Homework
For families, homework can be a challenge, whether the issue is, content-based, time management, or fear, frustration or anxiety. Here are some resources that may help make tackling (or completing) homework a more positive experience.
- Literacy - This page provides resources for addressing literacy or reading and writing skills as well as general homework strategies.
- Math - This page offers resources that focus on mathematics skills as well as general homework strategies.
- Science & Social Studies - This page contributes resources that concentrate on science and social studies as well as general homework strategies.
- Virtual Learning
Showing Results 1 - 50 of 234
Description: Text and Online Acronyms Parents Need to Know - When it comes to texting, parents and children don’t speak the same language. Texting often includes acronyms. An acronym is an abbreviation, that consists of the initial letters of the other words and is pronounced as a single word. When you look at your child’s text messages or online chats, you likely won’t understand these acronyms. But they are popular on the internet and found mostly on social media platforms because they...
Description: Virginia's students, families, and educators have long deserved a system that prioritizes high expectations for every child and provides clarity on how each school is preparing students for success. Virginia’s new accountability system, the School Performance and Support Framework, builds trust among schools, parents, and communities through transparent, easy-to-understand reporting on a school’s performance. The Framework shows how students are mastering grade level content,...
Description: Classroom accommodations for dyscalculia - Dyscalculia can make it hard to understand math concepts or do tasks that involve math. Explore this list of accommodations that can help. Download and print the list to use at school — and even at home. Introducing new concepts and lessons Giving instructions Completing assignments Completing tests More resources
Description: Dyscalculia is a learning disability in math. People with have trouble with math at many levels. They often struggle with key concepts like bigger vs. smaller. And they can have a hard time doing basic math problems and more abstract math. Snapshot: What dyscalculia is Dyscalculia signs and symptoms Possible causes of dyscalculia How dyscalculia is diagnosed
Description: Engaging Families for Math Success - Asking children simple questions about the world around them can reinforce math skills and help them apply their math knowledge in new ways. Young children who have lots of opportunities to develop and apply their mathematical knowledge are more likely to achieve in school and in life. Helping families understand the importance of math and of supporting their children's math learning outside the classroom is one way to set children up for success.
Description: Growth mindset printables for STEM - A growth mindset is a way of viewing challenges and setbacks. People who have a growth mindset believe that with hard work, their skills can improve over time. Having a growth mindset is important for students. It helps them face challenges and learn from mistakes. It’s essential for students who learn and think differently to have opportunities to practice a growth mindset. And is the perfect place to practice this. This includes printable resources:...
Description: 4-8 Years Old Brilliant Bea: A Story for Kids with Dyslexia and Learning Differences: Despite her struggles with reading and writing, Beatrice is a natural and brilliant storyteller. With the help of a kind-hearted teacher, Beatrice uses an old-fashioned tape recorder so she can speak her words and then play them back, as a technique for learning in whole new way. With her new approach, Beatrice is able to show her classmates who she really has been all along. 6-8 Years Old A Walk in the...
Description: Questions to Ask Your Child's Teacher About Math - Math skills are essential for life– including daily tasks, problem-solving, creativity, career options and more. This resource is intended for parents of students in Grades 3-8, and includes questions to ask your child’s teacher as well as tips and resources to support math at home. Questions to Ask Your Child's Teacher About Reading - This resource includes questions to ask your child’s teacher as well as tips...
Description: Monarch Reader - The Tar Heel online library of accessible books for beginning readers is now part of the Building Wings family of literacy instruction solutions. You can Find Books (using the search function) or click on: Top Books or Latest Published Books, Explore Topics, and Review Popular Book Collections.
Description: What is Dyslexia? - Reading is complex. It requires our brains to connect letters to sounds, put those sounds in the right order, and pull the words together into sentences and paragraphs we can read and comprehend. People with dyslexia have trouble matching the letters they see on the page with the sounds those letters and combinations of letters make. And when they have trouble with that step, all the other steps are harder.
Description: What is dyslexia? - Dyslexia is a learning disability in reading. People with dyslexia have trouble reading at a good pace and without mistakes. They may also have a hard time with reading comprehension, spelling, and writing. But these challenges aren’t a problem with intelligence. What you’ll learn Snapshot: What dyslexia is Dyslexia signs and symptoms Possible causes of dyslexia How dyslexia is diagnosed?
Description: Dyslexia Basics answers the following questions: What is dyslexia? What causes dyslexia? How widespread is dyslexia? What are the effects of dyslexia? How is dyslexia diagnosed? What are signs of dyslexia? How is dyslexia treated? What are the rights of a person with dyslexia?
Description: Parents and families are critical partners in supporting students with intensive academic and behavioral needs. It is important to recognize that every parent and family member is different, with varying levels of knowledge and comfort with school; they may not consider their involvement in the school in the same way that the school perceives it. As a result, our approach to parent and family engagement should be differentiated. It is important to: share information about the school’s...
Description: PE helps children learn about how their body moves and prepares them to be physically active and healthier for life. In Virginia, PE is required by law for all kindergarten through 10th-grade students. This includes students with disabilities. If the IEP team decides the student requires PE beyond the 10th grade, the school division must provide the service. As parents, you can make this request to the team.
Description: Dott, Alphabott, and the Alphabotteers are teaching Dusty the Dog to read. That’s what makes them Reading Buddies! Combining the science of reading with lots of laughs, Reading Buddies is the fun way to teach aspiring readers the foundational components of reading.
Description: This section provides Parents & Families with practical ideas and strategies to help with reading and writing based on what works. Topics include: Dyslexia, Beginning Reading, Intervention, Screening, Advocacy and Partnerships.
Description: Intervention Central provides teachers, schools and districts with free resources to help struggling learners and implement Response to Intervention and attain the Common Core State Standards. (A new, streamlined version of this site will be available soon.)
Description: Digital Books can help students who have difficulty reading print independently. The following resources allow students to listen or read books in a digital format. Digital Books, from AIM-VA and Bookshare, are free for students to use. Review their information for how teachers can get students enrolled. Other websites listed here can provide digital books that students can use from home as well as school. Check out this list of digital book options to determine which your student...
Description: 10 Podcasts for Dyslexia Awareness - Podcasts are a great way to incorporate media consumption into your daily life. Unlike video or reading from books, podcasts are made to be listened to “on the go”. The listening format is particularly accessible for people with dyslexia and those who find themselves super busy. I enjoy listening to podcasts in the car and while exercising. While you can find podcasts about virtually ANY topic, it is worthwhile for teachers to listen to dyslexia...
Description: The IDA Dyslexia Handbook What Every Family Should Know provides necessary information regarding: definition of dyslexia characteristics of dyslexia appropriate assessment tools evidence-based interventions, suggestions for managing a dyslexic’s educational process In addition, helpful resources and a glossary of terms are provided to better understand dyslexia and its relateddisorders.
Description: Ever since it was first published, Teaching Chemistry to Students with Disabilities: A Manual for High Schools, Colleges, and Graduate Programs has served as a vital resource in the chemistry classroom and laboratory to students with disabilities as well as their parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators. In a changing time of technology, rapid access to information, accessibility tools for individuals with disabilities, and publishing, Edition 4.1 is being published...
Description: Assistive Technology That's Built Into Mobile Devices - Most smartphones and digital tablets have built-in assistive technology (AT) that can help with learning and thinking differences. The range of AT features varies depending on the device’s operating system. But iOS devices like iPhones, as well as Android devices like Samsung Galaxy phones, all have built-in AT tools. You don’t need to buy special apps to use these built-in AT features.
Description: This 2023 Children’s Mental Health Report takes a close look at the following topics to see what can ve done to remedy this urgent problem: What we know about how reading difficulties can affect kids’ mental health The latest brain-based research on how children learn to read, and how the brains of children with dyslexia are different What the evidence tells us about the most effective ways to teach children to read How we can work together to help the next generation of American...
Description: Family Math - Family math is parents, caregivers, and young children engaging each other in fun early math learning at home and on-the-go through the support of professionals serving families. If you fold laundry, read children’s books, or follow recipes, math is part of your daily life, probably in more ways than you’ve thought about. Our research-based Early Math Resources for Professionals Serving Families prepare professionals to support families in finding and talking...
Description: Unite for Literacy pictures a world where all children have access to an abundance of books that celebrate their languages and cultures and cultivate a lifelong love of reading. Unite for Literacy has developed the platform, publishing tools, and systems-based strategies that support our public and private sector partners to change the literacy landscape of their communities and optimize the future for all their young children. Our projects build home libraries and support families to develop a...
Description: Back-to-school can be both exciting and stressful for families with kids who learn and think differently. Learn how to make morning routines less hectic. 8 Ways to Make School Morning Routines Easier Start the night before. Give yourself time in the morning. Make wake-ups more relaxing Follow a routine. Steps 5-8 can be found in the article. Printable Back-to-School Downloads Download: Back-to-school introduction letters Download: School contact lists Download: Backpack checklist Download;...
Description: Parent & Caregiver Resources for Virginia Assessments - Engaged parents and caregivers are a critical part of a child’s successful learning experiences. Reading with students and talking about what is being read is important to the development of strong readers. Talking about and doing math within the family is a great way to engage students and encourage success. Some of the many online resources available for reading, mathematics, science, and history and social science are...
Description: Preparing Your Child with a Disability for 3rd Grade SOL Tests: Factsheet for Virginia’s Parents What are Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOLs)?The SOLs are the standards for achievement for students in grades K-12 in English, math, science, history/social science, technology, fine arts, foreign language, health and physical education, and driver education. Sometimes you will hear SOLs referred to as the general education curriculum. The SOL curriculum establishes the specific...
Description: Resources for Educators, Resources for Families and Caregivers, What is Unstuck? A curriculum and a set of easy to use tools that employ cognitive behavioral techniques to improve flexibility, planning and organization. Unstuck consists of small group lessons and simple, everyday strategies that build a common language for better regulation of feelings, behavior and thinking. Who is Unstuck for? Does it Work? Unstuck is for school-age youth with good verbal skills, but difficulty...
Description: This month is Dyslexia/LD/ADHD Awareness Month, and the author had the honor of sitting down with Resha Conroy, a parent of a child with Dyslexia. She is also a member of the National Center on Improving Literacy Family Engagement Advisory Board and has started her own non-profit, Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children.
Description: This was developed in collaboration with Raise The Bar. Parents learn what a growth mindset is, why it’s important, and best practices to support their children in developing this learning belief.
Description: Before they start school, most children develop an understanding of addition and subtraction through everyday interactions. Learn what informal activities give children a head start on early math skills when they start school.
Description: The VATTS: Resource Guide provides instructional strategies, AT solutions, modifications, accommodations, and examples used to address areas of need identified through the AT consideration process to support student success. There are two Resource Guide PDFs: an ADA Compliant version and a printable table version.
Description: Make text easier to read on small screens. Make reading as effortless as watching a video. Read faster, by reading whole phrases at a time. Speed through any text, with better comprehension. Zoom your screen in or out to adjust the font size. Use the auto-speed or click the next phrase button.
Description: Readsy is a tool to help you skim large amounts of text by focusing your eyes on one word at a time without having to move them. It is powered by Spritz, a speed reading app. To register for higher speeds, click "Login" on the top right of the Spritz box, and create an account with Spritz.
Description: Read with ASL videos encourage ASL and ESL learning! Real-life images give full context to bilingual viewing experiences. Deaf American Sign Language presenters, voice-overs, and on-screen sentences bring access. Read with ASL videos are fun for all ages!
Description: The Center for Literacy & Disability Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill has developed a variety of “alternative pencils” for students with the most significant disabilities, including deaf-blindness. All the alternative “pencils” have been designed for students who are unable to hold a traditional pencil or physically manipulate a keyboard. Instead, the alternative pencils tap into students’ other developing abilities. For example, the alphabet eye gaze frame may be...
Description: Executive Function and Organization - Students with ASD often have a very uneven learning profile. For example, they may have excellent long-term and rote memory abilities but have executive function deficits. Executive function challenges can include difficulties with general organization and planning skills, problems with impulsivity and problem-solving, and challenges with goal completion. Common learning challenges and possible accommodations and supports include: Providing notes or review...
Description: Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, the portfolio-based Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) will be replaced with a new multiple-choice assessment in the content areas of reading, mathematics, and science that will be administered to students in an online or paper format. The new VAAP will be based on academic content standards derived from the Standards of Learning (SOL) in reading, mathematics, and science that have been reduced in depth, breadth, and complexity. These...
Description: Mastery of early math concepts is associated with such later achievements as middle school grades, high school graduation, and career opportunities (Garcia & Weiss, 2017). Given the importance of early math, REL Appalachia created the Community Math Night Facilitators' Toolkit as a detailed resource for K–5 elementary school educators to plan and implement a Community Math Night event. Community Math Nights use research-based, interactive math activities to engage families in building...
Description: The Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) is designed to evaluate the performance of students with significant cognitive disabilities instructed on academic standards that have been reduced in complexity and depth. This content is derived from the Standards of Learning (SOL) and is referred to as the Virginia Essentialized Standards of Learning (VESOL). Eligible students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-8 and high school participating in the new VAAP online assessment...
Description: The Supporting Literacy at Home Guides in English and Spanish provides parents with suggestions for supporting their children's literacy development at home, through a culturally and linguistically responsive approach to shared reading. Parents and family members are encouraged to engage in interactive reading and discussion in Spanish and/or English and their funds of knowledge are tapped by connecting the text to the families' culture and background experiences. Parents learn to use...
Description: In this TedX Talk, Grace Lin, award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, shows how the books that are not on a child’s bookshelf are just as important as those that are. Lin shares how books provide children with a window into the larger world, as well as a mirror for self-reflection, both of which foster our ability to build bridges of tolerance. Use the guiding questions provided to connect the message from this webinar to your classroom.
Description: Presentation Recordings from VDOE Family Literacy Night Family Literacy Night included presentations on the following topics: Early Childhood: Early Literacy Starts at Home Assessment Supports: An Explanation of Your Student's SOL Reports Family Field Trips: Connecting Literacy to the Commonwealth Family Engagement: Supports for the Home Virginia State Literacy Association: Choosing Books for the Children in your Lives Virginia Association for Teachers of English Equity & Community...
Description: This page contains a few of the many general online resources that are free to teachers, parents, and students at all times.
Description: The Parents’ Guides to Student Success were developed by teachers, parents and education experts. Created for grades K-8 and high school English, language arts/literacy and mathematics, the guides provide clear, consistent expectations for what students should be learning at each grade in order to be prepared for college and career.
Description: These worksheets are accessible to all users (visually impaired, blind, keyboard users, and non-visually impaired). Please note that they will be adding new worksheets on an on-going basis, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back to see what's new!
Description: These free printables are can help students and their families get organized They can help with morning routines and other organization challenges. Backpack Checklist for Younger Kids (Available in Spanish) Homework Contract for Grade-Schoolers (Available in Spanish) Getting Ready for School (Available in Spanish) Afterschool Routine Available in Spanish School Communication Log (Available in Spanish)
Description: Functional Behavior Assessment (one of the AFIRM Modules) - A functional behavior assessment can be used when the intensity, duration, or type of interfering behavior creates safety concerns or impacts a child’s development. The AFIRM model guides the learner through four lessons to facilitate: Learning basic knowledge about functional behavior assessment (FBA). Applying FBA in activity based scenarios that promote real-world application. The AFIRM Modules are designed to help you...
Description: Dr. Powell’s website provides resources and information about evidence- based practices, including links to virtual manipulatives.