AdLit News Headlines

George Lopez is opening up about the inspiration behind his new middle-grade novel and what it’s been like influencing kids throughout his career

Teenagers share what drives them in school: inspiring teachers, interesting classes, the feeling of accomplishment and more.

Worries about social media’s effect on hardwired kids are coming from all corners. Seattle Public Schools on Friday filed a 91-page lawsuit against the companies behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube in a federal district court.

The public school district alleges that students are being recommended harmful content online, exacerbating a mental health crisis, and social media companies are allowing it to happen.

“Each day, they walk through a million reasons to give up, yet each day, they persist,” teacher Zach Posnan said of his Conwell Middle School students. He’s trying to raise $7,000 for equipment.

A CSI elective for 6th graders. A math class that teaches the Egyptian roots of the “Pythagorean” theorem. School leaders in Brooklyn Center share their secrets to helping students re-engage after the turmoil of 2020. “You start to get kids who run to math class,” one Liberian-born teacher says.

This week’s One Class at a Time Winner, a sixth grade teacher from Washington Middle School, is hoping to keep the magic of reading alive.

New research suggests there are four general profiles of gifted adolescents: humanitarians, politicians, regulators and stabilizers.

From fantastical tales of mysterious rings that cause mayhem, and highly anticipated sequels like Cameron Battle’s second adventure, all the way to insightful stories chronicling the famine of the Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s, 2023 is shaping up to be a marvellous adventure when it comes to middle grade releases! 

PEN America and Brooklyn Public Library are teaming up to co-host the first-ever Freedom to Read Advocacy Institute for the spring 2023 semester. This free online four-week training program for high school students will prepare and certify the next generation of free expression advocates to combat book banning and fight for the freedom to read in their schools, libraries, and communities across the country. Applications are due January 19. There is no cost to apply, and the program is free.

Many children and adolescents are responsible for disabled, chronically ill or aging family

This year’s list includes edtech entrepreneurs, social changemakers and tireless educators.

Educators can help empower middle and high school students to independently manage their growing responsibilities.

On this week’s podcast, we’re looking at the potential impact of this new AI tool by talking to a couple of educators who have used the chatbot and already had some surprising interactions.

As global temperatures rise, middle school students are learning research skills that could help cool off their school and neighborhood.

We Need Diverse Books has announced the winners and honor titles for their annual Walter Dean Myers Awards. Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Jeff Edwards, won in the teen category. Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington, won the younger readers category.

The pandemic hurt children’s reading skills. Librarians are doing what it takes to connect them with books, including dance routines.

Literacy lessons are embedded in every academic class. Even in biology.

Virginia’s Attorney General Jason S. Miyares said he will launch an investigation into allegations of racial discrimination at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Miyares announced following claims from a group of parents that the school withheld notifications this fall from students whom the National Merit Scholarship Corp. named “commended students,” a distinction given to the nation’s high scorers on standardized tests. 

Los Angeles schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho has announced a plan to create a unique progress report for every student. The proposed Individual Acceleration Plans, or IAPs, would affect all students in the nation’s second-largest school district and provide parents with a clear explanation of how their children are doing in school. His plan also calls for “late buses” so children can stay after school for tutoring and get a ride directly to their homes; efforts to improve learning and make up ground lost during the pandemic.

This essay by Ashley Hope Pérez is part of a series of interviews with — and essays by — authors who are finding their books being challenged and banned in the U.S.

While more long-term studies are needed to truly understand how the use of phones, tablets, and other screens is affecting kids’ mental health, a 2022 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found a link between screen time and obsessive-compulsive disorder in pre-teens over a two-year period.

New laws tell teachers how to discuss the history of slavery and racism. We visited four schools to see what kids are really learning.

Policymakers across local, state, and federal governments regularly make decisions about how to allocate resources to U.S. public schools. For students, these decisions matter. For decades, advocates and researchers have raised alarms about inequities in resource allocation and pushed for reforms to the country’s school finance systems. These inequities have roots in the complex, decentralized ways in which public schools are funded. 

This list of 32 activities covers digital citizenship, activities that will help students find online resources, and how to stay safe on the internet; ultimately setting students up for success in their digital learning journeys.

While there are lots of YA books that don’t feel like YA, there are also plenty of YA books that are just so dang good that everyone should read them. I’ve included a little of both in this list. 

I felt isolated and powerless until I sought out Black spaces at my NYC specialized high school.

Thoughtfully assessing their progress allows middle school students to make adjustments in order to achieve their academic goals.

When done well, career and technical education (CTE) expands opportunities for student success after high school while strengthening workplace readiness.

The new Advanced Placement class on African American Studies comes amid new state laws restricting how historical racism is taught.

As gender remains the single strongest determinant of school participation among Nepalese adolescents, it is important to understand the social-emotional needs of adolescent girls and how can they be addressed.

Los Angeles Unified’s unexpectedly big increase in eighth grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress drew praise and skepticism after the release of the scores last month. The results may have warranted some of both.  

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s new middle-grade anthology dives into stories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who shaped the United States.

There’s nothing we love more than a fantastic edition of a great YA book, and with so many amazing books out there, it’s become quite the cornucopia of lovely anniversary and special editions! 

The stress of living through the pandemic physically changed adolescents’ brains and prematurely aged them by at least three or four years, according to a Stanford University study .

High school English teacher Beth Knapp talked with Education Week about how she routinely seizes on opportunities in the popular culture to build rapport with her students while also growing their vocabulary and hers.

When the revision process is scaffolded, students learn that writing multiple drafts can be fun and will lead to better writing.

Pending Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature, a bipartisan bill would make New Jersey the first state to standardize media literacy lessons for all students.

A longtime librarian picks 15 books: Picture books for your littlest ones, middle-grade novels for young readers and young-adult titles for teens.

Sabaa Tahir received this year’s Young People’s Literature prize for her YA novel ‘All My Rage’; during her tearful acceptance speech, Tahir noted, “I am the first Muslim and Pakistani American woman to win this award.” 

The brain isn’t wired to read. Most kids need instruction in phonics, vocabulary & background knowledge to grasp the written word.

James Gensaw’s work in California’s public high schools as a Yurok language teacher and mentor to Native American students is part of a reckoning with equity and justice in schools.

Teachers can use creative ways to spark students’ interest in words and encourage long-term retention of their meanings.

Teachers can motivate middle and high school students by providing structure while also allowing them some control over their learning.

Seniors who sat for the SATs last month at El Paso High School will have to retake the test after many of the sheets with their answers were scattered on the street.

Over the weekend, the Virginia Department of Education released new standards of learning that, if approved next year, will radically reshape what and how students in the state learn in history and social studies lessons.

Drug use among teens ages 14 to 18 remained relatively stable between 2010 and 2020, yet more young people are dying from fentanyl than ever before.

Adolescents need unstructured time to build connections with other students and learn how to recover after failure.

The nation’s second-largest school district credits connectivity and teacher training for academic gains.

While competition can create the possibility of sometimes winning and sometimes losing, it’s always about something more. Pursuing opportunities, winning, and losing is a game everyone must play.

Gathered from northernmost Canada to the Mayan of Central America, these works are only a selection of the stories that exist within the Native community. They take place in the past, but also the future, to emphasize that Native peoples have been, are still, and will always be an active and indelible part our complex story.

The literary award was first given in 2014 and is among the highest paying, granting each of its winners $50,000.

In a recent study, children and adolescents with ADHD often had to change treatment in instances of ineffectiveness or complications.

Of these five holiday books, two are about Hanukkah, two are written by authors of color, and one centers a queer romance! Which, to be honest…it’s about time in 2022. 

Teachers and librarians are showing kids that books are for everybody, regardless of gender.

A Chiefs for Change paper explains why approaches in middle school should differ from those in elementary and high schools due to the rapid neurological, learning, psychological and social changes children experience during this time.

A library media specialist shares how to create engaging cross-curricular virtual reality tours for students.

An English professor takes a critical look at why today’s students are assigned the same books that were assigned decades ago and why American school curricula are so difficult to change.

How will they interpret the past?

Local districts decided whether to allow middle schools to use grades in choosing students. The majority chose to keep a less competitive lottery system that began during the pandemic.

We live in an era where public school districts are routinely slammed for being hidebound and resistant to change. Some are, but others make changes all the time, sometimes with success. This post looks at a few districts that have done just that.