Author: Targetedreadingintervention.org

Kindergarten is a big step for kids and parents alike. It’s normal for kids to feel nervous or excited about going to school.

In Finland, students spend large chunks of their day playing—but it’s not just any old play. It’s guided, pedagogical play, like organizing toys by shape or operating a pretend ice cream shop.

Learning to Read

Learning to read is one of the primary goals for kindergarten students. By the end of kindergarten, most children can recognize and name letters (both upper and lowercase), know the sounds that each letter makes, and begin to read some high-frequency words, or sight words, which are easy for kids to memorize since they don’t use phonics when reading them.

Developing a strong vocabulary helps students become fluent readers who can make sense of unfamiliar words using context clues. Teaching phonics is essential to this process, as it is the link between word sounds and letters of the alphabet.

Learning to Write

Writing is a skill that takes time to master. Young children first learn to recognize that print conveys meaning, that letters represent sound and that lines go from left to right.

By the end of kindergarten, children should be able to write several sentences about a topic they have studied or an experience that they have had. They should also be able to use drawing and dictation to compose narrative, informational, or opinion pieces.

Keep in mind that kindergarten students have the attention span of fruit flies! It is important to teach them skills in small, short mini lessons.

Learning to Add

Learning addition is one of the first steps to understanding math. Kids can begin adding with their fingers, objects, a number line or marks on paper. Ultimately, kids should be able to add numbers in their heads and understand the part-part-whole relationship with numbers.

The best way to learn addition for kindergarten is through hands-on interactive games both online and offline. It also helps if children get immediate feedback on their answers and can make corrections in real-time. Moreover, it’s best to use multisensory activities as children have diverse learning styles.

Learning to Subtract

Learning subtraction involves comparing numbers and finding one less than another. Kids need a solid understanding of addition to succeed at this skill since it helps them understand how subtraction works.

When students are ready to learn subtraction, they can practice using concrete objects and visual aids, like the aforementioned counting monkeys or number cards. They can also play board games that use subtraction strategies.

Students can also work on their counting skills by using a number line and hopping on it to find the difference. Once kids have mastered these realistic and visual strategies, they can begin working on abstract ones like keeping a large number in their minds to count backwards until they get the answer.

Learning to Multiply

Children need to understand multiplication and division concepts before they can move to memorizing the times tables. They need to be able to convert counting into instant recall, which they can only do when they have the understanding and reasoning behind it.

Children should learn about number families to make this easier. They need to know that 4 x 5 is the same as 20 / 4, for example.

Kids should also be taught to see patterns in numbers, such as doubling when adding two. They should be encouraged to use their math manipulatives or pictorial representations of objects such as ice cube trays or egg boxes to find these patterns.

Learning to Divide

Kids learn division when they’re comfortable with the connection between division and multiplication and understand that the order of numbers doesn’t matter. Typically this happens around third grade, but it may vary by child.

Help your child make sense of division by linking it to sharing. Show them how items can be evenly split among a group of friends. This method makes it easier to grasp the concept.

After your child understands division by sharing, they can move on to long division that ends in a whole number. This requires a strong grasp of multiplication and the ability to correctly interpret remainders.

Learning to Count

Counting is an important early math skill. Kindergarten students learn to orally count objects and then match them with numbers; this is called one-to-one correspondence.

Children also learn to recognize and write the number that comes before and after a given number, which helps them understand number sequences. This is an important foundation for arithmetic and measurement, and builds their understanding of the cardinality of numbers.

Encourage your student to count everyday – from the number of socks in their drawer to the number of cookies on the plate. This repeated experience will help them build a strong counting foundation that will lead to future mathematical success.

Reading intervention provides individualized attention to students struggling to learn to read. This allows children to build reading skills at a pace that fits their abilities.

To become proficient readers, students must develop their phonological awareness, build decoding skills, understand the alphabetic principle, and increase their fluency with texts. In addition, students need to develop comprehension and vocabulary.

Phonics

Phonics is the research-backed approach to reading instruction that teaches children how letters or groups of letters (graphemes) correspond with single sounds in words (phonemes). This knowledge allows children to decode written words, which leads to improved reading fluency and comprehension.

Studies of phonics-based interventions reveal that students who receive explicit instruction on how to connect phonemes and graphemes make better gains in word reading than do those receiving phonologically implicit or embedded instruction. These findings are consistent with the work of other researchers, including literacy expert Anita Archer, who explains how explicit instruction in phonics yields better outcomes than whole reading approaches.

To identify which students need phonics intervention, teachers can use earlyReading composite scores to determine a student’s reading level. Low scores on the letter sound or consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word subtests indicate a need for explicit phonics instruction. Then, the teacher can implement a phonics intervention that teaches high-frequency short words. Children are then taught to read and practice blending and segmenting the phonemes in these words.

Fluency

For students to read fluently, they must not only recognize words quickly but also be able to read them at a rate that is accurate and sounds like spoken language (appropriate intonation, volume, smoothness, phrasing). To build fluency, it is important to focus on both speed and prosody.

Reading to children and modeling how to pronounce words and pause for punctuation is an excellent way to improve fluency. Students can practice paired reading, where a student with strong fluency reads to a struggling partner and both listen for accuracy. Students can also practice Reader’s Theater, where they act out characters in scripted passages.

Research has shown that repeated reading (RR) is one of the most effective interventions for building oral fluency. Other strategies include phonological awareness activities, decoding practice, morphological awareness instruction (e.g., teaching prefixes, suffixes and base words), and identifying high frequency words.

Comprehension

Reading comprehension is a child’s ability to think and process what they read. They visualize a story, anticipate what will happen next, laugh at jokes, and make inferences based on the information they have read.

Comprehension instruction must be responsive, identifying pupils’ specific comprehension difficulties and providing appropriate and explicit instructional guidance to support their learning. This includes teaching strategies that focus on sequencing, main idea, and summarization. It also involves building morphological awareness by teaching pupils about prefixes, suffixes, and bases. This helps them to pull apart words that do not follow traditional patterns.

It is important to understand that comprehension skills are interlinked with other essential literacy skills such as decoding, vocabulary, and fluency. Students who struggle with one of these components may also struggle with comprehension, and a focus on improving a student’s word identification skills without addressing these other issues could further exacerbate their reading difficulties.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary plays an important role in reading comprehension. In fact, research has shown that students with high vocabulary scores tend to have better comprehension skills. It is therefore critical to include vocabulary instruction in reading intervention.

Explicit, systematic, and meaningful vocabulary instruction should be taught using explicit instructional routines and a focus on both meaning and usage. Teach tricky words before, during, and after reading to build background knowledge and support comprehension. Using targeted classroom read-alouds can also help harvest vocabulary and model strategies for clarifying difficult words while reading.

Providing practice opportunities for new vocabulary can increase the likelihood that students will retain these words. Try having students discuss the meaning of the word with a partner, use it in a writing activity, and review previously-taught vocabulary terms. Research shows that it takes multiple encounters for students to learn a new vocabulary word. Choose Tier two words (words that are partially familiar to students but not fully understood) that are likely to appear in a variety of texts, as this allows for more frequent and consistent exposure.

Children learn best when information is relevant and presented in a way that meets their learning style. This can be accomplished by encouraging them to pursue their interests outside of school.

Access to quality education is everyone’s right, regardless of age or circumstances. When children miss out on education, they suffer from poverty, health problems and social isolation.

Education is the key to a better future

Education offers a wide range of benefits to children. It improves their health, reduces poverty, and boosts economic growth. It also helps kids become more empathetic and helpful to others. It helps kids understand different cultures and respect differences in people, especially when they interact with peers at school. It also gives kids a chance to practice their communication skills, whether it’s through gestures or words. This is important to make them more comfortable and confident in social situations.

Education also provides a strong sense of self-esteem and pride. Educated kids are more likely to have healthy relationships and to engage in social activism. They also have better job prospects and earn higher wages than those with fewer qualifications. They’re also more likely to volunteer and help strangers. Education is the key to a brighter future for every child. Sadly, however, many kids around the world don’t have access to quality learning opportunities. This is due to a lack of trained teachers, poor education materials and insufficient infrastructure.

It is the right of every child

Children deserve the right to a full and robust education. They are the future of the world, and we have a responsibility to them. However, far too many are missing out on their education because they cannot afford it or face barriers to getting into school, like war, natural disasters, poverty, and gender-based discrimination.

Learning begins prenatally, but it is often impeded by the inequalities of the existing system. This inequality can lead to different developmental pathways that hinder a child’s growth. It can also limit their contribution to society over time.

In order to achieve equality, we need a robust definition of children’s rights. This definition should include a positive right to equitable, developmental equality, which translates into an affirmative duty to support children and families and recognizes the intersection between children’s dignity and family dignity. This right should trigger structural reforms that prioritize a child’s needs. It should be grounded in the principles of equality, equity, and dignity at the core of equal protection jurisprudence.

It is the weapon to fight poverty

Education is one of the most powerful weapons to fight poverty. It gives children the skills and knowledge to improve their lives and build a more secure future. It’s also a crucial driver of economic growth, as it helps people become more productive and resilient to change.

A lack of access to education can have devastating consequences for a child’s life. Without it, they may grow up to be malnourished, have poor health and be at greater risk of abuse or neglect. They are more likely to abandon school and end up in harmful activities like child labour, where their earnings are not enough to meet their basic needs.

At Concern, we believe that all children have a right to quality education. But there are many obstacles that prevent children from exercising this right: conflict, natural disasters, health crises, poverty, geographic isolation and social exclusion. You can help us break these barriers by donating to our Let Them Learn appeal today.

It is the foundation of a nation’s economical growth

Education is essential for a nation’s economic growth, but securing access to quality education is increasingly challenging. Competing global crises, including the pandemic, climate change, high inflation and debt, and a digital divide that hinders remote learning during long school closures, are occupying policymakers’ attention and fiscal space. This leaves little room for education.

As children develop cognitively as preschoolers, their new ways of thinking call for both similar and different behavior by adults. For example, children are naturally suited to experimental inquiry that involves hypotheses and testing, while the use of simple labels can unify disparate observations or discrete facts into coherent conceptual systems. They are also more capable of deliberately enlisting their implicit theories in new learning situations. Clapping to a rhythm can teach counting and mathematical operations; playing board games can introduce one-to-one correspondence.

Children who cannot go to school are at greater risk of exploitation, abuse and discrimination. Girls in particular face barriers to completing their education, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment into terrorist organizations and criminal gangs.

Education support is a broad term that can refer to many different services and programs. They may include tutoring, homework centers, and open use computer labs.

ESPs make a big impact on school culture and student learning. Honor their work by respecting their skills and expertise, and celebrating their contributions to your learning community.

1. Identify Your Needs and Goals

Education support services are a wide range of activities and programs that aim to improve the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of education. They include tutoring, mentoring, counseling, coaching, guidance, and feedback. These services can be provided by students, peers, teachers, volunteers, experts, or institutions.

Students are the primary beneficiaries of education support services, as they can help them overcome challenges that may affect their academic performance or well-being. These challenges can be related to their learning disabilities, emotional or social problems, or family issues. Education support services can also help them develop non-academic skills such as goal-setting, time management, and self-regulation.

In addition, education support services can help teachers in their professional development. They can provide teachers with training and consultation on various aspects of teaching, such as curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. They can also help them identify and address the challenges and opportunities in their classrooms.

2. Choose the Right Service

Education support services are not a one-size-fits-all solution and must be tailored and customized to meet the needs, challenges, and goals of students and educators. This may require identifying and analyzing the existing strengths, resources, and opportunities within an educational system or institution, as well as designing and implementing innovative approaches and strategies.

For example, academic advising and mentoring programs can help students make informed decisions about their learning options and career paths. Counseling and social work services can help students address emotional or personal issues that may interfere with their learning and development. Library and information services can provide students with access to research materials, tutoring, and open use computer labs.

Furthermore, as learners become more diverse, autonomous, and self-directed, they will demand personalized education support services that cater to their unique needs, preferences, and learning styles. This will also require effective coordination and collaboration among different education support services. As such, students, educators, and stakeholders will need to collaborate on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of education support services.

3. Engage with the Service

Education support services can include a variety of activities and programs that help students learn, achieve, and succeed in their education. These include tutoring, mentoring, counseling, coaching, guidance, feedback, and assessment. They may be provided by teachers, parents, peers, volunteers, experts, and organizations.

As more and more students are demanding access to personalized education, schools need to keep up with these demands. This means providing customer service that is tailored to the unique needs and learning styles of each student.

It’s also important for educational institutions to be available 24/7 so that students and parents can reach them whenever they need assistance or guidance. Omnichannel support tools like chatbots and live chat are great for reducing the time it takes to respond and ensuring that each conversation is seamless, personalized, and engaging. Additionally, tracking metrics such as Average First Response Time can help you improve your team’s effectiveness and performance.

4. Monitor Your Progress

When it comes to education support, it’s important to monitor progress. This helps ensure that the service is being used effectively and that it’s having a positive impact on the student. It also allows educators to make adjustments if necessary.

One way to monitor student progress is through regular, formative assessments. These allow you to see how students are doing throughout the course of a unit or semester and can help identify any areas that may need further attention.

Another method of monitoring student progress is through self-assessment. This technique involves asking students to reflect on their work and what they’ve learned from it. This can help them identify areas where they need further assistance and can also be a great tool for reflection and feedback.

Education support personnel are vital to the delivery of education services and should be treated with equal status, rights and conditions. They should also have the opportunity to contribute their ideas and expertise to the development of new and innovative educational support services.

Finding the right school for your child can feel like sorting threads in a tapestry. Terms like Montessori, magnet and parochial can create confusion.

Students who have positive social relationships with teachers and peers tend to think more positively about school. This is especially true when adversity is present, such as poverty, housing and food insecurity, and abuse or neglect.

Origin

The word school has an interesting history. It derives from Greek schole, which had the sense of leisure and eventually became associated with learning. It evolved into Middle English scol, and then into our modern school. The same root also produces shoal, as in a large group of fish swimming together.

Before formal schooling emerged, various religious, civil service and apprenticeship systems existed. These emphasized the enrichment of self and community through literacy, philosophical thought, and practical skills.

Formal schooling started to take shape in ancient Greece and Rome, when the ludus litterarius was introduced for boys. It was a precursor to university education, and the students were known as schoolmen. Schooling then spread to the rest of Europe, with countries developing different educational philosophies and structures. Today, many countries have systems of formal education that are sometimes compulsory. The philosophies and structure of schools can vary widely by country, but all have the same fundamental goal: to nurture informed, capable individuals.

Purpose

Schools fulfill a variety of purposes. They can train people for specialized jobs or teach them the skills they need to succeed in life. They can also foster social and emotional growth. They can help students understand their cultural heritage and appreciate diversity. They can also teach students how to make decisions, communicate effectively, solve problems and cooperate with others.

Some people believe that the primary purpose of school is to prepare students for the workforce. Others, however, think that this purpose is too narrow and that schools should foster a culture of curiosity, creativity, criticism and communication. They should also help students develop the ability to learn in a variety of ways, including through hands-on activities.

Understanding the history and purpose of schools can help us understand the challenges many countries face in ensuring that their education systems are relevant. It can also help us ensure that educational transformation efforts center relevance alongside inclusion, equity and quality.

Structure

Schools are places where people come together to learn. They have classrooms, cafeterias (dining halls), all-purpose play fields and schoolyards. Schools may also have laboratories, workshops and other specialized spaces. They have teachers and administrative staff. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is often compulsory. These include primary and secondary schools, and sometimes kindergarten or pre-school. They can also have tertiary education institutions, such as universities, vocational schools and colleges.

The kind of culture and supporting structure schools need require a very special nexus of structure, time and culture. As long as these remain adaptive responses that bend, rather than break, existing customs, they are unlikely to get schools where they need to go.

One way to make structural change work is for schools to treat collective time as a precious resource, formally scheduled and rigorously allocated to specific aspects of the school agenda. When this is done, schools can reclaim their power to improve student learning.

Culture

School culture is a key element of success, but it can be difficult to define. Principals often report that their schools have a good culture when teachers are unified and students succeed, but they struggle to explain exactly what creates this sense of unity and support.

This can be partly explained by the fact that culture is less tangible than concrete measures like test scores or graduation rates. Instead, it is the underlying values and beliefs that make up a school’s culture. This can include how a school treats its employees and students, but also the traditions and ceremonies that shape the culture.

The most effective way to change a school’s culture is through communication. When all levels of the school are communicating effectively, it is easier for messages about shared beliefs and commitment to spread throughout the culture. When communication is poor, however, it is harder for these ideas to take hold. This is why a strong leader can play such an important role in shaping a positive school culture.

Kindergarten is a child’s first experience in a structured educational environment. High-quality kindergartens teach children to learn through play and inquiry.

Kids learn literacy skills, including recognizing upper- and lowercase letters and matching them to their sounds. They also work with numbers and basic shapes. Kids often use their fine motor skills to create art.

Academics

In kindergarten, children learn in a more structured classroom environment with a set curriculum. Students are regularly screened for literacy and math, and teachers work with content specialists to provide additional support as needed.

Kindergarteners will also start learning letters and their sounds, and they will begin to learn about the world around them. Science and social studies instruction is often hands-on, and kids may plant a garden or learn about animal habitats.

In some states, kids are required to attend a year of pre-primary education before they can enter kindergarten. This is sometimes referred to as reception or transition. It’s an important step to ensure that kids are ready for kindergarten. In fact, it’s become more common for parents to “redshirt” their children, delaying kindergarten for an extra year so they can be better prepared.

Socialization

Children get most of their socialization at home from interactions with family members, but kindergarten gives them the opportunity to meet and interact with other kids on a regular basis. Parents can help prepare their kids for what they will experience in a classroom setting by playing games with them that teach about sharing, taking turns and reading body language.

Kindergartners must learn to communicate their needs with their teachers and with other students in their class. This means they must be able to tell someone they need to use the bathroom or that they are hungry, for example. It also means they must learn how to resolve conflicts with their peers. Playing a game where they are given a scenario and asked how they would resolve it can help give them practice in this area.

Often, a child’s separation anxiety will dissipate once they become comfortable with their new school environment. They may cry or cling to their parent at drop off time, but they will soon become accustomed to the routine and begin to develop friendships with other students.

Personality Development

Personality development has become a vital aspect of children’s life. The word ‘personality’ consists of much more than temperament; it also includes the child’s developing self-concept, motivations to achieve or socialize, values and goals, coping styles, sense of responsibility and conscientiousness.

Children can learn about their own strengths and weaknesses, gain confidence in expressing themselves in front of others, and improve their public speaking skills through personality development activities. These lessons can help them overcome shyness, develop good etiquette and social behaviour and be more compassionate towards others.

It is also important that kids learn how to interact and cooperate with their peers, and participate in group activities. This can be done through a variety of methods, including public speaking, debates, and creative writing. These activities encourage teamwork, problem solving and a positive outlook on life. Lastly, teaching them to respect people is very important. It will help them build strong and long lasting relationships in the future.

Independence

Kindergarten is the first time students will experience a classroom environment outside of their home. This means they will be spending seven hours a day with 20+ other children under the direction of adults who are not their parents. This can be challenging for young children who are used to receiving help with tasks like dressing, putting on shoes or eating.

Despite this, there are many independence activities available for children to practice that can prepare them for their first year of school. Developing independent skills is important for every child, and research shows that it builds self-confidence, resilience, problem-solving abilities and more.

Kids can learn how to dress themselves with the help of a parent, and they can also begin to do things like pour their own cereal or eat with appropriately sized utensils. This can be a great way for students to feel empowered to try new things in a safe environment. It will also build a sense of responsibility and perseverance, which is well worth the milk spills and mismatched clothes!

Students who struggle with reading need intensive intervention. This can be provided within core instruction, a separate reading block or as part of RTI/MTSS.

Explicit, teacher-led instruction with clear explanations, demonstration and modeling of new skills, ample practice opportunities and guided application using aligned student materials help students achieve success in reading. In addition, teachers should provide positive reinforcement for effort and accomplishment.

Phonics

Phonics is a “way of teaching the code-based portion of reading and spelling that stresses sound-symbol correspondences.” It can be used to teach children to decode words by identifying sounds in written text (see Grapheme–Phoneme Model).

The systematic synthetic phonics approach significantly improves kindergarten and first-grade children’s word recognition and spelling skills. It also benefits low socioeconomic status (SES) children who are not disabled.

To help struggling readers, teachers should provide phonics instruction and practice using structural cues (“What looks right?”), sound cues (“What do you think the word might mean?”) and visual cues (“What letters are in this word?”). Vowels are especially challenging for students to learn because many vowels sound similar. This is why it is important to teach them that short and long vowel sounds are different from each other. This can be taught through a variety of activities and strategies that are part of the Exact Path program. The individualized reading intervention uses these activities and many more to support struggling readers through the process of becoming fluent readers.

Handwriting

Developing an automated personal handwriting script is a contributing factor to writing success (Daffern, Mackenzie & Hemmings, 2017). The kinaesthetic action of forming letters by hand helps students to better recognise and memorise letter shapes and forms. Having good handwriting skills allows students to write for longer periods of time and provides a consistent format to help with spelling (Cahill, 2009; Schlagal, 2014).

Research shows that explicit handwriting instruction can significantly impact on literacy outcomes. A recent study found that a handwriting intervention which combined a systematic sequence of teaching letter formations, a focus on the formation of correct motor patterns and repeated practice resulted in statistically significant gains in students’ letter recognition and spelling knowledge, as well as their nonsense word reading fluency. Students should practise each of their handwriting letters using a range of methods including tracing, dots to show starting points and direction, air writing and using mnemonics to recall correct formation (Jones & Christensen, 1999). In addition to formal handwriting lessons, daily writing tasks such as signing in/out, writing lunch orders and include headings on assignments can reinforce strong formation.

Reading Comprehension

Comprehension is the ability to understand what has been read. It involves reading and thinking at the same time and requires that a person have a good vocabulary and be able to make inferences. It also requires that the reader connect what they are reading to what they already know.

When teaching comprehension strategies, it is important to provide students with high-quality instructional materials and activities. This includes using a research-based reading approach, providing a variety of instructional techniques (modeling, guided and independent practice, text-based questions, graphic organizers, vocabulary instruction, close reading) and having a strong support system for the teacher.

Comprehension interventions are typically short, one to three terms of a school year, and can be done by teachers in class settings or by teaching assistants with small groups. The intervention should be based on student needs as determined by a universal screener or diagnostic assessment. A typical screening assessment is a standardized test such as the NWEA/MAP or iReady.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary is a key component of reading comprehension. Research has shown that students with high vocabulary scores are better able to understand text.

Children acquire some vocabulary incidentally through immersion in mature speech and linguistically rich texts, but direct instruction of specific words is essential to building high utility vocabulary. This instruction must be deliberate and systematic and include teaching word parts (i.e., prefixes and suffixes) as well as meanings and usage.

During vocabulary instruction, it is important to differentiate between social and academic vocabulary. Social vocabulary includes words used in daily activities like following basic directions and interacting with peers. Academic vocabulary refers to the words that are used in learning content such as science and social studies concepts, math terms and phonics patterns.

Children learn best when they are encouraged to pursue their interests. They also need to build confidence and self-esteem. This can be achieved through daily routines and positive interactions.

Education is a fundamental right of every child, regardless of their gender, location, or economic status. However, many obstacles stand in the way of children exercising this right: conflict, natural disasters, disease, poverty, geographical isolation, and lack of access to quality education.

Learning to think for themselves

The ability to think for yourself is a vital skill that can help kids feel confident and motivated. It also helps them be resilient, a key factor in success at school and in life. It also enables children to cooperate with others, cope with frustration and resolve conflicts. However, children must be provided with the appropriate challenges to develop this capability.

This requires children to be open to new ideas and willing to question them. They need to know how to interrogate information, including online sources. It is also important to teach them that it’s okay to make mistakes, as long as they learn from them.

This is why it’s important to support your child’s decision-making skills, such as by allowing them to choose what they wear or what afterschool activities they want to participate in. This will give them confidence that they can make good choices and build their self-esteem. You can also encourage them to take on projects that require teamwork or collaboration, fostering a sense of responsibility and empathy for their community.

Learning to cooperate with others

Cooperating with others is an essential life skill that should be taught from a very early age. Whether it is playing a game, working on a project, or just having friends over, children need to know how to work together and care for each other. This is especially important for only children, who may not have siblings at home to help them develop these skills.

Children learn character mainly through imitation, so they need to see adults and peers cooperating with one another in a respectful and friendly way. This can be done by encouraging open communication and by teaching kids how to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and ideas with each other.

Teachers also teach children how to cooperate with their peers by setting up activities that encourage teamwork, such as board games and group puzzles. They also teach children how to share and take turns, which is an essential aspect of cooperation. They also encourage children to express themselves, listen respectfully, and resolve conflicts peacefully.

Learning about different cultures

From an early age, children are absorbing culture and customs through their everyday experiences. Parents can enlighten their kids about different cultures by watching foreign movies, listening to cultural music and taking them to museums. They can also use world map puzzles to discuss countries and their backgrounds with their kids, fostering acceptance and openness towards new languages and cultures.

Children’s emotions and behaviour are influenced by their own culture, as well as the cultures of their families and community. This is why it’s so important to have culturally responsive teachers and caregivers.

Exposing children to diversity in their environment helps them understand that differences are normal, and teaches them to value people’s differences. This can be done by reading books about diverse characters, visiting places that are culturally sensitive and using games, handheld animals and dolls to teach children about the world.

Learning to interact with others

Interacting with other children is important for a child’s social development. This helps them develop empathy, which is key for understanding the responses of others. They also learn to see the world from another person’s perspective. For instance, two kids playing pretend may have wildly different stories. One kid may be battling dragons on the top of the world while the other is running around a car wash.

They also build social skills and learn to respect each other. These skills help them interact with adults and peers both at school and when accessing out of school activities like sports teams or Scouts.

In addition, children will learn to use their large motor skills to run, jump, climb, throw, catch, and explore with their hands (small motor). They will also develop a sense of self-worth as they interact with others at school and during out-of-school activities. This is a skill that will carry over into their adult lives.

With school back in session, students and teachers alike need supplies. You can help by donating classroom essentials, money to a school emergency fund or your time.

Districts that have made significant academic gains among struggling students typically provide them with extra instructional time each day to maximize teacher expertise in content instruction.

Education Support Professionals

Education support professionals keep schools running and students safe, healthy and ready to learn. They include paraeducators, secretaries, custodial staff, food service workers, bus drivers and other school employees vital to student and teacher success. They’re the backbone of our preK-12 public education system.

They help teachers with instruction, assist students with disabilities and perform myriad administrative duties. They also serve on district-wide and individual community school steering committees, bodies that do the work of establishing structures for two-way communication and involvement between schools and the people and communities they serve.

MSEA is fighting for ESP members across the state to have decent wages and good working conditions, a voice in decisions that affect them and their families, and protection against layoffs and privatization. They’re the reason kids get extra help when they need it, the bell rings on time and buses arrive to take them to class. It’s hard to imagine our schools without them.

Job Duties

Education support professionals play a key role in keeping schools running smoothly. They perform a variety of duties in areas including clerical services, custodial and maintenance services, food service, health and student services, transportation and skilled trades.

Education supports also work with students to create educational plans and assist instructors in classroom observations, providing feedback to improve teaching techniques. They are the backbone of our school system and deserve respect for their tireless efforts to help children learn and thrive.

Whether they’re picking up kids for early morning bus rides, providing the comforts of home in school counseling centers, or bandaging a scraped knee, ESPs do it all for our nation’s youth. MEA is fighting to ensure they get the respect and pay they deserve – plus money-saving benefits like medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, retirement savings options and more. Learn how you can help support ESPs in your community by joining MEA today.

Education Support Job Description

An education support professional is a school employee that performs a variety of tasks to help students and teachers in the classroom. Colleges, universities and schools of all types hire education support professionals for full-time work during school hours. They receive several weeks off for holidays and report to the principal or dean of students.

A teacher’s aide works under the supervision of a certified teacher or instructor to give extra attention and instruction to individual students. Greets students and parents in the morning, prepares resources and undertakes logistical and operational tasks such as cleaning and food preparation and storage. Enforces school and class rules to encourage positive behavior.

An occupational therapy assistant assists with daily living activities for an assigned student who has physical or medical disabilities. May assist with bathing, dressing and toileting; change soiled clothes, sanitary napkins, colostomy bags or tube feedings; administer medication; teach hygiene; and monitor and interact with students to promote positive self-image.

Education Support Employment

Education support staff are employed in a variety of positions at schools, colleges and universities. The charity Education Support champions good mental health and wellbeing for teachers, lecturers and all education support staff. It provides telephone counselling, financial assistance and fact sheets of information useful to staff. Its roots date back to 1877 when it began as a benevolent fund for teachers. It merged with sister charities Teacher Support Network, Recourse and Worklife Support Partnership in 2015 to become Education Support.

There is little on the job training for education support workers, who typically come to their roles with previous experience. New employees may be given a grace period, lasting no more than two weeks, to observe classrooms and other school staff before beginning their daily tasks. School staff are entitled to a number of weeks off throughout the year for school and federal holidays. They are paid twice a month. They are employed at-will and can request professional leave with prior approval from their immediate supervisor.

School articles are informative and share research findings while fostering discussion on current trends in education. They are often written by teachers, researchers or educational professionals.

Schools are the place where children learn, socialize and develop as people. They also assist with social change. Students are around hundreds of other kids their age and this teaches them how to interact with people of different backgrounds.

1. Learning

Students learn best when they have opportunities to do so in ways that engage them. They love learning about topics that are relevant to their lives, and when instruction helps them understand content by linking it to skills they already have, like cooking, sports, art or science.

Many schools that offer good educational outcomes have a variety of ways to increase student-learning time and opportunities. These include looping, where teachers stay with a group of students for more than one year, and advisory classes, where students have the opportunity to build lasting relationships with teachers. They also use pedagogies that practice cultural competence and invite students’ experiences into the classroom, such as by listening to them respectfully and giving them credit for their knowledge.

School administrators, teachers and staff should seek out new ways to improve learning. This may include re-arranging the classroom, going outside for field trips or even hosting workshops in film and art.

2. Socializing

Socializing at school provides kids with opportunities to develop their social skills and interact with others. When children engage in positive socialization, they are more likely to feel confident and have a greater sense of self-worth, which is important for their mental health.

Socialization at school also helps children learn to recognize and respect other cultures and backgrounds. This can help reduce their egocentrism, which is common in young kids. Taking them to an early childcare Greenville NC can further enhance their socialization by exposing them to diverse people and experiences.

Teachers also play an important role in the socialization of their students. They present a curriculum that assumes certain knowledge and skills that they think all students should have. They are also involved in enforcing rules, which is another form of socialization.

3. Meeting New People

School is an ideal place to meet new people. Many students will be in the same situation as you, so they will be more than happy to meet someone new. Try talking to people around you, especially those that have the same interest as you.

If you are a student at university, you can also attend Frosh Week or orientation events to meet other freshmen. There are usually a lot of other students that you will see over the course of the week, giving you more time to talk and get to know them.

Other opportunities to meet new people are clubs, sports teams and even on-campus jobs. Try to connect with people who share similar interests and make friends that you can look back on years later.

4. Developing Hobbies and Interests

Hobbies are a great way to reduce stress for students. They help them take a break from the pressure of academics and peer pressure, while allowing them to tap into their inner passions.

Hobbies also encourage creativity. Whether it be painting or playing music, hobbies allow kids to express their personalities and develop creative skills. These skills will be essential for their future.

Hobbies can also help students build strong relationships by enabling them to interact with other people who share the same interests. This helps them to learn how to communicate with other people and build trust, Alison Ratner Mayer at Child Therapy Boston explains. In addition, showing interest in others’ hobbies demonstrates empathy and builds rapport, she adds. This is important for a healthy social life.

5. Developing Skills

A diverse set of skills is increasingly valued in the workplace. Schools can help students acquire a range of skills that will serve them well in their professional careers.

Skills development in school includes activities like collaborative learning, peer teaching, and group projects. These activities promote inquisitiveness, team spirit, trustworthiness, and assertiveness in students. They also help develop a student’s ability to tackle issues and situations on their own.

Schools that prioritize skill development also incorporate pedagogies and assessments that foster a mastery-oriented approach to learning. For example, they may offer year-long research projects or a capstone project where students work to address an issue in their community.

Students can also be exposed to open mindsets through debating sessions, visits to a workplace or Q&As with a local business leader.