Changes in technology and reading habits over the last decade have ushered in a new informational landscape. The Internet has become the central means by which children and adults form understandings of the world. Since readers on the Internet choose from a nearly unlimited selection of websites, they play a more active role in determining which…

Students need to know how to discern patterns and make decisions using visual information in our modern economy. However, there are few sources of real-world information available to instructors that give students access to visualizations to help develop their skills in interpreting complex situations using diverse data sources. This article…

In this reflection article I examine language assessment literacy initiatives and their possible impact on teachers, and I discuss the connections that exist between language assessment literacy and teachers' professional development. I explain that training for language assessment literacy may primarily foster teachers' knowledge and skills and,…

Engaging students with primary sources fosters inquiry, critical thinking, and deductive reasoning skills, all of which are vitally important to success in school and beyond. Simply inserting primary sources into the classroom is not enough. This resource uses the best of emerging Internet applications (Web 2.0) to capture the interest of today's…

At this moment in history when so many of teachers feel constantly pressed for time and deluged with information, they need to rethink why they address, or do not address, current events in K-8 classrooms. Children are persistently interacting with images on screens of all sizes and shapes. Teachers need to consider how they can best use their…

Students with disabilities continue to lag behind their peers without disabilities in post secondary education and employment. Outcomes of youth with disabilities are influenced by many factors, including but not limited to parent expectations and services received to support individual needs. One important transition service that can be provided…

All elementary teachers should be aware of their students' allergies especially when they are planning to use plants or animals in the classroom or interacting with them in the field. This knowledge is essential because allergy symptoms can range from an itchy rash to anaphylactic shock. This column shares safety information for the science…

Teachers can successfully integrate student-centered, disciplined inquiry, and technology into their classroom using the three-part approach to monitoring instruction described in this article.

Support for intellectual freedom, a concept codified in the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics, is one of the core tenets of modern librarianship. According to the most recent interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, academic librarians are encouraged to incorporate the principles of intellectual freedom…

This article introduces a framework designed to improve students' awareness of the need to critically evaluate websites as sources of information and to improve their skill at doing so. The framework, called the WWWDOT framework, encourages students to think about at least six dimensions when evaluating a website: (1) Who wrote this and what…

Asking students to explore teacher-selected Web sites is an effective way to provide students with appropriate links to credible online resources. This article provides several links to relevant sites that cover the Holocaust and Nazi Germany in general. It also provides several sites that focus on one particularly controversial and significant…

It was 1,000 years ago that King Ethelred ordered the building of a large fleet of ships to blockade England from Viking invaders in a last-ditch effort to stop a series of invasions that had plagued England for decades. Although teachers may already have a personal and professional fascination with this and other events surrounding the Viking…

Packed with ideas and instructional activities that cut across all content areas, this engaging book provides a comprehensive framework for promoting vital Web literacy skills in grades 3-8. Teacher-friendly special features include helpful graphics, sidebars, practical tips, and nearly 100 reproducibles. Using a research-based, classroom-tested…

The American public often wonders what goes on in the White House and how domestic and foreign policy are made. Designed for use by the research and teaching communities, whitehousetapes.org provides teachers and students the opportunity to learn more about how American presidents have made decisions and exercised leadership during pivotal moments…

The development and use of a research tool to guide fourth-grade students' use of information sources during a research project is described in this article. Over a period of five weeks, 21 fourth-grade students in an international school in Singapore participated in a study investigating the extent to which the use of a "research resource…