Semantic Gradients | Classroom Strategies

"Reading is Fundamental.  Reading is the gateway to a lifetime of learning.  All children can Learn."  Mrs. Brenda Lee Cosse', Parent of an elementary-school age child who is enjoying learning and reading while living on the Autism Spectrum.

More ways to identify and prevent the Summer Slide of Summer Learning Loss...

Semantic Gradients video and podcast may be of particular interest to Educators and Speech & Language specialists.  

Why use semantic gradients?

• Helps broaden and deepen students' understanding of related words
• Helps students distinguish between shades of meaning
• Enhances students' vocabulary, which can help them be more precise and imaginative in their writing

  Semantic Gradients | Classroom Strategies | Reading Rockets


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Start with a Book - Visit our new summer website, chock-full of books, hands-on activities, parent tips, and much more for a season of learning. 24 kid-friendly themes to explore — from bugs to weather!

 Explore the Night Sky - Go on a "starry" reading adventure with our new reading adventure pack — stargaze, make a constellation mobile, or write an original myth.

Our PBS Shows

Summer Learning

School may be out, but learning is still in. Meet parents, teachers, and researchers in Washington, D.C., Detroit, and Boston who are discovering the best ways to keep kids engaged with learning during the long summer break — and avoid the "summer slump." Watch online > 

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More Reading Resources

#BeBookSmart Twitter Party

'Enjoying The Hi-5s of Autism - A Family Experience' at 'Enjoying The Hi-5's of Autism - A Family Experience' 

*JOIN US FOR A TWITTER PARTY ABOUT CHILDREN'S LITERACY!* *RIF* (Reading Is Fundamental) has partnered with Macy’s to create Be Book Smart, a national partnership to raise awareness and support of children’s literacy. This effort will help RIF provide free books and literacy resources to children nationwide, while expanding RIF’s outreach to the children at greatest risk for developing reading difficulties. This campaign provides an opportunity for Macy’s customers to join the effort and have an impact on literacy in their community. Through July 31, 2012, Macy’s customers can giv... more »

EnjoyHi5Autism: Recursos en español (Education Resources for Spanish Speakers) http://t.co/1ZQCI1nZ   Twitter / EnjoyHi5Autism

Candy Land Language

Jenna Rayburn at Speech Room News 

Many of you downloaded the Candy Land Articulation Cards! Since you seemed to enjoy them I whipped up some Candy Land Language Cards as well!  The card games are broken into different game sets. These include (1) irregular verbs, (2) categories (3) antonyms (4) comparatives & superlatives and (5) functions. You can mix and match the games as needed. The cards contain look a like ...

HelpKidzLearn Activities now Available on Subscription

Barbara Landsberg at The Spectronics Blog 

HelpKidzLearn is a collection of activities and games for young children and students in special education settings to play online. The activities are split into five sections: Early Years Games …

50 App Giveaway - Independence Week Celebration

'Enjoying The Hi-5s of Autism - A Family Experience' at 'Enjoying The Hi-5's of Autism - A Family Experience'

Fifty family-friendly apps can make a huge contribution to your iDevice. Most participating developers are parents themselves – so come wave the flag this Independence Day – it’s a celebration! [Moms With Apps] Kid-Capsule July 2, 2012** ★ 50+ FAMILY FRIENDLY APPS ★ Fifty family-friendly apps can make a huge contribution to your iDevice. Most participating developers are parents themselves – so come wave the flag this Independence Day – IT'S A CELEBRATION! ★ Enter at the Kid-Capsule blog: http://bit.ly/50AppGiveaway ★ Open from July 2nd, 2012 at 12:01 AM EDT to July 13th, 2012 a... more »

Reading Rockets:  Make Reading Count WETA

Summer Learning Loss: Don't Take A Summer Vacation from LEARNING!

 Years of education research have documented that the long summer hiatus from the classroom eats into children’s academic gains from the previous year.  Summer loss accumulates year after year and “contributes to a substantial portion of the achievement gap,” according to a 2011 RAND Corp. report, “Making Summer Count,” commissioned by The Wallace Foundation.   The RAND report notes that research from a dozen studies suggests it is possible to mitigate summer slide through smart summertime programs. Features of promising efforts include small group sizes, engaging activities, strong instruction, sufficient duration (five to six weeks over the summer) and, crucially, strong attendance.

With this in mind, Wallace last year launched a $50-million initiative to see whether large school districts could successfully operate high-quality programs that replace summer learning loss with lasting learning gains, particularly for our least advantaged students. This summer marks the program’s second year with six participating districts — Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Duval County (Jacksonville, Fla.), Pittsburgh and Rochester, N.Y. The efforts vary in approach, but typically they offer children academic fare during the morning and enrichment, ranging from nature study to dance, later in the day. Some programs feature field trips or a big project such as a theatrical performance. One offers the occasional pizza or ice cream party.

Wallace chose the six in part because the superintendents and other district leaders already had launched programs to fight summer learning loss. The Wallace initiative seeks to help strengthen this programming, ...
Ensuring Summer Isn’t a Vacation From Learning  BY WILL MILLER

  American Association of School Administrators

• Read one school leader's approach to ensuring summer isn’t a vacation from learning http://ow.ly/aRYau

  

School Administrator is AASA's award-winning monthly magazine. It is delivered to every public school superintendent in the United States and provides big-picture perspectives and collegial discussions on a broad range of topics in education, leadership, instructional materials and resources unique to the education community. Jay Goldman, editor. Current Issue  Differentiated Instruction              1615 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, 703-528-0700 | info@aasa.org.

  Escape the 'Slide'. Stop learning loss without missing out on summer fun. Summer learning loss happens with all subjects, but math and literacy are of the biggest cause for concern because they're the foundation for all future learning. Research shows that students lose 2-3 months of math skills every summer. TenMarks Summer Program
Register for our Summer Math Program before 6/3 for 20% off!
How It Works
Students are guided through their personalized curriculum, one concept at a time. They receive "smart worksheets" on each topic, with the goal of helping them master that topic.  Online Summer Math Program - Proven Results


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"Life on the Autism Spectrum can be ENJOYable."

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