This multiple case study investigated how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing and teacher evaluation system based in part on CCSS assessments might be influencing writing instruction in elementary schools. The sample included nine schools: Six achieved above-predicted performance on English Language Arts (ELA) as well as prior ELA…

Raising expectations is nothing new. Every iteration of standards elevates the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) is no exception, with standards for content and practice that move beyond memorization of traditional algorithms to "make sense of problems and…

The DC Bilingual Public Charter School, located in the District of Columbia, is a dual language school which educates all students in English and Spanish. Since its inception, students have made significant progress in reading and mathematics achievement. Administrators attribute this to the school's laser-like focus on ensuring that all teachers…

Risko and Vogt provide a unique and progressive approach for engaging the professional learning of teachers of literacy, reading specialists, literacy coaches and instructional leaders, content specialists, and administrators. Their deliberate use of Professional Learning signals the importance of educators engaging in authentic and inquiry-based…

Preschoolers' experiences with shapes are important because geometry is foundational to aspects of mathematics and it is now part of the Common Core for school-readiness. Exposure to shapes also provides experiences that are key to developing spatial thinking more broadly. Yet achieving a strong conceptual understanding of geometric categories can…

A gold mine of practical, easy­-to-­use teaching methods, strategies, and tips to improve learning outcomes for students who score below proficiency levels. This fully revised and updated third edition provides information on integrated learning, problem solving, and critical thinking in line with Common Core State Standards and 21st-­century…

Do your students have the incorrect idea that addition "makes numbers bigger" and subtraction "makes numbers smaller"? Do they believe that subtraction is always "taking away"? What tasks can you offer--what questions can you ask--to determine what your students know or don't know--and move them forward in their…

As part of its proposal to the U.S. Department of Education, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) committed to developing Kindergarten through Grade 2 Model Content Frameworks for Mathematics (K-2 Model Content Frameworks) to serve as a bridge between the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the PARCC…

This study reports 2 years of findings from a randomized controlled trial designed to replicate and demonstrate the efficacy of an existing, successful professional development program, the Pathway Project, that uses a cognitive strategies approach to text-based analytical writing. Building on an earlier randomized field trial in a large, urban,…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) call on science and social studies teachers to engage in literacy instruction that prepares students for the academic rigors of college. The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) designed a framework to address the challenge of literacy-content integration. At the heart of the intervention are fill-in-the-blank…

What if you could challenge your 12th graders to understand car crashes in the context of physical forces, manufacturing challenges, government safety standards, and individual rights? With this volume in the "STEM Road Map Curriculum Series," you can! "Car Crashes" outlines a journey that will steer your students toward…

"The High-Performing Preschool" takes readers into the lives of three- and four-year-old Head Start students during their first year of school and focuses on the centerpiece of their school day: story acting. In this activity, students act out stories from high-quality children's literature as well as stories dictated by their peers.…

If you are a teacher of grades K-6, you may be asking, "Should I teach grammar in my classroom on a daily basis? How would I go about doing this? And how can I teach grammar so it isn't boring to my kids?" In "Grammar Matters," Lynne Dorfman and Diane Dougherty answer these questions and more. Using mentor texts as the…

This article presents two innovative tools--the Mathematics-Literacy Planning Framework and Mathematics-Literacy Implementation Checklist--which are designed to help instructional coaches and specialists support teachers to meet the challenges of the mathematics-literacy integration goals of the Common Core. Developed with teacher input, these…

With the implementation of Common Core State Standards and the incorporation of technology standards, the demand for a transformative educational change has never been more imperative. However, recent studies prove there is a gap between instructional practices and the quality use of technology in the curriculum. Many educators implement…