EARLY MATH
As educators and family
members, we try to incorporate early math into our children's
activities and relate math to their everyday experiences in
many ways. And, we try to make it fun! We use a variety of
manipulatives for hands-on experience in counting, sorting,
comparing, and patterning; sing counting songs; count by ones,
twos, fives, and tens; encourage one-to-one correspondence
when passing out snacks; divide things into equal parts; count
how many items we have left or how many items in all; measure
with nonstandard and standard units; explore 2-D and 3-D
shapes and symmetry; use positional words to describe
location; learn about the likelihood or probability of events;
tell time through the sequence of events, time of day, time of
year, and time shown on a clock; try different kinds of
graphs; and, we use mathematical language as the children
discover that math is all around us.
At Abrams, our early math materials are based on testing in
real classrooms and in-depth research. The standards of the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics guide our
decisions as we strive to offer teachers and parents only
those educational materials that are age-appropriate and
valuable to a child's understanding in the early- childhood
setting and the elementary school setting.
EARLY SCIENCE
Are young children
curious? You bet! Early science is the natural answer to their
curiosity. As children learn about the world and how things
work, we can guide them to employ the four basic steps in
scientific discovery: exploration, investigation, collection
of data, and communication of results. When we foster the
development of science at an early age, we are leading
children on a lifelong journey of inquiry. When we show them
how to perform simple scientific experiments, we are giving
them the tools to make sense of their world as we open their
minds to endless possibilities and learning opportunities.
At Abrams, our early science materials are based on testing in
real classrooms and in-depth research. The standards of the
National Science Teachers Association, and state
early-childhood education standards, guide our decisions as we
strive to offer teachers and parents only those educational
materials that are age-appropriate and valuable to a child's
understanding in the early-childhood setting and the
elementary school setting.
EARLY LITERACY
How do teachers and
family members introduce children to the world of early
literacy? Enthusiasm! When we share our love of reading with
children, it's contagious! We want them to see that there are
many reasons to read: enjoyment, learning something new,
following a recipe, finding out how to complete a project,
sharing knowledge with others, and so on. Often, a parent or
caregiver is the first to lead a child to a life of literacy
by reading stories aloud. The child hears new vocabulary,
learns how to say different words, begins to make the
connection between print and spoken words, watches how to hold
a book right-side up and carefully turn pages from beginning
to end. Most importantly, children who are read to at an early
age understand that reading is special. They want to do it,
too! Abrams and Company shares this joy of language and
literacy. In-depth classroom testing across the country and
scientific, medical-model research studies have led to
effective educational materials that are fun as well as
stimulating. We are proud to offer Early Literacy products
(pre-K and K) and Early Literacy Supplements (pre-K, K, 1, 2)
that meet the individual needs of children. Our materials and
programs promote successful, confident readers and writers
while integrating subject areas across the curriculum.
FLUENCY DEVELOPMENT
Once
children begin to read, what's next? Fluency and
comprehension. How is that achieved? Practice! Providing
children with books that interest them, while moving them
consistently along on their journey to becoming confident
readers, is one of the most effective ways to encourage
children to make reading a daily, enjoyable event. And, the
more they read, the more their comprehension, vocabulary, and
fluency increase. With an ever-growing sight vocabulary and
ability to decode, children in grades K to 4 become free to
focus on reading rate, accuracy, and expression.
For
effective interactive fluency practice, Abrams Readers Theatre™
offers scripts that children read, not memorize!
To
build fluency with rhythm, rhyme, and repetition, Abrams/CTP
Readers, Reading for Fluency includes interactive stories and
Readers Theatre scripts that will motivate children to read
the text again and again.
LEVELED READERS
Perhaps
the most critical aspect of learning to read is confidence, so
leveled reading plays a big role. Books that are too hard for
a child do not challenge; they only frustrate. It's important
to begin with leveled readers with which the child feels
comfortable and move progressively up the reading levels from
that starting point. Each child is different. Each child will
begin at a different level, and, through the experience of
guided reading, move to the next level(s) at a different pace.
The focus should remain on the "I can do it!"
attitude of the individual child.
Abrams
and Company offers a wide range of leveled books, fiction and
nonfiction, for kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade
4, and grade 5. Levels A to P were derived from criteria
recommended by Fountas and Pinnell.
Abrams
& Company making a difference in early education for 17
years.