Happy birthday, America. You're looking great. Here's some news for you to check out.

At CoreStand, Kate writes about a professional development exercise that put teachers into a situation where they read a dense, challenging, and confusing text — in order to help them understand what's going on with their students when they do the same.

The New York Times Learning Network offers a crossword puzzle with the theme "Women Novelists."

Students are always encouraged to ask for help if they need it. Shouldn't we encourage teachers to do the same? Sometimes, teachers need a little help with professional development. Dana Huff has a good viewpoint here.

Walter Dean Myers, author of Hoops and other young adult novels, has passed away. Mr. Myers was 76.

Reading is Fundamental has published the results of a survey about children's summer reading habits. The data may surprise you.

eSchool News offers up a list of 100 great apps for education. They aren't all for English/Language Arts, but the complete list is definitely worth a look.

And finally, we're offering some special deals on American Literature resources for the rest of the month in honor of Independence Day. Click here for details.

That's all for this week. Celebrate your independence with the utmost joy — but remember to be safe!