The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

Creative writing is an endangered genre these days. Educators are focusing instead on informational and argument writing, which are emphasized by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Argument writing is particularly important for college and career readiness and is therefore described as holding a “special place in the standards” (CCSS, Appendix A, p. 24).

The following guest post was written by Rebekah Stathakis, author of A Good Start:147 Warm-Up Activities for Spanish Class. This is the fifth in a five-part series about classroom strategies for staying in the target language.

Even if the teacher is speaking almost exclusively in the target language, if the students are speaking in English, we are still missing the mark. As ACTFL recommends, both teachers and students should be communicating in the target language. How can we encourage students to stay in the target language even when they feel that it is easier to use English? Consider using some or all of the following strategies to help your students use the target language consistently in your class.

Mentoring and Coaching Tips: How Educators Can Help Each Other is packed with creative, use-now tips and activities to support new and struggling teachers. In this tip, Sheryn Waterman provides four strategies that leaders, coaches, and mentors can use to support a close mentor relationship.

Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month?

Each year, since 1980, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics sponsors a nutrition information campaign in honor of National Nutrition Month. Celebrate this campaign by teaching your students how to make healthy choices about food and exercise. .

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

The importance of critical thinking is noted in the new national standards. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative directly identifies higher-order thinking skills as critical to achieving career and college readiness for all students. As educators pursue CCSS alignment, it is crucial to design curricula and assessment systems that engage students in higher-level thinking tasks that provide opportunities for students to evaluate information. This white paper will focus on one critical thinking skill that students need to learn—how to evaluate.

Most of us grew up with Dr. Seuss' countless stories and rhymes. His characters are beloved by generations. Did you know that March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' birthday? This year, he will be turning 109!

Here are a few fun ways to celebrate this literary icon with your students next week!

In Professional Learning in the Digital Age: The Educator's Guide to User-Generated Learning, Kristen Swanson shows educators how to enhance their professional learning using practical tools, strategies, and online resources. This infographic focuses on curation and identifies ways for educators to start curating content in order to harness information and become lifelong learners in the digital age.

The following is a guest post written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor Lauren Davis. This post was originally published on SmartBlog on Education on February 14, 2013.

Lately, there have been a bunch of buzzwords floating around the education world that all seem to mean the same thing. You’ve probably heard them: problem-based learning, project-based learning and inquiry-based learning. Is there a difference? How will you know which one to do in your classroom?

Family Reading Night by Darcy J. Hutchins, Marsha D. Greenfeld, and Joyce L. Epstein offers clear and practical guidelines to help engage families in student success. It shows you how to conduct a successful Family Reading Night at your school.This tip presents an activity that can be used at a Poetry Family Night—Amazing Acrostic Poems.

Students and their families will complete an acrostic poem together. At the end of the time period, the Teacher-Leader will ask for a few volunteer-poets to share their poems.

The following guest blog post was written by PJ Caposey, author of Building a Culture of Support: Strategies for School Leaders. PJ is the principal of Oregon High School and can be found on Twitter @principalpc.

For the past two months we have asked educators from around the world to consider the question, what is school for if it is no longer the place to go to acquire knowledge. There has been wide variety within the responses given from some of the very brightest minds I am proud to call colleagues. This month we will highlight responses from Brad Currie and Brent Anderson. I hope you enjoy these two guest bloggers weighing in on this question—this question that just may have a much larger impact on the future of schools than one might expect.

The following tip was written by Annette Breaux and featured in her book with Eye On Education: 101 Poems for Teachers.

Want to know how you’re REALLY doing as a teacher? Ask your students. During my third year of teaching, I read, in a magazine for teachers, about the idea of a “teacher report card.” I thought to myself, “My students receive report cards, yet they never get the opportunity to evaluate me, to tell me how I’m doing as their teacher."

Dr. Barbara Blackburn has dedicated her life to raising the level of rigor and motivation for professional educators and students alike. What differentiates Barbara’s 12 books are her easily executable concrete examples based on decades of experience as a teacher, professor, and consultant. Barbara has taught early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school students and has served as an educational consultant for three publishing companies. In addition to speaking at state and national conferences, she also regularly presents workshops for teachers and administrators in elementary, middle, and high schools.

In this video clip from "How to Tackle the Challenges of Rigor and the Common Core", Barbara Blackburn discusses how to raise the level or content in your classroom to meet the Common Core State Standards!