Teaching English language arts at grades K-5 is both a science and an art. Educators must teach literacy skills and content with best practices, while also keeping focus on each student’s individual needs. They are challenged to monitor students working independently while also conducting small group instruction. And they must focus on providing differentiated support with a rather complicated text. With increased attention to rigor, requirements, and personalized instruction, it can be a ...

Three common routines are seen in almost every primary language arts programs: morning messages, shared readings, and word walls. These routines should be integrated to support the total language arts program, but are teachers of grades K–2 getting the most bang for their buck out of these activities? Morning messages can become very routinized and repeat the same experiences over and over again. Shared readings are sometimes conducted with little variation in spite of changing demands fro...

Nostalgia is often frowned upon, particularly from an academic perspective. The reason being, that it can easily be dismissed as nothing more than vacuous sentimentality—a longing for the return of lost youth and innocence. But if you look the word up in a dictionary, beyond its primary definition, you'll also find that nostalgia has another meaning, which is that of the condition of Homesickness.Where is our true home? Is it amongst the concrete, glass and steel ...

How do you motivate a classroom of bored teenagers, self-absorbed tweens, or energetic younger students to learn?In this book, you'll explore what Michael F. Opitz and Michael P. Ford have discovered about planning lessons that engage students and enable them to truly enjoy learning. The authors outline key findings from research on motivation and engagement and offer real-life teaching examples from various grades. They show how to systematically propel students to enjoy using the...

How can we keep students attentive, thoughtful, and inquisitive about learning in language arts? It certainly takes more than new standards and assessments. In this book, Mary Jo Fresch shows how you can use the joyful learning framework introduced in Engaging Minds in the Classroom to better engage students in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and other elements of language arts learning. She provides innovative instructional approaches for diverse students at all grade levels, linki...

Political intrigue. Environmental issues. Ethical dilemmas. Critical thinking. Problem solving. Social studies content is directly connected to real life and is filled with built-in hooks to transform tuned-out students into engaged and enthusiastic learners. Experiencing schoolwide elections, researching a cause, and participating in mock court cases are just a few ways to build the joyful self-efficacy and knowledge that students need for college, careers, and civic-minded adult...

"We decide, every day, whether we are going to turn students on or off to science and mathematics in our classrooms."Daily decisions about how to incorporate creativity, choice, and autonomy—integral components of engagement—can build students' self-efficacy, keep them motivated, and strengthen their identities as scientists and mathematicians. In this book, Eric Brunsell and Michelle A. Fleming show you how to apply the joyful learning framework introduced in Engaging Minds in...

This book shows how schools can--and must--develop expertise in "learning variation" (understanding how different kinds of minds learn) and apply this knowledge to classroom instruction in order to address the chronic learning challenges and achievement gap faced by millions of students. Barringer shows how using what we know about learning variation with a focus on discovering learning strengths, not just deficits, can help schools create plans for success for those stud...

*"This excellent book is up-to-date with the expanding role of technology in education and offers endless ready-to-implement suggestions and plenty of illustrative material while linking everything to brain research. It is easy to understand, thoughtfully crafted, and right on the mark."—*Beth Madison, PrincipalGeorge Middle School, Portland, OREngage, motivate, and inspire students with today′s best practicesThis third edition of wha...

In Learning Targets, Connie M. Moss and Susan M. Brookhart contend that improving student learning and achievement happens in the immediacy of an individual lesson--what they call "today's lesson"—or it doesn't happen at all.The key to making today's lesson meaningful? Learning targets. Written from students' point of view, a learning target describes a lesson-sized chunk of information and skills that students will come to know deeply. Each lesson's learning target connec...

"An interesting compilation for administrators, new teachers, and seasoned teachers. This text acts as a concise reminder of what we should all be doing in our classrooms and includes practical implementation ideas."—Patricia Ruggiano Schmidt, Professor of LiteracyLe Moyne College"Easy to read quickly, especially when looking for something specific. I definitely enjoyed the quotes to start each chapter and the research for each strategy."—Kath...

Master the TExES with down-to-earth test prep strategiesEducators know that ESL certification is attainable if one understands the domains and competencies represented in the test and masters test prep skills. In her new book, Dr. Elaine Wilmore, known for popular and inspiring TExES preparation seminars, synthesizes her knowledge and experiences and gives readers a down-to-earth, practical approach to passing the ESL Supplemental Exam.Written in a...