In their book, Differentiation is an Expectation: A School Leader's Guide to Building a Culture of Differentiation, Kimberly Kappler Hewitt and Daniel K. Weckstein discuss their school district's introduction of professional learning communities (PLCs) to help teachers increase their comfort with differentiation. They define a PLC as "a collegial group of educators who are united in their commitment to student learning and who meet regularly to learn about and focus on a topic." Read on for a tip from their book on creating your own PLC.

In Family Reading Night, authors Darcy J. Hutchins, Marsha D. Greenfeld, and Joyce Epstein provide ideas about events that help parents, teachers, and others in the community improve students' attitudes about reading, writing, and other literacy skills. Read below for a tip from the book about increasing community involvement for literary inspiration.

The Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB) Annual High Schools That Work (HSTW) Staff Development Conference brings together more than 6,000 educators to examine high school and middle school education. Now, HSTW has developed an eNewsletter that presents the "best practices" featured at the 2010 Conference this past year.

Todd Whitaker's bestseller What Great Principals Do Differently: Fifteen Things that Matter Most was featured on Jill Urich's blog, A Ride on Our 21st Century Learning Wave. The post, titled "Decision-Making: It Takes Ears, Heart, Research, and Conviction" discussed how the book helped Jill, principal at Waukee Middle School in Iowa, in her quest to become a servant leader. She writes, "Throughout my reading, I'm reminded of the feeling you get when you're at church breathing in the emotions of the sermon's message."

Angela Maiers and Amy Sandvold's new book with Eye On Education, The Passion-Driven Classroom: A Framework for Teaching & Learning, has received a lot of attention from the educational blogosphere.

Todd Whitaker shows school leaders how to successfully implement school change with faculty support in Implementing School Change DVD and Facilitator’s Guide. You'll learn how to get buy-in from your staff by carrying out nine strategies for getting everybody on board.

Eye On Education recently published Annette Breaux's newest poetry book, 101 Poems for Teachers. The book is illustrated by L. Susan Brandt. Read below for a poem and strategy about learning to establish a relationship between a new skill and a student's real life.

Electronic books (eBooks) have set the publishing world on fire, but this current craze is slow to blaze through the education world. True, eBooks have found a way into the educational publishing world and the general public has taken a liking to the convenience of digital books and supplemental eReaders, but new research shows that educators are not using these innovative technologies as widely as the rest of the population seems to be.

Today we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, in commemoration of the great American civil rights leader. Teachers around the country take the opportunity to teach their students about Dr. King's accomplishments and legacy. Here are a few resources to guide teachers in their lessons.

The History Channel's website offers many resources for teachers, including videos, primary sources, and activities.

Twelfth grade reading and math scores have increased after dropping to a historic low in 2005. The just released 2009 scores prove to be several points higher than previous years. US students in 4th grade, 8th grade, and 12th grade are tested in several categories including reading, math, science, and writing. Scores are reported from the largest federal test, known as the NAEP—the National Center for Educational Progress and administered by the Department of Education. The NAEP tests student’s knowledge in various subjects. An article written in the New York Times claims the higher scores are much overdue.

The following is a guest post by Steven Krasner, an educational consultant, children's book author, and retired sports writer. This post will help you promote critical thinking skills in your classroom while teaching students about the difference between three different types of media stories.

In the book Battling Boredom: 99 Strategies to Spark Student Engagement, Bryan Harris shares activities that will capture your students' attention. Read below for one strategy that you can use to begin a new lesson or unit - to "sell" it before you teach it!

A Good Start: 147 Warm-Up Activities for Spanish Class by Rebekah Stathakis was published by Eye On Education in November 2010. The book features lively, interactive activities with a focus on writing, speaking, and language immersion. Read below from a tip from the book! This tip is a word game that encourages creative thinking.

In our monthly E-News, we bring you the latest education news, resources, and classroom ideas from the Eye On Education Blog and other blogs we read. Click below for our favorite educational blog posts from the past month. If you would like to have E-News sent right to your inbox, click here to sign-up.

Eye On Education recently published Annette Breaux's newest poetry book, 101 Poems for Teachers. The book is illustrated by L. Susan Brandt. Read below for a poem and strategy about how to be in control of your own attitude.