Author: Michael Hart

learning specialist

Shawna Pope Jefferson: My journey as a speech-language pathologist and learning specialist!

Please join me in welcoming Shawna Pope Jefferson, MS/CCC/SLP as my guest blogger this week.  Shawna is the founder of Language and Literacy Solutions http://www.languageandliteracysolutions.com/; shawna@llslearning.com In her blog piece for True Literacy she tells the story of her journey as a learning specialist and the powerful intervention she relies on called Structured Word Inquiry

Embracing Dyslexia: Crossing the Chasm and Saving Lives

Although decades of research has led to notable improvements in the interventions used to address the challenges of dyslexia and other learning difficulties in the classroom, this community of students continue to struggle with the social and emotional burdens of these “invisible” disabilities. Discover the disconnect between our current education system and the academic, social,

SuperD!ville

Created by Academy Award winner Peggy Stern, SuperD!Ville is a really forward thinking and unique multimedia resource that combines videos with real kids and lessons plans for a broad range of social and emotional issues.  All of the kids who act in the videos have learning differences like dyslexia and ADHD. Learn More…

Be You

This Australian website “Be You” provides educators with knowledge, resources and strategies for helping children and young people achieve their best possible mental health.  It’s an excellent guide for educators and leaders who work with our children every day.  Learn More…

Overcoming the Odds

“This thought-provoking program explores why some children succeed in spite of the tremendous odds against them. What do resilient kids have in common, and what can we learn from their stories about parenting, educating and succeeding?”  –Connect With Kids Here are some more well-organized resilience-building lesson plans for different youth age groups:  Grades 3-5 and

27 Resilience Activities and Worksheets for Students and Adults

The PositivePsychology.com team put together this excellent resource specifically for activities, worksheets and lesson plans in resilience building for both students and adults.  •27 Resilience activities and worksheets for students and adults Learn More…

Lesson Plans for Teaching Resilience to Children

This is an incredible resource for Social and Emotional Learning lesson plans as well as Lynne Manka’s philosophy regarding SEL. 175 pages of great stuff.  A wonderful long-term resource for you.   •175 pages of background and lesson plans Click here to download

Interview with Rachel Berger: Free Ed Tech Tools from MicroSoft

Discover how Microsoft’s enhanced dictation tool is helping to eliminate barriers to academic success for students with learning difficulties. In his first video column, Dr. Michael Hart welcomes Rachel Berger, a Microsoft Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities Community Consultant, to share a brief history about Microsoft’s involvement in developing more assistive edtech tools, provide a demonstration

A young boy smiles in his classroom, as his teacher gives instruction. Nepal

Dyslexia vs. ADHD: An intro to the differences

At a biological level, dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are different in terms of how the diagnosed person’s brain is wired. Simply put, dyslexia is a language-based learning issue that specifically impacts how well and how quickly a person becomes a proficient reader. ADHD is different in terms of the parts of brain