Search results for ""Stenhouse Publishers""

As accountability measures for schools and teachers continue to grow, instructional practice is under the microscope. The practice of reading aloud to children may be viewed by some educators as an extra bit of fluff used solely for the purposes of enjoyment or filling a few spare minutes,but researchers and practitioners stand in solidarity: the practice of reading aloud throughout the grades is not only viable but also best practice.In Defense of Read-Aloud: Sustaining Best Practices, author Steven Layne reinforces readers' confidence to continue the practice of reading aloud and presents the research base to defend the practice in grades K12. Layne also offers significant practical insights to strengthen instructional practice-;answering the questions of Why should we?- and How should we? and provides practical advice about how to use read-alouds most effectively.Leading researchers in the field of literacy provide position statements, authors of professional books share insights on books they have loved, leaders of the largest literacy organizations in the United States write about their favorite read-alouds, award-winning authors of children's and young adult book (Katherine Paterson, Andrew Clements, Lois Lowry, to name a few) share the powerful behind-the-scenes stories of their greatest books, and real classroom teachers and librarians speak about books that have lit up- their classrooms and libraries around the world.Last but not least,In Defense of Read-Aloud features many great recommendations of books to share with children.Read-aloud is an essential practice in teaching literacy in grades K -12. In this book, Steven Layne has provided everything needed to support, sustain, and celebrate the power of read-aloud.

Read more less

Authors Jeff Anderson, Travis Leech, and Melinda Clark lead a vibrant approach to grammar instruction in Patterns of Power, Grades 6-8: Inviting Adolescent Writers into the Conventions of Language. Here, young, emergent writers are invited to notice the conventions of the English language and build off them in this inquiry-based approach to instructional grammar. The book comes with standards-aligned lessons that can be incorporated in just 10 minutes a day. Patterns of Power’s responsive, invitational approach puts students in an involved role and has them explore and discuss the purpose and meaning of what they read. Students study short, authentic texts and are asked to share their findings out loud, engaging in rich conversations to make meaning. Inside you’ll find: Ready-to-use lesson plan sets that include excerpts from authentic and diverse mentor texts curated for grades 6-8 Real-life classroom examples, tips, and Power Notes gleaned from the authors’ experiences that can be applied to any level of writer Resources, including a Patterns of Power Planning Guide and musical soundtracks, to use in classroom instruction or as handouts for student literacy notebooks Patterns of Power, Grades 6-8 provides a simple classroom routine that is structured in length and approach, but provides teachers flexibility in choosing the texts, allowing for numerous, diverse voices in the classroom. The practice helps students build cognitive recognition and provides a formative assessment for teachers on student progress. With these short lessons, students will gain confidence and move beyond limitation to produce effortless writing in your class and beyond. The Patterns of Power series also includes Patterns of Power, Grades 1-5: Inviting Young Writers into the Conventions of Language; Patterns of Power en Español, Grades 1-5: Inviting Bilingual Writers into the Conventions of Spanish; Patterns of Power, Grades 9-12: Teaching Grammar Through Reading and Writing; and Patterns of Wonder, Grades PreK-1: Inviting Emergent Writers to Play with the Conventions of Language.

Read more less

This book is an amazing resource for teachers who are struggling to help students develop both procedural fluency and conceptual understanding.. --Dr. Margaret (Peg) Smith, co-author of5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematical Discussions Robert Kaplinsky, the co-creator of Open Middle math problems, brings hisnew class of tasks designed to stimulate deeper thinking and lively discussion among middle and high school students in Open Middle Math: Problems That Unlock Student Thinking, Grades 6-12. The problems are characterized by a closed beginning,- meaning all students start with the same initial problem, and a closed end,- meaning there is only one correct or optimal answer. The key is that the middle is open- in the sense that there are multiple ways to approach and ultimately solve the problem. These tasks have proven enormously popular with teachers looking to assess and deepen student understanding, build student stamina, and energize their classrooms. Professional Learning Resource for Teachers: Open Middle Math is an indispensable resource for educators interested in teaching student-centered mathematics in middle and high schools consistent with the national and state standards. Sample Problems at Each Grade: The book demonstrates the Open Middle concept with sample problems ranging from dividing fractions at 6th grade to algebra, trigonometry, and calculus. Teaching Tips for Student-Centered Math Classrooms: Kaplinsky shares guidance on choosing problems, designing your own math problems, and teaching for multiple purposes, including formative assessment, identifying misconceptions, procedural fluency, and conceptual understanding. Adaptable and Accessible Math: The tasks can be solved using various strategies at different levels of sophistication, which means all students can access the problems and participate in the conversation. Open Middle Math will help math teachers transform the 6th -12th grade classroom into an environment focused on problem solving, student dialogue, and critical thinking.

Read more less

What can we teach kids today that will have utility ten or fifteen years from now? Angela Kohnen and Wendy Saul propose an approach to information literacy that goes beyond the teaching of discreet, easily outdated skills. Instead they use activity to help students build identities as curious individuals empowered to ask their own questions and able to navigate their information-filled world in pursuit of credible answers. A generalist is curious, open-minded, skeptical, and persistent in their quest for information. Thinking Like a Generalist: Skills for Navigating a Complex World demonstrates what it means to take a generalist stance in instruction and provides a set of teaching tools to be able to pass those skills to students'sskills that will transfer beyond the walls of the classroom. Inside you'll find the following: A thorough introduction to what it means to be a generalist, and how to develop the practices and tools that help generalists navigate the world we live in A focus on the teacher becoming a generalist and tips for modeling those practices in the classroom Detailed instructions on how to write a unit of study that emphasizes generalist literacy skills and includes an overview and examples of five different units How to use the authors' read-aloud-think-aloud strategy to orient students to generalist tools and practices The ideas, strategies, and examples Thinking Like a Generalist will give you the tools to think like a generalist and then pass that knowledge on to your students, guiding them to become inquisitive, lifelong learners and preparing them for a future that we can't yet imagine.

Read more less

In this second edition of Becoming a Literacy Leader: Supporting Learning and Change, author Jennifer Allen reflects on her work as a literacy specialist and how the role has evolved in the decade since she wrote the first edition. Her experiences can apply to all school leaders including principals, coaches, teachers, support staff, and office administrators. Allen focuses on three ideas to describe her work: Layered Leadership, the multitude of supports in place for teachers to encourage learning and change within schools; Shared experiences that develop community and develop common understanding of practices, curriculum, and assessment; Importance of 'rowing in the same direction' in that literacy coaches and leaders stay interconnected and aligned to the goals of the school. Allen knows the challenges of teachers face and advocates literacy coaches implement these layers of support within a school, including in-class support, curriculum support and assessment, study group facilitation, and the cultivation of teacher leadership. In Becoming a Literacy Leader, she provides an explicit framework for implementing these layers of coaching and explains how administrators can use the literacy leader position to build and sustain change within their schools. This book will be the road map for how literacy leaders and coaches approach their work with purpose and intention. Online videos that accompany the book bring the text alive by showing readers what coaching looks and sounds like.

Read more less

With so many state standards and demands of accountability, it can be a challenge for teachers to teach in ways that create energy and enthusiasm for reading. In their book, Reading Wellness: Lessons in Independence and Proficiency , authors Dr. Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris want to reignite the passion in teachers and drive them to instill confidence, curiosity, and joy in students.Burkins and Yates define reading wellness to include all aspects of readership so we can be our best reading selves-. The book is built around a framework of four intentions: alignment, balance, sustainability, and joy. It includes a series of field-tested lessons that help children read closely and carefully while still honoring their interests, passions, and agency as readers.Reading Wellness encourages each teacher to shape these ideas in ways that support personal ideals and goals while nurturing a love of reading and a passion for lifelong learning.

Read more less

Disregarding the false notion that writing instruction in the primary grades needs to be mostly teacher directed, Jennifer Jacobson shows teachers how to develop a primary writer' s workshop that helps nurture independent, engaged writers. No More I' m Done! demonstrates how to create a more productive, engaging, and rewarding writer' s workshop. Jennifer guides teachers from creating a supportive classroom environment through establishing effective routines; shows teachers how to set up a writer' s workshop; and provides an entire year of developmentally appropriate mini-lessons that build confidence and, ultimately, independence.

Read more less

As teachers everywhere find more and more students with limited English in their classes, many are asking: How can I include ELL students in every aspect of the day? The Words Came Down!: English Language Learners Read, Write, and Talk Across the Curriculum, K-2 oral language is emphasized in a continuum from teacher modeling and demonstration to situations in which student-to-student communication is essential. The authors show that when children's attempts at communicating are accepted and celebrated, they will learn to communicate with each other comfortably and spontaneously whether on the playground or working on a science experiment. Beginning with designing a classroom that welcomes students and creates appropriate conditions for learning, Emelie Parker and Tess Pardini go on to detail a workshop format for reading, writing and content-area studies. The workshop structure allows teachers to differentiate instruction to include all students, and affords students ample opportunities to collaborate with others as they learn to speak, read, write, and comprehend while also engaging in active learning of the curriculum. The authors provide numerous examples of ways that teachers can become proficient in knowing each child and orchestrating instruction to meet individual needs. In addition, this helpful guide offers a variety of approaches to assessment, and demonstrates the importance of engaging families as partners in learning English and content.

Read more less

In Start with Joy: Designing Literacy Learning for Student Happiness, author Katie Cunningham links what we know from the science of happiness with what we know about effective literacy instruction. When given a choice about what to write, children express hopes, fears, and reactions to life's experiences. Literacy learning is full of opportunities for students to learn tools to live a happy life. Inside, you'll find: Seven Pillars: Cunningham discusses the seven pillars that guide her classrooms and are involved in each literacy lesson'sConnection, Choice, Challenge, Play, Story, Discovery, and Movement. Ten Invitations: Designed for teachers to improvise and make their own, these ten lessons may be presented at any time of year in the context of any unit and include children's literature suggestions as well as recommended teacher talk to meet children's specific needs. Teaching Tools: Tools and resources that will help students tell their stories and make literacy learning something all students celebrate and cherish. This book honors the adventure that learning is meant to be and aims to make happiness more tangible in the classroom. By infusing school days with happiness, teachers can support children as they become stronger readers, writers, and thinkers, while also helping them learn that strength comes from challenge, and joy comes from leading a purposeful life.

Read more less

The Zeroing in on Number and Operations series features easy-to-use tools for teaching key concepts in number and operations and for addressing common misconceptions. Sharing the insights they've gained in decades of mathematics teaching and research, Linda Dacey and Anne Collins help you focus in on what students really need to know and understand at the fifth and sixth grade levels.

Read more less

Writing Rhetorically: Fostering Responsive Thinkers and Communicators, author Jennifer Fletcher aims to cultivate independent learners through rhetorical thinking. She provides teachers with strategies and frameworks for writing instruction that can be applied across multiple subjects and lesson plans. Students learn to discover their own questions, design their own inquiry process, develop their own positions and purposes, make their own choices about content and form, and contribute to conversations that matter to them. Inside this book, Fletcher helps remove some of the scaffolding and explains how to put in practice some methods which can successfully foster: Inquiry, Invention, and Rhetorical Thinking Writing for Transfer Paraphrasing, Summary, Synthesis, and Citation Skills Research Skills and Processes Evidence-Based Reasoning Rhetorical Decision Making' Rhetorical decision making helps students develop the skills, knowledge, and mindsets needed for transfer of learning: the ability to adapt and apply learning in new settings. The more choices students make as writers, the better prepared they are to analyze and respond to diverse rhetorical situations.' Writing Rhetorically' shows teachers what it looks like to dig into real texts with students and novice writers and how it develops them for lifelong learning.

Read more less

How do we teach elementary students to independently use the different elements of craft that are discussed and taught in lessons? We begin by honoring the reality that terms like voice, sentence fluency, and writing with detail are descriptions of where we want our students to be, not next steps on how to reach those goals. In Crafting Writers, K-6 Elizabeth Hale shows us how to identify specific elements of craft when assessing student work and planning instruction, and use them to teach students the specific craft techniques that will move them forward as writers.

Read more less

In her comprehensive guide, Better Book Clubs: Deepening Comprehension and Elevating Conversation, literacy coach and staff developer Sara Kugler shows you how to combine the power of book clubs with assessment-driven instruction to support your students as they talk and think about texts together. Using authentic book club conversations as an assessment of academic talk and text understanding, Kugler raises the bar on typical professional discussions about book clubs, moving beyond teacher-directed interactions and surface-level conversations to include: Structures, teaching methods, and routines that support authenticity and independence in book clubs Suggestions for starting, scaffolding, and sustaining effective, student-centered book clubs Tips for listening in on clubs as a way to assess academic talk and text understanding Methods for moving from observation into instruction that improves conversation and comprehension Touchstone anchor charts and sample lessons for launching and maintaining strong clubs at a variety of independence levels With a dual focus on stronger comprehension and improved conversations, Better Book Clubs will help you establish effective book clubs that will engage your readers, enhance your learning communities, and become an indispensable component of your literacy classroom.

Read more less

For the past ten years, Gail Boushey and Allison Behne worked with hundreds of teachers and students nationwide to gain insightsinto the best practices for reading instruction. Using their findings, they developed The CAFE Book, Expanded Second Edition: Engaging All Students in Daily Literacy Assessment and Instruction to share what their research has proven - that reading instruction is not about the setting or the book level, but rather effective reading instruction is based off of what the student needs in that moment.With the release of The CAFE Book in 2009, the CAFE system (Comprehension, Accuracy, Flluency, and expanding Vocabulary) has been implemented in classrooms all over the world. It changed the way educators assess, teach, and track student information and has positively impacted the way students learn, practice, and talk about reading.The CAFE Book, Expanded Second Edition builds on the same research-based, student-centered foundations, but now includes: Seven Steps from Assessment to Instruction to plan data-driven classworkThe Instruction Protocol - a framework to guide your teaching and planning CAFE's Essential Elements resource to guide your understanding of student-focused instructionA revised CAFE menu and a checklist of skills vital for emerging readersReady Reference Guides that include when to teach the strategy, options for differentiating methods, and partner strategiesSignificantresources to help with lesson planning, assessments and goal setting, and parent involvementNew and improved forms for bothonline conferring notebook and a pencil/paper notebookto support more effective conferring with studentsThe CAFE Book, Expanded Second Edition offers a variety of tools to structure your literacy block and create an environment where your students are engaged readers and writers with resources that set them up for success. The CAFE system is all you need to support, guide, and coach your students toward the strategies that will move them forward.

Read more less

With Super Spellers Starter Sets, you have everything you need to bring to life the wisdom of Super Spellers: Seven Steps to Transforming Your Spelling Instruction. Building on his research-based approach, Mark Weakland provides lesson plans and tools to create spelling centers and teach spelling strategies. This teacher resource provides a wealth of material, all adaptable to match the needs of your students: Seven spelling strategy lessons every student needs to know More than 20 lessons for different grade levels Pointers, differentiated word lists, sorting masters and correlating word ladders Six must-have spelling centers for nurturing independent practice A resource-rich appendix With these resources, your students will notice and remember spelling patterns and words while making connections between spelling and their reading and writing lives.

Read more less

With over 50 years of collective reading experience, authors Jan Burkins and Melody Croft bring their expertise to Preventing Misguided Reading: Next Generation Guided Reading Strategies. The authors present personal clarifications, adaptations, and supports that have helped them work through the tricky parts as they guide readers in the classroom. Inside, each of the six chapters clarifies a misunderstanding about guided reading instruction in the following areas: Teacher's Role and Gradual Release of Responsibility Instructional Reading Level Text Gradients Balanced Instruction Integrated Processing Assessment With 27 strategies, Burkins and Croft will help you reframe your way of thinking about teaching reading and act on "revisioning" strategically.

Read more less

In The Art of Comprehension: Exploring Visual Texts to Foster Comprehension, Conversation, and Confidence, Trevor A. Bryan introduces his signature method for enhancing students' understanding and thinking about all texts both written and visual.By using what he calls 'access lenses' (such as faces, body language, sound/silence) you can prompt all your students to became active explorers and meaning-makers. Organically and spontaneously, your classroom will become more student-centered. Discover inventive ways to prompt students to notice, think about, and synthesize visuals using the same observation and comprehension skills they can bring to reading and writing Learn about ways to unravel layers of meaning in picture books, chapter books, artwork, poetry, and informational text Explore the book's eclectic collection of art and illustration, by acclaimed illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, 19th century masters, and more. Bryan's approach allows all students to engage meaningfully with texts and join the classroom conversation.' With this comes the greatest reward of all: confidence and independence for all kinds of learners.

Read more less

Why do I have to read this?- What teacher doesn't dread this question? It usually comes from our most disengaged students a student who cries of boredom, or one who is angry or apathetic. When we don't know what else to try, it's easy to become frustrated and give up on these challenging learners. Author Cris Tovani has spent her career figuring out how to entice challenging students back into the process of learning. Why Do I Have to Read This?: Literacy Strategies to Engage our Most Reluctant Students Tovani shares her best secrets, lessons learned from big fails, and her most effective literacy and planning strategies that hook these hard to get learners. You will meet many of Tovani's students inside this book. As she describes some of her favorites, you may even recognize a few of your own. You will laugh at her stories and take comfort in her easily adaptable strategies that help students remove their masks of disengagement. She shows teachers how to plan by anticipating students' needs. HerC urriculumY ouA nticipate structures of Topic, Task, Targets, Text, Tend to me, and Time willhelp you anticipate your curriculum. InsideWhy Do I Have to Read This? readers will find: Literacy strategies for all content areas that support and engage a wide range of learners so they can read and write a variety of complex textReference charts packed with small bites of instructional shifts that coaches and teachers can use to quickly adjust instruction to re-engage studentsPlanning strategies that show teachers how to connect day-to-day instruction so that no day lives in isolationVersatile think sheets that are reproducible and adaptable to different grade levels, content areas, and disciplinesAbove all, Tovani gives teachers energy to get back into the classroom and face students who wear masks of disengagement. She reminds us of the importance of connecting students to compelling topics, rich text, useful targets, and worthy tasks. Teachers must tendto students' basic needs and helps us consider how to best structure instructional time.After reading this book, teachers will have new ways to connect with students in a deep, authentic way. Written in a humorous, compassionate, and wise voice,Why Do I Have to Read This? will provide answers to the pressing questions we have when we try to teach and reach all of our students.

Read more less

Social and emotional learning is at the heart of good teaching, but as standards and testing requirements consume classroom time and divert teachers' focus, these critical skills often get sidelined. In Sharing the Blue Crayon , Mary Anne Buckley shows teachers how to incorporate social and emotional learning into a busy day and then extend these skills to literacy lessons for young children. Through simple activities such as read-alouds, sing-alongs, murals, and performances, students learn how to get along in a group, empathize with others, develop self-control, and give and receive feedback, all while becoming confident readers and writers. As Buckley shares, Every day we ask young children to respectfully converse, question, debate, and collaborate about literature, science, math problems, history, and more. That's sophisticated stuff and requires sophisticated skills. Social and emotional skills are essential to helping children communicate their knowledge and articulate their questions. We must teach students how to build respectful, caring classroom communities, where students are supported and fully engaged in the learning and everyone can reach their potential.- In this fresh and original book, Buckley captures the humor, wonder, honesty, and worries of our youngest learners and helps teachers understand how to harness their creativity and guide their conversations toward richer expressions of knowledge. Teachers of special populations will especially appreciate Buckley's successful strategies for reaching English language learners and children from high-poverty homes who may not have strong foundations for academic discourse. As Buckley reminds us, By understanding one another-;orally and socially at first, then using those community-building exchanges to strengthen the skills of reading and writing-;we experience the authentic pride and sweet joys of learning, understanding, and connecting to one another.-

Read more less

Traditional grammar instruction often focuses too much on what’s right or what’s wrong, hiding the true power of conventions—the creation of meaning, purpose, and effect. Instead of hammering high school students with the mistakes they should avoid, Jeff Anderson, Travis Leech, and Holly Durham suggest exploring grammar through the celebration of author’s purpose and craft. In Patterns of Power, Grades 9-12: Teaching Grammar Through Reading and Writing, they invite you to create an environment in which writers thrive while studying and appreciating the beauty, effects, and meaning of grammar. Inside this book, teachers will find a comprehensive explanation of the brain-based Patterns of Power invitational process, as well as: 35 standards-aligned lesson sets built around practical, engaging, inquiry-based methods that take deeper dives into grammar and craft than any worksheet, quiz, or editing exercise ever could A variety of high-interest model texts from authentic and diverse sources, including excerpts from classic and current novels, memoirs, plays, graphic novels, poems, and media Real-life classroom examples and tips with suggestions for scaffolding new learning and ideas for how to use the lessons in AP courses Templates for extended application, easy to locate printables, and ready-to-go visuals Additional Models for Further Study for extension opportunities in every lesson set An entire chapter devoted to helping high school writers master citations in research With hundreds of teach-tomorrow resources and implementation supports such as quick-reference guides, specific applications to reading instruction, and soundtrack suggestions to infuse the joy of music into grammar instruction, Patterns of Power, Grades 9-12 gives you everything you need to inspire your high school writers to move beyond limitation and into the endless possibilities of what they can do as writers. The Patterns of Power series also includes Patterns of Power, Grades 6-8: Inviting Adolescent Writers into the Conventions of Language; Patterns of Power, Grades 1-5: Inviting Young Writers into the Conventions of Language; Patterns of Wonder, Grades PreK-1: Inviting Emergent Writers to Play with the Conventions of Language; and Patterns of Power en Español, Grades 1-5: Inviting Bilingual Writers into the Conventions of Spanish.

Read more less

How Many? is not like other counting books. In How Many?, there are multiple things to count on each page. Students might count one pair of shoes, or two shoes, or four corners of a shoebox. They might discuss whether two shoes have two shoelaces, or four. They might notice surprising patterns and relationships, and they will want to talk about them. In this accompanying Teacher' s Guide, Christopher Danielson explores deep mathematical ideas such as counting, number language, units, grouping, partitioning, place value, and vocabulary. Throughout, he shares stories and excerpts from real classrooms where he facilitated How Many? discussions. Danielson helps teachers anticipate what students might notice and gives practical suggestions for facilitating rich conversations with students. Danielson' s interest in students' ideas is infectious, and readers will soon find themselves seeking out opportunities to ask young mathematicians, How Many?

Read more less

No matter wherestudents' lives lead after graduation, one of the most essential tools we can teach them is how to comprehend, analyze, and respond to arguments. Students need to know how writers' and speakers' choices are shaped by elements of the rhetorical situation, including audience, occasion, and purpose. In Teaching Arguments: Rhetorical Comprehension, Critique, and Response , Jennifer Fletcher provides teachers with engaging classroom activities, writing prompts, graphic organizers, and student samples to help students at all levels read, write, listen, speak, and think rhetorically.Fletcher believes that, with appropriate scaffolding and encouragement, all students can learn a rhetorical approach to argument and gain access to rigorous academic content. Teaching Arguments opens the door and helps them pay closer attention to the acts of meaning around them, to notice persuasive strategies that might not be apparent at first glance. When we analyze and develop arguments, we have to consider more than just the printed words on the page. We have to evaluate multiple perspectives; the tension between belief and doubt; the interplay of reason, character, and emotion; the dynamics of occasion, audience, and purpose; and how our own identities shape what we read and write. Rhetoric teaches us how to do these things.Teaching Arguments will help students learn to move beyond a superficial response to texts so they can analyze and craft sophisticated, persuasive arguments-;a major cornerstone for being not just college-and career-ready but ready for the challenges of the world.

Read more less

With every lesson grounded in the critical strategy of writers talking out their revisions, Patterns of Revision will establish routines, practices, and mindsets to set you and your students up for success from day one. Discover the joy inherent in writing - and writing instruction - when we explore revision through engaging inquiry and the study of models, building flexible, competent revisors, step-by-step, in an open-ended discussion of meaning driven revision choices and their effects.

Read more less

Educators across all content areas have turned to Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning for almost two decades. The fourth edition delivers rich, practical, and research-based strategies that readers have found invaluable in today's classrooms. Author Doug Buehl has written all-new chapters that focus on the instructional shifts taking place as the Common Core State Standards are implemented across the United States. These introductory chapters will help you do the following: Understand research based comprehension strategies for content classrooms Tap into students' background knowledge to build upon and enhance comprehension of complex texts Teach students how to question a text Teach reading and thinking through a disciplinary lens At the heart of this edition are more than 40 classroom strategies with variations and strategy indexes that identify the instructional focus of each strategy, pinpoint the text frames in play as students read and learn, and correlate students' comprehension processes. In addition, each strategy is cross-referenced with the Common Core's reading, writing, speaking/listening, and language standards.

Read more less

In No More How Long Does it Have to Be?: Fostering Independent Writers in Grades 3-8, author Jennifer Jacobson provides the inspiration and tools to shift from a teacher-directed writing program to a student-propelled workshop model. Drawing on a wealth of Writer's Workshop experience in upper elementary and middle school classrooms, Jacobson provides strategies to help you engage and support writers as they discover their voices and take charge of their own learning. Jacobson shares tips on how to establish the spaces, routines, and tone to run a highly productive writing time: Building classroom spaces conducive to practicing thoughtful, engaging writing Rolling out a streamlined sequence of varied writing activities Leading creative explorations of mentor texts Integrating the riches of mini-lessons, conferring, sharing, and publishing Building a workshop curriculum that aligns with your goals and rubrics As she clarifies misconceptions about writing and workshops, she serves up an immensely readable blend of activities, anecdotes, and advice that will energize and inspire your students.

Read more less

Revision is often a confusing and difficult process for students, but it's also the most important part of the writing process. If students leave our classrooms not knowing how to move a piece of writing forward, we've failed them. Revision Decisions: Talking Through Sentences and Beyond will help teachers develop the skills students need in an ever-evolving writing, language, and reading world. Jeff Anderson and Deborah Dean have written a book that engages writers in the tinkering, playing, and thinking that are essential to clarify and elevate writing. Focusing on sentences, the authors use mentor texts to show the myriad possibilities that exist for revision. Essential to their process is the concept of classroom talk. Readers will be shown how revision lessons can be discussed in a generative way, and how each student can benefit from talking through the revision process as a group. Revision Decisions focuses on developing both the writing and the writer. The easy-to-follow lessons make clear and accessible the rigorous thinking and the challenging process of making writing work. Narratives, setup lessons, templates, and details about how to move students toward independence round out this essential book. Additionally, the authors weave the language, reading, and writing goals of the Common Core and other standards into an integrated and connected practice. The noted language arts teacher James Britton once said that good writing floats on a sea of talk. Revision Decisions supports those genuine conversations we naturally have as readers and writers, leading the way to the essential goal of making meaning.

Read more less

Ask mathematicians to describe mathematics and they' ll use words like playful, beautiful, and creative. Pose the same question to students and many will use words like boring, useless, and even humiliating.Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had, author Tracy Zager helps teachers close this gap by making math class more like mathematics. Zager has spent years working with highly skilled math teachers in a diverse range of settings and grades and has compiled those' ideas from these vibrant classrooms into' this game-changing book.Inside you'll find: How to Teach Student-Centered Mathematics: Zager outlines a problem-solving approach to mathematics for elementary and middle school educators looking for new ways to inspire student learning Big Ideas, Practical Application: This math book contains dozens of practical and accessible teaching techniques that focus on fundamental math concepts, including strategies that simulate connection of big ideas; rich tasks that encourage students to wonder, generalize, hypothesize, and persevere; and routines to teach students how to collaborate. Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had offers fresh perspectives on common challenges, from formative assessment to classroom management for elementary and middle school teachers.No matter what level of math class you teach, Zager will coach you along chapter by chapter. All teachers can move towards increasingly authentic and delightful mathematics teaching and learning. This important book helps develop instructional techniques that will make the math classes we teach so much better than the math classes we took.

Read more less

The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy in the Elementary Grades, Second Edition retains the core literacy components that made the first edition one of the most widely read books in education and enhances these practices based on years of further experience in classrooms and compelling new brain research. The Daily 5 provides a way for any teacher to structure literacy (and now math) time to increase student independence and allow for individualized attention in small groups and one-on-one. Teachers and schools implementing the Daily 5 will do the following: Spend less time on classroom management and more time teaching Help students develop independence, stamina, and accountability Provide students with abundant time for practicing reading, writing, and math Increase the time teachers spend with students one-on-one and in small groups Improve schoolwide achievement and success in literacy and math. The Daily 5, Second Edition gives teachers everything they need to launch and sustain the Daily 5, including materials and setup, model behaviors, detailed lesson plans, specific tips for implementing each component, and solutions to common challenges. By following this simple and proven structure, teachers can move from a harried classroom toward one that hums with productive and engaged learners. What's new in the second edition: Detailed launch plans for the first three weeks Full color photos, figures, and charts Increased flexibility regarding when and how to introduce each Daily 5 choice New chapter on differentiating instruction by age and stamina Ideas about how to integrate the Daily 5 with the CAFE assessment system New chapter on the Math Daily 3 structure

Read more less

When faced with a blank page in their readers' notebooks, students often fall back on what is familiar: summarizing. Despite our best efforts to model through comprehension strategies what good readers do, many students struggle to transfer this knowledge and make it their own when writing independently about books. Readers Writing,' Elizabeth Hale offers ninety-one practical lessons that show teachers how students of all ability levels can use readers' notebooks to think critically,' on their own,' one step at a time. Each of the lessons uses a fiction or nonfiction book to address a comprehension strategyquestioning, connecting, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, visualizing, or monitoringby showing students one specific way they can write about their thinking. Each lesson also provides an example of how to model the strategy. All of the lessons follow a similar format with five componentsName It, Why Do It?, Model It, Try It, and Share Itand include time for students to actively process what they learn by talking about and trying out the strategy in their readers' notebooks. Elizabeth also provides suggestions for supporting student independence, managing independent writing time, scaffolding comprehension of nonfiction texts as well as assessing and conferencing with readers' notebooks. Helpful appendices include a table that illustrates how each lesson aligns with the Common Core State Standards and a list of additional titles that can be used to demonstrate each of the ninety-one lessons. ' ' ' ' ' Readers Writing' gives teachers a way to engage all children with readers' notebooks, to learn the language of thinking, one strategy at a time, and to become lifelong readers who can think and write critically on their own.

Read more less

Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning: Using the Outdoors as an Instructional Tool K-8' shows how the school groundsregardless of whether your school is in an urban, suburban, or rural settingcan become an enriching extension of the classroom. In this comprehensive handbook, Herb Broda blends theory and practice, providing readers with practical suggestions and teacher-tested activities for using the most powerful audio-visual tool availablethe outdoors. Emphasizing the practical, this innovative book offers teachers step-by-step guidance to help ensure success when they take a class outside. It provides: Background that helps present the case for outdoor learning: educational theory that supports the concept; overview of the terminology; research on the benefits related to student achievement; alignment of outdoor learning with current teaching practices. Ideas for making the schoolyard an effective outdoor classroom: the planning process; enhancing and maintaining the site; developing gardens and attracting wildlife; finding community resources and funding. Advice on working with a class outdoors: garnering administrative and parental support; considerations before going out; making the most of your outdoor time; using GPS as an educational tool; building on the outdoor experience back in the classroom. An array of proven activities that utilize the schoolyard: activities related to specific subject areas; activities that teach process skills; activities that encourage initiative and build community.At a time when children' s natural curiosity about the outdoors is eclipsed by the demands of busy schedules and the ever-present glow of video screens, schools may be the only place where they are encouraged to interact with nature. Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning can help teachers unlock the powerful learning experiences that exist just beyond the classroom door.

Read more less

Differentiation: From Planning to Practice , author Rick Wormeli provides an overview of the cognitive science behind differentiation. As a teacher, you know a one-size-fits-all education doesn't work; students are more diverse than ever. In his book, Wormeli gives a step-by-step process to create a fully crafted differentiation lesson and shows the necessary planning for an effective lesson design for diverse classrooms.Wormeli demonstrates how to weave common and novel differentiation strategies into all subjects and offers clear advice about what to do when things don't go as expected. Based on nearly thirty years of experience as a teacher and instructional coach, his thoughtful and imaginative classroom accommodations will help teachers succeed with advanced students, struggling students, English language learners, and students across the multiple intelligences spectrum. Differentiation provides a practice guide to create lessons that will prepare students for real life success and build their critical thinking skills in the process.

Read more less

Writing nonfiction represents a big step for most students, yet when they try to create a report or persuasive essay, they are often anxious and frustrated. JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher created Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing, K-8 to help teachers bring the passion from student writing while helping students scaffold their ideas in this challenging genre. The authors divided this book into grade-specific sections for K-2, 3-4, and middle school (grades 5-8) students. These divisions reflect various differences between emerging, competent, and fluent writers. In each section you'll find a generous collection of craft lessons directed at the genre that's most appropriate for that particular age. In the K-2 section, for example, a number of craft lessons focus on the all-about or concept book. In the 3-4 section there are several lessons on biography. In the 5-8 section a series of lessons addresses expository writing. Throughout the book each of the 80 lessons is presented on a single page in an easy-to-read format. Every lesson features three teaching guidelines: Discussion --A brief look at the reasons for teaching the particular element of craft specifically in a nonfiction context. How to Teach It --Concrete language showing exactly how a teacher might bring this craft element to students in writing conferences or a small-group setting. Resource Material --Specific book or text referred to in the craft lesson including trade books, or a piece of student writing in the Appendixes. This book will help students breathe voice into lifeless "dump-truck" writing and improve their nonfiction writing by making it clearer, more authoritative, and more organized. Nonfiction Craft Lessons gives teachers a wealth of practical strategies to help students grow into strong writers as they explore and explain the world around them.

Read more less

With increasing school mandates and pressure to perform well on standardized tests, writing instruction has shifted to more accountability, taking the focus away from the writer. In his engaging book, When Writers Drive the Workshop: Honoring Young Voices and Bold Choices, author Brian Kissel asks teachers to go back to the roots of the writing workshop and let the students lead the conference.What happens when students, not tests, determine what they learned through reflection and self-evaluation? In When Writers Drive the Workshop, you'll find practical ideas, guiding beliefs, FAQs, and Digital Diversions to help visualize digital possibilities in the classroom.Written in an engaging, teacher-to-teacher style, this book focuses on four key components of writing workshop: Student-led conferring sessions where the teachers are the listeners. The Author's Chair-, where students set the agenda and gather feedback. Structured reflection time for students to set goals and expectations for themselves. Mini lessons that allow for detours based on students' needs, not teacher or curricula goals. All students have the powerful, shared need to be heard; when they choose their writing topics, they can see their lives unfold on the page. Teachers are educated by the bold choices of these young voices.

Read more less

This book anchors shared reading as an essential element within a comprehensive and balanced literacy program. Margaret Mooney In this book, Brenda Parkes introduces new teachers to shared reading and helps experienced teachers revitalize this important teaching practice. Starting with the bedtime story, Read It Again! outlines the essential elements and benefits of shared reading and provides detailed examples which show how a shared reading session unfolds in the classroom. By including examples of implicit and explicit teaching, Brenda demonstrates how shared reading helps children develop a range of strategies for reading and comprehending text. You will find detailed strategies that support learners in developing self-extending systems through their understanding of content and process and several examples of independent activities that consolidate and extend learning. Good book selection is the key to successful shared reading experiences. In discussing the criteria for quality book selection, Brenda shows us how to critically assess the teaching and learning possibilities in shared reading books and how to use a variety of text types to model purpose, content, and form. The book includes an analysis of supportive text features for the different needs of emergent, early, and fluent readers. Annotated bibliographies provide a quick reference to quality books. Read It Again! refines and extends our understanding of shared reading, and shows primary teachers how to put this valuable approach into practice.

Read more less

In the early grades, talking and drawing can provide children with a natural pathway to writing, yet these components are often overlooked. In Talking, Drawing, Writing: Lessons for Our Youngest Writers , authors Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe invite readers to join them in classrooms where they listen, watch, and talk with children, then use what they learn to create lessons designed to meet children where they are and lead them into the world of writing. The authors make a case for a broader definition of writing, advocating for formal storytelling sessions, in which children tell about what they know, and for focused sketching sessions so that budding writers learn how to observe more carefully.The book's lessons are organized by topic and include oral storytelling, drawing, writing words, assessment, introducing booklets, and moving writers forward. Based on the authors' work in urban kindergarten and first-grade classes, the essence and structure of many of the lessons lend themselves to adaptation through fifth grade. The lessons follow a consistent format: What's going on in the classroom? What do children need to learn next? Materials needed to teach the lesson Language used in each lesson Reasons behind why certain books are chosen and suggestions for additional children’s books The authors show the thinking behind their teaching decisions and provide a way to look at and assess children's writing, giving us much more than a book of lessons; they present a vision of what beginning writing can look and sound like. Perhaps most powerfully, they give us examples of the language they use with children that reveal a genuine respect for and trust in children as learners.

Read more less

How do we get fourth-grade writers to revise? And once we do get them thinking about revision, what, exactly, do they do? What do we do? In Patterns of Revision, best-selling authors Whitney La Rocca and Jeff Anderson answer these questions and more. This practical resource uses the research-proven and classroom-tested methods of sentence combining in a meaningful, engaging way that supports authentic writing as well as writing for performance-based or multiple-choice tests. Flip the book open to immediately find: The DRAFT mnemonic to help students know where to begin the revision process and how to keep going Concrete, doable lessons that spark academic conversations (oral rehearsal and play) about meaning, effect, and purpose that are grounded in a student-centered revision approach Easily accessed display and printable pages to seamlessly support student revision learning, embedded in each lesson right where you need it Authentic and engaging model text excerpts curated to support each lesson An engaging process for revision instruction that can be immediately implemented to support any writing approach or as a supplemental resource for Patterns of Power, 1-5 as well as Patterns of Power Plus, Grade 4 With every lesson grounded in the critical strategy of writers talking out their revisions, Patterns of Revision will establish routines, practices, and mindsets to set up you and your students for success from Day 1. Discover the joy inherent in writing—and writing instruction—by exploring revision through engaging inquiry and the study of models, building flexible, competent revisors, step-by-step, in an open-ended discussion of meaning-driven revision choices and their effects.

Read more less

Making the transition to student-centered learning begins with finding ways to get students to share their thinking, something that can be particularly challenging for older learners. Authors Ruth Parker and Cathy Humphreys return with Digging Deeper: Making Number Talks Matter Even More, Grades 3-10, taking the readers into classrooms where their Number Talks routines are taught.In this comprehensive sequel to their best-selling book, Making Number Talks Matter, Parker and Humphreys apply their 15 minute lessons to older grade levels to inspire and initiate math talks. Through vignettes in the book, you'll meet other teachers learning how to listen closely to students and how to prompt them into figuring out solutions to problems. You will learn how to make on-the-spot decisions, continually advancing and deepening the conversation. Digging Deeper includes: Sample Problems: Digging Deeper is filled with a range of Number Talks problems, 10-15 minute warm-up routines that lend themselves to mental math and comparison of strategies Navigating Rough Spots: Learn how to create a safe environment for tricky, problematic, or challenging student discussions that can arise when talking through problems and sharing ideas Responding to Mistakes: Ways to handle misconceptions and mathematical errors that come up during the course of Number Talk conversations. Digging Deeper is filled with teaching tips for using wait time between problems more efficiently, honoring student contributions while still correcting errors, and teaching concepts while nudging independent thinking. Through daily practice and open conversation, you can make Number Talks matter more.

Read more less

Stacey Shubitz and Lynne Dorfman welcome you to experience the writing workshop for the first time or in a new light with Welcome to Writing Workshop: Engaging Today's Students with a Model That Works. Through strategic routines, tips, resources, and short focused video clips, teachers can create the sights and sounds of a thriving writing workshop where:• Both students and teachers are working authors• Students spend most of their time writing—not just learning about it• Student choice is encouraged to help create engaged writers, not compliant ones• Students are part of the formative assessment process• Students will look forward to writing time—not dread it.From explanations of writing process and writing traits to small-group strategy lessons and mini-lessons, this book will provide the know-how to feel confident and comfortable in the teaching of writers.

Read more less

During his years working as an instructional coach for a national network of schools, Geoff Krall had the chance to witness several inspirational moments when math class comes alive for middle or high school students - when it is challenging but also fun, creative, and interactive. In Necessary Conditions: Teaching Secondary Math with Academic Safety, Quality Tasks, and Effective Facilitation, Krall documents the essential ingredients that produce these sorts of moments on a regular basis and for all students. They are Academic Safety, Quality Tasks, and Effective Facilitation. Academic Safety: Krall implements equitable classroom experiences that help fight stigmas associated with race and gender in schools. This allows students to feel socially and emotionally secure while nurturing their identities as mathematicians and increasing engagement during classroom discussions Quality Tasks: Teachers can adapt or create dynamic, student-centered lessons that break down math into small, manageable sections, removing the frustrations felt by students who aren't considered math people Effective Facilitation: This book shows how to incorporate teaching moves and math routines designed for engagement, persistence, and interactivity. Teachers can allow students to explore safely while maintaining consistent classroom expectations. "My work as a math instructional coach for a network of schools has afforded me the unique opportunity to visit exceptional teachers across the country, documenting their tasks, teaching moves, and academically safe learning environments. You'll experience dispatches from these effective classrooms in which we'll observe how teachers attend to all three elements that make up the ecosystem." - Geoff Krall from his book, Necessary Conditions.

Read more less

In her practical and inspirational book, Literacy Essentials: Engagement, Excellence, and Equity for All Learners, author Regie Routman guides K-12 teachers to create a trusting, intellectual, and equitable classroom culture that allows all learners to thrive as self-directed readers, writers, thinkers, and responsible citizens. Over the course of three sections, Routman provides numerous Take Action ideas for implementing authentic and responsive teaching, assessing, and learning. This book poses a key question: How do we rise to the challenge of providing an engaging, excellent, equitable education for all learners, including those from high poverty and underserved schools?Teaching for Engagement: Many high performing schools are characterized by a a thriving school culture built on a network of authentic communication. Teachers can strengthen classroom engagement by building a trusting and welcoming environment where all students can have a safe and collaborative space to grow and develop.Pursuing Excellence: Routman identifies 10 key factors that describe an excellent teacher, ranging from intellectual curiosity to creativity, and explains how carrying yourself as a role model contributes to an inclusive, caring, empathic, and fair classroom. She also stresses the importance for school leaders to make job-embedded professional development a top priority.Dismantling Unequal Education: The huge gap in the quality of education in high vs low income communities is the civil rights issue of the 21st century, according to Routman. She spells out specific actions educators can take to create more equitable schools and classrooms, such as diversifying texts used in curriculums and ensuring all students have access to opportunities to discuss, reflect, and engage with important ideas.From the author, I wrote Literacy Essentials, because I saw a need to simplify teaching, raise expectations, and make expert teaching possible for all of us. I saw a need to emphasize how a school culture of kindness, trust, respect, and curiosity is essential to any lasting achievement. I saw a need to demonstrate and discuss how and why the beliefs, actions, knowledge we hold determine the potential for many of our students. Equal opportunity to learn depends on a culture of engagement and equity, which under lies a relentless pursuit of excellence.

Read more less

Best-selling authors Dr. Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris rethink traditional teaching practices Who's Doing the Work: How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More. They review some common instructional mainstays such as read-aloud, guided reading, shared reading, and independent reading and provide small, yet powerful, adjustments to help hold students accountable for their learning.Next generation reading instruction is much more responsive to student needs and aims to remove some of the scaffolding that can hinder reader development. Instead of relying on teacher prompts, Who's Doing the Work asks teachers to have students take ownership of their reading by managing their challenges independently and working through any plateaus they encounter. Whether you are an elementary teacher, literacy coach, reading specialist, or parent, Who's Doing the Work provides numerous examples on how to readjust the reading process and teach students to gain proficiency and joy in their work.

Read more less

Literacy in the twenty-first century means more than just reading and writing. Today's students must learn how to interpret and communicate information through a variety of digital and print-based media formats, using imagery, online applications, audio, video, and traditional texts.

Read more less

So What Do They Really Know? Cris Tovani explores the complex issue of monitoring, assessing, and grading students' thinking and performance with fairness and fidelity. Like all teachers, Cris struggles to balance her student-centered instruction with school system mandates. Her recommendations are realistic and practical; she understands that what isn't manageable isn't sustainable. Cris describes the systems and structure she uses in her own classroom and shows teachers how to use assessments to monitor student growth and provide targeted feedback that enables students to master content goals. She also shares ways to bring students into the assessment cycle so they can monitor their own learning, maximizing motivation and engagement. So What Do They Really Know? includes a wealth of information: Lessons from Cris's classroomTemplates showing how teachers can use the workshop model to assess and differentiate instructionStudent work, including samples from linguistically diverse learners, struggling readers, and college-bound seniorsAnchor charts of student thinkingIdeas on how to give feedbackGuidelines that explain how conferring is different from monitoringSuggestions for assessing learning and differentiating instruction during conferencesAdvice for managing ongoing assessmentCris's willingness to share her own struggles continues to be a hallmark of her work. Teachers will recognize their own students and the challenges they face as they join Cris on the journey to figure out how to raise student achievement.

Read more less

Teaching comprehension with informational texts is a critical component of any reading program and one that many children struggle with as they progress through their schooling. Nonfiction can be overwhelming to young readers, presenting them with complex vocabulary and a new density of information that may combine text, diagrams, pictures, captions, and other devices.Reality Checks: Teaching Reading Comprehension with Non-Fiction K-5 offers insights into why children struggle when faced with informational reading, and practical concepts, skills, and strategies that help them navigate nonfiction successfully.In this book, Tony Stead provides wonderful ways to enhance children's understanding and engagement when reading for information. He outlines practical approaches to ensure all children can become confident and competent readers of nonfiction. Part one examines effective ways to teach children how to extract the information that is explicitly stated in a text. Covered are strategies such as using prior knowledge, retelling, locating specific information, and the role of nonfiction read-alouds. Part two explores interpreting information, including making connections between the text, the reader, and the outside world, making inferences and making revisions to inferences based on reflection. Part three looks at evaluating information, assisting children in developing critical reading skills, differentiating fact from opinion, locating author bias, and identifying techniques writers use to persuade readers' thinking. Part four offers an array of practical ways to reinforce and extend children's nonfiction reading skills, including working with visual information such as maps and diagrams. It also provides pre-and -post-assessment strategies, procedures for monitoring progress, curriculum planning ideas, and instruction on guided reading.

Read more less

With a focus on fostering a deep love for reading and prioritizing student growth, A Year for the Books: Routines and Mindsets for Creating Student-Centered Reading Communities is a must-have for educators from kindergarten through middle school. Discover a teacher-friendly resource crafted by Katie Walther, esteemed educator, and respected veteran teacher Maria Walther that will take you behind the scenes and through the school year as they share simple, practical strategies to design learner-centered literacy experiences.Starting with the first few weeks of school, each chapter highlights multiple ways to embed literacy experiences across the entire year that prioritize learners and literacy. To support you in your decision making, the classroom-tested ideas in each chapter are arranged around five grounding principles: Actionable strategies for launching and sustaining a vibrant reading culture Clear processes to define and communicate community beliefs Creative structures for establishing and maintaining reading routines Innovative ideas for cultivating an inclusive reading community Equitable techniques for partnering with families and caregivers Within each chapter you will also find nuggets of wisdom from the Walthers' collective years of teaching, practical ideas about how to keep it simple, and several book suggestions. As an added bonus, this book features companion podcasts or PDCasts where you can hear the authors tackle authentic classroom dilemmas and share their decision-making process.Whether you’re a novice or seasoned educator, you’ll want A Year for the Books by your side as you advocate for your student readers and promote independent reading in your classroom all year long.

Read more less

Ask great writers what the key to writing well is and they will tell you revision. Author Ruth Culham, both a successful writer and writing teacher, understands the challenges elementary teachers face when teaching writing and revision and now shares her knowledge in Teach Writing Well: How to Assess Writing, Invigorate Instruction, and Rethink Revision. Divided into two parts, Culham’s book provides ways to teach that are both accessible to the teacher and student. You will find techniques to assess writing that are practical, and results driven.Inside you’ll discover: Culham’s traits of writing and how to use them to read and assess student work Ways to guide revision decisions using these traits as common language How to address challenges students may face within the different modes of writing (narrative, expository, and persuasive) Strategic lessons to teach the writer that scaffold students towards making their own craft decisions A chapter on mentor texts which can be used to model traits and key qualities for your students Teach Writing Well pulls best practices together and shows writing with fresh eyes.

Read more less

Making the transition to student-centered learning begins with finding ways to get students to share their thinking, something that can be particularly challenging for math class. Authors Ruth Parker and Cathy Humphreys introduce. Making Number Talks Matter: Developing Mathematical Practices and Deepening Understanding, Grades 3-10, taking the readers into classrooms where their Number Talks routines are taught. Parker and Humphreys apply their 15 minute lessons to inspire and initiate math talks. Through vignettes in the book, you'll meet other teachers learning how to listen closely to students and how to prompt them into figuring out solutions to problems. You will learn how to make on-the-spot decisions, continually advancing and deepening the conversation. Making Number Talks Matter includes: Sample Problems: Filled with a range of Number Talks problems, 10-15 minute warm-up routines that lend themselves to mental math and comparison of strategies Navigating Rough Spots: Learn how to create a safe environment fortrickyor challenging student discussions that can arise when talking through problems and sharing ideas Responding to Mistakes: Ways to handle misconceptions and mathematical errors that come up during the course of Number Talk conversations Making Number Talks Matter is filled with teaching tips for honoring student contributions while still correcting errors, and teaching concepts while nudging independent thinking. Whether you are an elementary, middle school, or high school teacher, through daily practice and open conversation, you can build a solid foundation for the study of mathematics and Make Number Talks Matter.

Read more less

All teachers at all grade levels in all subjects have speaking assignments for students, but many teachers believe they don't know how to teach speaking, and many even fear public speaking themselves. In his new book, Well Spoken, veteran teacher and education consultant Erik Palmer shares the art of teaching speaking in any classroom. Teachers will find thoughtful and engaging strategies for integrating speaking skills throughout the curriculum. Palmer stresses the essential elements of all effective oral communication, including:, Building a Speech: Audience, Content, Organization, Visual Aids, and Appearance, Performing a Speech: Poise, Voice, Life, Eye Contact, Gestures, and Speed, Evaluating a Speech: Creating Effective Rubrics,' Guiding Students to Excellence Well Spoken contains a framework for understanding the skills involved in all effective oral communication, offers practical steps and lesson ideas that any teacher needs to successfully teach speaking in a variety of situationsfrom classroom discussions to' formal presentationsand includes a set of tools for studentsfrom how to grab the audience's attention to how to use emphatic hand gestures and adjust speed for effect. Discover why, year after year, students returned to Palmer's classroom to thank him for teaching them how to be well spoken. You may find, after reading this book, that you have become a better speaker, too.

Read more less