Sharon and Sue
Sharon Coonen has been lucky enough to be at South for fourteen years. She is the lone resource teacher at South, serving all students with diverse learning needs in grades K-5. She loves the outdoors, and a good laugh.
While Sue Harris is only part time at South, our room never feels complete without her. Sue is a Speech/Language pathologist that we share with Iron Springs Elementary. Sue is the voice of reason in the SMILE room; her presence keeps us from spontaneously erupting into chaos. Sue's web page is: http://sueharris.weebly.com
Unfortunately, things are about to change in the SMILE Room. I (Sharon) have taken a position at the school district's office for the 2019-2020 school year. I will be the Elementary Special Education Coordinator. It will be an exciting challenge with a lot of new duties and responsibilities. I am looking forward to this fabulous learning experience. However, the excitement of a new challenge comes paired with great sadness at leaving South. "South Elementary" has been synonymous with "home" since our family moved to Cedar City fourteen years ago. I will deeply miss the students and teachers at South, and will surely look for opportunities to roam the halls here whenever I can find an excuse!
While Sue Harris is only part time at South, our room never feels complete without her. Sue is a Speech/Language pathologist that we share with Iron Springs Elementary. Sue is the voice of reason in the SMILE room; her presence keeps us from spontaneously erupting into chaos. Sue's web page is: http://sueharris.weebly.com
Unfortunately, things are about to change in the SMILE Room. I (Sharon) have taken a position at the school district's office for the 2019-2020 school year. I will be the Elementary Special Education Coordinator. It will be an exciting challenge with a lot of new duties and responsibilities. I am looking forward to this fabulous learning experience. However, the excitement of a new challenge comes paired with great sadness at leaving South. "South Elementary" has been synonymous with "home" since our family moved to Cedar City fourteen years ago. I will deeply miss the students and teachers at South, and will surely look for opportunities to roam the halls here whenever I can find an excuse!
What's Going On In Your Child's Brain When You Read Them A Story?
Storytime with our kids is one of the great treats of childhood (and parenthood or grandparenthood!) There are lots of options when it comes to storytime. Picture books, cartoons, videos, audiobooks and podcasts are just a few of the modes we might choose from.
A newly published study (https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/pas-nsm042618.php) gives some insight into what may be happening inside young children's brains in each of those situations. And, says lead author Dr. John Hutton, there is an apparent "Goldilocks effect" — some kinds of storytelling may be "too cold" for children, while others are "too hot."
Choosing a picture book and laptime was what Hutton called "just right".
In summary, children's brains were watched as they engaged in three storytime settings. One setting was simply an audiobook. Based on FMRI feedback, this setting was described as "too cold". Children's brains seemed to be straining to understand.
Similarly, when students were set in front of annimation, FMRI feedback indicated this was "too hot". There was not a lot of connectivity between brain networks. Researches described it as a situation where the animation was doing all the work for the child.
However, when children were presented with still pictures along with descriptive vocabulary, (storybooks) FMRI readings indicated interactive "conversation" going on in children's brains that supported engagement and comprehension.
"Give them a picture and they have a cookie to work with," Dr. John Hutton of The University of Cincinnati Children's Hospital explains. "With animation it's all dumped on them all at once and they don't have to do any of the work." Hutton's concern is that in the longer term, "kids who are exposed to too much animation are going to be at risk for developing not enough integration." Add in the bonding that goes along with reading on Mom or Dad's lap, and storytime with a human being is "just right" for more than just our children.
Most importantly, in the illustrated book condition, researchers saw increased connectivity between — and among — all the networks they were looking at: visual perception, imagery, default mode and language.
When we read to our children, they are doing more work than meets the eye. "It's that muscle they're developing bringing the images to life in their minds."
Learn more about the study -- and what happened when young children experienced the other types of entertainment -- here.
If you're interested in stories about parenthood -- and how to raise a human -- check out other stories from this new NPR series.
A newly published study (https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/pas-nsm042618.php) gives some insight into what may be happening inside young children's brains in each of those situations. And, says lead author Dr. John Hutton, there is an apparent "Goldilocks effect" — some kinds of storytelling may be "too cold" for children, while others are "too hot."
Choosing a picture book and laptime was what Hutton called "just right".
In summary, children's brains were watched as they engaged in three storytime settings. One setting was simply an audiobook. Based on FMRI feedback, this setting was described as "too cold". Children's brains seemed to be straining to understand.
Similarly, when students were set in front of annimation, FMRI feedback indicated this was "too hot". There was not a lot of connectivity between brain networks. Researches described it as a situation where the animation was doing all the work for the child.
However, when children were presented with still pictures along with descriptive vocabulary, (storybooks) FMRI readings indicated interactive "conversation" going on in children's brains that supported engagement and comprehension.
"Give them a picture and they have a cookie to work with," Dr. John Hutton of The University of Cincinnati Children's Hospital explains. "With animation it's all dumped on them all at once and they don't have to do any of the work." Hutton's concern is that in the longer term, "kids who are exposed to too much animation are going to be at risk for developing not enough integration." Add in the bonding that goes along with reading on Mom or Dad's lap, and storytime with a human being is "just right" for more than just our children.
Most importantly, in the illustrated book condition, researchers saw increased connectivity between — and among — all the networks they were looking at: visual perception, imagery, default mode and language.
When we read to our children, they are doing more work than meets the eye. "It's that muscle they're developing bringing the images to life in their minds."
Learn more about the study -- and what happened when young children experienced the other types of entertainment -- here.
If you're interested in stories about parenthood -- and how to raise a human -- check out other stories from this new NPR series.
Builder of the world's largest replica of The Titanic in LEGOs says his Autism is a gift:
It took Brynjar Karl Birgisson 11 months to complete the world's largest Titanic replica, using only Legos.
Courtesy of Titanic Museum Attraction
The world's largest Lego Titanic replica went on display Monday at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. It initially began as Brynjar Karl Birgisson's ambitious idea and took 56,000 Legos, 11 months and 700 hours to complete.
The Icelandic boy built the 26-feet-long, 5-feet-wide ship when he was 10 years old with the help of his mother and grandfather. Birgisson, now 15, has spent the last five years following the replica around the world as it travels to different exhibitions, from Norway to Germany. But he says that in Tennessee, with finishing touches done and additional lighting, he's watched the replica come alive.
"The first ship that I ever discovered on the Internet when I became a ship fan, or into ships, was the Titanic," he says. "And [it] just was so beautiful that I wanted to make the Lego ship out of it because it was such an inspiration for me. I loved it, and I chose it."
Interview Highlights On how Birgisson's mother first reacted to his idea
Bjarney Lúðvíksdóttir: My reaction in the beginning was, "Here he is asking me to assist him with — we call it 'the crazy project.' " And in the beginning, I was not going there in my mind. But he was determined, so I went for it with him. We used crowd-funding to raise the money for the Lego bricks actually.
On if this project has made him think differently about his autism
Birgisson: Well, first of all, autism ... is not a negative thing. It is a gift, because many people [with autism] are really intelligent — like many people [with autism] can do stuff too. We are people as well. We just seem a little bit different on the outside, but the inside, we're always the same.
On how it's felt to watch Birgisson achieve his dream
Lúðvíksdóttir: It's indescribable. I mean, we never thought that this project would take us — the family — on this journey. To tell you the truth, in the beginning, it was only to train him and teach him to start something and finish it. But when we discovered it was motivating other kids, and it was also like a lesson for other kids that have autism, that they can do whatever they can if they just follow their dreams and don't give up, I mean, we were amazed.
This story is adapted from the NPR report found here.
Alyssa Edes and Reena Advani produced and edited the audio story. Sydnee Monday adapted it for the Web.
Courtesy of Titanic Museum Attraction
The world's largest Lego Titanic replica went on display Monday at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. It initially began as Brynjar Karl Birgisson's ambitious idea and took 56,000 Legos, 11 months and 700 hours to complete.
The Icelandic boy built the 26-feet-long, 5-feet-wide ship when he was 10 years old with the help of his mother and grandfather. Birgisson, now 15, has spent the last five years following the replica around the world as it travels to different exhibitions, from Norway to Germany. But he says that in Tennessee, with finishing touches done and additional lighting, he's watched the replica come alive.
"The first ship that I ever discovered on the Internet when I became a ship fan, or into ships, was the Titanic," he says. "And [it] just was so beautiful that I wanted to make the Lego ship out of it because it was such an inspiration for me. I loved it, and I chose it."
Interview Highlights On how Birgisson's mother first reacted to his idea
Bjarney Lúðvíksdóttir: My reaction in the beginning was, "Here he is asking me to assist him with — we call it 'the crazy project.' " And in the beginning, I was not going there in my mind. But he was determined, so I went for it with him. We used crowd-funding to raise the money for the Lego bricks actually.
On if this project has made him think differently about his autism
Birgisson: Well, first of all, autism ... is not a negative thing. It is a gift, because many people [with autism] are really intelligent — like many people [with autism] can do stuff too. We are people as well. We just seem a little bit different on the outside, but the inside, we're always the same.
On how it's felt to watch Birgisson achieve his dream
Lúðvíksdóttir: It's indescribable. I mean, we never thought that this project would take us — the family — on this journey. To tell you the truth, in the beginning, it was only to train him and teach him to start something and finish it. But when we discovered it was motivating other kids, and it was also like a lesson for other kids that have autism, that they can do whatever they can if they just follow their dreams and don't give up, I mean, we were amazed.
This story is adapted from the NPR report found here.
Alyssa Edes and Reena Advani produced and edited the audio story. Sydnee Monday adapted it for the Web.
Here's How To Prevent The Next School Shooting, Experts Say
An Interdisciplinary Group on Preventing School and Community Violence led by researchers from Rutgers Graduate School of Education and the University of California, Santa Barbara has composed an eight-point "Call for Action To Prevent Gun Violence In The United States of America." Their focus is on prevention rather than reaction, education as an early intervention, improving school culture, and community involvement. Their recommendations make great sense. They are not a "quick fix", but they address the foundations of the problems schools are seeing, rather than seeking to put a bandaid on the symptoms. Many of their recommendations are things South Elementary, and most Iron County Schools are already doing, thanks to our incredible, insightful leadership. Click the picture below, or title above for the whole story.
Stanford Study: A Positive Attitude Literally Makes
Your Brain Work Better
This article taken from Inc.com By Jessica Stillman Contributor, Inc.com
A new brain scan study has revealed exactly how positivity affects the brain (and it's impressive).
Inspirational posters featuring soaring eagles and sunlit mountain summits are easy to mock. But it turns out rousing slogans and uplifting images might not actually be pure cheese after all.
When Stanford researchers recently peered into the brains of students to see how attitude affects achievement, they found something startling. Your outlook on learning, it turns out, matters just as much as your IQ.
This is your child's brain on positivity.Scientists and educators have long noted that kids who have a positive attitude towards math do better in the subject, but is that just because acing tests naturally makes you enjoy something, or does the arrow of causation point the other way? Does starting off with the expectation that you'll enjoy and be good at math help you master numbers?
To start to tease this out a research team out of Stanford recently analyzed the math skills and attitudes of 240 kids aged seven to ten, as well as running 47 of them through an fMRI machine while asking them to do some basic arithmetic. What did they find?
As expected, kids who did well in math liked math more, both according to self reports and their parents, and kids who hated the subject did poorly. But the brain scans also turned up something much more fascinating. The images revealed that the hippocampus, a brain area linked with memory and learning, was significantly more active in kids with a positive attitude towards math.
It appears it's not just that children like subjects they're good at. It's also that liking a subject helps students' brain actually work better.
The researchers caution that their study can't pin down exactly how much achievement is down to prior math success and how much is because of the way positivity pumps up learning in the brain. "We think the relationship between positive attitude and math achievement is mutual, bi-directional," said Lang Chen, the study's lead author. "It's like bootstrapping: A good attitude opens the door to high achievement, which means you then have a better attitude, getting you into a good circle of learning."
But whatever the exact weight of various factors turns out to be, it's already clear that attitude has a bigger impact on performance than the scientists expected.
"Attitude is really important," said Chen, "Based on our data, the unique contribution of positive attitude to math achievement is as large as the contribution from IQ."
You can improve your kid's brain after all.Many parents of kids who struggle in school have wished that they could somehow tinker with their kid's brain to fix whatever was holding them back and making them feel so miserable. This research suggests a way they can do just that.
It may remain largely impossible to change your kid's natural intellectual gifts, but it is entirely doable to help them foster more positive attitudes towards a given subject and their own potential (here are some specific ideas). This research shows that this kind of attitude adjustment will literally change the way their brain works for their better, giving them a boost at school. Maybe it's time to stop laughing and break out those eagle posters then.
PUBLISHED ON: FEB 15, 2018
Your Brain Work Better
This article taken from Inc.com By Jessica Stillman Contributor, Inc.com
A new brain scan study has revealed exactly how positivity affects the brain (and it's impressive).
Inspirational posters featuring soaring eagles and sunlit mountain summits are easy to mock. But it turns out rousing slogans and uplifting images might not actually be pure cheese after all.
When Stanford researchers recently peered into the brains of students to see how attitude affects achievement, they found something startling. Your outlook on learning, it turns out, matters just as much as your IQ.
This is your child's brain on positivity.Scientists and educators have long noted that kids who have a positive attitude towards math do better in the subject, but is that just because acing tests naturally makes you enjoy something, or does the arrow of causation point the other way? Does starting off with the expectation that you'll enjoy and be good at math help you master numbers?
To start to tease this out a research team out of Stanford recently analyzed the math skills and attitudes of 240 kids aged seven to ten, as well as running 47 of them through an fMRI machine while asking them to do some basic arithmetic. What did they find?
As expected, kids who did well in math liked math more, both according to self reports and their parents, and kids who hated the subject did poorly. But the brain scans also turned up something much more fascinating. The images revealed that the hippocampus, a brain area linked with memory and learning, was significantly more active in kids with a positive attitude towards math.
It appears it's not just that children like subjects they're good at. It's also that liking a subject helps students' brain actually work better.
The researchers caution that their study can't pin down exactly how much achievement is down to prior math success and how much is because of the way positivity pumps up learning in the brain. "We think the relationship between positive attitude and math achievement is mutual, bi-directional," said Lang Chen, the study's lead author. "It's like bootstrapping: A good attitude opens the door to high achievement, which means you then have a better attitude, getting you into a good circle of learning."
But whatever the exact weight of various factors turns out to be, it's already clear that attitude has a bigger impact on performance than the scientists expected.
"Attitude is really important," said Chen, "Based on our data, the unique contribution of positive attitude to math achievement is as large as the contribution from IQ."
You can improve your kid's brain after all.Many parents of kids who struggle in school have wished that they could somehow tinker with their kid's brain to fix whatever was holding them back and making them feel so miserable. This research suggests a way they can do just that.
It may remain largely impossible to change your kid's natural intellectual gifts, but it is entirely doable to help them foster more positive attitudes towards a given subject and their own potential (here are some specific ideas). This research shows that this kind of attitude adjustment will literally change the way their brain works for their better, giving them a boost at school. Maybe it's time to stop laughing and break out those eagle posters then.
PUBLISHED ON: FEB 15, 2018
ADHD and Video Games: Is There a Link??
Doctors aren't sure why people develop ADHD. But the number of people who are diagnosed with it keeps going up.
"There's no evidence whatsoever that something like video games causes ADHD," says David Anderson, PhD, clinical psychologist with the Child Mind Institute. "But there definitely are some important connections we need to think about when it comes to video games and ADHD."
This article, found on WebMD gives us some food for thought and a few guidelines when considering children with the challenges of ADHD and video games. Not just for parents of kids with ADHD, helpful for all parents:
Read the whole story here.
"There's no evidence whatsoever that something like video games causes ADHD," says David Anderson, PhD, clinical psychologist with the Child Mind Institute. "But there definitely are some important connections we need to think about when it comes to video games and ADHD."
This article, found on WebMD gives us some food for thought and a few guidelines when considering children with the challenges of ADHD and video games. Not just for parents of kids with ADHD, helpful for all parents:
Read the whole story here.
Good Stuff:
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What is Social Thinking?
Social thinking can best be described as perspective taking. Some of us consider others' perspective naturally, some of us don't. Impaired perspective taking affects personal relations across the day. Just as we all display various levels of athleticism, or artistic talent, levels of perspective taking range across a large spectrum. It is our goal with our student, teacher, and parent trainings to heighten our awareness of each other, and encourage self-management. Learn more by clicking on on our Social Thinking tab.
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Three Things People Can Do in the Classroom That Robots Can't
Giving a hug, solving a mystery, and telling a story...as we continue to figure out the ramifications of this technological age, there are certainly some things that require a human being to teach. We used to focus on reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. Now perhaps there are a new "Three R's": Let's consider reasoning, resilience, and responsibility. Read the whole story here.
Embrace the Shake
A TED Talk by Phil Hansen
Sometimes we label our limitations as...well...limitations. After watching this unforgettable video, you will view your "limitations" as catalysts for creativity. I promise the ten minutes you spend watching this lesson will be some of the most valuable ten minutes of your week. There is no justification for excuses about why we can or can't do something. Challenges should only serve to prove how intense our desire is to accomplish something.
Some helpful resources:
Iron County School District home page:
irondistrict.org/ Some educational games: http://www.uen.org/k-2interactives/index.shtml http://www.internet4classrooms.com/ www.gamequarium.org/dir/Gamequarium/Math /Time_Math/ http://www.hoodamath.com/ |