Research and Reflections
Delve into new research and perspectives on instructional materials and practice.
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What to Consider if You’re Adopting a New ELA/Literacy Curriculum
Recommendations for how to search for a new ELA/literacy program
Not Your Mom’s Professional Development
What needs to change in professional learning design
Designing for Equity (Teachers as Designers)
Helping folks who care about equity do equity.
Finding the Courage to Teach Texts Outside Your Comfort Zone (2019 Blog Competition Finalist)
Teaching texts that honor difference and inspire challenging conversations
Creating a Culture of Shared Norms and High Expectations in Your Classroom (2019 Blog Competition Finalist)
How to create a culture that facilitates powerful learning for ALL learners
Say “Author” (2019 Blog Competition Finalist)
Strategies for including all learners in discussions about complex text
How Does Education Research Relate to My Practice?
Is your reading program working? What can you do to improve it?
My Experience with Teachers College Units of Study
A veteran teacher explains the strengths and weakness of the program based on her experience
Tidying Up
Instructional Routines for Whole-Class Reading and Writing
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Top Posts of 2019
Read the most popular posts of the year!
For the Love of Learning
How a focus on building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction can enrich ELA instruction and engage learners
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
2019 Blog Contest
Creating Equity in the Classroom
A New Way to Consider Cognitive Demand in ELA Assessments
A Framework for Text Complexity in ELA and Reading
Striving for Foundational Excellence
Country Heights' Journey Through Foundational Skills Instruction
Professional Learning Design 101
How to Craft a Meaningful Professional Learning Experience for a Room Full of Strangers
Professional Learning is Personal
Learning Requires Trust, Especially for Teachers
Quality Instructional Materials or Quality Professional Learning Opportunities for Teachers?
Support for educators serving English Learners
Strong materials in the hands of great teachers
A year of school visits highlights what makes curriculum work
On Curriculum: How Pinterest and TpT Exacerbate Inequity
The danger of fragmented materials and the power of a cohesive, knowledge-building ELA curriculum
Designing a Holistic Learning Experience
Why school communities must integrate social, emotional, and academic considerations into instructional planning
On Your Side to Beat the Summer Slide
Ways to Partner with Your Local Public Library
Social Emotional Learning and Academic Content: A Natural Pairing
Reflections on how best practices for social emotional learning (SEL) and academic instruction are mutually supportive
Connecting the Dots
Making a Match Between Assessment Texts and Materials in ELA
A Switch to Standards-Based Learning
How the standards can support instruction and feedback
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Top Blog Posts of 2018
Here are our top 25 most-visited posts of 2018.
We’re Bullish on Bookworms
A reflection on the free Bookworms ELA curriculum for K-5
Effective Reading Instruction
Why a text-centered approach, instead of a strategies-based approach, is more effective
Observing Reading Foundational Skills Instruction
Introducing a new tool to observe the components of foundational skills instruction
Part 1
Addressing Common Challenges with Student Writing
Why aren’t students successful writers and what can teachers do to help?
Doing Better: Aligned Instructional Practice
An overview of the Instructional Practice Guide suite of tools
Making the Connection Between Materials and Instruction
Why instructional practice should be at the heart of all instructional materials decisions
Seeing College- and Career-Ready Standards through Instruction
Exploring the updates to the Instructional Practice Guide
Creating and Sequencing Text-Dependent Questions to Support English Language Learners
Strategic selection and organization of questions can be a scaffold that helps English learners grapple with highly complex questions.
Considering Reading Instruction with the End in Mind
Meet students not only where they are, but also where they're going.
Part 4
Re-Teaching Doesn’t Always Mean Repeating
Consider alternative ways to re-teach when students struggle with new content
Part 1
To Write or Not to Write. There is No Question!
The benefits of integrating reading and writing practice
The Role of Educators in Summative Assessment: The Life Cycle of a Question
An inside look at the development of summative assessments
Compelling Digital Lessons for English Learners
How to use the free WriteReader app to support English Language Learners
Part 4
How much time do you need to create a foundation for literacy?
One coach’s reflection on increasing the foundational skills block
5 Concerns about Inquiry-Based Learning–Answered
A high school math teacher addresses concerns about inquiry-based learning and shares how it benefits students.
A Visit to Monticello-Brown Summit Elementary School
Though this literacy program uses leveled readers, it focuses on building knowledge through topic-based units and ensures students are not limited to a single reading level
Welding Literacy into Scientific Instruction
An experienced educator provides a literacy protocol for interpreting scientific complex texts.
Part 3
How to Select Math Intervention Content
How do you diagnose the root causes of grade-level math struggles, and design targeted interventions to address them?
Part 2
Using Curriculum to Send Essential Messages to Students
How Wit & Wisdom Supports English Language Learners
Part 2
Supporting Our Youngest Readers: Teaching the Skills of Reading
Why using decodable readers can be powerful
Three APPS to Support Students with Special Needs
Helping All Kids Grapple with Grade-Level Content
Part 2
Addressing unfinished learning in the context of grade-level work
Not all unfinished learning should be treated the same way
Emerging Effects from CCSS
A high school math teacher shares examples of student progress following CCSS implementation
The Many Positive Uses for Assessment
Three ways to use assessment for good
3 Steps to Engage Students in Research Writing
A high school teacher shares concrete suggestions for sparking curiosity and stimulating quality research questions
Four Best Practices for the Math Classroom
A math teacher shares lessons learned and alternative strategies he's discovered during his teaching career
Designing Effective Homework
Best practices for creating homework that raises student achievement
High-impact strategies for teaching writing with evidence at the high school level
An interdisciplinary PLC develops common strategies and rubrics to support student writing.
Instead of…Try This
Avoid common pitfalls in the ELA classroom with these strategies
Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
The Instructional Practice Toolkit: An Introduction
Learn how the Instructional Practice Toolkit can help teachers make connections between planning, instruction, and student outcomes.
Supporting Excellence: Real Support for Teachers Starts With the District’s Curriculum
A new framework for developing and implementing clear district-wide support for teaching and learning
Piloting the Instructional Practice Toolkit
Two curriculum specialists who piloted the professional learning resource share their experience
Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals as an Educator
See how using this goal-setting structure can help you achieve content-focused goals during the school year
Building Teacher Confidence through Content-Infused PD
Working with teachers to improve their understanding and use of curricular materials
I have an assessment dream: Leading to conquer the big, bad ELA test
A curriculum director explains how to help educators see the potential of aligned assessment
“We’re the best. Just trust us!”
Finding unbiased information about instructional materials.
8 Questions About High School Math and STEM
A high school algebra teacher shares her thoughts on high school math myths and misconceptions
Limiting “Teacher Talk,” Increasing Student Work!
A team of teachers share strategies to increase student ownership in literacy
What Really Counts When We Teach?
What should we look for in powerful classrooms?
STEM Integration in Algebra: A Bridge to Opportunity
Relating mathematical thought processes to those in 21st Century careers
Part 1
At the Foundation of Foundational Skills: Structured Phonics
Learn how structured phonics instruction is critical to literacy development and a necessary part of an ELA curriculum
Forming a United Whole – The Coherence Map
A K-12 STEM District Supervisor Explains How He Used the Coherence Map to Improve His District's Math Curriculum
The Wild West of Open Literacy Materials
Identifying and using high-quality, ELA Open Educational Resources successfully
Lessons Learned after Teaching without a Textbook
A high school teacher explores the lessons learned after moving away from a textbook-based curriculum.
What Do They Actually Know?
Using mini-assessments to break free of the norm
Designing Classroom Libraries that Build Knowledge, Vocabulary, and Engagement
The benefits of topic-based independent reading on student motivation
Part 3
Determining Reading Fluency
Learn how to determine a student’s current reading fluency level and pinpoint problems impeding students from becoming fluent readers
Part 1
What is Reading Fluency?
Literacy experts David Liben and David Paige explain the characteristics of reading fluency
Classroom Strategies, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Introduction to Argument Writing
A long-time middle school teacher and writing expert explains how to design strong writing instruction
Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Training Materials for the ELA/Literacy IMET
New training modules on the IMET’s Non-Negotiables and Alignment Criteria
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information
Part 2
Adapting Journeys Common Core
A veteran Journeys user shares recommendations to improve basal lessons and better support teachers and students.
Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Part 2
Piloting New Curriculum Options with Educators
Learn about OUSD’s piloting process and find out what teachers thought of three popular ELA/literacy programs
Lessons from the Fordham Assessment Review
One of the reviewers explains how the assessment review was conducted and what the findings mean for educators and students.
Supporting All Learners with Complex Texts
Strategies to scaffold instruction of Standards-aligned, complex texts
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Sitting Beside the Learner: The ‘Me’ in Assessments
Common Core-aligned assessments must capitalize on teacher-student relationships
Part 1
The Shifts and ELLs
An ELL expert explains what the Common Core means for teachers of English language learners
Part 9
Creating a Conducive Environment for Teachers to Adapt Materials
An administrator’s guide to promoting teacher innovation
Why We’re Choosing Instructional Materials Blindly
A Brookings Institution report explains how much we DON’T know about instructional materials in use in today’s classrooms.
