This article discusses one teacher's efforts to give their students a mentor text for a persuasive, research-based writing project. The author's shift from assigning predominantly fiction to focusing more on nonfiction came as a result of their efforts to help their students move from students' current writing style -- that of a five-paragraph…

This i3 scale-up study examined the implementation and effectiveness of a 3-year literacy intervention developed by the Children's Literacy Initiative (CLI). The study was a school-level cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 55 elementary schools from four states. Implementation results showed a high level of fidelity of intervention…

For years the text of choice for developing excellence as a teacher of K-12 students with moderate and severe disabilities, this clearly written work has now been revised and updated. Chapters provide step-by-step procedures for designing standards-based individualized education plans and evaluating and enhancing student progress. Methods and…

This article discusses the arts, multimodality, and new technologies in English language arts. It then turns to the example of the illuminated text--a multimodal book report consisting of animated text, music, and images--to consider how art, multimodality, and technology can work together to support students' reading of literature and inspire…

This article offers strategies for adjusting in-class curriculum to align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and how to increase fluency with the demands of standardized tests. The implementation of the standards themselves, the inequality among school districts, whether the tests measure privilege over aptitude, the quality of…

In this article, the author wondered how disciplinary literacy could be used by teachers to draw on the interests and engagement students have for other kinds of literate activities as they teach their assigned content. A project is presented on how to use the young adult novel "The Hunger Games" to plan literacy-based lessons that use a…

The author, a longtime teacher and principal, levels harsh criticisms against the English/language arts standards of the Common Core State Standards. Some standards call on young children to behave like high school seniors, making fine distinctions between words or literary devices, carrying on multiple processes simultaneously, and expressing…

This article draws from an ongoing longitudinal qualitative inquiry into the preparation and development of social justice-oriented urban English teachers. It examines the cases of three graduates of an urban education-focused teacher preparation program who claim different intersectional identities and have completed their fourth year as urban…

Prior research has shown that EL classification is consequential for students, however, less is known about how EL classification impacts students' outcomes. In this study, we examine one hypothesized mechanism: teacher perceptions. Using nationally-representative data (ECLS-K:2011), we use coarsened exact matching to estimate the effect of EL…

In this article Deidre Faughey shares an experimental classroom project that she developed with a diverse group of students in three ninth-grade English Language Arts (ELA) classes. Podcasts provide a unique opportunity for students to embrace experimentation and to take risks with their own voices, explore the school building and community, and…

Engaging preservice English language arts interns in the analysis of mashups accomplishes two objectives: (a) it brings interns to a deeper understanding of action research and (b) provides a critical media literacy (CML) foundation on which they might build with their own students. In this paper CML is defined and recent literature is…

There is a vital need in the mathematics and science teaching and learning community at the secondary school level for assistance for teachers in adapting curricular materials to meet the many district, state, and national demands and to facilitate high-quality learning of students and their ability to transfer this learning and apply it as they…

This article identifies the arguments for and against the common core state standards in English language arts and mathematics. Although the standards need to be differentiated for gifted students, the author suggests that these standards may offer a way to transform education in the classroom, so that all students are able to fulfill their…

Educational policies in the United States often adhere to society's ideal scenario for the perfect college and career ready student, but the realities of and differences in classroom instruction are often not considered. Whether or not policies will effectively improve student performance is unknown until implementation. The Common Core State…

Adult men create zines (self-publications written as alternative to commercial magazines) that advance content learning and knowledge. We describe three of these zine writers who created five zines on topics related to the disciplines of science, social studies, and English/language arts. We collected their zines, interviewed the authors, and…