Literacy Instruction
The Big Picture of Adolescent Literacy
Reading and Writing Strategies
The Diverse Bookshelf
Content Area Literacy
Multimedia Text Sets: A How-To Guide
Building Background Knowledge
Teaching Text Features
Teaching Text Structure
Social-Emotional Learning: A Primer
Reading Motivation
ABC, 123, SEL …
Looking at Reading Interventions
Social-Emotional Learning 101
Reading 101: A Guide to Teaching Reading and Writing
Themed Booklists
Powerful Voices: Inspiring Female Characters and Their Stories
Mental Health: Empathy and Understanding
School Shootings: Trying to Understand the Unthinkable
Bullies Be Gone!
Social-emotional learning
Meet the Author Videos
Renée Watson is a poet, a teacher, and an award-winning author of books for young readers, including the Ryan Hart middle grade series, the picture book biography Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Florence Mills Story, the story of Maya Angelou told in free verse (Maya’s Song), the picture book Born on the Water, and the middle grade novel Some Places More Than Others. Many of her books are inspired by her experiences growing up as a Black girl in the Pacific Northwest.
Meet the Author: Christina Soontornvat
Christina Soontornvat is the award-winning author of picture books and chapter books for children, including To Change a Planet, the Diary of an Ice Princess chapter book series, the bestselling graphic novel, The Tryout, the high seas adventure The Last Mapmaker, and A Wish in the Dark, a Thai-inspired fantasy inspired by Les Misérables.
Grace Lin is the author and illustrator of more than 20 books for kids — from picture books to young adult novels. Most of her books are about the Asian-American experience, yet their themes are often universal. “Books erase bias, they make the uncommon everyday, and the mundane exotic. A book makes all cultures universal.”
Meet the Author: Michaela Goade
In this Reading Rockets interview, Caldecott Medal-winning author and illustrator Michaela Goade talks about her creative process, the inspiration behind some of her illustrations, and the importance of looking for diversity within Native stories. Michaela is an enrolled member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
Meet the Author: Eric Velasquez
Eric Velasquez is an award-winning author and illustrator of beloved classics such as Grandma's Records, Grandma's Gift, and Octopus Stew. He has also illustrated and designed book covers for numerous titles.
Rick Riordan and mythology for middle school
Author Rick Riordan’s eighth grade English teacher first introduced him to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, books inspired by Norse mythology. Rick realized fantasy writing went back ages, with modern stories mirroring a lot of ancient mythology. He also discovered that these stories of gods and humankind struck a personal cord with middle schoolers.
Author Interview: Angeline Boulley
Author Angeline Boulley says there can never be one great Native American novel because there are many, many different indigenous communities and tribes, all of whom need to share their stories so that young people can see themselves reflected on those pages.
Paula Yoo is an award-winning author of picture books including Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story, and YA novels and narrative nonfiction, including From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial That Galvanized the Asian American Movement. Paula is also a TV writer/producer, screenwriter, and professional violinist. You can watch Paula's interview on YA books, including Vincent Chin, here.
Meet the Author: Ricky Robertson
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) — different forms of chronic or acute stress — can result from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse to gang violence, poverty, or natural disasters. They can affect a child in the short and long term and show up in the classroom as disruptive or violent behavior, depression, or anxiety.
Meet the Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith
Cynthia Leitich Smith, a citizen of the Muscogee Nation, is an award-winning author and the 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate. In this interview, she talks about her entry into the publishing world, her books and her work on Heartdrum, and the changing landscape in publishing for Native writers and illustrators.
Meet the Author: Matt de la Peña
Matt de la Peña is an award-winning author of numerous books for young adults and children. In this interview, Matt talks about the community where he grew up, his conversations with young people about reading and writing, and how he continues to reflect on his own identity and experiences through his books.
Traci Sorell writes award-winning fiction and nonfiction for young people of all ages, focusing primarily on the contemporary lives of Native peoples.
Minh Lê is the award-winning author of Drawn Together and Lift (both illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat) and other picture books for young readers. He is also the author of Green Lantern: Legacy, a middle grade graphic novel for DC Comics.
Kekla Magoon is the award-winning author of many novels and nonfiction books for young readers, including The Season of Styx Malone, The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall's Life, Leadership and Legacy, She Persisted: Ruby Bridges, and the Robyn Hoodlum Adventure series.
Adolescent Literacy
More Resources
Setting the Tone for the Day, for the School, for the District Through Social Emotional Learning
How Social and Emotional Learning Can Help Students Who Have Experienced Trauma
