Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them


Ross W. Greene - 2008
    Detentions. Suspensions. Expulsions. These are the established tools of school discipline for kids who don't abide by school rules, have a hard time getting along with other kids, don't seem to respect authority, don't seem interested in learning, and are disrupting the learning of their classmates. But there's a big problem with these strategies: They are ineffective for most of the students to whom they are applied.It's time for a change in course.Here, Dr. Ross W. Greene presents an enlightened, clear-cut, and practical alternative. Relying on research from the neurosciences, Dr. Greene offers a new conceptual framework for understanding the difficulties of kids with behavioral challenges and explains why traditional discipline isn't effective at addressing these difficulties. Emphasizing the revolutionarily simple and positive notion that kids do well if they can, he persuasively argues that kids with behavioral challenges are not attention-seeking, manipulative, limit-testing, coercive, or unmotivated, but that they lack the skills to behave adaptively. And when adults recognize the true factors underlying difficult behavior and teach kids the skills in increments they can handle, the results are astounding: The kids overcome their obstacles; the frustration of teachers, parents, and classmates diminishes; and the well-being and learning of all students are enhanced.In Lost at School, Dr. Greene describes how his road-tested, evidence-based approach — called Collaborative Problem Solving — can help challenging kids at school.His lively, compelling narrative includes:• tools to identify the triggers and lagging skills underlying challenging behavior.• explicit guidance on how to radically improve interactions with challenging kids — along with many examples showing how it's done.• dialogues, Q & A's, and the story, which runs through the book, of one child and his teachers, parents, and school.• practical guidance for successful planning and collaboration among teachers, parents, administrations, and kids.Backed by years of experience and research, and written with a powerful sense of hope and achievable change, Lost at School gives teachers and parents the realistic strategies and information to impact the classroom experience of every challenging kid.

Teach Like a Pirate: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator


Dave Burgess - 2012
    You'll learn how to: - Tap into and dramatically increase your passion as a teacher - Develop outrageously engaging lessons that draw students in like a magnet - Establish rapport and a sense of camaraderie in your classroom - Transform your class into a life-changing experience for your students This groundbreaking inspirational manifesto contains over 30 hooks specially designed to captivate your class and 170 brainstorming questions that will skyrocket your creativity. Once you learn the Teach Like a PIRATE system, you'll never look at your role as an educator the same again.

Best Practices in Literacy Instruction


Linda B. Gambrell - 1999
    Offering practical guidance for literacy educators, curriculum development specialists, and other education professionals and policy makers, this volume considers how we can most effectively improve the quality and content of reading and writing instruction. Leading researchers and practitioners address the eight principles of best practice, providing the most current information on how to enhance students' ability to construct meaning from text independently, draw upon texts to build conceptual understanding, effectively communicate ideas orally and in writing, and develop an intrinsic desire to read and write. This timely book blends state-of-the-art theory and research with workable suggestions based on extensive hands-on experience in the field.

Get Up or Give Up: How I Almost Gave Up on Teaching


Michael Bonner - 2017
    Poulson, inspired him. The professor’s passion and love for teaching prompted Michael to change his major and his life’s direction. But nothing prepared Michael for the reality of a Title One school. Teaching is fun until a 7-year-old is assaulting you or you’re dodging furniture being thrown at you. When you mix the craziness of a classroom with a marriage that was about to implode, anyone might want to quit. Smiling on the outside while feeling dead on the inside took this dedicated teacher to the breaking point. Michael knew he must change what was inside him, in his approach to life, or nothing would change anywhere else. So Michael took matters into his own hands to make four key paradigm shifts that helped him create a world of successful learning for his students and love within both the classroom and beyond. The result has been a transformation that’s taken Michael far beyond the classroom as he inspires thousands across the country. Many agree teaching is an amazing profession but there’s little discussion why so many teachers are leaving the profession. Get Up or Give Up: How I Almost Gave Up on Teaching shines a light into the internal battles and decisions educators face daily, and how we must make a conscious decision either to give in—or push through.

Restorative Circles in Schools: Building Community and Enhancing Learning


Bob Costello - 2010
    The book includes numerous stories about the way circles have been used in many diverse situations, discussion on the use of proactive, responsive and staff circles, and an overview of restorative practices, with particular emphasis on its relationship to circle processes.

Classroom Habitudes: Teaching Learning Habits and Attitudes in 21st Century Learning


Angela Maiers - 2008
    But how do you work those skills into the curriculum? Learn how to use the content you already teach to challenge students to think critically, collaborate with others, solve new problems, and adapt to change across new learning contexts. Help students build the seven habitudes habits of disciplined decisions and specific attitudes they need to succeed."

The Zen Teacher: Creating Focus, Simplicity, and Tranquility in the Classroom


Dan Tricarico - 2015
    All it takes are a few moments of peace and a little focus. If you're like many teachers, your day is busy, demanding, even chaotic. But just because you live in a fast-paced, always-on world, doesn't mean your life has to feel rushed and crazy. In The Zen Teacher, educator, blogger, and speaker Dan Tricarico provides practical, easy-to-use techniques to help teachers slow down and create a sense of focus, simplicity, and tranquility in the classroom - and in life. As a teacher, you have incredible power to influence, even improve, the future. By being at your best - unrushed and fully focused - you ensure that every interaction with your students is beneficial, for them and for you. If you're new to the concept of Zen, don't worry. In this introductory guide, Dan Tricarico explains what it means to develop a Zen practice - something that has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with your ability ability to thrive in the classroom. The Zen Teacher will help you: Maximize your performance while lowering your stress. Transform your classroom and experience a better quality of life. Focus on things that really matter and let go of things you can't control. Find time to take care of yourself, so you can be at your best!

Real Talk for Real Teachers: Advice for Teachers from Rookies to Veterans: "No Retreat, No Surrender!"


Rafe Esquith - 2013
    In this inspiring book, the genius behind the triumphs in Room 56 and on the stage with the Hobart Shakespeareans returns with words of wisdom and advice for those who struggle day to day in the world’s hardest profession. After thirty-plus years in the job, Esquith still puts in the countless classroom hours with which any dedicated teacher will be instantly familiar. He recognizes that new teachers and veteran educators need different kinds of nourishment, whether it’s encouragement to see through a teacher’s difficult early years, advice on midcareer classroom building, or novel ideas for how longtime educators can put their expertise to work. Mixing his trademark offbeat humor and no-nonsense maxims with instructive stories and useful in-class advice, Esquith proves the perfect companion for teachers who need a quick pick-me-up, a long heart-to-heart, or just a momentary reminder that they’re not alone. Real Talk for Real Teachers is from-the-hip advice to help teachers of every stripe cope with the overwhelming challenges of the classroom and beyond.

Teaching with Love and Logic: Taking Control of the Classroom


Jim Fay - 1995
    The "Love and Logic" tecniques: Put teachers back in control of the classroomResult in students who are internalized in their discipline rather than dependent upon external controlsRaise the level of student responsibillityTeach students to think for themselvesPrepare students to function effectively in a world filled wiht temptations, decisions, and consequencesReturn a teacher's joy of teaching!

Reading Reconsidered: A Practical Guide to Rigorous Literacy Instruction


Doug Lemov - 2015
    Our students learn their literature, history, math, science, or art via a firm foundation of strong reading skills. When we teach students to read with precision, rigor, and insight, we are truly handing over the key to the kingdom. Of all the topics we teach reading is first among equals.Grounded in advice from effective classrooms nationwide, "Reading Reconsidered" takes you into the trenches with actionable guidance from real-life educators and instructional champions. The authors address the anxiety-inducing world of Common Core State Standards, distilling from those standards four key ideas that help hone teaching practices both generally and in preparation for assessments. This 'Core of the Core, ' broken into small, easily navigable modules, comprises the first half of the book and instructs educators on how to teach students to: read harder texts, 'closely read' texts rigorously and intentionally, read nonfiction more effectively, and write more effectively in direct response to texts.The second half of "Reading Reconsidered" reinforces these principles, coupling them with the 'fundamentals' of reading instruction--a host of techniques and subject specific tools set forth by the authors to reconsider how teachers approach such essential topics as vocabulary, interactive reading, and student autonomy. "Reading Reconsidered" breaks an overly broad issue into clear, easy-to-implement approaches. Filled with practical tools including book lists, sample student work, and video clips from real classrooms, "Reading Reconsidered" provides the framework necessary for teachers to ensure that students forge futures as lifelong readers.

Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction


Isabel L. Beck - 2002
    This book provides a research-based framework and practical strategies for vocabulary development with children from the earliest grades through high school. The authors emphasize instruction that offers rich information about words and their uses and enhances students' language comprehension and production. Teachers are guided in selecting words for instruction; developing student-friendly explanations of new words; creating meaningful learning activities; and getting students involved in thinking about, using, and noticing new words both within and outside the classroom. Many concrete examples, sample classroom dialogues, and exercises for teachers bring the material to life. Helpful appendices include suggestions for trade books that help children enlarge their vocabulary and/or have fun with different aspects of words.

When Kids Can't Read-What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12


G. Kylene Beers - 2002
    That year, she discovered that some of the students in her seventh-grade language arts classes could pronounce all the words, but couldn't make any sense of the text. Others couldn't even pronounce the words. And that was the year she met a boy named George.George couldn't read. When George's parents asked her to explain what their son's reading difficulties were and what she was going to do to help, Kylene, a secondary certified English teacher with no background in reading, realized she had little to offer the parents, even less to offer their son. That defining moment sent her on a twenty-three-year search for answers to that original question: how do we help middle and high schoolers who can't read?Now in her critical and practical text "When Kids Can't Read - What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12," Kylene shares what she has learned and shows teachers how to help struggling readers with comprehension vocabulary fluency word recognition motivation Here, Kylene offers teachers the comprehensive handbook they've needed to help readers improve their skills, their attitudes, and their confidence. Filled with student transcripts, detailed strategies, reproducible material, and extensive booklists, this much-anticipated guide to teaching reading both instructs and inspires.

What We Say and How We Say It Matter: Teacher Talk That Improves Student Learning and Behavior


Mike Anderson - 2019
    Nevertheless, many teachers end up using language patterns that undermine these goals. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?We want students to take responsibility for their learning, yet we use language that implies teacher ownership.We want to build positive relationships with students, yet we use sarcasm when we get frustrated.We want students to think learning is fun, yet we sometimes make comments that suggest the opposite.We want students to exhibit good behavior because it's the right thing to do, yet we rely on threats and bribes, which implies students don't naturally want to be good.What teachers say to students--when they praise or discipline, give directions or ask questions, and introduce concepts or share stories--affects student learning and behavior. A slight change in intonation can also dramatically change how language feels for students. In What We Say and How We Say It Matter, Mike Anderson digs into the nuances of language in the classroom. This book's many examples will help teachers examine their language habits and intentionally improve their classroom practice so their language matches and supports their goals.

No More Teaching a Letter a Week


Rebecca McKay - 2015
    In No More Teaching a Letter a Week, early literacy researcher Dr. William Teale helps us understand that alphabet knowledge is more than letter recognition, and identifies research-based principles of effective alphabet instruction, which constitutes the foundation for phonics teaching and learning. Literacy coach Rebecca McKay shows us how to bring those principles to life through purposeful practices that invite children to create an identity through print.Children can and should do more than glue beans into the shape of a B; they need to learn how letters create words that carry meaning, so that they can, and do, use print to expand their understanding of the world and themselves.

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.