Learners with Dyslexia & their Mental Health

I *love* that during that Dyslexia Awareness Month, reading teachers and organizations highlight important teaching tips, statistics, and research regarding this language-based specific learning disability and its impact on learners.  Many of us who work with struggling readers also notice the need to address their social-emotional needs as part of our instructional strategy.  So then I wondered:  what does the research say about the mental health of learners with dyslexia?

Character Feelings Lists by Categories: Using Precise Language

Character feelings lessons begin in kindergarten and end in . . . well, we still talk about our feelings as adults, right?  Teachers are pros at experiencing a wide range of feelings, LOL. 😬

As students are developing their vocabulary banks, it's easy for them to just use words within their comfort zone:  happy, mad, sad, and scared.  Our jobs are to help them grow their vocabulary and use precise language.  What better way to scaffold the process than with some organized lists!

Assessing Elementary Readers Digitally: Thoughts & Questions

It's been awhile, friends.  I hope that this blog post finds you well!  Or at least persevering through the challenges.  Because there are plenty of them.

I could make lots of excuses of why I haven't been writing on this blog.  Eventually I'll write a blog post about some of my personal challenges, taking a deep dive into the importance of healing.  (I would love it if you followed me on Instagram...my *favorite* social media platform.)  Nonetheless, I'm here now, and I've got some deep thoughts about assessing children's reading via purely digital methods.

Character Traits List & Vocabulary Support

As we have entered the month of August, every teacher, whether she likes it or not, starts thinking about school.  Some of us have dreams (or nightmares).  Some of us go on a Pinterest spree.  We walk through Target and ask ourselves "What do I 'need' from the dollar section?"

You don't do this?  Okay, maybe it's just me.  Anyway, we are also thinking about what were some of our students' challenges last year, and how we will address them this year.  My third and fourth graders had difficulty with vocabulary and making inferences, which was evident in how they would describe their characters:

Nice

Mean

Sad

Oh my.