AdLit
Ad lit.org: Adolescent Literacy in Afterschool and Summer Programs
The Center for Summer Learning examines the characteristics of effective summer learning opportunities, gives examples of high-quality programs, and presents an agenda for improving such programs.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Engaging Family & Community in Afterschool and Summer Programs
Informal literacy experiences often serve to shape young people's identity as readers and writers as much as or more than formal schooling.Community and family support can emphasize the importance of reading and writing, build...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Professional Development Helps Support Adolescent Literacy
Learn about several efforts underway to increase the training and professional development options available to out-of-school-time staff, including seasonal workers.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Afterschool Achievement: Strengthening Literacy and Other Skills
What can afterschool programs offer that the regular school day can't? To build literacy skills and school achievement, think outside the classroom.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: A Sample Rubric for Grading Student Writing
All written work should be assessed using a rubric. Using a set of criteria linked to standards not only allows for uniform evaluation, but helps students understand what is important about an assignment and encourages them to reflect on...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Literacy Practices Interview
Literacy practices interviews are informal assessments that elicit information on students' reading and writing activities, including their free-time reading habits, their access to books, and their attitudes toward reading and writing....
AdLit
Ad lit.org: A Sample Literacy Process Interview Protocol
Literacy process interviews are informal assessments designed to gauge how readers and writers think about their work as they are engaged in it. Participants' responses aren't scored, but are used to guide program educators as they teach...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Lunchroom to Classroom: Authentic Assessment & the Brown Bag Exam
A Brown Bag Exam uses found objects and images to help students activate prior knowledge and creates a framework for students to express their understanding. Students work individually and in collaboration to create concrete connections...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: What Should an Assessment System Look Like?
The developmental nature of reading means that diagnosing the reading comprehension ability of adolescents is more challenging than diagnosing reading comprehension among third graders. In particular, assessments should not only capture...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Putting Assessment in the Driver's Seat
Take the lead to improve literacy for all students at your school. Implement regular school-wide monitoring of assessment results and student progress.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: A Critical Analysis of Eight Informal Reading Inventories
There are a number of current informal reading inventories - each has its strengths, limitations, and unique characteristics, which should be considered in order to best fit a teacher's needs.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: How Can I Help My Child Do Well on Tests?
Standardized testing is one form of assessment used in schools. Find out about standardized tests, how and why schools use them, and how you can support your child.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: What Is Scientifically Based Research on Progress Monitoring?
Progress monitoring is an assessment technique that tells teachers how and when to adjust curriculum so that students meet benchmark goals by the end of the year. This research shows that progress monitoring is an effective way to set...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: How Knowledge Helps
The author, a professor of cognitive psychology, notes, "It's true that knowledge gives students something to think about, but knowledge does much more than just help students hone their thinking skills, it actually makes learning...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: In Search of Free Books
Where can your school, library, or community group find free or low-cost books for kids? There are a number of national organizations as well as local programs you can turn to for help filling the shelves of your library, classroom, or...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Serving Immigrant Students Through School Community Partnerships
How do district and school partnerships with community-based organizations help schools better meet the needs of recent immigrant students? This article provides some examples of promising strategies in which community-based...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Organizations That Promote Adolescent Literacy
From lesson plans and classroom tools to free books and opportunities to publish students' work, nonprofit organizations have a lot to offer parents, teachers, and struggling readers themselves. Learn about some nonprofits with a...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: How to Increase Higher Order Thinking
Parents and teachers can do a lot to encourage higher order thinking. Here are some strategies to help foster children's complex thinking.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Higher Order Thinking
As students grow older, they are asked by their teachers to do more and more with the information they have stored in their brains. These types of requests require accessing higher order thinking (HOT).
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Improve Performance on Reading Comprehension Tests
This article describes some of the thought processes that can help students perform well on standardized tests of reading comprehension. It includes two reading passages along with sample test questions that call on skills that eighth...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: A Theory of Adolescent Reading: A Simple View of a Complex Process
How do adolescents move from reading words to applying knowledge learned from a text? See the adolescent reading model and the Strategic Intervention Model (SIM) clearly illustrated.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach?
Learning critical thinking skills can only take a student so far. Critical thinking depends on knowing relevant content very well and thinking about it, repeatedly. Here are five strategies, consistent with the research, to help bring...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: What Do Reading Comprehension Tests Measure? Knowledge.
The federal No Child Left Behind law requires more testing of students, and has spurred some frantic and ineffectual test preparation in many schools, says the author, E. D. Hirsch, Jr. Reading tests must use unpredictable texts to be...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Develop Fluency Using Content Based Texts
Fluency is the missing piece of the reading puzzle for many older students. They can decode, but they cannot do it automatically and accurately enough to comprehend text. Here are some fluency-building activities to complement content...