English Language Arts

Explore and share tips, strategies, and resources for helping students develop in English language arts.

Starting the Year With Adaptable Literacy Preassessments
Planning to assess literacy skills in formats that work in either live or remote instruction will help middle school teachers meet students where they are.
Kasey Short
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Developing Literacy Through Reading Buddies
Pairing little kids with big ones to read together builds more than literacy skills; it fosters relationships that benefit everyone involved.
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Building Literacy Skills With Dramatic Play
By acting out their own stories, young children develop a deeper understanding of character, setting, and language.
Reading Aloud to Middle School Students
Hearing books read aloud benefits older students, enhancing language arts instruction and building a community of readers.
Kasey Short
What Doesn’t Work: Literacy Practices We Should Abandon
The number one concern that I hear from educators is lack of time, particularly lack of instructional time with students. Although we can't entirely solve the time problem, we can mitigate it by carefully analyzing our use of class time.
Nell K. Duke
How to Set Up a Virtual Book Club for Students
An online book club organized by a teacher or school librarian can be a good way to foster social interactions during the pandemic.
Laura Milligan
Using Children’s Books to Teach Literary Theory in High School
Literary theory can be a tough topic for high school students—a simple story may be just the scaffold they need to start figuring it out.
Crystalee Calderwood
If We Want Bookworms, We Need to Get Beyond Leveled Reading
When it comes to nurturing kids’ love of reading, research suggests variety, choice—and encouragement to stretch—can make a difference.
Sarah Gonser
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3 Alternatives to Reading Logs
Teacher-tested ideas to keep reading homework from feeling like a chore.
Engaging White Students in Conversations About Race
A high school teacher shares strategies for using literature to guide discussions about race with students who would rather avoid the topic.
Andrew Simmons
5 Ways to Support Students Who Struggle With Reading Comprehension
These strategies can help students who are able to decode well but have difficulty understanding what they read—and they’re beneficial for all students.
Nina Parrish
Borrowing a Literacy Strategy From Band Class
A band teacher explains how a process he uses to train budding musicians’ inner voice can be used to help struggling readers improve.
Brian Campbell
A Handy Strategy for Teaching Theme
Analyzing the themes in a literary work can be tricky for students, but a simple formula can scaffold the process.
Zach Wright
22 YA Novels to Help Students Process the Pandemic (or Forget It for a Bit)
A former school librarian shares recent young adult novels to boost kids’ resilience or give them some laughs. A few dystopian picks may provide a new perspective on the current situation.
Terri Grief
50 Writing Prompts for All Grade Levels
Sometimes students need a little push to activate their imaginations.
Todd Finley

English Language Arts

.css-1sk4066:hover{background:#d1ecfa;}Starting the Year With Adaptable Literacy Preassessments

.css-1enhq53:hover{background-color:#d1ecfa;}Developing Literacy Through Reading Buddies

Starting the Year With Adaptable Literacy Preassessments

Developing Literacy Through Reading Buddies