Ages 3-6
Ms. Claudia’s favorite early chapter book series
Introduction I have specific preferences when it comes to early chapter books, and my criteria for identifying good ones is based on the accessibility of language for children who are transitioning from decodable books and bridging books to chapter books, as well as a story structure that is straightforward, with a logical progression of events.…
MUST-HAVE literacy resources to support your child at home (Ages 1-7)
(I will keep updating the blog. This is first published in 2022, and last updated as of April 2022.). I have since then launched my own Science of Reading course that will help you understand HOW a child learns to read so you can make full use of the resources you already have at home,…
Using the Story Grammar Marker (SGM) to support reading, writing and speaking (Titanic Unit) and others
Children’s stories are more or less structured the same way. The structure, also called “story grammar” divides a story into smaller segments. Depending on what programs you use, the story grammar elements could be different, but character, setting, problem, events are usually standard. It is important that children learn to identify parts of a story…
A mother’s takeaways from- “Teach your child to read it in 100 Easy Lesson”
When I started teaching Kai how to read, I taught him all the letter and sounds simply by using the Starfall app (here). I did not intentionally teach phonics. There were no desks, no papers, and no instructions. But what ‘phonics instruction’ looks like to a 2-3 year old is very different from what you…
How I teach Word Families at home
I did a lot of Word Family practice with Kai between the age of 4-4.5 years old. Since I don’t use worksheets with him, I incorporated many hands-on activities actives to help Kai recognize that words can be simplified into chunks, and by learning different chunks, he can actually read many words with the same…
B-I-N-G-O for Reading!
During the school year, I always try to encourage students to read daily in an enjoyable way. Right before a long holiday, I usually introduce something fun to keep the reading going! Book reports, reading response worksheets are NOT my style of teaching, but I have found that my students really enjoy doing “Reading Bingo”!…
Helping my kids learn Chinese, English and Japanese through picture and sound associations
Supporting our children in learning 4 languages is no easy task. It doesn’t make it easier that I am so selective in the resources that I use. Either I research for hours just to find one specific item, or I end up creating my own teaching materials from scratch. From the process of searching…
Teaching my child to read using traditional VS technology-based resources
Long before Kai and Kei were born, my husband and I knew that we play an important role in fostering a love of reading and writing in our children. Teaching literacy also happens be our passion, and we longed to share my passion with my kids. My goal is not to ensure they learn to…
Ages 8 and up
A teaching case for social media: what pen and paper can’t do
Recently, I came across an article (A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute) written by the New York Times which highlights one school in Silicon Valley where, instead of tablet devices and computers, “pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud” are used. With technology being an indispensable part of our lives, and especially with schools trying to adopt 1:1 iPad or BYOD programs,…
Going beyond flashcards – personalized learning （Quizlet單字清單－個人化學習）
在學習詞彙時， 人們會對經常遇到的生詞有較深刻的印象，從而更容易地領略到它們的意思。不過，對在語言學院學習或自修外語的學生來說，因為沒有合適的語言環境，必須融合以學習詞彙為中心的學習方法來提高詞彙學習水平。 語言學習者（學生）會利用Quizlet熟念生詞。他們通常會把要背的單詞放在一列，詞義放在另一列， 加以練習。不過對高階學習者來說，學習語言的挑戰不僅僅是提高詞彙量，還必須能夠把詞彙應用在生活中。 當我使用日語溝通時， 我發現難以流暢地交流的主要原因是因為不熟悉詞彙的用法。根據研究指出，一種可以幫助學習詞彙的好方法是列出可應用在不同情境中的例句。所以背單詞時應把例句放在旁邊。 以下是我幫三年級老師設立的詞彙清單 (還可發聲的！)： 這一個是我個人用來學習的 ： 英語中所謂的“句子挖掘” 是指通過收集，保存和回顧句子的方式來學習語言。 相對於純碎地背單詞，這是一個更有代表性的學習方法。學生可以從電視劇或雜誌中收集句子並儲存在 Quizlet裏。 此外，Google其實是一個很好的工具，可以用來查找單字地常見搭配“搭配詞” （collocation). 在學習第二語言時，常見搭配的重要性是不可忽略地。它可以讓學生說話更加流利自然，使他們想表達的內容更容易理解。 下面這篇博客文介紹了如何使用谷歌搜索詞彙的常見搭配： 語言學習者應該利用Google這個“世界上最大的語言資料庫”來搜索並記錄常用語，常用搭配和常用例句 。我相信用Quizlet來收集地道的用法會讓你的學習過程變得更有意義。 When learning vocabulary, the more one encounters with words in the language input, the more likely the meaning of the word would be acquired. However, this is difficult to achieve if you are studying at…
Promoting Reading & Writing with QR Code
LEARNING via QR Code QR code or Quick Response code is a great way for younger learners to watch a video, look at a website and listen to an audio without the hassle of typing the URL, opening up browsers, etc. Teachers can simply link a QR code to any of those media and post…
How to encourage students to plan & analyse stories using digital storyboarding tools
Literacy pedagogy is no longer limited to “teaching and learning to read and write in page-bound, official, standard forms for the national language.” Today, many terms such as “multimedia” and “digital storytelling” are commonly used to describe practices that transcend language. Many educators are looking for visual learning tools to augment traditional literacy practices to…
Ms Claudia 