Literacy Blogs

Blast from the past: Originally posted February 2, 2013; re-issued October 26, 2017. I have gotten similar questions the past few days so thought it a good idea to reissue this one. Teachers keep telling me that the education standards don't mean that kids should be asked to read texts above their instructional levels. I worked on the education standards, and, indeed, they do mean that kids should be learning to take on the complexities of texts that may be beyond their so-called instructional levels. This entry provides some suggestions on how to make this work. Teacher question: I teach 4th-grade general ...

Blast from the Past: First posted November 21, 2007; re-posted July 26, 2018. Advice on reading books with kids. I means this advice mainly for parents, but it is relevant to teachers in terms of how and what they should read to kids. Since Common Core such advice has become more common, but this was first issued years before CCSS.         I'm frequently asked about reading to children. Obviously reading to kids is a good idea, though this is one of those satisfying times when the research literature actually supports the good idea. Research clearly shows that reading ...