All educators would like to see their students engaged in classroom activities, not just enduring them. While it can be difficult to pinpoint student engagement, we can often identify it when we see it. If you have worked in a classroom, chances are you have a few stories about moments when one or more of your students were truly engaged. What did that look like? What made you think that the student was engaged? Unpacking a few of my favorite stories of genuine engagement has revealed four keys to increasing student engagement.  

Learning to read is arguably the most critical educational accomplishment for all young students. To be successful in any subject area, students must be able to read and comprehend text. But when is the right time to begin teaching these essential skills? Many believe that it's best to start teaching reading skills as soon as possible, but how should educators begin the process? In this article we will look at what the evidence tells us about teaching young learners to read, identify some resources that may be available to assist in this effort, and explain how the Web-based MimioSprout early reading software can be used to address new standards as well as utilize new funding sources.