Its not utopia by any means; Sharon deals with the same issues other teachers face: limited resources, tremendous diversity, and the constant threat of overcrowding. What makes her exceptional is her clear vision. She is systematic in her thinking, wise in her decision making. Most of all, she understands her role as a teacher and goals for each student. This is why Sharon is on solid ground. In her book, Sharon shares what shes gained in her twenty years of working with children and teachers. Its organized not around a set of prescribed skills, but around a series of interconnected interactions with the learner:Assessment: Sharon begins by describing her procedures for assessing childrens reading and then using what she finds to inform her work. She covers scheduling and managing reading conferences, taking oral-reading records, and using retellings and discussions as tools.Demonstration: Once she has identified strengths and needs, Sharon demonstrates strategies to help her students become better readers. In this section, she explains how she uses shared reading and read aloud as platforms for figuring out words and comprehending texts, and explores small-group workguided reading and word-study groupsand teaching children one on one.Practice: Here, Sharon describes how she uses independent reading as a time for practice, spelling out the very active roles she and her students play. She also devotes a complete chapter to matching children with books for independent reading.Response: Its important for students to know theyre doing well and where they must concentrate their efforts. Sharon explains how her students use writing and dialogue as tools to better understanding themselves as readers.On Solid Ground is informed by current thinking, yet loaded with advice, booklists, ready-to-use reproducibles, andof coursethe words and work of real children. Sharons approach is clear, sensible, timeless. Youll turn to her book throughout your career.

    You’ll discover how to make fundamental changes to your classroom so learning becomes an exciting challenge rather than a frustrating ordeal. Based on the author’s personal experience of transforming her approach to teaching, this book outlines how to:• Build a working relationship with your students based on mutual trust, respect, and appreciation.• Be attentive to your students’ needs and share ownership of the classroom with them.• Break out of the vicious cycle of punishment and reward to control student behaviour.• Use innovative and creative lesson plans to get your students to become more engaged and intellectually-invested learners, while still meeting your state standards.• Limit homework and abandon traditional grading so that your students can make the most of their learning experiences without unnecessary stress.New to the second edition, you’ll find practical tools, such as teacher and student reflection sheets, parent questionnaires, and parent conference tools--available in the book and as eResources on our website (http://www.routledge.com/978113891692... help you build your own classroom of passionate learners.

    In the classroom, EQs are used to stimulate students' discussions and promote a deeper understanding of the content.Whether you are an Understanding by Design (UbD) devotee or are searching for ways to address standards--local or Common Core State Standards--in an engaging way, Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins provide practical guidance on how to design, initiate, and embed inquiry-based teaching and learning in your classroom.Offering dozens of examples, the authors explore the usefulness of EQs in all K-12 content areas, including skill-based areas such as math, PE, language instruction, and arts education. As an important element of their backward design approach to designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment, the authors*Give a comprehensive explanation of why EQs are so important;*Explore seven defining characteristics of EQs;*Distinguish between topical and overarching questions and their uses;*Outline the rationale for using EQs as the focal point in creating units of study; and*Show how to create effective EQs, working from sources including standards, desired understandings, and student misconceptions.Using essential questions can be challenging--for both teachers and students--and this book provides guidance through practical and proven processes, as well as suggested response strategies to encourage student engagement. Finally, you will learn how to create a culture of inquiry so that all members of the educational community--students, teachers, and administrators--benefit from the increased rigor and deepened understanding that emerge when essential questions become a guiding force for learners of all ages.

    The Sixth Edition of Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students continues to be one of the most comprehensive, practical texts on the market, and includes a new focus on higher-level literacy practices. Written by distinguished author Tom Gunning, Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students provides readers with step-by-step guidance for teaching reading and writing, including sample lessons for virtually every major literacy skill/strategy. Reflecting the author's ongoing extensive hands-on work with schools coping with the demands of No Child Left Behind, the Sixth edition includes teaching tips and materials that are more practical, more realistic, more effective, and more extensive than ever. With its careful balance between the theory and the practice, the book always gives readers the theories behind the methods, encouraging them to choose, adapt, and construct their own approaches as they create a balanced program of literacy instruction. learners, struggling readers and writers, and special needs students, Creating Literacy for All Students, Sixth Edition, looks at developing higher-level literacy requirements for reading and writing, including those stemming from No Child Left Behind regulations and high-stakes tests. The new edition stresses effective steps for closing the gap between the reading, writing, discussion, and thinking skills as mandated by No Child Left Behind and Reading First

    Spanning the whole range of schools and grade levels, from preschool through higher education, these techniques are grounded in the everyday world of schools, colleges, and universities. Beginning firmly with teachers and all those working with students, including administrators, counselors, and other personnel, the Plum Village approach stresses that educators must first establish their own mindfulness practice since everything they do in the classroom will be based on that foundation. The book includes easy-to-follow, step-by-step techniques perfected by educators to teach themselves and to apply to their work with students and colleagues, along with inspirational stories of the ways in which teachers have made mindfulness practice alive and relevant for themselves and their students across the school and out into the community. The instructions in Happy Teachers Change the World are offered as basic practices taught by Thich Nhat Hanh, followed by guidance from educators using these practices in their classrooms, with ample in-class interpretations, activities, tips, and instructions. Woven throughout are stories from members of the Plum Village community around the world who are applying these teachings in their own lives and educational contexts.

    Reading, writing, speaking, and listening processes to learn subject matter across the curriculum. Content Area Reading.

    In Falling in Love with Close Reading, Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts show us that it can be rigorous, meaningful, and joyous. You'll empower students to not only analyze texts but to admire the craft of a beloved book, study favorite songs and videogames, and challenge peers in evidence-based discussions.Chris and Kate start with a powerful three-step close-reading ritual that students can apply to any text. Then they lay out practical, engaging lessons that not only guide students to independence in reading texts closely but also help them transfer this critical, analytical skill to media and even the lives they lead.Responsive to students' needs and field-tested in classrooms, these lessons include: strategies for close reading narratives, informational texts, and arguments suggestions for differentiation sample charts and student work from real classrooms connections to the Common Core State Standards a focus on viewing media and life in this same careful way."We see the ritual of close reading not just as a method of doing the academic work of looking closely at text-evidence, word choice, and structure," write Chris and Kate, "but as an opportunity to bring those practices together to empower our students to see the subtle messages in texts and in their lives." Read Falling in Love with Close Reading and discover that the benefits and joy of close reading don't have to stop at the edge of the page.