Empowerment. Student Leadership. These buzz words get a lot of press, but what do they really mean for today's students? Can students really handle the responsibility of leading the class? Can they actually learn what they need to if they are working together so often? Won't all this freedom cause chaos in the classroom? Not if you're teaching them to learn like PIRATES! Peer Collaboration builds community and supports teamwork and cooperation. Improvement-focused learning challenges students to constantly strive to be their best. Responsibility for daily tasks builds ownership in the classroom. Active learning turns boring lessons into fun and memorable experiences. Twenty-first century skills engage students now and prepare them for their futures. Empowerment allows students to become confident risk-takers who make bold decisions. In Learn Like a PIRATE, teachers will discover practical strategies for creating a student-led classroom in which students are inspired and empowered to take charge of their learning experience. You'll learn strategies for: - Crafting active, relevant, and interesting lessons - Creating opportunities for student leadership - Providing effective and beneficial feedback - Instilling confidence so students can take risks - Increasing curiosity and passion for learning Incorporate the techniques and strategies Paul Solarz uses in his student-led classroom and watch your students transform into confident, collaborative leaders."In Learn Like a PIRATE, Paul Solarz explains how to design classroom experiences that encourage students to take risks and explore their passions in a stimulating, motivating, and supportive environment where improvement, rather than grades, is the focus. The particular techniques (and the underlying philosophy) he offers are highly consistent with teaching practice at the distinguished level in my Framework for Teaching. In that model, I tried to describe, at the distinguished level, classrooms in which the teacher has created a community of learners, with the students themselves assuming much of the responsibility for what occurs there. Mr. Solarz offers specific ideas for how to accomplish that." - Charlotte Danielson, author of Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching "As I read Learn Like A PIRATE I regretted that I was not teaching in the classroom where I would be able to work with students in the thoughtful and imaginative ways that he suggests. It is rare that we have a first hand report of the day to day practicalities of transforming classes into places where students can become self-directed, curious, interdependent learners. Paul has succeeded in sharing his passion for authentic 21st century teaching as well as inspiring us to imitate and invent our own models for preparing our students for an increasingly complex world of invention and problem solving." - Bena Kallick, Co-director of the Institute for Habits of Mind

    Too often, however, the mathematics instruction that we impose upon them in the classroom fails to connect with this informal knowledge. Children's Mathematics was written to help you understand children's intuitive mathematical thinking and use that knowledge to help children learn mathematics with understanding. Based on more than twenty years of research, this book portrays the development of children's understanding of basic number concepts. The authors offer a detailed explanation and numerous examples of the problem-solving and computational processes that virtually all children use as their numerical thinking develops. They also describe how classrooms can be organized to foster that development. Two accompanying CDs provide a remarkable inside look at students and teachers in real classrooms implementing the teaching and learning strategies described in the text. Together, the book and CDs provide you with the foundation necessary to engage children in discussions of how they think through problems-providing suggestions for what problems to give and insight into what responses to expect, and how children's thinking will evolve.

    Classroom management aide for teachers

    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 ExcellenceWell 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 situations—from classroom discussions to  formal presentations—and includes a set of tools for students—from 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.

    Now a world-renowned expert gives us a substantially updated and augmented edition of her classic work: drawing on an additional fifteen years of cutting-edge research, offering new information on all aspects of dyslexia and reading problems, and providing the tools that parents, teachers, and all dyslexic individuals need. This new edition also offers:- New material on the challenges faced by dyslexic individuals across all ages - Rich information on ongoing advances in digital technology that have dramatically increased dyslexics' ability to help themselves - New chapters on diagnosing dyslexia, choosing schools and colleges for dyslexic students, the co-implications of anxiety, ADHD, and dyslexia, and dyslexia in post-menopausal women - Extensively updated information on helping both dyslexic children and adults become better readers, with a detailed home program to enhance reading - Evidence-based universal screening for dyslexia as early as kindergarten and first grade - why and how - New information on how to identify dyslexia in all age ranges - Exercises to help children strengthen the brain areas that control reading - Ways to raise a child's self-esteem and reveal her strengths - Stories of successful men, women, and young adults who are dyslexic

    That was in 2001; but even today, this tiny Nordic nation continues to amaze. How does Finnish education—with short school days, light homework loads, and little standardized testing—produce students who match the PISA scores of high-powered, stressed-out kids in Asia?When Timothy D. Walker started teaching fifth graders at a Helsinki public school, he began a search for the secrets behind the successes of Finland’s schools. Walker wrote about several of those discoveries, and his Atlantic articles on this subject became hot topics of conversation. Here, he gathers all he learned and reveals how any teacher can implement many of Finland's best practices.Remarkably, Finland is prioritizing the joy of learning in its newest core curricula and Walker carefully highlights specific strategies that support joyful K-12 classrooms and integrate seamlessly with educational standards in the United States.From incorporating brain breaks to offering a peaceful learning environment, this book pulls back the curtain on the joyful teaching practices of the world's most lauded school system. His message is simple but profound: these Finland-inspired strategies can be used in the U.S. and other countries. No educator—or parent of a school-aged child—will want to miss out on the message of joy and change conveyed in this book.

    Sounds simple enough, right? Unfortunately, rubrics are commonly misunderstood and misused.The good news is that when rubrics are created and used correctly, they are strong tools that support and enhance classroom instruction and student learning. In this comprehensive guide, author Susan M. Brookhart identifies two essential components of effective rubrics: (1) criteria that relate to the learning (not the tasks) that students are being asked to demonstrate and (2) clear descriptions of performance across a continuum of quality. She outlines the difference between various kinds of rubrics (for example, general versus task-specific, and analytic versus holistic), explains when using each type of rubric is appropriate, and highlights examples from all grade levels and assorted content areas. In addition, Brookhart addresses* Common misconceptions about rubrics;* Important differences between rubrics and other assessment tools such as checklists and rating scales, and when such alternatives can be useful; and* How to use rubrics for formative assessment and grading, including standards-based grading and report card grades.Intended for educators who are already familiar with rubrics as well as those who are not, this book is a complete resource for writing effective rubrics and for choosing wisely from among the many rubrics that are available on the Internet and from other sources. And it makes the case that rubrics, when used appropriately, can improve outcomes by helping teachers teach and helping students learn.

    - Christine Hertz and Kristine MrazThe classroom of your dreams starts with one big idea. From the first days of school to the last, Kids First from Day One shares teaching that puts your deepest teaching belief into action: that children are the most important people in the room.Christine Hertz and Kristi Mraz show how to take that single, heartfelt value and create a cohesive, highly effective approach to teaching that addresses today's connected, collaborative world. With infectious enthusiasm, hard-won experience, and a generous dose of humor, Kids First from Day One shows exactly how Christine and Kristi build and maintain a positive, cooperative, responsive classroom where students engage deeply with their learning and one another.Kids First from Day One strengthens and deepens the connections between your love of working with kids, your desire to impact their lives, and your teaching practice. It shares:plans for designing beautiful classroom spaces that burst with the fun of learning positive language and classroom routines that reduce disruptive behavior-without rewards and consequences suggestions for matching students' needs to high-impact teaching structures a treasury of the Christine and Kristi's favorite teacher stuff such as quick guides for challenging behavior, small-group planning grids, and parent letters links to videos that model the moves of Christine's and Kristi's own teaching. Just starting out and want to know what really works in classrooms? Curious about how to make your room hum with learning? Or always on the lookout for amazing teaching ideas? Read Kids First from Day One. You'll discover that the classroom of your dreams is well within your reach.

    This practical book features chapters on the five powerful reading/thinking strategies — connecting, questioning, visualizing, inferring, and transforming. It offers techniques for helping children recognize what happens in their heads while they read, with simple applications that can be incorporated into any classroom routine. A valuable handbook that promotes reading independence with sequential lessons, teacher-modeling tips, and suggestions for guided practice.

    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.

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

    This indispensable book is filled with no-nonsense advice, checklists, and handouts as well asA step-by-step plan to make the first week of school a success Approaches for creating a positive discipline plan Methods for motivating students, especially reluctant readers Strategies for successful classroom management Suggestions for creating and grading student portfolios

    Most young writers are not intimidated by personal narrative, fiction, or even poetry, but when they try to put together a "teaching book," report, or persuasive essay, they often feel anxious and frustrated.JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher believe that young nonfiction writers supply plenty of passion, keen interest, and wonder. Teachers can provide concrete strategies to help students scaffold their ideas as they write in his challenging genre.Like the authors' best-selling Craft Lessons: Teaching Writing K-8, this book is divided into 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.Be sure to look at the When Students Write videotapes too.

    Ready for immediate use, it offers over 190 up-to-date lists for developing instructional materials and lesson planning. The book is organized into 15 convenient sections full of practical examples, key words, teaching ideas, and activities that can be used as is or adapted to meet students' diverse needs. New topical areas include: ideas for non-narrative reading; word walls; graphic organizer and concept development software; new literacies, such as 'zines, Internet terms, emoticons, e-mail, and chat; as well as weekly writing prompts.Edward Bernard Fry, PhD (Laguna Beach, CA), is Professor Emeritus of Education at Rutgers University and internationally renowned inventor of his eponymous Readability Graph. Jacqueline E. Kress, EdD (Elizabeth, NJ), is Dean of Education at New York Institute of Technology.

    This book shows you how and gives you hundreds of lesson-planning ideas and strategies for every grade level and subject. Discover new educational tools that support research-based instruction, and learn ways to use technologies you already know to * Create and use advance organizers and nonlinguistic representations * Help students take notes, summarize content, and make comparisons * Engage students in cooperative learning * Help students generate and test hypotheses * Support students in practicing new skills and doing homework * Reinforce students? efforts through formative assessment and feedback Getting this guide ensures you always know when to use educational technologies, which ones are best for a learning task, and how they help students use new learning strategies.