Middle school science teachers report using textbooks regularly although these textbooks have been criticized for not following standards‐based principles for concept learning, and student reading achievement has been stagnant for 20 years. Effective strategic reading instruction has been documented for middle school students but few teachers use these strategies. To address these issues, a quasi‐experimental research study compared middle school students (n = 23) who learned a strategic reading strategy (PLAN) for science textbooks to students (n = 27) who read silently following an audiotaped reading of the text. The strategic reading group significantly outperformed the silent reading group on a comprehension test of scientific concepts (p <. 001) and strategy use (p < .01). The teacher reported that her students gained self‐confidence in reading and found reading to be more enjoyable. This research uses a more rigorous design than prior studies of the PLAN strategy but supports previous findings and adds to an understanding of how to implement PLAN.

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Young adolescents' low scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) force the question of whether these students will be ready for college in four years. Our efforts to build a college-going culture emphasize strengthening students' writing skills by using preservice teachers to lead writing marathons for at-risk middle school students on university visits. Structured interviews, surveys, and written reflections reveal that what students write about changes with age, their motivation to write varies, and their college aspirations and perceptions become more positive after completing several annual writing marathons on a college campus. The writing marathon structure makes the college visit truly meaningful to students, and it provides a compelling incentive to write by supporting characteristics of middle school students, as defined by the National Middle School Association (National Middle School Association [NMSA] 2003). The marathon model focuses on four key elements: setting, timing, small groups, and writers' level of commitment.

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