Research tells us that poverty and reading levels are closely connected. Nationally, 1st graders from low-income families have 50% smaller vocabularies than their peers from higher income families. Before they even enter school, children living in poverty face a host of challenges that their wealthier peers do not: food and housing insecurity, poor health care and unsafe environments, limited exposure … Read More
Free Teaching Tools for Teachers
Lectura Books offers free teaching tools for educators. The teaching tools are designed for teachers to use with specific books published by Lectura Books, and will offer activities to accompany the theme of the books. A new teaching tool will be provided each month. Make sure to sign-up to receive our monthly teaching tools via email. TEACHING TOOL EXAMPLE: Boy Zorro … Read More
Common Practices and Values of the Top 6 High Schools
A research team from the Stanford Graduate School of Education released a study last month outlining the common practices and values of the top 6 high schools responsible for having an exemplary record of graduated and career-ready ELLs. The researchers profiled 7 key elements shared by all schools that contributed to their ELL success: Passionate, strategic, mission-driven leadership. Principals, assistant principals, … Read More
President Obama’s 2017 Budget for Education
President Obama’s 2017 Budget for Education The Obama Administration just released the fiscal year 2017 budget and it’s calling for $69.4 billion for educational excellence, a $1.3 billion increase from the 2016 budget. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the 2017 budget will allow further actions that will build on previous objectives, as well as, establish new ones. Acting … Read More
More Families Reading Together But Poverty Has Impact
Current data shows that families are increasingly reading to their children. In 1993, household surveys conducted by the United States Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, showed that approximately 78 percent of children ages 3-5 were read to by a family member at least 3 times a week. The most recent data in 2012 shows that the figures … Read More
California Adopts New Curriculum Framework for English Learners
The California State Department of Education has adopted a new curriculum framework for English Learners in California, where one quarter of its students are English Learners. California is the first state to combine English language arts and English language development into a curriculum. This video, featured in the Common Core Channel, provides an overview of the English Language Arts/English Language … Read More
What is the Day of the Dead?
The Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in central and southern Mexico and other Latin American countries during November 1st and November 2nd. It coincides with All Soul’s & All Saint’s Day which are more catholic holidays, but the indigenous people have combined this with their own ancient beliefs of honoring their deceased loved ones. The core idea … Read More
Spanish Leads Among United States’ English Language Learners
Spanish leads the nation as the top language spoken at home by United States’ English Language Learners. In a fact sheet recently published by the Migration Policy Institute outlining the top languages spoken by United States’ English Language Learners, 71% of ELLs speak Spanish at home followed by Chinese at 4%. The fact sheet further notes that Spanish predominates … Read More
Improving vocabulary for school by reading and talking as a family
Improving vocabulary for school by reading and talking together as a family might be understood by many middle class parents, but it’s not so obvious to low income families, who may not have a middle class understanding of parenting, language development, and academic success. In the United States, we have a fast growing demographic of English Learners. The majority of … Read More
Family Engagement with Hispanic Parents
Family Engagement with Hispanic Parents We review research on parent involvement on an ongoing basis. In reviewing the research, major educational studies, and overviews of the evidence, it is clear that parent involvement works and is a powerful determinant in whether or not a child succeeds in school. The overwhelming research also concludes that the collaboration between parents and schools … Read More