This article discusses four exemplary activities to highlight imaginative approaches that encourage critical literacy: building a jackdaw, responding to text through multimodal journaling, engaging in dramatic roleplay, and practicing multi-genre writing. Each activity connects imaginative approaches to critical literacy as learners view the world…

Historical fiction is a powerful genre for inviting children into meaningful conversations centered on the lived experiences of others. Historical inquiry immerses readers in interdisciplinary research experiences and complements language arts Common Core State Standards that call for a balance of fiction and non-fiction text. Antiracist lenses…

Using a project-based learning approach, three teacher educators, teaching three different methodology courses, worked together to create, plan, and assess an arts-based assignment completed by preservice candidates. The preservice teachers created an animation project while applying curriculum expectations in three subject areas: visual arts,…

This paper looks at the connection between project-based learning and social and emotional learning (SEL). While all learning experiences benefit from a supportive social and emotional learning process and context, the collaborative and student-led nature of project-based learning (PBL) necessitates an emphasis on SEL. This paper explores that…

This article describes a community action student- led project that features authentic writing and engagement to increase motivation. The article highlights important instructional strategies for implementing community action projects and the resulting student learning. The article concludes with the authors' reflections and observations.

A 9th grade Honors English class creates and publishes original poems, art, fiction, and nonfiction products through an activity called "Type Three -- Twenty Time = T4." The instructional method merges elements from Renzulli's Type III process with elements from Brookhouser's 20Time Project-based learning model. Each student researches…

In this article, the authors examine their collaboration on a joint ELA-art-mindfulness project before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following chronicles the impact of the pandemic on the project and on student engagement, key takeaways from teaching and collaborating during a virtual school year, and the implementation of said takeaways…

Inquiry-based active learning in science is helpful to all students but especially to those who have a hearing loss. For many deaf or hard of hearing students, the English language may be their second language, with American Sign Language (ASL) being their primary language. Therefore, many of the accommodations for the deaf are similar to those…

Tour Across America is an interdisciplinary, project-based, multimodal (IPM) activity where students get the opportunity to apply what they learn to a real-life situation while illustrating the interdisciplinary nature of literacy. It provides students with a high-interest, creative platform to review, reinforce, and integrate learned literacy…

This article describes how second-grade students' literacy learning was enhanced as they used their developing knowledge of nonfiction in an integrated English language arts/science unit toward the creation of multimodal nonfiction science books. After explaining the Common Core State Standards that guided the unit, the author outlines the…

This white paper describes instructional approaches that apply to successful teaching with the Smithsonian "Learning Lab." After defining its use of terms such as "deeper learning" and "authentic resources" the authors review the research basis of three broad approaches that support integrating digital resources into…

What is active learning and what does it look like in the classroom? If students are participating in active learning, they are playing a more engaged role in the learning process and are not overly reliant on the teacher (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2003; Petress, 2008). The purpose of this article is to propose a framework to describe and…

Bruner's constructs of learning, specifically the structure of learning, spiral curriculum, and discovery learning, in conjunction with the Cognitive Load Theory, are used to evaluate the Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM), an inquiry-oriented inductive language arts strategy designed to teach K-6 children phonics and spelling. The PWIM reflects…

At first glance, implementing the new Common Core Standards, with their dramatically higher learning expectations for early elementary students, may seem like a daunting task. The authors of this article think there has never been a better time for K-2 teachers to begin developing lessons that integrate all disciplines, promote higher order…

The middle grades are an exciting time for adolescents to explore, learn, and collaborate with one another (National Middle School Association, 2010). By incorporating an academic social network as part of the classroom experience, collaboration and active learning take on new forms, and a transformation from passive learning to active learning…