Teaching Handwriting in the Digital Era

2021-10-05T13:22:41+00:00

Learning how to write letters, words, and sentences on paper has been an important part of American schooling for hundreds of years. However, with increased use of personal computers, laptops, and tablets, many educators and policymakers question the usefulness of spending valuable class time teaching handwriting to students who have been born into a digital world. At the same time, reading and brain research points to the educational value of handwriting in ways that extend beyond being able to read cursive or take notes without benefit of a laptop or tablet. In her recent article for the International Dyslexia Association, Write Makes Right, Type is [...]

Teaching Handwriting in the Digital Era2021-10-05T13:22:41+00:00

It’s National Library Week!

2021-10-05T13:10:03+00:00

This week, April 12-18, is National Library Week—an observance sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries across the country. Each April for nearly 60 years we have taken time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians, and to promote library use and support. Here at Commonwealth Learning Center we are grateful for a thriving library presence in our community. These institutions serve not only as a hub for literacy, learning, and so much more, but also as a home base for many of our tutoring services. Sending our teachers to local public and school libraries allows us to [...]

It’s National Library Week!2021-10-05T13:10:03+00:00

The Future of Homework

2021-10-05T13:16:47+00:00

Homework is part of the fabric of after school life for most families with school-age children. For some, it is the cause of immense frustration and even tears (from children and/or parents!). It comes as no surprise that a quick Amazon search on the subject of homework reveals such titles as Homework Without Tears, Ending the Homework Hassle, Homework Made Simple, and my favorite—How to Do Homework Without Throwing Up. Research about the value of homework is inconclusive. Some researchers find that homework increases stress and limits student’s extracurricular opportunities while it does not have a measurable impact on achievement.(1) (2) In contrast, there is research that notes [...]

The Future of Homework2021-10-05T13:16:47+00:00

A Way With Words: Mastering vs. Memorizing Vocabulary

2021-10-07T07:13:17+00:00

Part 2 Last time, we reviewed some of the reasons why vocabulary development can be so difficult for students. Now, we will focus on ways to help students begin to gain a full understanding of language that will last a lifetime. Vocabulary is learned through a wide variety of mediums, including conversation, watching television, listening to the radio, etc., but for the purposes of this post we’ll refer to strategies to help students master vocabulary within assigned academic reading. As students are reading, they should get into the habit of highlighting or underlining words they are unfamiliar with. They should venture a [...]

A Way With Words: Mastering vs. Memorizing Vocabulary2021-10-07T07:13:17+00:00

A Way With Words: Mastering vs. Memorizing Vocabulary

2021-10-05T13:08:06+00:00

Part 1 All too often, students study vocabulary words for a test only to never think about them again once that test is over. They don’t realize, or perhaps don’t care, that they are being taught these words to utilize indefinitely, to include as part of their repertoire. Vocabulary is the keystone to comprehension, and developing an understanding of it in a deep way, through use in conversation and writing, is an essential life skill to be successful in a verbal world. Our students are struggling with vocabulary (as well as reading, spelling, writing, and comprehension) because of an invalid [...]

A Way With Words: Mastering vs. Memorizing Vocabulary2021-10-05T13:08:06+00:00

The Power of Routine in a Multi-Tasking World

2021-10-07T07:22:24+00:00

As a society, we seem to be in a constant state of multi-tasking. We watch television, surf the Web, and talk on the phone simultaneously. Meanwhile, we have dinner in the oven, and are watching the kids on the swing set out the kitchen window. In today’s modern world, sometimes it’s just unavoidable. We want to teach our children the importance of listening, paying attention, and following directions, but it can be tricky when we’re not always leading by example. We forget that these skills are not innate—they must be learned. Of course, not all learning is done in a classroom. [...]

The Power of Routine in a Multi-Tasking World2021-10-07T07:22:24+00:00

Test Prep Tips: Avoiding Pitfalls of Student Entrance Exams

2021-10-07T07:20:45+00:00

Fall is the season when many students are taking aptitude tests for entrance to a private Catholic high school or a four year college. The SATs are used for college entrance, but private high schools may use tests like the COOP (Cooperative Admissions Examination), and HSPT (Scholastic Testing Service High School Placement Test). The material covered usually falls into verbal skills (vocabulary, reading, comprehension) and mathematics. The acronyms and content are not as important as the fact that these tests are stressful by the very nature of their design. That is to say, these tests challenge students’ abilities well above [...]

Test Prep Tips: Avoiding Pitfalls of Student Entrance Exams2021-10-07T07:20:45+00:00

The Advantages of Being Dyslexic

2021-10-07T07:07:14+00:00

There has been much speculation and discussion about the idea that people with dyslexia seem to have particular strengths in areas of the brain responsible for perceptual reasoning or visual spatial tasks. Visual spatial tasks or visuospatial processing refers to strengths in tasks that are based on the ability to work with pictures not words. Strengths in visual spatial tasks in the everyday world translates to the ability to understand maps, make origami, figure out puzzles, assemble things, read graphs of data, build complex structures with Legos, make model airplanes, excel at woodworking, draw, direct a school play, make creative videos, [...]

The Advantages of Being Dyslexic2021-10-07T07:07:14+00:00

Dyslexia: A Student Case Study

2021-10-07T07:14:05+00:00

When a child is diagnosed with dyslexia, parents often want to know what the road to reading and spelling success will look like.  While this road varies from child to child, there are certain landmarks that characterize the journey.  These include initial success with word attack which leads to improvement in automatic word recognition and eventually improvement in spelling.  The following case study describes one child and her experience.** Karen’s mother Anna came to Commonwealth Learning Center when Karen was in the middle of second grade.  Karen’s speech was remarkable for phoneme reversals – She said the word breakfast as bress-ket, the word animal as aminal, [...]

Dyslexia: A Student Case Study2021-10-07T07:14:05+00:00

Famous Dyslexics who have Impacted the World

2021-10-07T09:14:03+00:00

Many of the people who we consider as changing the course of history for the better were dyslexic. These people were not only able to think outside of the box, but they had the ability to shatter the limitations of the current thinking of their day. They were visionaries who gave birth to ideas that have impacted history in remarkable ways. These revolutionary thinkers are not limited to one area of pursuit, but have contributed to the world in all areas. They were inventors & scientists, political leaders, writers & journalists, filmmakers, actors & entertainers, athletes, artists, designers, architects, lawmakers, military [...]

Famous Dyslexics who have Impacted the World2021-10-07T09:14:03+00:00
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Beth

Beth Dinelli, M.Ed
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220 Reservoir Street, Suite 6 Needham, MA 02494-3133

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