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This article explores Lesson Study, a professional development tool for teacher candidates. Teacher candidates engaged in a lesson study cycle focused on dialogic reading, an evidence-based literacy practice for young children. Teacher candidates explored the power of dialogic reading on comprehension and language development, collaboratively planned an interactive lesson, identified data collection methods, implemented the lesson in a PreK classroom, observed the lesson, reflected on the lesson, and revised the lesson to be taught again after making feedback-informed revisions. An explanation of the steps in the lesson study cycle are included as well as teacher candidates' insights on the process.

This study focuses on the effectiveness of employing Cartoon Cum Strategic Intervention Material as learning instructional techniques to improve Grade 5 learners' ability to make meaning from text. This intervention encourages students to focus on big ideas and to consider how specific details contribute to the big picture. Cartoons can be organized in non-linear way to emphasize the complexities of concepts. Learning, is an active process in which humans construct meaning and interpret circumstances based on their prior knowledge and experiences. The scope of this study includes thirty Grade 5 elementary students from Ateneo Casa Famiglia Servants of the Poor, Inc. prior to employing cartoon cum strategic intervention as teaching material, the researchers assessed the learners' grasp of making meaning from text acquisition. They also carefully evaluated and observed data from Grade 5 students based on pretest and posttest scores on instructional exemplars, as well as the attitudes of students who had been exposed to their logic and reasoning ability, visual and auditory processing, and sustained and selective attention. This study demonstrates that there is a significant difference between the pretest and posttest of Grade 5 students who were exposed to the Cartoon Cum Strategic Intervention Material. This paper assists the researchers in developing a lesson exemplar in English 5 based on the study's findings, as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the said learning technique and its efficacy with young learners. The use of cartoons in the creation of learning materials appeals to students' intrinsic motivation because they are more enjoyable to students to share and review.

For early childhood educators, social studies help young children learn what it means to be contributing, productive members of their family, as well as of their classroom, school, neighborhood, community, and the world. In PreK-grade 3 classrooms, children learn about rules--at home, in school, and in the community. While the need for social studies in the primary grades is clear, the amount of time dedicated to social studies has clearly diminished over the past two decades (National Council for Social Studies, 2009; Heafner & Groce, 2007). Educators have found innovative ways to incorporate social studies into the curriculum by integrating social studies content through literacy and other subject areas. This article presents activities to promote quality social studies learning and knowledge while building essential early literacy skills. Not only do the activities in this article extend children's learning beyond the classroom, but they also promote purposefully partnering with families to enhance children's learning and development across learning domains. Along with promoting social studies competence and active literacy learning, intentional family engagement yields strong social-emotional benefits by supporting strong, reciprocal family partnerships with the school and positive caregiver/child relationships (Halgunseth, 2009; U.S. Department of Health and Social Services & U.S. Department of Education, 2016).

A large body of research literature suggests that quality formative assessment has the potential to promote positive outcomes for young children. This paper posits that early childhood educators learn how to use developmentally appropriate assessment practices to effectively assess young children and use these data to make decisions that matter most by having intentional opportunities to engage in a clearly-defined, research-based assessment process. The paper explores an assessment project using the Early Childhood Formative Assessment Protocol (EC-FAP). The paper details each step in the EC-FAP protocol and identifies specific opportunities for collaboration with colleagues and families. The paper concludes by arguing that by engaging in the protocol, early childhood teacher candidates learn to effectively gauge and monitor the learning and development of young children.

Pennsylvania responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by closing schools and moving to online instruction in March 2020. We surveyed Pennsylvania school nurses (N = 350) in May 2020 to assess the impact of COVID-19 on nurses' concerns about returning to school and impact on practice. Data were analyzed using X[superscript 2] tests and regression analyses. Urban school nurses were more concerned about returning to the school building without a COVID-19 vaccine than rural nurses (OR = 1.58, 95% CI [1.05, 2.38]). Nurses in urban locales were more likely to report being asked for guidance on COVID-19 (OR = 1.69, 95% CI [1.06, 2.68]), modify communication practices (OR = 2.33, 95% CI [1.42, 3.82]), and be "very/extremely concerned" about their safety (OR = 2.16, 95% CI [1.35, 3.44]). Locale and student density are important factors to consider when resuming in-person instruction; however, schools should recognize school nurses for their vital role in health communication to assist in pandemic preparedness and response.

Background: All 50 states have school-entry immunization requirements, and many also allow exemptions based on medical and non-medical reasons. School nurses are responsible for managing student immunization compliance based on state policies, but lack standardized resources and guidance. Methods: Pennsylvania school nurses (N = 21) participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their strategies for communication and management of student immunization information, along with resources needed for practice improvement. Data were analyzed using descriptive content analysis. Results: Nurses reported similarities in timelines used for communication of immunization requirements, but differences in mechanisms used to secure and manage immunization records. Nurses reported a need for clarity regarding exclusions and exemption policy implementation and requested standardized resources and guidance for navigating immunization compliance. Conclusions: A need exists for standardized processes that support immunization compliance. Furthermore, nurses highlighted a need for additional training and enhanced networks to develop creative strategies for promoting immunization uptake among families.

This study qualitatively investigated students from a Mexican university and a U.S. university and how their intercultural competence (IC), the ability to appropriately and effectively communicate with others from countries and cultures other than one's own, was affected by a five-week telecollaborative exchange. To examine the ways in which students in both second languages (L2s), Spanish and English, developed IC, the researchers deductively analyzed over six hours of Zoom video sessions of two participants (n = 2) according to a 15-category IC framework. Results revealed that the Communication Skills category was coded almost 72% more than the next-highest category of Cultural Self-Awareness/Understanding. These results suggested that SCMC-based telecollaboration is an effective vehicle for collaboration and in turn IC development. In addition, this study shows the value of integrating telecollaboration into L2 learning and teaching, as it gives learners an opportunity to explore the intersection of language and culture.

As the face of education and the demands on teachers continues to change in the 21st century, so does the role of the literacy coach in schools across the country. This article explores the changing roles and responsibilities of literacy coaches by sharing the results of a study of 270 literacy coaches around the country. In this article, we share coaches' thoughts and perspectives about literacy leadership, the changing roles and responsibilities of the literacy coach/reading specialist, and what it takes to be successful in their roles as literacy leaders in schools and districts.

This article shares an oral reading practice that develops children's fluency skills, with a particular emphasis on performance reading and prosody. The authors share their experiences with Fluency Idol! as a way to engage young children by tapping into pop culture. The practice emphasizes repeated readings, feedback, practice, and performance while encouraging children to read aloud to one another. Applications to a second grade classroom as well as in a college reading clinic are discussed.

The focus of this study is the nature and concomitants of pretend play among young children with autism. Age- and language-matched children with autism ("n"= 27), autism spectrum disorder ("n"= 14), and developmental disorders without autism ("n"= 16) were administered the Test of Pretend Play (ToPP; Lewis & Boucher, 1997), with an additional rating of "playful pretence". As predicted, children with autism showed less playful pretend than participants with developmental disorders who did not have autism. Across the groups, playful pretence was correlated with individual differences in communication and social interaction, even when scores on the ToPP were taken into account. Limitations in creative, playful pretend among children with autism relate to their restricted interpersonal communication and engagement. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

This article highlights the literacy practices of two second grade teachers--one in an affluent suburb of a major metropolitan area and the other in a large urban school district. The article describes how these teachers use informational texts to engage their students, to provide children with opportunities to learn about the world around them, and to immerse them in literacy learning. The article also shares the teachers' insights into the value of informational texts in primary classrooms.

The use of graphic poetry in classrooms is encouraged as a way to engage students and motivate them to read and write poetry. This article discusses how graphic poetry can help students with their comprehension of poetry while tapping into popular culture. It is organized around three main sections--reading graphic poetry, writing graphic poetry, and celebrating/sharing graphic poetry. Teachers are provided with information about why visual literacy is important in today's world as well as information about ways to build students' visual literacy skills, comprehension, and fluency by incorporating graphic poetry into their classrooms. Ideas for developing students' reading skills and strategies are included as well as ideas for writing graphic poetry. The article concludes with ways that teachers and students can celebrate and share graphic poetry including graphic poetry contests, poetry clubs, and poetry Readers' Theatre presentations. (Contains 3 figures.)

People with autism and Asperger syndrome are anecdotally said to be hypersensitive to touch. In two experiments, we measured tactile thresholds and suprathreshold tactile sensitivity in a group of adults with Asperger syndrome. In the first experiment, tactile perceptual thresholds were measured. Two frequencies of vibrotactile stimulation were used: 30 and 200 Hz. The results demonstrated significantly lower tactile perceptual thresholds in the Asperger group at 200 Hz but not at 30 Hz, thus confirming tactile hypersensitivity but only for one class of stimulus. A second experiment investigated whether self-produced movement affected the perception of touch in a group of adults with Asperger syndrome. A suprathreshold tactile stimulus was produced either by the participant (self-produced condition) or by the experimenter (externally produced condition) and participants were asked to rate the perception of the tactile stimulation. The results demonstrated that, while both Asperger and control groups rated self-produced touch as less tickly than external touch, the Asperger group rated both types of tactile stimulus as significantly more tickly and intense than did the control group. This experiment confirms the finding of tactile hypersensitivity, but shows that the perceptual consequences of self-produced touch are attenuated in the normal way in people with Asperger syndrome. An abnormality in this process cannot therefore account for their tactile hypersensitivity.

Remarks regarding the current programs of information flow within the EOP, which include the creation of the White House Information Center, are prefaced by historical perspectives. (Author/MBR)