Snowy Owls

Posted on February 16, 2012 by thehopebeacon

Snowy Owls.

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Interventions: Follow-Up

Posted on February 14, 2012 by thehopebeacon

This post is a follow-up to the poll on my website about interventions. I appreciate those who read and voted on the questions I posted. Thank you for your time.

In education today, interventions are a required part of teacher lesson plans. With such a diverse group of children in the classrooms now, there is evidence that not all students perform equally. The push in education is to narrow that performance gap and support every student’s ability to read at their grade levels and above.

Such a daunting task for a classroom teacher when one student reads above grade level, ten read at grade level, and nine other students read at several levels below what their grade level. Thus, the need for interventions! Every classroom teacher should develop interventions for their students. Title I and Special education teachers can and should collaborate with the classroom teacher about what students need if a student receives support from these teachers also. However, the primary person responsible to assess a student’s performance is the classroom teacher. This teacher is also the one who works with the student through specially designed lessons. based on data collected through small group and large group instruction about the student’s progress on concepts taught.

These lessons need taught daily, or as often as possible weekly. Each lesson provides progress the student made through the lesson presented. This information then determines the next lesson’s content. Effective interventions need to last 15-30 minutes in length.

As a Reading Specialist certified K-12, an intervention lesson for reading should include three components: 1) word study (phonemic awareness activities, phonics, or vocabulary), 2) fluency, and 3) comprehension. These three reading skills impact one another. I use a passage from a book written at the student’s instructional or independent reading level. Worksheets do not allow the student to apply the reading skills, but books and real print devices such as magazines, newspapers, Internet articles do. The point of a lesson is teach the struggling student to apply the skills when reading life-relevant print.

Some teachers design lessons for only fluency, or only word study, or only comprehension. If a student can’t understand a passage, could the problem be s/he doesn’t understand the vocabulary words (word study concern) in the passage, and this interrupts the ability to comprehend what the passage says? Or does it mean only that the student needs to learn “ask questions while reading,” a comprehension strategy? Perhaps the student struggles through the passage and reads disfluently (fluency problem), but the problem is the inability to decode the words in the passage (a phonics problem). These skills and strategies are all related to how well the student reads and comprehends what s/he reads.

If this article interests you as an educator, and you want to discuss this more, leave a comment or contact me. If you are a parent and your child is struggling in reading, contact me and we’ll discuss my tutoring schedule and cost. As always, thanks for visiting my sight. Have a super day!

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Friendship

Posted on February 14, 2012 by thehopebeacon

Today is Valentine’s Day. I wish for each one who reads this post a wonderful, loving day!

This morning during devotions I read in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 that “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor.”  I prayed about my relationships with friends thought how easy it was for me to neglect them over time.

A friend can share my joys and trials. Friends double my joy in the good times and support me during grievous ones. Dividing the heaviness of burdens through loving support is priceless. On the other hand, how sad it would be to have no close friends with whom I can share my successes…

The Lord led me to phone my closest friends today and tell them how much I love them. It seemed especially appropriate today! An action that took just a few minutes positively energized me the rest of the day.

What about you? Is there a friend who would enjoy hearing from you? Not only will your friend be blessed, but hearing his/her voice will lift you up and bless your day! Let me know if you told friends today how important they are in your life. Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me!

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Impact of Separation

Posted on February 6, 2012 by thehopebeacon

Each time my computer background appears, I smile. A photo of vacation fun from three years ago greets me. This photo shows my grandchildren and their parents in the lake behind the boat joking and enjoying time with one another.

Our oldest son just returned from Iraq so we celebrated God’s mercy by spending time together playing and relaxing. His second son was born four days before his deployment over seas so we all loved seeing Zachary. Zach’s mother spent a year trying to cope with her husband’s separation while raising a three year-old son and a newborn all the while wondering about her husband’s well-being and the men the Lord placed under his charge. She lived in Virginia, and we lived in the Midwest. Not living closer to support her frustrated me deeply.

As a mother of a soldier, I drew closer to my heavenly Father. His Son’s separation from Him helped me remember He knew what I felt. Christ’s earthly mother, Mary, also knew that pain and worry.

The toll that separation takes on people is immense. The entire family worries about each loved one involved. The children, though often unable to express how they feel, suffer internally, and sometimes this anxiety manifests itself outwardly. I wonder how many families notice the insecurity and detachment syndrome from a military situation I mention here. Deployment lasts longer these last ten to twenty years. Usually the family travels with them, but not to a war zone. I care about the effects (both long and short-term) might have these past ten years  on our military families. I read the divorce rate climbed to 60% in military families.

I support the troops and all they sacrifice for our country, and I am proud of my son for serving this great nation through the military. But as a Christian who supports the family framework, and an educator, the impact of family separation concerns me deeply.  Are you affected by this situation in any way personally, or indirectly? Please share your thoughts with me on this matter. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading this post.

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Interventions. What Are These?

Posted on January 12, 2012 by thehopebeacon

Educators, I would like you to answer the poll questions I posted about interventions. After receiving your data, I plan to write an article on interventions using your answers to guide my article. Thank you for participating.

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“The Lord Takes and the Lord Gives. Job

Posted on January 10, 2012 by thehopebeacon

In March of 2007, the school for whom I worked for six years eliminated my job position. With that surprise, my husband and I faced some important decisions. One decision dealt with selling our home. It was our dream home we built from scratch on land owned by our ancestors.

I applied at nearby districts, but no one hired me. An educator of 15 years, I earned many degrees and certifications over time. Instead of being an advantage, these only impeded me in obtaining a new job. I heard many times,  “You’re over-qualified.”  That really meant I would cost the district twice the amount as a new inexperienced teacher.

Then I applied for teaching and consulting positions all around the Iowa and other states, and in July, I landed an interview in the opposite side of the state. Within two weeks I secured the job. This meant I had to move. It also meant my husband and I would be separated for five months until he could retire. The beginning of the housing crunch reared its ugly head. People looked at our home, but either weren’t approved or bought another home.

As a Christian, I trusted the Lord to help us sell our home. Fear of being alone in a new area, constant ups and downs of thinking the house sold only to learn it fell through, concerns of losing the home and damaging our testimony, embarrassment in losing my job and not securing another one – all these concerns set my emotions in a continuous struggling state.

After securing the job, more concerns arose. I had two weeks before starting my new job. I had to find a place to live, decide what to haul to my place, and how to do this in such a short time period.  The Lord helped us with these decisions. However, the cost of living in two different locations took its toll on our finances. Utilities, water, and LP fuel bills strapped us immensely. In December, an ice storm where I lived crippled our city for days. Again I was alone and struggled to keep warm. The Lord took care of me.

Early in January, my husband retired and joined me in Mount Ayr. We praised the Lord together for this reunion. However, our country home remained unsold. Lights, water, fuel, and heat bills remained a struggle. We finally signed over our home to our bank, and three months later a realtor agent sold it for half of its value. We saw nothing in money except a stain on our credit which was excellent previously.

At times I questioned the Lord’s love for me, His concern for me, and His sense of fairness in our personal matters. Yet, I continued to pray and trust Him in all things. Moving away meant leaving our church, family, and friends. However, the Lord in His goodness led us to a new church home and friends. We visit our family members as often as possible. After three years of working in my new  job, I retired and decided to write children’s books.

No matter how bleak things seem, the Lord is faithful, even when it seems like He’s not listening to our prayers.  The following verses are precious to me:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Psalms 56:3

Have you suffered loss lately or in the past?  How did you cope with it? Thanks for sharing with me. I hope my experience encourages you today.

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What’s In a Name? Characterization …

Posted on January 10, 2012 by thehopebeacon

As an educator, I know the hardest readers to encourage to read are boys. Therefore, when I write a book, I gear it toward boys. I realize if the topic is appealing, girls may read it, too. I deliberately include a strong male as one of my characters.

In my first book, Heath is the protagonist (main character). His best friend is also a male and so is Heath’s care-giver.  Heath meets a girl, and this begins his first experience with boy-girl attraction. The three bullies in the story are all male – two boys and one man.

In my second book, all the main characters are male though there are females involved. Since my books are a series, some of the same characters exist in each book. For example, in my third book, a girl is the main character, but two boys from my second book aid her in solving the mystery.

I think it’s important to select interesting names. My author-mentor taught me names were important to a story. She encouraged me to keep a “names list” and add to it every time I heard a name that interested me. I also added names of streets, cities, etc. that appeal to me. As a girl reading Nancy Drew mysteries, I enjoyed traveling with her to new and strange locations. This helped create images in my mind of dark winding staircases, treacherous cliffs, abandoned country homes, bustling streets in a city where an intriguing business appeared. Anything that created a sense of mystery and visual experience interjected me  personally in the story. It kept me reading and reliving the scenes long after I finished the book. Images aided me in comprehending the content.

What about you? Are names important to you in the books you read or write? I would enjoy hearing your take on this. Thank you for your reply.

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Gratitude

Posted on November 22, 2011 by thehopebeacon

For what are you grateful? Have you expressed your gratitude? Today I read in Psalms 107: 1-2  “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! … Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”

Author G.B. Stern said, “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”  How profound! The purpose of saying thanks is to show appreciation to the giver for the gift I receive. If I neglect to thank someone for a kindness, how is my appreciation shown? As important as it is to express my gratitude in my personal relationships, how often do I express  gratitude to my Lord for all He gives me?

Another quote from my devotional passage was by William Arthur Ward: “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

I notice over the past years many young people do not send wedding gift thank you notes, graduation gift acknowledgements, or neglect to express verbal birthday or Christmas gift thank you’s. As a parent and educator, I teach children to thank people, but how faithful am I to thank my Father in heaven for His indescribable Gift – His Son? Or, for the daily provisions He supplies, and for the gifts with which He equips me? I enjoy showers, and I do thank Him for this invention, and for the autumn colors, for the blanket of snowfall He sends, but so many thank you’s I simply do not express.

We as a people seem to take things for granted and almost expect gifts without considering the sacrifice it costs the giver. Have you, like me, found yourself in that  situation at times? Do you forget to thank the Lord for His bountiful gifts daily?

At this time of Thanksgiving season, let’s all remember to express our appreciation to those who open their homes to us, for the food shared, but especially to our Creator from Whom all good blessings flow. Then let’s extend that grateful attitude over to each and every day He allows us to live another day on this earth.

Thank you for your comments in advance regarding this post! I appreciate how busy you all are, yet you take time out to discuss my posts. Thank you!

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His Workmanship

Posted on November 22, 2011 by thehopebeacon

 During devotions yesterday I learned it  took a year to complete a Steinway piano, and the final product was distinct due to a craftsman’s touch.  I read in Exodus 31: 3-5 how the Lord directed the building of His tabernacle. He gifted Bezalel and filled him “with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood” for the building of His house of worship. 

This reminds me how the Lord gifts believers when we ask Christ into our lives as Savior and Lord. The Holy Spirit enters and fills us with gifts and talents to further His Kingdom and fulfill the purpose(s) for which He creates us. Therefore, I am His crafted being, His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), not complete by any means, but He is at work molding and developing me into the person I am meant to be for His glory.

Some of these gifts are easier to discover and use than others.  The paths I travel today are different from my earlier years so how can I serve Him now using the talents with which He blesses me? I pray daily for how He wants to use me for His will and purpose.  Am I alone in wishing the Lord would sometimes come down  face-to-face  and clarify what He desires of me? I welcome your comments on this topic.

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My Settings: Lighthouses

Posted on November 15, 2011 by thehopebeacon

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Every fiction book needs a setting – a place and a time in which the story takes place. I love lighthouses so I research different ones and use them as my settings. So far I feature three different lighthouses for each of … Continue reading →

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