A new report commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) – “Review of Special Education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts” — includes a powerful message about the importance of early literacy. The report, prepared by Thomas Hehir and Associates, focuses on “disability categories whose determination – whether a child is identified [...]
Archive for the ‘Language development’ Category
Focus on Early Literacy to Reduce Inappropriate Referrals to Special Education
Posted in Language development, Pre-K to 3, Reading proficiency, Research on May 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
In Quotes
Posted in Language development, Quotes, Reading proficiency on May 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“It does not require a PhD or unlimited hours for parents to make a difference. In fact, many parent-child activities that are associated with better reading performance among students involve relatively little time and no specialized knowledge. What these activities do demand, though, is genuine interest and active engagement.” “What Can Parents Do to Help [...]
Reading Aloud to Children Has Lasting Benefits
Posted in Family engagement, Language development, Reading proficiency, Research on April 25, 2012 | 1 Comment »
A recent analysis of international data from the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) offers more evidence of the link between oral language development and reading. The new analysis finds that children whose parents regularly read aloud with them in the first year of primary school performed substantially better in reading at age [...]
Effects of Peers on Preschoolers’ Language Development
Posted in Language development, Research on April 18, 2012 | 2 Comments »
A recent study about the effects of peers on preschoolers’ language development finds that children with low language skills show the most improvement when they are placed in classrooms with children with more skills. What about the children with strong language skills? Their language development was not harmed by having classmates with lower skills. The [...]
Why Third Grade Reading Matters So Much
Posted in Language development, MA Legislature, Reading proficiency on March 27, 2012 | 1 Comment »
As I reported last week, the Joint Committee on Education of the Massachusetts Legislature has reported favorably on An Act Relative to Third Grade Reading Proficiency. Children’s ability to read by the end of third grade strongly predicts their chances of future success. Yet in Massachusetts, 39% of third graders are not proficient readers, according [...]
Pediatricians Discourage Media Use for Youngest Children
Posted in Infants and toddlers, Language development on March 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Now for the last item in this short series on technology and young children. The American Academy of Pediatrics has been busy lately. As I reported earlier, the Academy adopted a policy on toxic stress. Another recently announced policy statement – “Media Use by Children Younger than 2 Years” — discourages exposure to television and [...]
Use Talk to Help Children Learn through Play
Posted in Developmentally appropriate practice, Language development, Play on March 5, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
A recent column from Education Week — “5 Tips for Talking to Children at Play” – has me thinking about a story that Doreen Anzalone, the early educator who stars in our “Back to School” YouTube production, told me. She and the children in her pre-kindergarten class were playing with a pile of snow at [...]
“Sidewalk” Field Trips Boost Children’s Early Literacy
Posted in Developmentally appropriate practice, Language development, Play, Pre-K to 3, Reading proficiency on February 27, 2012 | 1 Comment »
When Dao Krings, a second-grade teacher at P.S. 145 in New York City, asked how many students had never been inside a car, Tyler Rodriguez was one of several students who raised their hands. “I’ve been inside a bus,” the boy said. “Does that count?” The anecdote illustrates why teachers at the Brooklyn school regularly [...]
Act on What We Know to Improve Children’s Reading
Posted in Language development, Reading proficiency on February 8, 2012 | 2 Comments »
As research clearly shows, children’s ability to read is a strong predictor of their chances of success in school and beyond. Yet even in Massachusetts, which topped the nation in fourth grade reading on the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, one half of children scored below proficient. Nationwide, only one-third of fourth graders scored [...]
Language Heard in Preschool Linked to Later Reading
Posted in Language development, Reading proficiency, Research on November 1, 2011 | 2 Comments »
(Vanderbilt University video) Young children who hear sophisticated language in preschool are better readers in fourth grade, according to a study in the journal Child Development that reinforces the message in previous research about the important connection between early oral language development and later literacy. “We need to take very seriously the importance of teaching [...]
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Eye on Early Education focuses on the twin goals of ensuring that Massachusetts children have access to high-quality early education and become proficient readers by the end of third grade. CHECK US OUT
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