The purpose of this project is to identify how entities who have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are addressing this option to add content to the standards. This report describes the policy decisions of adopters on the "15 percent question" as well as reports on and lists any such additional standards they have identified…

Language arts and mathematics are high priority content areas in early grades. Science is often a secondary concern, even though students appear to have minimal knowledge or interest in their local ecology. This article describes a year-long project integrating science and technology with language arts. Students researched and wrote about local…

In math, students and teachers toss tennis balls. In science, students become rain, hail, sleet, and snow. In language arts, students maneuver their bodies into related positions and hold into a frieze they call "tableau." The students and teachers are part of TheatreBridge, a four-year model demonstration and dissemination program lead…

"Science literacy for all" is the central goal of science education reforms, and there is a growing importance of the language arts in science. Furthermore, there are strong calls for teacher professionalism and self-directed professional learning that involve evidence-based best practices. This raises questions about whether science teaching…

An intensifying focus for teachers across the country is how to develop students' skills at reading and understanding informational texts. Teachers are rebalancing their fiction-and-nonfiction scales because the Common Core State Standards in English/language arts demand it. Since all but four states have adopted those guidelines, millions of…

A new set of "publishers' criteria" crafted by the lead writers of the common core in mathematics is intended to help reshape K-8 instructional materials nationwide by spelling out what it means to align faithfully with the math standards adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. The document blends general guidance with some real…

Researchers and educators have long argued for the importance of providing time and space for rich conversations around literature. This column draws on research to consider how teachers make room for these discussions inside their classrooms. Particularly, the authors consider different dimensions along which teachers might examine and grow…

A mentoring relationship that began as part of teacher preparation can evolve into a professional community that stays connected through several means of communication. While there are examples of mentoring relationships within schools and among former university cohorts, these authors took a slightly different approach. Rather than forming a…

The author critiques covers of "Ebony" and "GQ" magazines in order to expose race and class narratives, and he encourages teachers to help students to become more aware of the ways in which other images "connote cultural information." Because of the prevalence of images in contemporary society, it is imperative that…

This ethnographic study documents how a space for critical literacy practices emerged as one teacher attempted to make literacy learning authentic. The school lunch program in an urban elementary district provided the theme for an authentic and focused literacy unit. Throughout this focus unit, the students not only met state standards but also…

A common theme throughout physical education pedagogical literature is that interdisciplinary lessons can provide effective ways to help evidence that physical education can play a role in student learning in other disciplines (Fingon, 2011; Graham, Holt-Hale, & Parker, 2010; Lynott, 2008; Mohnsen, 2011). Educational scholars have also…

In this article, the authors provide an overview of the unit of study framework for teaching writing and explain how it sets the stage for developing "academic momentum" in students (Strahan, 2008, p. 4). To help readers understand the unit of study framework in action, the authors describe how a unit unfolds in one subject area,…

Literacy practices and sociocultural contexts have greatly defined and influenced each other. The role language plays in mobilizing both revolution and progress is well delineated in Congchao Hua's article comparing language learning curriculum in China over three decades, from the 1970s to the 2000s. The universality of the social and political…

One goal of high school teachers is to help students appreciate that reading does not end when they leave the classroom. When students find reading meaningful, they are more likely to see themselves as readers and choose to read long after they leave the classroom setting (Hinchman, Alvermann, Boyd, Brozo, & Vacca, 2003-2004; Wilhelm, 2001).…

Based on the results of an online survey, this report from the EPE Research Center provides an analysis of teachers' views on the Common Core State Standards. The National Survey of Teacher Perspectives on the Common Core report offers important insights into survey respondents' views regarding their awareness of the standards, the training they…