Teaching and learning in grades 4-8

3 Questions We Can Ask about Informational Texts

Asking three basic questions can help middle grades readers connect with informational texts and make sense of their meaning. Literacy consultant Sunday Cummins describes several classroom-tested steps that can aid students in identifying and analyzing new information in nonfiction material.

Differentiating History Instruction with Menus

Laurie E. Westphal offers a comprehensive introduction to student choice and how to make menus successful. Aimed at high school, the ideas can also work for advanced students in middle school as they develop their strengths, writes history teacher Erin Corrigan-Smith.

Make It Happen: Reading Growth for All Students

Helping students who avoid reading see themselves as developing readers rather than struggling readers can make all the difference, writes Laura Robb. She shows how guided practice lessons give students opportunities to strengthen their skill and move steadily forward.

Teaching Kids When to Let Go of a Writing Idea

Writers often put unsatisfying drafts on the back burner, but our students seldom have the luxury of time, says literacy expert Lynne Dorfman. They need to take a piece through the complete writing process. Knowing when to let go and choose a new topic becomes a valuable skill.

Taking Middle Schoolers’ Reading Journals Online

Educators Daniel Rose and Christine Walsh receive a thank-you note for their new book, Talking Through Reading and Writing: Online Reading Conversation Journals” from middle school director and teacher Jeny Randall. She’s ready to reinvigorate her practice with their ideas.