Gifted and advanced (page 15)
Harder puzzles, deeper projects and room to go further.
- Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction (2000)Page
A national panel reviewed the experimental research on teaching reading. It found that systematic phonics instruction improves children's success in learning to read, that teaching children to manipulate the sounds in…
- Retrieval Practice Consistently Benefits Student Learning: a Systematic Review of Applied Research in Schools and Classrooms (2021)Page
Counting only experiments run in real classes, retrieval practice improved learning across education levels, subjects, test formats and delays, and 57% of the effect sizes were medium or large. Only 6% of the…
- Scaffolding and Achievement in Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning: A Response to Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) (2007)Page
A reply to Kirschner, Sweller and Clark: problem-based and inquiry learning are highly scaffolded, so they shouldn't be grouped with unguided discovery. The authors present evidence that both are effective, use…
- Systematic Phonics Instruction Helps Students Learn to Read: Evidence from the National Reading Panel’s Meta-Analysis (2001)Page
Systematic phonics beat unsystematic or no phonics, including whole language, with a moderate effect that lasted after teaching ended. It helped decoding, word reading, comprehension and spelling, for children at risk…
- The Effectiveness of Direct Instruction Curricula: A Meta-Analysis of a Half Century of Research (2018)Page
Every estimated effect of the scripted Direct Instruction programs was positive, and all were statistically significant except those for attitudes and feelings. Effects held up after the programs ended and were larger…
- The Power of Feedback Revisited: A Meta-Analysis of Educational Feedback Research (2020)Page
Feedback had a medium effect on learning on average, but results varied so much that feedback can't be treated as one consistent treatment. What the feedback said mattered most, and feedback affected thinking and motor…
- Using Spacing to Enhance Diverse Forms of Learning: Review of Recent Research and Implications for Instruction (2012)Page
A review for teachers: final test performance improves when study sessions are spaced apart rather than massed together. It covers which kinds of learning benefit, demonstrations in real educational settings, and how…
- What One Hundred Years of Research Says About the Effects of Ability Grouping and Acceleration on K–12 Students’ Academic Achievement (2016)Page
Students benefited from grouping within a class, from grouping across grades for a subject, and from special grouping for the gifted, but not from being sorted into separate classes by ability; effects were similar for…
- Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching (2006)Page
Drawing on how working memory works and on half a century of studies, the authors argue that minimally guided teaching is less effective and less efficient for novices than teaching with strong guidance. The advantage…
- Camels in the Desert: 4th grade reading passage with questionsReading
A nonfiction passage about desert animals for 4th grade, 164 words, with six comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.
- Essay rubricPrintable
A free essay rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8): main idea, support, organization, word choice and conventions, ready to print or edit.
Checked 2026-10-30
- Paragraph writing rubricPrintable
A free paragraph rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8): topic sentence, details, closing sentence, flow and conventions, ready to print or edit.
Checked 2026-10-30
- Seeds That Travel: 4th grade reading passage with questionsReading
A nonfiction passage about how seeds spread for 4th grade, 162 words, with six comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.
- Opinion writing rubricPrintable
A free opinion writing rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8), from "I think" and a reason up to claim, evidence and counterclaim, ready to print or edit.
Checked 2026-10-30
- Washing Away Germs: 4th grade reading passage with questionsReading
A nonfiction passage about staying healthy for 4th grade, 172 words, with six comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.
- Narrative writing rubricPrintable
A free narrative writing rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8) for personal narratives and stories: beginning, events, details, ending and conventions.
Checked 2026-10-30
- The Great Wall of China: 4th grade reading passage with questionsReading
A nonfiction passage about world history for 4th grade, 163 words, with six comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.
- Informational writing rubricPrintable
A free informational writing rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8) for explanatory and expository writing: topic, facts, organization, vocabulary, conventions.
Checked 2026-10-30
- Reading a Bar Graph: 4th grade reading passage with questionsReading
A nonfiction passage about graphs and data for 4th grade, 183 words, with six comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.
- Kindergarten writing rubricPrintable
A free kindergarten writing rubric: picture, letters and sounds, spaces between words, capital and period, with simpler versions for older beginning writers.
Checked 2026-10-30
- The New Kid at Lunch: 4th grade reading passage with questionsReading
A fiction passage about kindness and friendship for 4th grade, 170 words, with six comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.
- Project rubricPrintable
A free general project rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8): task, content, planning, quality and sharing, for solo or group projects.
Checked 2026-10-30
- The Treehouse Sign: 4th grade reading passage with questionsReading
A fiction passage about sharing and teamwork for 4th grade, 189 words, with six comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.
- Science project rubricPrintable
A free science project rubric for elementary and middle school (K–2, 3–5, 6–8): the science idea, the model, the explanation, safety and the finished work.
Checked 2026-10-30