Academic conversations push students to think and learn in lasting ways. Academic conversations are back-and-forth dialogues in which students focus on a topic and explore it by building, challenging, and negotiating relevant ideas.In Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Content Understandings authors Jeff Zwiers and Marie Crawford address the challenges teachers face when trying to bring thoughtful, respectful, and focused conversations into the classroom. They identify five core communications skills needed to help students hold productive academic conversation across content areas:Elaborating and ClarifyingSupporting Ideas with EvidenceBuilding On and/or Challenging IdeasParaphrasingSynthesizingThis book shows teachers how to weave the cultivation of academic conversation skills and conversations into current teaching approaches. More specifically, it describes how to use conversations to build the following:Academic vocabulary and grammarCritical thinking skills such as persuasion, interpretation, consideration of multiple perspectives, evaluation, and applicationLiteracy skills such as questioning, predicting, connecting to prior knowledge, and summarizingAn academic classroom environment brimming with respect for others' ideas, equity of voice, engagement, and mutual supportThe ideas in this book stem from many hours of classroom practice, research, and video analysis across grade levels and content areas. Readers will find numerous practical activities for working on each conversation skill, crafting conversation-worthy tasks, and using conversations to teach and assess. Academic Conversations offers an in-depth approach to helping students develop into the future parents, teachers, and leaders who will collaborate to build a better world.

    Synthesizing Lynn Erickson's past 15 years of field work with teachers, curriculum developers, teacher educators, and instructional leaders, this resource offers a complete guide for designing curriculum and instruction to foster the continuous growth and development of students' critical, abstract, and creative learning skills. Educators will learn how to:Bring coherence and clarity to high-quality curriculum design and instructional planning Teach the way that students' minds learn best Encourage students' creative and abstract thinking, regardless of level or subject area Gain the support of principals and district administrators

    This highly practical and accessible resource gives special and general education teachers the tools to implement explicit instruction in any grade level or content area. The authors are leading experts who provide clear guidelines for identifying key concepts, skills, and routines to teach; designing and delivering effective lessons; and giving students opportunities to practice and master new material. Sample lesson plans, lively examples, and reproducible checklists and teacher worksheets enhance the utility of the volume. Purchasers can also download and print the reproducible materials for repeated use. Video clips demonstrating the approach in real classrooms are available at the authors' website: www.explicitinstruction.org. See also related DVDs from Anita Archer: Golden Principles of Explicit Instruction; Active Participation: Getting Them All Engaged, Elementary Level; and Active Participation: Getting Them All Engaged, Secondary Level

    

    Unlike other logic puzzle books, every puzzle includes statistics - such as the average completion time, the record completion time, and the percentage of people to complete the puzzle - to bring out the competitor in each puzzler and better inform them on how easy or difficult each puzzle is.?Features 200 grid-based logic puzzles?Includes puzzles statistics for added excitement?Ideal for kids and adults

    Blending theory with practice, the book helps pre-service and in-service teachers develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs they'll need to construct learning environments that make it possible for all students to reach their potential.

    There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in Texas. This book features 170 species of Texas birds, organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out. Fact-filled information, a compare feature, range maps and detailed photographs help to ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

    This is true both in airplanes and in classrooms--you have to take care of yourself before you can help someone else. If teachers are stressed out and exhausted, how can they have the patience, positive energy, and enthusiasm to provide the best instruction for students? Author Mike Anderson asked that question as a teacher himself, and the answers he found form the basis of The Well-Balanced Teacher. He found that teachers need to take care of themselves in five key areas to keep themselves in shape to care for their students.In addition to paying proper attention to their basic needs for nutrition, hydration, sleep, exercise, and emotional and spiritual refreshment, teachers also needBelonging: Teachers need to feel positive connections with other people, both in school and outside school. Significance: Teachers want to know that they make a positive difference through the work they do.Positive engagement: When teachers enjoy their work, they have great energy and passion for their teaching.Balance: Healthy teachers set boundaries and create routines so that they can have rich lives both in the classroom and at home.Anderson devotes a chapter to each of these needs, describing in frank detail his own struggles and offering a multitude of practical tips to help readers find solutions that will work for them. When teachers find ways to take care of their own needs, they will be healthier and happier, and they will have the positive energy and stamina needed to help their students learn and grow into healthy adults themselves.

    Suggesting that teachers need to know key aspects of grammar in order to teach writing more effectively, Weaver also argued that students need to be guided in learning and applying grammatical concepts as they revise and edit their writing. Attention to sentence structure and mechanics during the process of writing would result in better products.With Teaching Grammar in Context, Weaver extends her philosophy by offering teachers a rationale and practical ideas for teaching grammar not in isolation but in the context of writing. She begins by introducing some common meanings of grammar and provides a historical overview of traditional reasons for teaching grammar as a school subject. After examining those reasons, she questions them, citing decades of research which suggests that grammar taught in isolation has little, if any, effect on most students' writing.To lay the groundwork for a more effective approach, Weaver considers how preschoolers learn the basic structures of their native language and how second-language grammar is acquired. She goes on to suggest a research-based perspective on the concept of error and on the writing errors our students make, concluding with practical alternatives to what Lois Rosen has dubbed the error hunt. Equally useful is Weaver's examination of the aspects of grammar on which we might focus as we guide our students in writing and revising sentences and in editing selected pieces. Her final chapter addresses the teaching of grammar from the perspective of learning theory.The appendix includes numerous sample lessons from Weaver's own teaching, illustrating the five broad topics suggested in the text:teaching concepts of subject, verb, clause, sentence, and related editing concepts teaching style through sentence combining and generating teaching sentence sense and style through manipulation of syntactic elements teaching the power of dialects and dialects of power teaching punctuation and mechanics for convention, clarity, and style. Teaching Grammar in Context fills a long-standing gap in the literature on teaching writing. It will prove invaluable to all practicing and preservice teachers, especially those at the middle and high school levels, where grammar is taught most intensively.

    It's not enough to just "do projects." Today's projects need to be rigorous, engaging, and in-depth, and they need to have student voice and choice built in. Such projects require careful planning and pedagogical skill. The authors -- leaders at the respected Buck Institute for Education -- take readers through the step-by-step process of how to create, implement, and assess PBL using a classroom-tested framework.

    

    The point is, it's a level of understanding that students of any age can achieve with the right kind of instruction. In Rigorous Reading, Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher articulate an instructional plan so clearly, and so squarely built on research, that teachers, schools, and districts need look no further:Purpose & Modeling Close & Scaffolded Reading Instruction Collaborative Conversations An Independent Reading Staircase Performance

    It is for teachers who refuse to harden their hearts, because they love learners, learning, and the teaching life." - Parker J. Palmer [from the Introduction] Teachers choose their vocation for reasons of the heart, because they care deeply about their students and about their subject. But the demands of teaching cause too many educators to lose heart. Is it possible to take heart in teaching once more so that we can continue to do what good teachers always do -- give heart to our students?In The Courage to Teach, Parker Palmer takes teachers on an inner journey toward reconnecting with their vocation and their students -- and recovering their passion for one of the most difficult and important of human endeavors.

    In many ways, books provide the first opportunity for children to begin to reflectively engage with and understand the world around them. Not only can parents entertain their child and convey the beauty of language through books, they can also share their values and create lasting connections.Here, Allyn offers parents and caregivers essential advice on choosing appropriate titles for their children--taking into account a child's age, attention ability, gender, and interests-- along with techniques for reading aloud effectively. But what sets this book apart is the extraordinary, annotated list of more than three hundred titles suitable for the pivotal moments in a child's life. With category themes ranging from friendship and journeys to thankfulness, separations, silliness, and spirituality, What to Read When is a one-of-a-kind guide to how parents can best inspire children through reading together. In addition, Pam Allyn includes an indispensable "Reader's Ladder" section, with recommendations for children at every stage from birth to age ten. With the author's warm and engaging voice throughout, discussion questions to encourage in-depth conversations, as well as advice on helping kids make the transition to independent reading, this book will help shape thoughtful, creative, and curious children, imparting a love of reading that will last a lifetime.These Penguin Young Reader's Books are referenced in What to Read WhenSylvia Jean: Drama Queen by Lisa Campbell Ernst (Penguin Young Reader's Group: 2005)Two Is For Twins, by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, illustrations by Hiroe Nakata (Penguin Young Readers: 2006)Remember Grandma? by Laura Langston (Penguin Group (USA): May 2004)Soul Looks Back in Wonder compiled by Tom Feelings (Puffin Books)Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey (Penguin Books USA, Incorporated: December 1957)When I was Young in the Mountainsby Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Diane Goode (Penguin Young Readers Group: January 1993)Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs by Tomie DePaola (Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, Inc.:1973)Good Night, Good Knight by Shelly Moore Thomas, illustrations by Jennifer Plecas (Penguin Young Readers Group: 2002)

    This is a book about LEARNING! Technology is not a magic solution for education. It is an opportunity! An opportunity to shake things up, to connect and grow, and to create dynamic learning experiences for our students!   In this three-part book, you will explore WHY it's time to Shake Up Learning, WHAT changes we can make in our classrooms to support dynamic learning experiences, and HOW to plan meaningful lessons for your classroom. Rapidly evolving technology and the demands of the digital age are transforming not only the way we live but also the way we learn. The tools students are using are newer, sleeker, and faster than ever before. In some cases, the medium is even changing the message. One thing is certain: Educators cannot continue the status quo if they expect to equip young people for the world to come.  Here's the good news: With digital tools that are available 24/7, learning doesn't have to stop when the bell rings. Learning can take on a life of its own! Even better, technology can help you connect with students and empower them to grow and develop a lifelong love for learning--and it doesn't have to be scary or complicated.  Shake Up Learning is a powerful guide and planning tool to help educators at all grade levels make the most of technology. Educator and blogger Kasey Bell guides you through the process of using technology and proven techniques to make learning dynamic. You'll discover . . .  Practical strategies to help move from static teaching to dynamic learning Straightforward and easy-to-use templates for crafting engaging learning opportunities  Tips and tricks for fearless implementation of powerful lesson plans Advice for moving from one-and-done activities to learning that evolves and inspires throughout the school year--and beyond!  This is MORE than just a book! This is a full LEARNING EXPERIENCE! This book is jammed packed with ideas, lessons, and resources, but you can bring it all to life with the companion website, ShakeUpLearningBook.com, and the companion online course, The Dynamic Learning Workshop! Be dynamic! Shake up learning in your classroom this year.