AdLit.org is a national multimedia project offering information and resources to the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers. AdLit.org is an educational initiative of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital, and is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and by the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation.

Student Motivation and Engagement in Literacy Learning

Find out how to increase students' motivation in meaningful and engaging ways. More »

Ideas to Motivate Readers

Recommendations for nurturing motivation from student motivation expert, Dr. Linda Gambrell. More »

Using Tutoring to Reach Reluctant Readers

Giving choices, using creative resources (think 1D YouTube clips), and focusing on the positive can all create a more positive learning environment. Read more about these, and other ideas in this article. More »

Featured Booklist: Asian Pacific American Heritage

Since 1978, Asian Pacific American Heritage has been celebrated in America. Here a just a few of the many YA lit books featuring Asian Americans that we recommend. More »

Featured Author: Grace Lin

Learn all about award-winning YA lit author, Grace Lin, and her protrayals of the Asian-American Experience. More »

Featured Strategy

Seed Discussion

A Seed Discussion is a two-part strategy used to teach students how to engage in discussions about assigned readings. In the first part, students read selected text and identify "seeds" or key concepts of a passage which may need additional explanation. In the second part, students work in small groups to present their "seeds" to one another. Each "seed" should be thoroughly discussed before moving on to the next.

Browse AdLit.org's Classroom Strategies Library for more techniques to improve students' vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing.

Featured Resource

Primary Sources

Teachers, put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom. Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids all geared toward the celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage month. Resources come from the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the National Gallery of Art, and more!

Featured Glossary Term

Frustrational Reading Level

Definition: The level at which a reader reads at less than 90% accuracy.

View glossary >>

Featured Partner

National Education Association (NEA)

The National Education Association (NEA) is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers. To focus the country's attention on how important it is to motivate children to read, NEA launched the Read Across America program in 1997. This nationwide reading celebration takes place each year on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss. NEA's Read Across America also provides NEA members, parents, caregivers, and children the resources and activities they need to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year.

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AdLit.org is funded by:

the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York. The statements and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors.