The importance of adolescent literacy is well established, and the topic continues to be of both local and national interest. Practitioners need to know not only which programs and practices appear effective, but which have the scientific evidence to support that claim. To identify effective programs and practices for general education students in…

The 21st century has brought an increasing demand for expertise in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Although strides have been made towards increasing gender diversity in several of these disciplines, engineering remains primarily male dominated. In response, the U.S. educational system has attempted to make engineering…

Instructional tips help educators carry out recommendations contained in IES Educator's Practice Guides. The tips translate these recommendations into actionable approaches that educators can try in their classrooms. These tips are based on a practice guide authored by Sybilla Beckmann, Mark Driscoll, Megan Franke, Patricia Herzig, Asha Jitendra,…

Instructional tips help educators carry out recommendations contained in IES Educator's Practice Guides. This summary describes the research evidence that supports the use of the instructional tips in classrooms and is based on a practice guide authored by Sybilla Beckmann, Mark Driscoll, Megan Franke, Patricia Herzig, Asha Jitendra, Kenneth R.…

Amargosa Valley School in Nevada could be considered representative of almost any preK-8 school that serves a large proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and is focused on turning around persistently low achievement. Like other schools supported by federal School Improvement Grants, Amargosa is beginning to implement a reform plan…

This facilitator's guide is designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. Through this collaborative learning experience, educators will expand their knowledge base as they read, discuss, share,…

These handouts, which are meant to accompany the facilitator's guide, are designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. The facilitator's guide uses a five-step process for collaborative…

Intended to increase reading motivation in students, this book features tales of ghosts and poltergeists. The tales range from the legendary to the contemporary. These accounts of ghost stories in the book provide subject matter for thoughtful interpretation and discussion, while challenging students in four critical reading categories: main idea,…

The "English Standards of Learning Enhanced Scope and Sequence" for grades 6-8 is a resource intended to help teachers align their classroom instruction with the content found in "English Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools," adopted by the Board of Education in November 2002. The Enhanced Scope and Sequence…

Presents examples of students' work to illustrate the typical approaches used at sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade levels and four common threads that are consistent with student development as observed in a Connected Mathematics Project class. (ASK)

This document is a conference presentation on the use of portfolios as an evaluation tool for middle school music students. All of the pages are suitable for use with an overhead projector. Areas covered include reasons for teaching the arts as both an intellectual discipline and vocational education; Illinois state goals for musical learning for…

A reading activity module based on the newspaper was designed for students in grades 6-8 who have had two years of instruction in French as a second language. The module includes the teacher's guide, the facsimile newspaper, and transparencies for class activities. Module objectives are to introduce students to both newspaper reading and…

The 33 activities in this book reinforce the rules of written English by providing students with practice in editing a variety of formats. The activities help students develop a basic understanding of the rules of grammar and mechanics (generally taught in grades 6-7) in context and exercise their critical thinking abilities by identifying content…

This guide is a seven-lesson, fully illustrated curriculum unit that offers middle school students in grades five through eight an enjoyable opportunity to understand emotions and strengthen their communication skills. It is one of a series of curriculum units designed to provide educators with the curricular tools necessary to challenge students…

Presents an activity in which students use cereal boxes to describe, classify, order, analyze, graph, tally, and make connections and to study pricing, measures of central tendency, consumerism, measurement, and probability. (MKR)