Some of the worst teaching I’ve ever experienced has come from good teachers. Most all teachers have been exposed to this common phenomena. Often it takes place on a regular basis at the end of a long school day, once or twice a month. Sometimes it rears its ugly head during the summer and almost always on specially designated days preceding the start of the school year, when everyone wants to be in their classroom or going out to lunch with colleagues. It’s affectionately known as professional development.
Now to be fair, some of the best teaching I’ve ever experienced has come from good teachers and in the context of professional development. These are the teachers that have learned their audience and how to teach that audience. It’s qualitatively different than teaching a class of elementary, middle, or high school students.
Teachers tend to be a tough and judgmental crowd. Especially when held as a captive audience. Often the most open-minded thinkers become the most close-minded learners in professional development meetings. However, there are some basic principles, strategies, and tricks of the trade that will improve the delivery of professional development in a variety of contexts.
Following are articles, free resources, and tips regarding professional development from the Pennington Publishing Blog. Bookmark and visit us often. Also, check out Pennington Publishing for assessment-based targeted lessons, activities and worksheets.
English-Language Arts and Reading Intervention Articles and Resources
Bookmark and check back often for new articles and free ELA/reading resources from Pennington Publishing.
- Free Teaching Reading Resources
- Grammar and Mechanics
- Vocabulary
- English-language Arts Standards
- English-language Arts Instruction
- Essay Resources and Lessons
- The Writing Process/Writers Workshop
- Writing Style
- Spelling
- Structural Analysis/Syllabication/Oral Language
- ELA/Reading Assessments
- Independent Reading
- Reading Intervention (RtI Resources)
- EL/ESL/ELD
- Assessment-based Individualized Instruction/Differentiated Instruction
- Critical Thinking
- Study Skills
- Test Preparation
- Developmental Characteristics
- Professional Development
- Reading Comprehension
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Diagnostic reading and ELA assessments, each with its recording matrix.
From the store · grades 4–8
Teaching Grammar, Usage and Mechanics
Grade-level lessons, remedial worksheets keyed to the diagnostic assessments, and unit tests. $49.99 per grade, licensed per teacher.
Questions teachers ask
Which grammar assessments are free?
The grammar and usage assessment and the mechanics assessment are both in the free toolkit. Each comes with a recording matrix that shows which conventions a student has and has not mastered, so instruction can be targeted instead of whole-class.
Do I have to buy anything to use the assessments?
No. Every diagnostic assessment on this site is free. Enter your email on the Free Assessment Toolkit page and the diagnostic assessments arrive as downloads, each with its recording matrix.
How are the programs licensed?
Every program is a digital download licensed for one teacher. School and district purchase orders are accepted through the store.
Mark Pennington, M.A. Reading Specialist
Thirty-six years teaching ELA and reading, elementary through community college, plus district reading specialist. He wrote every program on this site.
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