Category · 319 articles
Spelling & Vocabulary
Response to Intervention: What Doesn’t Work
With the newly released RtI document and as states and districts scramble to conform to Race to the Top carrots and sticks, voices of experience need…
How to Teach ESL Writing
Glossing over the specific needs of developing EL writers and hoping that they will “catch up” in their writing when their oral language and reading abilities…
Ten Start-up Tips for New Teachers
New teachers can "make or break" their school year in the very first days and weeks. Here are 10 start-up tips for new teachers that will…
Don’t Read Class Novels
When we teach a novel or short story, how much of our instruction should be teacher-dependent and how much should be teacher-independent? My thought is that…
Context Clues Vocabulary Review Game
This context clues vocabulary review game helps students apply the five major context clues categories to informed word guessing. Using the Pictionary® game, students drawing context…
How to Teach Reading Intervention
Teaching reading intervention is qualitatively different from teaching beginning reading. By definition, the initial reading instruction did not “take” to a sufficient degree, so things must…
Content vs. Skills Reading Instruction
A key discussion point regarding reading instruction today involves those favoring skills-based instruction and those favoring content-based instruction. The debate is not either-or, but the author…
Ten Criteria for Effective ELA/Reading Diagnostic Assessments
Diagnostic assessments are essential instructional tools for effective English-language Arts and reading teachers. However, many teachers resist using these tools because they can be time-consuming to…