The Best Tool for Integrated Literacy Instruction

Reading involves integration of a set of  many skills, as is illustrated in the Reading Rope we’re all so familiar with. Whenever we can integrate, we deepen learning and save…

Academic Vocabulary: Helpful or Just Confusing?

We’ve all heard the jokes about the insane amount of acronyms used in the teaching profession.  There are in-school terms like IEP and PLC.  There are mnemonics like CUPS, TIDE,…

Direct Instruction Works—But Balance Makes It Better

On my X (Twitter) feed lately, I’m seeing a large amount of posts that advocate for teacher-dominated, whole group, explicit instruction.  And it’s true–we do need to teach foundational skills–and…

Want to Become a Better Writing Teacher? (16 Tips)

Strong reading instruction is getting a slew of attention right now.  Which is wonderful.  But, as Shanahan says, “If you want better reading scores, the science of reading says do…