The article describes and details how research informed a U.S. federally funded professional development program offered jointly to Indiana ESL and content-area teachers. The success of the program was evident through continued funding and a significant increase in the number of ESL-certified teachers from the start of the program. Read More

Traditionally, writing teachers focus on teaching writing only. If any reading is included with writing, it is often sequential, starting with reading first, followed by writing. More increasingly, however, educators are finding that reading and writing are interconnected. This article includes a Reader Response organizer, which provides meaningful literacy activities. Read More

This article describes academic supports at an urban Midwest U.S. school provided to an 8th-grade bilingual student with deficits in English reading and writing. The school’s student support team worked to mitigate barriers to the student’s English language and literacy development, taking into consideration three professional teaching areas: knowledge of students; home, school and community connections; and supportive learning environments. Read More

This article reviews bell hooks’ book Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom,published through Routledge in 2010. The author vividly describes how hooks encourages readers to examine pedagogical encounters from a critical perspective. The book will especially benefit adult ESL teachers seeking critical approaches to teaching. Read More