What to Do If Phonological Awareness Just Isn’t Clicking
Naomi O'Brien Blog
by Naomi O'Brien
5M ago
It is October as I write this, and already one of the most common emails I am receiving is, “I don’t think phonological awareness is working! My kids are still not able to do these skills!” Before we dive into this issue, let’s take a look at this chart of phonological awareness skills. Phonological awareness is a spectrum of skills that takes time to develop and moves from simple to more complex. If you teach older grades where these skills have been long neglected, it may even take a little longer than in K-1. But have no fear! Read on to see the heavy brain changing work you are engaged wit ..read more
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Teach Young Kids about Privilege
Naomi O'Brien Blog
by Naomi O'Brien
11M ago
*Due to the sensitive nature of the following conversation, it is meant to be done at home with your own family, not at school.* What is Privilege? How do we teach young kids about privilege, let alone white privilege? And with K-1 children?  It feels daunting and scary, but it is necessary. If you have spent any time around kids, you know they are obsessed with fairness and are justice oriented. Most people think that talking about privilege makes people feel bad. On the contrary, teaching kids about it should allow them to notice it and feel agency in speaking up when they have some ext ..read more
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Culture in the Classroom
Naomi O'Brien Blog
by Naomi O'Brien
11M ago
Culture in the classroom is inarguably the most important aspect that will inform your teaching. When we hear “classroom culture”, many educators think of systems, rewards and punishments, and even management systems. However, when we say culture in the classroom, we mean really getting to know the kids who sit in front of us. Who are they? What do they love? What motivates them? What do they care about? What are their family customs? Once we know that, the rest becomes much easier. When we seek to understand our students and respect their cultures, strong connections can be made. And we know ..read more
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Teach Young Kids about Identity
Naomi O'Brien Blog
by Naomi O'Brien
11M ago
What do Kids Learn? When I first started to teach young kids about identity, I found that they didn’t really know what I was talking about. What is identity? I wanted to make space for them to dig deep and get to know themselves. I wanted them to understand who they were at their core, and become aware of what made them, THEM. What did they like? What did they dislike? What did they value? What were the important parts of their culture to them? Have any parts of their identity changed in any way? These discussions were so insightful, because kids could uncover and name parts of themselves. If ..read more
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