Frankly Freddy Blog

TextProject president and CEO Elfrieda H. (Freddy) Hiebert blogs about important issues in reading research and practice.

Frankly Freddy entries (published from 2005 to 2014) have been sorted into five topics of literacy learning and instruction. Click here to download the ebook!

Summary of Karen Wixson on “Assessment and Instruction in the Era of the CCSS in English Language Arts”

August 2, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Karen Wixson’s session in TextProject’s Virtual Institute on Assessments and the Common Core should be on the top of the list in any teacher education or professional development course for providing pre- and in-service teachers with an overview of the new generation of assessments. Dr. Wixson provides a succinct but comprehensive overview of the key aims, tasks, and implications of the assessments being developed by the two consortium—Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

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Summary of David Francis on “CCSS Assessments and Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners”

July 25, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Summary of Dr. Francis’s take on what the new-generation of assessments means for students with disabilities and ELLs.

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Summary of Peter Afflerbach on “Formative Assessments and the Common Core: Text Complexity to Task Complexity”

July 16, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Summary of Peter Afflerbach’s take on formative versus summative assessments and the role both play in students’ learning.

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Summary of P. David Pearson on Will Our Tests Support or Subvert Our Vision of Deeper Learning of English/Language Arts?

July 9, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Summary of P. David Pearson’s review on the history of assessments and unique features of the next generation of assessments.

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Summary of David Coleman on Assessments That Support the Goals of the Common Core State Standards

July 2, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Summary of David Coleman’s vision for the new Common Core Assessments and a few points of tension.

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An Inside View of the New Assessments

May 8, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Freddy discusses the computer adaptive assessment portion of the new upcoming assessments.

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FYI for Kids: Building Students’ Capacity for Complex Text

April 12, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

How does the magazine format help students read more complex texts?

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Read-Aloud Favorites: A Source for Enriching Students’ Knowledge of the World and of Language

March 22, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

TextProject has relaunched Read-Aloud Favorites. Educators and parents can now search our outstanding collection of trade book recommendations for read-alouds by grade level, genre, topics, and format. Read-Aloud Favorites are an essential component ofRead More »Read-Aloud Favorites: A Source for Enriching Students’ Knowledge of the World and of Language

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7 Actions That Literacy Leaders Can Take Right Now: Text Complexity

February 27, 2013

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Seven actions in which literacy leaders can support teachers in ensuring students’ increased capacity with complex text.

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It’s Not Just Informational Text That Supports Knowledge Acquisition: The Critical Role of Narrative Text in the Common Core State Standards

September 12, 2012

Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Literature allows for examination of the influences of culture and history on individuals, not simply on our personal responses to texts. Guiding students in understanding how culture and history influences individual development and agency is part of the bigger picture.

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