AdLit News Headlines

Several common educational strategies lean into the idea that, in the classroom, challenge is something to embrace.

Listen as Good Morning America hosts discuss the National Institutes of Health’s exploration of why some kids get hooked on social video feeds and the effect they may have on brain development.

Expecting the worst of students is a self-fulfilling prophecy

In a new book, veteran teacher Geraldine Woods shares insights from a quarter-century of directing an independent study program.

For many at St. George Academy, a tiny Ukrainian Catholic high school in the East Village, the country currently under attack by Russia is home and the pull toward home remains strong. 

Digital materials can provide desired privacy in some scenarios while creating problems in others. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, English language arts (ELA) teachers have increasingly relied on digital materials and online tools to expand student access to books and content, facilitate online collaboration, and deliver learning experiences. Here we provide five recommendations for teachers committed to protecting student and family privacy.

High school transcripts look more impressive than ever, but they often don’t reflect actual learning. One big reason that is generally overlooked: the elementary and middle school curriculum fails to equip kids with the knowledge they need to do high school level work.

More than 4 in 10 told the health agency they felt ‘persistently sad or hopeless’.

Museums for Digital Learning was developed in partnership with teachers and provides curated material on a variety of subjects.

Makenzie Thompson, 18, didn’t originally plan to apply to over 50 universities. But after attending college fairs and receiving fee waivers, she ended up applying to 51 schools. So far, she has been accepted to 49 and is still waiting to hear back from one more.

From Lisa Fipps’s Starfish to Amber McBride’s Me (Moth), these 21 novels in verse for middle grade and teens favor poetry over prose. Share them during National Poetry Month and all yearlong.

Lexicon Lane, the newest exhibition at Planet Word, opened March 26 and offers word-sleuthing adventures to puzzle-loving visitors.

BookTok serves an important role in that it centers readers and their preferences in an organic, grassroots-type structure.

A large study in Britain found two specific windows of adolescence when some teenagers are most sensitive to social media.

Superintendent Lamont Jackson in San Diego understands how disadvantaged students can succeed by asking many questions.

Social media, pampering parents, increased pressure to succeed – ‘kids these days’ deal with a lot. But is it making them grow up faster or slower than previous generations?

A teacher stopped penalizing late work and started asking students questions about why assignments were late. Here’s what he learned.

In the oscar nominated film, CODA, teenager Ruby balances the pressure of work on the family fishing boat with school and dreams of a singing career, a life that might take her away from her Deaf parents. Here are three YA novels that young fans of CODA might enjoy.

Rereading is accompanied by a sense of perceptual fluency, which students can then mistake for comprehension.

Every night, a K-8 public school in San Francisco converts its gym into a shelter for local families experiencing homelessness — and it’s helping kids

As kids get older, waking them in the mornings can feel like a herculean task. Teens are already sleep-deprived, will a permanent time change be detrimental to their health and wellness?

The 10,000 hour rule is often described as the amount of intensive practice it takes to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials, but is that all it takes? According to researchers there’s another important variable: how good a student’s teacher is.

The dilemma, of how and when to discuss painful or traumatic events in class, has become more complex for teachers over the past few years. Focusing on persuasive communication as well as historical and civic perspectives provides opportunities for students to make connections and process world events in real time.

Whether it’s virus worries, social pressure, shyness or acne, some kids are reluctant to ditch the mask.

Teenage girls get less sleep and exercise than boys, and are three times as likely to report struggling with their mental health. Those are among findings drawn from the experiences of almost 40,000 teenagers across Greater Manchester (U.K.).

Far more American high school students are graduating compared to a decade ago. Their grades are higher, too but their scores on national exams are no better, and in some cases scored worse, than graduates a decade ago. Why?

We can learn from our predecessors, understand what problems they were trying to solve, and use that wisdom to create the solutions for today and tomorrow’s children. 

Actor-comedian George Lopez has a four-book deal for “Chupacarter,” a series of “fantastical middle grade books” that combine humor, “Latinx mythology” and memories of Lopez’s childhood. Lopez is working with co-author Ryan Calejo and illustrator Santy Gutiérrez.

Teens’ brains need more sleep, so later start times are good for academics. But for kids who work and families who rely on that income, the shift will hurt.

Learn about the News Literacy Project that helps educators teach middle and high school students how to identify credible information, seek out reliable sources and know what to trust, what to dismiss and what to debunk.

Sometimes working out the best way forward for a young person and their mental health takes a lot of time and trust. When I see young people in my day-to-day work to help them with their mental health it becomes evident to me who the real “experts” are.

After a childhood of loving literature that didn’t value characters that look like her, Gray is honored to be able to give the next generation a glimpse at themselves in a magical fantasy world. The author of the New York Times Bestseller ‘Beasts of Prey’ is bringing black stories to fantasy literature and the screen.

As the news of Russia invading Ukraine dominates news cycles, teachers throughout the country are helping students navigate the wave of emotions that comes with devastating world events. They’re providing much needed historical and political context. And they are doubling down on media literacy practices amid the flood of misinformation online. But teaching about the invasion of Ukraine can be tricky.

From fighting for family rights to representing their beliefs, read about some fantastic middle grade novels that dive into the world of activism and fighting for one’s beliefs and right to be themselves. Happy reading!

Lorey Wheeler, CYFS research associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is working to better understand how newcomer immigrant adolescents perceive school climate, and how those perceptions affect their academic and social success. 

Tweens and teens can feel overwhelmed and may not know how to discern “normal” growing pains and feelings from something that’s more serious, and when they need help. Adults are not always skilled at recognizing symptoms or knowing what to do, either. Thankfully, a growing field of middle grade books tackles these issues and presents readers with authentic pictures of what mental illness may look like, how it can be treated, and how very normal and common it is. 

Differentiated tasks can help ensure that all learners in the classroom are engaged, including those who are ready for more challenges.

Harvard Ed School’s Brandon Foster hit crossroads in juvenile detention center. He chose life helping kids see their choices.

“There are lots of book clubs out there,” Eric Koester, author of the Pennymores & the Curse of the Invisible Quill shared, “but we didn’t see a lot of writing clubs. Since the Pennymores story includes this secret writing society called the Plumes, we needed to create a real-world ‘secret’ writing society for the readers of the book to encourage more writing and writers out there.”

Sometimes their emotions grab hold of them and won’t let go.

The recent death of Stanford University soccer goalie Katie Meyer highlights the suicide risks that age group faces and the helplessness survivors feel.

Nature acts as a sort of universal guarantor of holiness. For generations, people around the world have felt there is something divine about a remote mountaintop, a silent grove, a snow-white stag glimpsed through virgin foliage. So what happens to our souls when there is no more wilderness to underwrite them?

Do you know what the first “official” YA book was? The one written specifically for teenage readers, featuring teenage protagonists? If your answer is The Outsiders by SE Hinton, you’re close, but you’d be wrong. It’s a different title, published decades prior, and one that is still in print today.

Listen as we discuss the demonstrations that took place inside several Boston libraries last month opposing the city’s masking policies. Should libraries be considered a public space where anyone can come demonstrate for a cause? Or are they more a place of peace and privacy, dedicated to learning and reflection? We speak with Anita Cellucci, a librarian at Westborough High School and the K-12 Library Department head. She’s also a lecturer for Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, where she teaches an online course for children’s and young adult literature.

Guest speakers can share their work experience to show high school students how their studies connect to the world outside school.

The Supreme Court nominee honed her oratory on Miami Palmetto’s powerhouse debate team. She was not the only alum who went on to an impressive career.

Even though 2021 was challenging for many Asian Americans, a dazzling crop of YA books featuring Asian and Asian American life in all its beauty and complexity brightened the year.

In 2022, readers will find new books that will warm their hearts, spark their imaginations, and reflect their lived realities. Here are 12 exciting titles to add to the TBR pile this year.

Online school during the COVID-19 pandemic was hard on many teens, but new research has found a potential silver lining: Students were bullied less during remote instruction than while attending classes in person.

Teaching students how to disagree with each other respectfully is critical for developing the citizenship skills they’ll need in life.

Across the country, educators are experimenting with a more tolerant grading system. “We’re aligning the letter grade with actual learning,” says Joshua Moreno, who works in the Alhambra Unified School District in Southern California. “It’s sad that it had to be for a worldwide pandemic to get people to look at this, but at the same time, it’s good that it’s happening. It had to.”

As the age-old quotation goes, “We read to know we are not alone.” For LGBTQ+ teens who aren’t necessarily surrounded by people like them, books can be an especially crucial resource. Luckily, the YA genre has taken major strides toward being more inclusive, and there are dozens of popular books starring queer characters or penned by queer authors.

Once looked down upon as “just comics,” graphic novels have evolved into a respected and dynamic platform for every genre in print. The graphic novels coming out this year for children and teens take this art form in new directions with compelling, multidimensional characters who are finding their identity and learning how to cope within a complex environment—conflicts that resonate especially with young readers.

Making lessons accessible to resistant readers can enhance the learning experience for everyone, including those who read the whole book.

Through a collaboration with the Friends of the Madison County Public Library, Foley Middle School students painted scenes from several popular novels or graphic novels on bookshelves that will be placed around the county and packed with free books to give away through the Need a Book, Read a Book program.

For adults looking for ways to support young people, the director of counseling at Brattleboro Union High School encourages patience, and remembering that there have been learning losses related to academics and social development. She emphasizes the importance of listening.

Peter Kahn, an English teacher at the Chicago-area Oak Park and River Forest High School, was terrified of teaching poetry. So he asked a former student of his for help, who suggested the idea of a poetry slam — a competition in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience.

That was 1999. Inspired by the club’s potential to engage students, Kahn created an after-school spoken word club at the high school. And for over 20 years, the club has created space for students to engage in storytelling.

Young children who struggle with insomnia face a very high risk for more of the same as young adults, a new study warns.

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, and local organizations are working together to educate teens and their parents about healthy relationships.

With mental illness being in the media more and more, not all representation is positive. These books feature relatable characters struggling with mental health problems that are treated with the love and compassion they deserve.

While the world strives to emerge from a devastating global pandemic, now is the time to provide middle grade readers with the knowledge they need to understand the history-making moment they are living through.