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Good article on how involving parents in the school community can lead to better student achievement and attendence.

"Parent involvement can make a difference in a child's education." I know this is true in my school. I know for a fact that my students who have parents that are involved do better academically. This does not mean that the parent necessarily has to have a high level of education. I have had students really succeed because their parents check their agenda and homework each night when they come home. Sometimes, just knowing or having a parent that cares and that is there to push you is enough.

I agree wholeheartedly with the quote that states "Parent involvement can make a difference in a child's education." Once I read this line, I was intrigued with the rest of the article. I am a very driven individual when it comes to education, and I want that for my son as well. My wife and I are constantly coaching our son on the importance of education, and making sure that he completes his work on time and correctly. I have seen first hand in my two years of teaching what parent involvement can do for a students school work. I have seen students whose parents are actively involved in their school careers, and the students performed on a much higher level than those of students whose parents did not seem to be involved.

This article describes how attendance effects students, their grades, and schools. Students who miss 10% of classes throughout the school year are considered chronically absent. The article looks at reasons why students do not attend school and offers suggestions on how to address that problem. It also outlines how a middle school cut its absenteeism in half in a short period of time.

One of the most interesting aspects of this article is that attendance issues faced by elementary schools directly correlate with reading levels and the subsequent chronic absenteeism in secondary schools. Three categoriesare identified to describe absences -barriers, discretion and aversion- or rather lack of access to public supports, parents and students do not understand importance of attendance, and a child struggling with academics, anxiety or bullying. Principals are utilizing attendance data to identify chronic absentee students and subsequently implementing strategies in their schools to incorporate interventions that will break down the barriers affecting school attendance rates. The article further discusses the positive effects that principals can have by reaching out to the community as well as the elementary feeder schools to collaboratively effect change that will increase attendance.

Week 8: Authors Yeping Li and Dennie Smith wrote this article which provides research on a teacher's knowledge of fractions; particularly fraction division, and is beneficial to upper elementary and middle school teachers who need to build upon what their students have learned in previous years. It shows that their is a divide between a teacher's confidence in teaching and their mastery of content; specifically in this case of fraction division.

Week 8: Authors Yeping Li and Dennie Smith wrote this article which provides research on a teacher's knowledge of fractions; particularly fraction division, and is beneficial to upper elementary and middle school teachers who need to build upon what their students have learned in previous years. It shows that their is a divide between a teacher's confidence in teaching and their mastery of content; specifically in this case of fraction division.

This article looks at the importance of technology use in the classrooms in the 21st century and how this technology can be used to help close learning gaps. It specifically looks at students who are "at-risk". This article addresses great points but also cautions that in order for technology to be effective, it needs to be accompanied by professional development.

This article highlights a report completed by the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Staford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education in 2014. The article notes that students can make significant increases in learning and engagement through the use of technology. However, students from poor socio economic backgrounds may not have the same instruction or access to technology as those from more affluent neighborhoods. The auther then presents a list of solutions.

I like that this article encourages a blended learning approach with technology. I think that tech is a powerful tool that needs to be paired with hands on activities for the early learners.

(Week7: Jim, Sabrina, Jennifer) This Journal article is accessible through the link given above through the UMUC Library The focus of this article is small group alternative lessons that will help with differentiated reading instruction. The article itself identifies how students in the elementary grades struggle with Phonemic Awareness. Specifically in kindergarten and First grade and continuously miss the benchmark when being assessed. The article also Identifies what differentiated instruction looks like in this setting as well as many example activities on guided reading and other strategies to help address students who are struggling. Teachers are able to use this article as a reference for activities that they can incorporate into the classroom during their reading or guided reading block. The 3 members in our team all work in a secondary school and noticed that many of the activities or lessons were really geared toward elementary students. However when reflecting on the struggling students in our own classes on this topic we quickly realized that those students were indeed on an elementary reading level. Therefore we might not use the exact same strategies but rather adapt them as they do in the article to fit the needs of our learners and make them more age appropriate. Reference: Kosanovich, M, Ladinsky, K, Nelson, L, Torgesen, J,. (2007) Differentiated Reading Instruction: Small Group Alternative Lesson Structures for All Students. Guidance Document for Florida "Reading First" Schools. Florida Center for Reading Research ERIC Journal. pp. 11, Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498777.pdf

Week 7

@ Jessica Carr

(Week 7: Jessica Carr, Sarah Donahey, and Mark Cook) This journal article is accessible through the link given above by accessing the UMUC library. This article discusses the need for vocabulary and comprehension instruction in the primary grades in order for long-term, adequate reading skills in elementary students. The authors examine research that have been done on primary grades in order to closely examine the reading skills that are needed for elementary-aged students. Reading outside of school, vocabulary, word-reading skills, conceptual knowledge, and comprehension strategies are the instructional approaches that the authors believe need to be taught in the primary grades in order for long-term goals to be met. Teachers can implement the instructional strategies being encouraged in this article, in their own practice. Teachers can also encourage reading outside of school for homework to help improve reading skills among their students. References: Block, K., M., & Duke, K., N. (2012). Improving reading in the primary grades. The Future of Children, 22(2), 55-72. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23317411?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents

The article references stats that involve demographics pertaining to elementary reading and math. High school graduation rates and dropout rates amongst minorities in a californian community. The author looks at closing the achievement gap by getting parents involved and placing more emphasis on pre-K programs. The article states that when it comes to intervention, the way to look at it is, the earlier the better. The author provides suggestions to closing the gap.

I found this article to be very intriguing, because although it makes the common claim that increased school attendance will result in higher GPA, it also describes how another variable, a student's distance living away from school, affects their attendance rate. According to this study, there is a statistically significant effect of the farther away one lives from school, the greater their absences will be. This is something I want to investigate further once I return to school and can see where some of my historically truant students are traveling from each day.

This article uses a Pennsylvania Elementary school and its partners as an example of community schools and what it can do to help make education in and out of the classroom more attainable.

Week 8- Fifteen years later, this article investigates recommendations provided by the National Research Council's seminal report:Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. The article discusses which of these recommendations have been implemented in U.S classrooms over the past 15 years and which strategies have been avoided. The authors then share more recent research studies sharing strategies that may help teachers improve primary-grade reading. Authors: Nell K. Duke and Meghan K. Block

The article provides valuable insight into the impact that vocabulary instruction can have on reading comprehension. It is also noted that because reading instructional has changed over the years this too has contributed to comprehension and vocabulary development. It appears that the approach to reading instruction needs to be revisited to determine which strategies works the most effectively.

I loved this article. My school is currently focusing on Academic Language in our School Improvement Plan, we are also an IB school where students are to use Academic Language more often. I'm glad to see that many of our commonly used words are included in this list. I also love how they go through the examples of how to teach a new word. In middle school I feel these higher level vocabulary words are used more often than in primary ages.

Educational Learning Games for students in Preschool and Elementary school. Pre-school games include pre-reading, shapes, colors, numbers and mouse skills.

This is a research from the 1970s and 1980s on the characteristics of effective elementary school teachers highlighted the importance of a strong academic focus, explicit instruction, and high levels of pupils on task. Extending this earlier research, recent large-scale studies on effective teachers of reading have highlighted the importance of motivating and balanced instruction, the teaching of strategies as well as skills, the encouragement of higher-level thinking, and the use of coaching as children are reading and writing. Common findings across recent studies on effective elementary teachers of reading are highlighted in this research paper. It suggest skills and strategies for teaching reading effectively

The article references stats that involve demographics pertaining to elementary reading and math. High school graduation rates and dropout rates amongst minorities in a californian community. The author looks at closing the achievement gap by getting parents involved and placing more emphasis on pre-K programs. The article states that when it comes to intervention, the way to look at it is, the earlier the better. The author provides suggestions to closing the gap.

From a series of publications by the National Association of Elementary School Principals: "This white paper outlines five recommendations to help principals put student achievement data to the best possible use: 1) Make data part of the ongoing cycle of instructional improvement; 2) Teach students to examine their own data and set learning goals; 3) Establish a clear vision for school-wide data use; 4) Provide supports that foster a data-driven culture within the school; and 5) Develop and maintain a district-wide data system." Suggestions for how to implement these recommendations, along with links to video interviews and supporting documents, are given.

Week 8 - Virgil

This article summarizes how one school used a blended differentiated curriculum to reduce the achievemnt gap between poor and wealthy students. What I found interesting about this approach is that the authors said, "That engagement in learning is enhanced when students' interests and choices are considered." This is a different approach to how some schools use differentiation and the change didn't happened over night. The school made a lot of adjustments, including re-writing the curriculum and setting specific learning objectives. However, they were successful because they saw an improvement in student achievement.

Week 7: This article by Valerie N. Faulkner that talks about how Common Core has changed how we teach math and would be beneficial to teachers who are trying to get used to the new Common Core curriculum and help build their implementation of language within math instruction.

Week 7: This article by Valerie N. Faulkner that talks about how Common Core has changed how we teach math and would be beneficial to teachers who are trying to get used to the new Common Core curriculum and help build their implementation of language within math instruction.

Hundreds of games and activities for a variety of subjects (including math, science, language arts) and all grade levels. Many activities include quizzes to check for comprehension.