10 Ways to keep children motivated.

Kids love it and parents dread it…the last day of school.  How do you keep your children from checking out prior to the last school bell?

Keep them motivated by channeling that end of year excitement and energy into constructive learning.

1)    Learning tables that highlight different projects and tasks help children focus on one project at a time and rotate to another learning table once the task is complete.

2)    Class scrapbooking allows children to create their own special page that showcases what they learned by writing a school letter and using their creativity to design visual pieces that describe the school year.

3)    Cooperative learning encourages discussions, interaction and involvement among children.  Have each child write down an idea and begin brainstorming thoughts on each topic.

4)    Reading aloud with your child and taking turns throughout the story increases engagement and allows the child to hear a fluent reader with expression.

5)    Friday Fun Day.  Read about a famous place or American icon and visit the historical landmark to learn more about the place.

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Are your children strong readers?

Classroom teachers rarely have time to work one on one for 15 minutes with a student during school hours or even after school help. 

The solution to building a confident reader is Neurological Impress Method.  This reading method is a form of paired reading in which a student and adult read the text simultaneously.

So how does it actually work?

Sitting next to each other, the adult will read the text slightly faster than the student while they both use a finger to follow the text.

Next steps,
1)    Use reading material that is at the students independent level.
2)    A Kumon instructor will guide the students finger under the words as they are being read to- ensure the voice and finder are operating together.
3)    If the student begins to mumble or fall behind where the finger is, then you must stop the reading and have the student reread the sentence with you.

According to http://myweb.stedwards.edu/mikekb/ReadStrong/nim.html, research on Neurological Impress Method showed students who significantly improved their fluency after only a short period of instruction.  

Doing this reading method for 15 minutes a day for at least 21 days will show a noticeable marked improvement in fluency.

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Change your learning environment

Spas are painted neutral for calmness, art studios are painted bright to inspire creativity and classrooms are filled with drawings, posters and books to motivate learning and growing.  The colors and items that surround you in a certain environment have much to do with your perception and mood towards the activity.

Where a child learns explains how they process material and this affects their understanding of new information.  Differential instruction is important because it uses key elements that need to be changed in order to help accommodate children to grow and learn at their own pace and style.  The way a classroom looks and feels is a large element that contributes to the overall learning experience and process.

 

According to the online article www.readingrockets.org, here are 3 ways to help change a learning environment for students needs.

•  Utilizing sections of a classroom to encourage both a quite time for independent work and a separate space for students to collaborate.
•   Cultures and home environments play a role in learning. Providing information that reflects those values and styles in a particular setting will prove to be helpful.
•  Each individual works differently, therefore providing guidelines that match those learning needs will make independent work more successful.

Where do you feel more creative? The most inspired? The most motivated?  

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