8 Strategies for Preschool ELLs' Language and Literacy Development

Source : Karen Ford , colorincolorado.org

Early childhood education can play an essential role in preparing young English language learners (ELLs) for later success in school. Children who have an opportunity to develop basic foundational skills in language and literacy in preschool enter kindergarten ready to learn to read and write (Ballantyne, Sanderman, & McLaughlin, 2008).

But how can early childhood educators know if their programs are providing children with the skills they need? This article will describe some of the methods and strategies that research has proven effective in preparing young ELLs for kindergarten.

Monster cookies! - An alphabet class game

Cut out a monster from cardboard and cookies with the alphabet letters. Ask students to take turns at feeding the monster cookies. How many alphabet cookies can the monster eat? Perhaps divide the student into 2 teams and give to each team 5 minutes to feed the monster. The students have to name the letter of each cookie while giving it to the monster.

Haunted pillows! - A vocabulary class game

Print and cut out the faces of different Halloween characters from a haunted house; zombie, Dracula, skeleton, etc. Stick these faces in popsicles and place them underneath some pillows in the classroom. Ask the students to take turns picking up the haunted pillows to reveal who is hiding underneath. Prompt the students to say out loud the name of the character they reveal. 

Wake up the dinosaurs! - An alphabet class game

Cut out from carton paper 26 fossils or eggs and 26 dinosaurs. On each one of the fossils /eggs write the lower case letters of the alphabet whereas on the dinosaurs the upper case ones. Hide the fossils/eggs in the classroom and place the dinosaurs in the middle of the room. Ask the pupils to wake up the dinosaurs by finding the fossils/eggs and match them to the right dinosaurs.

Exercises from Education.com

Eduction.com  is a very popular site that provides teachers with useful worksheets, games, activities, lesson plans and in general numerous resources to enhance their teaching.
An indicative example is the following Word search.
Spring into learning with this fun Flowery Word Search. For more engaging spelling activities, go to Education.com!
 

Common Time-Out Mistakes and How to Solve Them

Source : Alisa Bowman , www.parents.com

Could this classic discipline technique actually make the situation worse? Learn what experts recommend, including a new and improved five-step technique for giving time-outs.

OCD in Children: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

Source : Samantha Gluck , www.healthyplace.com

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and teens has become more common in recent years. About one in every 200 American children suffers from OCD (What is OCD?). All children have worries and negative thoughts at times. But children with OCD can't stop their disturbing thoughts, images, and urges, no matter what they try. These obsessive thoughts tend to drive them to behave in a particular way, repetitively.