Decades of research point to the value and importance of spatial skills and have demonstrated the malleability, durability, and teachability of spatial skills across the lifespan. Teachers and caregivers can apply this research in their classrooms or homes through a wide range of strategies. In this article, we offer specific, engaging activities…

Teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents recognize the importance of providing deaf and hard of hearing children with full access to the languages around them. Without full access, reading and academic achievement remain far below intellectual capabilities. This article describes the Continuum of Reading Activities, which provides strategies that…

Children born after 2010 are labelled as members of Generation Alpha, who currently pursue their primary education. Gamification and game-based learning methodologies have gained popularity in the global education sector in the recent past. The goal of this study is to investigate the present state of adopting gamification and game-based learning…

Family engagement and family literacy are two of the most important or components for building a strong foundation for children's academic success. Family engagement is about spending quality time with children every day by talking, playing, and asking questions, which builds bonds and promotes language development. Family literacy supports…

The array of choices for early education can be overwhelming. Learning about the more prevalent approaches and their unique philosophies can help parents select a program that works for their precocious children. Some of these approaches include childcare/daycare, early entrance, Head Start, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Waldorf. The National…

Shared interactive book reading (SIBR) is a broad term used to describe the act of adults reading aloud to children, while encouraging interaction by asking questions and engaging in a discussion about the book. SIBR can be used to embed naturalistic communication teaching strategies, creating learning opportunities to promote a child's language…

Maria Montessori developed a form of education in the first half of the last century that came to be called by her surname, and research indicates it often has positive outcomes. In the years since its development, tens of thousands of schools worldwide have called their programs "Montessori," yet implementations vary widely, leading to…

Gifted children are often highly sensitive to their surroundings and are able to readily identify potential solutions to challenges that imperil the environment in which they live. Many gifted children are strong advocates of sustainable living, caring deeply about the world around them and its health in the future. For this reason, parents and…

How can parents more clearly understand what's behind shifts in motivation so that they may preserve their gifted children's joy and kindle a lifelong love of the arts? A shift takes place when intrinsic motivation gives way to extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is desire kindled within. One who is intrinsically motivated is deeply engaged…

Many teachers and parents of young children with disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are familiar with young children who engage in repetitive and restrictive behaviors such as flapping, spinning, and rocking. This type of restrictive and repetitive behavior, or stereotypy, can be common, over time it can become problematic…

We developed this special issue, "Effective Low-Intensity Strategies to Enhance School Success: What Every Educator Needs to Know," for "Beyond Behavior" as a resource for educators and parents. Each article provides easy-to-access resources for readers to learn about effective, efficient, low-intensity strategies to support…

Sharing reading techniques with families is an important responsibility of teachers. Dialogic reading is one way to improve young students' expressive vocabulary skills, which are important for later reading success. Dialogic reading also supports students' understanding of story structure and content. This well researched technique has not been…

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.

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…