Packed with powerful, fast-acting techniques – including a novel routine to get any class quiet in 15 seconds or less – this book helps teachers across all age groups connect and succeed with hard-to-reach, reluctant learners.  You’ll d iscover: The simple six-step plan to minimise & deal with classroom behaviour problems How to gain trust & respect from tough, hard-to-reach students How to put an end to power struggles & confrontation How to have students follow your instructions… with no need to repeat yourself The crucial importance of consistency (and how to achieve it) Quick and easy ways to raise engagement and enjoyment in your lessons The ‘Clean Slate’ – a step by step method you can use to ‘start over’ with that particularly difficult group of students who won’t do anything you say. Take Control of the Noisy Class provides hundreds of practical ideas and interventions to end your classroom management struggles & create a thoroughly enjoyable lesson climate for all concerned.

    This book brings the work of the Change Leadership Group to a broader audience, providing a framework to analyze the work of school change and exercises that guide educators through the development of their practice as agents of change. It exemplifies a new and powerful approach to leadership in schools.

    Katie Wood RayKatie (beloved author of About the Authors and Already Ready) begins with a strong, classroom-based research foundation for this powerful, intuitive idea. She then suggests 50 ways you might use illustrations to help students internalize key aspects of craft through their love of picture books.In Pictures and in Words is filled with sample student work that documents how children's thinking deepens as they explore illustrations. Katie even includes full-color pages of published illustrations with examples of sticky-notes that show the kinds of links students can make between pictures and words.Give children an engaging way to make the qualities of good writing part of everything they write, for life. Find out how Katie Ray can help you do it when you read In Pictures and In Words.

    But despite universal acceptance of reading's vital importance, the reading gap in our classroom remains, and it is linked to an array of factors, such as parental wealth, education and book ownership, as well as classroom practice. To close this gap, we need to ensure that every teacher has the knowledge and skill to teach reading with confidence.In Closing the Reading Gap, Alex Quigley explores the intriguing history and science of reading, synthesising the debates and presenting a wealth of usable evidence about how children develop most efficiently as successful readers. Offering practical strategies for teachers at every phase of their teaching career, as well as tackling issues such as dyslexia and the role of technology, the book helps teachers to be an expert in how pupils 'learn to read' as well as how they 'read to learn' and explores how reading is vital for unlocking a challenging academic curriculum for every student.With a focus on nurturing pupils' will and skill to read for pleasure and purpose, this essential volume provides practical solutions to help all teachers create a rich reading culture that will enable every student to thrive in school and far beyond the school gates.

    It will guide you through each step of communicating and reinforcing your expectations. Learn how to create a vision for your classroom and TEACH for it!

    The book is rooted in Jennifer's belief that teachers know what they need when it comes to professional development in literacy, and the best literacy leaders are those who listen to and respect the educators in their midst. Grounded in research but thoroughly practical, Jennifer shares advice on:organizing a literacy room with resources for classroom teachers, including book lists, bins of children's books tied to craft and strategy lessons, bulletin board ideas, and files with instructional materials;developing intervention classrooms for struggling readers and writers built on collaboration between teachers and literacy specialists;setting up assessment notebooks for teachers, and preparing new and veteran teachers for student assessments across grades;creating model programs for dealing with schoolwide problems like reading fluency, and then moving from the pilot to implementation in many classrooms;coaching new and veteran teachers in the latest literacy practices, without taking on the role of expert;analyzing and using books, videos and journals in professional development programs;infusing routine staff meetings with discussions of new literacy curricula;leading teacher study groups using a variety of formats;finding and budgeting money for professional development programs in literacy;protecting time and scheduling priorities, to ensure the literacy specialist position doesn't become a “catch-all” for the random needs of teachers or administrators.At a time when all administrators are urged to be literacy leaders, this insider's view helps to define what leadership looks like and shows how to create an environment that fosters professional development. Jennifer Allen shares the balance leaders struggle with, as they strive to support and honor the fine practices of teachers, even as they nudge colleagues to improve their literacy instruction. Ultimately, Becoming a Literacy Leader is a hopeful book, an optimistic and realistic portrait of life in schools among teachers committed to doing their jobs well.

    A full bibliography is included.

    

    In schools across America, in classes for handicapped, gifted, privileged, and disadvantaged students, these teachers recall that exciting first year, when they were often given the toughest kids and the biggest responsibilities of their careers. From coping with inner-city diversity to challenging poor self-esteem, these extraordinary images come straight from people who have already taken those first courageous steps of the novice educator. For anyone who is contemplating teaching as a profession, this invaluable collection is a must-read."Vivid, poignant, and often funny stories about one of the most challenging experiences anyone can have: first-year teaching."--Albert Shanker, President, American Federation of Teachers

    If students are to thrive in their academic and 21st century careers, then independent and creative thinking hold the highest currency. The authors explain in detail how to add these new components of literacy:Solution Fluency Information Fluency Creativity Fluency Collaboration Fluency Students must master a completely different set of skills to succeed in a culture of technology-driven automation, abundance, and access to global labor markets. The authors present an effective framework for integrating comprehensive literacy or fluency into the traditional curriculum.

    Three themes central to teaching today-- professionalism, diversity, and decision-making-- are woven through the text to give students deeper understanding of the teaching profession and to better prepare them for that profession. Two questions frame the text, "Do I want to be a teacher?" and "What kind of teacher do I want to become?." Case studies at the beginnings of chapters provide a frame of reference for understanding chapter content while numerous teaching vignettes throughout the chapters provide vivid examples that increase reader understanding and interest.

    

    Each case, written in a narrative, literary style, presents a complex, yet common, classroom situation in which an inequity or injustice is in play. These cases allow educators to practice the process of considering a range of contextual factors and sociopolitical complexities, checking their own biases, and making immediate- and longer-term decisions affecting their classroom practice.The book begins with a seven-point process for examining case studies. Largely lacking from existing literature, this all-important context guides readers through the process of identifying, examining, reflecting on, and taking concrete steps to resolve challenges related to diversity and equity in schools. The cases themselves then present everyday examples of racism and sexism, homophobia and heterosexism, poverty and classism, language bias and linguicism, and religious-based oppression. They involve classroom issues that are relevant to all grade levels and all content areas, allowing instructors significant flexibility in their use. Although organized topically, the intersection of these issues are stressed throughout all cases, reflecting the more complex and multi-faceted way they play out in real life. All cases conclude with a section of facilitator notes and a series of questions to guide exploration and discussion. Suggested further readings also encourage continued exploration and reflection on relevant topics.

    After a brief overview of current issues in the field, the book discusses crucial topics in the field, including the characteristics of gifted students, strategies for identification, considerations in planning sound gifted and talented programs, contemporary program models, varieties of acceleration, differentiated curriculum models, problems of underachievement of disadvantaged, twice-exceptional, and female gifted students, and the evaluation of gifted programs. The authors also address affective needs, leadership, and counseling. A chapter on parenting gifted children includes a section on advocating for gifted education and communication with schools. The sixth edition has been thoroughly revised, most notably with the latest research on acceleration, curriculum models, underachievement, culturally and economically disadvantaged students, gender issues, and dual exceptionalities. The content is further supported and enhanced by the inclusion of numerous practical strategies that can be implemented in the classroom, case studies that help teachers identify student needs, summaries of research on effective programs, emphasis on pedagogy and on social-emotional needs, heightened awareness of less visible sub-groups within gifted populations, and an amusing, witty writing style that adds to the appeal of this best-selling book.

    This professional resource will help to maximize the impact of instruction through the use of whole-class instruction, small-group instruction, and Math Workshop. Incorporate ideas for using ongoing assessment to guide your instruction and increase student learning, and use hands-on, problem-solving experiences with small groups to encourage mathematical communication and discussion. Guided Math supports the College and Career Readiness and other state standards.