Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools


Mary Cay Ricci - 2013
    Inspired by the popular mindset idea that hard work and effort can lead to success, Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with ideas for building a growth mindset school culture, wherein students are challenged to change their thinking about their abilities and potential. With the book's step-by-step guidance on adopting a differentiated, responsive instruction model, teachers can immediately use growth mindset culture in their classrooms. It also highlights the importance of critical thinking and teaching students to learn from failure. Includes a sample professional development plan and ideas for communicating the mindset concept to parents.

Bold School: Old School Wisdom + New School Technologies = Blended Learning That Works


Weston Kieschnick - 2017
    Teachers are better. Blending new technologies into instruction is a non-negotiable if we are to help our students gain the skills they’ll need to thrive in careers. And so too is educators’ old school wisdom in planning intentional blended learning that works. Too often, sincere enthusiasm for technologies pushes proven instructional strategies to the wayside, all but guaranteeing blended learning that is all show and no go.   Bold School is a book that restores teachers to their rightful place in effective instruction. Bold School thinkers embrace Blended pedagogies and Old school wisdom. In Bold School, teachers are put back into the blended learning equation. Blended learning is demystified and distilled into the powerful, yet simple Bold School Framework for Strategic Blended Learning™—a methodology to help you meld purposeful technology use with your old school wisdom to enhance instruction and learning. After all, the goal of blended learning isn’t technology—it’s student achievement. With a Bold School mindset, every teacher is capable of finally delivering on the promise of blended learning.

Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had: Ideas and Strategies from Vibrant Classrooms


Tracy Zager - 2017
    Pose the same question to students and many will use words like "boring", "useless", and even "humiliating". In  Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had , author Tracy Zager helps teachers close this gap by making math class more like mathematics. Tracy has spent years working with highly skilled math teachers in a diverse range of settings and grades. You'll find this book jam-packed with new ideas from these vibrant classrooms.  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 learningBig 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 collaborateKey Topics for Elementary and Middle School Teachers:  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 teachersAll 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.

Teaching Children to Care: Classroom Management for Ethical and Academic Growth, K-8


Ruth Sidney Charney - 1992
    She wants children to learn how to care for themselves, their fellow students, their environment, and their work. Her book is loaded with practical wisdom. Using Charney's positive approach to classroom management will make the whole school day go better."- Nel Noddings, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, and author of CaringThis definitive work about classroom management will show teachers how to turn their vision of respectful, friendly, academically rigorous classrooms into reality.The new edition includes:More information on teaching middle-school studentsAdditional strategies for helping children with challenging behaviorUpdated stories and examples from real classrooms."Teaching Children to Care offers educators a practical guide to one of the most effective social and emotional learning programs I know of. The Responsive Classroom approach creates an ideal environment for learning—a pioneering program every teacher should know about."- Daniel Goleman, Author of Emotional Intelligence"I spent one whole summer reading Teaching Children to Care. It was like a rebirth for me. This book helped direct my professional development. After reading it, I had a path to follow. I now look forward to rereading this book each August to refresh and reinforce my ability to effectively manage a social curriculum in my classroom."- Gail Zimmerman, second-grade teacher, Jackson Mann Elementary School, Boston, MA

Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading


Douglas Fisher - 2012
    This book focuses on the quantitative and qualitative factors of text complexity as well as the ways in which readers can be matched with texts and tasks. Examine how close readings of complex texts scaffold students understanding and allow them to develop the skills necessary to read like a detective.

Rethinking Grading: Meaningful Assessment for Standards-Based Learning


Cathy Vatterott - 2015
    Despite our best intentions, grades seem to reflect student compliance more than student learning and engagement. In the process, we inadvertently subvert the learning process. After careful research and years of experiences with grading as a teacher and a parent, Cathy Vatterott examines and debunks traditional practices and policies of grading in K -12 schools. She offers a new paradigm for standards-based grading that focuses on student mastery of content and gives concrete examples from elementary, middle, and high schools. Rethinking Grading will show all educators how standards-based grading can authentically reflect student progress and learning--and significantly improve both teaching and learning.

A Fresh Look at Phonics, Grades K-2: Common Causes of Failure and 7 Ingredients for Success (Corwin Literacy)


Wiley Blevins - 2016
    Rather, a combination of causes can create a perfect storm of failure.” —Wiley BlevinsPicture a class of kindergarteners singing the alphabet song, and teaching phonics  seems as easy as one-two, three, A, B, C, right? In a Fresh Look at Phonics, Wiley Blevins explains why it can get tricky, and then delivers a plan so geared for success, that teachers, coaches, and administrators will come to see owning this book as a before and after moment in their professional lives. In this amazing follow up to his renowned resource Phonics From A-Z, Wiley uses the data he has collected over two decades to share which approaches truly work, which have failed, and how teachers can fine-tune their daily instruction for success. You will learn to focus on the seven critical ingredients of phonics teaching that produce the greatest student learning gains— readiness skills, scope and sequence, blending, dictation, word awareness, high frequency words, and reading connected texts. Then, for each ingredient, Wiley shares:   Activities, routines, word lists, and lessons that develop solid foundations for reading Ideas for differentiation, ELL, and advanced learners to ensure adequate progress for all learners Help on decodable texts, what not to over-do, and what you can’t do enough of for your students’ achievement Interactive “Day Clinic” activities that facilitate teacher self-reflection and school wide professional learning In a final section, Wiley details the ten common reasons instruction fails and shows teachers how to correct these missteps regarding lesson pacing, transitions, decodable texts, writing activities, assessment and more. A Fresh Look at Phonics is the evidence-based solution you have been seeking. Wiley Blevins, Ph.D., is a world-renowned expert on early reading, and author of the seminal book Phonics From A-Z among many other works. He has taught in both the United States and South America, and regularly trains teachers throughout Asia. He holds a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University, and has worked with numerous educational scholars, including Jeanne Chall, Isabel Beck, Marilyn Adams, Louisa Moats, and Dianne August, and others.

Talk to Me: Find the Right Words to Inspire, Encourage, and Get Things Done


Kim Bearden - 2018
    

The Morning Meeting Book: K-8


Roxann Kriete - 1999
    The third edition offers:Updated examples of Morning Meeting in actionEmphasis on how Morning Meeting supports mastery of Common Core State Standards, 21st century skills, and core social/emotional competenciesUpdated information of the sharing component of Morning MeetingStreamlined format (easier to find examples of greetings, activities, etc.)

The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way


Amanda Ripley - 2013
    Through their adventures, Ripley discovers startling truths about how attitudes, parenting, and rigorous teaching have revolutionized these countries’ education results.In The Smartest Kids in the World, Ripley’s astonishing new insights reveal that top-performing countries have achieved greatness only in the past several decades; that the kids who live there are learning to think for themselves, partly through failing early and often; and that persistence, hard work, and resilience matter more to our children’s life chances than self-esteem or sports.Ripley’s investigative work seamlessly weaves narrative and research, providing in-depth analysis and gripping details that will keep you turning the pages. Written in a clear and engaging style, The Smartest Kids in the World will enliven public as well as dinner table debates over what makes for brighter and better students.

Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom: How to Reach and Teach All Learners, Grades 3-12


Diane Heacox - 2001
    In this timely, practical guide, Diane Heacox presents a menu of strategies and tools any teacher can use to differentiate instruction in any curriculum, even a standard of mandated curriculum. Drawing on Bloom's Taxonomy, Gardner's multiple Intelligences, other experts in the field, and her own considerable experience in the classroom, she explains how to differentiate instruction across a broad spectrum of scenarios. Some strategies are quick and easy others are more comprehensive. Templates and forms simplify planning; examples illustrate differentiation in many content areas. Recommended for all teachers committed to reaching and teaching all learners.

Improving Comprehension with Think-Aloud Strategies: Modeling What Good Readers Do


Jeffrey D. Wilhelm - 2001
    Finally, students can "see" what good readers do and apply it to their own reading process. Think alouds are great for struggling readers, because they make reading an active, social experience. Includes engaging activities like Open Mind, Fish Bowl, Thought Bubbles, Post its, and more. For use with Grades 3-8.

The Strategic Teacher: Selecting the Right Research-Based Strategy for Every Lesson


Harvey F. Silver - 2007
    Twenty reliable, flexible strategies (along with dozens of variations) are organized into these groups of instruction:*mastery style to emphasize the development of student memory;*understanding style to expand students' capacities to reason and explain;*self-expressive style to stimulate and nourish students' imaginations and creativity; *interpersonal style to help students find meaning in the relationships they forge as partners and team members, united in the act of learning; and*four-style strategies that integrate all four styles.To guide teachers in delivering content to students, the authors started with the best research-based teaching and learning strategies and created a tool called the Strategic Dashboard. The dashboard provides information about each teaching strategy in a concise, visual profile; it is also designed to document how you incorporate current, highly respected research into your instructional plans.For each strategy, you'll find the following information:*a brief introduction to the strategy;*an example of a teacher using the strategy in the classroom;*the research base supporting the strategy and how the strategy benefits students;*how to implement the strategy using a list of clear steps; *guidance through the planning process, providing steps, examples, and suggestions for designing superior lessons; and*additional tools, strategies, and resources for adapting and expanding the use of each strategy.The authors have combined their years of research and practice to deliver reliable, high-impact, flexible teaching and learning strategies grounded in current, highly regarded research to teachers at all levels of experience.

These 6 Things: How to Focus Your Teaching on What Matters Most (Corwin Literacy)


Dave Jr. Stuart - 2018
    These 6 Things is all about streamlining your practice so that you’re teaching smarter, not harder, and kids are learning, doing, and flourishing in ELA and content-area classrooms. In this essential resource, teachers will receive: Proven, classroom-tested advice delivered in an approachable, teacher-to-teacher style that builds confidence Practical strategies for streamlining instruction in order to focus on key beliefs and literacy-building activities Solutions and suggestions for the most common teacher and student “hang-ups” Numerous recommendations for deeper reading on key topics

What the Best College Teachers Do


Ken Bain - 2004
    Lesson plans and lecture notes matter less than the special way teachers comprehend the subject and value human learning. Whether historians or physicists, in El Paso or St. Paul, the best teachers know their subjects inside and out--but they also know how to engage and challenge students and to provoke impassioned responses. Most of all, they believe two things fervently: that teaching matters and that students can learn.In stories both humorous and touching, Bain describes examples of ingenuity and compassion, of students' discoveries of new ideas and the depth of their own potential. What the Best College Teachers Do is a treasure trove of insight and inspiration for first-year teachers and seasoned educators.