Search

The article discusses various topics published within the issue including one on alternative framework for selecting texts and criticizing canon narratives, one on the deep analysis and evaluation of multiple text types and another on conceptualization of expanding universe of texts.

The article discusses academic language proficiency and its instruction. The definition of academic or consultative language and the five language registers are discussed. The importance of exposure, opportunities and practice in gaining proficiency of academic language is explained. The article also talks about the role of knowledgeable teachers and well-planned instruction in language expansion.

The article discusses tolerance, the acceptance of diversity in people or ideas and their co-existence. It notes that marginalized groups are asking not to be tolerated but demand acceptance and equal treatment. It cites the challenge of educator Margaret Berg, to be on guard for desentization to cyberbullying of gay youth.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports published within the issue including one by Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Jodi Burnash and Danielle Donahue on the concerns regarding co-teaching a summer writing institute for eighth graders, one by Trudi Nelson on a perspective of a student who views group practices with angst and one by Elizabeth Batchelor on significant element of literature circles.

The article discusses reports published within the issue including one on how students, utilizing the role of the investigator, learned to develop and scaffold their own knowledge, another on the impact that one's background knowledge about a topic and text structure has on one's ability to infer deeply and widely, and another one on a review and an extension of what is known about effective vocabulary instruction.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various articles published within the issue including one on using new technologies in the middle grades, one on the importance of sharing new literacies, and one on social networking activities of students.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editors discuss various articles related to writing instruction published within the issue, including national survey results on writing practices and proficiencies by Jan Lacina and Cathy Collins Block, a paper on expository and persuasive writing by Barbara Radcliffe, and a multi-level analysis of developing student voice by Susan Elliot-Johns, David Booth, Jennifer Rowsell et al.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue which include one by Dick Allington which identifies principles to support reading comprehension growth, Gay Ivey which offers her insights on conceptualizing intervention and Maribeth Schmitt on how to differentiate time and intensity within the core classroom instruction.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one on the influence of a teacher's scaffolded feedback on the writing growth of students, another on how quality teachers adapt instruction to accommodate the growing knowledge of students and one on reversing student apathy.

Opinion. Explains the flaws in using the integrated-balanced approach to the phonics method in reading criticized by Patrick Groff in the periodical `The Reading Teacher.' Agreement with arguments that some children need explicit, systematic and intensive phonics; Reasons why Groff missed the authors' premise to support the phonetic method.

This article profiles the use of the iPad (a tablet) in classroom literacy activities in three different instructional environments in different parts of the world: Toronto, Canada; San Diego, United States; and Sydney, Australia. This two-year, qualitative study included observational fieldwork filming students' interactions with tablets in the midst of literacy events. Students in each context used the iPads to make meaning, with the participating classroom teachers affording their students some degree of self-determination with respect to technology use. We describe these three instructional environments and illustrate how these diverse landscapes reflected a variety of ecologies or models that contributed inherently to the nature of learning on the iPads. We describe our findings that show how context and environment allow for different kinds of learning and that may elucidate the array of learning potential afforded with this device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the use of iPads in a diverse urban high school and the ways in which teachers and students were supported to integrate these tools into their instruction. We provided 4 English teachers with 20 iPads with little or no professional development about how to integrate them into their instruction. Using a formative experiment design, we examine what it took to increase the use of the technology tools with a group of diverse students. Over the course of the year, we made several modifications, each of which increased the use of the iPads. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was enacted to replace the previous California school finance system. The purpose was to stream various funding sources (e.g., basic revenues, categorical funds, block grants) such that districts could engage in comprehensive planning to support all students. Additional monies designated for English Learners, foster youth, and students living in poverty supplement district funding. We analyzed district Local Control Accountability Plans developed for the 2017–18 school year (n = 50) using qualitative document analysis. Seven coding categories emerged: EL status, personnel, curriculum, instruction, monitoring, counseling, and parent involvement. The second stage of our analysis was in identifying goals, supports, programs, and interventions for English Learners that fell within one of four divisions across two planes. The first is general versus specific, meaning that the approach was intended for all designated groups or for EL students alone. The second plane we used is conventional versus innovative approaches. We saw both conventional and innovative elements across each of the seven categories. Collectively, these findings highlight the strategic ways in which districts are committing to goals and actions in allocating LCFF funding to impact their English Learner populations in meaningful ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]