Nearly a half century ago, a landmark study showed that teachers weren’t explicitly teaching reading comprehension. Once children learned how to read words, no one taught them how to make sense of the sentences and paragraphs. Some kids naturally got it, and some didn’t. Since then, reading researchers have come up with many ideas to foster comprehension. Educators continue to debate how much to emphasize some ideas over others. Although the research on reading comprehension…
Ten years ago, Roy F. Smith, an English teacher at Round Rock High School in Texas, was inspired by the idea of putting a text under a microscope while reading “The Art of X-Ray Reading” by Roy Peter Clark. Smith, who has been teaching for 24 years, developed what he calls “spotlight reading,” a quick activity used at the start of class to get students to engage with written language without worrying about a grade.…
America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math, according to the latest results of an exam known as the nation’s report card. The findings are yet another setback for U.S. schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism. The national exam…
Looking back on 2024, young adult fiction readers saw many smart, thrilling, and fantastical books emerge. In this list, we have some of the most exciting reading available for teens and YA readers of all ages from the past year. Add these fast-paced, heartfelt, and fresh reads from our 2024 reading recap to your “to be read” pile. 1. Snowglobe by Soyoung Park. In Soyoung Park’s award-winning dystopian young adult novel, all is not what…
On a spring afternoon last year, students in Melissa Alter Smith’s class bustled around the room, filling 16 ounce plastic bottles with hot water, food dye, glitter and glue. “You can mix colors if you want. Just use one whatever you think represents the theme of your poem,” Smith instructed as students moved between stations. This was English, not art class, and the goal was not just to make a pretty, calming bottle. Each student…
There will always be some students that are revolted by the prospect of reading, and reluctant readers certainly have their reasons. Perhaps they haven’t found a book, author, or genre yet that they like, and they don’t know where to begin. Maybe they would prefer to occupy their time with different forms of media or more kinesthetic activities. Or they could find reading boring — not long after they start reading, they lose track of…
Founded in 2003, National Book Month is a month-long celebration focusing on the importance of reading, writing, and literature. National Book Month encourages both reading and writing, two activities that both children and adults can benefit from greatly. Not only will frequent reading help to develop better reading and writing skills, but it will also expand knowledge, improve vocabulary, and provide great entertainment, too. You can also use National Book Month as an opportunity to…
This September, be sure to pick up a book, visit a library, and explore places you could only see in literature’s grandeur. September is National Literacy month, which promotes awareness and interest in improving the overall literacy of a community. This can have a pleasing ripple effect through every individual life, their children, and their families. Multiple efforts to impede illiteracy have been made since the first National Literacy Month, but even after all these…
Fall will be here before we know it, and there are lots of new children’s books to be excited about! Here are some of the most highly anticipated children’s books releasing in fall 2024. 1. Good Night Thoughts by Max Greenfield. From actor Max Greenfield, the author of I Don’t Want to Read This Book and its two companion titles, comes a sweetly funny bedtime book about anxiety and being present. What do we do…
Fall will be here before we know it, and there are lots of new young adult books to be excited about! Here are some of the most highly anticipated young adult books releasing in fall 2024. 1. Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay. This exploration of four generations of Filipino American boys spans the 1930s to the 2020s. Told in multiple perspectives, Everything We Never Had unfolds like a beautifully crafted nesting doll, where…
