Consistent ELL Guides Proposed

In a move that could prompt major changes in the way states measure the achievement of English-language learners, the U.S. Department of Education is planning to tell states they must each use a consistent yardstick in determining when a child is fluent in English and when that child no longer needs special ELL services.

Read A Million Books, Gain Valuable Lessons

Houston Independent School District's Millionaire Club is challenging 200,000 students to read 1 million books this summer. The program is part of the district's $3 million Literacy Leads the Way program, and dovetails with the Houston Public Library's Summer Reading Program. Incentives include free T-shirts and tickets to the circus.

Young Thespians: Students Score an Opera

They don't have vocal music, drama, or art programs at their school, but that didn't stop the third- and fourth-graders from Hanstein Elementary from writing and staging their own opera. Since October, students have been working on The Ringer of the Moon, with the Michigan Opera Theatre and the InsideOut Literary Arts Project, an organization that places professional poets and fiction writers in Detroit schools.

Popular Writer Visits Meredith Middle School

Popular children's author Gordon Korman did not write No More Dead Dogs because he lost a beloved pet. "I was one of those kids growing up who hated all the books where the dog died," he said. Here he answers questions developed by seventh-grade literacy students at Meredith Middle school about reading and writing books.

(Opinion) Interview with Reid Lyon about Reading First

Children's learning expert Dr. Reid Lyon helped develop the Reading First program. In this interview he details the limitations he sees in a recent study of the impact of Reading First. He also gives his thoughts about the scope of the program, noting "Reading First is the largest concerted reading intervention program in the history of the civilized world."

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