This commentary discusses what disciplinary literacy is and why it is important. It then discusses the ways in which elementary school teachers can infuse aspects of disciplinary literacy into elementary instruction. It argues that the Common Core Standards, even those at the K-6 level, are providing avenues for preparation for disciplinary literacy.
Student writing can be evaluated on five product factors: fluency, content, conventions, syntax, and vocabulary. Writing samples also should be assessed across a variety of purposes for writing to give a complete picture of a student’s writing performance across different text structures and genres. These simple classroom help in identifying strengths and weaknesses, planning instruction, evaluating instructional activities, giving feedback, monitoring performance, and reporting progress.
Don’t know a morpheme from a phoneme? Find out what these and other words mean in this glossary of commonly used terms related to reading, literacy, and reading instruction.
How can we supplement the limited time available for vocabulary instruction while motivating students to attend to the words they are learning? As a part of an academic word vocabulary intervention, the authors challenged sixth-grade students to find their words in the world around them.
Teach your students to avoid the avoidance of writing. Learn how to lead them down the path of enthusiasm and self-confidence about writing through research-proven strategies.
From activating prior knowledge to exploring language to capturing character, discover ten ways to integrate poetry into your language, reading, and writing lessons.
As students grow older, they are asked by their teachers to do more and more with the information they have stored in their brains. These types of requests require accessing higher order thinking (HOT).
Drawing on research-based principles of vocabulary instruction and multimedia learning, this article presents 10 strategies that use free digital tools and Internet resources to engage students in vocabulary learning. The strategies are designed to support the teaching of words and word learning strategies, promote students’ strategic use of on-demand web-based vocabulary tools, and increase students’ volume of reading and incidental word learning.
Get the basics on how to support the literacy achievement of your English language learners. You’ll find instructional strategies based on the five components of reading as well as oral language and the role of students’ home language.
Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages
All children deserve quality reading instruction that is based on research and best practices. How can you know if your child is getting good reading instruction at school? Find out what good reading instruction should look like and questions you should ask your child’s teacher.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders presents age-related guidelines that can help you determine if your child’s speech and language skills are developing on schedule.
We don’t really know why alphabet knowledge is such a good predictor of reading achievement, but it is. Teaching letter names should be a small part of the mix in phonemic awareness and phonics instruction.
Decodable books play an important role in phonics instruction and building confidence in young readers. Learn more about decodable books, how they differ from predictable texts, and how to select high-quality texts that align with the scope and sequence of your phonics program.
