The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, examines how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's…

Year 9 think they know a lot about the First World War. After all, they read Michael Morpurgo's novel Private Peaceful in their English lessons all the way back in Year 7, they have seen Blackadder so many times they can recite it, and in the centenary year of the war's outbreak, they can hardly avoid it on television. But their view of the war…

Local history, historical fiction, and one of the most significant events of the twentieth century come together in this article as Jon Grant and Dan Townsend suggest a way to enable students to produce better historical fiction and improve their understanding of the history of their own area. They develop the work on historical fiction…

In this article, the authors offer an alternative to traditional methods of teaching English that often included translating structures from the target language to the mother tongue. Although this method seems antiquated, it is still commonly practiced, as original dictogloss procedures were intended to provide an alternative to traditional…

Contemporary views of literacy, and of English and Language Arts curriculum recognise the importance of digital culture and communication forms in many young people's lives and the multiple forms of literacy students engage with as they work, interact and play. Amongst these, videogames, whether played on PCs, laptops, wiis, or on mobile devices…

The Louisiana English language arts student standards were created by over one hundred Louisiana educators with input by thousands of parents and teachers from across the state. Educators envisioned what proficient students should know and be able to do to compete in society and focused their efforts on creating standards that would allow them to…

This article shares the authors' journey together across different literacy practices and platforms over the course of a semester, when Sarah asked her high school senior English students to write a traditional personal narrative (art on the page), then translate the narrative to a digital story (art on the screen), and finally embody major themes…

I come to this article as an experienced primary and middle years teacher and midcareer university-based academic with a vested interest in researching the message systems of the disciplinary field of subject English. My sociocultural perspective challenges those who view English teaching predominantly as a cognitive act of learning to read or…

Dominant and common-sense contemporary conceptions of practice tend to frame the emotional volatility of the classroom--most commonly explored in discussions about student behaviour--as a fundamental obstacle to teaching and learning. The "outstanding" classroom is both orderly and, paradoxically perhaps, characterised by its passionate,…

Peter Medway was an exceptionally able teacher, researcher and thinker, and his work throws light on governments, inspectors and educators. In the early 1960s, Peter met a theory which "established language as a major means of constructing our realities". Later, after teaching English in secondary schools for two decades, he reflected on…

Research on the second writing process is not recent. Both first and second writing processes have been in the area of argument among scholars. It has been confirmed that both first and second writers nearly all practice similar physical activities pre-writing, during, and post writing stages; however, they still differ in the inner extra thinking…

This data book profiles noteworthy academic events, trends and outcomes at the state and complex-area level. It includes tables, figures and narrative sections related to demographic, financial and educational performance. A list of resources is provided. [For "Hawaii Department of Education Data Book, 2018. 29th Annual Report," see…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides federal funds to improve elementary and secondary education in the nation's schools. ESSA requires states and Local Educational Agencies (i.e., school districts and charter schools) to take a variety of actions to ensure that all children, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender, disability…

In this article, Marion Meiers reflects on the often-cited address "Literacy: The Epic Challenge Beyond Progressivism" by Garth Boomer at the 1989 joint National Conference of the Australian Reading Association (now the Australian Literacy Educator's Association) and the Australian Association for the Teaching of English at Darin High…

Literacy is increasingly essential for Americans' health, economic well-being, civic engagement, access to higher education, and social participation. Rapid growth in technology and globalization have increased demand for both universal literacy and higher levels of literacy than in the recent past. Yet national and international assessments…