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As Far As Words Go: Activities for Understanding Ambiguous Language and Humor, Revised Edition by Cecile Cyrul Spector

The Roots of Phonics A Historical Introduction, Revised Edition by Miriam Balmuth

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Teachers planning their strategies for Tier 2 and Tier 3 of RTI may be contending with some common obstacles: I don't have time ... My students hate drill and kill instruction ... I'm not sure how to teach students with learning differences.

Try these easy tips—brought to you by the experts—to get around the roadblocks and make sure your students are moving ahead.

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Using Teacher Study Groups to improve vocabulary instruction

Imagine you take a one-day class on CPR. How ready will you feel when called upon to perform CPR three months down the line? Maybe not so confident.

In a similar way, teachers who take a one-day workshop may be better prepared than if they hadn't taken any course at all. But, they are more likely to retain the skills and knowledge they acquire through a Teacher Study Group type of model.

Teacher Study Groups provide the elements research has shown are essential to sustained learning: (1) an in-depth focus on academic subject matter, (2) opportunities for hands-on work, and (3) integration into the daily life of the school.

In their recent book, Learning How to Improve Vocabulary Instruction through Teacher Study Groups, Joseph Dimino and Mary Jo Taylor outline a complete 9-session Teacher Study Group plan to help teachers bring scientifically based vocabulary instruction into the classroom. Teachers who participate in the sessions—which take up about 2 hours each month—talk about what did and didn't work in their last vocabulary lesson, review the current concept, and collaboratively plan their next lesson.

The lessons are designed to work in conjunction with whatever core reading program the teachers are using in their classroom.

Key Facts: The State of Learning Disabilities 2009

What did the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) learn in its study of the state of learning disabilities in the United States? Here are just a few key findings:

• About 5.5% of all students in public schools were identified as having learning disabilities in 2007.
• Males comprise almost two-thirds of school-age students with LD who receive special education services.
• The cost of educating a student with LD is 1.6 times the cost for a general education student (the average cost for all students with disabilities runs at about 1.9 times).
• The number of students with LD who spent 80% of their in-school time in general education classrooms rose from 40% in 2000 to 59% in 2007.
• About 25%-35% of students with LD are provided with assistive technology.
• The high school dropout rate for students with LD was 25% in 2007, down from 41% in 1997.
• Students with LD go on to postsecondary education at a much lower rate than their peers without disabilities.
• In 2005, 55% of adults with LD (ages 18-64) were employed compared to 76% of those without.

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