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In a series of 12 project-based learning lessons, a group of seven fifth-grade students who live 200 miles from the coast explored their personal connections to the ocean. After completing a unit on the role of water in Earth's surface processes, the students investigated ocean acidification and how this pervasive ocean problem impacts their local community. The use of project- and place-based learning allows students to experience the impact of our actions on the environment; discover a link between their communities and the ocean; and form a meaningful emotional relationship with the ocean that empowers them to take action on sustainability.

Reading just one text on any topic, Cummins argues, isn't enough if we expect students to learn at deep levels about the topic, synthesize various sources of information, and gain the knowledge they need to write and speak seriously about the topic. Reading a second or third text expands a reader's knowledge on any topic or story--and the why behind it. Generally, students read multiple informational texts on one topic only when writing research reports, but doing so a few times a year isn't enough practice to master the skills required to synthesize information. Cummins details five "supports" that help readers get the most out of reading and synthesizing multiple texts, using classroom examples from her consulting work.

Although students do need hands-on experiences to master key skills in science, technology, and engineering, Cummins asserts, K-12 teachers should also help students understand key STEM concepts by reading, writing, and talking about the work of professional scientists and engineers. Cummins lists high-quality texts that help young people appreciate science and engineering real-world work as a series of intriguing practices--developing theories, making predictions, talking and writing in specialized ways, and so on. While letting students enjoy these sometimes dramatic narratives, however, teachers should ensure kids understand underlying concepts about the specialized practices engineers and scientists engage in and how professional vocabulary and skills like math or using technical equipment operate in STEM-related projects. The author describes a lesson series she taught 5th graders centered around books from Houghton Mifflin's "The Scientists in the Field" series. She then describes practices she followed for using such texts to deepen students' understanding.

Frequently, when assigned to read, intermediate and middle grade students engage in a mindless encounter with the text. Or, try as they may to focus and gather information, they're mostly confused and not sure how to repair the breakdown in their meaning-making. With the new focus on close reading--and on engaging students with more rigorous informational texts--students need to take a more active role in monitoring their understanding. Teach the term self-monitor so students understand what they need to do to stay focused on making meaning and what they can do when meaning breaks down. Introduce the coding method, in which students flag on sticky notes things that confuse them or ways they tried to figure something out, and model what this would look like. If a student is not aware when meaning breaks down or doesn't understand how to repair it when it does, teaching for self-monitoring is a good place to start.

The purpose of this "teaching tips" article is to describe practical classroom instruction that helps elementary students write expository responses to narrative texts. It focuses on the importance of scaffolded, interactive discussions comprised of a combination of teacher think alouds and similar student responses before, during, and after writing. Embedded within such instruction is the use of inquiry listening as a form of formative assessment. The article opens by highlighting a problem posed by a local literacy assessment and standardized test preparation measure for the focal children, namely, inconsistencies between the text structure analyzed (narrative) and the required product (expository textual analysis). Next, it outlines specific instruction involving interactive discussions that lead to comprehension of text structure(s) and clear conceptualizations of expected formats for written products. These include a) frontloading with photographs, and b) thinking aloud about writing samples.

The purpose of this article is to describe the assessment-driven instruction that facilitated third graders' increased understanding of informational texts, as revealed in their written responses to texts during one school year. The key instructional practices included making transparent for students what it means to synthesize, engaging students in interactive read-alouds, assessing students' written responses regularly, and using what was learned from the assessments to develop think-aloud minilessons. The article includes analysis of students' written responses throughout the school year. The authors reveal how the majority of the students grew in their ability to synthesize the ideas relevant to the overall meaning of the text and to develop their thinking using details from the text. (Contains 4 figures.)

Times are tough for teachers these days. Teachers are being blamed for failing schools; the teaching profession itself is the target of much criticism; and teachers unions are being undermined. On top of that, the economy is weak, and teaching positions are being eliminated from school districts across Illinois and the country. Given the current state of the profession, it wouldn't surprise us if teachers were feeling bitter, or even worse, apathetic. And yet, in our everyday interactions with teachers, what we observe instead is professionals committed to doing whatever they can to reach each and every one of their students. Teachers amaze us in their ability to focus on what matters and ignore, as best they can, those who will continue to misunderstand or misrepresent the work they do each day. Teachers understand the importance of continuing to learn and grow, and they work hard to make sure they serve their students most effectively, from taking classes, workshops, or attending professional conferences, to reading books such as those that are reviewed in this column. These challenging times, we know, will pass, and in the meantime, teachers across the country will continue their important work. We hope that the books reviewed below, which present interesting and relevant ideas about formative literacy assessments for secondary students, helpful tips for Writing Workshop, ways for using technology in writing instruction, and a look at how pop culture influences our students and our literacy instruction, will help teachers in their quest to continually reflect on and improve their practice in spite of (or perhaps because of ) the tough times we face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the involvement of fourth and fifth graders in performance literacy. It notes that studying and reading stories bolster students' comprehension of the stories. It points out that the ability of the students to formulate, draft, and revise stories for authenticity are strengthened when they write stories. Instructional approaches in guiding students such as reading the story aloud, sharing their own family stories, and discussing class stories are also mentioned.