Biographies are one of our best tools for diversifying the curriculum. In this article, we describe The Biography Clearinghouse, a free resource designed to inspire teachers to use high-quality biographies in their classrooms. We then elaborate on curricular possibilities in K-8 classrooms. We end with a discussion of the Investigate, Explore, and…

In the 21st century, fake news has detrimental consequences on global communities, relationships, and democracies. Unfortunately, youth unknowingly engage with misinformed content on their social media platforms. Teenagers often turn to social media for information, and it is essential that teachers address reading strategies such as sourcing to…

Interest-based instruction involves attending to students' individual interests, including their existing topical interests, and triggering new situational interests, which can be cultivated during instruction. Understanding four teaching actions--approaching curricular planning intentionally, contextualizing learning, building relevance and value…

The International Literacy Association is a global advocacy organization, and literacy is viewed as a human right worldwide. This department highlights research and research-to-practice at the international level to bring global best teaching practices to the forefront. Topics may include best practices for literacy instruction in Europe or other…

The Common Core State Standards bring the importance of connecting texts to the forefront by sharing that students must be able to "analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches authors take" (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council…

This article explores the relationship between federal and state educational policymaking and classroom reading instruction. The past 50 years of federal literacy education policy is summarized, particularly emphasizing the connections of these policies to reading curriculum and classroom assessment. The paper concludes with a discussion of the…

Developing and implementing relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory curriculum is critical at all levels of schooling. This article describes one attempt to develop and implement an instance of interdisciplinary curriculum by using copy change with trade books to teach earth science. Specifically, it introduces trade books as a way to…

In urban middle schools, educators find it challenging to meet the literacy needs of the many struggling readers in their classrooms, including language-minority (LM) learners and students from low-income backgrounds. One strategy for improving these students' reading comprehension is to teach essential academic vocabulary in a meaningful,…

Teaching is a complex profession that involves grappling with a variety of management styles; federal, state, and local mandates; local policies and agendas; and informed curriculum practices that affect pedagogy. Teachers work in increasingly diverse schools, and they must be reflective practitioners to deal with the many social and educational…

Describes way in which National Assessment of Educational Progress materials can be used by educators attempting to set instructional priorities and improve instructional programs. (JC)

Notes the importance of developing listening skills through direct instruction. Identifies specific listening skills and suggests how to teach them. Describes how both teachers and students can develop a listening skills curriculum. (MM)

Offers classroom teachers a way to use listening activities to improve students' comprehension, a procedure that has worked well with a group of children in grades K-3. (JC)

Notes that classroom assessment of literacy is dominated by methods more appropriate to external mandates. Suggests an alternative method grounded in the teacher's professional judgment and in the relations between curriculum, instruction, and assessment. (FL)

Notes that it is not unusual for students with autism to follow a different curriculum than the one offered to their classmates. Suggests the following strategies for designing lessons that are appropriate, appealing, and challenging for every learner in an inclusive classroom: recognize all literacies; capitalize on students' interests; use a…

Describes how reading specialists could function as collaborative consultants, spending the preponderance of their time working with other adults to meet the needs of students. Discusses curriculum development, instructional problem solving, assessment, and parent liaison. (SR)