officers

As the name suggests, student support officers look after the varied needs of students at a school or university. They might offer guidance with subject and course selection, connect students with other support services or organise student events. They also liaise with education staff about issues affecting student wellbeing.

They are often part of a wider wellbeing team and may be trained social workers or youth workers. Their responsibilities include conducting counselling sessions or mentoring for students who need assistance. They also provide students with information about the college and its programmes, liaise with the administration on matters such as enrolment and fee collection and analyse attendance data.

Those who work as advocates have a higher level of education than student support officers and are more likely to hold a master’s degree. However, their average salary is lower than the student support officer’s annual wage. This is because they are responsible for a range of administrative tasks, which makes up a significant proportion of their total wage.

Administration Support Workers

Administration support workers provide administrative, clerical and typing services. They assist in the development and monitoring of processes, and with the planning and preparation of communications, events, records, statistics, reports and documents. They also interpret agreements and ensure delivery of service levels.

This group includes a variety of positions, ranging from entry-level support work to management of all administrative support functions for a state facility or agency. Some positions require a high school diploma and some have more advanced education, certification or licensure requirements.

This is one of the largest groups of employees in the State, and DEED’s Employment Outlook indicates that it will continue to be a large occupational group in Minnesota. However, the number of positions in this occupation will contract slightly during this period as employees leave to move to other jobs or retire. This can be partially offset by hiring new employees to replace those leaving. This is where a well-written job description is critical.

Schools provide a variety of services for students, including mental health and social support. Many schools also partner with local organizations to bring students into the community as volunteers.

Students crave instruction that connects with their lives and real-world experiences. For example, they want math lessons to make sense in their everyday lives.

1. Create a friendly environment

The physical and social environment in which students learn can have a significant impact on their attainment and wellbeing. Schools need to promote positive learning environments that encourage students to feel connected with teachers, families, and peers. This can help reduce high-risk behavior such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections; mental health problems; suicidal ideation; and involvement in violence.

Create a classroom that welcomes all of your students and their complexities. For example, hold a get-to-know-you activity where children can write alliterative facts about themselves. This will make them easier to remember! This will also give them a sense of belonging. This will prevent students from feeling isolated and dread coming to school. It will also help them form healthy friendships.

2. Interact with the kids

Students thrive when schools and the significant adults in their lives work together to encourage and support them. School is a big part of kids’ lives, and it can be difficult for them to throw themselves into learning when they have a negative relationship with the institution.

Talking about your child’s day at school demonstrates your interest and boosts their mental health, happiness and wellbeing. This is especially true for children who have a high degree of social capacity.

Getting involved is easy, but follow your kid’s cues to determine how much interaction works for them. Attend school or teacher meetings, and get involved in community programs that support student success, like nutrition and mental health. You can also volunteer for field trips and classroom activities.

3. Include games in the classroom

Games in the classroom encourage children to learn in ways that go beyond traditional pencil and paper tasks. Educational games like online scavenger hunts, multimedia quizzes, and even virtual simulations allow kids to test their skills in high-interest, interactive learning environments.

Video games also challenge students to think critically about social and cultural issues that are difficult to tackle in a classroom setting, such as terrorism, racism, poverty, and other controversial topics. These games often use immersive media and involve role playing to teach children to make informed decisions.

Another benefit of including games in the classroom is that they promote teamwork, cooperation, and competition. Adding a competitive component to a lesson can help kids feel more engaged and can give them the practice they need to develop their executive functioning skills.

4. Inculcate reading habits

Reading is an important skill that children must learn from a young age. It has a number of benefits including improved memory, vocabulary enhancement, stress reduction, and better writing skills. It also improves concentration and helps students to think more creatively. However, many kids avoid reading because it is boring or they do not understand the importance of it.

Schools should try to inculcate the habit of reading in children by providing them with books and a comfortable place to read. They should also give them the freedom to choose what they want to read. They should also invite authors to the school for discussion.

In addition, they should also encourage students to visit book stores and share their books with other children. They can also create a reading challenge for them (like reading two books a week) and reward them.

5. Make learning fun

Many teachers have a difficult time making learning fun for kids. But the truth is that kids who have fun in class tend to be better learners over time. This is because they have a greater desire to learn and are more likely to retain what they’ve learned.

Make sure to incorporate interactive elements into your lessons. You can have students answer questions or write responses with their hands. You can also have them work with a partner for two minutes and then change partners. This is a great way to get them to talk to each other and keep them engaged in the lesson.

And if you’re worried about losing your authority, don’t. Studies show that kids respect adults who are goofy and care about them, even if they’re making fun of themselves.

Kindergarten provides children with many opportunities to flex their curiosity and explore the world around them. This is also a time when kids learn how to interact with others in a classroom setting.

Students will build basic math skills – counting, recognizing numbers up to 10 and sorting objects. They will also begin learning about calendars, days of the week and weather.

Physical Development

In kindergarten, children make significant advancements in their gross motor skills, which involve whole body movement, and their fine motor skills, which involve the coordination of small muscle movements. These developments help prepare children for school by allowing them to participate in more structured activities.

For example, an infant who pushes a button on a toy to hear an exciting sound is learning how to use their fine motor skills to interact with the environment and explore the possibilities of objects around them.

Understanding these developmental milestones can help you provide safe and supportive environments for all children. The Apply activity in this lesson can help you deepen your knowledge of children’s needs and development by exploring the resources listed in the References & Resources section.

Social Development

Children’s social competence – their ability to share, solve conflicts and cooperate with others – predicts their well-being in early adulthood. Those with better social skills are more likely to earn higher incomes and have full-time jobs, while those with less skills have lower educational achievements, trouble finding employment or experience substance abuse problems.

This classroom excerpt demonstrates how environment, play and relationships interact to support kindergarten children’s guided participation in social emotional learning. The teacher, T2, provided an environment of educational resources and created centers in which children could freely choose to participate in activities of their choice.

In some countries, kindergartens are known as creche or nursery schools. They are usually non-mandatory and cover ages three to five. Children then start formal schooling – in P1 in England and Wales, or Reception in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Emotional Development

In kindergarten, kids learn to understand and manage their emotions; develop and maintain positive relationships with others; and behave in ways that foster learning. These social emotional skills help kids get ready for school and remain engaged throughout their academic journey.

If a child isn’t emotionally well prepared for the classroom, they won’t be able to complete tasks independently such as going to the bathroom or using utensils during lunch. They may also have trouble staying focused in class and might require constant reminders to pay attention to their teacher’s instructions.

Parents can prepare children for the emotional challenges of kindergarten by playing role play with them. Reading stories with them and asking them to name the emotion that characters are feeling is another great way to build their emotion vocabulary.

Language and Literacy Development

Children develop receptive and expressive language, which is the basis for learning. They also develop literacy skills.

Children who have early and meaningful language experiences are more likely to become readers (Kuhl, 2011; Strickland, 2004). Kindergarten is the first opportunity for most children to have regular literacy experiences outside of their homes. Parents and caregivers can continue to encourage reading and writing in their children by providing books and other activities and engaging in daily conversations.

During the kindergarten year, children begin to recognize stand-alone letters and string them together to read three- to five-letter words. Children with strong alphabet knowledge can then start to read simple sentences and stories.

Thinking (Cognitive) Skills

Children need to develop thinking skills in order to understand and learn new things. They must be able to think about ideas, make comparisons and use their senses to explore the world around them.

Children in kindergarten are typically in a stage called pre-operational thinking. They view the world through their own frame of reference and come to conclusions that may not be logical, such as believing the sun is alive because it reflects light onto them.

Children can improve their cognitive skills by playing with blocks and other toys that help them learn to sort, organize and categorize objects. They can also work on their attention skills by following a series of instructions, such as when they’re putting together a puzzle. Their memory will also improve when they learn concepts rather than rote activities.

Reading intervention is supplemental instruction that helps struggling readers accelerate their growth toward grade level proficiency. This type of instruction is designed to meet a student’s specific learning needs and should be conducted in addition to core reading instruction.

Research demonstrates that students benefit from explicit, teacher-led instruction that clearly explains and models the targeted skill followed by guided practice with immediate feedback and supported application. Practice opportunities should be abundant and interesting so students are motivated to engage in the activities.

Phonics

Phonics is a key reading intervention strategy that helps students hear, identify and use the different sounds in English. This helps readers decode words to read them and build a solid foundation for comprehension.

One important phonics intervention strategy is teaching children to distinguish short and long vowel sounds. This can be a bit trickier for students to learn, as many vowels sound very similar. It’s also helpful to have them practice segmenting words to hear the individual syllables within them.

Another phonics intervention strategy is teaching the letter-sound correspondences in an explicit, systematic and predictable manner. This type of instruction has been shown to improve students’ word and non-word reading skills measured by a researcher-designed test, with medium effect sizes.

Comprehension

Reading comprehension is the process by which a reader thinks about written language to extract and construct meaning through integration with the reader’s prior knowledge and experiences. Comprehension involves higher order thinking skills that require more than phonics and fluency, such as vocabulary, conceptual understanding, reasoning, and evaluation.

For example, children who read about a trip to the park might activate prior knowledge and schema (i.e., information they have stored in their brains about parks) to help them understand what is being read. This can limit comprehension because if the information they have is not relevant or accurate, their schema may restrict what they can infer from the text.

To increase reading comprehension, students should practice a variety of strategies and skills. Some of these include contrasting main ideas with details, facts with opinions, and good summaries with bad summaries. Other strategies include promoting morphological awareness and helping students recognize prefixes, suffixes, and base words to help them pull apart word patterns and identify unknown words.

Fluency

Reading fluency involves the ability to read words at a rate and with expression that matches the rhythm of speech. Fluency can be affected by a number of factors, including word recognition skills, oral reading fluency (prosody), and text comprehension.

When a child is reading disfluently, they are often spending so much energy trying to sound out each word that they aren’t able to focus on meaning and understanding. They will also be less motivated to continue reading because it feels laborious and frustrating.

For students that need to build fluency, the best reading intervention strategies involve repeated exposure to connected text. A great way to help students gain fluency is by using a reading buddy protocol where a higher-performing student partners with a lower-performing one to practice reading the same passage multiple times. This allows both students to track their own rates and accuracy in a meaningful way. Tracking their progress helps to keep students motivated and engaged.

Motivation

Children are often eager to read and enjoy books, but their reading comprehension skills need to improve. Educators know that students are more likely to read if they feel motivated to do so, but many teachers struggle to find motivational strategies that work.

Research on learning motivation has found that children’s competence beliefs, intrinsic motivation, and valuing of academic activities decrease across the school years, including in reading (see 14 for review). Intervention programs that foster motivational constructs have positive effects on children’s Reading outcomes.

Several different approaches can be used to promote students’ motivation, including focusing on achievement goals and encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning. Educators also can use positive feedback, provide small successes throughout the day, and break large assignments into manageable pieces to help students build confidence as they read. The project will examine how these principles can be implemented in the classroom. A series of focus groups with 9- to 11-year-olds will inform the development of a new reading motivation intervention that is suitable for teachers to deliver in their schools.