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Audiobooks allow students to enjoy books above their reading level, introducing them to engaging stories that will hook them for life.

Not long ago, one of my third graders was struggling to find books he liked. His teacher reported that he kept picking up titles that were far too simple or far too difficult for him to manage successfully on his own. In addition to not being able to find books he wanted, he struggled to read them once he had them.

I'm a pre-K through 6 librarian, so I visited with this student one morning one-on-one to find out what he was looking for. He started telling me that he just didn't like to read. He couldn't specifically tell me that he wanted a particular genre or style of book, but after a bit of conversation, he shared that he loved dragons.

We sat down to read a bit together to see if it was a good fit as an independent reading title. He launched in with gusto, but it quickly became apparent that his decoding skills were not yet strong enough for him to tackle that book. He was dejected, but I told him I had an idea.

We logged into his Sora account (a reading app with e-books and audiobooks) and searched for an audiobook version of the first Dragon Masters book. We checked it out, as well as the print copy, from our library and picked up a bookmark to hold under each line as the narrator read so he could follow along.

His face lit up like a pinball machine! Two days later, he was back in the library doing the "I-gotta-have-the-next-book" dance. We found it on the shelf, and I coached him again through finding it on Sora, downloading it, and following along.

The last time I checked, he was nearing the end of the series. In the meantime, I will encourage him to check them out again and try to read them himself this time until a new one in the series is published. We've now pushed through a major hurdle: the idea that he didn't like to read. He now knows that he does.

Another day, a different student was a bit teary in the library. She told me that she really wanted to read a particular book that her friends were all talking about, but she knew she was not a strong reader.

We found a print copy, navigated to Sora, and checked out the audiobook version. I encouraged her to follow along in the print version as the narrator told the story.

The listening time of a novel-length audiobook can seem daunting. Together, we found out the length of the book and divided that amount of time by 21 days (our current checkout length). She discovered with excitement that in just 20 minutes a day, she could listen to the whole thing in three weeks.

In the future, my hope is that each and every child will have access to science- and evidence-based reading instruction that works, allowing the vast majority of students to successfully navigate the path to becoming confident, independent readers. But my work of connecting children with books must continue in the interim.

Over the years, I've found that a quality audiobook is one of the most effective tools in my librarian toolbox.

That's Not Really Reading, Is it?

I have had teachers push back on using audiobooks with struggling readers. The naysayers claim that audiobooks don't count and are not a substitute for silent reading.

I disagree. Reading, in the traditional sense, is using our eyes to decode symbols while our brains translate those symbols into meaningful language-based information. Reading also involves visualizing, inferring, predicting, and connecting with the text in some way.

When a child struggles to decode, the rest of the process erodes very quickly. Audiobooks bridge that gap, allowing the child's joy of reading to evolve as they continue to strengthen their reading skills in class.

For my new Dragon Masters fan, the audiobook is not the only thing he needs. Decoding and phonics instruction continue to take place. But to hold him back from stories appropriate for his age level prevents him from deepening his comprehension of story structure, figurative language, and overarching themes of literature.

If the only thing he is allowed to read is what he is capable of decoding, I believe he is far more likely to give up than to persevere. After all, what's the point? And then we have two hills to climb: learning how to decode and deciding that reading is worth the trouble.

Creating Independent Readers

"If we give kids an audiobook, won't that make them reliant on them forever?"

This is another question I see often. The answer is, I seriously doubt it. When we used training wheels, they didn't prevent us from learning how to ride a bike. They provided support as we gained confidence, and eventually we learned to let them go and ride off into the sunset at the end of the street.

Others suggest that a reliance on audiobooks allows kids to mask their reading struggles. But no teacher I know would simply look across the room at a child who prefers audiobooks, shrug, and say, "Well, I guess I don't need to talk to that one."

Effective teachers know that working with all of their students individually, listening to them read aloud, and asking them questions to ascertain comprehension are all part of the teaching of reading. Interacting with each child regularly and paying attention to the data gathered through various channels provides a more comprehensive picture of that child as a reader, including identifying any areas of concern, and should guide instruction.

If a child is enjoying audiobooks as part of their learning, then that is only one facet of their work as a reader. If she is struggling, interventions and supports involving printed text are absolutely appropriate (and warranted).

For the girl who wanted to read what her friends were reading, checking out that audiobook changed the game. She is engaged in talking with her friends about the books they recommend and is participating in class discussions with relevant and insightful contributions-and she has started to recommend other titles to her friends. She sees herself as a real reader as she works with her teacher to increase her proficiency with written text.

Isn't that the ultimate goal?

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How Audiobooks Help Emerging Readers and Inspire a Love of Books

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Audiobooks allow students to enjoy books above their reading level, introducing them to engaging stories that will hook them for life. Not long ago, one of my third graders was struggling to find books he liked. His teacher reported that he kept picking up titles that were far too simple or far too difficult for him to manage successfully on his own.

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by Terry Heick

The title is self-explanatory enough: Let's look at some ways for students to learn from one another in physical or digital classroom.

I've also marked which of these are also 'digital and social media-friendly'-that is, useful online as well as off.

Update: I just realized that discussion strategies don't necessarily have to be grouping strategies. Disagreeing, Devil's Advocate, Redirecting, Extended Thinking, and countless other methods could be considered as collaborative discussion strategies. I'll address those in another post.

22 Strategies For Learning Through Conversation

1. Rings (or 'Concentric Circles')

Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Achievable

This is a strategy I used a lot in my ELA middle and high school classrooms.

The structure is to physically (or digitally) place students in circles of increasing size. The innermost circle may have as few as four students. The next circle or 'ring' might have eight, then the following 16, and so on. In fact, you could even use the same number of students in each 'larger' ring if that fits your application. As an example, a Fishbowl Discussion is a type of Rings Discussion.

The idea is to assign some function to each 'ring.' Some examples? The innermost group can take turns responding to a debatable prompt-the limits of freedom of speech, for example. The next ring would respond to the main points made but the first circle, either extending those points with elaboration or data or refuting each of their points with counter-points. Then the last circle could judge who had the most effective arguments or made important points that, with some clarifying, could have been even more rhetorically impactful.

But it doesn't have to be debate. Each ring could perform a different 'role' much like literature circles: note-takers, researchers, vocabulary experts, paraphrasers, etc. The structure could also be used creatively, where each ring

You could also pick a historical event or figure or fictional character and have each ring explain/defend/describe something from a different perspective. In this way, rings are kind of like traditional groups but the group work is done synchronously and collaboratively.

Another strategy is to assign a different level of Bloom's Taxonomy to each circle and have students use that level to dictate their role in a certain activity. You don't even have to use Bloom's-just increasing complexity and higher order thinking. Define or describe in the middle working toward analyze, evaluate, and transfer on the outside-or the other way around.
2. QFT
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

See What Is The Question Formulation Technique?
3. Stand & Declare
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

In this activity, students 'stand' (this could be at their desk with an elbow partner, in a small group, or in front of the entire class) and make a statement, respond to a prompt, communicate a working thesis, play devil's advocate, take on the role of a historical figure, cite a line of poetry, etc.

The idea is to firmly and clearly articulate/declare something and then have other students participate somehow. They could create concept maps, take sketch notes, agree or disagree-or play some more cohesive function in small groups while the first student 'takes a stand' on some topic or issue. Whether the first student has to defend that statement or whether they simply articulate a clear point and pick the next student to respond is up to you.

This could be content-based, as well-flexible for almost any student to participate. For example, if you were studying calculating the area of a circle, you could ask students to stand and say anything true about the the process. A student struggling with the idea could at least tell you that a circle is 360 degrees while a student who has mastered the process already could
4. Debate
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

This one's simple enough. Formal debate is as much about the process as it is the content itself, so plan accordingly. You could always give simple rules, provide basic question or answer stems, and have students 'debate' one another-or you, the teacher, assuming a person, place, or idea. (See more on that at number 11 below.)

See also Sentence Stems for Higher-Level Discussion
5. Paideia Seminar
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

You can read more about the Paideia Seminar here.
6. Seed Discussions
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

Seed Discussions are a kind of Literature Circle that combine close reading of a text through 'seeds': Adlit.org provides the following explanation:

"A Seed Discussion is a two-part strategy used to teach students how to engage in discussions about assigned readings. In the first part, students read selected text and identify 'seeds' or key concepts of a passage which may need additional explanation. In the second part, students work in small groups to present their 'seeds' to one another. Each 'seed' should be thoroughly discussed before moving on to the next."

Leader: responsible for calling on each person to share his/her discussion seeds

Manager: ensures that everyone has all materials for the discussion (books, , seeds, etc.)

Checker: ensures that every group member has a chance to talk about his/her seed and that each group member comments on each seed before the next person presents a new seed for discussion

Communicator: the only person to leave the group; notifies the teacher when the discussion is complete

You can read more about Seed Discussions here.
7. Socratic Seminar
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

You can read more here in What Is A Socratic Seminar?
8. Pair & Share
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Somewhat

A Pair & Share is a long-standing teaching strategy flexible in a range of contexts. The idea is that students pair-usually, as the name implies, in 'groups' of two-and share something. This could be used before a lesson as a kind of front-loading or after a lesson as an informal assessment or reinforcement and review. (For assessment, you could have students Pair & Share, then leave takeaways on an exit slip.)
9. Affinity Groups
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Somewhat

Another strategy for learning through conversation is to allow students to find certain groups that are 'alike' or 'match' something in your lesson. Students might have to find other people who agree with their stance on a topic or have a similar understanding on the immigration policy lesson you're working through.

The idea is that students have to, through brief conversations, explain their point of view, make sense of the point of view held by their peers, then cluster in groups where their 'beliefs' and understandings are sufficiently parallel.
10. Fish Bowl
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

Read more about Fish Bowl Discussions here.
11. Role-Playing Interview
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

In this discussion strategy, rather than one another, students talk to ideas-and the ideas talk back.

For example, you could 'become' literary symbolism or democracy or a mathematical concept or historical period or figure or Sodium Chloride-then let students ask you questions. You also could debate with students or help them debate one another as well, asking them to debate from their own perspective or, again, from the perspective of others or other 'things.'
12. Oxford Style Debate
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? With high school and university students, yes

Intelligence Squared is a wonderful example of Oxford Style Debate, which you can find here.
13. Agree/Disagree
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Somewhat

As a classroom discussion strategy, Agree/Disagree activities function by a moderator (usually the teacher) making compelling and debatable statements. In response, the students move to one of two (or four) sides of the room to reflect their stance. Before the discussion, the teacher will label either two sides 'Agree/Disagree' or four (Strongly Agree, Agree/Strongly Disagree, Disagree).

A variation is that you could require students to choose a side they don't agree with (devil's advocate) or you could let students choose their 'position,' then (once revealed) as them to take the opposite position.
14. Talking Circles
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

According to Alberta Education, "the purpose of the talking circle, used as part of classroom instruction, is to create a safe environment in which students can share their point of view with others. In a Talking Circle, each one is equal and each one belongs. Participants in a Talking Circle learn to listen and respect the views of others. The intention is to open hearts to understand and connect with one another."

You can read more about Talking Circles here.
15. Spoken Word Poetry or Music
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

Writing poetry or music isn't a widespread skill or tendency most students have, but in certain classrooms-or for certain students in most classrooms-the ability to communicate creatively can be powerful for the student and their peers by establishing confidence, framing academic ideas in creative ways, and bringing joy (and strong emotions in general) to learning activities.

Hip-hop can also be taught as an ongoing cultural dialogic, for example.
16. Degrees Of Meaning
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Limited

In this activity, students arrange themselves in a line or some other shape to reflect the continuum of their beliefs about a topic.

A variation is to use this to teach vocabulary. For example, give students a collection of words that represent a range (or 'degrees') of meaning. Scintillating, Bright, Gleaming, Reflective, Demonstrative, Glittering, Twinkling, etc. In small groups, you can assign a word to a student (or let them choose their own), then arrange themselves in a line that represents what they believe to be an appropriate order they can explain or defend. To do this, students obviously have to know the words and discuss with their peers the distinctions of meaning between the terms.

This strategy can also be applied to other content areas. Use your imagination!
17. Literature Circles
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

Literature Circles are a way for students to assume a specific role in the study of something (usually a text). Students are usually grouped in small groups of 4-6 students, with a range of student roles including Discussion Leader, Note-taker, Word-Finder, Time-Manager, Fact-Checker, Spokesperson, and more.

By being placed in groups, students learn through ongoing discussion with one another in a setting small enough that everyone is able to find a voice-and for many, unable to remain anonymous in the larger setting of whole class discussions.

You can read more about Literature Circles here.
18. Write-Around
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

In a write-around, students aren't 'talking' but rather having a kind of conversation through writing. It is limited in form but useful as both a way for students to build on one another's understandings and as a way for you to informally assess what they know.
19. Podcasting
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

This one is more of a technology tool than a learning strategy, but it also very much functions as a learning strategy if used strategically.

At the most basic level, podcasts can encourage students to learn through conversation by (potentially) providing an authentic audience and product for a conversation. Put another way, the conversation 'goes somewhere.' A secondary function of using podcasts to promote learning through conversation is that they document the conversation. This can allow the conversation to be revisited, shared, analyzed, continued, scored, connected to other projects/media, etc.
20. Student-Led Conferencing
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

The conversation is limited to you and the student (and possibly their parents), but students explaining and defending what they know and describing how they see themselves as students in your classroom can be incredibly informative at any point in the year.
20. Mentoring
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

This approach is usually integrated outside of the classroom, but that's not a bad thing. In fact, if all conversations by students are had inside a classroom, the chances of authenticity, personalization, transfer, etc, are all low. Students learning from intellectually nurturing professionals is among the most authentic learning experiences a student can have.
21. Peer-to-Peer or School-to-School Learning
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

This is a general 'strategy' that's not useful for most teachers as a 'tool,' I added to this list to help illustrate the different forms of 'classroom discussion' that can (and do) occur that lead to students interacting, creating new knowledge, and sharing what they know with their peers.
22. Team-Building Games
Remote Teaching and eLearning Friendly? Yes

Team-building is one of the most overlooked strategies for learning through conversation and I really should have placed it much higher than this. In fact, I'm going to write more on this soon. For now, you can see examples of team-building games for critical thinking and team-building games for a friendlier classroom.
Other Strategies For Learning Through Conversation Book clubs Project-Based Learning
Art (create, criticism, etc.)
Music TED Talk-style monologues in the classroom 22 Strategies For Learning Through Conversation

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22 Strategies For Learning Through Conversation

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by Terry Heick The title is self-explanatory enough: Let's look at some ways for students to learn from one another in physical or digital classroom. I've also marked which of these are also 'digital and social media-friendly'-that is, useful online as well as off.

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Many students struggle with these skills, which are tied to academic success. Here are a few ways to teach them explicitly.

Many students struggle with speaking and listening skills and the ability to work together in the classroom-vital social skills that are also important in academic learning.

In our district, we noticed a particular decline in speaking and listening skills in response to remote and hybrid learning and subsequently took an intentional, district-wide approach to supporting student discourse that has contributed to significant academic gains.

By facilitating professional development, inviting instructional coaches into our school, selecting curricula that centers student talk, and exploring teaching tools such as sentence starters (e.g., "I agree with you because...," "Can you tell me more about that...," and "I know a different way to solve that..."), we promote accountable, respectful dialogue in and outside of the classroom.

If you, too, are looking for specific, systematic steps to get the conversation going in your classroom, here are a few ideas to help get you started.

Create book clubs or literary circles

Pair students based on their interest in a topic, not by their reading levels, and get them talking to each other and the class about the books they enjoy. Provide supports like audio versions of a text if needed, to make the groupings more equitable.

You might ask students to offer a book review upon completing a book, but to do so verbally instead of in written form to boost speaking and listening skills. You can also encourage a question-and-answer session about the book, in which a student reader is considered an expert and is interviewed by their peers to keep the conversation going.

In a recent classroom visit, I saw students involved in literary circles based on student choice. Students chose a book that they found interesting after learning about books during a "book tasting"-an activity in which students walked around the classroom and surveyed information about books that were appropriate for their grade level, presented on different tables.

I returned to the classroom after students dove into the books. The teacher and co-teacher took turns rotating between the groups and asked students open-ended questions about themes and content. The discussion was inspiring, and after teachers posed the initial question, students were able to lead, direct, and continue the conversation organically-an ability that we attribute to the students' ability to choose the books that they found most compelling.

Get started with Socratic seminars in any subject

To make Socratic seminars dynamic and engaging, you can start by writing open-ended questions on a soccer ball. Then, simply start tossing the ball around the room. The student who catches the ball reads aloud the question that is facing them and responds.

This activity incorporates kinesthetic engagement into the curriculum and works well across subjects. You can find examples of open-ended questions to adapt to your particular unit or lesson topic and write them on the ball. For an added challenge, you might invite students to brainstorm open-ended questions for inclusion in this activity, too, facilitating discussion about what types of questions best support critical thinking and discourse.

Teach about Accountable Talk

Accountable talk is an approach to scaffolding responsible, responsive dialogue in the classroom; often, teachers need to model productive discourse explicitly at first, such as using and talking about insightful open-ended questions or sentence frames, but a gradual release of responsibility can then help students succeed in independent discourse.

Reward students with small incentives when you first roll out accountable talk in the classroom. One teacher in our district uses stickers when he hears students using the accountable talk sentence stems that he displays on his board.

Students can then turn these stickers in for a homework pass when they reach a certain number, incorporating an element of gamification that makes speaking and listening an explicit and continuous consideration in the classroom.

Make it equitable

Even when promoting speaking and listening skills with students, it's important to ensure that the loudest voices don't crowd out the others. Collaborative, group-based, or project-based learning are great ways to spark student conversations in an equitable way.

One way to do this is to make sure that everyone has a role in the group and to explicitly teach kids how to work together. The more students are able to collaborate and practice speaking academically and respectfully with one another, the more natural it becomes for them to have productive discussions.

Rearrange the furniture

Flexible furniture allows teachers to group students in different ways and create comfortable learning environments that lead to conversation. Our State Department of Education is funding classroom redesigns in several schools to support flexibility; some will get desks with built-in whiteboards, and others will have chairs with wheels to help students make small groups. Lego walls and STEM-related items will encourage students to work collaboratively. Search for similar grants or funding opportunities in your district to make flexible seating accessible to all, supporting students' speaking and listening skills by extension.

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Strategies for Supporting Students' Speaking and Listening Skills

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Many students struggle with these skills, which are tied to academic success. Here are a few ways to teach them explicitly. Many students struggle with speaking and listening skills and the ability to work together in the classroom-vital social skills that are also important in academic learning.

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

Building strong social and emotional learning skills can help set the stage for students to become better readers.

While there are legitimate debates about approaches to teaching reading, there also is growing understanding that students' social and emotional competencies play a strong role in their ability to read up to their potential. Several basic social and emotional learning (SEL) skills are utilized when students are reading.

SEL Competencies Related to Reading

Recognition and proper labeling of feelings in pictures and as conveyed through dialogue and narration in books. When children are relatively undifferentiated regarding their own emotions, such as having difficulty distinguishing between anger, frustration, annoyance, and disappointment, one can see how nuance even in young readers' picture books will be lost, making books far less interesting.

Being able to take others' perspectives and having empathy for characters. Similar to the above, when students are not able to accurately recognize feelings of various characters, their actions will be hard to explain, and the flow of stories will take considerable cognitive work to follow.

Managing strong emotions while reading. Following from the above, students' inability to manage their own feelings as they encounter words they don't understand or story lines and character actions that don't seem to make sense will determine how long they hang in with a given reading assignment. During the course of developing reading skills, frustration, confusion, and annoyance are among the expected feelings that must be managed.

Relating to others, especially in groups. Because reading instruction often occurs in pairs, small groups, or full classrooms, students who are unable to wait their turn, listen carefully to what others around them are saying (including receiving and giving feedback), or pay focused attention to what multiple others are saying will not gain optimally from even the best pedagogical approaches.

Problem-solving around difficulties. The process of acquiring any skill leads to some roadblocks. The ability to handle them and problem-solve around them is a key determinant in making progress. At a micro level, this can happen within a sentence, multiple sentences, paragraphs, chapters, etc. When students are put off by seeing things they don't understand, or that evoke strong emotions they are not able to manage, reading progress stops in its tracks. As these accumulate, negative anticipations become stronger and stronger.

An emeritus professor of English at the University of Southern California, Stephen Krashen, has studied how anxiety, low self-confidence, and negative expectations of success all influence students' language-learning experiences, and this is especially so for non-native English speakers.

University of Central Arkansas assistant professor Anna Park and her colleagues found that these feelings of inadequacy had a profound influence particularly on low-socioeconomic-status Latino elementary school students. Thus, it's clear how shortcomings in SEL skills contribute to processes that derail reading success, especially among students having difficulty.

Strengthening SEL Skills in Reading Instruction

For each person or groups of people, what are some different decisions or solutions to the problem that might have helped them reach their goals?

Do you agree or disagree with their solution to the problem? What would you have done in a similar situation? Why?

What questions do you have based on what you read? What would you like to be able to ask one of the characters?

For young children, emphasize reading the emotions in pictures before diving into the text. Point out the pictures of various characters and ask children how they might be feeling. Literally point to the signs of feelings that are depicted by the amazing illustrators: facial expressions, eyebrows, position of hands, posture, etc.

Use a "book talk" format to build problem-solving skills around understanding stories and story flow. Ask children to think about how characters feel about the situations they are in and what any given character might want to have happen. Here are some possible questions to ask students:

Personal storytelling, where students share stories or personal experiences and respond to classmates' questions, especially about feelings, builds a number of SEL skills.

Require the use of assigned, developmentally appropriate emotion words in student writing.

Teach your class a self-calming strategy to use, as well as a signal to give to the teacher, when they encounter some obstacle as they are reading. Normalize this as a benefit for every student.

When you have students working in pairs or groups, discuss the norms and expectations for how interactions will take place, as well as how to handle difficulties that arise.

Assign personal writing about goals and aspirations, as well as challenges and opportunities. These tasks often are highly motivating to learners and increase their willingness to work through roadblocks.

Literature can involve people showing their emotions through their actions. Have students reflect on the choices that characters make in the stories they read and think about the SEL skills and the character traits that they exemplify. Also, use literature that addresses cultural, ethnic, gender, ability, socioeconomic, and other aspects of diversity.

To help students track and develop strategies to overcome obstacles encountered during reading, use a problem diary.

In many areas of life, SEL strategies and skill building help valued outcomes to happen. This is especially true when it comes to learning how to read, and to read well-one of the most essential life competencies.

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The Role of SEL in Developing Reading Skills

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) Building strong social and emotional learning skills can help set the stage for students to become better readers. While there are legitimate debates about approaches to teaching reading, there also is growing understanding that students' social and emotional competencies play a strong role in their ability to read up to their potential.

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Writing Prompt: What Are Five Things You Want Your Teacher to Know About You?

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Creative Writing Idea: Invent Your Own Superhero

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Creative Writing Prompt: Invent a Sport Played with Jet Packs

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Creative Writing Prompt: You Just Discovered a Magical Movie Theater

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Writing Prompt: Should Schools Ban Junk Food?

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Maker Challenge: Design the Ultimate Tree House

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Creative Writing Prompt: Invent a School for Ninjas

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Maker Challenge: Invent a Sport Using These Random Items

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Maker Challenge: Design a School on Mars

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Maker Challenge: Invent a Creature that Lives Inside of an Active Volcano

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Maker Challenge: Design the Ultimate Tiny House

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Maker Challenge: Invent an Underground Civilization

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Divergent Thinking Challenge: What would you make with this?

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Creative Writing Idea: What would be the ultimate Lego creation?

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Creative Writing Idea: What will life be like in 2057?

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Creative Writing Idea: Time Travel to Prehistoric Ages

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You Are a Spy Disguised as a Bird Watcher (Creative Writing Prompt)

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Creative Writing Idea: You Get an Unlimited Supply of Legos.

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Writing Prompt: You Are a Real Estate Agent for Magical Homes

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Spark Curiosity with a Single Day Wonder Day Project

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Writing Prompt: Your Shoes Aren't Lost . . . They're Hiding

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Is technology making life better or worse?

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Create a To Do List for a Villain (Writing Prompt)

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You Just Received a Velociraptor for Christmas (Writing Prompt)

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A Van Pulls Up with Your Favorite Book Characters (Writing Prompt)

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You Just Adopted a Labricorn (Writing Prompt)

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Invent an Underwater School (Writing Prompt)

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Tell the Story of Your First Pet from the Perspective of Your Pet (Writing Prompt)

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Writing Prompt: You Have Just Been Shrunk Down to Two Inches Tall

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Writing Prompt: You Get a Mysterious Box

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Writing Prompt: You Discover a Smart Phone for Dogs

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Getting Started with Blogging (A Prompt for Students)

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You Woke Up Inside of a Video Game (Writing Prompt)

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Video clips and emojis are rapidly becoming the preferred means of communication in today's digital world. To appease shorter attention spans, marketers must find new and exciting ways to share ideas with their target audiences.

Infographics are fun and easy to digest - when executed properly, that is. Here are 6 essential elements to include when creating your very own branded infographic:

1. Descriptive Title and Subheads

Infographics simplify lengthy or complex data by presenting it into a visually pleasing package. You want readers to know what they're looking at right away by including a descriptive title and subheads, like the ones on this clever infographic that HighJump created for St. Patrick's Day.

2. Informative Statistics

Informative data puts the "info" in infographic. Make sure your statistics are valuable, relevant, and of course - accurate. Attribute all facts to the reputable sources from which you pulled them.

3. Bold, Thematically Appropriate Color Scheme

Choose a bold color scheme that aligns with the message you're trying to send. Infographics should do more than communicate information - they should also invoke a certain feeling. If your infographic is on the lighthearted side, for example, avoid dampening the mood with somber colors.

4. Eye-Catching Graphics

Aside from being interesting and informative, infographics should also be eye-catching. After all, you're competing for the attentions of a digital audience with more than a few choices when it comes to sourcing information relevant to their interests. Make yours the standout favorite.

5. Clearly Organized, Sequential Story

People don't just want to scan through a bunch of data that they could find themselves with a quick Google search - they want a compelling narrative. Infographics should be clearly structured and intentionally ordered, allowing the reader to digest the information they contain within the proper context.

6. Specially Formatted Facts

Make sure to highlight the most pertinent facts in your infographic by formatting them uniquely - whether you choose to highlight, increase the font size, or bold the typeface.

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The Anatomy of an Infographic: 6 Essential Elements | Thunderfoot

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Infographics are fun, informative and easy to share - but only when executed properly. Here are 6 essential elements to include.

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How you ever used infographics in your classroom? Kathy Schrock has great resources for using infographics in the classroom. I love her definition. "Infographics are a visual representation of data. When students create infographics, they are using information, visual, and technology literacies."

Teachers are always struggling to get their students' attention. It's suggested by neuroscientists that teachers try using stories, images, pictures and visual tools to get their conscious attention. This is where infographics comes in. A very simple example of an infographic is a flowchart. The visuals are the different shapes which represent topics. Then text can be added to the flowchart.

The July issue of Time magazine is full of infographics representing data. There's an infographic on What's the Most Effective Workout?, Where's the Best Beach in America?, Where are the Single Ladies? There can be an infographic for everything with data.

To use infographics effectively in the classroom, I suggest the following,

1. Present your students with different types of infographics. Show them on your Whiteboard for whole group discussion or hand some out to small groups so they can analyze the data presented. Ask your students about the benefits of using infographics instead of just text. What information is gained from the specific infographic? How do the fonts, color and design contribute in gaining information from infographics.

Infographics are great for learning as we process images

60.000x faster than words. (Piktochart)

2. Infographics can be used to make comparisons, show trends, timelines and important or interesting data. Make sure students understand what data is effective in their infographic. Even though students have done their research on a subject, not all the information is relevant for an infographic.

Infographics allow students to share information in a creative way.

3. Infographics can be a great alternative for presenting information. Instead of using PowerPoint or Prezi, try using infographics. Make sure to have a rubric or tool for assessment so students know exactly what your expectations are. Try creating your own infographic before you have your students create one.

4. Before using the infographic application for the assignment, let your students create a sample. It can be about themselves or a general idea for the whole class. The projects can be completed individually or in groups. Students may like one application over another.

Infographic Resources
- Piktochart - Piktochart has lots of templates, symbols, images and shapes available to create an infographic. It even has a teacher guide.
- Easel.ly - is another free resource with lots of templates available.
- Infogr.am
- InfographicCreator - has a great video tutorial
- Glogster - is now an app that is excellent for younger ages.
- Pic-Collage - is another app that can be used for infographics. I would also recommend it for younger grades.
- Canva - Canva can be used for posters and Pinterest boards. I love Canva's templates.

I love this animated infographic about the evolution of shoes. This is created by Discovery Channel. (It's in Spanish but it's easy to follow.)

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4 Effective Uses of Infographics in the Elementary Classroom

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How you ever used infographics in your classroom? Kathy Schrock has great resources for using infographics in the classroom. I love her definition. "Infographics are a visual representation of data. When students create infographics, they are using information, visual, and technology literacies." Teachers are always struggling to get their students' attention.

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Familiarize students with infographics (how they are read, how to gather information from them, what structures and features can guide us, etc.)

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What is an infographic? An infographic is a big picture that summarizes a topic. It is a one-page publication that presents information in a graphic way. Simple icons, symbols, maps, and charts combine to explain the data. Text is only used as labels or to briefly describe facts. The viewer explores the content by studying each section of cartoon-like images.

What is an infographic? An infographic is a one-page publication that presents information in a graphic way using simple images and text.

Why Use an Infographic?

An infographic is a simple but powerful way to communicate. There are many reasons to use it:

catches the interest of the viewer

outlines many facts in a compact space

conveys data quickly using images

informs without lots of written information

engages the viewer to think about the topic, because they must explore each part

makes a complex issue easy to understand

How Can Students Make an Infographic?

Now that the question "what is an infographic?" and "why use an infographic?" have been answered, the next question is "how can my students make one to demonstrate learning?" Older students with strong graphic design skills can use professional software such as Adobe Illustrator. Unfortunately, not all schools have access to this software, as it is expensive.

Another option for creating an infographic is to apply the drawing and image tools in Microsoft Word. This does limit the design to a standard-sized piece of paper. Although this is a suitable solution for students who are proficient users of Microsoft Office, beginners or younger learners may struggle with arranging their content.

A third choice for designing an infographic is to use Google Sites. Google Sites is a web creation tool that is typically used to build websites. However, the ability to add sections, combine simple images with text, rearrange the layout, and have an infinite page length make it ideal for students who lack strong graphic design or word processing skills. Please note, this option does require students to have Google Drive accounts. Moreover, if your students have school accounts, they must be granted permission to use Google Sites.

View an Interactive Infographic Designed Using Google Sites

How Can Students Design an Infographic using Google Sites?

Are you interested in designing an interactive infographic using Google Sites? In the TechnoKids project TechnoEarth, students play the role of environmental stewards. They select a real world problem and are guided in the research and design of an engaging infographic.

Google Sites, Slides, Docs, and Drawings are combined to build the document. Simple, compelling graphics and brief, captivating text spark interest. To make it especially appealing, the project is interactive. The viewer can browse a rotating slide deck, explore a map, and click through an image carousel. The web-based infographic is a powerful way to communicate an important issue, promote public awareness, and inspire action.

Integrate TechnoEarth into a geography, science, or digital literacy class.

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What is an infographic? An infographic is a big picture that summarizes a topic. It is a one-page publicaton that presents information in a graphic way. Simple icons, symbols, maps, and charts combine to explain the data. Text is used as labels or to briefly describe facts. The viewer explores the content.

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Comment avez-vous trouvé ce contenu?

Avez-vous rencontré un problème au cours de votre navigation? Faites-nous part de vos observations et aidez-nous à améliorer notre site. Évitez d'entrer des renseignements personnels dans ce champ.

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Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur

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Comment avez-vous trouvé ce contenu? Avez-vous rencontré un problème au cours de votre navigation? Faites-nous part de vos observations et aidez-nous à améliorer notre site. Évitez d'entrer des renseignements personnels dans ce champ.

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Miranda McKearney and Sarah Mears suggest incorporating reading in their article "Lost for words? How reading can teach children empathy."

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Miranda McKearney and Sarah Mears suggest incorporating reading in their article "Lost for words? How reading can teach children empathy."

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There's no better feeling than seeing a child losing themselves in the world of a favourite fictional character.

The benefits of reading go far beyond literacy: an emerging body of research highlights the power of stories to help children handle their own and other people's feelings.

A Cambridge University study by Maria Nikolajeva, professor of education, found that "reading fiction provides an excellent training for young people in developing and practising empathy and theory of mind, that is, understanding of how other people feel and think".

Neuroscience backs this up. Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, US, say that fiction tricks our brains into thinking we are part of the story. The empathy we feel for characters wires our brains to have the same sensitivity towards real people. Carnegie Mellon University studies discovered that when you get lost in a book your brain lives through the characters at a neurological level.

Empathy is increasingly being recognised as a core life skill, and the bedrock for sound relationships and classroom climate. Roman Krznaric, author of Empathy, a Handbook for Revolution, says: "There has been an extraordinary shift ... a concept that has been buried in psychology textbooks for nearly a century - empathy - is coming to be seen as one of the fundamental forces for tackling global challenges."

EmpathyLab is a small start-up that is exploring ways to use stories to boost empathy among students. Here are some approaches teachers could try:

Pick the right books

The first thing is to find the right story. One approach is to find texts exploring familiar life scenarios to help children understand what their peers might be experiencing. At primary and secondary level there's a text for just about every situation. For instance Kes Gray's Mum and Dad Glue helps children empathise with friends' pain when parents separate and Phil Earle's Being Billy gives older readers a profound insight into how it feels to live in a young people's care home.

In general, look for texts with well-rounded, believable characters. Even if they are doing terrible things, the story should help children understand a character's motivations. Feelings should be dealt with subtly and not over-described.

If it's hard to find the best books, search out a librarian. Their deep knowledge is currently on show through the Carnegie Medal, which emphasises the importance of strong characterisation.
Children are also fantastic at recommending books, especially on crunch issues. For instance, certain "being different" books, like David Walliams' The Boy in a Dress, come up repeatedly.

Book groups help children explore new texts and learn how differently other people experience life. You could consider joining a free network, such as Chatterbooks. Writer Roman Krznaric's Empathy Library, which has hundreds of empathy-boosting books and films for children and adults, is a useful resource.

Teach vocabulary for feelings

If children lack the language to share feelings, it's hard for them to understand each other and communicate effectively.

Story-based questioning and discussion works well to build a language for emotions, especially when the teacher and student work together to explore what caused a character to act or feel as they did, and the consequences of their actions and emotions. Take Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You could ask: "Was Goldilocks really just a burglar or was she homeless or hungry?" This could be followed with diary writing or telephone interviews where Goldilocks explains herself to the bears.
Any teacher will attest to the power of meeting a real author. Bringing one into school with a brief to deliberately emphasise feelings can help children learn new emotional vocabulary. We wrote a blog about Sue Hendra's session on her book Norman the Slug. Children loved Hendra's hilarious naming of her feelings when she started writing but found aliens eating her pencils. She helped children learn new words to name Norman's emotions and share them on a huge "feelings wall".

Step into a character's shoes

Getting children deeply engaged with characters is a good way to teach empathy.
Writers like Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy spring to mind because of their skill in creating characters with strong, unique voices. But look out too for award winners such as Patrick Ness and Neil Gaiman whose inventive language and robust character development captivates readers. Ivan Brett, year six teacher at Brent's Preston Park primary school, uses Bod from Gaiman's Graveyard Book "because he's a normal boy in a very abnormal situation and it stretches pupils' imaginations to step into his shoes".
Hotseating works well when exploring topics like bullying or prejudice. Start by absorbing related stories or playscripts. Ask children to create a character quite unlike them - the bully or the bullied - then get them in a hotseat for an interview where they really have to be that person. Getting into character like this makes things much more real - in a creative writing class, helping children step into a character's shoes will make their descriptions more lively and nuanced. In a spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) session, the same technique delivers on Ofsted's requirement that children develop an interest in investigating moral issues and an understanding of others' viewpoints.
Miranda McKearney and Sarah Mears both work for EmpathyLab would like to hear from schools interested in using reading, writing and story-making to build children's emotional and social skills. Contact Miranda McKearney if you're interested in taking part. EmpathyLab. McKearney is chair and Mears library lead.

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Lost for words? How reading can teach children empathy

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There's no better feeling than seeing a child losing themselves in the world of a favourite fictional character. The benefits of reading go far beyond literacy: an emerging body of research highlights the power of stories to help children handle their own and other people's feelings.

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Quebec Federation of Home & School Associations

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Children's Literacy Resource Guide - Quebec Federation of Home & School Associations

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This resource guide is meant to be shared. Local Home & School Associations, teachers, parents, libraries, and community groups are all invited to use (and share) the pages widely. Help us to continue the work begun by Marion Daigle and Dorothy Nixon to foster a love of reading, learning, and exploration.

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COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES:LEARNING, TEACHING, ASSESSMENT

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COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES:LEARNING, TEACHING, ASSESSMENT

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Comprehensive descriptive scheme of language proficiency and a set of common
reference levels

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A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences - Podcast

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A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences - Podcast

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“Conferring…” writes author Jennifer Serravallo, “is where the magic happens.”

Today on the Heinemann podcast Jen talks about her latest book: A Teacher’s Guide to Reading Conferences, which is part of Heinemann’s new Classroom Essentials series.

Jen says that while conferring with readers might seem intimidating or out of reach, it is attainable -and necessary- in every classroom. In A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences, Jen shows us the value behind the responsive nature of conferences, how to get started with a conference, and ways to improve your existing reading conferences.

Our conversation begins with Jen’s feeling about conferring…

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Today on the podcast we're joined by Berit Gordon, author of The Joyful Teacher: Strategies for Becoming the Teacher Every Student Deserves. In her book, Berit lays out goals and corresponding strategies for building an efficient and joyful learning environment.

Today, Jaclyn and Berit discuss routines and rituals, one of the goals from The Joyful Teacher.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jul 30, 2020

As anyone who teaches reading can tell you, Phonics plays a critical role in literacy instruction. In today's episode of The Heinemann Podcast, we sit down with authors Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell to discuss why Phonics is a critical part of a cohesive literacy system, what they mean when they say "teaching is a science," and how we can continue to find new ways to ensure that students have access to the wonder of books and independent writing.

Our thanks to authors Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell for their time today. To learn more about their work at visit FountasandPinnell.com and blog.fountasandpinnell.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nov 03, 2019

Today on the podcast we're excited to bring you a reading from author Rebecca Bellingham. Her book, The Artful Read Aloud, is a user-friendly guide that builds a bridge between the artistic world and the classroom, providing a deeper dive into theart formof reading aloud. Reading aloud to your students, says Rebecca, supports a balanced, rigorous, and joyful literacy curriculum.

Today, Rebecca reads aloud from Why Read-Aloud Matters, the first chapter from her book. Here now, is Rebecca...

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Oct 17, 2019

In her newest book, Being the Change, author Sara Ahmed explores the importance of social comprehension in the classroom; understanding those often tricky-to-navigate landscapes of race, gender, politics, religion, sexuality... In July Sara spoke at the Nerd Camp literacy conference in Michigan about the tensions many of us feel during big moments in history.

In her presentation, Sara shared with listeners her experience on September 11, 2001. As we reflect on the events that took place that day, we felt that Sara's story perfectly highlights both the progress we've made, and the great lengths we still have to go as a nation of teachers, learners, and engaged citizens.

Here now is Sara Ahmed.

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Sep 12, 2018

This week on the Heinemann podcast, how do we create a culture for our classrooms that can last a full school year? Sonja Cherry-Paul and Dana Johansen, co-authors of Flip Your Writing Workshop and Teaching Interpretation: Using Text-Based Evidence to Construct Meaning, are currently finishing up their third book, due out in spring of 2019. Both Sonja and Dana want to help teachers build learning communities that propel students' growth as readers, help them view the world through multiple lenses, and skillfully integrate digital resources.

Our conversation starts with setting the right tone for the school year...

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sep 06, 2018

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Today on the podcast we're joined by Berit Gordon, author of The Joyful Teacher: Strategies for Becoming the Teacher Every Student Deserves. In her book, Berit lays out goals and corresponding strategies for building an efficient and joyful learning environment. Today, Jaclyn and Berit discuss routines and rituals, one of the goals from The Joyful Teacher.

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Learning to Be Prioritized for the 2021-2022 School Year in the Context of the Pandemic

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Learning to Be Prioritized for the 2021-2022 School Year in the Context of the Pandemic

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Some kids love to write and need little encouragement to put pen to paper. Others, as teachers know well, require ongoing guidance and assurance. New research explains one reason kids differ so greatly: confidence, or a lack thereof, in their own ability.

Researchers from Boise State University and the University of Alabama worked with 48 middle and high school students at a private school, interviewing them about their own writing skills, their perceived ability to complete writing assignments, and the extent to which they viewed writing as a valuable task. Then they met with each student's English-language arts teacher and analyzed their academic performance. Comparing both sets of data resulted in notable, if not completely surprising, findings: A student's motivation to write is strongly correlated with their writing achievement. In other words, those who have already demonstrated competency and confidence in writing are more excited to keep doing it.

Of course, believing in oneself isn't the only factor that informs student performance (there's a range of influences, including teacher writing ability, the researchers point out), but this finding still has big implications for educators. Creating assignments that are challenging but achievable-and that can gradually help students feel more self-assured of their own writing ability-is critical for helping them improve and fueling their interest further, the researchers argue.

"As we demonstrate that writing outcomes are impacted by a writer's self-beliefs, students would benefit from writing tasks that develop their confidence and enhance their self-efficacy," they say.

Some kids may never have a passion for prose, but if they can feel good about their own writing, the research shows, they're much more likely to give it a shot, and get better.

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Research Alert / Confidence Is Key to Motivating Student Writers - ASCD

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Some kids love to write and need little encouragement to put pen to paper. Others, as teachers know well, require ongoing guidance and assurance. New research explains one reason kids differ so greatly: confidence, or a lack thereof, in their own ability. Researchers from Boise State University and

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Interesting article that highlights importance of projects that support general knowledge contribute to reading comprehension

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Interesting article that highlights importance of projects that support general knowledge contribute to reading comprehension

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Schools usually focus on teaching comprehension skills instead of general knowledge-even though education researchers know better.

Every two years, education-policy wonks gear up for what has become a time-honored ritual: the release of the Nation's Report Card. Officially known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, the data reflect the results of reading and math tests administered to a sample of students across the country. Experts generally consider the tests rigorous and highly reliable-and the scores basically stagnant.

Math scores have been flat since 2009 and reading scores since 1998, with just about a third of students performing at a level the NAEP defines as "proficient." Performance gaps between lower-income students and their more affluent peers, among other demographic discrepancies, have remained stubbornly wide.

Among the likely culprits for the stalled progress in math scores: a misalignment between what the NAEP tests and what state standards require teachers to cover at specific grade levels. But what's the reason for the utter lack of progress in reading scores?

On Tuesday, a panel of experts in Washington, D.C., convened by the federally appointed officials who oversee the NAEP, concluded that the root of the problem is the way schools teach reading. The current instructional approach, they agreed, is based on assumptions about how children learn that have been disproved by research over the past several decades-research that the education world has largely failed to heed.

The long-standing view has been that the first several years of elementary school should be devoted to basic reading skills. History, science, and the arts can wait. After all, the argument goes, if kids haven't learned to read-a task that is theoretically accomplished by third grade -how will they be able to gain knowledge about those subjects through their own reading?

The federal No Child Left Behind legislation, enacted in 2001, only intensified the focus on reading. The statute required states to administer annual reading and math tests to students in grades three through eight and once in high school, and attached hefty consequences if schools failed to boost scores. The law that replaced No Child Left Behind-the Every Student Succeeds Act, passed in 2015-has eased the consequences but has hardly weakened the emphasis on testing.

What is tested, some educators say, gets taught-and what isn't doesn't. Since 2001, the curriculum in many elementary schools has narrowed to little more than a steady diet of reading and math. And when test scores fail to rise after third grade-as they often do, especially in high-poverty schools-subjects such as history and science may continue to be relegated to the far back burner through middle school.

To some extent, it does make sense to focus on reading skills in the early years. One component of reading is, like math, primarily a set of skills: the part that involves decoding, or making connections between sounds and the letters that represent them.

But educators have also treated the other component of reading-comprehension-as a set of skills, when in fact it depends primarily on what readers already know. In countries that specify the content to be taught at each grade level, standardized tests can test students on what they've learned in school. But in the United States, where schools are all teaching different content, test designers give students passages on a variety of topics that may have nothing to do with what they've learned in school-life in the Arctic, for example, or the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. The tests then ask questions designed to assess comprehension: What's the main idea of the passage? What inferences can you make?

On a daily basis, teachers have their students practice skills and strategies such as "finding the main idea" or "making inferences." And teachers select books that match the given skill rather than because of the text's content. Rarely do the topics connect: Students might read a book about bridges one day, zebras the next, and clouds the day after that.

Cognitive scientists have known for decades that simply mastering comprehension skills doesn't ensure that a young student will be able to apply them to whatever texts they're confronted with on standardized tests and in their studies later in life.

One of those cognitive scientists spoke on the Tuesday panel: Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia who writes about the science behind reading comprehension. Willingham explained that whether or not readers understand a text depends far more on how much background knowledge and vocabulary they have relating to the topic than on how much they've practiced comprehension skills. That's because writers leave out a lot of information that they assume readers will know. If they put all the information in, their writing would be tedious.

But if readers can't supply the missing information, they have a hard time making sense of the text. If students arrive at high school without knowing who won the Civil War, they'll have a hard time understanding a textbook passage about Reconstruction.

Students from less educated families are usually the ones who are most handicapped by gaps in knowledge. Another panelist-Ian Rowe, who heads a network of charter schools serving low-income students in New York-provided a real-life example during his remarks. A sixth grader at one of his schools was frustrated that a passage on a reading test she'd taken kept repeating a word she didn't understand: roog-bye. The unfamiliar word made it hard for her to understand the passage. When Rowe asked her to spell the word, it turned out to be rugby.

The implication is clear. The best way to boost students' reading comprehension is to expand their knowledge and vocabulary by teaching them history, science, literature, and the arts, using curricula that guide kids through a logical sequence from one year to the next: for example, Native Americans and Columbus in kindergarten; the colonial era and the American Revolution in first grade; the War of 1812 and the Civil War in second grade; and so on. That approach enables children to make sense of what they're learning, and the repetition of concepts and vocabulary in different contexts makes it more likely that they'll retain information. Not to mention that learning content such as this can be a lot more engaging for both students and teachers than the endless practice of illusory skills.

Another panelist-Timothy Shanahan, an emeritus professor at the University of Illinois and the author or editor of more than 200 publications on literacy-went on to debunk a popular approach that goes hand in hand with teaching comprehension skills: To help students practice their "skills," teachers give them texts at their supposed individual reading levels, rather than the level of the grade they're in.

According to Shanahan, no evidence backs up that practice. In fact, Shanahan said, recent research indicates that students actually learn more from reading texts that are considered too difficult for them -in other words, those with more than a handful of words and concepts a student doesn't understand. What struggling students need is guidance from a teacher on how to make sense of texts designed for kids at their respective grade levels-the kinds of texts those kids may otherwise see only on standardized tests, when they have to grapple with them on their own.

That view was endorsed by Marilyn Jager Adams, a cognitive and developmental psychologist who is a visiting scholar at Brown University. "Giving children easier texts when they're weaker readers," she said during the panel discussion, "serves to deny them the very language and information they need to catch up and move on."

The failure to build children's knowledge in elementary school helps explain the gap between the reading scores of students from wealthier families and those of their lower-income peers-a gap that has been expanding. More affluent students may not learn much in elementary school, but compared to their disadvantaged peers, their parents tend to be more educated and have the money to provide knowledge-boosting perks such as tutoring and trips to Europe. As a result, those wealthy children are far more likely to acquire knowledge outside of school. Poorer kids with less educated parents tend to rely on school to acquire the kind of knowledge that is needed to succeed academically-and because their schools typically focus exclusively on reading and math, in an effort to raise low test scores, they're less likely to acquire it there.

The bottom line is that policy makers and advocates who have pushed for more testing in part as a way to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor have undermined their own efforts. They have created a system that incentivizes teachers to withhold the very thing that could accomplish both objectives: knowledge. All students suffer under this system, but the neediest suffer the most.

The NAEP is a valuable educational barometer, but it's important to understand that while standardized tests can identify a problem, they can't provide the answer to it.

Although some elementary teachers have embraced the approach advocated by the NAEP panel, it's clear that most have been trained to teach in methods that aren't supported by research, and that many are resistant to change. Shanahan, at the University of Illinois, noted that when he speaks to teachers around the country, they're aghast at the idea of giving struggling readers grade-level books-even when their state's literacy standards call for doing so.

Still, schools in some parts of the country are embracing the kinds of insights offered by the panelists. Louisiana has not only created its own curriculum but has also asked the federal government for permission to give tests based on that curriculum rather than passages on a variety of randomly selected topics. If that movement spreads, the NAEP may finally live up to its name, and the American education system may at last be able to unlock the untold potential of millions of students.

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national assessment of educational progress

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endless practice of illusory skills.another panelist

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Why American Students Haven't Gotten Better at Reading in 20 Years

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Schools usually focus on teaching comprehension skills instead of general knowledge-even though education researchers know better. Every two years, education-policy wonks gear up for what has become a time-honored ritual: the release of the Nation's Report Card.

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Brief writing prompts and responses help students in any discipline.

A panicked student confronts a blank laptop screen late at night. A frazzled teacher sits in front of a pile of yet-to-be-graded essays the following evening. Long writing assignments can cause fear and anxiety for students and teachers.

Some educators avoid assigning writing, believing that they don't have the time to either incorporate such a project or grade it. Thankfully, writing assignments need not be long in order to be effective. If you don't wish to assign a potentially time-consuming project, try these short assignments to help students become better writers and thinkers.

Summarizing for Comprehension

Summaries are an easy way to incorporate writing into any subject. They are a valuable way to challenge students to concisely identify the main details, themes, or arguments in a piece of writing. The longer the reading assignment, the more demanding the process of writing a cogent summary.

Teach students how to engage the text in a conscientious manner, reading the material while noting its most important elements. I periodically ask my students to write a 50-word summary on a textbook chapter, an exercise that many of them find exceedingly difficult at first. Gradually they become more confident in distilling an author's main points.

Share the best work with the class, underscoring the components of particularly effective summaries. When students hear the summaries of others, they develop a greater understanding of how to construct their own.

Prompt with Questions

Part of our jobs as teachers involves giving students the tools to continue learning new information on their own, as well as equipping them with the desire and skills to challenge their own biases. All of this involves teaching young people how to craft incisive questions.

Review with students the importance of questioning, and introduce to them different question-writing techniques, pausing before calling on a particular student to encourage every student to think about the answer.

Have students write a single-sentence question in response to a piece of nonfiction or fiction writing. Then, assign students to answer each other's questions with another carefully constructed sentence. Each student should have a piece of writing-a question and an answer-that is roughly two sentences in length for teachers to review.

Consider employing question prompts such as Bloom's question starters. Teachers can tailor the complexity and specificity of these prompts to the needs of the student.

Encourage Creative Responses

Thomas Jefferson composing a three-sentence response to Hamilton's banking plan.

Theodore Roosevelt tweeting his opinions on modern antitrust investigations of Google, Facebook, and Apple.

A series of text messages between George Washington and Franklin Delano Roosevelt about whether the Lend-Lease Program is a harmful "entangling alliance."

Short writing assignments can also be more imaginative assignments. Consider, for instance, asking students adopt the voice of a historical figure:

English teachers, for example, may want to incorporate fictional characters into their creative-response assignments to require students to practice inferring a character's thoughts. English teachers can use these creative responses as brief, but powerful, assessment tools for reading comprehension.

Keep It Short

A student is never too old to revisit the basics of writing, and educators should not underestimate the importance of teaching students how to construct compelling and grammatical sentences.

Write a sentence-long summary of an article or book.

Describe the main idea of the piece in one sentence.

Complete a one-sentence story or memoir.

Any short writing assignment can be reduced to a single sentence. Some options include the following:

One-sentence assignments push students to meticulously choose the right words and structure to convey their points.

A Chance for Collaboration

Short writing assignments offer many opportunities for collaboration between disciplines.

Try incorporating vocabulary words or techniques that students are learning in other classes into a short writing assignment. A history teacher might ask students to write a summary of a reading using vocabulary from their English class. A history teacher could also integrate a book or short story from an English class. These techniques need not be limited to the humanities and social sciences. STEM instructors could assess informative or explanatory writing skills by asking students to compose a list of sentences outlining the steps they took to solve a problem or create something.

Mechanics Matter

Good writing on any subject demands proficiency in content and form. Short writing assignments allow busy teachers to pay attention to grammar and punctuation.

When assigning a short writing project, a teacher may wish to require some structural element ("incorporate a quote" or "use at least two compound sentences in your response"). Whatever the case, educators should stress the importance of grammar, punctuation, style, and syntax.

Blaise Pascal famously wrote, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." Trying to get a point across in a few words or sentences is often more challenging than going on for many pages. Short assignments also require students to self-edit-a skill that is valuable throughout school and in their working life.

Short writing assignments allow for fun, quick, and stimulating ways of teaching valuable writing skills.

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Brief writing prompts and responses help students in any discipline. A panicked student confronts a blank laptop screen late at night. A frazzled teacher sits in front of a pile of yet-to-be-graded essays the following evening. Long writing assignments can cause fear and anxiety for students and teachers.

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Questions that invite students to tell stories, describe memories, make observations, imagine possibilities, and reflect on who they are and what they believe.

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Questions that invite students to tell stories, describe memories, make observations, imagine possibilities, and reflect on who they are and what they believe.

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[Sign up for our free Learning Network newsletter. Receive new writing prompts in your inbox every week.]
We've been posting fresh writing prompts every school day for over a decade now, and every so often we create a themed collection like this one to help you find what you need all in one place.

This fall, in honor of our new narrative-writing unit and our first-ever Personal Narrative Essay Contest for teenagers, we've rounded up 550 evergreen questions on everything from family, friendships and growing up to gender, spirituality, money, school, sports, social media, travel, dating, food, health and more. (They're also all available here as a PDF.)

We hope they'll inspire you, whether you're entering our related contest or just want to improve your writing skills. Like all our Student Opinion questions, each links to a related Times article, which is free to read if you access it from our site.
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So dive in and pick the questions that most inspire you to tell an interesting story, describe a memorable event, observe the details in your world, imagine a possibility, or reflect on who you are and what you believe.

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550 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing

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Sign up for our free Learning Network newsletter. Receive new writing prompts in your inbox every week.] We've been posting fresh writing prompts every school day for over a decade now, and every so often we create a themed collection like this one to help you find what you need all in one place.

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An intergenerational writing project with sample letters and art 

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An intergenerational writing project with sample letters and art 

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In every community across Quebec we are seeing examples of people coming together to provide support to people who are staying at home to protect themselves from COVID-19. Support comes in different ways, and we encourage young people to offer emotional support by sharing kind words and helping people know that they are in our hearts.

We invite young people from communities across Quebec to write friendly letters and create art work to send to seniors and vulnerable people isolated from friends and family.

LEARN and ELAN have adapted Semer le Bonheur resources for the English Speaking Community of Quebec.

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Letters with Love - An Intergenerational Letter Writing Project In every community across Quebec we are seeing examples of people coming together to provide support to people who are staying at home to protect themselves from COVID-19. Support comes in different ways, and we encourage young

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Summary of ideas and examples like show and tell and think alouds to help students make meaning before putting pen to paper

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Summary of ideas and examples like show and tell and think alouds to help students make meaning before putting pen to paper

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What's the opposite of scaffolding a lesson? Saying to students, "Read this nine-page science article, write a detailed essay on the topic it explores, and turn it in by Wednesday." Yikes! No safety net, no parachute-they're just left to their own devices.

Let's start by agreeing that scaffolding a lesson and differentiating instruction are two different things. Scaffolding is breaking up the learning into chunks and providing a tool, or structure, with each chunk. When scaffolding reading, for example, you might preview the text and discuss key vocabulary, or chunk the text and then read and discuss as you go. With differentiation, you might give a child an entirely different piece of text to read, or shorten the text or alter it, or modify the writing assignment that follows.

Simply put, scaffolding is what you do first with kids. For those students who are still struggling, you may need to differentiate by modifying an assignment or making accommodations like choosing a more accessible text or assigning an alternative project.

Scaffolding and differentiation do have something in common, though. In order to meet students where they are and appropriately scaffold a lesson or differentiate instruction, you have to know the individual and collective zone of proximal development (ZPD) of your learners. Education researcher Eileen Raymond says, "The ZPD is the distance between what children can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with competent assistance."

So let's get to some scaffolding strategies you may or may not have tried yet. Or perhaps you've not used them in some time and need a gentle reminder on how awesome and helpful they can be when it comes to student learning.

1. Show and Tell

How many of us say that we learn best by seeing something rather than hearing about it? Modeling for students is a cornerstone of scaffolding, in my experience. Have you ever interrupted someone with "Just show me!" while they were in the middle of explaining how to do something? Every chance you have, show or demonstrate to students exactly what they are expected to do.

Try a fishbowl activity, where a small group in the center is circled by the rest of the class; the group in the middle, or fishbowl, engages in an activity, modeling how it's done for the larger group.

Always show students the outcome or product before they do it. If a teacher assigns a persuasive essay or inquiry-based science project, a model should be presented side-by-side with a criteria chart or rubric. You can guide students through each step of the process with the model of the finished product in hand.

Use think alouds, which will allow you to model your thought process as you read a text, solve a problem, or design a project. Remember that children's cognitive abilities are still in development, so opportunities for them to see developed, critical thinking are essential.

2. Tap Into Prior Knowledge

Ask students to share their own experiences, hunches, and ideas about the content or concept of study and have them relate and connect it to their own lives. Sometimes you may have to offer hints and suggestions, leading them to the connections a bit, but once they get there, they will grasp the content as their own.

Launching the learning in your classroom from the prior knowledge of your students and using this as a framework for future lessons is not only a scaffolding technique-many would agree it's just plain good teaching.

3. Give Time to Talk

All learners need time to process new ideas and information. They also need time to verbally make sense of and articulate their learning with the community of learners who are engaged in the same experience and journey. As we all know, structured discussions really work best with children regardless of their level of maturation.

If you aren't weaving in think-pair-share, turn-and-talk, triad teams, or some other structured talking time throughout the lesson, you should begin including this crucial strategy on a regular basis.

4. Pre-Teach Vocabulary

Sometimes referred to as front-loading vocabulary, this is a strategy that we teachers don't use enough. Many of us, myself included, are guilty of sending students all alone down the bumpy, muddy path known as Challenging Text-a road booby-trapped with difficult vocabulary. We send them ill-prepared and then are often shocked when they lose interest, create a ruckus, or fall asleep.

Pre-teaching vocabulary doesn't mean pulling a dozen words from the chapter and having kids look up definitions and write them out-we all know how that will go. Instead, introduce the words to kids in photos or in context with things they know and are interested in. Use analogies and metaphors, and invite students to create a symbol or drawing for each word. Give time for small-group and whole-class discussion of the words. Not until they've done all this should the dictionaries come out. And the dictionaries will be used only to compare with those definitions they've already discovered on their own.

With the dozen or so words front-loaded, students are ready, with you as their guide, to tackle that challenging text.

5. Use Visual Aids

Graphic organizers, pictures, and charts can all serve as scaffolding tools. Graphic organizers are very specific in that they help kids visually represent their ideas, organize information, and grasp concepts such as sequencing and cause and effect.

A graphic organizer shouldn't be The Product but rather a scaffolding tool that helps guide and shape students' thinking. Some students can dive right into discussing, or writing an essay, or synthesizing several different hypotheses, without using a graphic organizer of some sort, but many of our students benefit from using one with a difficult reading or challenging new information. Think of graphic organizers as training wheels-they're temporary and meant to be removed.

6. Pause, Ask Questions, Pause, Review

This is a wonderful way to check for understanding while students read a chunk of difficult text or learn a new concept or content. Here's how this strategy works: Share a new idea from discussion or the reading, then pause (providing think time), and then ask a strategic question, pausing again.

You need to design the questions ahead of time, making sure they're specific, guiding, and open-ended. (Even great questions fail if we don't give think time for responses, so hold out during that Uncomfortable Silence.) Keep kids engaged as active listeners by calling on someone to give the gist of what was just discussed, discovered, or questioned. If the class seems stuck on the questions, provide an opportunity for students to discuss in pairs.

With all the diverse learners in our classrooms, there is a strong need for teachers to learn and experiment with new scaffolding strategies. I often say to teachers I support that they have to slow down in order to go quickly. Scaffolding a lesson may, in fact, mean that it takes longer to teach, but the end product is of far greater quality and the experience much more rewarding for all involved.

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6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students

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What's the opposite of scaffolding a lesson? Saying to students, "Read this nine-page science article, write a detailed essay on the topic it explores, and turn it in by Wednesday." Yikes! No safety net, no parachute-they're just left to their own devices. Let's start by agreeing that scaffolding a lesson and differentiating instruction are two different things.