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

"I'm bored!" It is the refrain dreaded by all parents. By the time winter weather has come and gone, all kids, not just gifted ones, are ready for a change of scenery and/or a change in routine. What is an overworked parent plagued by spring fever him- or herself to do? Finding the right distraction for a gifted child can prove…

Pediatric asthma is often undiagnosed, and therefore untreated. It negatively impacts children's functioning, including school attendance and performance, as well as quality of life. Schoolwide screening for asthma is becoming increasingly common, making identification of possible asthma particularly relevant for school nurses. Nurses may need to…

The Presidential proclamation proclaiming 1987 the "Year of the Reader" is presented in full followed by suggestions to help parents and teachers increase students motivation to read. (DB)

Gifted children are susceptible to many de-motivating factors, which can lead to depression and academic underachievement. The authors present concepts and techniques to counteract those factors, allowing a child's motivation to skyrocket. Features the Four C's of Motivation: (1) Creating Challenge; (2) Creating Control; (3) Creating Commitment;…

The teen years are an excellent time to start thinking about a potential career and to investigate all of the different opportunities available. Motivating adolescents to become actively engaged in their own career development is not always easy, but this book makes it fun. Written for parents, school counselors, and counselors in private practice…

This booklet provides a general blueprint to guide the overall process of teaching a student to be motivated to achieve and offers specific ideas for those concerned with promoting self-motivated behavior among students. Part one discusses teaching and learning self-motivation concepts and principles. These topics are covered: motivation as a…

Presented in both Spanish and English, this guide for a parent involvement meeting is designed to help teachers and parents explore specific strategies to motivate children to become better readers and learners. The guide contains material necessary to conduct a 1- or 1.5-hour session on motivational techniques that parents can use at home with…

Intended for teachers to share with parents of school children, this paper presents techniques to encourage children to read during their summer vacations. The 21 suggestions for parents include the following: (1) model reading behaviors, (2) brainstorm with children to determine possible areas of interest, (3) read aloud to children, (4) allow…

Representing the expertise of university education professors and public school teachers, the articles in these proceedings focus on encouraging reading and fostering lifelong reading habits. Titles of the papers and their authors are as follows: (1) "Television and Books: Friends or Foes" (Jeannetta H. Caplan); (2) "Encouraging the…

This guide offers suggestions for cooperation between the school or child care center and the home, and provides guidance to parents for their participation in centers and schools. It describes the necessary steps in planning for varied parent involvement and includes examples of parent involvement activities. Topics addressed in planning the…

Based on the notion that reading is both fun and fundamental, this book contains a stimulating array of activities that parents can use to engage their children in reading from the toddler stage through primary school. The first section provides information on how to use the guide, and some tips for encouraging young readers. The second and major…

This book presents a multisensory approach for teaching language arts skills to students in grades 3-10 with learning disabilities. It is intended for teachers, parents, speech-language pathologists, and other professionals who work with students with learning disabilities. An introduction discusses multisensory instruction and the benefits of…

This booklet focuses on reading motivation, especially on specific steps to motivate the middle school child to learn. The main topics explored are: finding or making time for reading for pleasure; filling or flooding the house with interesting reading materials; and reading as a way of life. Practical questions from parents are answered and…

Noting that power struggles between parents and children provide rich opportunities for parents to teach children how to deal with strong emotions and for parents and children to solve problems together, this book provides parents with "emotion coaching" strategies for identifying the emotions and needs that can create daily hassles.…