Helping your child with subtraction: tens and units

Please follow the link below from NCCA to access a tip sheet on helping you child with subtraction (remaming) in maths:

http://www.ncca.ie/en/Curriculum_and_Assessment/Parents/Primary/1st_and_2nd_Classes/Tipsheet_Helping_you_child_with_subtraction.pdf

JF

BBC article on screen time. Interesting read

 Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19870199        9 October 2012

Limit children's screen time, expert urges

 By Hannah Richardson BBC News education and family reporter

The amount of time children spend in front of screens should be curbed to stave off development and health problems, an expert says. Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman says children of all ages are watching more screen media than ever, and starting earlier.

The average 10-year-old has access to five different screens at home, he says. And some are becoming addicted to them or depressed as a result, he warns.

Writing in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, Dr Sigman says a child born today will have spent a full year glued to screens by the time they reach the age of seven. He adds: "In addition to the main family television, for example, many very young children have their own bedroom TV along with portable hand-held computer game consoles (eg, Nintendo, Playstation, Xbox), smartphone with games, internet and video, a family computer and a laptop and/or a tablet computer (eg iPad).

Dr Sigman cites from a string of published studies suggesting links between prolonged screen time and conditions such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. But he suggests the effects go further than those simply associated with being sedentary for long periods. He says prolonged screen time can lead to reductions in attention span because of its effects on the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine is produced in response to "screen novelty", says Dr Sigman. It is a key component of the brain's reward system and implicated in addictive behaviour and the inability to pay attention.

 "The advice from a growing number of both researchers and medical associations and government departments elsewhere is becoming unequivocal - reduce screen time."

Developmental psychopathology expert Prof Lynne Murray, of the University of Reading, said: "There is a well-established literature showing the adverse effects of screen experience on the cognitive development of children under three, and the US Paediatric Association for example has recommended no screen time before this age. "If children do watch, however, adverse effects are mitigated by watching with a supportive partner - usually adult , who can scaffold and support the child's experience, and by watching more familiar material.

JF

Spelling!

‘I have a spelling checker 

It came with my PC

It plainly marks for my revue 

Mistakes I cannot sea

I’ve run this poem threw it

I’m sure your please to no, 

It’s letter perfect in it’s weigh

My checker tolled me sew!’

Anonymous

JF

Seven steps to more fluent reading

Improve your child’s reading in 10 minutes a day  

Louise Holden: Irish Times Article

Seven steps to more fluent reading

1 In a busy home, finding time and space for quiet reading is perhaps the most difficult challenge, but the results are well worth it. Create a spot where reading sessions always happen – a corner of your child’s room for example. Find a time that works, maybe just after dinner or just before bedtime. Even try getting up 10 minutes earlier in the morning.

2 Choose the right reading material. It has to be interesting but not frustrating. Don’t give a child reading material with content that is too babyish for them. There are books for children whose reading level is behind their interest level. If you can’t get your hands on such material, try compiling material from the internet or newspapers in the form of a project that interests the child.

3 Start with a conversation. What is this book going to be about? What does the title suggest? What do the pictures suggest? These help children to read with purpose.

4 Paired reading is when a teacher or parent reads with a child to help model good reading and to support the child’s own efforts. There are several kinds of paired reading – try them all to see what works.

* Assisted reading

Read a part of the text and let the child take over at an agreed point. You read every second page, for example, or, if the going is very slow, every second paragraph. This can alleviate frustration.

* Chorus reading

Parent and child read together out loud. This way the child gets a sense of your tone and cadences, where you stop and pause and how you add expression. Listen closely to ensure that your child is able to read with you most of the time. If she is dropping out too frequently the material is too advanced.

* Echo reading

This is very effective for children experiencing significant difficulties with fluency. First you read the sentence. Then you and the child read the sentence together. Finally the child reads the sentence alone.

You are modelling the right way to read, scaffolding the child’s attempt, and then giving the child an independent run at it.

Shadow reading uses a similar approach, but you use longer blocks of text.

5 If you look at any reading passage you will find that certain words occur again and again. These are known as high-frequency words (an internet search will find them).

Various studies have compiled lists of these; for example, the Dolch list contains 100 words that can constitute up to half the words in the material we read. If a child can recognise these words fluently it makes the job of reading much easier.

Pay particular attention to these words as they crop up in the text and reinforce them with your child.

6 If a child is reading without expression or apparent comprehension, but getting the words right, try asking them to read the same paragraph a number of times, but with feeling. You can model this for them. This can even be fun if you really exaggerate, use accents and hand gestures.

7 Finish the session with discussion and praise. Even if you have only succeeded in reading a few lines in your session, talk to your child about the meaning of what you have just read. This conversation extends vocabulary, aids comprehension and whets their appetite for the next session.

JF

Happy New Year

May every day of the New Year glow with good cheer, health and happiness for you and all your family. Happy New Year JF