The following blog post was written by Franklin P. Schargel. To read more newsworthy blog posts from Eye On Education, subscribe to our Insights eNewsletters.

Can you remember the schoolyard jingle that went, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? Obviously that was not and is not the truth. Both physical and nonphysical forms of bullying can happen anywhere in the school, on the way to and from school, and even online. In recent years, bullying has become a “hot button” issue both in and out of school: “Over 13 million American kids will be bullied this year, making it the most common form of violence experienced by young people in the nation” (Hirsch, 2012).

The following post was written by Bryan Harris, author of 75 Quick & Easy Solutions to Common Classroom Problems and Battling Boredom: 99 Strategies to Spark Student Engagement.

 In June of 2011, I wrote a newsletter & blog titled 7 Ways to Go From On-Task to Engaged, which turned out to be one of the most popular topics of the year. In it I spoke about the possibility that students could technically be on-task but cognitively and emotionally unengaged in the actual learning.

Debbie Arechiga is the author of the newly published Reaching English Language Learners in Every Classroom: Energizers for Teaching and Learning. Her son, Chad, wrote this engaging blog post about Debbie's writing process, and how this book came about.

The following guest post was written by Barbara Blackburn, author of the best seller Rigor is NOT a Four-Letter Word. Learn more about Barbara Blackburn here.

The Common Core State Standards require students to think and respond at higher levels. Teachers can use think-alouds to model this kind of rigorous thinking for students.

Professional Development: What Works (2nd Edition), by Sally Zepeda, helps guide principals, directors of professional development, school/district committees, and other leaders in creating an effective professional development program that moves ideas from knowledge to action. This tip provides eight simple ways to keep staff engaged during a professional development opportunity.

The School Mission Statement: Values, Goals, and Identities in American Education by Steven E. Stemler and Damian J. Bebell is designed for educators involved in creating, improving, or reevaluating their school mission statements. This tip focuses on crafting a mission statement that includes creating and maintaining a "challenging environment" for all students.

The following post was written by Barbara Blackburn. To read more newsworthy blog posts from Eye On Education, subscribe to our Insights eNewsletters.

At the heart of the new Common Core State Standards is a focus on more rigorous expectations for instruction. In particular, the standards emphasize the importance of teaching higher-level texts. Here are five easy strategies for increasing text complexity.

The following guest post was written by Rebekah Stathakis, author of A Good Start: 147 Warm-Up Activities for Spanish Class.

As the weather warms up, I know many students are counting down the days until summer break. Students are looking forward to a break from school and homework, but as teachers, we do not want them to completely take a break from using the target language. I know how important it is to use a language regularly in order to maintain and improve your skills. So, while students are enjoying their summer, I want them to be using Spanish in meaningful and enjoyable ways. I have been working on this list to give students, hoping that it will inspire them to use their language skills over the summer!

Welcome to Eye On Education Radio: Expert Voices on School Improvement.

Tune in to listen and learn from podcast speaker…

Pete Hall is the principal of Shaw Middle School, a Title 1 school in Spokane, Washington. Pete has been honored with ASCD's Outstanding Young Educator Award, and Phi Delta Kappa's Emerging Leaders Award. He has worked as a personal consultant and motivation coach, not only for educators...

The Parent–Child Partner Journal Project was designed in the spirit of that first parent–child writing relationship between my friend and her son. By encouraging parents to write with their children, parents are supported and encouraged as they assist their child with schoolwork in a comfortable setting. Parents and children work on easy-to-complete writing activities while breaking new ground together as family writers. The benefits of these activities reach out of the writing notebook to other areas of academic study.

Each April, National Autism Awareness Month is recognized in order to bring awareness to the public about autism and the issues faced within the autism community.

According to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1 in 88 children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As “spectrum disorders,” ASDs affect different people in different ways, and while people with ASDs share certain symptoms — such as challenges with social interactions or communication — they often experience those symptoms to varying extents.

Starting in third grade, the Common Core State Standards for mathematics begin to focus on students' skills with fractions. At the earliest levels, students are expected to "explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their size." This tip, from RTI Strategies that Work in the 3-6 Classroom by Eli Johnson and Michelle Karns, provides teachers with five steps they can take to make sure their students understand fractions, and includes four bonus "fraction chants" to help students remember important fraction rules.

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.

In Making Good Teaching Great, Annette Breaux and Todd Whitaker share dozens of strategies for classroom management and effective instruction.

We have asked the members of our panel: What simple strategies do you use in your classroom to address management and instructional challenges or improve students’ behavior?