Today's teachers must navigate a complex system of policy and curriculum, while striving to accommodate increasingly diverse student demographics and complicated social landscapes. In recognition of the modern-day K-2 classroom, this research reviewed and analyzed educational policy language to identify and examine social justice concepts related…

In 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act outlined specific considerations for students with individual education programs in relation to their needs and application of assistive technology (AT) devices and services used to access school curriculum. Teachers will interact with a variety of assistive technologies during their career…

This document provides the following four tips for supporting reading skills for children ages K-3 at home: (1) Have conversations before, during, and after reading together; (2) Help children learn how to break sentences; (3) Help children sound out words smoothly; and (4) Model reading fluently by practicing reading out loud with your child.…

This document begins by providing four tips parents and care takers can use to supporting childrens' reading skills at home: (1) Have conversations before, during, and after reading together; (2) Help children learn how to break sentences into words and words into syllables; (3) Help children sound out words smoothly; and (4) Model reading…

While literacy interventions can be implemented in any grade, focusing on prevention and intervention in kindergarten through grade 2 is optimal because reading difficulties become expensive and challenging to remediate as students become older. The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 allows districts to do just this, with 15 percent of…

Amargosa Valley School in Nevada could be considered representative of almost any preK-8 school that serves a large proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and is focused on turning around persistently low achievement. Like other schools supported by federal School Improvement Grants, Amargosa is beginning to implement a reform plan…

This facilitator's guide is designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. Through this collaborative learning experience, educators will expand their knowledge base as they read, discuss, share,…

These handouts, which are meant to accompany the facilitator's guide, are designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. The facilitator's guide uses a five-step process for collaborative…

This study investigated the accuracy of classroom teachers' judgments of the reading progress of their low-performing students. Participants were 36 second grade teachers and students in their lowest reading groups (n = 150). Student progress was monitored weekly using reading-curriculum-based measurement (R-CBM) procedures. After 6 weeks,…

Tess is a joyful eight-year old girl with epilepsy, frontal lobe dysfunction, and dyspraxia, as well as delays in language, fine motor, and gross motor skills. However, despite her disabilities, Tess happily embraces life. With assistance from a few support professionals, Tess currently functions successfully in a regular education second grade…

Describes a second-grade classroom project to collect pennies to buy playground equipment. The unit combined practical, hands-on experiences and reflected six standards from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum Standards. (MKR)

A teacher describes how a classroom diary, part of a daily classroom routine, was created through class members sharing their experiences with each other. The diary also served as a teaching tool in such areas as language arts and handwriting. (CB)

Describes second graders' responses to finding the sum of the numbers from 1 through 10 after reading the book, Ten Black Dots. Includes student work demonstrating their problem solving. (MKR)

This instructional packet deals with inventions and presents activities that enable students to learn about past inventions and inventors and also create their own inventions in a variety of ways: centers, individual work, and group work. (JRH)

Outlines are presented for 30 creative dance lessons for second grade children. Each lesson description includes: (1) a statement of the lesson objective; (2) an overview of how the lesson illuminates a general concept of dancing; (3) musical equipment needed; (4) introductory activities; (5) tasks for skill development; (6) suggestions for the…