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”


Teaching Poetry in the Classroom

Poetry has a place in education, even among the elementary grades. It can be included as part of reading, writing, and language lessons, and adds additional value to classroom themes, projects, celebrations, and other important events. Here are five good reasons to include poetry in the classroom. Builds reading, speaking, and listening skills Children who … Continue reading “Teaching Poetry in the Classroom”


Poverty and the Educational Process – Part 4: Relationships and Distress

[Editor’s note: This is the last part of a four-part series on poverty and the educational process. Links to the previous blog posts are included below.] Poverty has a multifaceted impact on both student engagement and student success in the classroom. Last week we looked at Effort and the Growth Mindset. In this post, we … Continue reading “Poverty and the Educational Process – Part 4: Relationships and Distress”


Autism and Reading Comprehension – Interventions

Last week we talked in depth about studies documenting the difficulties children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) encounter with reading comprehension. Today, we’re going to look at a number of interventions designed specifically for the ASD student to help them overcome the limitations of their disorder and make progress learning to read for understanding. It … Continue reading “Autism and Reading Comprehension – Interventions”