Based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), discrete trial training (DTT) is used to develop a new response to a stimulus. DTT is based upon the principle of breaking down behavior into discrete steps called a "single teaching unit" or learning trials. Trials are repeated several times with the learner receiving…

The Cultivating Readers Family Guide provides tips and to grow reading skills from birth to age eight. The guide will help parents keep their shared learning activities with their children fun and part of their everyday routine.

Research is just beginning to describe the role of reading in the lives of families with deaf children. While the time that deaf children spend reading or being read to represents only a small part of their lives at home, research highlights its importance for young children--hearing as well as deaf. Children whose parents read to them at home…

In this article, Riverdale Country School (New York) learning specialist, Brooke McCaffrey describes teaching methods, motivational techniques, and resources for parents of struggling readers.

Literacy improves lives--and with the right instruction and supports, "all students" can learn to read and write. That is the core belief behind this teacher-friendly handbook, your practical guide to providing comprehensive, high-quality literacy instruction to students with significant disabilities. Drawing on decades of classroom…

This guidance report aims to help secondary schools improve literacy in all subject areas. It provides seven recommendations related to reading, writing, talk, vocabulary development and supporting struggling students. Throughout the report, recommendations emphasise the importance of disciplinary literacy. Disciplinary literacy is an approach to…

Visual supports are concrete cues that are paired with, or used in place of, a verbal cue to provide the learner with information about a routine, activity, behavioral expectation, or skill demonstration. Visual supports might include: "pictures," "written words," "objects," "arrangement of the environment,"…

This booklet has been developed in hopes that it may aid in keeping communication open and focused between families and schools. Building communication between parents and the school staff through letters offers a way of keeping records of ideas, concerns, and suggestions. This booklet provides general guidelines to writing letters as well as…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children in Texas and across the United States. The theme of this issue is English Learner Literacy. Articles include: (1) School Leaders Improve…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Early Learning." Contents include: (1) Current Proposals for Texas' Investment…

The underrepresentation of students from historically marginalized populations--including English language learners, twice-exceptional students, culturally and linguistically diverse students, and economically disadvantaged students--in our gifted programs and services continues to be a critical issue in education. The importance of a caring and…

School grades provide an easily understandable metric to measure the performance of a school. Parents and the general public can use the school grade and its associated components to understand how well each school is serving its students. The school grades calculation was revised substantially for the 2014-15 school year to implement statutory…

School grades provide an easily understandable metric to measure the performance of a school. Parents and the general public can use the school grade and its associated components to understand how well each school is serving its students. The school grades calculation was revised substantially for the 2014-15 school year to implement statutory…

The purpose of this article is to describe a family literacy project involving a partnership of school-aged children and their families with in-service and pre-service teachers enrolled in a university course on literacy instruction for English language learners. This project consists of family members sharing their stories with their children to…

All young people need access to and can benefit from sexual health information. Young people with disabilities have the same right to this education as their peers. However, considerations must be made in order to modify the program to allow for information to be understood and learned in a way that is meaningful to them. Parents/guardians might…