Jonathan Said:

What if Math and English teachers only taught SAT and/or ACT concepts in high school?

We Answered:

That really depends on the students being looked at.
The students at the very bottom would probably be unaffected, because they don't care anyway.
Students a bit higher up, but still not to average might to a bit better on the SATs, but they aren't really the ones who are taking the SATs.
Average students would be most helped by such a curriculum, as they would probably see the most increase in SAT scores, and it would not have too adverse an effect on their overall learning/curriculum.
Students who are above average would probably receive about the same or slightly higher SAT scores, but they would learn less in high school and be less prepared for higher education. The top students would be most negatively affected by this change, as they already do well on the SAT, and they would be made to learn only SAT related material, rather than the likely advanced courses they would ordinarily take (such as AP Literature and AP Calculus), leaving them less prepared for college.

All things considered though, the SAT is not the be-all-end-all of getting into college. It is a good measure of student's sort of baseline abilities combined with basics they should have learned in high school. Yes, some students do test better than others, but testing is an inevitable part of college, so I'm not sure where the problem is. As long as colleges continue to look at things other than SAT scores in their considerations, there shouldn't be any real problem.

That being said, I still think many public high schools would benefit from some sort of change, because they really, really aren't getting the job done, especially in comparison to the schools in other countries.

Seth Said:

i need something on how to teach math vocabulary in English to foreign students?

We Answered:

purchase mathematics books in english..

Tom Said:

teaching primary 3 students?

We Answered:

Great for your daughter but what does her "teacher" do for her? Do you do homeschooling, as alluded to by the first poster? I do believe 8 year olds are allowed to struggle a bit, but don't worry. Try to determine for yourself if she truly has a problem with the lessons or if she has no interest, or a tad lazy. No offense, just a different set of eyes and ears on the subject.

Velma Said:

what is the best teaching strategy for unlocking vocabulary?

We Answered:

Depends on level of students.

Primary-- word/picture association phonics

SAT/ACT-- word roots (easy to teach with word games), flash cards,

Of course the best way to unlock vocabulary at any level is to read, read, read!

Then the vocabulary unlocks itself!

Rita Said:

teachers pls help me!?

We Answered:

There's a lot to reading text. I am a teacher and here are some of the things I use. They are very basic.

If she's shy about reading aloud, take turns reading. Spend a lot of time asking questions about theme, making predictions, wondering why things happened, and character motivations to name a few. For vocabulary, you can use inferencing to determine meaning. Try substituting words she knows to see if they make sense and re read. My students like to keep a cool lookimg notebook, like a personal dictionary, where they write new words that they've discovered and like, along with the definition in their own words.

A great place to get ideas is at readinglady.com. There's a lot more to books than just vocabulary. Thinking about them and discussing them will raise a child's understanding and enjoyment alot more than drill and kill. Also, give her a choice of books to read so that she can find something she enjoys, and then challenge her with more difficult text or different genres.