The book features ready-to-use, interactive tools for students, teachers, parents, administrators, and professional development educators. Parent resources include a sample parent webpage and several growth mindset parent education tools. Other resources include: mindset observation forms, student and teacher “look fors," lists of books that contribute to growth mindset thinking, critical thinking strategy write-ups and samples, and a unique study guide for the original book that includes book study models from various schools around the country. This book is perfect for schools looking to implement the ideas in Mindsets in the Classroom so that they can build a growth mindset learning environment. When students believe that dedication and hard work can change their performance in school, they grow to become resilient, successful students. This book contains many of the things that schools need to create a growth mindset school culture in which perseverance can lead to success!

    Like all teachers, Cris struggles to balance her student-centered instruction with school system mandates. Her recommendations are realistic and practical; she understands that what isn't manageable isn't sustainable.Cris describes the systems and structure she uses in her own classroom and shows teachers how to use assessments to monitor student growth and provide targeted feedback that enables students to master content goals. She also shares ways to bring students into the assessment cycle so they can monitor their own learning, maximizing motivation and engagement.So What Do They Really Know? includes a wealth of information:Lessons from Cris's classroomTemplates showing how teachers can use the workshop model to assess and differentiate instructionStudent work, including samples from linguistically diverse learners, struggling readers, and college-bound seniorsAnchor charts of student thinkingIdeas on how to give feedbackGuidelines that explain how conferring is different from monitoringSuggestions for assessing learning and differentiating instruction during conferencesAdvice for managing ongoing assessmentCris's willingness to share her own struggles continues to be a hallmark of her work. Teachers will recognize their own students and the challenges they face as they join Cris on the journey to figure out how to raise student achievement.

    He tells jokes with the kind of mocking humor that gets a laugh, yet can be safely shared in school. After all, even great schools have bad days -- when lesson plans fall through, disgruntled parents complain, kids throw temper tantrums because they have to use the same spoon for their applesauce and mashed potatoes, and of course, dealing with...The Horror! The Horror!...dreaded assessments. Ranging from practical topics like social media use in the class­room and parent-teacher conferences to more lighthearted sections such as "Pickup and Dropoff: An Exercise in Humanity" and "School Supplies: Yes, We Really Need All That Stuff," Go See the Principal offers comic relief, inspiration, and advice to those who need it the most.

    Each of the 100 sharply focused, historically and culturally diverse passages from world literature targets a specific component of voice, presenting the elements in short, manageable exercises that function well as class openers. Includes teacher notes and discussion suggestions.

    Concepts illustrate how writers use image grammar to develop their art, while strategies provide classroom-tested lessons, as offered on the CD-ROM.

    Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests. This problem isn’t limited to low-income school districts: even our top schools aren’t teaching or testing the skills that matter most in the global knowledge economy. Our teens leave school equipped to work only in the kinds of jobs that are fast disappearing from the American economy. Meanwhile, young adults in India and China are competing with our students for the most sought-after careers around the world.Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation’s most highly regarded public schools. He discovered a profound disconnect between what potential employers are looking for in young people today (critical thinking skills, creativity, and effective communication) and what our schools are providing (passive learning environments and uninspired lesson plans that focus on test preparation and reward memorization).He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the “net” generation to excellence.An education manifesto for the twenty-first century, The Global Achievement Gap is provocative and inspiring. It is essential reading for parents, educators, business leaders, policy-makers, and anyone interested in seeing our young people succeed as employees and citizens.For additional information about the author and the book, please go to www.schoolchange.org

    WRITING FICTION FOR ALL YOUR WORTH contains the best of James Scott Bell's articles and blog posts on writing, easily searchable under these headings: The Writing World, The Writing Life, and The Writing Craft. You'll learn about the 6 critical success factors for bestselling fiction, how to write un-put-downable action scenes, and how to capture the interest of an agent. The keys to a dynamic opening page are revealed, and just as important, what NOT to do in the opening. There's plenty of inside information on what agents and editors say they're looking for and detailed instructions on how to write a stress free query. You'll learn what to put on your LAST page, when to use italics, how to write with courage. And a whole lot more.And you'll get never before published material, including an first-ever look into Jim's secret writing notebook, the manual he put together over the years for his own use in writing numerous bestsellers. For the first time he's sharing a glimpse into the notes he compiled on his way to publishing success.Plus, a special module on getting into e-publishing, which you must read if you want to have a career selling e-books successfully. ADDED BONUS: Interviews with some of the top writers working today: Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, Brad Thor, David Baldacci, Carla Neggers, David Morrell, Alex Kava, Michael Palmer, Eric Van Lustbader, Steve Martinia, plus debut authors Sarah Pekkanen and Boyd Morrison. You will be inspired and instructed by these consummate pros as they share their writing secrets with you. What they're saying about James Scott Bell:"I needed advice before I tried to write a novel. The usual axiom — write what you know — wasn't helpful. So I turned to James Scott Bell. He taught me how to structure a great entrance — the equivalent of gliding down a spiral staircase in a wedding gown — and how to keep the next 400 pages from becoming as hopelessly tangled as the crumpled papers and wads of gum in my old desk. My novel sold." – Sarah Pekkanan, author of The Opposite of Me"I read PLOT & STRUCTURE in a single sitting, gasping and trying not to scream, while trapped in a flooded hospital all alone with a serial killer. Okay, not really, but after reading James Scott Bell's book, I can't help thinking that a good blurb should grab the reader with an interesting character and a compelling situation. I am inspired by Bell's enthusiastic approach, and am impressed with his numerous, helpful insights into the craft of storytelling. I recommend his book highly — especially the ending, where it turns out I WAS the serial killer." - Bill Marsilii, screenwriter, Déjà vu"If Jim Bell is teaching and I'm within a hundred miles, you can bet I'll be there! His commitment to the craft of writing is surpassed only by his enthusiasm for passionate storytelling." – Angela E. Hunt, bestselling novelist

    In You Are a Writer, Jeff Goins shares his own story of self-doubt and what it took for him to become a professional writer and best-selling author—and the principles he’s learned from seeing many others do the same. He gives you practical steps to improve your writing, get published, and build a platform that puts you in charge. This book is about what it takes to be a writer in the 21st Century. You will learn the importance of passion and discipline and how to show up every day to do the work. You Are a Writer will help you fall back in love with writing and build an audience who shares your love. It’s about living the dream of a life dedicated to words.

    

    In clear, simple language, Sandra Scofield shows both the beginner and the seasoned writer how to build better scenes, the underpinning of any good narrative.

    Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool: language. Throughout, Peter Johnston provides examples of apparently ordinary words, phrases, and uses of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in a study by accomplished literacy teachers, the book demonstrates how the things we say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and for who they become as literate people. Through language, children learn how to become strategic thinkers, not merely learning the literacy strategies. In addition, Johnston examines the complex learning that teachers produce in classrooms that is hard to name and thus is not recognized by tests, by policy-makers, by the general public, and often by teachers themselves, yet is vitally important.This book will be enlightening for any teacher who wishes to be more conscious of the many ways their language helps children acquire literacy skills and view the world, their peers, and themselves in new ways.

    This text includes in-depth analysis of all poetic literary devices, writing activities, critical thinking prompts and a host of user-friendly material to deepen one s own skills and understanding. Designed to be the pre-eminent source for novices and skilled professionals alike, Hip-Hop Poetry The Classics illuminates the art of the written word in a unique and accessible manner which appeals to fans across the globe.

    Pez dispensers. Nerf balls. When we give students junk to reward reading, we are focusing their intention away from the act of reading and from their own independence as readers. Instead, we can create classrooms where reading is seen as its own reward. In this book, esteemed researcher Linda Gambrell provides a research-based context for cultivating children's intrinsic motivation to read and identifies three essential principles, the ARC of motivation:access: giving kids a wealth of reading materials and opportunities to discuss texts relevance: offering high interest, moderately challenging and authentic reading experiences choice: allowing students to self-select texts and reading activities What exactly do those principles look like in action? Reading specialist and researcher Barbara Marinak shares the strategies and techniques that make a difference for student readers' motivation, turning disengaged readers into passionate ones. Pizza and Pez dispensers are short lived, Linda and Barbara write, but confident and empowered readers are likely to remain motivated for life.

    With a HyperDoc you can repackage your lesson plans on a Google Doc to engage students in innovative ways! The HyperDoc Handbook is a practical reference guide for all K-12 educators looking to transform their teaching into blended learning environments. This book strikes a perfect balance between pedagogy and how-to tips, while also providing several lesson plans to get you going. After reading this handbook, educators will feel equipped to design their own HyperDocs using both Google Apps and the myriad of web tools available online. Let this book become your guide to: Explore the pedagogy behind digital lesson design Follow step-by-step directions on how to create a HyperDoc Reflect and revise digital lessons using a checklist to “hack” your own HyperDocs Select tech tools best suited for lessons Connect and share with other educators Copy and customize sample HyperDocs to use in your own classroom HyperDocs will improve collaboration and instruction between all education stakeholders, including: students, teachers, administrators, instructional coaches, professional developers, and families. After reading The HyperDoc Handbook you will be inspired to create and share!

    An experienced therapist offers groundbreaking and compassionate techniques for helping chronically inflexible children, who suffer from excessively immoderate tempers, showing how brain-based deficits contribute to these problems and offering positive and constructive ways to calm things down.