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Closing Achievement Gaps: An Association Guide (NEA), (Pg, 18-19), 2015, Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/13550.htm Retrieved on 10/16/15 This article is extremely useful for teachers. The article delivers important information on strategies to use when trying to close the achievement gap.

List of ways that you can close the gap that can be used as a good starting point but does not provide any real substance.

This website provides tips and strategies that can be used in the classroom to help close the achievement gap. The strategies include family outreach, multiple learning opportunities and classroom support strategies

Beneficial list of resources to inform solutions to instructional and/or learning gaps.

This article describes the need to address the cultural gap that exists in our society. The author focuses on a first grade teacher, Lauren Mead, in Kirkland Washington and her journey to connect with her students on a deeper level. The article goes on to highlight sentiments from other educators about cultural awareness. The remarks of one teacher were very profound: "First and foremost, let your students know that their lived experiences are valid and valued. They have every right to hold on to who they are, what they know, and what they live, even if sometimes they have to stop and work through differences," he says. "But you also have to show them how to navigate our school culture so they can succeed." Understanding that more than achievement gaps exists in our classrooms will help educators engage students and begin to see progress in closing the learning and instructional gaps that are present.

Wow, very interesting article. I agree with the article in that it is important to value your student's diversity. I have a melting pot of students in my class and I am trying to get to know each family on a deeper level. This will allow me to make connections with this student and hopefully understand any barriers that may be relevant to their learning.

Instructional and Learning Gaps aren't always attributable to pedagogy or technology. I find it's more often the teacher-student relationship.

In 2011, the NEA put out a C.A.R.E guide. This guide focuses on four areas that need to be recognized in order to close the achievement gaps in education. These areas are Culture, Abilities, Resilience, and Effort. The guide includes strategies and activities to be utilized by students and teachers in order to assist in closing the academic achievement gap that exists with low income students. EDTC 615, k-12

The NEA published this wonderful compilation of "research-based instructional strategies, school change activities, and family/school engagement efforts for closing the achievement gaps." Within its pages, the acronym C.A.R.E. - Culture, Abilities, Resilience, and Effort -- is referenced and connected to strategies for teachers to employ in order to make improvements in their classrooms. Teacher checklists, lesson plans, and student worksheets are included for each of these areas, which is great! The chapter on abilities is very interesting. It references the 8 different learning styles and challenges teachers to consider incorporating activities that touch on all. Overall, this booklet of sorts contains a lot of information that provokes much thought and reflection.

This is a document provided by the NEA on how schools can improve students reading achievement in school. I like this resource because it breaks down steps school can use from teachers, students and parents to improve reading. It starts by discussing literacy skills taught in kindergarten and goes into talking about text meaning for older students. Great resource!

This article provides useful information on how to close students achievement gaps. It addresses the question most often heard when educators confront the reality of the achievement gaps in their school; "What can I do in my classroom?" It also provides many links to resources in other organizations for improving teaching and learning results.

This is a research from the 1970s and 1980s on the characteristics of effective elementary school teachers highlighted the importance of a strong academic focus, explicit instruction, and high levels of pupils on task. Extending this earlier research, recent large-scale studies on effective teachers of reading have highlighted the importance of motivating and balanced instruction, the teaching of strategies as well as skills, the encouragement of higher-level thinking, and the use of coaching as children are reading and writing. Common findings across recent studies on effective elementary teachers of reading are highlighted in this research paper. It suggest skills and strategies for teaching reading effectively

This article is very informative about what is expected of ELL students, and how little accommodations are given to the students when taking tests. The students are required to take benchmarks and state tests without being able to speak english at a specific level.

As a language teacher, I found this article to be relatable because it discusses the ways in which teachers can close the achievement gap with students whose first language is not English. The article discusses achievement gaps and ways to combat them for ELL students.