Once upon a time, nonfiction books for children routinely included concise, stodgy writing. Most of the books were text heavy, with just a few scattered images decorating, rather than enhancing, the content and meaning. But nonfiction has changed dramatically over the last two decades, evolving into a new breed of visually dynamic, engaging texts…

Writing skills are essential for success in the 21st-century school and workplace, but most classrooms devote far more time to reading instruction, with writing often addressed in isolation or excluded. In this insightful professional development resource and text, leading researchers discuss why and how to integrate writing and reading…

Language is at the heart of the learning process. We learn through language. Our knowledge about the world is constructed in language-the worlds of home and the community, the worlds of school subjects, the worlds of literature, the worlds of the workplace, and so on. It is through language that we interact with others and build our identities.…

This accessible book will help elementary school teachers improve literacy instruction inside or outside the Common Core environment. The authors address teachers' instructional needs by introducing key concepts from current trends in literacy education--from high-level standards to the use of 21st-century literacies. Readers then follow teachers…

From leading authorities in both adolescent literacy and content-area teaching, this book addresses the particular challenges of literacy learning in each of the major academic disciplines. Chapters focus on how to help students successfully engage with texts and ideas in English/literature, science, math, history, and arts classrooms. The book…

Could you use a superhero to teach reading, writing, critical thinking, and problem solving? While seeking the answer, secondary language arts teacher Maureen Bakis discovered a powerful pedagogy that teaches those skills and more. The amazingly successful results prompted her to write this practical guide that shows middle and high school…

This book demonstrates how formative assessments, unlike standardized tests, provide the kind of communication between teachers and students that help teachers make instructional decisions to improve student performance. Included are fully developed examples of standards-based formative assessments in reading comprehension, writing, notetaking,…

These learning objectives have been formulated for use in classes that emphasize individualization as well as in learning centers and resource laboratories that concentrate on a diagnostic and remedial approach to basic skills. They are designed for the mature student who has not yet mastered objectives ordinarily covered in earlier years.…

This book uses art to stimulate content-area language development and writing skills. From A to Z, the 81 animal patterns in the book combine with 35 different activities to enhance the primary curriculum--each student gets a photocopy of the pattern, paper, scissors, and some materials to decorate the "critter." The book's activities…

Designed to encourage sustained independent writing, this book demonstrates ways that children were stimulated to invent their own Utopias, their own religions, new ways of fighting wars, and different schools. Contents include the following: "Traveling to an Imaginary Place; "Religion"; "Question of Continuity in Writing"; "War"; "Moving Toward a…

Based on an examination of research on the language acquisition of children, the articles in this book are organized into three interrelated sections. Section one, "Language and the Young Language Learner," focuses on what and how children learn as they begin to acquire their language. The topic of language differences is also explored. Articles…

The monograph is a complete outline for a program designed to help English departments institute logical and fair procedures for grading student essays. The contents in this monograph include "Factors in Judgments of Writing Ability,""The Effect of Bias,""Measuring Improvement in Writing,""Personal vs Staff Grading,""Standard Scores for Test…

Surveying the current scene in the teaching of composition at the elementary level, this leaflet examines the results of recent research, the materials produced by four curriculum centers, and the opinions of respected authorities in English. It then describes some of the newer teaching practices stimulated by the recent emphasis on the individual…

This booklet, part of a series of information resources for teachers, focuses on integrating speech communication activities into writing programs for older students. The activities described have been tested in the integrated skills program at the University of Massachusetts and include concrete plans, assignments, learning activities, and…

This book is intended for teachers, prospective teachers, language arts supervisors, designers of curriculum, and others interested in the teaching of English in the elementary school. Subjects covered include reasons why literature should be part of a child's education, what it means to "teach" and "study" literature, the foundation necessary for…