Critical Thinking, English and Writing

Showfloor News: PBLWorks creates PBLWorks TEACH to help scale project based learning

eSchool News

JULY 2, 2025

The Buck Institute for Education (dba PBLWorks ), a national provider of professional development for high-quality Project Based Learning (PBL), is launching PBLWorks TEACH , a web-based application with ready-to-use, standards-aligned, Gold-Standard PBL projects for middle school math, science, English Language Arts, and social studies.

Teaching

Teaching Middle School Middle School Social Studies

Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Real Life: The Power of Applied Learning

k12 Digest

JULY 1, 2025

Steven Sgourdos has a passion for fostering intellectual curiosity and critical thinking in his students. Since 2009, he has taught History, English, and Theology in the United States, and has since expanded his expertise to the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Business studies in China.

Learning

Learning Critical Thinking History Secondary Education

AI tools are everyday study buddies, survey finds

eSchool News

JULY 21, 2025

It requires thoughtful guidance, encouragement, and critical thinking–things AI can support, but not replace. Among the most common subjects for AI use: English/language arts (42 percent), mathematics (42 percent), and history (27 percent). However, experts caution that these tools don’t always get the facts right.

Study

Study Essay History English

Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Real Life: The Power of Applied Learning

k12 Digest

JULY 1, 2025

Steven Sgourdos has a passion for fostering intellectual curiosity and critical thinking in his students. Since 2009, he has taught History, English, and Theology in the United States, and has since expanded his expertise to the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Business studies in China.

Learning

Learning Critical Thinking History Secondary Education

Reviving Engagement in the Spanish Classroom: A Musical Challenge with ChatGPT

Faculty Focus

JUNE 5, 2025

Building on this tradition, the activity we will share here not only incorporates music but also integrates artificial intelligence, adding a new layer of engagement and critical thinking. Create Your Own Verse   Each group writes a new verse that matches the song’s style and rhythm. Instructions: 1.

Languages

Languages Language Instructors Culture

The Basics of Making a Curriculum for Homeschool Students

Teachers Pay Teachers

JULY 22, 2025

You become their biggest advocate as they grow in subjects like math, science, and English. Block out time for reading and writing 3. Introduce core subjects, like math, English, science, and social studies, through play, creativity, and real-world experiences. Table of Contents 1. Start with core concepts 2. 1, CCSS W.K.2,

Curriculum

Curriculum Social Studies Art Learning Styles

Reviving Engagement in the Spanish Classroom: A Musical Challenge with ChatGPT

Faculty Focus

JUNE 5, 2025

Building on this tradition, the activity we will share here not only incorporates music but also integrates artificial intelligence, adding a new layer of engagement and critical thinking. Create Your Own Verse   Each group writes a new verse that matches the song’s style and rhythm. Instructions: 1.

Languages

Languages Language Instructors Culture

How Gamification Uncovers Nuance In The Learning Process

Teach Thought

JULY 10, 2025

Gamification allows broad content areas (like English-Language Arts) with few measures of performance (alphanumeric symbols) to be broken up into more granular–and achievable–concepts and skills. Views Facebook Linkedin Print How Does Gamification Uncover Nuance In The Learning Process?

Gamification

Gamification Learning Motivation Learning Styles

Why writing doesn’t just prove learning, it improves all learning-including STEM

eSchool News

JULY 20, 2017

Writing is used to assess student learning more often than it is used to facilitate learning. We talk about writing as a product for assessment, a subject where paragraphs and commas are taught, or a skill that one either has developed or lacks. Rarely do we hear people, even teachers, discuss writing as a process for learning.

Writing

Writing STEM Learning Critical Thinking

78 Scholarly & Creative 7th Grade Writing Prompts

Teachers Pay Teachers

JUNE 11, 2025

Ready to ignite your students’ imaginations and sharpen their writing skills? With these engaging 7th grade writing prompts, students will dive into a world of self-expression. They’re developing the skills to investigate real-world topics, explain ideas clearly, and write with purpose.

Writing

Writing Grades Essay Middle School

94 Intriguing Writing Prompts for High School

Teachers Pay Teachers

JUNE 2, 2025

High schoolers write a lot every school day. How can you help them improve their writing skills and have fun at the same time? Thats where daily writing prompts come in! Write a thank-you note to someone in your life. Have students write to the prompt before class begins. Do you like watching sports live or on TV?

High School

High School High School Writing Essay

If We Want Children to Read for Pleasure

Teacher Toms Blog

JUNE 2, 2025

One of the most important reading journeys of my life was Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain , a dense, difficult work, translated into English from the original German, written by a very smart man. I've been writing about play-based learning almost every day for the past 14 years. Reading a book to the end requires effort.

Reading

Reading High School High School Critical Thinking

44 Tricky Riddles for High School Students with Answers

Teachers Pay Teachers

JUNE 30, 2025

Students can answer the riddle in a daily journal or chat with a partner before you start the day’s lesson, letting them settle in and practice using important critical thinking skills. Test your students’ funny bones and critical thinking skills with these science-themed riddles and jokes.

High School

High School High School Schools Math

ThinkCERCA Raises $10.1 Million to Build Critical Thinkers, Readers and Writers

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

But “there’s an even more basic level of literacy that people need to pick up,” notes the former English teacher and administrator. Like how to write an email.” Helping students write and reason clearly, critically and concisely is the central mission at her company, ThinkCERCA. That’s a mistake, she believes.

Textbooks

Textbooks Essay Writing English

Using AI to teach persuasive writing to English learners

eSchool News

DECEMBER 20, 2024

I spent countless hours guiding them through the writing process, giving feedback, and encouraging them to think critically. AI-powered tools have entered the educational landscape, and theyve changed the way I teach writing–particularly persuasive writing.

English

English Writing Teaching Essay

Texting is negatively impacting students’ writing

eSchool News

JUNE 30, 2023

That was the joking term that my fellow English teachers and I came up with to describe what we were seeing. Was early exposure to texting crimping our students’ ability to write correctly? To engage in the critical thinking process that underpins the ability to write? Our joking masked a real concern.

Writing

Writing Students Communication Critical Thinking

AI and Writing Essays: Pros and Cons, How Will Students Learn to Write if an AI Writes It for Them?

Ask a Tech Teacher

APRIL 30, 2024

Explore the benefits and drawbacks of AI in essay writing, including its impact on student learning. Unveil the evolving future of writing education with AI through these suggestions from the Ask a Tech Teacher team. AI and Writing Essays: Pros and Cons, How Will Students Learn to Write if an AI Writes It for Them?

Essay

Essay Writing Plagiarism Ethics

Students using AI: It’s not that scary and shouldn’t be banned

eSchool News

DECEMBER 5, 2024

Concerns about academic dishonesty, loss of critical thinking skills, and inappropriate content creation have sparked discussions about banning AI tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, and others. AI replaces critical thinking Some worry that AI will lead to intellectual laziness.

Ethics

Ethics Critical Thinking Essay Students

Computational Thinking Is Critical Thinking. And It Works in Any Subject.

Edsurge

MAY 21, 2019

But at its core, computational thinking is simply a way to process information using higher-order or critical thinking, says Julie Oltman, who also teaches at Lehigh and is collaborating with Hammond on a related social studies curriculum. If I was in literature or English language arts, I might come up with a different framing.”

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Social Studies English Art

NoRedInk and the National Writing Project Partner to Inspire the Next Generation of Writers in the Age of Gen AI

eSchool News

APRIL 9, 2025

SAN FRANCISCO NoRedInk , the comprehensive online writing platform provider used in over 60% of U.S. school districts, has partnered with the National Writing Project (NWP) , a nationwide network dedicated to improving writing instruction. Learn more at NoRedInk.com.

Writing

Writing Critical Thinking English Language

Would You Rather: Transfer and Apply

Catlin Tucker

JUNE 16, 2024

Providing students with choices to transfer and apply their learning encourages deeper thinking and enhances their ability to communicate their understanding effectively. These choices promote active engagement, critical thinking, and the ability to connect and apply concepts in various contexts.

History

History Physical Education Art Essay

6 ways to support multilingual learners in STEM

eSchool News

JANUARY 17, 2024

STEM can help with English language development by allowing students to engage with language in a variety of ways. Native English speakers can struggle, too. Be sure to explicitly teach words that have multiple meanings in English, e.g., base , bond , code , engineer , mass , model , range , volume , and odd and even.

STEM

STEM English Language Languages

Writing a College Essay That Stands Out

Edsurge

DECEMBER 8, 2023

As the college essay program manager for Write the World, a nonprofit writing organization for teens, I oversee a group of advisers who guide students through the essay writing process. I have seen firsthand the anxiety that students experience when it comes to writing their college essays.

Essay

Essay Writing Beliefs High School

Revolutionizing storytelling with AI: Empowering ELLs

eSchool News

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

For English Language Learners (ELLs), this scenario is even more daunting due to limited vocabulary or fear of making mistakes. For English Language Learners (ELLs), this scenario is even more daunting due to limited vocabulary or fear of making mistakes. As educators, we constantly seek ways to help students overcome these barriers.

English

English Critical Thinking Writing Language

OpenAI releases ChatGPT teaching guide

eSchool News

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Bellas also turns to ChatGPT to help teachers make sure questions they write themselves are inclusive and accessible for the students’ learning level. “If Anthony Kaziboni, the Head of Research at the University of Johannesburg, teaches students who mostly don’t speak English outside of the classroom.

Teaching

Teaching Quizzes Exams English

Riverside Insights Continues to Lead Innovation in Assessments for English Learners

eSchool News

OCTOBER 27, 2022

This early childhood solution continues Riverside’s strong tradition of developing leading assessments to support deeper understanding of English learners (EL), who are often over- or under-identified for special learning accommodations. “We Bateria IV : A comprehensive assessment system to evaluate native Spanish speakers.

English

English Evaluation Language Languages

4 ways to balance rigor and fun in the ELA classroom

eSchool News

AUGUST 20, 2024

If you then encourage students to research topics that interest them, they’ll be even more motivated to read and write–and they may even have some fun. Helping students uncover their passions I once had a student who insisted on writing her research paper on body piercings.

Reading

Reading Assignments Math English

Three Ways to Support Educators Who Hate to Teach Writing

Edsurge

MARCH 12, 2018

“Another English teacher just switched to gym because she couldn’t do it anymore,” a teacher from Georgia recently told me. “I I love teaching and helping kids grow,” she added, “but I hate that writing instruction takes up hours and hours of my life.” 9% of writing assignments in grades six to eight include long form writing.

Writing

Writing Teaching Education Feedback

6 ways to make math more accessible for multilingual learners

eSchool News

APRIL 4, 2025

Many math tasks involve reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These language demands can be particularly challenging for students whose primary language is not English. Write the terms on a whiteboard. Incorporate visual aids Visuals and multimedia improve MLs English language acquisition and engagement.

Math

Math Accessibility English Language

How podcasts can improve literacy

eSchool News

JUNE 5, 2018

I’m going to confess, I did not bring podcasts into my English classroom with any intention of improving my students’ literacy skills. Using Serial turned out to be a huge academic success for a variety of reasons , most of them related to critical thinking, listening comprehension, and the art of storytelling.

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking English Evaluation Art

From Analog to Digital: Why and How to Teach Students to Write for an Online Audience

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

Whether text, video or something else entirely, each of these mediums encompasses a form of writing. The ubiquity and impact of digital writing can’t be ignored. The ubiquity and impact of digital writing can’t be ignored. Increasingly, writing doesn’t mean a five paragraph essay written by hand. engagement and passion.

Writing

Writing Teaching Essay Assignments

CAE Announces Stacey Sparks as Senior Director of Content Design and Development

eSchool News

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

Great content is critical to effective assessments and her in-depth knowledge and experience in assessment, coupled with her outstanding writing and editing skills, strengthen our mission.”. in English Literature from Princeton University and a degree in librarianship from the University of Wales. Sparks holds a B.A.

Secondary Education

Secondary Education English Critical Thinking Knowledge

Creating podcasts in the classroom

eSchool News

JANUARY 27, 2025

Studies, like one conducted in 2023 by Chaves-Yuste and de-la Pea , have found that students learning English as a foreign language have demonstrated significantly higher scores compared to a control group after creating and using podcasts in the classroom. All four domains (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) are present.

Communication

Communication Writing Language Languages

Virtual art meets language learning: A tech-enhanced ESL experience

eSchool News

APRIL 14, 2025

For English Language Learners (ELLs), its more than an expressive outlet. Through creative activities, students build vocabulary, develop critical thinking, and practice expressive language, all while immersing themselves in global art and culture.

Language

Language Languages Art English

The Role of Writing in Communicative Language Teaching: An Investigation of an AI-Integrated Classroom Activity

Faculty Focus

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

One of the persistent challenges in second language acquisition (SLA), especially within the communicative approach, is how to incorporate writing in a way that feels meaningful and beneficial to students. As a result, writing often takes a backseat, seen as an isolated, academic exercise rather than a communicative act.

Language

Language Languages Writing Communication

Teaching Office Hour: How Can Profs Support Students Who Come In With Poor Writing Skills?

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

How can I best support students with very poor writing skills when the class is not one specifically focused on writing? I'm already encouraging them to use the Writing Center and giving feedback that highlights one or two specific grammar/ clarity issues to focus on. Inoue, director of the writing center at the U.of

Writing

Writing Skills Teaching Essay

Twig Education Announces Launch of Twig Create Multimedia Makerspace

eSchool News

APRIL 14, 2021

The Twig Create makerspace encourages students’ creative agency in a number of ways: Film allows students who struggle with paper/pen-based reading and writing to access information more readily and communicate ideas in a sequenced manner.

Languages

Languages Language Education History

School district in Georgia creates significant learning gains for Title 1 students

eSchool News

DECEMBER 12, 2016

MCSD narrowed the gap between its test scores and the state averages on 12 tests this year: third-grade English language arts, science, and social studies. fifth-grade English language arts, math, science, and social studies. fifth-grade English language arts, math, science, and social studies. seventh-grade science.

Social Studies

Social Studies English Schools Art

How to Get Engagement, Growth and Stickiness When Teaching Kids to Write

Edsurge

MARCH 28, 2017

As an English teacher with 24 years of experience, I often feel I’ve explored every possible avenue to help my students grow as writers. Fortunately, I found everything I was looking for (and more) in the online reading and writing program ThinkCERCA. Growth The final piece of the puzzle is the growth the CERCA framework creates.

Writing

Writing Essay Teaching Quizzes

Rosetta Stone Announces Winners of the Emergent Bilingual Educators of the Year Award Program

eSchool News

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

A total of $20,000 in grant donations and $75,000 in subscriptions to the Rosetta Stone® English for Education language learning program were awarded to teachers of English learners (EL). Each won $5,000 grants as well as the schoolwide semester’s subscription to Rosetta Stone English. I have given my students over 10,000 books.”

Essay

Essay English Languages Language

DreamBox Learning® Expands into PreK-2 Reading with Launch of Reading Park

eSchool News

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

Reading Park meets Foundational Reading Standards for grades K-2 as outlined in national and state English Language Arts (ELA) standards. DreamBox’s intelligent adaptive learning platform leverages cognitive science and learning principles to engage and support students at any age. “As Reading scores have been flat in the U.S.

Reading

Reading Intelligence Learning Art

4 ways podcasts help improve student literacy

eSchool News

JANUARY 3, 2020

I’m going to confess, I did not bring podcasts into my English classroom with any intention of improving my students’ literacy skills. Using Serial turned out to be a huge academic success for a variety of reasons , most of them related to critical thinking, listening comprehension, and the art of storytelling.

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Students English Evaluation

April Engagement Ideas: What to Do When Testing Disrupts Learning

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 22, 2025

This strategy provides students with the opportunity to deepen their understanding while developing self-direction and critical thinking skills that are valuable far beyond testing season. #2 Writing a diary entry from that persons perspective. Designing a digital trading card with stats and accomplishments.

Testing

Testing Learning Critical Thinking Essay

5 vocabulary strategies powered by technology

eSchool News

APRIL 16, 2025

Key points: Tech tools can create more engaging and effective learning experiences A critical shift in digital instruction in 2025 How multimedia and interactive tech transform engagement For more news on digital tools, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub In 2010, I began my teaching career as a high school English teacher.

Technology

Technology Middle School Middle School Assignments

Showfloor News: PBLWorks creates PBLWorks TEACH to help scale project based learning

Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Real Life: The Power of Applied Learning

Trending Sources

AI tools are everyday study buddies, survey finds

Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Real Life: The Power of Applied Learning

Reviving Engagement in the Spanish Classroom: A Musical Challenge with ChatGPT

The Basics of Making a Curriculum for Homeschool Students

Reviving Engagement in the Spanish Classroom: A Musical Challenge with ChatGPT

How Gamification Uncovers Nuance In The Learning Process

Why writing doesn’t just prove learning, it improves all learning-including STEM

78 Scholarly & Creative 7th Grade Writing Prompts

94 Intriguing Writing Prompts for High School

If We Want Children to Read for Pleasure

44 Tricky Riddles for High School Students with Answers

ThinkCERCA Raises $10.1 Million to Build Critical Thinkers, Readers and Writers

Using AI to teach persuasive writing to English learners

Texting is negatively impacting students’ writing

AI and Writing Essays: Pros and Cons, How Will Students Learn to Write if an AI Writes It for Them?

Students using AI: It’s not that scary and shouldn’t be banned

Computational Thinking Is Critical Thinking. And It Works in Any Subject.

NoRedInk and the National Writing Project Partner to Inspire the Next Generation of Writers in the Age of Gen AI

Would You Rather: Transfer and Apply

6 ways to support multilingual learners in STEM

Writing a College Essay That Stands Out

Revolutionizing storytelling with AI: Empowering ELLs

OpenAI releases ChatGPT teaching guide

Riverside Insights Continues to Lead Innovation in Assessments for English Learners

4 ways to balance rigor and fun in the ELA classroom

Three Ways to Support Educators Who Hate to Teach Writing

6 ways to make math more accessible for multilingual learners

How podcasts can improve literacy

From Analog to Digital: Why and How to Teach Students to Write for an Online Audience

CAE Announces Stacey Sparks as Senior Director of Content Design and Development

Creating podcasts in the classroom

Virtual art meets language learning: A tech-enhanced ESL experience

The Role of Writing in Communicative Language Teaching: An Investigation of an AI-Integrated Classroom Activity

Teaching Office Hour: How Can Profs Support Students Who Come In With Poor Writing Skills?

Twig Education Announces Launch of Twig Create Multimedia Makerspace

School district in Georgia creates significant learning gains for Title 1 students

How to Get Engagement, Growth and Stickiness When Teaching Kids to Write

Rosetta Stone Announces Winners of the Emergent Bilingual Educators of the Year Award Program

DreamBox Learning® Expands into PreK-2 Reading with Launch of Reading Park

4 ways podcasts help improve student literacy

April Engagement Ideas: What to Do When Testing Disrupts Learning

5 vocabulary strategies powered by technology

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