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Reading is a challenging subject that many children struggle with. The Foundational Skills Assessment results for Nanaimo show that 35% of students in Grade 4 and 32% of students in Grade 7 are not yet meeting expectations. The results are similar for the whole of British Columbia. What makes reading so difficult? There are several factors such as phonemic awareness …
Spelling tends to be one of those subjects that children are either naturally good at or struggle with. Spelling has become more challenging with the advent of texting and chatting which have developed their own lexicon (gtg, ttyl – got to go, talk to you later) and the heavy reliance on spellcheckers, which might suggest the wrong word depending on …
Love of Learning: Writing Winter has arrived on the Island…hope everybody was able to be safe and enjoy it! Where we live it snowed for 3 days straight. I wasn’t able to “write home about it” as my original home is Ontario and I don’t think they would have given me too much sympathy! Our final blog on the “Learning …
What is Summer Learning Loss? All students experience learning losses–what educators and researchers refer to as the “summer brain drain”–when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Without practice, students lose reading skills over the summer months too. …
Do you find enjoyment in reading books? Would you rather look at the instructions before starting to build something? Are essays your forte? If so, you’re probably a read/write learner. Woven in among all the students who dislike school, there are some who actually enjoy it. Since teachers usually appeal to the read/write learning style, read/write learners are often the …
Do you often find yourself fidgeting when you’re supposed to keep still? Do you have strong gut instincts that guide your decision-making process? Do you like engaging in hands-on activities? Do you have a tendency to act before you think? Have you ever been called “hyperactive”? If you answered “yes” to all or some of these questions, chances are you’re …
“Miss Takes” … No I don’t need spell check…I’ve purposely spelled “miss take” like this! I invite you to think of making miss takes like how movie producers view a “miss take” when they are making a movie. The whole movie isn’t thrown out because someone makes a “miss take”, they just re-do it. Imagine if like was like …
Tips for Studying Use these questions to start a conversation NOW with your son/daughter about their upcoming exams! By asking your child the following questions, you can give them the solutions found below each question! 1. Study Schedule: “Let’s look at your exam schedule. And now, where is your study schedule?” -Yes! Your child needs a study schedule! -When …
Imagine a school where you don’t have to take notes and you get to explain your understanding out loud every time you learn something new. In this school, completing homework just means you have to listen to a few songs before bed. And instead of composing essays, you can have a verbal discussion about the essay topic without writing a …
How to Read a Report Card & Not Judge or Compare Our Kids…No Matter What Grade! An A is great for certain kids, but for some kids a B is amazing. How do we help our kids to not judge themselves compared to others? Let me demystify grades for you! Our children’s worth in school is evaluated against preset standards …
