Using Dramatic Play in Kindergarten

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Many worry that with so many children watching TV that dramatic play, or using your imagination, is dwindling in today’s kids. Too many rely on outside stimulus for entertainment. Creativity is important for many adults, and with this quality shrinking, it’s important to find a way to re-introduce kids to their imagination. How can this be done?

One way is by using dramatic play in schools, especially with kindergarteners. Most five-year-olds aren’t able to sit and pay attention for very long anyway. By using dramatic play, kids are able to basically play but are able to learn at the same time. For example, you could set up a situation where the kids run a restaurant. Each child is given a specific role in that situation such as server, manager, chef, patron, etc.

In each of the role, the children are given specific tasks. For example, the patron might need to take the total of the check and count out play money to pay for the bill. He or she will need to understand what money represents what and add up the totals in order to know what to pay. For older children, they could even be told to give a 15 percent tip and would have to figure out that amount.

There are a lot of principles that can be taught through dramatic play, but as long as it’s structured, student will be able to learn the information that the teacher is teaching the children. And yet it’s fun for the children as well.

Helping Your Learning Disabled Child Suceed in School

Although a learning disability can present an increased number of challenges for a child placed into a traditional schooling environment, with the right approach they too, can succeed and gain concepts that will be valuable for a lifetime.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that learning disabled students simply learn in a different way than their peers. The presence of their disability should not lead to an automatic assumption that they have less intellectual capacity.

It is equally important that parents take steps to seek professional assistance from those who are qualified to diagnose learning disabilities as soon as a problem is suspected. Although it may seem logical to wait and see if apparent difficulties resolve themselves as time goes on, it is very important to seek a diagnosis as soon as possible. This will ensure that your child has access to any necessary remediation techniques so that they will not fall behind in relation to their classmates who are learning from the same curriculum.

Many learning disabled students learn best when taught with a curriculum that incorporates both visual and auditory aids. Discuss your child’s learning style preferences with teachers and school administrators, so that they are aware of how best to help your child retain learning concepts.

Parental involvement is also very important. Make a point to ask your child about their school day and offer help with homework. If you notice mistakes, mention them in a gentle, supportive way. Constant parental interaction within the learning process not only helps you stay informed about what your child is learning, but it also helps you become more aware of accomplishments and potential problem areas.

Remember that the diagnosis of a learning disability merely means that your child needs additional support for their unique style of acquiring information. With the proper assistance, your child can have a successful learning experience from start to finish.

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First Grade Learning

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First grade learning will have a strong focus on reading which makes it very important for parents to incorporate reading as an integral part of the child’s day. In addition to using phonics for word recognition it is expected that children will learn to comprehend the words they are reading during this grade. Parents should provide the resource of picture books for a child at this age. A picture book helps the child to associate words with the pictures while at the same time being entertained by the story.

Teachers will concentrate on instructing children to write complete sentences using punctuation and capitalization during first grade learning. Students will learn to write simple sentences. Parents can promote writing by having their child keep a journal and write in it a few minutes each night.

Learning about math during the first grade will include a student learning to count from one to one hundred and to recognize and write each of these numbers. Addition of sums between one and ten will be a focus for students. Children will learn about more, less and the same on a basic level. Parents can build upon this learning by using household items to teach these basic math facts.

Other learning subjects are introduced in a general way during first grade learning. Subsequent school years introduce science, geography and social studies in more detail. During first grade children will learn about living and non living things. Information about the weather and seasons will be studied and children may learn to use graphs to track weather. History studies may focus on how children lived in the past. Children can learn to grasp historical facts by being told stories by parent and grandparents about the world they grew up in. To assist a child in first grade learning a parent could have the child complete a project on family history. This type of project would incorporate learning history, strengthen writing skills and promote reading.

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Fifth Grade Expectations

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Students will enter the fifth grade with the knowledge of the subjects they like and excel at and the ones that they struggle with. At this grade level a child may be placed in an advanced class when they are excelling in a subject. When a student is struggling with a subject they will be expected to work toward improvement in order to ensure progress to the next grade level. This grade level is the last year of elementary school and will begin to prepare a child for their future educational studies. Fifth grade expectations are high and must be met with success.

Fifth grade students learn to explain the differences of reading genres and will have reading assignments from each genre. In addition to expanding upon the different genres a fifth grade student will also be expected to write reports on the book and exhibit understanding of the material read. Written reports strengthen the students writing skills and a fifth grader will research and write reports in several of their learning areas.

Fractions and decimals will be a focus area in the subject of math. Fifth grade students will learn about statistical information and basic geometry. Budgeting activities will be performed using play money. Parents who incorporate these activities in a child’s home life will help to support the fifth grade expectations in the area of math.

Fifth grade science class will include the studies of physical science. Students will learn about chemistry, electricity and use magnets. The solar system will be an area studied and a student may be required to build a solar system model. Studies of history will focus on historical figures. A child will also become proficient in reading maps.

Parents should encourage their child to be responsible for educational activities and assist them to become better organized in order to ensure they meeet fifth grade expectations. A fifth grade student is expected to be independent and own their responsibilities.

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