Still Time to School-Proof for Next Year
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Summertime is in full swing and most families are thinking of sun, swimming, and fun but, even though school is out for the year, in almost every Ontario classroom there are four or five children who are struggling with reading or math. This translates into thousands of elementary school students who are in serious trouble.
Conscientious parents and teachers know how important good reaidng and math skills are in a knowledge economy and may be wondering what to do about their children's reading and math deficits.
The Society for Quality Education reminds parents and teachers of their free remedial reading and math materials available to anyone who has access to the Internet and a printer.
Parents who visit www.teachyourchildtoread.ca will find Stairway to Reading, a powerful and user-friendly tool for teaching reading. Drawing on the best research on how children learn to read, Stairway to Reading is completely phonics-based. Stairway to Reading comes complete with a diagnostic test, 40 lessons, flashcards, and 128 pages of completely phonetic reading material. In addition, there are supplementary materials such as games to provide extra practice.
The demand for math materials was so strong that we prepared wonderful math materials available at www.teachyourchildmath.ca. Structured as a series of math worksheets, Stairway to Math is a powerful but simple tool to help children build on and improve fundamental mathematics skills.
"Parents who can afford it arrange for their children to receive outside tutoring in reading or even transfer their children to private school," said Doretta Wilson, SQE Executive Director. "But lower-income parents, many of them recent immigrants who cannot afford such options, are desperate. Many try to help their children themselves, but they are not sure exactly what to do and they lack proper teaching materials." All of the materials for Stairway to Reading and Stairway to Math can be downloaded and printed out at no charge.
The Society for Quality Education is dedicated to the significant improvement of student learning in Canada. We invite the public to visit our home website www.societyforqualityeducation.org to learn more.