If you have read Marzano’s research in Classrooms That Work, you know that helping students identify similarities and differences is considered a “high yield” strategy for teaching content and helping students improve academic performance. You can use this technique with literature by asking student to write about how two stories connect to one another. Students [...]

A great way to help students increase their understanding of content text is to get them talking and sharing with one another about a text.  Instead of asking simple knowledge and comprehension questions about the text, have students work with partners or small groups to answer 3-4 process or reaction types of questions over the [...]

In our diverse culture, students bring their own culture to the reading experience. We can help students better understand the characters in the fiction they are reading by asking them to consider the perspectives a character might have rather than looking at the issues or problems from their own background or cultural perspective. Some questions [...]

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 [...]