Articles Tagged with “ELA / Literacy”
Sort by
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
Press Play
Using Podcasts and Documentaries to Supercharge Background Knowledge and Bolster Reading Comprehension
On Your Side to Beat the Summer Slide
Ways to Partner with Your Local Public Library
Kids Gift Us with Their Time
Increase Achievement, Motivation, and Connection with Students Through Classroom Games
Three Simple Steps to Empowered Word-Learning
Using morphology, context clues, and outside resources to help students decipher word meanings
Using Data Binders to Increase Student Independence
A tool for fostering intentional and purposeful learning
Part 1
Using Exit Tickets Strategically
Educators share how they've made exit tickets a powerful tool for supporting students
Part 3
Providing Feedback on Student Writing
Strategies to deliver positive, focused feedback to improve all aspects of student writing
Giving Students a Choice with Their Learning
Using academic choice boards to build metacognition
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
Choosing Text Excerpts for Close Reading
A teacher's recommendations for how to select text excerpts that make students love reading
Effective Reading Instruction
Why a text-centered approach, instead of a strategies-based approach, is more effective
Part 2
Designing High-Quality Writing Tasks
Three steps for creating an effective writing assignment
Part 3
Wit & Wisdom: Implementation Dos and Don’ts
Lessons learned from teachers who've implemented the curriculum
Encouraging a Growth Mindset through Art
Strategies for moving beyond "follow-the-leader" style art projects and developing an art curriculum that supports student learning across subjects
Observing Reading Foundational Skills Instruction
Introducing a new tool to observe the components of foundational skills instruction
Using Content and Language Objectives to Help All Students in Their Learning
Strategies from an English Language Learner Specialist
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
Building A Culturally Responsive Classroom
Why building a culturally responsive classroom matters for the success of ALL students
Engaging Students with #BookSnaps
Reinventing how your students discuss text within the classroom
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.
Formative Assessments and Feedback in the Digital Age
How implementing Pear Deck changed my classroom.
Inspiring Writers
A process for supporting writing practice with K-2 English Language Learners
Part 2
To Write or Not to Write? There is No Question! Part 2
Activities to support the connection between reading and writing
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 2
The 3 R’s + 4 C’s = 7th Heaven (Part 2)
A technology integrationist introduces digital tools to support collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.
Part 1
The 3 R’s + 4 C’s = 7th Heaven
A Technology Integrationist’s Guide to 21st Century Learning (Part 1)
Part 4
How much time do you need to create a foundation for literacy?
One coach’s reflection on increasing the foundational skills block
English Language Arts Practices
How do we determine that students are increasing their literacy skills as they progress across grade levels?
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
Adding Fun to Your Phonics Block
Incorporating strategies to make phonics time the best time of day
The Digital Coaching Menu: Four Reasons Why You Need One
Providing teachers with content-focused options for coaching support
Understanding vocabulary standards: Building students’ skills
Differentiation between the vocabulary standards in the Reading and Language Strands
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
Part 1
Inside Implementation of Wit and Wisdom
Bringing complex content and instruction into a high-needs school district
Materials Alignment Quick Check
Introducing a new evidence catcher to facilitate instructional materials decisions
Three APPS to Support Students with Special Needs
Helping All Kids Grapple with Grade-Level Content
Creating Student Empowerment Through Your Garden-Variety Graphic Organizer
How I use graphic organizers in my classroom to promote student independence
A Five-Course Meal Complete with Strategies for Assessment
Concrete strategies to help classroom educators get involved with assessment design
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
Don’t be afraid to ask…
Advice for where to ask--and find answers--to your education questions
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.
Assessing Grammar and Language Convention Skills
New guidance explains how to assess writing skills through embedded-error passages and multiple-choice items
Creating a Feedback Culture
Using effective feedback to help students master their learning goals
Blended Learning: The Station Rotation Model
Find out how a blended learning station-focused model can help you differentiate instruction and give ALL students the support they need to tackle grade-level work
There has got to be a better way to do this! How to start an interdisciplinary PLC.
Insights on the value of interdisciplinary PLCs and how to create one in your school
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
Part 2
Looking At and Learning From Student Work, Part Two: Now What?
An 8th grade teacher models the process of using writing analysis checklists to make plans for future writing instruction
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
State of Our Classrooms: Instructional Materials
Findings from a 2017 survey about instructional materials usage among educators
Building Teacher Confidence through Content-Infused PD
Working with teachers to improve their understanding and use of curricular materials
Digital Book Baskets for High School Classrooms
Students create their own high-interest text sets to build knowledge
Part 1
Looking at, and Learning from, Student Writing
An introduction to the Vermont Writing Collaborative's Writing Checklists
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.
Reading to Learn
Strategies to build a love of learning through content-rich nonfiction
Q&A – Supporting Fluency in K-12 Classrooms
Practical suggestions for focusing on reading fluency
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?
Five Places for Trusted Resource Recommendations
Amid the sea of free online materials and digital applications, here are five places we’d start our search.
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
Top 5 Questions About ELA Scaffolding in High School
What do we do when they “don’t get it”?
Top 5 Questions about ELA Scaffolding in Elementary School
Real-world advice for how to scaffold complex text for struggling students
The Wild West of Open Literacy Materials
Identifying and using high-quality, ELA Open Educational Resources successfully
What Do They Actually Know?
Using mini-assessments to break free of the norm
The Essential Elements of an ELA Curriculum
Standards co-author Susan Pimentel explains how the elements of a high-quality ELA program contribute to student learning. She pinpoints where many current programs are missing the mark.
How to Create Book Baskets
Designing book baskets to boost motivation, enthusiasm and engagement
