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Barbie Bungee: Illuminations

From the posting: "In this lesson, students model a bungee jump using a Barbie® doll and rubber bands. The distance to which the doll will fall is directly proportional to the number of rubber bands, so this context is used to examine linear functions." Appropriate for CCRS Level D, Level E. [Note: Resource only accessible for NCTM members.] Read More

Balancing the Equation

In this 5-minute talk, Matt Larson addresses the historic pendulum swing in instructional practice, addresses recent concerns about national academic standards and "new math", and suggests what math educators might advocate for today. Read More

Achieve the Core – Math Standards

The site describes itself as "full of free content designed to help educators understand and implement the Common Core and other college and career ready standards." Resources include CCRS-aligned tasks, activities, lessons and more, but also materials to support educators in understanding the standards and the content. Read More

What does text complexity mean for English learners and language minority students?

In this paper, the authors demonstrate how English learners can be provided with strategies for accessing complex texts, such as closely examining one sentence at a time, and argue that instruction must go beyond vocabulary and should begin with an examination of our beliefs about language, literacy and learning. Read More

Rigor, Relevance, and Respect for Beginning Adult English Learners

Oxford Picture Dictionary author Jayme Adelson-Goldstein shares tips for laying the foundation of college and career readiness skills in beginning level adult instruction. Read More

ReadWorks.org

ReadWorks provides a large, high-quality library of curated nonfiction and literary articles, along with reading comprehension and vocabulary lessons, formative assessments, and teacher guidance. Through this website teachers can access curriculum, lesson plans, and free training. Read More

Reading Skills for Healthcare Workers – ESL

A free online Career Pathway literacy curriculum based on CNA and general healthcare content, including 175 selections for intermediate-level readers between 5.5 and 8.5 grade levels. Read More

Choosing Complex Text

This video from ReadWriteThink features a first-grade teacher talking through the steps that she uses to select a complex text for her class. The strategies that are described are easily adapted to adult EL classrooms. Read More

Text Analysis Tools

Depend on the Text! How to Create Text-Dependent Questions

In this video from ReadWriteThink, a first-grade teacher demonstrates the process she uses to create text-dependent questions around a reading text. The strategies that are described are easily adapted to adult EL classrooms. Read More