Teaching Tough Topics shows teachers how to lead students to become caring citizens as they read and respond to quality children’s literature. It focuses on topics that can be challenging or sensitive, yet are significant in order to build understanding of social justice, diversity, and equity. Racism, Homophobia, Bullying, Religious Intolerance, Poverty, and Physical and Mental Challenges are just some of the themes explored. The book is rooted in the belief that by using picture books, novels, poetry, and nonfiction, teachers can enrich learning with compassion and empathy as students make connections to texts, to others, and to the world.
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"Why do I have to read this?”
What teacher doesn’t dread this question? It usually comes from our most disengaged students like the class clown or the student who struggles to read and write at grade-level. Sometimes we hear it from a student who cries of boredom or one who is angry or apathetic. When we don’t know what else to try, it’s easy to become frustrated and give up on these challenging learners. In this practical book, literacy expert Cris Tovani shares her best secrets, lessons learned from big fails, and her most effective literacy and planning strategies that hook these hard to get learners. Inside Why Do I Have to Read This? readers will find:
Above all, Cris gives teachers energy to get back into the classroom and face students who wear masks of disengagement. She reminds us of the importance of connecting students to compelling topics, rich text, useful targets, and worthy tasks. She reminds us of the importance of tending to students’ basic needs and helps us consider how to best structure instructional time. After reading this book, teachers will have new ways to connect with students in a deep, authentic way. Written in a humorous, compassionate, and wise voice, Why Do I Have to Read This? will provide answers to the pressing questions we have when we try to teach and reach all of our students.
Coming in December 2020 — Pre-Order today!
Mathematical Imagining describes an original routine that gives students space and time to imagine a mathematical situation and then revise, discuss, and act upon the mental images they create. You can use this creative routine in your secondary classroom to glimpse into your students’ thinking and discover teaching opportunities while empowering them to create their own mathematics. Inside you’ll find the following:
This one-of-a-kind resource is for secondary teachers looking to inspire student creativity and curiosity, deepen their own subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, and invite all students to access the power of their own mathematical imaginations.
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A generalist is curious, open-minded, skeptical, and persistent in their quest for information. Thinking Like a Generalist demonstrates what it means to take a generalist stance in instruction and provides a set of teaching tools to be able to pass those skills to students—skills that will transfer beyond the walls of the classroom. Inside you’ll find the following:
The ideas, strategies, and examples in Thinking Like a Generalist will give you the tools to think like a generalist and then pass that knowledge on to your students, guiding them to become inquisitive, lifelong learners and preparing them for a future that we can’t yet imagine.
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For decades, we’ve classified fiction as a way to study, understand, and, ultimately, teach literacy better. However, up to now, nonfiction hasn’t received this same level of intention. In 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, Melissa Stewart and Marlene Correia present a new way to sort nonfiction into five major categories and show how doing so can help teachers and librarians build stronger readers and writers. Along the way, they
With more than 150 exemplary nonfiction book recommendations and Stewart and Correia’s extensive knowledge of literacy instruction, 5 Kinds of Nonfiction will elevate your understanding of nonfiction in ways that speak specifically to the info-kids in your classrooms, and will inspire all readers and writers.
Coming in Spring 2021 — Pre-Order today!
When we layer together the two ideas that the books we share not only serve an academic purpose, but they also convey big, affective messages, our classroom conversations become richer and student learning becomes more meaningful. Layers of Learning explores read-aloud strategies designed to enhance your reading and writing standards by capitalizing on the way literature can impact caring communities. With over 200 picture-book suggestions, author JoEllen McCarthy introduces the Heartprint Framework, which demonstrates how you can layer literacy and life lessons throughout your day using multiple connections across learning. Inside, you’ll find the following:
Layers of Learning is structured around four key elements: Community, Agency, Respect, and Empowerment, or CARE. Inside you’ll discover the tools you need to emphasize reading and writing connections, character education, and culturally responsive teaching, while championing the power of read alouds to affect independent readers, writers, and thinkers.
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This timely book uses thinking structures to deepen student writing. It revolves around “brain pockets” to help students appreciate the qualities of different writing forms. Some powerful examples include memory pockets for personal narrative writing, fact pockets for nonfiction, and imagination pockets for story writing. Detailed lesson plans are featured along with sample anchor books and book lists. Based on extensive classroom testing, student samples throughout the book illustrate this unique approach to teaching writing. Suggestions for setting up an effective writing program and assessment tips for guiding instruction complete this comprehensive approach to developing a year-long writing program.
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Joyful Math is about creating invitations for young children to engage with math ideas through art, literacy, and outdoor play. It focuses on building spaces in early childhood classrooms where children see themselves as mathematical thinkers with valuable ideas from the very start. The book is filled with a range of tools and models, including:
Supported by her experiences exploring math with young children, Deanna’s methods will inspire educators to be curious about math, take risks, try different approaches, observe carefully, and collaborate with children as co-learners.
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How can we lay the groundwork for classroom conversations that are less teacher-directed and more conducive to student-to-student dialogue?
This unique book offers an innovative discourse structure in which students’ ideas and voices take the lead while teachers focus on listening and facilitating. In addition to classroom stories and examples, Christy and Kassia provide 28 micro-lessons designed to help K–5 students develop and exercise their speaking and listening muscles. Inside Hands Down, Speak Out you’ll learn how to:
Christy and Kassia believe that the development of dialogue skills is worth the investment of time not only because it has the power to deepen our understanding of literacy and mathematics, but also to deepen our understanding of ourselves, our communities, and the world.
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The 6 essential steps for nurturing writers who have the will to write are at the core of this practical book. Based on extensive classroom experience, the book explores how teachers can help students tap into their own life experiences, model the habits of a writer, and make use of the tools of the trade. Strategies throughout the book show teachers how to create an environment that helps students see writing as a rewarding experience in and outside the classroom. Powerful real-life anecdotes and ready-to-use activities support this guide to developing classrooms full of thoughtful, passionate writers.
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This era of “fake” news demands a deeper curriculum that questions inconsistencies of facts and opinions in various texts and images. This timely revision of a ground-breaking book offers opportunities for students to connect with social justice issues through inventive language exploration and the active examination of all forms of media. It encourages teachers to evaluate their core teaching beliefs and recognize the realities of their students’ lives for a richer understanding of our complex world. A glossary of more than fifty strategies, along with reproducible pages for easy classroom use, complement this essential resource.
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This practical book explores ways teachers can collaborate and learn from each other in formal and informal situations. It demonstrates that a mentoring relationship can benefit both new and experienced teachers. Full of strategies that are practical and easy to implement, the book offers solutions to common questions, opportunities, and challenges that face teachers every day. Based on extensive experience, this highly readable book includes personal histories and experiences around important values and advocates for honest reflection and meaningful feedback. An essential resource for all educators, the book champions reciprocal and ongoing processes of learning, listening, and sharing.
Print copies are now available — Order today!
The Literacy Workshop is a first-of-its-kind resource that offers a practical process for creating an integrated literacy workshop using demonstration lessons that align with current curriculum standards. By weaving together the common threads of literacy learning, you can increase the time your students spend engaged in authentic reading and writing. Inside you’ll find the following:
From the big picture to the helpful details, The Literacy Workshop will be your guide as you blur the lines between your workshops—creating space for students to apply their learning and practice the habits, behaviors, and actions of literate, engaged citizens.
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The Autism Lens helps teachers to connect to students with autism and support them along their own unique trajectory. Bringing to life communication difficulties that impact socialization and learning, this book removes the guesswork by offering practical solutions and classroom-tested strategies. Woven throughout are stories that encourage teachers to see instruction from a student’s point of view. From this perspective, teachers can gain trust and nudge students into the space where learning happens.
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