Hey, we're not alone in our AI2-ness!

I thought this article laid out what I think AI2 is trying to do nicely - without the confusing acronyms.
Editorial: Improving Learning One Kid at a Time

Text Sets

This is an interesting idea - I could see how you could adapt it for more sophisticated research, but really give students the experience of finding information using their critical thinking skills.
http://trevorcairney.blogspot.com/2009/09/reading-to-learn-using-text-sets.html

Writing Ideas

Here is a list of interesting writing ideas from the National Writing Project:
30 Ideas for Teaching Writing