Our Favorite Techniques for Tackling Homework Issues
We work with students who are incredibly bright and have many interesting ideas to share, but are frustrated because their grades just don’t reflect their true capabilities. Sometimes, that comes down to underdeveloped executive functioning skills, which we like to...
App Review: CDC Milestones App
We are excited to share the CDC Milestones App with you. It’s a convenient way to track your little one’s development from birth to 5 years old. Although the app is currently only available in English, they are slated to release the Spanish version this fall! The app...
Games for Learning: Duplik
We continue our adventure into less common board games to use with our students. Unfamiliar games are fun and motivating for them (and you)! Our second game is called Duplik. The photos from our Instagram post are of the first publishing of this game, which was called...
Tackling the Writing Process with UPOWER
Many students struggle with contextual writing and the writing process as a whole. At Language & Learning, we use an acronym called UPOWER to help students tackle the writing process strategically. U: Use the Prompt Many students have trouble understanding and...
Games for Learning: Codenames Pictures
Board games go beyond Monopoly and Trouble. They span further than Hedbanz and Spot-it. They can be fun for both students and the adults in their lives, and they can help reinforce many of the skills we teach our students. In this series, we will be suggesting games...
Developing Students’ Explanations
Many of our students have trouble explaining information. Why is this? Is it because they do not understand what they are talking about? Not necessarily. To understand the “why,” we need to understand the context of what is expected from them. As students progress...
Why is writing so difficult for my child?
Writing may be particularly troublesome for students with language difficulties for a number of reasons, including its demands on spelling, sentence formulation, working memory, word retrieval, language organization, and linguistic executive functioning skills. At...
Therapy Tool Spotlight: Grammarly
This cloud-based software is a favorite of mine for students who struggle with any number of aspects of written language. It is a particularly useful tool for students who struggle with expressive language formulation and syntax, word retrieval, vocabulary, encoding...
Do cognitive training apps work?
Even though research is inconclusive about cognitive training apps, they are still a great way to get your child thinking about and using cognitive-linguistic strategies1. The opportunity for your child to see how using strategies can help improve his/her score and...
Can listening to music while completing academic work help with productivity?
The short answer is: yes. Children, particularly those with learning or attentional difficulties, may benefit from using music to cover up distracting sounds in the environment or handle the stress of completing academic work; however, the type of music and the type...