Posted on

23 Must-Have K-12 Literacy Apps

Literacy is a foundational skill that we all need. It is hard to navigate today’s global society without it. Because of this, teachers are always searching for ways to help their students learn valuable literacy skills. In recent years, edtech companies have introduced a ton of educational apps that are designed to teach literacy skills. In this article, I will list and discuss 23 of them. Power Vocab Word Game Those looking for a fun way to improve vocabulary will love this app! It is simply fun to play and even offers a multi-player mode where you can test your …

Continue reading “23 Must-Have K-12 Literacy Apps”

Posted on

Leading for Literacy

By Ruth Schoenbach and Cynthia Greenleaf Every day, middle and high school teachers ask their students to read and understand complex texts in disciplines such as history, literature, biology, or economics. Such reading is foundational to student success in school, the workplace, and in civic life. Yet, national tests results and our own eyes tell us that the majority of high school students aren’t getting it. How can teachers and administrators create classrooms where students routinely engage with challenging material, think critically about texts, synthesize information from multiple sources, and effectively communicate what they have learned? And how can we …

Continue reading “Leading for Literacy”

Posted on

Digital Storytelling for Younger & Older Learners

By Marisa Constantinides   Picture this: …a teacher holding up her laptop or tablet and a circle of children listening to her and following the digital images of her imagination, completely absorbed in the world she has been weaving for them through her narration.Now Picture this: The image is the same, it’s just the technology that changes, and books were new technology in the history of mankind, too, not so many centuries ago! Storytelling & Language Acquisition Much has been written about the importance of storytelling; bedtime stories form a part of our first contact with books, with language, as well as …

Continue reading “Digital Storytelling for Younger & Older Learners”

Posted on

Why stories matter for children’s learning

Peggy Albers, Georgia State University Ever wondered why boys and girls choose particular toys, particular colors and particular stories? Why is it that girls want to dress in pink and to be princesses, or boys want to be Darth Vader, warriors and space adventurers? Stories told to children can make a difference. Scholars have found that stories have a strong influence on children’s understanding of cultural and gender roles. Stories do not just develop children’s literacy; they convey values, beliefs, attitudes and social norms which, in turn, shape children’s perceptions of reality. I found through my research that children learn …

Continue reading “Why stories matter for children’s learning”

Posted on

Supporting the Struggling Writer

Caption: A Turnitin study reports that technology tools can overcome psychological barriers struggling students encounter in writing. Pre-writing and frequent, informal writing exercises often guided by technology tools, can help. In a recent survey of students from middle school to graduate school by Turnitin, half of the 1,400 students who responded said they find it challenging just getting started with a writing project. For teachers, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. There are always students in every class who, for one reason or another, find it daunting to begin filling a blank page or screen with words. And they aren’t …

Continue reading “Supporting the Struggling Writer”