Non-Fiction Articles Published by Lexile Levels

Non-Fiction Articles Published by Lexile Levels

The Common Core State Standards challenges us, as English Language Arts teachers, to shift the way instruction looks and sounds in the ELA classroom. One of those shifts is the attention to the staircase of complexity. We know that for students to be ready for the...
Speak No More of Rigor?

Speak No More of Rigor?

Writers, philosophers, and mystics know that naming a concept or abstract reality puts limits on our ability to truly comprehend it. By labeling things, we attempt to contain them, define them, and compartmentalize them. An educational term that everyone uses but few...
Was Life in the Middle Ages Really a Fairytale, Continued

Was Life in the Middle Ages Really a Fairytale, Continued

Guest Blogger Stella Baker is an English Language Arts teacher at Owsley County Middle School. She has been teaching in Kentucky schools for 29 years. Over that period of time she has taught a variety of subjects and grade levels, but has always returned to middle...
Parent Engagement Revisited

Parent Engagement Revisited

In June, I posted a blog about college going and parent engagement. The posting explored several related topics: fostering student aspirations, involving parents in promoting college going, and ensuring responsiveness to parent and student needs.  It also pointed to...