As we great 2014 and increase our implementation of the CCSS, here are some effective ideas for increasing the use of nonfiction texts in the classroom. Courtesy of ASCD SmartBrief.

How one middle school naturally incorporated more nonfiction texts
The implementation of the Common Core State Standards means a greater focus on nonfiction texts in the English language arts curriculum -- a task that special-education teacher Pauline Zdonek says her middle school worked to accomplish organically. Among other things, she writes in this blog post, teachers taught nonfiction texts that read like fiction, such as the memoir "Night." Teachers also used nonfiction texts that incorporate pictures and selected one day each week to focus on those texts, she writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education (12/26)