Thousands and thousands of middle school students around the world participate in reading intervention programs, many that are very expensive with limited effectiveness. We wanted to know if an after-school intervention focused on close reading procedures could improve student achievement. Close reading of complex text involves annotations,…

Social media has become adolescents' primary platform for communicating with one another. As a school faculty we wanted to explore our students' ability to contribute new information while being sensitive not to co-opt their out of school literacies for school-based purposes. This article shares how teachers in one urban school…

A great deal of attention is being paid to the lack of reading and academic success for adolescent males. In this article, we discuss three structures in a school where boys read (and perform) as well as girls. When instruction is guided by inquiry, when teachers model their thinking while reading, and when book choices are honored, all students…

This article discusses the flexible nature of the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) as a frame for inquiry-based science instruction. Given the mandate for the use of text-supported learning (Common Core Standards), the GRR can be used to allow students to learn as scientists as they collaboratively develop testable questions and experiments…

In this article, the authors focus on homework as an adjunct for learning in secondary school classrooms. Four types of students are profiled, with detail on how the students respond to homework assignments when they do not understand the content. The authors then review three changes in homework practices that can engage students, including…

When students make mistakes, have misconceptions, or are simply wrong, how their teachers respond either builds new skills and understanding or reinforces errors. An intentional approach to responding when students don't get it includes questions to check for understanding, prompts for cognitive and metacognitive work, cues to divert attention,…

This article provides readers with information about an instructional framework that gradually releases responsibility from teachers to learners. Pearson and Gallagher (1983) introduced a model that depicts learning as a purposeful process that allows for a systematic shift in the cognitive load (responsibility) from the teacher to the student. In…

This formative experiment was designed to ensure that a group of high school students developed their literacy habits. The intervention consisted of a schoolwide approach to literacy using four instructional routines: think-alouds, note-taking writing to learn, and dedicated reading time. As part of the formative experiment, we document the…

In this exploration of school improvement work, two teachers at two schools worked hard to improve literacy achievement, but the performance at only one of the schools resulted in significant growth. By spending time observing classrooms and interacting with students, the authors believe that two factors made the difference: school structures and…

Considers how a systematic approach to writing instruction would increase students' performance in both writing and reading. Notes that teachers should connect their reading and writing activities in meaningful ways because reading and writing are reciprocal and mutually reinforcing. Describes use of a "gradual release" model in which teachers…

Describes the implementation and evaluation of a cross-age tutoring program in which 21 struggling seventh-grade readers tutored third-graders, based on strategies and preparation they learned in their own Strategic Reading class. Notes that reading skills and enjoyment of these seventh-grade students were significantly expanded. Discusses factors…