Research and Reflections Archives

Summer Reading Club 2023

06/21/23, Student Achievement Partners

Thoughts on The Right to Read

04/25/23, Desmond Williams

The Science of Reading as a Literacy for All Campaign

02/28/23, Desmond Williams

Part 3

High-Quality Curriculum Raised the Bar, But Not High Enough

What we miss when we narrowly define what “high-quality” means in instructional materials

01/11/23, Adrienne Williams

Research-based AND Responsive

Putting the science of reading to work for the kids in front of you

01/04/23, Catlin Goodrow

Part 2

Constantly Shifting Practice

How the Shifts of the Common Core changed instruction and still missed the mark

12/15/22, Katie Keown

We’ve Come a Long Way, Fast

How Technology is Shaping the Modern Classroom in Unseen Ways

12/01/22, Zak Cohen

Learning From Mistakes: Easier Said Than Done

How can you turn mistake-making into mistake-learning in your classroom?

02/04/22, Zak Cohen

Why A Skills-Based Approach Is Failing Students in Reading

A reflection on Natalie Wexler’s The Knowledge Gap

06/10/21, Kimberly Sarfde

Let’s Not Make Power ELA/Literacy Standards and Talk About Why We Didn’t

Concerns about the effect of "power standards" on student learning

05/07/21, Kate Crist, Torrey Palmer

What the Data Can’t Tell Us

Concerns about summative assessment in a pandemic year

03/25/21, Katie Keown, Astrid Fossum, Jun Li, John Young

Textbooks: Who Needs Them?

03/19/21, Devin Evans

Transforming Literacy Instruction

An opportunity to equitably accelerate students’ literacy development

03/03/21, Amy Briggs

Part null

Knowledge-Building Model Lessons for Middle and High School

Rethinking how we define “text” to engage older students and accelerate learning

10/16/20, Jenni Aberli, Lauren Trahan

Part 2

What Principles Must Underlie Successful Personalized Learning?

What educators should consider when selecting or using personalized learning approaches to accelerate literacy outcomes

10/09/20, Meredith Liben, Tanji Reed Marshall, Ph.D., Susan Pimentel

Part 1

Is it Possible to Use Personalized Learning to Accelerate Students’ Literacy Outcomes in the Time of COVID?

Examining the research base

10/06/20, Meredith Liben, Tanji Reed Marshall, Susan Pimentel

Part null

Why Teaching Justice Through Reading & Writing Cannot Wait

How teachers can enact change and combat racism through purposeful discussions and literary curricula

06/14/20, Yvonne Thompson

Part null

You Have a List of Culturally Diverse Texts. Now What?

Guidance on facilitating classroom lessons and discussions that push student thinking

06/11/20, Keenan W. Lee, M. Ed

Part null

Digital Coaching Menus Bring the Professional Learning Principles To Life

Designing effective coaching sessions that reflect teacher needs

05/14/20, Kenny McKee

Part null

What to Consider if You’re Adopting a New ELA/Literacy Curriculum

Recommendations for how to search for a new ELA/literacy program

04/03/20, Student Achievement Partners

Part null

How Does Education Research Relate to My Practice?

Is your reading program working? What can you do to improve it?

02/14/20, Tori Filler, Carey Swanson

Part null

My Experience with Teachers College Units of Study

A veteran teacher explains the strengths and weakness of the program based on her experience

02/06/20, MJ D’Amelio

Part null

Tidying Up

Instructional Routines for Whole-Class Reading and Writing

01/22/20, Jon Gustafson

Part null

For the Love of Learning

How a focus on building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction can enrich ELA instruction and engage learners

12/08/19, Carey Swanson

Part null

A New Way to Consider Cognitive Demand in ELA Assessments

A Framework for Text Complexity in ELA and Reading

11/08/19, Katie Keown

Part null

The Magical World of Twitter

How Twitter Changed the Way I Learn

09/10/19, Amy Youngblood

Part null

Professional Learning Design 101

How to Craft a Meaningful Professional Learning Experience for a Room Full of Strangers

08/16/19, Carrie Rosebrock

Part null

Professional Learning is Personal

Learning Requires Trust, Especially for Teachers

08/09/19, Carrie Rosebrock

Part null

Quality Instructional Materials or Quality Professional Learning Opportunities for Teachers?

Support for educators serving English Learners

07/26/19, Renae Skarin

Part null

Strong Materials in the Hands of Great Teachers

A year of school visits highlights what makes curriculum work

07/07/19, Barbara Davidson, Susan Pimentel

Part null

On Curriculum: How Pinterest and TpT Exacerbate Inequity

The danger of fragmented materials and the power of a cohesive, knowledge-building ELA curriculum

06/26/19, Jon Gustafson

Part null

On Your Side to Beat the Summer Slide

Ways to Partner with Your Local Public Library

05/24/19, Jenci Spradlin

Part null

We’re Bullish on Bookworms

A reflection on the free Bookworms ELA curriculum for K-5

12/10/18, David Liben, Meredith Liben, Sue Pimentel

Part null

Effective Reading Instruction

Why a text-centered approach, instead of a strategies-based approach, is more effective

11/16/18, Meredith Liben, Sue Pimentel

Part null

Observing Reading Foundational Skills Instruction

Introducing a new tool to observe the components of foundational skills instruction

10/23/18, Carey Swanson

Part 1

Addressing Common Challenges with Student Writing

Why aren’t students successful writers and what can teachers do to help?

10/09/18, Zackory Kirk

Part null

Doing Better: Aligned Instructional Practice

An overview of the Instructional Practice Guide suite of tools

09/19/18, Destiny Eldridge, April Pforts

Part null

Making the Connection Between Materials and Instruction

Why instructional practice should be at the heart of all instructional materials decisions

08/20/18, Sandra Alberti

Part null

Seeing College- and Career-Ready Standards through Instruction

Exploring the updates to the Instructional Practice Guide

08/15/18, Lisa Goldschmidt

Part null

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.

08/01/18, Claire Rivero

Part null

Considering Reading Instruction with the End in Mind

Meet students not only where they are, but also where they're going.

07/30/18, Carey Swanson

Part null

Illuminating Interims

What makes a good interim assessment program?

06/07/18, Laura Hansen

Part 1

To Write or Not to Write. There is No Question!

The benefits of integrating reading and writing practice

05/07/18, Dr. Deborah Glaser

Part null

The Role of Educators in Summative Assessment: The Life Cycle of a Question

An inside look at the development of summative assessments

05/02/18, Laura Hansen

Part null

Compelling Digital Lessons for English Learners

How to use the free WriteReader app to support English Language Learners

04/17/18, Astrid Emily Francis

Part 4

How much time do you need to create a foundation for literacy?

One coach’s reflection on increasing the foundational skills block

03/21/18, Lauren Hurley Wilson

Part null

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

02/28/18, Barbara Davidson, David Liben

Part null

Welding Literacy into Scientific Instruction

An experienced educator provides a literacy protocol for interpreting scientific complex texts.

02/20/18, Leslie Annette Birdon

Part 2

Using Curriculum to Send Essential Messages to Students

How Wit & Wisdom Supports English Language Learners

01/19/18, Sarah Webb

Part 2

Supporting Our Youngest Readers: Teaching the Skills of Reading

Why using decodable readers can be powerful

01/12/18, Carey Swanson

Part null

Three APPS to Support Students with Special Needs

Helping All Kids Grapple with Grade-Level Content

12/21/17, Dr. Bryan Drost

Part null

Most-Read Articles of 2017

12/15/17, Student Achievement Partners

Part null

The Many Positive Uses for Assessment

Three ways to use assessment for good

11/15/17, Rob Woodworth

Part null

3 Steps to Engage Students in Research Writing

A high school teacher shares concrete suggestions for sparking curiosity and stimulating quality research questions

11/09/17, Hattie Maguire

Part null

Designing Effective Homework

Best practices for creating homework that raises student achievement

10/13/17, Claire Rivero

Part null

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.

10/11/17, Mary Burt

Part null

Instead of…Try This

Avoid common pitfalls in the ELA classroom with these strategies

10/03/17, Andrea Raines

Part null

The Instructional Practice Toolkit: An Introduction

Learn how the Instructional Practice Toolkit can help teachers make connections between planning, instruction, and student outcomes.

09/22/17, Rachel Etienne

Part null

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

08/24/17, Ricki Price-Baugh

Part null

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

08/11/17, Susan Hitt

Part null

Building Teacher Confidence through Content-Infused PD

Working with teachers to improve their understanding and use of curricular materials

08/03/17, Andrea Raines

Part null

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

05/31/17, Bryan Drost

Part null

“We’re the best. Just trust us!”

Finding unbiased information about instructional materials.

05/30/17, Janelle Fann

Part null

What Really Counts When We Teach?

What should we look for in powerful classrooms?

04/18/17, Alan Schoenfeld

Limiting “Teacher Talk,” Increasing Student Work!

A team of teachers share strategies to increase student ownership in literacy

03/26/17, Tori Filler

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

03/17/17, Carey Swanson

Part null

The Wild West of Open Literacy Materials

Identifying and using high-quality, ELA Open Educational Resources successfully

02/21/17, Sarah Tierney, Tracey Waters

Part null

What Do They Actually Know?

Using mini-assessments to break free of the norm

01/23/17, Rob Woodworth

Part null

Designing Classroom Libraries that Build Knowledge, Vocabulary, and Engagement

The benefits of topic-based independent reading on student motivation

01/05/17, Carey Swanson

Part null

Most-Read Articles of 2016

12/21/16, Student Achievement Partners

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

11/09/16, David Liben, David D. Paige

Part 2

Building Reading Fluency

Four classroom strategies that can help build fluent readers

10/28/16, David Liben, David D. Paige

Part 1

What is Reading Fluency?

Literacy experts David Liben and David Paige explain the characteristics of reading fluency

10/21/16, David Liben, David D. Paige

Part null

Introduction to Argument Writing

A long-time middle school teacher and writing expert explains how to design strong writing instruction

10/14/16, Joey Hawkins

Part null

Training Materials for the ELA/Literacy IMET

New training modules on the IMET’s Non-Negotiables and Alignment Criteria

10/12/16, Student Achievement Partners

Part 2

Adapting Journeys Common Core

A veteran Journeys user shares recommendations to improve basal lessons and better support teachers and students.

09/07/16, Karen Vogelsang

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

09/01/16, Student Achievement Partners

Part null

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.

08/23/16, Amy Youngblood

Part null

Supporting All Learners with Complex Texts

Strategies to scaffold instruction of Standards-aligned, complex texts

08/17/16, Carey Swanson

Part null

Sitting Beside the Learner: The ‘Me’ in Assessments

Common Core-aligned assessments must capitalize on teacher-student relationships

08/15/16, Bryan Drost

Part 2

Designing a New ELA Curriculum

How Core Knowledge is different than other curriculum options

05/03/16, Linda Bevilacqua

Part 1

The Shifts and ELLs

An ELL expert explains what the Common Core means for teachers of English language learners

04/28/16, Diane Staehr Fenner

Part 9

Creating a Conducive Environment for Teachers to Adapt Materials

An administrator’s guide to promoting teacher innovation

02/26/16, Andrew Davis

Part null

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.

02/05/16, Student Achievement Partners

Part 7

Using Complex Texts with All Readers

A reading interventionist explains the strategies she uses to help struggling readers benefit from complex texts.

01/27/16, Katherine Linnehan

Part null

Choosing Wisely: A Strategic Approach to Curriculum in Duval County

An interview with Dr. Nikolai P. Vitti, Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools

12/21/15

Part 6

Outcomes of the Adaptation Process

New case studies share a look at the process of adapting math and ELA materials

11/13/15, Stacy Wetcher

Part null

Including Tier 2 Vocabulary Instruction in Curricular Materials

Building tier 2 vocabulary is critical to comprehending texts across content areas, yet it often receives insufficient attention in existing curriculum options. What can teachers do to fill the gap?

11/05/15, Student Achievement Partners

Part null

The EQuIP Review Process and Rubric

Achieve created a rubric and review process to facilitate peer reviews

10/08/15, Student Achievement Partners

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