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. . . More on the Students' Right to Learn
"Congressional Caucus Wants Investigation of Tucson Mexican American Studies Ban":  CNN.com, January 24, 2012
"Should Parents Control What Kids Learn at School?":  Room for Debate blog, The New York Times, January 24, 2012   

3 Tips on Integrating Technology in the Classroom
The first-ever Digital Learning Day is Wednesday, February 1. Find tools and conversations to help you celebrate teachers and innovation in schools.  High School Notes blog, U.S. News & World Report, January 25, 2012

. . . More on Digital Learning
"Redefining Instruction with Technology: Five Essential Steps":  Education Week Teacher, January 25, 2012 
"As Some Schools Plunge into Technology, Poor Schools Are Left Behind":  Chicago Tribune/The Hechinger Report, January 25, 2012 
"YouTube and Video Remixes":  Academic Minute, Inside Higher Ed, January 27, 2012

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education

Scholars Seek Better Ways to Track Impact Online
Since the current system of measuring scholarly influence doesn't reflect the ways many researchers now work in a Web 2.0 environment, some are looking to new methods to measure their participation in this digital world. The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 29, 2012

What Should Teacher Evaluations Look Like?
Teaching Ahead: A Roundtable blog, Education Week, December 2011

. . . More on Teacher Evaluation
"Under Education Reform, School Principals Swamped by Teacher Evaluations":  The Christian Science Monitor, January 26, 2012
"ALEC Reports on the War on Teachers":  Living in Dialogue blog, Education Week, January 26, 2012
"More on Observing Teachers, Pre-K-12":  Early Ed Watch blog, January 30, 2012
"States Weaken Tenure Rights for Teachers":  USA Today/The Associated Press, January 25, 2012

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Two Articles from Choice Literacy on Teachers Working Together as Colleagues
"Making Partnerships Work: A Checklist for Mentors" and  "Creating a Coaching Culture: A Podcast with Jane Kise"

How Would You Change Teacher Prep?
Teaching Ahead: A Roundtable blog, Education Week, January 25, 2012

Report Tracks States' Progress toward Common Core Standards
eSchool News, January 26, 2012 

More Ways to Teach with Film: The 2011 Awards Season
The Learning Network blog, The New York Times, January 26, 2012

Reading in the Reel World: Teaching Documentaries and Other Nonfiction Texts
Reading in the Reel World: Using Documentaries in the Classroom (On Demand Web seminar)
Reading the in the Dark: Using Film as a Tool in the English Classroom

Obama Puts College Costs Front and Center
The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 30, 2012 

Mulberry Street May Fade, but Mulberry Street Shines On
The New York Times, January 29, 2012

Plan now to participate in this year's Read Across America.

Birmingham: A Family Tale in the Civil Rights Era
NPR's Backseat Book Club invites students to read along and share their thoughts and questions with the author. The selection for January is The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.  All Things Considered, National Public Radio, January 27, 2012 

See the Ideas section below for details on the 23rd National African American Read-In!

Tune into this ReadWriteThink.org podcast episode (M-S) for recommendations of both old and new titles by distinguished African American authors who write for teens. Featured books range from historical novels to contemporary explorations of African American life in both urban and suburban settings.

"Jacqueline Woodson: Real Characters, Real Voices" (E-M-S), from Language Arts, explores the people and experiences that influence the writing of Jacqueline Woodson.

Christopher Paul Curtis's The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 is the focus of the ReadWriteThink.org lesson plan Graphing Plot and Character in a Novel (E), which invites students to graph the journey of the family while exploring the plot and character development in the novel.

Nikki Giovanni's poetry is the focus of Childhood Remembrances: Life and Art Intersect in Nikki Giovanni's "Nikki-Rosa" (M-S-C), from ReadWriteThink.org. The lesson is based on an activity described in the NCTE book Nikki Giovanni in the Classroom: "The same ol' danger but a brand new pleasure" (S) by Carol Jago.

Poet and novelist Nikki Grimes talks about her background, her influences, her life as a writer, and her thoughts on sharing poetry in "Interview with Poet Nikki Grimes" (E-M-S) from Language Arts.

Langston Hughes's poetry is explored alongside rap lyrics and jazz and blues music in the English Journal article "Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Harlem Renaissance in an Urban English Class" (S). Read more in NCTE's Langston Hughes in the Classroom: "Do Nothin' till You Hear from Me" (S) by Carmaletta M. Williams.

"Charles Johnson's Middle Passage as Historiographic Metafiction" (C), from College English, outlines techniques for using Johnson's postmodern novel in literature studies.

The works of Alice Walker, bell hooks, and Nikki Giovanni are all explored in "Becoming a Writerly Self: College Writers Engaging Black Feminist Essays" (C), from College Composition and Communication, which asserts that personal essays by Black feminist writers can be used to teach writers how to connect their personal and social identities.

For more ideas, see the ReadWriteThink Calendar entry for the African American Read-In, which includes lesson plans, classroom activities, and online resources.

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Exciting Changes for the NCTE Student Writing Awards in 2012
Entry forms for the 2012 Promising Young Writers program (for eighth-grade students) and Achievement Awards in Writing (for high school juniors) are now available. Entries for both programs will now be processed securely online, resulting in an easy application process, faster management of awards, and online national judging with no limits on the number of winners per state. February 15 is the entry deadline for both awards; program details can be found on the website for each award.

Celebrate El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day)
In its 2005 Resolution, NCTE supports El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) because the day recognizes that students who participate in culturally and linguistically diverse literacy activities at home, in school, and in the community are more successful readers. Use the ReadWriteThink calendar entry and make plans to celebrate el Día on April 30!

NCTE Centennial: A Blast from the Past
Did you know that on average NCTE assists with 60 censorship cases a year, although some years have seen as many as 120 or as few as 30 cases reported? Learn more about NCTE's censorship assistance from the Anti-Censorship Center.

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