The Literacy Blog

The Literacy Blog: How to Help our Girls

2011-06-17T21:22:00.000+10:00

The Literacy Blog: How to Help our Girls: "Andrew Fuller is a Melbourne Psychologist here in Melbourne Australia. I attended an information evening that was presented by Andrew this w..."

How to Help our Girls

2011-06-17T21:21:00.000+10:00

Andrew Fuller is a Melbourne Psychologist here in Melbourne Australia. I attended an information evening that was presented by Andrew this week on Valuing girls. The main message I can take away from that evening was that as parents, we need to play to the strengths of our children.

Using technology to Help Struggling Readers

2011-06-13T10:24:00.000+10:00

Using technology to read books is the way of the future. It is particularly helpful for struggling readers. School are now embracing the digital revolution with laptops, cameras, ipads etc. Students have access to these learning tools within their classrooms. This product is the number one best seller on Amazon and has the most 5 star reviews of any product.

"It's a mature product, very well designed and easy to use, performance is very zippy, it's competitively priced, and no e-ink based reader has a better, more readable display than the Kindle, not even the new Nook Simple Touch. Also, the Kindle universe is quite extensive: the Kindle store is great and has many thousands of free e-books as well as good deals on most other e-books, and once purchased, you can read your Kindle books on nearly any device you own (computer, phone, tablet), not just your Kindle. And there are tons of great cases and other accessories for the Kindle. "

Using technology to read books

2011-06-13T10:13:00.000+10:00

Using technology to read books is the way of the future. It is particularly helpful for struggling readers. School are now embracing the digital revolution with laptops, cameras, ipads etc. Students have access to these learning tools within their classrooms. This product is the number one best seller on Amazon and has the most 5 star reviews of any product.
"It's a mature product, very well designed and easy to use, performance is very zippy, it's competitively priced, and no e-ink based reader has a better, more readable display than the Kindle, not even the new Nook Simple Touch. Also, the Kindle universe is quite extensive: the Kindle store is great and has many thousands of free e-books as well as good deals on most other e-books, and once purchased, you can read your Kindle books on nearly any device you own (computer, phone, tablet), not just your Kindle. And there are tons of great cases and other accessories for the Kindle. "

The Literacy Blog: Grandparents can help to lessen behaviour problems...

2011-06-05T11:29:00.000+10:00

The Literacy Blog: Grandparents can help to lessen behaviour problems...: "As reported in the Melbourne Herald Sun today, a recent study of English and Welsh children aged 11 to 16, found that kids and teenagers who..."

Grandparents can help to lessen behaviour problems in children and teenagers

2011-06-05T11:26:00.001+10:00

As reported in the Melbourne Herald Sun today, a recent study of English and Welsh children aged 11 to 16, found that kids and teenagers who spend time with their grandparents have fewer behavioural problems. Researchers believe this may be because children saw their grandparents as a confidant and a source of comfort and support. This then enables less disruptive and hyperactive behaviour to occur. The study found they were also more likely to get along with their peers and they have a closer connection with their maternal grandmothers.

The Literacy Blog: How to handle a meltdown

2011-05-26T18:19:00.000+10:00

The Literacy Blog: How to handle a meltdown: "So what would you do if your child/student has a meltdown. Typically, meltdowns are related to individuals who have Asperger's Syndrome, but..."

How to handle a meltdown

2011-05-26T18:18:00.000+10:00

So what would you do if your child/student has a meltdown. Typically, meltdowns are related to individuals who have Asperger's Syndrome, but they can happen to anyone. Some of the common causes of meltdowns are when a:
1. child does no receive understandable answers to questions
2. child does not understand the reason for sudden change

3. child has a sensory overload

4. child is given open-ended or vaguely defined tasks

5. child is given too many choices

6. child is taken by surprise

If you would like more information about what a meldown looks like, the causes and what you can do in these difficult situations, please visit this amazing website

http://www.myaspergerschild.com/2011/05/how-to-manage-meltdowns.html

Cheers

Christine

The Literacy Blog: Autism information in an e-newsletter format

2011-05-12T21:29:00.000+10:00

The Literacy Blog: Autism information in an e-newsletter format: "Schafer Autism Report - New App on iPhone, iPad From iTunes: The Schafer Autism Report (SAR) app provides a digest of the latest relevant ..."

Autism information in an e-newsletter format

2011-05-12T21:26:00.000+10:00

Schafer Autism Report - New App on iPhone, iPad

From iTunes: The Schafer Autism Report (SAR) app provides a digest of the latest relevant news and developments about autism in an e-newsletter format. SAR has been a main resource for families and professionals in the autism community since 1998.
The SAR e-newsletter is independent, non-profit, without advertising and is published two to three times a week.

The Literacy Blog: Virtual Reality Games Help Stroke Patients Recover...

2011-04-26T21:09:00.000+10:00

The Literacy Blog: Virtual Reality Games Help Stroke Patients Recover...: "Virtual Reality Games Help Stroke Patients Recover Motor Functions A new study suggests that virtual reality and other video games involvin..."

Virtual Reality Games Help Stroke Patients Recover Motor Functions

2011-04-26T21:08:00.000+10:00

Virtual Reality Games Help Stroke Patients Recover Motor Functions

A new study suggests that virtual reality and other video games involving motion can enhance motor improvement after a stroke (SharpBrains.com 2011).

The Stroop Test is a perfect example of testing your attention ability. The Stroop test is used in neuropsychological evaluations to measure mental vitality and flexibility, since performing well requires strong attention and self-regulation capability.

What you do is read the colour you see in every word not the word you read. Go!!!!!!

This is a fun warm up activity to do with your class or if you home school. It really is gym for the brain.

The Literacy Blog: Say No to Bullying in the Workplace, Online, at Sc...

2011-04-21T11:15:00.000+10:00

The Literacy Blog: Say No to Bullying in the Workplace, Online, at Sc...: "Here in Australia, the Victorian government recently passed a law that makes bullying in the workplace illegal. http://www.abc.net.au/news/..."

Say No to Bullying in the Workplace, Online, at School, Everywhere!

2011-04-21T11:14:00.000+10:00

Here in Australia, the Victorian government recently passed a law that makes bullying in the workplace illegal.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2011/04/05/3183259.htm

Workplace bullies in Victoria will face up to 10 years in jail under changes to stalking laws to be introduced to the State Parliament.
Facebook has also recently announced changes to their social networking site to help keep children safe from online bullying. Young users will be able to request two passwords to make it harder to sign in to their account and have their session encrypted so their movements on the site cannot be intercepted.

Let's stomp out bullies in the workplace, schools, online, everywhere!

The Literacy Blog: Discipline-How and When to Praise your child

2011-04-16T12:42:00.000+10:00

The Literacy Blog: Discipline-How and When to Praise your child: "Hi Everyone, Today I thought I would talk about 'praise' as a positive form of discipline. Experts say that for every negative comment,..."

Discipline-How and When to Praise your child

2011-04-16T12:40:00.000+10:00

Hi Everyone,
Today I thought I would talk about 'praise' as a positive form of discipline. Experts say that for every negative comment, you need 10 positive comments in order to counteract the fall out from that one negative comment. So the question remains, how often do you praise your children? One important thing to remember is to be mindful and aware of their behaviour all the time so that when something good is happening, you can jump in and praise that good behaviour. What 'good' behaviour means is actually another huge topic I could perhaps address another time.
Mark Hutton has an online parenting site with some good tips on praising your child. Have a look and let me know what you think. The link is here
http://www.onlineparentingcoach.com/2011/04/how-to-use-praise-effective-parenting.html
Cheers
Christine

The Literacy Blog: Book Review Podcasts

2011-03-26T20:55:00.000+11:00

The Literacy Blog: Book Review Podcasts: "A fantastic site that reviews books using podcasts. Take a look. It will certainly help to engage your students in the literacy block. Have ..."

Book Review Podcasts

2011-03-26T20:54:00.002+11:00

A fantastic site that reviews books using podcasts. Take a look. It will certainly help to engage your students in the literacy block. Have a look at 'Goal' as a good example.
http://www.readinginaction.org/bookcasts/childrens

The Literacy Blog: Bullying - no way!

2011-03-22T19:30:00.000+11:00

The Literacy Blog: Bullying - no way!: "Here in Australia on March 18 this year, was the National Day of Action Against Bullying. There is a great website here below http://www.bul..."

Bullying - no way!

2011-03-22T19:29:00.000+11:00

Here in Australia on March 18 this year, was the National Day of Action Against Bullying. There is a great website here below
http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/
This website is called Bullying. No way! and is developed and managed by all Australian education authorities for use by Australia's Government, Catholic and Independent school communities. It provides resources, a space where you can make contributions or talk.
With the latest bullying experience of a boy called Casey Heynes, it is worth taking a look at the site. What do you think about this story?

The Literacy Blog: The Importance of Teamwork

2011-03-08T18:59:00.001+11:00

The Literacy Blog: The Importance of Teamwork: "The importance of teamwork cannot be underestimated. I found this YouTube clip about how Geese work wonderfully as a team and support one an..."

The Importance of Teamwork

2011-03-08T18:59:00.000+11:00

The importance of teamwork cannot be underestimated. I found this YouTube clip about how Geese work wonderfully as a team and support one another in times of need. Have a look!

The Literacy Blog: Vitamin D and cognitive decline-the latest researc...

2011-03-01T19:11:00.002+11:00

The Literacy Blog: Vitamin D and cognitive decline-the latest researc...: "The latest study conducted in 2010 suggests that low levels of Vitamin D are asssociated with your cognitive ability. Ch..."

The Literacy Blog: Vitamin D and cognitive decline-the latest researc...

2011-03-01T19:11:00.001+11:00

The Literacy Blog: Vitamin D and cognitive decline-the latest researc...: "The latest study conducted in 2010 suggests that low levels of Vitamin D are asssociated with your cognitive ability. Ch..."

The Literacy Blog: Vitamin D and cognitive decline-the latest researc...

2011-03-01T19:11:00.000+11:00

The Literacy Blog: Vitamin D and cognitive decline-the latest researc...: "The latest study conducted in 2010 suggests that low levels of Vitamin D are asssociated with your cognitive ability. Ch..."