Turning Dependent into Independent Readers
The new Common Core State Standards for English-language Arts makes a compelling case for not doing business as usual in our ELA classrooms. That business consists of the traditional “sage on the...
View ArticleWhy and How to Teach Complex Text
A growing body of research presents a challenge to current K-12 reading/English-language Arts instruction. In essence, we need to “up” the level of text complexity and provide greater opportunities for...
View ArticleFree Resources to Teach English-language Arts Standards and the Common Core
Standards-based education is at an important crossroads. Having largely captured the focus of the educational reform movement over the last 20 years, standards-based instruction is now the norm in all...
View ArticleFree English-language Arts Instructional Resources
English-language arts teachers are a unique breed. They are decidedly schizophrenic in that they teach both content and process. Other content area teachers tend to expect ELA teachers to shoulder the...
View ArticleFree Resources on Educational Issues and Teaching Trends
Even though we teachers like to think that we are “kings and queens of our own castles,” we are not immune to outside influences. As public servants, what we do in the classroom is impacted by...
View ArticleStandards and Accountability
A recent discussion on my favorite site, the English Companion Ning, made me take a critical look at just what has engendered the recent demands for increased accountability in our public schools. Both...
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Essay e-Grading
Let’s face it; computers are here to stay. However, teachers haven’t always been on the forefront of using technology to improve instruction. One area in which teachers can significantly improve their...
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Common Core Language Standards
As an author of both a spelling series and a grammar and mechanics curriculum, I am constantly deluged with questions regarding the language strand of the new Common Core State Standards. Teachers are...
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California Common Core Language Standards
At the outset of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, the research and writing committees latched upon the California and Massachusetts state standards to serve as reference points for...
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Common Core State Standards Fear-mongering
Phyllis Shlaffly’s July 21 article, posted in the Eagle Forum pieces together a number of undocumented sources commenting on the prospect of a national curriculum and the Common Core State Standards....
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