What matters most here
| Rank | Practice | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quizzing and spaced review of texts, terms, and context (principles 6, 7) | Evidence grade: Proven in classrooms Proven in classrooms generally; fewer studies in high school ELA specifically |
| 2 | Background knowledge before analysis (principle 10) | Evidence grade: Strong Strong in principle; few high school trials |
| 3 | Worked examples for writing: annotated model paragraphs before students write (principle 3) | Evidence grade: Promising Promising; worked-example evidence is mostly math and science |
| 4 | Screening older struggling readers for decoding gaps (principle 9) | Evidence grade: Promising Promising for this age |
A lesson in this room
Quiz on last week's chapters and key terms. Teacher explains the historical context and one key idea. Class studies a strong model paragraph, labeled step by step. Students write their own paragraph on a new passage.
Leader look-fors
- Is there a model of the writing students are asked to produce?
- Are earlier texts and terms coming back in quizzes?
Stop doing
Literary analysis assignments before students know the context or have seen a model of what good analysis looks like.
Where the evidence runs out
High school ELA has the thinnest trial evidence on this site. Most recommendations here are carried over from strong findings in other subjects and grades, and are marked that way.