The Common Core Lesson Book, K-5: Working with Increasingly Complex Literature, Informational Text, and Foundational Reading Skills


Gretchen Owocki - 2012
    This book is aimed at helping teachers implement quality Common Core instruction around this principle. -Gretchen Owocki The quality of instruction is the most important factor in helping students meet the Common Core Standards. That's why Gretchen Owocki's Common Core Lesson Book empowers teachers with a comprehensive framework for implementation that enhances existing curriculum and extends it to meet Common Core goals. Children, writes Gretchen (author of The RTI Daily Planning Book), need teachers who believe in the power of meaningful reading as a context for instruction. She breaks the CCSS reading standards into manageable chunks that emphasize engaged, authentic reading and differentiated teaching. For each standard, she offers: a clear description of what it asks from students an instructional decision tree that connects assessment to planning instructional strategies that gradually release responsibility to students techniques for intensifying instruction when readers need more support. In implementing the standards, writes Gretchen, we want children to deeply engage with multiple forms of reading. I wrote this book to offer encouragement to stay grounded in meaningful instruction, and to offer a set of strategies that emphasize meaningful reading. Respond to the Common Core with The Common Core Lesson Book-you'll help students meet the standards, and so much more.

Fresh Takes on Teaching Literary Elements: How to Teach What Really Matters About Character, Setting, Point of View, and Theme


Jeffrey D. Wilhelm - 2010
    Rich, original passages illuminate the intricacies of character, setting, point of view, and theme, and deeply engaging activities framed by inquiry enable students to transfer what they learn to new reading situations as well as to the way they think through problems and live their lives.

Understanding by Design


Grant P. Wiggins - 1998
    Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition, offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

Pyramid Response to Intervention: RTI, Professional Learning Communities, and How to Respond When Kids Don't Learn


Chris Weber - 2008
    Written by award-winning educators from successful PLC schools, this book demonstrates how to create three tiers of interventions from basic to intensive to address student learning gaps. You will understand what a successful program looks like, and the many reproducible forms and activities will help your team understand how to make RTI work in your school."

Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom


Jan Burkins - 2021
    Instead of fueling the debate, Dr. Jan Burkins and Kari Yates have immersed themselves in the research and produced Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom . This concise and practical guide integrates effective reading strategies from each perspective. Every chapter of Shifting the Balance focuses on one of the six simple and scientifically sound shifts reading teachers can make to strengthen their approach to early reading instruction in these areas:Reading ComprehensionPhonemic AwarenessPhonicsHigh-Frequency WordsCueing SystemsText SelectionPractical Instruction for Primary Grades: Whether your students are just learning to read or building more advanced reading comprehensive skills,  Shifting the Balance  is designed to help teachers meet the instructional needs of K-2 students.Six Manageable Shifts: Each chapter focuses on a key shift that helps educators understand common misconceptions and adjust their thinking around some common instructional practices that teachers have been using for decades.Evidence-Based Instruction: Burkins and Yates offer busy educators a blueprint for integrating finding from brain research, cognitive science, and child development into their daily instruction, while keeping meaningful experiences with books a priority.Classroom Applications: Shifting the Balance is full of sample activities and classroom vignettes that paint a picture of what these shifts look like in action with roomful of learners.The book has already helped countless educators by taking the guesswork out of how to blend best practices with the latest research while keeping students at the forefront of reading instruction. "We've written this book to support you in making sound decisions anchored in the best of science, the truth of responsiveness, and a relentless focus on providing all children learning experiences saturated with meaning," the authors write.

Teaching as Leadership: The Highly Effective Teacher's Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap


Steven Farr - 2010
    Based on evidence from classrooms across the country, they've discovered much about effective teaching practice, and distilled these findings into the six principles presented in this book. The Teaching As Leadership framework inspires teachers to: Set Big Goals; Invest Students and Their Families; Plan Purposefully; Execute Effectively; Continuously Increase Effectiveness; Work Relentlessly. The results are better educational outcomes for our nation's children, particularly those who live in low-income communities.Inspires educators to be leaders in their classrooms and schools Demystifies what it means to be an effective teacher, describes key elements of practice and provides a clear vision of success Addresses the challenges every teacher, in every classroom, faces on a daily basis An accompanying website includes a wealth of tools, videos, sample lessons, discussion boards, and case studies.

Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16 Essential Characteristics for Success


Arthur L. Costa - 2008
    Costa and Bena Kallick present a comprehensive guide to shaping schools around Habits of Mind. The habits are a repertoire of behaviors that help both students and teachers successfully navigate the various challenges and problems they encounter in the classroom and in everyday life. The Habits of Mind include* Persisting* Managing impulsivity* Listening with understanding and empathy* Thinking flexibly* Thinking about thinking (metacognition)* Striving for accuracy* Questioning and posing problems* Applying past knowledge to new situations* Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision* Gathering data through all senses* Creating, imagining, innovating* Responding with wonderment and awe* Taking responsible risks* Finding humor* Thinking interdependently* Remaining open to continuous learningThis volume brings together--in a revised and expanded format--concepts from the four books in Costa and Kallick's earlier work Habits of Mind: A Developmental Series. Along with other highly respected scholars and practitioners, the authors explain how the 16 Habits of Mind dovetail with up-to-date concepts of what constitutes intelligence; present instructional strategies for activating the habits and creating a thought-full classroom environment; offer assessment and reporting strategies that incorporate the habits; and provide real-life examples of how communities, school districts, building administrators, and teachers can integrate the habits into their school culture. Drawing upon their research and work over many years, in many countries, Costa and Kallick present a compelling rationale for using the Habits of Mind as a foundation for leading, teaching, learning, and living well in a complex world.

Courageous Conversations about Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools


Glenn E. Singleton - 2005
    Through these courageous conversations, educators will learn how to create a learning community that promotes true academic parity. Practical features of this book include:Implementation exercises Prompts, language, and tools that support profound discussion Activities and checklists for administrators Action steps for creating an equity team

The Human Side of School Change: Reform, Resistance, and the Real-Life Problems of Innovation


Robert Evans - 1996
    He provides a new model of leadership along with practical management strategies for building a framework of cooperation between leaders of change and the people they depend upon to implement it.

Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice (Hack Learning Series Book 22)


Nathan Maynard - 2019
    In Hack Learning Series Book 22, you learn to: Reduce repeated negative behaviors Build student self-regulation and empathy Enhance communication and collaboration Identify the true cause of negative behaviors Use restorative circles to reflect on behaviors and discuss impactful change "Maynard and Weinstein provide practical tips and strategies in the context of real-world examples, guided by the imperatives of changing the behavior and preserving the relationship. An important read for teachers and administrators." -Danny Steele, award-winning principal and co-author of Essential Truths for Principals and Essential Truths for Teachers Before you suspend another student ... read Hacking School Discipline, and build a school environment that promotes responsible learners, who never need to be punished. Then watch learning soar, teachers smile, and your entire community rejoice.

Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective


Dale H. Schunk - 1990
    The main objectives of this text are to inform students of learning theoretical principles, concepts, and research findings, especially as they relate to education, and to provide applications of principles and concepts in settings where teaching and learning occur.

Embedded Formative Assessment - practical strategies and tools for K-12 teachers


Dylan Wiliam - 2011
    Dylan Wiliam faces this challenge head-on by making a case for the important role of formative assessment in increasing teacher quality and student learning. While there are many possible ways in which we could seek to develop the practice of serving teachers, attention to minute-by-minute and day-to-day formative assessment is likely to have the biggest impact on student outcomes. Wiliam s view of formative assessment differs from the popular view in that he regards formative assessment as a process rather than a tool.Wiliam outlines what formative assessment is, and what it is not, and presents the five key strategies of formative assessment:1. Clarifying, sharing, and understanding learning intentions and criteria for success2. Engineering effective classroom discussions, activities, and learning tasks that elicit evidence of learning3. Providing feedback that moves learning forward4. Activating learners as instructional resources for one another5. Activating learners as owners of their own learningThe book presents a summary of the research evidence that shows the impact of each strategy and offers a number of practical techniques that teachers have used to incorporate the strategy into their regular classroom practice.

Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators


Elena Aguilar - 2018
    Stress is part of the job, but when 70 percent of teachers quit within their first five years because the stress is making them physically and mentally ill, things have gone too far. Unsurprisingly, these effects are highest in difficult-to-fill positions such as math, science, and foreign languages, and in urban areas and secondary classrooms--places where we need our teachers to be especially motivated and engaged. This book offers a path to resiliency to help teachers weather the storms and bounce back--and work toward banishing the rain for good.This actionable framework gives you concrete steps toward rediscovering yourself, your energy, and your passion for teaching. You'll learn how a simple shift in mindset can affect your outlook, and how taking care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally is one of the most important things you can do. The companion workbook helps you put the framework into action, streamlining your way toward renewal and strength.Cultivate resilience with a four-part framework based on 12 key habits Uncover your true self, understand emotions, and use your energy where it counts Adopt a mindful, story-telling approach to communication and community building Keep learning, playing, and creating to create an environment of collective celebration By cultivating resilience in schools, we help ensure that we are working in, teaching in, and leading organizations where every child thrives, and where the potential of every child is recognized and nurtured. Onward provides a step-by-step plan for reigniting that spark.

Teaching Reading Sourcebook


Bill Honig - 2000
    Organized according to the elements of explicit instruction (what? why? when? and how?), the Sourcebook includes both research-informed knowledge base and practical sample lesson models. Like the first edition, the updated and revised second edition of the Teaching Reading Sourcebook combines the best features of an academic text and a practical hands-on teacher's guide. It is an indispensable resource for teaching reading and language arts to both beginning and older struggling readers.New to the Teaching Reading Sourcebook, 2nd Edition:All new sample lesson modelsMore reproducible activity mastersA whole new section on reading fluencyMore about letter knowledge and multisyllabic word readingMore about the comprehension strategies that good readers useUseful information about the Comprehensive Reading Model (Three-tier Model)Highly respected contributing authors who are experts in the field of reading

Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning


Doug Buehl - 1995
    Yet our curricula are largely print-based, and students must develop effective reading behaviours to be successful in school. This book provides middle school and high school educators with the resources they need to meet this challenge: literacy development strategies that emphasize effective learning in content contexts.