Letter
from a Parent regarding the use of Layered
Curriculum in 5th Grade
Misc
Chatter & Layered Curriculum Workshop
News
A Tip for Helping to Calm Excited Children
"When
the class seems to be getting a bit too
lively", writes Debbie Behieris, a
teacher at Bellavista Primary in Johannesburg,
"I have all the children rub their
palms together and then cup their hands
over their ears for the count of 10. It
really calms them down!"
HOT
TOPIC: Additional Information on School
Bullying and Violence
I received a lot of emailed comments
on the HOT TOPIC of bullying in the last
issue of this blog. While the Hot Topic
was actually on Dr Ferguson's new research
on the relationship between youth aggression
and the competitive nature of video games,
many of you were asking for more information
on his other research topic -school
bullying.
Over
the years, I've had a lot of requests to
put together a book for new parents on things
they can do to help get their children off
to a good start during the years before
they begin school. Homework assignments,
if you will. We all know that
those preschool years are critical and that
brain development and IQ change opportunities
are greatest in infancy and early childhood.
So, I've put together ideas and suggestions
for parents and am dividing them into the
three critical time periods - birth to two,
two to five, and 11 - 23.
I've
finished the first one, birth to 2 and it
will be published in hard copy and Kindle
version in early 2013. However, if
you'd like an early copy of it, I'm making
it available to newsletter subscribers in
a downloadable .pdf ebook format. You
will get the entire booklet, sans the references,
which will soon be available at the website
and in the final hard copies. So,
if you'd like a copy of "HOMEWORK for New Parents: Assignments for Raising the IQ of
Your Child, birth - 2"
you can purchase it for $5.00 only
from this link for newsletter subscribers
during the month of December.
Letter from a Parent regarding the use of
Layered Curriculum in 5th Grade
A
parent wrote this month:
Kathie, I'm
a parent of a fifth grader. The school
my daughter is attending implements Layered
Curriculum for Social Studies class. We
are a school district with about 15 to
20 (average) kids in a classroom. One
of your articles mentioned
Layered Curriculum can be implemented
to any class and any topic, [but] most
of your web articles references are for
high school classes. How successful is
this curriculum for elementary classes?
So far, for us it just has been a lot
of homework and parent involvement. They
are required to do topics in all 3 layers. Your
input will be greatly appreciated. - Karla.
Dear
Karla,
Thanks for writing.
While Layered Curriculum® was originally
started in a high school classroom, the model
has been modified to fit a whole range
of grade levels. In fact, it is
probably most popular in the middle
grades. I'm not sure what your concerns
are, but it sounds like you may be uncomfortable
with the way the model is being run
in your daughter's classroom. Of
course, with any type of teaching methodology,
every teacher puts his or her own
style into it.
Personally, I prefer to see
Layered Curriculum run where all work
can be completed in the classroom.
I concur with
the large body of research that shows
that homework should be used very sparingly,
if at all, until high school. It
tends to be detrimental to the learning
process in the elementary grades.
I would certainly be concerned if a lot of
"parent work" were involved!
I doubt that is the intent of the teacher.
Sounds like perhaps you should have a
conference with the teacher and see if
there is a way to make the year a better
fit for your daughter.
Kathie
Misc
Chatter & Workshop News
New
workshops are in the making right now for
Toronto, New York City and Holton, Michigan.
The full-day Layered Curriculum workshop
in Holton, MI will be on M L King day, January
21st and is open to outside participants.
Details and contact information are
posted on the calendar. We are also planning a full day session (via a long afternoon)
in NYC on March 20th. Contact information
for that should be posted this week.
I
am currently scheduling presentations for
all of 2013. If
you would like more information on hosting
a workshop at your school, email me for a brochure.
And
I am attempting to put another trip together
for southern Africa in September of 2013.
If you are in that region and interested
in joining with us, let me know.
I know all of us, especially those of
us in education, are still reeling from
and trying to make some sense out of the
tragic massacre in Newtown last week. Please
take time today to remember what is truly
important in life. Happy Holidays.
As
always, my best to you and yours,
Kathie
Dr Kathie
F Nunley Layered
Curriculum(R) . . . because every child
deserves a special education (tm)
You are receiving this newsletter because
you requested to be on my mailing list
by entering your email address at one of
the two websites. I NEVER share or
sell my newsletter list, nor is it used
for any other purpose other than this
bi-monthly newsletter. Should you need to
be removed from the list, simply reply
to this and let me know.
Layered Curriculum(R) is a trademark developed
by and registered to Dr. Kathie F Nunley.
Usage information available at: http://help4teachers.com/usage.htm
One
of the participants in our Tulare County (CA)
workshop last month gave us a suggestion on using
the IPad app "Notability". He
suggests having your students submit their written
work and then you use the app to record your feedback
with your voice. The kids are much more
apt to listen to the feed back and apply it, than
just read your written notes on their work.
HOT
TOPIC: Beware the Competitive Nature of Video
Games
Since
last summer, I've been covering a lot of the new
research on the relationship between video game
violence and aggression. As we now see,
it may in fact be the competition in
video gaming that leads to aggressive behavior
and not the violence. I attended a symposium
on the topic last August at the APA conference
in Orlando. Hosted by Dr Christopher J Ferguson,
from Texas A&M and well known researcher on
violence and bullying (co-author of The
Everything Parent's Guide to Dealing with Bullies).
Participating were leading violence and
bullying experts from around the US. Their
current research involved teasing out the 4 suspect
variables to video games - violence, competition,
pace of action and frustration due to difficulty.
They used a variety of video games that varied in
the different components. What they found
was that highly competitive games produced more
short-term aggressive behavior, regardless of
the violence level. So it appears that it
is the competition in video games that causes
behavior concerns and not the violence. The
pace of action and level of difficulty can contribute
as well. The researchers concluded that
video game ratings should consider including the
level of competition.Citation here.
Over
the years, I've had a lot of requests to put together
a book for new parents on things they can do to
help get their children off to a good start during
the years before they begin school. Homework
assignments, if you will. We all
know that those preschool years are critical and
that brain development and IQ change opportunities
are greatest in infancy and early childhood. So,
I've put together ideas and suggestions for parents
and am dividing them into the three critical time
periods - birth to two, two to five, and 11 -
23.
I've
finished the first one, birth to 2 and it will
be published in hard copy and Kindle version in
early 2013. However, if you'd like an early
copy of it, I'm making it available to newsletter
subscribers in a downloadable .pdf ebook format.
You will get the entire booklet, sans the
references, which will soon be available at the
website and in the final hard copies. So,
if you'd like a copy of "HOMEWORK for New Parents: Assignments for Raising the IQ of
Your Child, birth - 2"
you can purchase it for $5.00 only
from this link for newsletter subscribers
during the month of December.
New Units Posted at the Website
We
have a lot of new Layered Curriculum units being
posted on the webstie this month. This is
thanks in part to Dr Adrian Sorrell at Texas A&M
San Antonio who teaches Layered Curriculum unit
construction in his course "Educational Procedures
for Exceptional Students." I've received
units from Alma Strelnik, Melissa Warren,
Marina Martinez, and Misty Jurss. Also, Tiffany
Zaremba in Michigan and Jayne Perkins in Maine
sent new units. Our webmaster is getting
all of them posted this week on our samples
page.
Workshop
& Conference News
New
workshops are in the making right now for New
York City and western Michigan. It looks
like we'll have a Layered Curriculum workshop
open to outside participants near Grand Rapids,
MI on Martin Luther King Day. Details to
be posted very soon on the calendar.
I
also have had a couple of inquiries from Johannesburg,
South Africa and Namibia about a return trip in
2013. I would LOVE to get back down there
to revisit old friends and make new ones. We
need at least 5 schools or venues to make it feasible
for everyone. So if you are in the southern
Africa region and are interested in putting together
a day presentation at your location (probably
in September 2013), let me know, so we can get
this planned.
For
those of you in North America, I am currently
scheduling presentations for all of 2013. Included
new this year is a follow-up workshop titled "Enhancing
Your Layered Curriculum Classroom". This
full day workshop expands Layered Curriculum in
technology-savy environments, Blended Learning
schools and continues with new information and
research on memory systems and developing critical
thinking skills.
If
you would like more information on hosting a workshop
at your school, email me for a brochure.
As
always, my best to you and yours,
Kathie
Dr Kathie F
Nunley Layered
Curriculum(R) . . . because every child deserves
a special education (tm)
No
time or budget for a full day workshop on Layered
Curriculum? You can order Study Kits - both
for individual teachers, or groups. The
individual kits come with a media presenation,
books and workbook for putting together your units
of study. Videos available as well. We
now offer book study kits for both "Layered
Curriculum" and for "Differentiating
the High School Classroom".
You are receiving this newsletter because
you requested to be on my mailing list by
entering your email address at one of the two
websites. I NEVER share or sell my newsletter
list, nor is it used for any other purpose
other than this bi-monthly newsletter. Should
you need to be removed from the list, simply
reply to this and let me know.
Layered Curriculum(R) is a trademark developed
by and registered to Dr. Kathie F Nunley.
Usage information available at: http://help4teachers.com/usage.htm
HOT
TOPIC: Moderate testing stress
improves memory for males
Email
Question: How to ensure
students won't stop at the C
layer
November
News
Tips for the K / 1 Classroom
Deb
S in Texas sent a couple of
ideas she uses in her grade
1 classroom: She has a
few plastic jump ropes in different
colors which she uses to help
line children up and move them
around the building. Since
her classroom seating is color
coded, she can call the "blue
group" to line up. They
hold the blue jump rope.
Then the "yellow
group", etc. The
kids hold the jump rope all
the way down the hall to the
next activity. She also
suggests doing away with the
clutter created in school desks,
by turning the desks around
into pairs or quads and having
the storage sections together.
This makes the storage
area inaccessible to students.
Students learn to put papers
in their proper cubbie or file
or back pack - not crammed into
their desks.
HOT
TOPIC: Moderate Testing Stress
improves memory for males
In
previous newsletters I've covered
a lot of research on how retrieval practice
is one of the best study tools.
(practice test, practice
test, practice test!)
Obviously the more you retrieve
something from memory, the easier
it is to retrieve. But
new research out in this month's
Behavioral Neuroscience Journal,
takes the idea of test retrieval
one step further. They
had a group of students learn
a large body of scientific information.
The next day they subjected
half the students to physical
stress (cold water immersion
stressor) - the other half were
the control. Then immediately
tested them all on the information
learned the previous day. They
measured stress levels by taking
salivary cortisol readings (cortisol
is the chemical released during
stress). They retested
everyone again on day 3.
Here's
what they found: Cortisol
levels were obviously higher
in the stress group vs the control
group after the cold water stressor.
However, cortisol levels
were much higher in the male
students than female students.
And the test scores for
the men under stress were higher
than for the control group,
both on day 2 (right after the
stress) but also on day 3 (delayed
recall). The test scores
of the female students under
stress did not differ from the
control group either on day
2 or day 3. So, apparently
for males, a bit of stress increases
memory retrieval and has long
term positive effects on memory
as well. Citation here.
Email
Question: How to ensure
students won't stop at the C
layer
I
received several emails this
week dealing with logistical
issues of running a Layered
Curriculum classroom. One
was concerning how to prevent
students from stopping at the
C layer. A teacher was
considering using the term NM
(for "does not meet the
content standard") for
the C layer as a means of prevention.
My
response here was that I would
be concerned that "NM"
will be perceived as a failing
grade - and very discouraging
to a student who worked hard
to master the key concepts of
the C layer. Instead I
suggest that you always start
off a Layered Curriculum program
with a daily method unit. A
daily method limits each day
to one or two specific learning
objectives, which everyone works
on at the same time. Days
are allocated to all the C layer
objectives, then days are allocated
to B layer and then to A layer.
This way everyone in the
room walks through all 3 layers.
Some teachers use daily
method for most of the year.
Some teachers find that
doing a couple of units this
way is all that is needed for
students to understand that
all 3 layers are required. You
can find more information in
"Enhancing Your Layered Curriculum Classroom:
Tips, Tune-ups and Technology".
Ideally
your C layer should provide
students with enough information
that their natural curiosity
will propel them into the B
layer and class discussions
should peak their interest enough
to move into the A layer - the
real world "stuff".
Layered Curriculum is
founded on the idea that children
are naturally curious and the
brain wants to learn. If
we just point them in the right
direction, then get out of their
way, students will drive their
own learning.
Need
more information on motivation
theory? One of my favorite
researchers on this topic (you
can tell by reading the references
on most of my articles and books)
is Edward Deci. A great
place to start is with his Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation. Another great author
/ researcher on this topic is
Daniel Pink. His latest
book, Drive:
The Surprising Truth About What
Motivates Us is another great source of information for
running good student-centered
classrooms.
November
News
Here
in the US we just wrapped up
our Thanksgiving weekend - a
holiday dedicated to family,
friends and feasting! My
holiday was lovely and most
of my family (sans our daughter)
made it home. Even my
parents flew up from Texas and
our good friends from town joined
us too - so we had a wonderful
crowd and a bounty of food at
the table. Here's hoping
all of you who celebrated were
as fortunate as I was.
November
wraps up my Layered Curriculum
workshops for 2012. I
look forward now to some down
time - a couple of new books
are in the works for my winter
break. I'll be back out
on the road though in early
January.
I
have a new workshop offering
for 2013: "Enhancing
Your Layered Curriculum Classroom".
This is a follow-up full
day workshop for those of you
who have already had the introduction
to Layered Curriculum and are
ready to go to the next level.
The day offers tips for
using Layered Curriculum in
technology-savy environments,
suggestions for implementing
in Blended Learning schools
and additional information and
resaerch on memory systems and
developing critical thinking
skills.
I
am currently scheduling presentations
for all of 2013. There
are a couple of dates left in
the spring and many openings
for summer / fall 2013. If
you would like more information
on hosting a workshop at your
school, email me for a brochure.
As
always, my best to you and yours,
Kathie
Dr
Kathie F Nunley Layered
Curriculum(R) . . . because
every child deserves a special
education (tm)
No
time or budget for a full day
workshop on Layered Curriculum?
You can order Study Kits
- both for individual teachers,
or groups. The individual
kits come with a media presenation,
books and workbook for putting
together your units of study.
Videos available as well.
We now offer book study
kits for both "Layered
Curriculum" and for "Differentiating
the High School Classroom".
You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested to be
on my mailing list by entering
your email address at one of
the two websites. I NEVER
share or sell my newsletter
list, nor is it used for any
other purpose other than
this bi-monthly newsletter.
Should you need to be removed
from the list, simply reply
to this and let me know.
Layered Curriculum(R) is a trademark
developed by and registered to
Dr. Kathie F Nunley. Usage
information available at: http://help4teachers.com/usage.htm
Fun
"first
day"
activity idea
from a middle
school teacher
Hot
Topic: Research
on School
Bullying
More
Info on Guided
Oral Reading
& Pacing
with Layered
Curriculum
NovemberTravels
Opening Day "get to know each other" activitiy
Here's
a teaching
tip I received
a while back
from Daniel
Bryant in
Berea, Kentucky.
He writes,
"Since
a number of
grade schools
feed into
our middle
school, most
of my 6th
grade students
only know
a few of their
classmates
at the beginning
of the school
year. Therefore
we start the
first class
with "Hello
Bingo."
This
requires the
students to
mark off their
Bingo sheet
by finding
out things
about their
classmates.
(see example).
Every
child that
completes
the sheet
earns a surprise
treat."
Instructions:
Write
the names
of another
student that
has the qualities
or talents
or interest
for each block
in the blank
provided.
You
may only use
a name one
time.
HOT
TOPIC: Research
on School
Bullying
This
past August
I had the
chance to
listen to
Dr Dan Olweus,
bullying expert
and author
of Bullying
at School:
What We Know
and What We
Can Do.
Dr Olweus
was an invited
speaker at
the APA national
convention.
His
talk was titled,
"School
Bullying:
Development
and Current
Status"*.
One
of his concerns
has been the
fact that
cyberbullying
has been over
blown. There
is very little
scientific
support for
its prevalence
and growth.
But
because it
has been over-rated
in the media,
it is pulling
funds and
attention
from true
bullying in
our schools.
He states
there has
been no increase
in cyberbullying
over the past
10 year and
it is a very
low frequent
form of bullying,
and interestingly
is equally
represented
between the
genders.
His
research has
found that
bullying correlates
with participation
in so called
"power
sports."
In particular,
boxing, kickboxing,
wrestling
and weight
lifting increase likelihood of aggression
and bullying.
Bullies
tend to have
a strong need
for power
and dominance.
Over time,
the aggressive
behavior can
actually become
rewarded in
some situations.
Guided
Oral Reading
- "Where
can I get
more information?"
A
teacher in
Ontario emailed
me this month
looking for
more information
on Guided
Oral Reading.
He remembered
me mentioning
it during
a workshop
I did there
last year.
While
normally used
to help non-fluent
readers improve
fluency, he
used it with
his young
son who appeared
to be developing
reading skills
quite typically.
However,
his anecdotal report
was that it
tremendously
helped his
son learn
to read and
spring ahead
of others
in the class.
His
email asked
where he could
get more information
on the topic.
The
researcher
and writer
most knowledgeable on the topic
of reading
is probably
Sally Shaywitz.
She
details guided
oral reading
in on my favorite
books, Overcoming
Dyslexia:
A New and
Complete Science-Based
Program for
Reading Problems
at Any Level Overcoming Dyslexia: A new and Complete Science-Based
Program for
Reading Problems
at Any Level.
The
books discusses
all types
of reading
challenges,
not just dyslexia.
That
would be my
suggestion
for additional
information
on the topic.
Question
from Facebook
Follower
Tony
White posted
2 related
questions
on our FaceBook
page this
week:
"In
Layered Curriculum,
how do you
address pacing?
Do you set
one final
due date and
then let the
students work
at their own
pace? Or do
you set mini-due
dates for
each layer?"
and
"What
assumptions
do you have
about Learning
Activities
being completed
during class
time versus
being worked
on at home?"
Tony,
sounds like
you're getting
ready to start
some Layered
Curriculum
in your room!
The
important
thing to remember
is that you
need to make
the model
fit your needs
and the needs
of your students.
So,
most of your
questions
can be answered
with a "that
depends"
response.
However,
let me make
some suggestions.
In regards
to due dates
- keep deadlines
tight. Students,
like most
of us, can
procrastinate
to their own
detriment.
Make
something
due every
day. Don't
have them
save it all
til the end.
Not
only is that
tough on them,
it's tough
on you trying
to grade it
all. Set
very short
and tight
deadlines.
You
can also set
deadlines
for each layer
if that works
best for you.
Regarding
homework vs
classwork:
again
it depends
on your population.
If your
students are
fairly good
about homework
and have the
means and
environment
to do it,
you can certainly
expect some
of the work
to be done
at home. I
find it best
to set up
units that
can be completed
in class time
only - IF
the students
work diligently.
It allows
the self-made
choice of
taking some
things home
to be completed.
I
hope everyone
is enjoying
the autumn
season - most
people's favorite.
No exception
here, I love
it! And
living in
New England
makes autumn
all the sweeter.
But
I have enjoyed
my travels
this month.
A couple
of trips to
Ohio were
topped off
last week
with a day
in Elko, Nevada
for a Layered
Curriculum
workshop with
middle school
teachers.
It's
been a few
years since
I had the
pleasure of
driving across
the salt desert
between Elko
and Salt Lake
City. As
stunningly
beautiful
as ever -
especially
at twilight.
Today
I'm heading
back out west
for a Layered
Curriculum
workshop in
Visalia, California.
You
can see my
entire workshop
schedule on
my calendar page.
I
am currently
scheduling
presentations
for all of
2013. There
are a couple
of dates left
in the spring
and many openings
for summer
/ fall 2013.
If you
would like
to host a
workshop,
just send
me an email.
As
always, my
best to you
and yours,
Kathie
Dr
Kathie F Nunley Layered
Curriculum(R)
. . . because
every child
deserves a
special education
(tm)
No
time or budget
for a full
day workshop
on Layered
Curriculum?
You
can order
Study Kits
- both for
individual
teachers,
or groups.
The
individual
kits come
with a media
presenation,
books and
workbook for
putting together
your units
of study.
Videos
available
as well. We
now offer
book study
kits for both
"Layered
Curriculum"
and for "Differentiating
the High School
Classroom".
You are receiving
this newsletter
because you
requested
to be on my mailing
list by entering
your email
address at
one of the
two websites. I
NEVER share
or sell my
newsletter
list, nor
is it used
for any other purpose
other than
this bi-monthly
newsletter.
Should you
need to be removed
from the list,
simply reply
to this and
let me know.
Layered Curriculum(R)
is a trademark
developed
by and registered to
Dr. Kathie
F Nunley.
Usage information
available
at: http://help4teachers.com/usage.htm
Teresa
Amabile's
New
Research
on
Improving
Productivity
and
Motivation
My Fall Travels & Hurricane Sandy
Dr Barbara Rolls Speaks to Psychologists at APA Conference
On
Tips
for
the
Cafeteria
Dr
Barbara
Rolls,
of
Penn
State
University,
spoke
at
last
August's
APA
conference
giving
us
suggestions
for
improving
students'
eating
habits
by
making
simple
changes
in
the
school
cafeteria
food
presentation.
She
noted
that portion
SIZE
is
not
necessarily
the
villain
when
it
comes
to
obesity
-
it's
more
about
food
density.
Since
people
tend
to
eat
the
same
weight
of
food,
increase
the
amounts
of
low-density
foods
on
the
plate.
In
other
words,
fill
lots
of
space
on
the
plate
with
foods
that
have
high
water
content.
Also,
if
you're
trying
to
get
children
to
eat
more
vegetables,
provide
a
variety
of
them
on
the
plate.
Children
eat
more
vegetables
when
3
or
4
are
on
the
plate
instead
of
just
1
or
2.
-
Barbara
Rolls,
PhD.
Aug
4,
2012.
You
can
read
more
in
her
new
book
The
Ultimate
Volumetrics
Diet:
Smart,
Simple,
Science-Based
Strategies
for
Losing
Weight
and
Keeping
It
Off
HOT
TOPIC:
Which
Students
are
most
likely
to
be
Retained
in
Kindergarten?
In
this
new
era
of
high
stakes
testing,
the
pressure
is
on
for
top
performance,
even
as
early
as
kindergarten.
Boys
tend
to
be
less
ready
for
kindergarten
than
girls,
so
it’s
probably
no
surprise
to
learn
that
they
tend
to
be
either
delayed
to
start
kindergarten
and
more
likely
to
be
retained
for
another
year.
Traditionally
we
have
associated
poor
kindergarten
performance
and
retention
with
poverty,
ethnic
minority
status,
lower
maternal
education
and
ELL
status.
But
this
is
most
probably
due
to
the
fact
that
they
tend
to
be
less
prepared.
Researchers
have
now
looked
at
a
large
sample
of
kindergarten
children
and
controlling
for
performance
factors,
have
teased
out
other
predictors
for
kindergarten
retention.
It
may
surprise
you
to
also
learn
that
even
if
you
control
for
actual
kindergarten
performance,
white
children
and
native
English
speakers
are
the
children
most
likely
to
be
retained
in
kindergarten. (citation)
Amabile's
Latest
Research
on
Improving
Productivity
and
Motivation
I
have
always
been
impressed
with
the
research
and
writings
of
Dr
Teresa
Amabile.
(One
of
my
favorite
works
is
her
Creativity
In
Context:
Update
To
The
Social
Psychology
Of
Creativity) She is a business professor with a research
focus
in
motivation,
productivity
andwork
commitment.
We
learn
much
about
the
dynamics
of
students
in
a
classroom
by
looking
at
her
research
on
workers
in
the
work
place.
Her
new
work,
helping
businesses
overcome
what
she
refers
to
as
the
"crisis
of
disengagement" again offers many lessons to us as teachers. After all, who
among
us
hasn’t
been
frustrated
with
students
who
appear
disengaged?
I
think
we
can
easily
take
her
suggestions
on
how
to
improve
employees
“inner
work
life”
and
translate
those
to
students’
“inner
learning
life”.
Dr
Amabile
spoke
on
her
latest
findings
at
the
APA
conference
in
Orlando
this
past
August
(Aug 3,
2012).
As
I
listened
to
her
talk
on
her
latest
work,
I
was
struck
with
how
much
we
can
apply
to
our
classrooms.
For
example,
she
notes
that
good
inner
work
life
hinges
on
making
progress
daily
in
meaningful
work.
Work
that
is
perceived
as
useless,
meaningless
and
where
the
worker
is
not
clear
on
why
they
are
working
on
it,
does
harm
to
inner
work
life.
Her
list
of
catalysts
for
creating
the
most
productive
and
motivated
workers:
sufficient
resources,
autonomy
in
work,
having
clear
meaningful
goals,
access
to
expertise,
and
being
able
to
learn
from
errors
without
punishment.
Other factors which make a more creative and productive
environment
include
respect
and
recognition,
encouragement
and
camaraderie.
Sufficient
time
is
helpful,
but
too
much
time
is
detrimental.
You
can
read
about
her latest
work
in
her
new
book:The Progress
Principle:
Using
Small
Wins
to
Ignite
Joy,
Engagement,
and
Creativity
at
Work
Fall
Travels
Meet
the
Hurricane
While
here
in
northern
New
England
many
of
our
homes
remain
dark,
our
thoughts
and
prayers
go
out
to
our
neighbors
just
a
few
miles
south
of
here
along
the
seaboard
who
suffered
much
worse
than
we
did.
I
wish
you
the
best
as
you
dig
out,
dry
out
and
rebuild.
My
fall
travels
were
a
bit
re-routed
over
the
weekend
due
to
the
storm.
After
the
parent
presenation
at
Hampstead
Academy
in
New
Hampshire
last
Thursday,
I
became
stuck
in
central
Pennsylvania
for
a
few
days
waiting
on
airports
to
re-open.
I
finally
did
what
many
other
decided
to
do,
rented
a
car
and
drove
home.
I'm
ready
though
to
head
back
out
again
for
drier
land
-
this
time
to
Elko,
Nevada
for
a
Layered
Curriculum
workshop
on
Monday.
I
look
forward
to
a
day
or
two
in
the
deserts
of
Nevada.
I
have
just
a
couple
more
workshops
before
settling
back
here
for
the
holidays.
You
can
see
my
entire
workshop
schedule
on
my
calendar
page.
I
am
currently
scheduling
presentations
for
all
of
2013.
There
are
a
couple
of
dates
left
in
the
spring
and
many
openings
for
summer
/
fall
2013.
If
you
would
like
to
host
a
workshop,
just
send
me
an
email.
As
always,
my
best
to
you
and
yours,
Kathie
Dr
Kathie
F
Nunley Layered
Curriculum(R)
.
.
.
because
every
child
deserves
a
special
education
(tm)
No
time
or
budget
for
a
full
day
workshop
on
Layered
Curriculum?
You
can
order
Study
Kits
-
both
for
individual
teachers,
or
groups.
The
individual
kits
come
with
a
media
presenation,
books
and
workbook
for
putting
together
your
units
of
study.
Videos
available
as
well.
We
now
offer
book
study
kits
for
both
"Layered
Curriculum"
and
for
"Differentiating
the
High
School
Classroom".
You
are
receiving
this
newsletter
because
you
requested
to
be
on
my mailing
list
by
entering
your
email
address
at
one
of
the
two
websites. I
NEVER
share
or
sell
my
newsletter
list,
nor
is
it
used
for
any
other purpose
other
than
this
bi-monthly
newsletter.
Should
you
need
to
be removed
from
the
list,
simply
reply
to
this
and
let
me
know.
Layered
Curriculum(R)
is
a
trademark
developed
by
and
registered to
Dr.
Kathie
F
Nunley.
Usage
information
available
at: http://help4teachers.com/usage.htm
Dr
Kathie F Nunley's _Website for Educators_
They used a variety of video games that varied in
the different components. What they found
was that highly competitive games produced more
short-term aggressive behavior, regardless of
the violence level. So it appears that it
is the competition in video games that causes
behavior concerns and not the violence. The
pace of action and level of difficulty can contribute
as well. The researchers concluded that
video game ratings should consider including the
level of competition.
. Another great author
/ researcher on this topic is
Daniel Pink. His latest
book, 
is another great source of information for
running good student-centered
classrooms. 
. 
Overcoming Dyslexia: A new and Complete Science-Based
Program for
Reading Problems
at Any Level.
The
books discusses
all types
of reading
challenges,
not just dyslexia.
That
would be my
suggestion
for additional
information
on the topic.
) She is a business professor with a research
focus
in
motivation,
productivity
and