11 Helping the Kids to "Get It" Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades 7–12 Professional Commentary: Diana Carr describes the varied approaches used in her middle school to meet the literacy needs of students. Teachers use informal methods, including student surveys, journals, and mentoring sessions.... 12 Reading Comprehension on the Internet: Expanding Our Understanding of Reading Comprehension to Encompass New Literacies Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades 6–Postsecondary Professional Commentary: This professional resource argues in support of embracing new literacies. The author believes that "reading on the Internet is different, and our definition of reading comprehension needs to reflect those differences.... 13 The Literature Workshop: Teaching Texts and Their Readers [excerpt]: Chapter 2, "From Telling to Teaching: The Literature Workshop in Action" Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades 6–12 Professional Commentary: This complete second chapter details the experience the author takes his students through in a seminal exercise he regularly conducts for undergraduates in introductory literature courses (an exercise that has been replicated or adapted successfully in a great many middle school and high school classrooms by teachers across the country). Author Sheridan Blau gives instructions and offers explanations for his workshop, and addresses readers here as though they are participants.... 14 Everything Secondary Administrators Need to Know, but Are Afraid to Ask: Understanding Pragmatic Adolescent Literacy Planning Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades 9–12 Professional Commentary: In this professional resource, author Gwynne Ellen Ash responds to four pressing literacy questions: (1) What is Pragmatic Literacy Planning? (2) What Does "Literacy" Mean in the 21st Century? (3) What Categories of Instruction Are Essential to Support Adolescent Literacy Development? and (4) What is My Role in Supporting Pragmatic Adolescent Literacy Instruction in My School or District?. The resource is intended as a primer for secondary school administrators who wish to learn more about adolescent literacy needs, specifically the design of effective literacy programs in middle and high schools and the professional development and support of teachers in making literacy-centered instructional change.... 15 Clues to Dyslexia from Second Grade On Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades 2–12 Professional Commentary: Dyslexia is a language processing problem affecting many individuals. This article lists specific signs, both weaknesses and strengths, that can be used as clues to help identify dyslexia.... 16 Helping Children With Communication Disorders Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades K–12 Professional Commentary: Communication disorders can impact a child's ability to negotiate all the literacy areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing. This article discusses the various forms language disorders can take and the impact those disorders can have on the development of the child.... 17 Teaching Expressive Writing to Students with Learning Disabilities Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades 5–12 Professional Commentary: This analysis examined a group of studies designed for the purpose of improving the expressive writing of students with learning disabilities. It also looked at which interventions and components were most effective and why.... 18 How Spelling Supports Reading: And Why It Is More Regular and Predictable Than You May Think Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades K–8 Professional Commentary: Why does spelling seem so simple to some individuals, yet it causes so much grief for others? How can we teach spelling in a way that supports reading, and also help students understand how the spelling system works? This article posits answers to these questions by first exploring the nature of the English spelling and writing system, and second by listing key concepts students should master in grades K-12. The author also challenges the National Reading Panel's views that progress in reading assumes progress in spelling, and cites research that supports her position.... 19 Ensuring Success: Daily Short-Cycle Assessments Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades 6–12 Professional Commentary: The second vignette in this month's (March/April 2005) AdLIT In Perspective pairs assessment with daily practice in "Ensuring Success: Daily Short-Cycle Assessments." Authors Darla Wagner, Joe Paris, Judy Mikita, Jay Falls, and Pat Tallman look at how to tell if our students are learning the material. The focus in this vignette concentrates on addressing and responding to questions the authors deem significant in literacy assessment: (1) Are students aware of the daily learning goal?; (2) Do students understand the connection between the class activities and assignments and the learning goal?; and (3) When students leave the room, how do we know which ones “got it”? (author/ebm) 20 A Look at the OGT: Considering Science Resource Type: Professional Resource Discipline: Science, English Language Arts Ohio Standards Alignment: Grades 8–10 Professional Commentary: This column describes the science portion of the Ohio Graduation Test, examines some science items, and looks at instructional strategies that can be used to increase student achievement in science. ORC Science Content Specialist Terry Shiverdecker provides a thorough description of the test, including sample problems, then discusses what students will need to be able to do in order to solve those problems.... Projects: Writing 6-12 |