This project was created to inspire teachers to use technology in engaging ways to help students develop higher level thinking skills. Take a few minutes and follow this link to see how our future generation is equipped to handle the "digital world". How will our education system adapt to our youth? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8&feature;=related ...read more
By Sylvan Learning - Tualatin April 01, 2009
This article can be viewed at http://drrickblog.com/post/2009/03/06/Family-Reading-Activities.aspx Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D., has nearly forty years of education experience, in both the public and private sectors, including more than a decade with Sylvan Learning. I can't think of any better family activities than reading together. Reading together as a family is fun, it's inexpensive, and it's beneficial to everyone. What's not to like? Here are a few tips about how to make family reading time a regular part of your family's entertainment. 1. Have Read-Aloud Nights. Take turns choosing what books to read. Kids love to have a hand in what the family will read together. Then, take turns reading. Give everyone a turn. If a young reader needs some practice time beforehand, that's fair. Read with expression to make the stories come alive. 2. Have regular visits to the neighborhood library. Give children time to browse in their favorite sections. Check with the children's librarian about the best and newest selections, suggestions for your family's needs, your child's interests. Show enthusiasm about your child's books. Talk about them. Ask conversation-starting questions. 3. Share favorite books and stories. Kids love to tell you about their favorite books and stories. I was reading to second-graders just this week, and I asked for their favorites. Little hands immediately shot into the air, eager to answer my question. Here's a sample of what they told me. Captain Underpantsbooks, of course. Fantasy. Books about animals, cars and trucks, and sports. Funny books. Scary books, "but nottooscary." Chapter books. Books about famous people. 4. Share intergenerational favorites. Kids like telling you about their favorites, but they also are curious about yours when you were their age. What were your favorite childhood books and stories? Get Grandma into the act, too, as well as Favorite Aunt Heather and Fun Uncle Evan. What about older brothers and sisters? They're already role models, so their favorites are interesting. Then, read those books together during one of your Read-Aloud Nights. 5. Make up alternate endings or scenes. What would happen if . . . ? Re-arrange some scenes and have the kids put them in their proper sequence. They love that, and it's a good check for their attention and understanding. 6. Act out scenes or write simple songs about the books. Make simple sets and costumes. Kids love the creativity, the activity, the fun. Kids are motivated most and learn best when they're active and can use their imaginations. 7. Check out cool kids' reading web siteslikewww.bookadventure.comor, for parents, the posts about reading in my own blog, www.drrickblog.com. 8. Pledge to read as a family during Read Across Americaatwww.sylvanlearning.com/readacrossamerica. 9. Check out useful reading products, like Sylvan Learning's new reading, writing, and spelling workbooks atwww.randomhouse.com/sylvanlearningbookstore. If your kids need practice – and who doesn’t? – these books could be just the thing. 10. Be a positive reading role model. Let your kids see you reading daily as you read for information or just for the fun of it. When I was with those second-graders this week, one told me he loved to read but he's also interested in his 15-year-old brother's rap music. "It has some bad words in it, though," he told me. "I don't like those words." But I could tell he's curious, and the temptation to be like his older brother is strong. We have children's undivided attention for such a short amount of time. Use it wisely to help them establish healthy habits and attitudes about reading, ones that will keep them strong even when, inevitably, music with "bad words" creeps into their lives. What activities does your family engage in to encourage the important habit of reading? We’d love to hear about them. Simply click on the “comment” button below to share your successes with us. ...read more
By Sylvan Learning - Tualatin March 11, 2009
Increased College Entrance Competition = Increased Test Stress The pressure is on. Today, more high school students are applying to more colleges, earlier than ever before. The number of early admission applications has increased dramatically, with some universities seeing double digit jumps. To begin the college process, most students applying to competitive colleges now take the SAT*/ACTmore than once. Students today know clearly what students in the past may not have known - systematically preparing for the SAT/ACT gives them confidence. They know how to budget their time, they know what the test looks and feels like, they know important strategies like when to guess at an answer. They go into the test practiced and confident. Students can take the SAT/ACT as many times as they like, but educators suggest taking the tests no more than two or three times. Dr. Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D. and senior vice president for education outreach fro Sylvan Learning,offers the following tips to help ease the pressure of testing and achieve the best results: Take the tests in the spring of junior year or fall of senior year of high school. Know the instructions for each section before you begin the test, you won’t have to waste time reading them during the exam. If you don’t know a test answer and can’t eliminate any incorrect answer choices, skip the question and only go back if time permits. For the ACT, remember to go back and take a guess on any unanswered questions, since there’s no penalty for incorrect answers. Trust yourself. Rely on your instincts. Never leave an easy question blank. Easy questions have easy answers. Read, read, read. Read the questions and answers critically. Eliminate answers. If you can eliminate at least two incorrect answers, you generally increase the probability of guessing correctly. Save your time. Don’t spend too much time on any single question. Make sure you have enough time to answer as many questions as possible, in order to rack up as many points as possible. Focus on what the question is really asking. If you don’t fully understand the question, finding the correct answer is going to be tough. Rushing only hurts you. Work at a good pace and keep track of the time remaining for each section. Enter the exam with confidence. End each section by reviewing. If time permits, revisit the questions you didn’t answer. Don’t try to cram for the SAT/ACT overnight. Proper preparation takes weeks, even months, of review. Register for a SAT/ACT prep class at least eight weeks before the testing date to provide extra studying assistance and additional confidence. ...read more
By Sylvan Learning - Tualatin February 14, 2009
Science concepts and objectives can be quite complex. When the teacher suggests science tutoring as an option to assist the child in mastery, take action immediately. However, before you run out to your nearest tutoring center, talk to your child’s teacher about some free or low-cost options tha... ...read more
There are many great ways to find a good tutoring job and there are many good tutoring jobs available. Your next job might be right under your nose or just around the corner. Although you might need to pursue multiple avenues and use many resources to help you find the best fit. If you are persis... ...read more