All posts by Shannon Allen

About Shannon Allen

Shannon specializes in literacy instruction for struggling adolescent and adult learners. Shannon has worked in adult literacy since 2002 and with the LAC since 2006. She loves her work and this field!

Use Graphic Organizers to Support Student Thinking and Writing

Research tells us that writing instruction is much more effective when teachers use tools that will help students organize their thinking and ideas before writing.  This is called the “Planning” stage of the writing process and this website is one of many that houses free graphic organizers for classroom use with students. Continue reading Use Graphic Organizers to Support Student Thinking and Writing

Use Paired Texts to Explore Pros and Cons

The Common Core requires us to switch from writing personal essays built on our opinions and experience to text-based essays that respond to a prompt using evidence from paired texts. Continue reading Use Paired Texts to Explore Pros and Cons