Cultivating Toddler Emergent Literacy Behaviors Using the Montessori Sandpaper Letters

The Montessori Sandpaper Letters are a powerful, multi-sensory tool which can cultivate emergent literacy behaviors. A half-day Montessori classroom of 17 students between the ages of 2.4 years old and 3.5 years old in a private, accredited, suburban Montessori school participated in this action research study. Participants completed a four-week intervention that implemented daily use of the Sandpaper Letters. Data was collected through daily observations, tally charts, individual lesson logs, and a modified pre- and post-assessment of the ability to identify letter sounds. Thirteen out of 17 participants, or 76%, showed an increase in letter sound identification. In addition there was a significant increase in the number of child-initiated Sandpaper Letter lessons (as opposed to adult-initiated lessons). Also seen was an advancement of the children’s language skills from concrete to symbolic. This included the advent of writing, and the spontaneous appearance of activities demonstrating both phonological and phonemic awareness. These activities related directly to the Sandpaper Letters and demonstrated new and significant emergent literacy behaviors

Clarkson, Mona (Wimp), 1849-1910 (SC 3458)

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3458. Letter, 2 May 1895, of Mona Clarkson, Big Spring, Kentucky, to her daughter Lady E. Clarkson. She offers encouragement to her daughter, who is taking voice lessons in Louisville, Kentucky, and urges her to protect her health. She discusses the sewing activities of several female friends and offers wardrobe planning advice. She also encloses a letter from a male friend of Lady’s regarding his return of a book

Pre-A Guided Reading in Early Childhood Literacy Skills

The purpose of this action research project is to show that gains in literacy skills through implementation of guided reading practices at the preschool level, if successful, prove that guided reading instruction is a meaningful and purposeful practice in teaching literacy skills at the early childhood level. The researcher worked with 47 preschool children ages four and five. Participants attended a state-funded preschool program in an elementary school building. An alphabet literacy skills pre-test was given. A writing sample of the participant\u27 s names, with no visual reference, was obtained. Throughout the weeks, students participated in lessons and activities that would normally take place in the preschool program, as well as guided reading lessons twice a week. Data was collected through weekly quantitative testing on letter identification and letter sounds, as well as a name-writing sample, with the majority of the literacy post-test (same as pre-test) given at the end of the project. The literacy pre- and post-tests were from the K-5 learning curriculum Handwriting Without Tears. The name assessment page was created by the researcher. The letter identification and letter sounds were assessed through the on line tool ESG I. Data collected over eight weeks showed improvement in lowercase letter identification with the use of Pre-A guided reading. Both the guided reading group\u27 s performance and the control group\u27 s performance on uppercase letter identification were very similar in comparison to each other in their progress. Pre-A guided reading groups showed improved skills in name writing and letter sound knowledge. Overall, Pre-A guided reading groups show success in three of the four focused literacy areas in this research study

Lausanne medical dispatch centre's response to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 crisis is an unprecedented event. It is therefore essential for dispatch centres to share their experiences while the crisis is underway, similar to hospitals, so that we will all benefit from feedback.This letter to the editor describes the Lausanne dispatch centre response to COVID-19 and the lessons learned so far

A Study of How Flight Instructors Assess Flight Maneuvers and Give Grades: Inter-rater Reliability of Instructor Assessments

This article discusses calibration of flight instruction to an academic institution’s “gold standard”. Flight instructors reviewed four lessons within the private pilot curriculum. Each lesson required rating four maneuvers and assigning an overall letter grade. Data was compared to the gold standard set by flight faculty from the institution. Initial data revealed instructors with one year or less of experience had less agreement to the gold standard. A curriculum to rate maneuvers and grade lessons was developed and practice sessions occurred in instructor meetings starting Fall 2013. Post-test results show improvement in agreement in one year or less experienced group

A Note on Self-Authorship: Resolving Pain for a Hopeful Today

A letter to my College Application Process. I hope it is okay that I write you today. It has been a while, 16 years to be exact, but sometimes a while is just how long things take before we are ready to address them. I blamed you for making me feel less-than, like I was not worthy of being someone’s first choice for a long time. It was easy for me to draw that conclusion after years of mediocre academic performances coupled with your initial decision to waitlist me. I explored Marcia Baxter Magolda’s (1999, 2009, 2013) research on the development of self-authorship in young adults. Her work identifies a framework for understanding the on-going process by which we make sense of the world around us. Self-authorship requires us to take a curious approach to life and continually reexamine our beliefs, identities, and social relations (Baxter Magolda, 2009). In doing so, we strengthen our critical thinking skills and define personal values that provide the guidance to navigate this complex changing world. A self-authored person lives their values in mind, body and spirit. If we learn through resolving our pain, as Baxter Magolda suggests, then I still have a few more lessons to learn from our relationship (2013). After much back and forth, I decided to reconnect through this letter, and all I am asking in return is that you read with care. Perhaps, you will come to value our relationship differently, as I have

Letter from Mary Rosa, Wellesley, Massachusetts, to her mother, 1911 December 7

Letter to mother about receiving a coat, improvements in stomach pain, Christian Association meeting with Christmas carols, enlisting help from the Zoology department after finding an owl outside her window, buying ticket home, and attending organ lessons and music class.https://repository.wellesley.edu/studentcorrosa/1292/thumbnail.jp

Letter from Mary Rosa, Wellesley, Massachusetts, to her mother, 1911 November 5

Letter to mother describing attending church, items received and needed from home, upcoming Field Day, extended forensic due date, viewing Saturn and the moon with observatory telescope, joining mission study and Bible classes, organ lessons, and class social to prepare for Sophomore Prom.https://repository.wellesley.edu/studentcorrosa/1274/thumbnail.jp

Dear Elizabeth (My Daughter, Motivator, and Best Friend)

Her name is Amy Rogers, and she is a first-generation Ph.D. student from Durham University, England. In this piece, Rogers writes a letter advising her daughter on her first-generation experience and lessons learned at university to ensure Elizabeth does not experience imposter syndrome and fits in! The real message is: “Do not expect perfection. Aim for the moon, and you are doing amazing things if you reach the stars.