Halloween 2026

 By Nate Feldman

 

Supporting Reading Comprehension for Students with Inattention

 By Nate Feldman

*Some suggestions include: Explicit vocabulary instruction with the use of graphic organizers, support the generation of main idea statements, and summaries, and giving students the opportunity work in pairs. 

*Build vocabulary before reading a text. Background knowledge of words is important in understanding a reading text.   Create a semantic map.  This often includes a student-friendly definition of the word, an illustration, synonyms, and example sentences which students can write. 

*Make sure you pause while reading a text to make sure students are getting the gist of the passage. Getting the gist is understanding who or what a passage is about and what is important about who or what.  

*Create vocabulary maps that focus on the word, definition, illustration, and context.  

*The teachers can create cue cards for the students to use while doing a reading passage to talk about who or what is important in different parts of the reading passage and why they are important.  In other words, they can write the gist for different sections of the reading passage.  At first, the teacher provides scaffolding, which means they help give the students clues for finding the information.  Gradually, they remove the scaffolding so that students can find main ideas without being told where to look for them.

Cue card with scaffolding

*Have the students write a summary to show they understand the main idea of parts of a reading passage.  The ability to summarize what one has read shows how much they grasped the main ideas of the reading passage. 

The Science of Reading

 By Nate Feldman

In the podcast we had to listen to for my Tuesday night Classroom Management Course, they talked about how reading has been taught for a long time vs. The Science of Reading, a way of teaching children how to read in improved ways.  The old methods just assumed if you gave a child a book, they would learn to read without working on things, such as phonics.  New research shows to make children better readers they must learn the science that goes into how the brain learns to read and comprehend correctly.  

This podcast really touched me in many ways.  First of all, as an ESL teacher, I have also often assumed that just telling people to read would help them.  And it does.  But, I was unfamiliar with phonics and the system of the Science of Reading.  So, perhaps, there were things I could have done better to help students read.  But then it got me to thinking....if we've been teaching how to read the wrong way, what else have we been doing incorrectly?  And how has that affected us?

Take for example how to socialize.  Just as we've been taught how to read by just being surrounded by books, it's assumed that people know how to socialize by being around people.  But, what if there is something that people with conditions such as neurodivergence can't learn just by being by people.  Maybe, perhaps, there is a science we need to be learning about that.  Just like with reading, some kids are able to pick it up better. But, what about those who can't?  Is it just tough luck like they said in the podcast?  

Some Thoughts About Podcast with Jay McTighe Discussing Backward Design

 By Nate Feldman

Listening to the podcast with Jay McTighe, who along with Grant Wiggins, came up with the term "Backward Design" to describe how teachers should plan their curricula really struck a chord with me.  I especially like how he focuses so heavily on students being able to apply the knowledge they received in class in meaningful ways.

As discussed in the podcast, many standardized tests often give multiple choice questions, and with some test prep, students learn how to do well on these exams without a true in-depth knowledge of the material.  That is why when I have taught subjects, I have tried to use a lot of creative activities to assess the students' understanding of the material.

For example, I have taught classes to international students where they must write an essay on a particular topic we are studying in class.  The essay itself if an assessment of how well the students learned the material and how to construct an effective essay.  However, often before they write the essay, I have them write a fictional story of some kind with partners where the theme of the class must be a part of the story.  So, if the students have to write an essay about solving crime, they should write a story where there is a crime and someone solves it somehow.  This measures to me how well they are truly grasping what they are learning in class.  And, it is fun.  McTighe refers to such things as "authentic tasks."  They are authentic because they show the students genuinely understand the material.  

Instructional Design for K-12 Classrooms, Chapters 1 and 2 of "Backwards Planning: Building Enduring Understanding"

 By Nate Feldman

In the textbook Backwards Planning: Enduring Understanding, the author focuses on how teachers in classrooms can build true knowledge and deep understanding of subjects to their students. 

The term "Backwards Planning" refers to the idea that teachers must have ultimate goals for their students and build quality lesson plans and assessments based on those goals. For example, as an ESL teacher, if my goal is to get students to recognize the difference between the present perfect and simple past verb-tenses, I must create a series of activities and assessments which give students an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the material and show to me they truly grasp it. 

Before each lesson, we must outline what the ultimate goal for the student is.  The goal isn't just to have students parrot what I say.  They ideally will have a deep understanding of the topic at hand.  After that, I will create an assessment of some sort to see if the student actually learned and comprehended the material from the lesson.  Then, I will create the activities that help them to achieve this goal.  

Obviously, building an education system on such concepts is ideal.  We have too many students in the world who learned how to pass classes by repeating what was said in books or classes and never really understanding what they were learning.  It will lead to a more thoughtful world.  Of course, the challenge always is the ideal vs. the real.  Very often, administrators care more about completing material in a set time rather than when everyone gets it.  And if some students don't get it, there is the attitude that it is their fault.  And sometimes teachers are put under pressure to complete material in a set time, meaning if the students don't have "enduring understanding," they are forced to move on anyway.

I am an Alien. I am not Human.

By Nate Feldman

Hi! How are you doing? I am doing well

By Nate Feldman