Spark Literacy Center LLC

Your learning disability does not determine what you are capable of. I work with many students with a wide range of learning differences, and one thing is true: I am so lucky to spend my time alongside the brightest, funniest, and coolest kids.

Parents and educators alike often mislabel students as lazy. This article offers great insight into why we should dig a little deeper to understand why students may struggle with motivation.

Today's A Mighty Girl Community Pick is perfect for kicking off Black History Month: "Beautiful Shades of Brown: The Art of Laura Wheeler Waring" by Nancy Churnin. As a child, Laura Wheeler Waring loved mixing paints to get the perfect shade -- especially to capture the exact shades of brown reflecting the varied skin colors of her family members. But, growing up in the late 19th century, she couldn't help but notice that museums didn't show many paintings of people with brown skin. Waring studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and then in Paris where work by Matisse and Gaugin encouraged her to paint the people she knew. And when she returned home to America, her portraits of famous African Americans would become classic works of art that still inspire visitors to the National Portrait Gallery. This gorgeously illustrated picture book about a trailblazing artist celebrates self-expression, diversity, and welcoming different points of view. Highly recommended for ages 5 to 9.

"Beautiful Shades of Brown" is available at https://www.amightygirl.com/beautiful-shades-of-brown

For more books for children and teens about pioneering African-American women, visit our blog post "99 Books about Extraordinary Black Mighty Girls and Women" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14276

For older kids, there's also an illustrated biography celebrating 50 pioneering women in the arts, "Women in Art," for ages 9 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-in-art

For many stories for children and teens of pioneering girls and women in the arts -- both in real-life and fiction -- visit our "Creative Arts" section at http://amgrl.co/2ibkDIQ

If you'd like to encourage your own Mighty Girl's interest in the arts, check out our blog post "Growing Creativity: Arts and Crafts Toys for Mighty Girls," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10465

Building a strong foundation is so important for future literacy skills!

This is quick and interesting read. And number four 🤯…

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2025 We’re back with our roundup of the most insightful studies of the year, from the power of brain breaks to groundbreaking research on AI, cell phones, and handwriting in the classroom.

Happy New Year from Spark Literacy Center! Here’s to a year of learning, growth, and most importantly, building confidence! ✨📖 Let’s get reading!

Teaching students vocabulary is necessary! It builds communication skills, aids in comprehension, and supports learning across all subject areas.

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Learning to read has become so politicised that we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we already have the answers.
So isn’t it time we did what’s best for EVERY child and just followed the science.


Quote: the awesome Dr Kymyona Burk

Students who struggle with working memory need to learn strategies such as visualization, chunking the text, and note-taking. These strategies can help students retain information and become active, engaged readers!

A strong foundation in fluency=better comprehension skills! Fluency counts!