The Language of Content

Articles from the Speak Agent team that provide classroom resources, implementation strategies, research-based perspectives, and updates regarding our Content+LanguageSM platform.

6 Summer Books for Educators to Read

Summer vacation is here! As an educator, you’re surely excited for some much-needed rest and relaxation after a busy school year and hectic testing season. Over summer break, you may have big plans, like going on vacation, spending time with family,...

June Holidays: Celebrating Freedom, Equity, and Empathy

June brings a sense of celebration and commemoration: the end of the school year, the summer solstice, and three important holidays: Pride Month, Juneteenth, and World Refugee Day. These holidays honor the struggles, experiences, and triumphs of...

Building Classroom Community Through Content and Storytelling

    • "Getting to know your students..." It sounds so easy: ice breakers, getting-to-know-you games, and other similar tools are at your fingertips. But which ones will be the most effective? What will be new and exciting for your students? Which ones...

NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference Reflections

I was thrilled to have my first-ever opportunity last month to experience the NJTESOL/NJBE spring conference. I had the chance to speak with educators from across my home state of New Jersey, where I started my career in education as a middle school...

Reflections on Juneteenth: A Call to Learn

On January 1, 1863, "...all persons held as slaves within the (States in rebellion) shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free..." President Abraham Lincoln declared. But the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery: Freedom was won through...

The Language Deficit and the COVID-19 Slide

I was recently reading an article about the challenges the NYCDOE is facing in supporting their ELLs and how these students are faring in the "new normal." Here's how one Brooklyn teen described it:

The Story Behind the NSF Study

My last blog post described the NSF-funded study that Rockman et al conducted at Manor (pronounced MAY-ner) Independent School District. It was all about facts and data. In this post, I talk about my experiences, the place, and the people.

The Story Behind Tall Tales

I walked into the MediaBarn User Experience Lab thinking that I knew exactly how the first, second, and third-grade students would use our new learning game prototype. "Tall Tales" is a Mad Libs™-style cloze activity where kids fill in the blanks by...

The Story Behind Scrambled Sentences

Outside South Lake Elementary School in mid-February, snow was still piled high atop grassy medians and street corners. Inside, kids raced, hopped, spun, and meandered around the warm cafeteria. It was pizza time! This was my first visit to Dream...

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