Category · 414 articles
Grammar & Mechanics
Grammar and the Common Core
1. “I’ve heard that research has proven grammar, usage, mechanics, spelling, and vocabulary instruction doesn’t work.” 2. “I teach grammar and they seem to get it.…
Common Core Instructional Minutes
How much to teach, not what to teach or how to teach are the questions keeping English-language arts teachers up at night. How much to teach…
Common Core Curricular Crossover
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) produces some interesting curricular crossover. The traditional English-language arts divisions of reading, writing, listening, and speaking have been replaced with…
Common Core Anchor Standards for Language
For those just beginning to explore the CCSS Language Strand, an overview may be helpful. The Language Strand consists of the following: Conventions of Standard English…
Navigating Differentiated Instruction
A quality English-language arts curriculum designed to differentiate instruction is like a good nav system. Teachers committed to differentiated instruction need to invest in curricular resources…
Why Grammar Doesn’t Stick
You see, my colleague is not convinced by the research that purportedly indicates that direct grammar instruction has no impact on student acquisition of language skills.…
CCSS Language Progressive Skills Standards
The Language Strand has been one of the most controversial components of the COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS & LITERACY IN HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES,…
Why D.O.L. Does Not Transfer to Writing
Psychologists and educational theorists have developed learning theories to explain how new learning and skills are most efficiently mastered and best transfer to other academic activities.…