Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with firstgrade

Great resources for dealing with lethargic innercity kids?

shivohum — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:22:28 -0800

I have a friend who is an excellent but fairly new (2 years experience) teacher now teaching 1st-graders in a poor inner-city school. She finds that they are lethargic, often barely able to keep awake, and hardly respond to her. Are there any great books/articles she should be reading? For example, if she asks them to sit on the rug at the count of three, perhaps one or two might respond. The rest just sit there, as if she hadn't said anything at all. They mainly interact with each other by pushing and pulling. They basically are developmentally way behind where they should be, even though she doesn't think there's anything per se wrong with their brains (she thinks their parents have basically parked them in front of TVs all their little lives).

So, my question is whether there might be a resource for dealing with this kind of extremely unresponsive and difficult young pupil. Any great articles or must-read books? Any clearinghouse or discussion forum of which this friend should be aware?

Best Computer Reading Games for a 6-Year-Old?

LarryC — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 09:55:07 -0800

What educational computer games are best for teaching a 6-year-old to read? My son is a pretty fair reader for his age, but summer is here and school is out and he could use some encouragement. We read together every day and all that, but I would like to supplement this instruction with some good educational computer games to improve his reading skills. And suggestions?

Parenting a Visionary Child

putzface_dickman — Thu, 23 Sep 2004 06:45:14 -0800

My 6-year-old daughter sees things other people don't. "Skitter scatters," ghosts, auras. She just started school and there's something in the lunchroom only she can see, and this one makes her nervous. [mi] First, I'm asking for someone who's had them to tell me how he or she dealt with these experiences, and how that turned out.
Second, I want to know what myth/story/magic/cinema might yield to identify this mysterious object.
From my girl:
It's on the ceiling of the cafeteria. It's the size of two adult fists. It's black and white and swirls. It's shiny but not sparkly. It is magical and not mechanical. The one picture she has drawn of it shows an uneven black band swirling around a mostly white center. (I imagine it's motion and appearance are like Jupiter's red spot.) It seems to float against the corrugated metal of the ceiling.

Believe me, I would be no less skeptical than some of you surely are, but I have chosen to respect her experiences and I'm asking for people to respect this query. There are familial precedents that have been that have been used to reassure, but not encourage her. Please don't advise meds, or counseling.