Effective Writing Instruction

Reading and writing are complementary skills; you read text that’s written, and you create text to be read. Both skills need to be explicitly taught and rigorously practiced since the human brain isn’t hard-wired for either one [see our blog post here]. We’ve talked on this blog about many different approaches to reading instruction. Now, … Continue reading “Effective Writing Instruction”


Addressing Unfinished Learning

Among many other educational problems raised by the COVID-19 pandemic is unfinished learning, learning gaps for students who didn’t fully cover all the material necessary to advance in grade but who find themselves at the higher level, nonetheless. How to address these gaps is, perhaps, a more complicated issue than one would expect, since barriers … Continue reading “Addressing Unfinished Learning”


How to Identify False (or mis) Information

There’s nothing new about fake news or misdirecting readers with half-truths or outright lies. Ever since people learned they could achieve their ends with misinformation, they’ve been using it. And for many of us, the preeminent fact-checker site Snopes.com is a regular stop on our daily clickfest. How do you wade through the muck, though, … Continue reading “How to Identify False (or mis) Information”