Now, they will be able to buy a version of this national bestseller written specifically for teachers.What do great teachers do differently? What separates the top teachers from all the rest? As educators — and American society in general — continue to struggle with how to improve schools in the U.S., these questions become more pressing than ever before. At the heart of any education system — beyond principals, administrators and school boards — is the teacher. Their role is so essential that Gallup has, for decades, directed some of the leading thinkers in education and psychology to uncover what makes a teacher great. Written by two educators with a combined 70 years of experience in both classroom teaching and consulting with leaders of America’s schools, Teach With Your Strengths reveals the essential truths Gallup’s research has uncovered. But it zeroes on these monumental findings: While their styles and approaches may differ, all great teachers make the most of their natural talents. And, great teachers don’t strive to be well-rounded. They know that “fixing their weaknesses” doesn’t work — it only produces mediocrity. Worse, it diverts time and attention from what they naturally do well. In Teach With Your Strengths, readers will hear from great teachers — what they do differently, how they handle problem students, how they battle intractable school bureaucracies, and how they break through and inspire even the most troubled young people. The book also shows that the best teachers take unorthodox approaches to education that are sure to stir controversy and attention — especially among other educators. Teach With Your Strengths includes access to Gallup’s online CliftonStrengths assessment that reveals the reader’s top five strengths, and the book explains how they can put those strengths to work in the classroom. As America’s educators read this groundbreaking book, they’ll discover their own innate talents as teachers. And they’ll learn how to liberate those talents to inspire the next generation of students.

    It's not easy to explain these abstract reading strategies to elementary readers, yet knowing how they work and how to use them is an important first step to connecting with texts. Fortunately Tanny McGregor has developed visual, tangible, everyday lessons that make abstract thinking concrete and that can help every child in your classroom make more effective use of reading comprehension strategies.Comprehension Connections is a guide to developing children's ability to fully understand texts by making the comprehension process achievable, accessible, and incremental. McGregor's approach sequences stages of learning for each strategy that take students from a fun object lesson to a nuanced and lasting understanding. Her lessons build bridges between the concrete and the abstract by incorporating writing, discussion, song, art, and movement into a web of creative connections that reinforce each strategy on a variety of levels. All the while Comprehension Connections offers an inside look at the dynamic of McGregor's teaching, showing you how her ideas look in action, and including the language she uses and that she encourages her students to use as they build their facility with: schema inferring questioning determining importance visualizing synthesizing. Many students struggle to understand what it is they are supposed to do as they learn to read strategically. Help them make connections to the ideas behind reading and watch as your readers go deeper into texts than ever before.

    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.

     When we tell kids to complete an assignment, we get compliance. When we empower kids to explore and learn how to make an impact on the world, we inspire problem solvers and innovators. This required change in education involves more than providing training for administrators and teachers to implement new curriculum or programs and resources; it demands that we, as teachers and leaders, create an environment where learners at every level are empowered to take risks in pursuit of learning and growth rather than perfection. This book is for you if you are wondering . . . What if learners were valued for their diverse talents and not just our traditional model of “smart”? What if I could create new and better experiences for those I serve? What if I could inspire students to learn, to discover their passions, and to share their ideas with the world? “This must-read book will inspire you to create experiences that develop learners, workers, and citizens who will thrive in a changing world.” —Linda Darling-Hammond, president, Learning Policy Institute “Katie not only provides an analysis of what's (glaringly) wrong in education, she also paints a bright vision for what's possible and provides a practical roadmap for how we might get there.” —Kaleb Rashad, director, High Tech High, San Diego “In Learner-Centered Innovation, Martin eloquently shares evidence-based, practical ways to ignite curiosity, develop passions, and unleash student genius through the types of learning experiences that today’s modern learners need to thrive in tomorrow’s world.” —Thomas C. Murray, director of innovation, Future Ready Schools “Learner-Centered Innovation is an inspirational call to action for all educators who dream of a brighter future for our children.” —Devin Vodicka, chief impact officer, AltSchool

    Total Participation Techniques presents dozens of ways to engage K 12 students in active learning and allow them to demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and understanding.

    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.

    Many teachers find the independent reading workshop to be the component of reading instruction that meets this challenge because it makes it possible to teach the reading skills and strategies children need and guides them toward independence, intention, and joy as readers.In Growing Readers, Kathy Collins helps teachers plan for independent reading workshops in their own classrooms. She describes the structure of the independent reading workshop and other components of a balanced literacy program that work together to ensure young students grow into strong, well-rounded readers. Kathy outlines a sequence of possible units of study for a yearlong curriculum. Chapters are devoted to the individual units of study and include a sample curriculum as well as examples of mini-lessons and reading conferences. There are also four “Getting Ready” sections that suggest some behind-the-scenes work teachers can do to prepare for the units. Topics explored in these units include:print and comprehension strategies;reading in genres such as poetry and nonfiction;connecting in-school reading and out-of-school reading;developing the strategies and habits of lifelong readers.A series of planning sheets and management tips are presented throughout to help ensure smooth implementation.We want our students to learn to read, and we want them to love to read. To do this we need to lay a foundation on which children build rich and purposeful reading lives that extend beyond the school day. The ideas found in Growing Readers create the kind of primary classrooms where that happens.

    The Way of Mindful Education is a practical guide for cultivating attention, compassion, and well-being not only in these students, but also in teachers themselves. Packed with lesson plans, exercises, and considerations for specific age groups and students with special needs, this working manual demonstrates the real world application of mindfulness practices in K-12 classrooms.Part I, Why Mindful Education Matters, explains what mindfulness is, the science behind its benefits for students and educators, and the inspiring work that is already underway in the Mindful Education movement.In Part II, Begin with Yourself, we are reminded that in order to teach mindfully, we need to be mindful. Here teachers will learn the when, where, and how of mindfulness so they can effectively embody its practices with their students. Mindfulness practices offer teachers self-care and attention skills that prepare them to teach with greater energy and mastery. Discover how simple exercises can help manage stress, focus attention, develop compassion, and savor positive experiences in everyday life.Part III, Cultivating a Mindful Classroom, explores the qualities of a mindful teacher, the ingredients of a mindful learning environment, and helpful skills for appropriate, supportive work with cultural diversity, student stress and trauma, and varying age groups and developmental stages.Finally, in Part IV, Mindful Education Curriculum, we learn eighteen ready-to-use mindfulness lessons for use in schools. These practical exercises, designed to foster skills like embodiment, attention, heartfulness, and interconnectedness, can be readily adapted for any age group and population, and the author draws from his extensive personal experience to offer a wealth of tips for introducing them to students in real-time.Decades of research indicate the impressive benefits of mindfulness in social, emotional, and cognitive development, and as an antidote to emotional dysregulation, attention deficits, and social difficulties. This book invites teachers, administrators, and anyone else involved in education to take advantage of this vital tool and become purveyors of a mindful, compassionate, ethical, and effective way of teaching.

    Highly respected education leaders and innovators focus on why these skills are necessary, which are most important, and how to best help schools include them in curriculum and instruction.

    Once these approaches are understood, parents and teachers can become far more effective in helping children grasp confusing concepts, stay interested in lessons, and utilize their strengths. By recognizing children's learning preferences, you can reach them more efficiently and effectively! These concepts are powerful tools for drawing out the best in a child. Give your youngster the best chance for success by coming to understand The Way They Learn.

    Chapters cover key moments in American history, beginning with exploration and colonization and ending with the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    This anniversary paperback edition features a new introduction by Delpit as well as new framing essays by Herbert Kohl and Charles Payne.In a radical analysis of contemporary classrooms, MacArthur Award–winning author Lisa Delpit develops ideas about ways teachers can be better “cultural transmitters” in the classroom, where prejudice, stereotypes, and cultural assumptions breed ineffective education. Delpit suggests that many academic problems attributed to children of color are actually the result of miscommunication, as primarily white teachers and “other people’s children” struggle with the imbalance of power and the dynamics plaguing our system.A new classic among educators, Other People’s Children is a must-read for teachers, administrators, and parents striving to improve the quality of America’s education system.

    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.

    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.)

    This completely updated 3rd edition offers practical solutions that emphasize relationship building, curriculum relevance, and academic success. The emphasis is on preventing problems by helping students to understand each other, work well together, and develop responsibility for their own actions, but the authors also include intervention strategies for handling common and severe problems in dignified ways.Filled with real-life examples and authentic teacher-student dialogues, Discipline with Dignity is a comprehensive and flexible system of prevention and intervention tools that shows how educators at all levels can --Be fair without necessarily treating every student the same way.--Customize the classroom to reflect today's highly diverse and inclusive student population.--Seek students' help in creating values-based rules and appropriate consequences. --Use humor appropriately and effectively to respond to abusive language.--Fine-tune strategies to resolve issues with chronically misbehaving students and "ringleaders" or bullies.This book is not simply a compendium of strategies for dealing with bad behavior. It is a guide to helping students see themselves in a different way, to changing the way they interact with the world. The strategies innate to this approach help students make informed choices to behave well. When they do, they become more attuned to learning and to understanding how to use what they learn to improve their lives and the lives of others--with dignity.