The (Legal) Powers of Parents

First things first: Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers in the Smarten Up family! We may be a day late, but one day is not nearly enough to celebrate the transformative power of mothers. That power (and responsibility) is also written into law—this week’s blog post outlines the legal rights of parents in making choices for their children’s education. 

The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) exists to give students with disabilities access to a free and appropriate public education. The federal law includes legal rights (referred to as “safeguards”) that families should understand as they apply to their child’s education. Here are some of the specific rights parents have under this federal law, organized into four major categories:

Participation

Under IDEA, parents have the right to fully participate in all decision-making about their child’s educational program. It is, of course, wise to consider input from all school professionals. However, all decisions about a child’s education need to be signed off on by the parent. This includes every step from evaluation, to diagnosis, to the child’s placement in an educational setting. Teachers and other school professionals will, of course, give their recommendations, but the parent has final say.

Information

Parents have the right to access all of their child’s records at any time. They may also request any necessary corrections be made so that all information on file with the school is accurate and complete. Any information which needs updating, or which the parent feels is misleading in any way must be updated by the school in a reasonable time frame.

Confidentiality

In most cases, parents have the right to choose who has access to their child’s educational records. Schools may not disclose information about an individual child without the parent’s consent, with a few exceptions. This information includes personal information, like their name and address, as well as academic and medical information like disability diagnosis. Parents also have the right to know how their child’s school shares, stores, and disposes of students’ records. Specific policies regarding the handling of records vary from state to state.

Consent

As stated above, the parent must give consent for any formal supports to be put in place by the school. This includes big changes like the child’s classroom placement, as well as small changes, like writing “preferential seating” into their IEP. Nothing can be formally implemented without the parents’ permission!

School’s Rights to Keep in Mind

While the law under IDEA rightfully gives parents lots of control over their child’s education, the school has some rights to keep in mind as well.

• Schools may hold IEP meetings without a parent present if significant effort has been made to reach a parent and there has been no response.

• Parent consent only refers to formal decisions that affect the child’s instruction and/or setting. Teachers may (and should!) implement strategies for your child on a more informal basis, which you may or may not be aware of. These are regular parts of a teacher’s instructional agenda and do not usually require parent involvement.

• In very extreme cases, when the safety or health of the child or someone else is in jeopardy, schools have the right to disclose information to medical professionals in the event that the parent cannot be reached.

If you have any concerns about the supports or services your child is receiving in school, talk to a teacher. A positive and communicative relationship between parent and teacher is one of the most important pillars to a student’s success!

Research Fundamentals

Many students struggle with knowing how to begin the research process. They might have a topic, but don’t know where to begin finding the information that will help them create a product to demonstrate their learning. While there isn’t exactly a formula for conducting research, there are a number of strategies that can help students get started, and make sure they are on the right track throughout the research process.

Where to Start

When students begin a research project, they often hit a wall before they’ve even really gotten started. Lots of teachers are picky about what sources students use (rightfully so...students need to learn to choose credible sources!). Because of this, sources that are often the most convenient, like Wikipedia, are often not allowed. Wikipedia gets a bad rap among scholars. It is a resource for the people, by the people. This makes it both an amazing place to read up on a plethora of topics that may be otherwise difficult to learn about, while also unreliable in a scholarly context. Anyone can add or edit information on Wikipedia, and while it is monitored for accuracy, facts often go unchecked. This is why Wikipedia is an excellent place to start, but not a great place to end.

When teachers ban Wikipedia from a students’ research options, it doesn’t mean they can’t use it as a starting point. It just means that the teacher doesn’t want students citing Wikipedia as a resource. But it’s a great place to find some direction for a given topic. Reading (or skimming) the Wikipedia page on a topic can help students identify their main ideas and generate questions that will help further their research. Students should always make sure that any information they are using in their research exists somewhere other than Wikipedia to ensure accuracy of information. Some of these more legitimate sources can even be found in Wikipedia’s footnotes!

The First Step: Ask Questions

A common obstacle students run into is simply not knowing how to begin research into their topic. Some may start with a broad google search of their topic, and maybe another term that’s related. But these types of searches are usually extremely vague and will either overwhelm the researcher at best, or take them off course from their chosen topic at worst. A great way to avoid this common pitfall is to start by turning the topic into a question. Questions lead to answers, whereas general topics don’t have quite as clear-cut a path. 

Create an Outline

Writing a research paper or completing a project is always easier when the student has created an outline. Outlines provide the skeleton of the project. Once they've completed their outline, the details, transitions, and final touches just need to be filled in. The structure that an outline provides is often the hardest part for students, since it requires a tremendous amount of organization and planning. This is where those questions from above can come in handy!

Use Search Terms Wisely

The amount of information available to us online is virtually limitless, and constantly growing. Do a quick search of “World War I” or “Albert Einstein” and you’ll receive hundreds of sources, all of which are likely to give you something relevant. The key is refining those search terms so that the results are specific enough. But be too specific with your terms and you might miss the mark, or not get anything at all. This is where the last step comes in handy. Once students have created their outline, they can use the subtopics they came up with to refine their search. So instead of a broad search of “World War I,” one might try “major battles of world war I.” And instead of “Albert Einstein,” one might search for “Einstein quantum theory” in order to refine the results.

Avoid Plagiarism

The most difficult part of research papers for many students is avoiding plagiarism. We have two options when using other sources to conduct and present our own research. We can either quote a source directly or we can paraphrase by putting it into our own words. Either way, students must cite the source if the information came directly from it. The only exception is for information that is “common knowledge,” which means it's something everyone in the field agrees on. This type of information is usually readily available in several different sources, and does not need to be cited.

Conclusion

While research can be hard, especially when students are first getting used to the process, there are strategies that can make it a little less daunting. Asking questions, evaluating sources, and using smart search terms can make an overwhelming process more manageable, and sometimes, even fun.

Using Sentence Starters

For many students who struggle with writing, the issue is with what to write, and not how to write. These students understand the mechanics of writing; when given structured tasks that don’t require original content but just mechanics, they do fine. So for students who have trouble generating original writing—whether it’s a whole essay, a paragraph, or a single sentence—how do we help them? What can we do to get their writing juices flowing without putting words in their mouth? Here’s where sentence frames, starters, and stems can work wonders.

What are Sentence Frames and Starters?

Sentence frames and starters both provide students with an entry point to writing a sentence they would otherwise be struggling with. A sentence frame is a template in which some of the words are left out for the student to complete. These sentences can be missing just a few words, or most of the words, depending on how much guidance the student needs. A sentence starter is simply a word or series of words students should use to start a sentence.

Critics of these methods argue that if we give students supports like this, they’ll become overly reliant on them. They'll risk never being able to actually produce their own original writing. This is only true if we aren’t helping students use them the right way. Sentence frames should be used as long as students need them, but not indefinitely. Once students become more comfortable with the way a certain type of sentence should be structured, we can modify the frames our students are working with so that they are writing more and more of the sentence themselves. Eventually, they are only receiving one or two words of the frame, and then none at all. For many students, this can be a much more effective approach to mastering sentence structure than through mere open-ended practice.

Who They Benefit

These tools can benefit virtually all students. Unless a student is completely proficient in all writing purposes, they will benefit from this type of scaffold at one point or another. Even for students who have mastered grade-level sentence and paragraph structure, there are always more nuanced and intricate ways of crafting writing that those students can begin to learn through sentence frames.

When to Use Them

Sentence frames and starters can be useful anytime a student needs to follow a formula in their writing. This can be for anything from a research paper to an argument essay. They can be used in various ways at every grade level. For example, when first introducing the structure of a five-paragraph essay, sentence starters can come in handy as a way to introduce students to this new type of writing structure. These might include starters like “For one thing…” or “On the other hand…” to give students an idea of where their next idea should go. Once students are comfortable with this structure, they can practice writing for these purposes without the sentence frames, and can eventually experiment with structuring sentences in more original ways.

Conclusion

Remember that in order for sentence frames and starters to be purposeful, they must evolve as students’ skills develop. If a student is receiving the same level of writing template for an entire year or more, then something about how they are using it or the template itself needs to be reevaluated. Students should become more independent as they use sentence frames and starters, and should not continue to need the same level of scaffolding from one writing task to the next. If students are using the correct tools to address their writing needs, then eventually, they will become confident, self-sufficient writers.

The Different Types of ADHD

ADHD is both incredibly common and incredibly complex. It is a disorder that impacts nearly 1/10 kids, but its symptoms vary a great deal according to age and gender. And while ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and many of us hear the label and think of the child who can't sit still or focus, the name and stereotype don't always apply to what ADHD actually looks like in children or adults. That's why we were so excited for Mara to speak with pediatric neuropsychologist Dr. Matt Pagirsky of Growing Minds Psychology about the three most common types of ADHD and how they are expressed in children.

Key Takeaways

• The name “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” implies that ADHD means that there is a deficit in attention, however that is often not the case. Many times, kids with ADHD are great at paying endless attention to things that they find interesting. However, they struggle to regulate their attention and focus on less interesting tasks. That’s why they can build Legos, play video games, or read their favorite book for hours, but have such a hard time getting through a math worksheet or reading their textbook.

• There are three main types of ADHD with two distinct dimensions of symptoms - inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.

  • ADHD Inattentive type is what doctors used to call ADD. Common symptoms of this type of ADHD include difficulty with attention and concentration, frequent daydreaming, and struggles with organization, planning, and execution.

  • ADHD Hyperactive and Impulsive type is characterized by restlessness, difficulty sitting still and regulating one’s body, and impulsivity.

  • ADHD Combined Presentation is characterized by six or more symptoms from the two categories of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.

• ADHD Sluggish Cognitive Tempo is a fourth potential type of ADHD that is less common.

• These different types of ADHD tend to be more commonly diagnosed at different stages in a child’s development.

  • ADHD Hyperactive and Impulsive type is frequently identified in younger kids because they struggle with behavior. These children have a hard time regulating their body and following directions. Their symptoms are obvious and negatively impact their experience at home and in school, which is why parents often have their child evaluated at an early age.

  • ADHD Inattentive type is more commonly diagnosed later in elementary school, middle or high school as children struggle to become more independent and adapt to increased academic expectations. Difficulties with attention and focus lead to gaps in understanding of academic material. Plus, struggles with executive function skills make it more difficult for students to manage their increasingly complex responsibilities.

• ADHD also tends to be expressed differently according to gender.

  • Boys tend to show more signs of hyperactivity and impulsivity.

  • Girls with ADHD typically show more inattentive symptoms and struggle with executive function skills.

• Ultimately, ADHD boils down to difficulty with self-regulation. Kids with ADHD have a hard time regulating both their minds and their bodies. This in turn impacts their life inside and outside of the classroom. Not only do children with ADHD struggle with focus and attention in class, they also have a hard time with the executive function skills they need to learn and manage homework; and their impulsivity and difficulty with regulating their bodies and emotions impacts their ability to establish positive relationships with peers and family.

If you are concerned about your child’s development, we are here to help! Dr. Matt Pagirsky is a neuropsychologist who can help to evaluate whether or not your child is struggling with ADHD. And you can always get in touch with us to help support your child in any of their academic needs!

Understanding Writer's Block

It can be hard to know how to help students who feel “stuck” in their writing. As students progress through the grades, writing demands grow more and more challenging. Many students are able to keep up, whether with or without extra supports, like sentence starters. But sometimes students who have been doing just fine so far suddenly find themselves struggling with writing. So how can we tell if a student is experiencing writer's block or something more concerning? 

Writer’s block can look very different from one student to the next. It can last varying amounts of time, from a few minutes to several weeks. Therefore, it can be difficult to identify the root cause. Plus, writer’s block can sometimes resemble a writing disability in that they both result in the student feeling stuck. And while students with disabilities can be more susceptible to getting writer’s block, the two things have nothing to do with each other. 

What To Write Vs. How To Write

When a student suffers from writer’s block, they are unable to decide what to write. Sometimes they are unable to come up with any ideas at all, and sometimes they just can't choose one. While this can be a very frustrating experience for any author, especially for an amateur writer, there are ways to tell when this type of roadblock is due to a lack of creativity or a lack of understanding.

While true writer’s block comes from being stuck on what to write, difficulty that stems from a writing disability exists because the student may not know how to write what they are supposed to be writing. Sometimes a student is stuck in their writing because something about the task or writing purpose feels too challenging. This is when a teacher will need to intervene with some explicit teaching in whatever it is the student is struggling with.

Signs of a writing disability

When a child experiences writer’s block for one day, then it will be clear very soon that that’s all it was. But if the student is dealing with a long-term struggle, the best way to determine whether it’s just writer’s block or a writing disability is to carefully observe the student’s habits in other areas of writing. How does he perform when writing for other academic purposes? Is his writing more proficient or does he experience more or less the same struggles? How does he appear to feel about writing for other purposes? If he is motivated and confident in other areas but struggles when it comes to informational writing, then it’s probably writer’s block. But if you notice the same struggles across classes or subject areas, and/or the student’s feelings about writing have gotten more negative and stay that way, it might be worth a preliminary evaluation.

Understanding Dysgraphia

While many learning challenges can be difficult to define, dysgraphia is especially tricky. That’s because at its core, dysgraphia is an issue with transcription that includes difficulty with handwriting, typing, and spelling; however, because these skills are closely related to so many facets of learning, dysgraphia is often hard to identify. If a child struggles with handwriting, is it because of a learning issue or does he just need more practice? If a student has a hard time writing an essay, is it because of dysgraphia or does she just need more support structuring her ideas?

It’s a fascinating topic, and one that Smarten Up CEO and Founder, Mara Koffmann, was lucky enough to discuss with Dr. Beth King of TREAT NYC, an expert in the field. Dr. King, a psychologist, highlights the many ways in which this learning difference presents itself, and the best resources and strategies for supporting children with dysgraphia.

Key Takeaways

• Dysgraphia is a low incidence learning difference, and it is not one that can be overcome. It impacts a combination of visual-spatial, verbal, and fine-motor skills. This complexity also means that dysgraphia tends to affect a lot of different areas of learning which makes it hard to diagnose.

• Dysgraphia is highly comorbid and often impacts those with dyslexia and/or ADHD.

• Dysgraphia can be considered a failure to develop automaticity with a range of skills, especially those related to writing. Relatedly, kids with dysgraphia struggle to develop fluency with letter formation which makes writing difficult. And because just about every part of school requires writing, from note taking and in-class assignments to homework and test taking, dysgraphia can lead to generalized difficulties in school. For this reason, assistive technology is a crucial tool for those with dysgraphia. It allows students to focus on content rather than handwriting.

• Some warning signs of dysgraphia include:

  • Significant discrepancies between a child’s verbal and written abilities

  • Random use of capital letters in words

  • Inconsistent spacing between words and letters

  • Difficulty with alignment of letters on lined paper

  • Knowledge of writing mechanics and spelling rules that does not translate to written work

  • Complaints about hand discomfort when writing

• Important resources and supports for students with dysgraphia:

  • Access to a keyboard for all written work. Younger students can learn to type on an Alphasmart, while older kids can use computers or tablets with an attached keyboard.

  • Adaptive typing techniques rather than standard keyboarding skills. This is because students with dysgraphia struggle to achieve automaticity with fine-motor skills. Accordingly, it is better for them to be able to look at letters as they type using whichever finger is most comfortable. And it should be noted that adaptive keyboarding is preferable to speech-to-text technology. This is because speech-to-text can lead to a lot of inaccuracies and errors in writing. Plus, it cannot be used to take notes in the classroom, nor can it help with math or science.

  • Co:Writer, which is a predictive typing resource

  • MathPad and ModMath are incredible math resources to help students write and solve a wide range of problems on an iPad.

  • Efofex is a free tool for students with disabilities to write, solve, and organize more advanced math and science work.

The Value of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

When it comes to what students are learning, the spotlight is always on core academics like reading and math. This is especially true now, since many students risk falling farther behind as the pandemic prevents a return to normalcy. But we should all be just as concerned, if not more so, with students’ social-emotional wellness and development. Not only are SEL (social-emotional learning) skills crucial in any year, this year’s altered educational landscape has made students especially fragile and in need of support beyond academics. So, it's more important than ever that students learn these crucial life skills. There is strong evidence that shows the impact SEL has on students’ short- and long-term academic and personal success. Here are just a few examples of how SEL impacts students:

1. Improves interpersonal skills

SEL lessons teach students how to cooperate, resolve conflict, and communicate clearly and with empathy. This helps students strengthen their friendships, relationships with family members, as well as interactions with teachers. Later in life, these skills manifest in successful job interviews and healthy personal relationships.

2. Teaches healthy responses to failure

Everyone experiences failure, rejection, and disappointment at some point. What matters is how you handle it. SEL programs also help transform students’ thinking about themselves. If a student experiences a lot of negative self-talk, then any sort of failure or setback is likely to send them into a spiral of negative thinking. SEL can help these students develop a growth mindset. They can learn to adopt an “I’ll get it next time” mentality, instead of letting shame or disappointment lead them off course.

3. Helps develop resilience and grit

How we respond to life’s hardships not only affects what will happen in the short term, but it shapes the path our decisions will lead us on. If we grow up dealing with life’s obstacles in unhealthy and unproductive ways that won’t help us move forward, but are soothing in the moment, we are likely to make these coping mechanisms a habit. SEL teaches students alternative coping mechanisms, which lead to an increase in resilience.

4. Teaches students to calculate risks wisely

The confidence students build from the skills taught in SEL allows them to feel comfortable putting themselves a bit outside their academic comfort zone. When students are more self-assured, they are willing to risk being wrong in their pursuit of learning. At the same time, they are less likely to take physical risks or to engage in dangerous behavior.

5. Instills a desire to learn

Finally, the most obvious argument in favor of SEL: if students learn to value themselves, have compassion for others, regulate their strong emotions, and face challenges with a solutions-oriented mindset, they’ll begin to love school. They’ll want to attend every day. They’ll start actually doing their homework and studying, not because they want good grades, but because they genuinely want to learn.

How to Develop Students' Phonemic Awareness

When we think of teaching a child to read, most parents and many teachers probably think of letter activities, flash cards, and lots of books. Yet, the first step in a child's journey to becoming a reader begins with sounds not letters. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, differentiate, and manipulate sounds in words. And this skill is one of the best predictors of a child's ability to read fluently. That's why we were so excited to explore strategies for building phonemic awareness with Tami Morrison, an expert educator and reading guru! Listen to the interview below and read on for key takeaways.

Key Takeaways

• Phonemic awareness falls under the umbrella of phonological awareness. Whereas the former relates to knowledge of words and word parts, phonemic awareness is all about sounds. Phonemic awareness is the ability to understand that spoken words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes, and it’s one of the best early predictors for reading success. Building phonemic awareness involves learning to isolate, blend, segment, add, remove, and change the sounds (aka phonemes) in words.

• Building phonemic awareness is the first step in a child’s journey to becoming a reader. Our brains aren’t hardwired to read, but they are programmed to pick up on sounds and language. With this in mind, if we can teach students to better understand the sounds in words, we are setting them up to successfully make the connection to letters so they can master the written code of language (aka phonics).

• It’s never too early to help kids build phonemic awareness. Games that focus on rhyming and beginning sounds are a great way to help young children become more aware of the sounds in words.

• There are endless possibilities for how to work phonemic awareness practice into the fabric of the day for kids. It can be done sitting in the car, waiting in line, or walking down the street. It can fit into morning meetings or classroom breaks. And best of all, it can be paired with movement to make practice fun for kids. Tami’s students especially love the frog jump and roller coaster to highlight medial sounds, the cheerleader punch to point out rhymes, and chopping tools to segment sounds. This combination of listening and movement makes for a powerful (and fun!) learning experience.

• Some basic exercises to promote phonemic awareness include the following:

  • Word chains - Manipulate the first sound in a word, i.e. change the first sound in "bar” to “f” —> “far”, then change the beginning sound in “far” to “j” —> “jar".”

  • Onset - Identify the beginning sound in a word, i.e. for the word “star,” kids would say, “st.”

  • Medial sounds - Identify the sound in the middle of a word, i.e. for the word “top,” children would say, “o.”

  • Ending sounds - Identify the ending sounds in a single word, i.e. for the word “said,” kids would say, “d.” Or children might also identify the ending sound in a group of words like “church, birch, search,” kids would say “ch.”

  • Blending - Kids have to blend sounds together to make a word, i.e. if they hear “c-a-t,” children would say, “cat.”

  • Segmenting - Kids have to segment the sounds in a word to identify each phoneme, i.e. for the word “black” kids would say, “b-l-a-ck.”

• While there are many resources out there for building phonemic awareness, Tami’s two favorites are Heggerty and Kilpatrick’s Equipped for Reading Success. Both offer a multi-sensory, systematic approach for building phonemic awareness in students and include a range of quick and simple activities that can easily be woven into the fabric of any day inside or outside of the classroom!

Food and the Brain

We’ve all been told to eat our vegetables since we were young. And most of us have probably nagged our own kids about it. No one doubts the health benefits of eating a balanced meal with a focus on fresh produce, whole grains, and lean protein. The effect foods have on the health of adults has been studied extensively. However, beyond eating a balanced diet consisting of foods we know are healthy, there has been little research into the effects specific foods have on children’s brains. One such study, conducted in 2019, made some interesting, yet unsurprising, findings. Students who consumed a higher level of sugary, salty snacks (aka, “junk food”) performed worse on standardized tests in ELA and Math. Another study looked into how hydration levels affect student performance. Spoiler alert: students who were better-hydrated (with water only) did better.

Fueling for Test Day

There are a number of foods that are considered “brain fuel.” These foods have been linked to improved concentration, memory, and focus. But regardless of what’s for breakfast on test day, the most important thing is that breakfast happens! When students skip breakfast, claiming they aren’t hungry or their nerves won’t let them keep food down, they are not likely to make it very far into their test without a significant crash in energy, focus, or both. Here are the best foods to eat the night before and/or the morning of:

• Anything with omega-3 fatty acids like fish, avocado, and nuts;

• Eggs, which contain vitamins and minerals that not only improve memory in the short term, but also slow long-term cognitive decline later in life;

• Berries, which contain important antioxidants, crucial for healthy brain function;

• Oats, also for their antioxidants in the form of Vitamin E;

• and Dark chocolate. In addition to being delicious, it also contains flavanoids (another type of antioxidant). BUT, it does need to be real dark chocolate (not milk), and only a small amount. No, we do not recommend eating a chocolate bar for breakfast.

Caffeine and the Developing Brain

Many adults rely on caffeine for brain functioning, and caffeine in moderate amounts does have some brain benefits. However, caffeine is a stimulant that has no place in a child’s regular diet. The small amounts found in any foods containing cocoa are fine, but children and adolescents who are still growing should wait a few years before making coffee part of their routine. The increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and anxiety can cause some long-term health problems.

The Bottom Line

Make sure your kids are eating a balanced diet. Limit junk food to special occasions (or bond over making your own together!). Never let them skip breakfast, and include eggs and oats on the menu regularly. Don’t worry too much about small amounts of caffeine in their diet, but don’t let them drink cups of coffee quite yet!

Foundational Reading Skills

Here at Smarten Up, we are big believers in the Science of Reading, and good reading habits begin with foundational reading skills. For that reason, our reading tutors place a strong emphasis on phonemic awareness, phonics, and multi-sensory instruction. Unfortunately, though, that's not the case in all classrooms. As a result, it's all the more important that parents and educators learn more about the science of good reading instruction.

Would you like to learn more about how to build foundational reading skills with your readers? We are so excited to share a conversation between Smarten Up and Braintrust CEO and Co-Founder, Mara Koffmann and Haly Samuels, a NYC-based reading specialist and Braintrust tutor, as they discuss resources and strategies to support early reading.