The Group Plan


Book Description

NOTE: This storybook includes a read-aloud option which is accessible on Google and IOS devices. Catch up with Ellie, Jesse, Molly, and Evan on a field trip to a farm in storybook 2 of the We Thinkers! Vol. 1 social emotional learning curriculum for ages 4-7. What an adventure as they learn what a group plan is and why it’s important to follow the group plan instead of their own individual plans if they want to get important things done as part of a group—like picking apples, collecting fresh eggs, carrying pails of milk—as they work together with Grandma to make a delicious apple pie and fresh ice cream. These young social learners find out that it’s fun and feels good to share thoughts, follow the group plan, and think about others, which makes everyone feel calm and comfortable. Continue building on this important social concept with the fundamental concepts taught in storybooks 3-10, which align with the corresponding teaching units within the related curriculum. Best practice: teach these concepts in order, starting with storybook 1 of 10 while using the corresponding curriculum.




The Group Plan


Book Description




Body in the Group


Book Description

NOTE: This storybook includes a read-aloud option that is accessible on Google and IOS devices. Jesse, Evan, Ellie, and Molly explore the ocean bottom, learn what it means to have your body in the group, and discover why it’s a key element of successful social interactions. In storybook 4 of the We Thinkers! Vol. 1 social emotional learning curriculum for ages 4-7, the four friends observe how some sea creatures like fish, sea turtles, and jellyfish swim in groups—and others, like a big toothy shark—are not in a group. They discover how to find just the right distance between each other to feel comfortable and happy, and when they each keep their bodies in the group, it sends a silent message that they’re interested in the others and are following the same group plan. Yikes! Finding a big shark in a dark cave is definitely not part of the group plan! Continue building on this important social concept with the fundamental concepts taught in storybooks 5-10, which align with the corresponding teaching units within the related curriculum. Best practice: teach these concepts in order, starting with storybook 1 of 10 while using the corresponding curriculum.




Understanding by Design


Book Description

What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 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, this new edition of Understanding by Design 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.




The Educator's Field Guide


Book Description

The Educator’s Field Guide helps teachers get off to a running start. The only book that covers all four key cornerstones of effective teaching—organization, classroom management, instruction, and assessment—this handy reference offers a bridge from college to classroom with a hearty dose of practical guidance for teachers who aspire to greatness. At a time when school leaders are pressed to hire and retain high-quality teachers, this guidebook is indispensable for defining and nurturing the qualities the qualities teachers strive for and students deserve. Helpful tools include: Step-by-step guidance on instructional organization, behavior management, lesson planning, and formative and summative assessment User-friendly taxonomic guides to help readers quickly locate topics The latest information on student diversity, special needs, and lesson differentiation Teacher testimonials and examples Explanations of education standards and initiatives Each key concept is addressed in a resource-style format with activities and reproducible that can be customized. Teachers will also find lesson plan templates, graphs, charts, quizzes, and games—all in one easy-to-use source.




Tools of the Mind


Book Description

Now in its third edition, this classic text remains the seminal resource for in-depth information about major concepts and principles of the cultural-historical theory developed by Lev Vygotsky, his students, and colleagues, as well as three generations of neo-Vygotskian scholars in Russia and the West. Featuring two new chapters on brain development and scaffolding in the zone of proximal development, as well as additional content on technology, dual language learners, and students with disabilities, this new edition provides the latest research evidence supporting the basics of the cultural-historical approach alongside Vygotskian-based practical implications. With concrete explanations and strategies on how to scaffold young children’s learning and development, this book is essential reading for students of early childhood theory and development.




What If Everybody Did That?


Book Description

"Text first published in 1990 by Children's Press, Inc."




The Core 3 Healthy Eating Plan


Book Description

Stop the unhealthy cycle of fad dieting and obsessing over what to eat once and for all with this dietitian-created, science-supported program that will help you achieve healthy, sustainable weight loss results without feeling deprived or eliminating the foods you love. Weight loss and weight management doesn’t need to be restrictive, complicated, or damaging to your relationship with food or your body. Now, you can stop the cycle of fad, yoyo dieting, weight loss followed by weight gain, and obsessing over your calorie intake and embrace a new way of eating that lets you lose weight—and keep it off—long term. Created by Lisa Moskovitz, a registered dietitian, and backed by science, The Core 3 Weight Loss Plan is a comprehensive approach that helps you achieve sustainable results without constantly feeling deprived or eliminating foods your body actually needs. With this book, you will not only lose weight but also gain confidence and have an overall healthier lifestyle. You’ll find a complete explanation of the plan, plus all the tools you’ll need for sustained success including simple, flexible guidelines and detailed meal plans with 50 delicious recipes you’re sure to love. Stop trying diet after diet and transform the way you eat, look, and feel for years to come.




How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction, Second Edition


Book Description

Tens of thousands of K?3 teachers have relied on this book--now revised and expanded with more than 50% new material--to plan and deliver effective literacy instruction tailored to each student's needs. The authors provide a detailed framework for implementing differentiated small-group instruction over multiweek cycles. Each component of the beginning reading program is addressed--phonological awareness, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In a large-size format with lay-flat binding for easy photocopying, the book includes dozens of reproducible lesson plans, instructional activities, assessment forms, and other tools. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials. New to This Edition *Differentiation 2.0: the approach has been fine-tuned based on field testing, new research findings, and current standards and response-to-intervention frameworks. *Many additional reproducible tools, such as coaching templates and the Informal Decoding Inventory. *Beyond lesson plans and materials, the second edition offers more guidance for designing instruction and grouping students, making it a one-stop resource. *Reproducible tools now available to download and print.




Get Better Faster


Book Description

Effective and practical coaching strategies for new educators plus valuable online coaching tools Many teachers are only observed one or two times per year on average—and, even among those who are observed, scarcely any are given feedback as to how they could improve. The bottom line is clear: teachers do not need to be evaluated so much as they need to be developed and coached. In Get Better Faster: A 90-Day Plan for Coaching New Teachers, Paul Bambrick-Santoyo shares instructive tools of how school leaders can effectively guide new teachers to success. Over the course of the book, he breaks down the most critical actions leaders and teachers must take to achieve exemplary results. Designed for coaches as well as beginning teachers, Get Better Faster is an integral coaching tool for any school leader eager to help their teachers succeed. Get Better Faster focuses on what's practical and actionable which makes the book's approach to coaching so effective. By practicing the concrete actions and micro-skills listed in Get Better Faster, teachers will markedly improve their ability to lead a class, producing a steady chain reaction of future teaching success. Though focused heavily on the first 90 days of teacher development, it's possible to implement this work at any time. Junior and experienced teachers alike can benefit from the guidance of Get Better Faster while at the same time closing existing instructional gaps. Featuring valuable and practical online training tools available at http://www.wiley.com/go/getbetterfaster, Get Better Faster provides agendas, presentation slides, a coach's guide, handouts, planning templates, and 35 video clips of real teachers at work to help other educators apply the lessons learned in their own classrooms. Get Better Faster will teach you: The core principles of coaching: Go Granular; Plan, Practice, Follow Up, Repeat; Make Feedback More Frequent Top action steps to launch a teacher’s development in an easy-to-read scope and sequence guide It also walks you through the four phases of skill building: Phase 1 (Pre-Teaching): Dress Rehearsal Phase 2: Instant Immersion Phase 3: Getting into Gear Phase 4: The Power of Discourse Perfect for new educators and those who supervise them, Get Better Faster will also earn a place in the libraries of veteran teachers and school administrators seeking a one-stop coaching resource.