This article outlines the features and application of a set of model curriculum materials that utilize eco-democratic principles and humanities-based content to cultivate critical analysis of the cultural foundations of socio-environmental problems. We first describe the goals and components of the materials, then discuss results of their use in…

Challenges are bound to arise as the vast majority of states strive to help English learners meet the Common Core State Standards. In calling for students to read complex texts, these new standards place an even greater emphasis on content knowledge and literacy skills than prior state standards. This review of available research will help…

In this column, Kenji Hakuta and Mario Santos described the challenges and opportunities the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards present for language development in the context of English language arts/literacy, mathematics, and science. They heightened educators' awareness of the critical role language plays…

This paper reviews best practices for effective adolescent literacy programs. A focus is placed on five areas of literacy instruction including word study, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation. Each of these areas is discussed as well as how each area is relevant to reading and understanding narrative and content-area text at high…

Hundreds of thousands of teachers have used this highly practical guide to help K-12 students enlarge their vocabulary and get involved in noticing, understanding, and using new words. Grounded in research, the book explains how to select words for instruction, introduce their meanings, and create engaging learning activities that promote both…

Sixty-five Norwegian 10th graders used the software Read&Answer 2.0 (Vidal-Abarca et al., 2011) to read five different texts presenting conflicting views on the controversial scientific issue of sun exposure and health. Participants were administered a multiple-choice topic-knowledge measure before and after reading, a word recognition task,…

The Effective Instructional Strategies Series is a collection of six booklets based on the components used in Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD), a principles-based professional development program consisting of research-based teaching and learning strategies proven to help improve students' reading…

Content area literacy is a growing trend across the entire secondary school curriculum. Science, history, physical education, and mathematics teachers are being required to teach reading comprehension in their classrooms. Many resources are available to aid students' prereading, reading, and postreading skills. Typical activities include KWL…

The purpose of this reflective article is to present an alternative that incorporates the four language skills in all content areas through technology-based dual-language centers for emergent bilinguals at the elementary level. The authors propose a matrix to plan the centers and include three examples to facilitate language transfer in English…

In this article we examine teacher instruction on scientific literacy tasks and teacher expression of ultimate and subordinate purposes during one teaching sequence of a science unit. By using a Practical Epistemology Analysis and Systemic Functional Grammar we can provide a view of the direction learning takes and the consequences for student…

Comprehension problems have become an epidemic: One out of every four secondary school students is unable to read and comprehend the material in textbooks. Start addressing the root of the problem today with this practical guidebook, designed to strengthen adolescents' reading comprehension and written expression so they can master academic…

A critical issue in education today is that many middle and high school students are not able to read on grade level (Alvermann & Rush, 2004; Biancarosa & Snow, 2010; Heller & Greenleaf, 2007; Houge, Geier, & Peyton, 2008). In an effort to deal with the problem, many schools encourage all teachers, regardless of their subject area,…

Academic reading has been less emphasized compared with academic writing as a site of research inquiry. Although some studies have examined reading strategy use in academic reading (e.g., Block, 1986; Plakans, 2009), these studies used short passages only, and there have been a few studies that have focused on the mental representation constructed…

Recognizing the relevance of English for Specific Purposes, this article outlines an approach for using authentic readings in a course in Engineering English. The article describes the importance of needs analysis, rhetorical focus, and reading for content; it suggests content for 15 lessons and provides a sample worksheet and other suggestions…

In this study we investigate students' ability to discern conceptual variation and the use of multiple models in genetics when reading content-specific excerpts from biology textbooks. Using the history and philosophy of science as our reference, we were able to develop a research instrument allowing students themselves to investigate the…