Play, art, drama, and technology can extend student learning far beyond read-aloud sessions. Discover techniques for varying genres and including expository texts to strengthen comprehension. Practice questioning skills to aid comprehension during read-alouds. A plan for incorporating expository text into instruction is the culminating project.

Introduce your youngest readers and writers to the world of phonics and spelling with research-based instructional activities drawn from principles that formed the basis of NCLB. Practice assessing the performance of emergent readers and analyzing student work samples to determine their knowledge levels. Use assessment data to design appropriate activities for teaching phonics and spelling.

Design more effective lesson plans by learning to evaluate your students' word knowledge and to incorporate vocabulary instructional strategies. Explore the role of vocabulary knowledge in the relationship between the written vocabularies of reading and writing, and the oral vocabularies of listening and speaking. Evaluate how your instructional practices align with National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) standards and your state's standards.

Lay the foundation that your students will build on to meet mathematical standards for years to come. Learn to teach "mental arithmetic" to enhance your students' understanding of addition and subtraction. Develop your understanding of computational strategies by observing students, exploring lesson plans, and examining Web resources.