This first-hand account of life in the testing business is alternately edifying and hilarious.

    Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small-town America was caught in the amber of the innocent postwar period—people helped their neighbors, went to church on Sunday, and kept barnyard animals in their backyards.To three-year-old Zippy, it made perfect sense to strike a bargain with her father to keep her baby bottle—never mind that when she did, it was the first time she'd ever spoken. In her nonplussed family, Zippy has the perfect supporting cast: her beautiful yet dour brother, Danny, a seeker of the true faith; her sweetly sensible sister, Lindy, who wins the local beauty pageant; her mother, Delonda, who dispenses wisdom from the corner of the couch; and her father, Bob Jarvis, who never met a bet he didn't like.Whether describing a serious case of chicken love, another episode with the evil Edythe across the street, or the night Zippy's dad borrowed thirty-six coon dogs and a raccoon to prove to the complaining neighbors just how quiet his two dogs were, Kimmel treats readers to a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and shy as she navigates the quirky adult world surrounding Zippy.

    "Mosaic of Thought "chronicles that journey, which ultimately led the authors to elaborate on eight cognitive processes identified in comprehension research and used by successful readers. These serve as models for the strategies offered in this book - strategies intended to help children become more flexible, adaptive, independent, and engaged readers."Mosaic" proposes a new instructional paradigm focused on in-depth, explicit instruction in the strategies used by proficient readers. The authors take us beyond the traditional classroom into the literature based, workshop-oriented classrooms. Through vivid portraits of these remarkable environments (all participants in the Denver-based Reading Project of the Public Education & Business Coalition), we see how explicit instruction looks in dynamic, literature-rich readers' workshops. As the students connect to background knowledge, create sensory images, ask questions, draw inferences, determine what's important, synthesize ideas, and solve problems at the word and text level, they are able to construct a rich mosaic of meaning.Straightforward and jargon-free, "Mosaic of Thought" has relevance to all literature-based classrooms, regardless of level. It offers practical tools for inservice teachers, as well as essential methods instruction for preservice teachers at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Indeed, anyone interested in literacy will benefit from the authors' challenge to rediscover the thought processes that inform our own comprehension.

    Into this place, which resembles a prison as much as a school, are dropped a group of “recruits” from Teach For America, the fast-growing organization devoted to undoing generations of disadvantage through a fiercely regimented selection and deployment of America’s best and brightest. Nearly twenty thousand top college graduates apply for two thousand slots. Then, with only a summer of training, the lucky ones are sent to face the most desperate of classroom environments.Giving us a year in the life of Locke through the absorbing experiences of four TFA corps members—Rachelle, Phillip, Hrag, and Taylor—Donna Foote recounts the progress of their idealistic but unorthodox mission and shares its results, by turns exhausting, exhilarating, maddening, and unforgettable. As the four struggle to negotiate the expectations of their Locke colleagues (most conventionally trained, many skeptical) and the relentlessly exacting demands of the overseers at TFA headquarters (to say nothing of the typical stresses of youth), we see these young people assume a level of responsibility that might crush a seasoned educator. Limited training must often be supplemented with improvisation in a school where Rachelle’s special ed biology students prove to need remedial reading more urgently than lab work, while Taylor’s ninth-grade English classes show themselves equal to discussing Shakespeare. Through it all, these teachers are sustained not only by the missionary fervor of their cause but also by the intermittent evidence that they can make a tangible difference.Without romanticizing the successes or minimizing the failures, Relentless Pursuit relates, through the experiences of these four new teachers, the strengths, the foibles, and the peculiarities of an operation to accomplish what no government program has yet managed — to overcome one of the most basic and vexing of social inequities, a problem we can no longer afford to ignore.

    The pieces that comprise Non-Fiction prove just how different, in ways both highly entertaining and deeply unsettling. Encounters with alternative culture heroes Marilyn Manson and Juliette Lewis; the peculiar wages of fame attendant on the big budget film production of the movie Fight Club; life as an assembly-line drive train installer by day, hospice volunteer driver by night; the really peculiar lives of submariners; the really violent world of college wrestlers; the underground world of anabolic steroid gobblers; the harrowing circumstances of his father's murder and the trial of his killer - each essay or vignette offers a unique facet of existence as lived in and/or observed by one of America's most flagrantly daring and original literary talents.

    Read it and weep!When George Lopez gives a comic performance, there’s not a dry eye or empty seat in the house, and for six years, millions of viewers tuned in to get their weekly G-Lo fix with ABC’s The George Lopez Show. Now, George is back, and he’s made the switch from prime-time family guy to late-night talk show host. Lopez Tonight combines George’s irreverent and very opinionated humor with spontaneous celebrity interactions to create a party of a show; with George, the audience knows the conversation will be high-energy, low-formality, and 100 percent unpredictable. But while he can make his audiences cry with laughter, Lopez’s own life—before becoming one of America’s most popular Latino personalities—was anything but funny. Abandoned by his California migrant-worker father at the tender age of two months and deserted by his own mother at the age of ten years, Lopez was raised by grandparents who viewed “love” as a different four-letter word. Co-written by Emmy Award-winning writer and sportscaster Armen Keteyian, the darkly funny narrative of Why You Crying? riffs on the importance of family, the stark, often hysterical differences between Chicano and gringo culture, and the inspirational message that anybody can become Somebody. Read it and weep!

    They convince us once again of what we may have forgotten: that we need to create schools that constantly demonstrate a belief in their students.

    Suggests ways to overcome the problems teachers face when teaching the classics--length, challenging vocabulary, complex syntax, and alien times and settings--and lists suggested titles.

    A contemporary companion to City Kids, City Teachers: Reports from the Front Row, this new and timely collection has been compiled by four of the country's most prominent urban educators. Contributors including Sandra Cisneros, Jonathan Kozol, Sapphire, and Patricia J. Williams provide some of the best writing on life in city schools and neighborhoods. Young people and practicing teachers, poets and scholars, social critics and journalists offer unique takes on topics ranging from culturally relevant teaching and scripted curricula to the criminalization of youth, gentrification, and the inequities of school funding.In the words of Sonia Nieto, City Kids, City Schools "challenge[s] the conventional wisdom of what it means to teach in urban schools."

    From a kindergartner's loops and pictures to a second grader's reading log, her Literacy Teacher's Playbook details exactly how she comes to understand them deeply and meet everyone's literacy needs-and the standards.My I-wish-I-knew-then-what-I-know-now experiences are the main inspiration for this book, writes Jen. So her workshop-in-a-book shares a powerful approach to assessment, planning, and teaching. Go beyond curriculum to develop differentiated reading and writing goals then plan targeted instruction with her four-step assessment protocol:collect data-student work and everyday assessments-that will be the most useful to you analyze the data to understand deeply what kids know and can do synthesize data from multiple assessments to create learning goals develop instructional plans and follow-ups to monitor progress. What you can pull out of a child's messy seat pocket is data. So Jen provides downloadable assessment packets from real children representing two puzzling types of young learners. Spread Marelle's packet out and let Jen model how she analyzes little kids' work. Next try a guided practice with Emre's work. Then you'll be ready to try it with your own students.My goal, writes Jen, is to help you understand your students with the depth that allows you to tweak your units and ensure you're giving every student opportunities for success. Follow the play tens of thousands of teachers have succeeded with: trust Jen Serravallo and feel the confidence that comes from making winning instructional decisions based on powerful assessments. Preview a sample chapter from the Literacy Teacher's Playbook, K-2.NEW Printable Materialsword pdf Blank Reading Log Levels D-Iword pdf Blank Reading Log Levels J-Mword pdf Blank Reading Log Levels L+word pdf Blank Re-reading Log Levels D-Iword pdf Blank Reading Interest Survey K-2word pdf Blank Reading Interest Survey 3-6word pdf Blank High-Frequency Word Listword pdf Blank Engagement Inventory

    This is where Regie Routman steps in: giving clarity, support, specific demonstrations, and confidence to teachers so they can teach reading in a manner that is consistent with research and learning theory and respectful of students' needs, interests, and abilities. In Reading Essentials, she realistically describes how to achieve these goals-and get high test scores too.Based on her continuing work teaching in schools, Routman proves that good teaching doesn't have to mean lots of hours spent planning. What's necessary is good thinking-thinking about what matters to kids, what kids need to know, how we can move them forward, and how to ensure that they comprehend and enjoy what they read-including struggling students. Readers will discover research-based strategies, immediately doable ideas, and detailed lessons-all based on an instructional framework that includes:demonstrations shared demonstrations guided practice independent practice. Thoughout the text, Routman emphasizes the use of professional common sense and demonstrates how to maximize your time, making the most of every teachable moment. Practical, philosophical, and political, Reading Essentials gets to the heart of what excellent reading instruction is all about-and puts the fun back into your teaching.

    A guide for educators of students in K-12, readers will find a wealth of research evidence, statistical data, and case studies. Nine categories of instructional strategies that maximize student learning are introduced, along with the pertinent information to understand and synthesize each: * Studies in effect size and percentile gain units * Guiding principles for using the strategies * Classroom examples of model instructional practice * Charts, frames, rubrics, organizers, and other tools--will help teachers to apply the strategies immediately in the classoom.

    In Kids Deserve It!, Todd and Adam encourage you to think big and make learning fun and meaningful for students. While you’re at it, you just might rediscover why you became an educator in the first place. - Learn why you should be calling parents to praise your students (and employees). - Discover ways to promote family interaction and improve relationships for kids at school and at home.- Be inspired to take risks, shake up the status quo, and be a champion for your students.#KidsDeserveIt"For anyone working with young people and in need of a pep talk, this is the book for you.” -Brad Montague, creator of Kid President“Kids Deserve It! provides real-life takeaways for anyone involved in making the world a better place for our kids." -Steve Mesler, Olympic Gold Medalist, co-founder and CEO of Classroom Champions"Kids Deserve It! is a brilliant—and much-needed—invitation to educators to dare to innovate.” -Peter H. Reynolds, author of The Dot “After reading this book, you will be crazy about all kids. They deserve it!” -Salome Thomas-EL, award-winning principal and author of The Immortality of Influence“It's an outstanding read for educators at any level.” -Angela Maiers, educator, author, speaker, founder of Choose2Matter“Whether you are a parent, teacher, or administrator, this powerful little collection of ideas and stories will nurture your spirit and refresh your memory about why you chose to work with kids in the first place.” -Erik Wahl, artist, author, ambassador for kids

    She has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, and is currently featured as a hero in the documentary "Waiting for Superman." This is the story of her journey from good-girl daughter of Korean immigrants to tough-minded political game-changer. When Rhee first arrived in Washington, she found a school district that had been so broken for so long, that everyone had long since given up. The book provides an inside view of the union battles, the school closings, and contentious community politics that have been the subject of intense public interest and debate ? along with a rare look at Rhee's upbringing and life before DC.Rhee has been featured in the documentary "Waiting for Superman" Rhee's story points to a fresh way of addressing school improvement Addresses fundamental problems in our current education system, and the politics of leadership The book includes an insert with photos from Rhee's personal and professional life, and an "exit" interview that sheds light on what she's learned and where the future might take her.

    With proven strategies from the classroom, this resource identifies five effective processes the reader can use to reawaken motivation in students who aren t prepared, don t care, and won t work. These processes include emphasizing effort, creating hope, respecting power, building relationships, and expressing enthusiasm. Each process is fully explained and illustrated with proven strategies from the classroom. Questions for reflection will help the reader identify motivating strategies and apply the five key processes to the challenge of changing students lives.