Last week, the College Board reported that SAT reading scores have reached an all-time low. The Class of 2011's SAT reading scores dipped another three points from the previous year (down to 497), and that makes it a whopping 33-point drop since 1972. The bleak news should leave teachers and administrators taking a hard look at how we are preparing students (or not) for the skills that are tested on the reading section of standardized exams.  Continue reading...

This week's worksheet gives students a chance to discover how Americans and Brits might give the same set of directions to Grandma's home using different sets of vocabulary words.  Continue reading...

If you are wondering how to approach 9/11 in your classroom, turn to one of these excellent news sites for educators:

• The New York Times Learning Network: Teaching and Learning About 9/11 With The New York Times
  
  
• PBS NewsHour Extra: Youth Remember 9/11

In my column "The Dead Letter Classroom," I argued that we needed to be teaching students how to write letters. In this piece, I'm going to tell you specifically how I do it and how I use letters to teach English skills in a timely, relevant manner.  Continue reading...

Margaret Hundley Parker teaches writing at the college level, and for the new school year she's finding inspiration from an unlikely source: songs by the band Talking Heads (and Radiohead and The Doors, too). Find out why she thinks writing teachers should start their year by "burning down the house."  Continue reading...

This week's worksheet asks students to examine the meanings of some familiar words beginning with the prefix tele- and to infer the meaning of its ancient Greek origin.  Continue reading...