Cal Matters

JUNE 25, 2025

UC Riverside found that math and writing skills were lower among the students who graduated from high school during the pandemic than for previous high school graduates. Likewise, 25% of freshmen entered the university at the lowest writing level in 2019. The following year 29% of incoming students started at the lowest writing level.

Math 86

Math English Lecturing High School 86

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 52

High School High School Writing Essay 52

Teachers Pay Teachers

JUNE 27, 2025

Create a Word Wall: Have students write down words and quotes that feel relevant to the goals they listed. Vision Board Student Workbook By Danielle Knight Grades: 4th-12th Subjects: English Language Arts Students will create a 15×20 vision board using this eight-section guide.

Learning Disabilities 64

Learning Disabilities Disabilities Students Art 64

Teacher Toms Blog

JULY 16, 2025

We were embracing this radical idea that, through play, through their self-selected activities, the children in our care were learning to be self-motived, to work well with others, to be critical thinkers, and, most of all, to love learning. This is the motivation behind Teacher Tom's Play-Based Learning Summer Camp.

Motivation 89

Motivation English Questions Writing 89

The Life of a Conflicted Teacher

MAY 31, 2025

One of the biggest things I’ve gotten out of the practice of noticing things and writing them down. Last year, my students were more fluent in English, so I didn’t have to practice Spanish as much. That and writing blogs on a phone is awful! If you’ve not been writing, why not? My notebooks are dusty.

Writing 48

Writing English Motivation Grades 48

Teacher Toms Blog

JUNE 2, 2025

I'm sure that at some level her motivations were educational, but I think the main point was that we were living in a country in where the media was in a language we didn't understand, and she wanted us to be at least minimally entertained. I've been writing about play-based learning almost every day for the past 14 years.

Reading 97

Reading High School High School Critical Thinking 97

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 294

English Writing Teaching Essay 294

eSchool News

JANUARY 30, 2023

Learning a new language is challenging, requiring a student to master four basic skills–listening, reading, speaking, and writing–from scratch. Speaking and writing are about producing the language, requiring a different mental muscle from learners. Writing is essential for professional and long-distance communication.

Writing 281

Writing Skills Essay Languages 281

eSchool News

JUNE 30, 2023

The student understands the underlying motives driving the character’s behavior here. 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? But there are some problems with this response.

Writing 273

Writing Students Communication Critical Thinking 273

Catlin Tucker

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

Clear expectations positively impact the students’ feelings of competence or confidence in their ability to complete a task, which can motivate them to put in their best effort. Teachers do not need to write lengthy comments on student work to justify a grade.

Fairness 546

Fairness Assignments Feedback Languages 546

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 8, 2015

My 90 minute English class begins with 15 minutes of silent sustained reading every day. Write an 8-12 sentence reflection about your book. Write a 4-6 sentence explanation of how this food goes with your book. Write a 4-6 sentence explanation of how this food goes with your book.

Reading 420

Reading Assignments English Writing 420

Catlin Tucker

APRIL 27, 2021

Choice is a powerful motivator. For example, English teachers may have expectations around font size and type, spacing, indentation, quotes, and citations. Peer feedback is most effective when it is focused, and students have clear guidelines for giving feedback. Below are three strategies designed to make peer feedback meaningful.

Feedback 546

Feedback Peer Review Assignments Online Learning 546

Edsurge

MAY 9, 2023

There’s even an option to write stories together. As one educator writes about their experience with the tool, there are no individual user profiles, no way to collect likes and no followers — basically, no emphasis on comparison. Competing [in a game] doesn’t work as motivation for every student.

Gamification 205

Gamification Motivation Game-Based Learning Math 205

Catlin Tucker

DECEMBER 11, 2020

When I began my career in education, I believed the value I brought to the classroom was my subject area expertise cultivated as an English major at UCLA and my pedagogical expertise honed while working on my teaching credential and Masters in Education. I operated under that misguided assumption for years.

Blended Learning 531

Blended Learning Communication Coaching Questions 531

Edsurge

AUGUST 17, 2020

With Immersive Reader, they go back day after day, and then they get mad at you when the project is over because they want more time to add to their writing. We sat down with Felix to learn exactly how Immersive Reader helps her students and why it’s led them to demand more reading and writing time. They want you to read and rate them.

Writing 192

Writing Reading Feedback Skills 192

eSchool News

JANUARY 30, 2025

Our library of more than 850 English and Spanish literacy resources, aligned with all core phonics programs used in schools, offers structured and engaging phonics practice, while the Science of Reading Take-Everywhere Literacy Packs deliver personalized, data-driven practice that extends beyond the classroom for literacy success.

English 272

English Science Reading Schools 272

eSchool News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

The benefits of student agency Students are more engaged and motivated. Besides allowing students to pursue topics that interest them, the sense of ownership and autonomy that student agency provides is very motivating in itself. As Pink writes in the book: “Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.”

Students 347

Students Motivation Achievement Assignments 347

Edsurge

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Competition can be thrilling and motivating to those who choose to engage. They were used as gimmicks and antics to “motivate” students. Currently, I teach sixth grade English at the Roeper School, which is the oldest independent school for gifted students in the country — and competition strays from our philosophy.

Motivation 169

Motivation Students Middle School Middle School 169

Catlin Tucker

MAY 23, 2017

They link to their work or insert a photo, then write a couple of sentences explaining why they gave themselves a particular score. I had students who received As on their report cards because they did everything I asked them to do, but I knew that some of those students were not actually A level students in terms of their English skills.

Grades 420

Grades Assignments Skills English 420

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 319

Reading Assignments Math English 319

Edsurge

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Like many skills, good writing comes with good practice. Just ask Jane Hyatt Yolen, author and editor of more than 280 books, whose most notable quotes include: “Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes.

Writing 148

Writing Essay Learning English 148

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 155

Writing Teaching Education Feedback 155

eSchool News

JANUARY 1, 2020

The Global Seal of Biliteracy is awarded to students who demonstrate proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in two or more languages. For González, her knowledge of Spanish and English earned her the credential, an opportunity that was offered through a binational pilot program.

Languages 130

Languages Language Motivation English 130

eSchool News

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Learning science company McGraw Hill today announced the release of Reading Mastery Transformations , a long-awaited update to the beloved and effective English language arts solution for grades K–5, used in tens of thousands of classrooms across the country and trusted by educators for 65 years.

Reading 210

Reading Hybrid Learning English Science 210

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. Educators can access their invitation to trial Twig Create here.

Language 246

Language Languages Education History 246

Faculty Focus

MAY 9, 2024

In a meta-analysis on the use of AI chatbots in education, Wu and Yu (2023) found that AI chatbots can significantly improve learning outcomes, specifically in the areas of learning performance, motivation, self-efficacy, interest, and perceived value of learning. Write your own GenAI policy to include in your syllabus.

Academic Integrity 137

Academic Integrity Writing Syllabus Exams 137

eSchool News

MARCH 26, 2019

Solution: I teach English, so I started using mini-lessons for essay writing to break down skills. The goal of these videos was for students to “see” how their writing skills were progressing over time. Students were correcting their work as they read out loud, which translated to better writing the next assignment.

Essay 198

Essay Failure Students Writing 198

eSchool News

JULY 16, 2024

For example, to become better writers, readers, and critical thinkers, Quill.org offers low-income students an AI-powered literacy tutor that provides students real-time coaching and feedback on literacy activities that pair nonfiction reading with informational writing.

Education 297

Education Testing Feedback English 297

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. Reading scores have been flat in the U.S.

Reading 270

Reading Intelligence Learning Art 270

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Much of the initial reaction around AI focused on its ability to spit out prose on command, which threatened traditional writing instruction. Most of those teachers taught English or social studies, where the applications of chatbots are more obvious. But the tools were also targeted at math teaching. Flawed Theory of Learning?

Math 213

Math Motivation Writing Intelligence 213

Edsurge

MARCH 19, 2019

Amalia Lopez became a high school English teacher because she thinks functional English is one of the greatest gifts you can give anyone trying to navigate life in the United States. EdSurge: What motivates you as an educator? That has always been my motivation. That’s a huge thing for me. That’s a huge thing for me.

English 160

English Motivation Students Reading 160

Edsurge

DECEMBER 7, 2021

They might read their own writing aloud. I have seen this approach work beautifully for non-English-speaking families, especially. The student shared her portfolio, explaining her progress to her father in Spanish and then to her teacher in English. More and more schools, including my former school in Oakland, Calif.,

Teachers 210

Teachers Students English Writing 210

Edsurge

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Everyone knows that outside of the school building, creative writing workshops aren’t graded. But if you’re teaching creative writing in a K–12 classroom or a community college, at the end of the day you’re most likely required to stamp a letter grade—or at least a percentage score—on your students’ work.

Writing 110

Writing Essay Feedback Instructors 110

eSchool News

DECEMBER 8, 2023

Rather than relying solely on AI to write their essays, students use these tools to foster critical thinking, inspire creativity, and brainstorm potential topics. It can give suggestions for how to write a college application essay for those who lack writing skills, too.

Essay 281

Essay Exams Testing Reading 281

Edsurge

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Support for People Learning English as a Second Language AI offers people who are learning English new and improved avenues for more effective communication. This technology can be reversed too, assisting English-speaking students in foreign language acquisition.

Education 212

Education English Students Languages 212

eSchool News

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Tyrone Howard, a professor of education who writes about research into students’ relationships with their teachers, said “I think schools in many ways have put the cart before the horse. For a student, individual attention can make the difference between effectively developing skills and just coasting along.

Achievement 267

Achievement Students Instructors Ethics 267

Edsurge

OCTOBER 7, 2024

Johnson, a writing instructor and chair of the writing center at Madison Colleg “It all sort of feels bundled together,” Cohn says. Are they going to need to do this reading in order to write something later or conduct research later?’” Now students would likely find his writing too difficult to understand on their own. “I

Instructors 199

Instructors Assignments Textbooks Essay 199