If you are looking for ways to motivate children to improve their writing and thinking skills, consider having students produce digital stories. A digital story is a multi-media text consisting of pictures and video clips embedded in a document like a Power Point that is enhanced by a narrated soundtrack that tells the story. According [...]

Research indicates that there are two instructional strategies that, when done well, can boost students’ reading abilities: Sustained silent reading and direct vocabulary instruction. Yet, says Robert Marzano, no schools or districts in the United States have created programs that combine the two. The strategies, observes Marzano, are silver bullets “just sitting out there.”

One of the complaints I hear from teachers is having to spend a substantial amount of time each year preparing students to take state assessment instruments. My stance is is that this is not necessary. We can take a few good lessons from how the coaches of Olympic athletes prepare their protegees for that all [...]