Most Recommended Content

Middle grade and YA author Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014)

“It’s a hard life sometimes and the biggest temptation is to let how hard it is be an excuse to weaken”
― Walter Dean Myers, Scorpions

Teachers at a round table in discussion with one another

National Association of Secondary School Principals

School Literacy Team Planning Guide

Teaching strong literacy skills to the diverse learners in a secondary school requires teamwork, professional development, planning and progress monitoring. Find out what key elements will put your team and students on the path to success.

Elaine K. McEwan

The Teaching Moves of a Strategic Teacher

Research demonstrates the effectiveness of the 12 strategic teaching moves described in this article. On any given day in any given classroom, the strategic teacher employs all of these moves — whether with the whole class, a small group, or just one student.
Back to School written on a notecard with a ruler, pencil, and alarm clock

Blog: LITerally Everything

Literacy Focused From the Start

Our newest AdLit blogger, Jamie Marsh, shares how to easily create thoughtful content-rich material with a literacy focus within the first few weeks of school.

Colorín Colorado

Pre-Reading Activities for ELLs

Pre-reading activities can engage student interest, activate prior knowledge, or pre-teach potentially difficult concepts and vocabulary. They also offer a great opportunity to introduce comprehension components such as cause and effect, compare and contrast, personification, main idea, and sequencing.

Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities

How Parents Can Be Advocates for Their Children

Parents are often the best educational advocates for their children, especially children with a learning disability. The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities (CCLD) has developed the following tips to help parents champion their child.
Large, old key laying against an open book sitting on a table.

Unlocking the Past

We have cultivated resources to develop students’ enjoyment and appreciation of history and civics while also deepening their reading, writing, and thinking skills.

Lori Rog, Paul Kropp

Hooking Struggling Readers: Using Books They Can and Want to Read

One of the keys to helping struggling readers is to provide them with books that they can and want to read. Fiction for struggling readers must have realistic characters, readable and convincing text, and a sense of the readers’ interests and needs. Non-fiction books, newspapers, magazines, even comic books can hook students on reading.

Michael C. McKenna, Sharon Walpole

Literacy Coaching in the Middle Grades

From time constraints to a de-emphasis on literacy to a limited research base, coaches in middle schools face challenges that do not exist in the elementary grades.
ELL students working together in classroom

Kristina Robertson, Colorín Colorado

Phonics Instruction for Middle and High School ELLs

While it may seem the most expedient solution, it is not appropriate to put an older ELL student in a lower grade to receive the appropriate reading instruction. Age-appropriate activities integrated with academic content give older students the opportunity to make progress as readers.

National Council of Teachers of English

Professional Development to Improve Adolescent Literacy

Beyond general best practices, what sorts of professional development will help teachers improve the literacy of their older students? This article by the National Council of Teachers of English advocates building professional communities among secondary school teachers, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, and consulting literacy coaches.

Janette K. Klingner, Sharon Vaughn

Using Collaborative Strategic Reading

Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) teaches students to use comprehension strategies while working cooperatively. Student strategies include previewing the text; giving ongoing feedback by deciding “click” (I get it) or “clunk” (I don’t get it) at the end of each paragraph; “getting the gist” of the most important parts of the text; and “wrapping up” key ideas. Find out how to help students of mixed achievement levels apply comprehension strategies while reading content area text in small groups.

National Association of Secondary School Principals

Putting Assessment in the Driver’s Seat

Take the lead to improve literacy for all students at your school. Implement regular school-wide monitoring of assessment results and student progress.
Children's and YA author Kwame Alexander holding his book The Crossover with Coretta Scott King Award

Poetry, Fiction

Kwame Alexander

Meet Kwame Alexander, a poet, educator, and New York Times bestselling author of more than 30 books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal. In this video interview, find out why Alexander believes that poetry can change the world!

Elaine K. McEwan

Use and Teach Content Vocabulary Daily

Copying definitions from the dictionary and memorizing words for tests is not sufficient work for students to master and retain new vocabulary. This article helps teachers choose which words are most important to teach and suggests strategies to bring those words to life for students.

Amy Rukea Stempel

Analytical Writing in the Content Areas

Because writing is thinking, the organization of students’ writing reflects both the structure of their thinking and the depth of their understanding. Students should be writing in all their classes, explaining what they know and how they know it. It’s essential for content-area teachers to give students meaningful analytical writing assignments. See  An Introduction to Analytical Text Structures for more information and graphic organizers to help with writing instruction.