Language Arts Education Articles for Teachers - Page 4

Student portfolios are a beneficial strategy to building a sense of ownership and accountability in the classroom. Through the utilization of portfolios, students are able to reflect on past accomplishments and struggles, as well as establish goals for future learning. In my language arts classro...

Assessment, classroom management, anticipatory set, objectives--the list of classroom terminology goes on. However, it is time to add a new one to the mix: backchannel. What is Backchannel? According to Todaysmeet.com, backchannel is “where people ask each other questions, pass notes, get distr...

A great idea can spread like wildfire. It all started with a suggestion made at our weekly teacher’s meeting. One of my co-workers asked if we would like to make Valentine’s Day cards for the soldiers in Afghanistan. She had heard a radio announcer from the area asking for cards that would then b...

February is a good time to focus on the rich, interesting poetry written by African Americans because it is Black History Month. Poets like Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Nikki Giovanni use language in such a wonderful and enticing way that pupils reading their poetry will not ...

That once-in-a-school-year day is just around the corner. If you’re a kindergarten teacher, you and your class may have been counting every school day in anticipation. Get ready for the 100th day of school!   Your elementary students will enjoy these exciting cross-curricular activities: Math Pa...

In the language arts classroom, succesful teaching methods involve incorporating purpose-driven, meaningful vocabulary instruction. In my first few years of teaching, I searched for meaningful ways to help students understand new vocabulary. From understanding root words and affixes, to using co...

Even though next week is officially No Name Calling Week, the lessons learned can last throughout the year. By discussing the negative impact name calling, and bullying can have on children, and people in general, this observance can be a time to put some positive behaviors in motion. We are all...

With over 30 million books in print around the world, Jan Brett is one of the leading children’s authors and illustrators.  Her love for bringing beautifully detailed, imaginative worlds to life has blossomed into a catalog of literary creations that captivate audiences around the globe. With s...

As Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated in schools across the country, teachers have students read parts of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech made during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. This was a momentous occasion in which hundreds of thousands of people gathered b...

One of the best ways to get students to learn and remember information is to provide lessons that are cross-curricular. When teachers tie lessons on a topic to real-world scenarios, games, or research opportunities, they are providing motivating content that can lead to higher-level thinking ac...

Back to the Basics We all remember creating extensive lesson plans as student teachers. We had to link lessons to standards, detail step-by-step procedures, and add a reflection and follow-up piece; it seemed like it would never end. In addition, it was harder to write these lesson plans knowi...

Reader’s Theater is a learning tool teachers can use to help students interact with literature and practice relevant skills. By using Reader’s Theater scripts, students can act out scenes found in literature books without memorization. Students of all ages can perform informally in front of their...

New Year's Eve is fast approaching and holiday celebrations are coming to an end. For you and your class, the new year can mark a new beginning as well. The new year is celebrated in unique ways all around the world, and teaching your students about the traditions observed by different cultures c...

I think of reading as an interactive process. The following is a list of six strategies I use to help students begin interacting with text (adapted from Mosaic of Thought by Keene and Zimmerman, 2007). The six strategies require practice and should be used as part of a classroom reading...

Let’s cut to the chase, English is complex. Not only are there thousands of grammar, punctuation, and spelling rules, there are silent letters too! Why isn’t farm spelled “pharm” like pharmacy? Or, when do I say “you and I” or “you and me?” And, to top it all off, there are hundreds of American ...