If We Don’t Teach Culturally Affirming Books, We Might as Well Ban Them

Culturally relevant books get your students to participate more in class.

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How Louisiana Created a More Equitable Reading Test

State reading comprehension tests nationwide generally feature passages on topics students have not studied in class. Teachers and students have no idea what the passages will be about. 

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The Surprising State Where Kids Are Making a Reading Comeback

The Surprising State Where Kids Are Making a Reading Comeback

While kids across the country still struggle to read due to pandemic school closures, hopeful signs are emerging in Tennessee. Why there?

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5 Summer Reading Tips to Set Your Students Up for Success

5 Summer Reading Tips to Set Your Students Up for Success

As we head into summer, I’m so excited to read that tall stack of books that’s been waiting for me. And I’m encouraging my fourth grade students to get to the library and build their own summer collection.

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Science of Literacy and Dual Language Advocates Can Work Together, But It’s Harder Than You Think

Science of Literacy and Dual Language Advocates Can Work Together, But It’s Harder Than You Think

Early this year, the Illinois Right to Read Act looked like a no-brainer. As originally written, the bill pushed teacher colleges, districts and schools to pay greater attention to phonics and phonemic awareness when teaching children to read.

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Forget Bruno. We Need to Talk About Shakespeare.

Forget Bruno. We Need to Talk About Shakespeare.

Florida’s book bans—targeting everything from math books to Everywhere Babies—reveal the absurdity and hypocrisy of the culture wars. If “inappropriate” content is really the issue, it’s time to take a hard look at the filth, violence, and sexual innuendos hiding in plain sight inside the classroom’s most sacred cow: William Shakespeare.

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Communities Are Demanding Excellent Educational Opportunities. It’s Time We Do Something Different.

In this moment, shaped by both the global pandemic and enduring racial inequities, excellent educational opportunities that communities are rightly demandi

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BIPOC Students Deserve To See More Than White Protagonists in Children's Books

BIPOC Students Deserve To See More Than White Protagonists in Children’s Books

The great American educator, Mary McLeod Bethune, once said, “The whole world opened to me when I learned to read.” As we mark National Family Literacy Mon

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I Believe in Public Schools, But They Just Weren't Working for My Son

I Believe in Public Schools, But They Just Weren’t Working for My Son

“The wolf took one last look at his mother and father…” My son is reading aloud in the other room. I hear his little voice recounting the story of a wolf w

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