Article - Special Needs

Does your child have special needs? Read this article to read more about what it means for your child to have "special" needs.

Tutoring

If you are interested in tutoring services, please contact me at spreadlaughter@yahoo.com. The summer is a great time to have someone tutor your child. The tutor can help your child learn the things he didn't quiet get the year before and help your child gain the knowledge he/she needs as a foundation for the next grade level.

With the "move on when reading" policy it is so important your 2nd grader can read well by the end of 2nd grade. If your child can't read by the end of 3rd grade he/she will not be promoted to the 4th grade. The tool used to measure their reading skills is the standardized test (AIMS or PARCC or whatever test will be administered). If your child reads well but does not test well, getting a tutor can help your child improve test taking skills as well. Email me if you are interested.

We can meet for tutoring at a public place like a park or a library.

Article - Developing Good Readers

Read this article on tips to help your child become a successful reader.

Common Core

There is a lot of talk (good and bad) about the common core standards. Honestly, as I hear people talk about the negative aspects of common core, all they talk about is the political side of it. I haven't heard one person against common core actually mention one of the standards and give a reason why that standard is so bad. 

As a teacher, it really doesn't matter to me where the standards come from because it has always been the politicians who have been in charge of creating and developing standards, not teachers. Through my 13 years of experience teaching in Arizona, the state standards have changes at least 4 times. 

My job is to teach students and make sure the standards are being taught. What I know is that the Common Core standards raise the bar for students. 

Now, if you were to ask a actual teacher what the positive and negative aspects of common core are, you would get a much better answer. There are 2 that come to my mind. They are not developmentally appropriate and there was no transitional period. The positive is that the standards are more rigorous and hold students to a higher standard of learning. They are designed to help students think, not to merely go through the motions. However, due to that rigorous higher standard, the students are learning a grade level higher than they were before. Now there are students struggling because they went from a 3rd grade classroom learning the old 3rd grade standards to a 4th grade classroom learning standards that are almost equivalent to what used to be taught in 5th grade. So now there is a learning gap between what prior knowledge they should have (the old 4th grade standards/new 3rd grade standards) and what they are now being taught (the new 4th grade standards/the old 5th grade standards). 

There was no smooth transition between the old standards and the new standards. So, if your child is suddenly struggling, don't be surprised. Getting a tutor might be just what your child needs to get back on track.

Article - Important to Read

Read this article for more information on the importance of reading to your children.