Have you ever met THAT preschooler?  You know...the one who knows ALL the dinosaur names!  (or Pokemon characters, My Little Pony names, etc.)  There is something delightful about learning language many children are eager to gobble up new words.  Others may be reluctant due do a smaller vocabulary, lack of exposure, ore learning a second or third language.

We often say that the scientific process (or method) is the most powerful tool ever invented, but without communicating findings our collective knowledge can not grow.  That's why we spend so much time and energy in helping to support educators in bolstering student language development.  Here are six ways we help students delight in language learning this mission:

1. Word Wall Cards make the language we introduce in our videos and livestreams tangible to students.  Print a set and let students handle them!  Add them to your classroom word wall or keep a collection in your writing center.  
2. Vocabulary list for students AND teachers give you the background info you need about unfamiliar terms AND provide you with simplified language to make these concepts clearer to students.  Some teachers find it helpful to print a hard copy for quick reference.  Our definitions often go beyond Webster's to help you understand specific concepts.
3. Text panels and on-screen vocabulary words during our videos reinforce concepts of print such as directionality, chunking, reading fluency, and more.  Each word is revealed as it is spoken giving early readers the extra support they need.
4. Our English to Swahili video is a fun way to learn about world languages.  We were amazed that everyone we met in Kenya spoke three languages: English, Swahili, and their tribal language!  Cool!
5. The Extraordinary Adventures of Curiosity Cat and Data Dog supports early readers with phonetic breakdowns of tricky words so early readers can expand the reading and speaking vocabulary AND we can include some meatier topics and crazy critters! 
6. Finally, word breakdowns during our livestream sessions support syllabication and phonemic awareness while supporting pronunciation and kinesthetic learning!

Are you looking for a way to spice up literacy instruction?  Comics can help at every reading level!

Grades 1 and 2:  Focus on a fresh look!
Mix it up: Curiosity Cat and Data Dog are trading places this week!  Curiosity Cat usually does all the reading and Data Dog usually does all the running.  How do students think it will go for each character?  Try mixing it up in your own classroom.  Try moving your regular reading time or reading seats to give students a fresh perspective.  Of course, it's best to give advance notice to students who struggle with change.  Sometimes reading in a new setting or at an alternate time can make a big difference for early readers.  It can also break up the monotony of the winter months!

Day 1: To Kenya  This lesson focuses on location and transportation.  It could be integrated into existing transportation units or for addressing the following second grade DCIs.

• 2-ESS2-2.  Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.
• 2-ESS2-3.  Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.

Sponsored by the 
Maine State Teachers of the Year Association
November 9. 2019
1-3 pm.  The  Quarry Tap Room
(Otherwise known as Hallowell’s Deepest Watering Hole) 

Open to all educators-Bring a Colleague at no charge!!!!
This year's featured guest is Dan Ryder.  Dan is the Director of the Success and Innovation Center at Mount Blue High School in Farmington, Maine.  He is the author of Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom, and the recipient of the 2019 MEA Teacher Prize.  Come spend the afternoon catching up  and networking, enjoying refreshments, and learning from Dan.  

As we were researching the leaf insect we saw on Day 11, we came across an amazing quote from Antonio Pigafetta in his article "The First Voyage Round the World, by Magellan"  about Magellan's trip from 1519- 1522 across the globe and his an encounter with a leaf insect on an island.   

It seems absurd to us today, but that's because we know more about the "animated leaf" now.  I can imagine scientists reading Antonio's account of a "walking leaf" and deciding to verify the claim for themselves!  Eventually, more observations of the  peculiar leaves would have led to the discovery that they weren't leaves at all.  They were insects mimicking a leaves!
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Watching children grow and develop their understanding of the world is a lot like witnessing the scientific process in miniature again and again.   Each failed life test or misconception can broaden a child's understanding of the world.  Over time, a child's understanding of events and phenomena gains accuracy because they are blending their own prior knowledge with new information.

Publishing is powerful because it allows us to share hard-found information so that others don't have to start from scratch, they can continue to build on what is already known.  From the technology we use to the worlds we can explore, we owe our advances not only to our own efforts, but to all those who came before us.  Clearly, all those who came before did not have it all figured out, but the fact that they shared what they did know helped advance the knowledge base.  We encourage you to support your children in sharing their knowledge too.  It may not be perfect, but that's OK!  They're helping build greater understanding for themselves AND others!