What are the beliefs and behaviors that set great teachers apart? In this internationally renowned bestseller, Todd Whitaker reveals 19 keys to becoming more effective in the classroom.This essential third edition features new sections on why it’s about more than relationships, how to focus on a consistent, engaging learning environment, and the importance of choosing the right mode―business, parent, child―to improve your classroom management. Perfect for educators at any level of experience, for independent reading or for schoolwide book studies, this practical book will leave you feeling inspired and ready to do the things that matter most for the people who matter most―your students. Read more

Math is not rote-memorizable. Math is not random-guessable. Math is figure-out-able.Author Pam Harris argues that teaching real math―math that is free of distortions–will reach more students more effectively and result in deeper understanding and longer retention. This book is about teaching undistorted math using the kinds of mental reasoning that mathematicians do.Memorization tricks and algorithms meant to make math "easier" are full of traps that sacrifice long-term student growth for short-lived gains. Students and teachers alike have been led to believe that they’ve learned more and more math, but in reality their brains never get any stronger. Using these tricks may make facts easier to memorize in isolation, but that very disconnect distorts the reality of math. The mountain of trivia piles up until students hit a breaking point. Humanity′s most powerful system of understanding, organizing, and making an impact on the world becomes a soul-draining exercise in confusion, chaos, and lost opportunities.Developing Mathematical Reasoning: Avoiding the Trap of Algorithms emphasizes the importance of teaching students increasingly sophisticated mathematical reasoning and understanding underlying concepts rather than relying on a set rule for solving problems. This book illuminates a hierarchy of mathematical reasoning to help teachers guide students through various domains of math development, from basic counting and adding to more complex proportional and functional reasoning.Everyone is capable of understanding and doing real math. This book:Highlights the important mathematical relationships, strategies, and models for students to developOffers personal stories, reflection sections, and extensive practical exercises for easy implementationIncludes real math―a lot of it―to provide teachers with examples they can put to use in their classrooms immediatelyThis book is a valuable resource for educators looking to reach more students by building a strong foundation of mathematical thinking in their students. By addressing common misconceptions about math and providing practical strategies for teaching real math, this book shows that everyone can use the mathematical relationships they already know to reason about new relationships. In other words, everyone can math. Read more

Recharge Adolescent Literacy: Strategies to Foster Joyful and Proficient ReadersThere are many adolescent readers who, for a variety of reasons, find it difficult to connect with written words and have fallen behind on their foundational reading skills. Thankfully, it’s never too late to give these necessary skills a boost and help students find joy in reading and learning. Armed with equity, empathy, evidence-based research, and practical application, Teaching Foundational Skills to Adolescent Readers provides classroom practices teachers can use with the whole class or with small groups to integrate reading support seamlessly with grade-level content learning.Bestselling authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, along with Sarah Ortega, Kierstan Barbee, and Aida Allen-Rotell, creatively organize the book around a metaphor: adolescent literacy is a battery―when all the parts are connected, working together, and fully charged―literacy can thrive. Throughout the book, the following features will guide your learning:Plug Into the Research – an overview of the evidence-based research supporting each section of the literacy modelPower Up Classroom Practice – connecting the dots on the research, classroom practice and human aspects of learningVoices from the Field – classroom examples of application and strategies from other secondary educatorsTake Charge – key takeaways and reflection questionsTips on building and organizing your classroom library to incorporate tools, technology, and media available to maximize lesson effectivenessDozens of videos to model time-efficient strategies and key concepts By focusing on research, classroom practices, and the human aspects of learning, this book is an essential tool to recharge reading practices for adolescent readers and help educators increase foundational reading skills in the classroom. Read more

Moody. Reckless. Impractical. Insecure. Distracted. These are all words commonly used to describe adolescents. But what if we recast these traits in a positive light? Teens possess insight, passion, idealism, sensitivity, and creativity in abundance—all qualities that can make a significant positive contribution to society.In this thought-provoking book, Thomas Armstrong looks at the power and promise of the teenage brain from an empathetic, strength-based perspective—and describes what middle and high school educators can do to make the most of their students' potential.Thoroughly grounded in current neuroscience research, the book explains what we know about how the adolescent brain works and proposes eight essential instructional elements that will help students develop the ability to think, make healthy choices, regulate their emotions, handle social conflict, consolidate their identities, and learn enough about the world to move into adulthood with dignity and grace.Armstrong provides practical strategies and real-life examples from schools that illustrate these eight key practices in action. In addition, you'll find a glossary of brain terms, a selection of brain-friendly lesson plans across the content areas, and a list of resources to support and extend the book's ideas and practices.There is a colossal mismatch between how the adolescent brain has evolved over the millennia and the passive, rote learning experiences that are all too common in today's test-obsessed educational climate. See the amazing difference—in school and beyond—when you use the insights from this book to help students tap into the power of their changing brains. Read more

Part of The New Art and Science of Teaching seriesRely on this comprehensive guide to help you implement the teaching methods of Dr. Robert J. Marzano's The New Art and Science of Teaching framework, which includes over 330 specific instructional strategies, 43 instructional elements, and 10 design questions. Each chapter outlines actionable steps, tips, and examples of implementation that will set you (and your students) up to succeed with this powerful framework in your classroom.Added insight into Marzano's research-based instructional strategies and teaching methods:Learn the history of Robert J. Marzano's framework of teaching methods first laid out in his best-selling The Art and Science of Teaching.Thoroughly examine the updated The New Art and Science of Teaching framework for competency-based education.Explore numerous instructional strategies that correspond to each of the 43 elements of The New Art and Science of Teaching.Acquire examples that will assist in the realization of the instructional strategies discussed throughout the book.Discover strategies that will improve both the mental and physical environment of the classroom to better support student success.Reimagine how to develop relationships with students and generate student engagement. Access free reproducibles that will assist in implementing The New Art and Science of Teaching framework in classrooms.A joint publication of ASCD and Solution TreeContents: Introduction Part I: Feedback Chapter 1: Providing and Communicating Clear Learning Goals Chapter 2: Using Assessments Part II: Content Chapter 3: Conducting Direct Instruction Lessons Chapter 4: Conducting Practicing and Deepening Lessons Chapter 5: Conducting Knowledge Application Lessons Chapter 6: Using Strategies That Appear in All Types of Lessons Part III: Context Chapter 7: Using Engagement Strategies Chapter 8: Implementing Rules and Procedures Chapter 9: Building Relationships Chapter 10: Communicating High Expectations Appendix Reproducibles References and Resources Books in The New Art and Science of Teaching series:The New Art and Science of TeachingThe Handbook for the New Art and Science of TeachingThe New Art and Science of Teaching ReadingThe New Art and Science of Teaching WritingThe New Art and Science of Classroom Assessment Read more

Quick, daily classroom lessons for improving students' grammar and writing skillsThis must-have resource features 180 practical, ready-to-use grammar and usage lessons and activities–one for each day of the school year. The activities included help students in grades 5-12 to acquire, improve, and expand their grammar skills, and become more adept and confident writers. Veteran educator and best-selling author Jack Umstatter helps teachers to familiarize students with the type of grammar-related content found on standardized local, state, national, and college admissions tests.Includes ready-to-use, yet comprehensive and authoritative activities for use as sponge activities, extra homework, or regular daily lessonsReproducible lessons are designed to be non-intimidating and clear for studentsOther titles by Umstatter include Grammar Grabbers!, 201 Ready-to-Use Word Games for the English Classroom, Brain Games!, and Got Grammar?Tips for educators on how to best utilize each specific topic or lesson are included for easy classroom instruction. Read more

“I believe each of my students must craft an individual reading life of challenge, whim, curiosity, and hunger, and I’ve discovered that it is not too late in high school  to lead a non-reader to reading.  It’s never too late.”―Penny KittlePenny Kittle wants us to face the hard truths every English teacher fears:  too many kids don’t read the assigned texts, and some even manage to slip by without having ever read a single book by the time they graduate.   As middle and high school reading declines, college professors lament students’ inability to comprehend and analyze complex texts, while the rest of us wonder: what do we lose as a society when so many of our high school graduates have no interest in reading anything? In Book Love Penny takes student apathy head on, first by recognizing why students don’t read and then showing us that when we give kids books that are right for them, along with time to read and regular response to their thinking, we can create a pathway to satisfying reading that leads to more challenging literature and ultimately, a love of reading. With a clear eye on the reality of today’s classrooms, Penny provides practical strategies and advice on:increasing volume, capacity, and complexity over time creating a balance of independent reading, text study, and novel study helping students deepen their thinking through writing about reading building a classroom library with themes that matter to 21st century kids. Book Love is a call to arms for putting every single kid, no exceptions allowed, on a personal reading journey. But much more than that, it’s a powerful reminder of why we became English teachers in the first place:  our passion for books.  Books matter.  Stories heal.  The right book in the hands of a kid can change a life forever.  We can’t wait for anyone else to teach our students a love of books―it’s up to us and the time is now.  If not you, who? For information about the Book Love Foundation, which provides classroom libraries to deserving teachers and schools, visit booklovefoundation.org. Read more

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2026 Update:NEW mixed practice math question sets! Each math domain now includes a set of mixed questions from different subtopics, helping students practice switching between concepts—just like on the real SSAT. These mixed sets reinforce key skills and improve problem-solving by exposing students to a variety of question types in a single set.Additional content refinements. We’ve made further enhancements to improve the overall study experience.Fellow educators tutoring online can now access a digital copy of this workbook on our website! Visit www.thetutorverse.com/books for more information.Not sure if you need the latest edition? Visit www.thetutorverse.com/support to submit a ticket.(If Amazon sends you the wrong edition, our apologies! Please initiate a return or exchange through your Amazon account, and they’ll be happy to assist.)----Live Online TutoringAce your upcoming SSAT with help from expert tutors. Visit www.thetutorverse.com/tutoring to learn more!----Have a 3rd or 4th grader applying to independent schools for 4th or 5th grade?Use the best in Elementary SSAT prep: Elementary SSAT: 1000+ Practice Questions!Like our ISEE workbooks, this book is designed to provide students with high-quality and high-quantity prep material.This book has more practice questions than 5 full-length exams! With over 1,000 dedicated SSAT practice questions (1,065, but who’s counting?), it provides enough material for even the highest-achieving student.This 100% human-written and edited workbook includes:4 full-length tests (2 for each grade level)2 diagnostic tests to help pinpoint areas in need of improvement2 practice tests to help students become familiar with the real exam1,000+ practice questions, separated by topic to improve key skills and reinforce conceptsNEW mixed practice math question sets! These sets challenge students to work through a variety of question types, reinforcing their ability to switch between different math concepts with ease—just like on the real test50 reading comprehension passages paired with realistic test questionsHundreds of test-appropriate math questions, including charts, graphs, illustrations, and shapesDetailed answer explanations available online at www.thetutorverse.comThis book can be used for independent practice or with a professional educator. To make the most of a student’s limited study time, we recommend pairing this book with expert guidance to master new or particularly challenging topics. Read more

Dear Teachers, This new edition of When Kids Can’t Read―What Teachers Can Do, like the original edition, is based on my bedrock belief that reading, though not an innate ability for anyone, is a critical skill for all. Reading changes us. It changes the way we think, the way we see the world, the way we process information and dream new thoughts. It allows us to discover more about ourselves and the world around us so that we might become better versions of ourselves, so we might fully participate in our communities and our nation, so that we might flourish intellectually, emotionally, creatively, and socially as passionate and compassionate beings. And when we don’t read, when kids can’t read, all that is gone. We lose that ability to learn in this transformative way. We run the risk of being manipulated by others. We are diminished. And in that moment of being less, all around us might suffer, too. Our understanding of complex issues then becomes dependent on what someone else tells us. When kids can’t read the result is far worse than lowered test scores. The result is an illiterate life. This new and updated second edition recognizes that helping kids who struggle with reading means knowing how to help kids with:Comprehension: literal and inferential meaningWord Work: phonics, fluency, spelling, and vocabularyEngagement: required and independent reading, relevance, and motivationWhen Kids Can’t Read recounts my journey with one student who changed the course of my professional career, and it is your guidebook for your own journey with your students as you discover What Teachers Can Do. ―Kylene Beers Read more

There is a myth that English spelling is unnecessarily complex, and it is spread by those who don’t understand the writing system. Spelling for Life offers lucid, accessible tools which help to reveal that, when explicitly and systematically taught, spelling is scientific, law-abiding and even elegant.Using a synthesis of theory, research and teaching experience, the fascinating nature of English spelling is systematically teased out. The examples and exercises throughout offer an encouraging, accessible way to implement the program of study and strive to reveal the beauty of spelling. Spelling for Life enables teachers and students to:• learn what the common spelling coping strategies are;• gain insights into undoing poor spelling habits;• work together to reveal patterns not only in regular spelling, but also in words which on the surface seem to break the spelling rules;• practise successful spelling strategies, progressing from simple to complex words rapidly and with confidence.This new and improved edition includes updated spelling techniques as well as new chapters on orthographic mapping, spelling assessment, teaching consonant clusters well and suffixing rules. Aided by example lessons, formative assessments, unique tools, a scope and sequence, and extensive practice lists, this highly acclaimed overview of spelling succeeds in developing theory and practice in the writing system for teacher and student alike. Read more

Building on their bestselling book How Learning Happens, Paul A. Kirschner and Carl Hendrick are joined by Jim Heal to explore how teaching happens. The book seeks to closely examine what makes for effective teaching in the classroom and how research on expert teaching can be used in practice. Introducing 30 seminal works from the field of education psychology research, the learning sciences, and teaching effectiveness studies, each chapter takes an important work and illustrates clearly and concisely what the research means and how it can be used in daily practice. Divided into six sections the book covers: • Teacher Effectiveness, Development, and Growth• Curriculum Development / Instructional Design • Teaching Techniques• Pedagogical Content Knowledge• In the Classroom • AssessmentThe book ends with a final chapter on "What’s Missing?" in how teachers learn to teach. Written by three leading experts in the field with illustrations by Oliver Cavigioli, How Teaching Happens provides a clear roadmap for classroom teachers, school leaders, and teacher trainers/trainees on what effective teaching looks like in practice. Read more

When done right, small-group instruction is a powerful tool for facilitating student understanding in K-5 mathematics. Throughout the book, best practices for small-group math instruction are addressed in detail, from planning tasks that encourage deep understanding to asking effective questions to engaging learners in meaningful conversations. Readers will learn how teaching mathematics in small groups allows you to differentiate instruction for both remediation and enrichment. The included small-group instruction videos demonstrate the suggested strategies in a real-classroom setting, giving readers the opportunity to see best practice in action.Develop math-specific instruction strategies for teaching small groups in elementary school:Explore the benefits of small-group math activities and how these activities are unique compared to large-group instruction.Discover the teacher's and students' roles in small-group instruction and how teachers can help students develop the skills to fulfill their role.Learn how to apply the general tasks, questions, and evidence (TQE) process to small-group instruction in order to enhance student learning and improve your knowledge of teaching mathematics.View examples of small-group instruction, which provide both math intervention and math enrichment activities for different students.Contents: Acknowledgments Table of Contents About the Authors Introduction Chapter 1: Best Practices in Small-Group Instruction Chapter 2: The TQE Process in Small-Group Instruction Chapter 3: Discourse in Small-Group Instruction Chapter 4: How to Tie It All Together References Index Read more

Edited by Tom Liam Lynch, this collection of essays drawn from NCTE’s many journals provides an excellent starting point for teachers who want to bring critical media literacy into their K-12 and college classrooms.Critical media literacy is not a single star burning brightly in the night sky. It is more like a constellation, a collection of stars that tell a story about how educators engage with young people through an array of communicative modes in the spirit of inquiry, society, and action. About the Special Issue series:Most teachers and students across the country are grappling with several important issues. We hear from many educators who are looking for compelling and engaging approaches racial literacy, critical media literacy, and trauma-informed teaching. NCTE is responding to these needs with Special Issues, a series of books designed to directly address these pressing topics in K-12 and college classrooms today. The first volumes collect content on these topics from across all of NCTE’s journals in one place, to make the most relevant material accessible and practical. Edited by expert practitioners in the field, each volume contains teaching tips to help implement these approaches in classrooms.  Read more

A flexible, ready-to-use activities program to help special students in grades 6-12The updated new edition of this valuable resource offers an exciting collection of 200 ready-to-use worksheets to help adolescents build the social skills they need to interact effectively with others and learn how to apply these skills to various real-life settings, situations, and problems. The book provides 20 complete teaching units focusing on 20 basic social skills, such as being a good listener, "reading" other people, and using common sense. Read more

Friendly Chemistry is a truly unique approach to teaching introductory chemistry. Used by home schoolers and charter, public and private school students world-wide for over ten years, Friendly Chemistry presents what is often considered an intimidating subject as a genuinely fun, enjoyable experience. Whether you're a high-school aged student needing a lab science course or a "non-traditional" student looking for a refresher course to help you prepare for an upcoming entrance exam, Friendly Chemistry can help you accomplish your goal in a "painless" way! If you do have aspirations of a future in a science field, Friendly Chemistry can give you the solid foundation you need to succeed in subsequent courses. Friendly Chemistry was written using simple language and a host of analogies to make learning (and teaching!) chemistry easy. The chemistry concepts presented in Friendly Chemistry are NOT watered-down. The concepts are just explained in ways that are readily understood by most learners. Coupled with these explanations is a host of teaching aids, labs and games which makes the learning concrete and multi-sensory. Students find the course fun and painless. Parents often comment, "I wish I had had this when I was taking chemistry. Now it all makes so much sense!" Friendly Chemistry covers the same topics taught in traditional high school chemistry courses. The course begins with an introduction to atomic theory followed by discussion of why the elements are arranged the way they are in the periodic table. Quantum mechanics comes next using the acclaimed "Doo-wop" Board as a teaching aid. Next comes a discussion of how atoms become charged (ionization), followed by an explanation of how charged atoms make compounds. The mole is introduced next, followed by a discussion of chemical reactions. Stoichiometry (predicting amounts of product produced from a reaction) is treated next followed by a discussion of solutions (molarity). The course is wrapped up with a discussion of the ideal gas laws. Please note that this is the STUDENT WORKBOOK. This volume contains worksheets and lab report pages which accompany the student edition. There is no text or other explanatory material in this workbook. The student edition must be purchased separately. More information regarding Friendly Chemistry including answers to many frequently asked questions may be found at www.friendlychemistry.com. Read more

Grand Conversations, Thoughtful Responses is built upon the premise that all students can become active, independent, thoughtful readers. The structures and strategies in this book are proven to help students develop confidence and competence in their reading. Student engagement with text soars through participation in grand conversations with peers and reflecting on reading with thoughtful, written responses. This unique approach includes:student choice in booksstudents reading at their own pace, thus creating flexible groupsliterature circles where students discuss the shared text they are readingstrategies for teaching written responsestrategies for co-creating assessment criteriaadditional activities to develop and deepen comprehensionbook listsThis new edition has been expanded to include examples and book lists for grades K to 12. Read more

This comprehensive health-related fitness education program is back and better than ever! Developed by top-level physical educators, this third edition will help students gain the knowledge, skills, appreciation, and confidence they need to lead active, healthy lives, regardless of physical and mental abilities or disabilities. Physical Best Activity Guide: Middle and High School Levels has been used with much success across the United States, and for good reason: The text contains 70 easy-to-use instructional activities, ranging from noncompetitive to competitive and from less demanding to more demanding. It also includes activities that allow for maximum time on task. All the instructional activities address the national physical education standards, dance standards, or health standards. This new edition retains the best activities from previous editions and offers new ones from outstanding teachers throughout the United States. You will learn how to adapt the activities for all students, regardless of skill level or disability, and students will learn how to set realistic goals, manage their activity levels, and remain healthy throughout their lives. In addition, this text offers the following features: • A “Combined-Component Training” chapter combines aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility into single activities. • A CD-ROM contains a wealth of reproducibles, including charts, posters, signs, station cards, handouts, and worksheets, many of which can be adapted to meet your needs. • A section of Internet resources helps you develop your own special events. Physical Best Activity Guide: Middle and High School Levels, developed by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, can stand alone or be used in conjunction with Physical Education for Lifelong Fitness: The PhysicalBest Teacher’s Guide, Third Edition, and Physical Best Activity Guide: Elementary Level, Third Edition. It can also be used with Fitnessgram®/Activitygram®, an activity assessment and computerized reporting system, and the Fitness forLife resources for middle school and high school. Fitness for Life is a comprehensive program promoting lifetime health-related fitness. Read more

The conventional wisdom in English education is that rubrics are the best and easiest tools for assessment. But sometimes it's better to be unconventional. In Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment, Maja Wilson offers a new perspective on rubrics and argues for a better, more responsive way to think about assessing writers' progress. Though you may sense a disconnect between student-centered teaching and rubric-based assessment, you may still use rubrics for convenience or for want of better alternatives. Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment gives you the impetus to make a change, demonstrating how rubrics can hurt kids and replace professional decision making with an inauthentic pigeonholing that stamps standardization onto a notably nonstandard process. With an emphasis on thoughtful planning and teaching, Wilson shows you how to reconsider writing assessment so that it aligns more closely with high-quality instruction and avoids the potentially damaging effects of rubrics. Stop listening to the conventional wisdom, and turn instead to a compelling new voice to find out why rubrics are often replaceable. Open Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment and let Maja Wilson start you down the path to more sensitive, authentic style of writing assessment. Read more

The Teaching English by Design Instructor's Guide presents a flexible framework for an English Methods course. Its week-by-week suggestions for in- and out-of-class activities support students as they learn to design units for use in their first classrooms.Peter Smagorinsky, the leading scholar and researcher of his generation in the field of English education, shows English teachers how to turn every hour of classroom instruction into an authentic and powerful learning experience in his inspiring new book, Teaching English by Design. It's a wonderful book and represents a challenge to all of us to teach better than we usually do. Sheridan Blau Author of The Literature WorkshopPeter Smagorinsky, a highly respected figure in English Education, here offers new teachers principled and practical ways of authoring curriculum, even in traditional settings. Randy Bomer Author of Time for MeaningMany books on English/language arts instruction describe the teaching of units, but how many of them actually show how to create the units, make them meaningful to students, and use them to support your curriculum from September to June? Teaching English by Design does it all. It helps avoid a fragmentary curriculum by providing the rationale and the process for not only teaching well but also for producing integrated units that encourage students to deepen their thinking across the school year. Teaching English by Design is two books in one: a primer for teaching secondary English and a comprehensive guide to creating and using four to six-week instructional units. Peter Smagorinsky shares important insight about students, how they learn, and what kinds of classrooms support their achievement in reading and writing. Then he uses those findings to open up the key ideas of unit design to every teacher. Smagorinsky's units are organized around key concepts in English, such as: reading strategieswriting strategiesgenresperiods, regions, and movements in literaturethemesthe works of a significant author. From original idea to construction, to implementation and beyond, Smagorinsky's practical advice supports teachers in extending, connecting, and integrating their units to increase the cohesion and power of the curriculum.Incorporating curricular theory, educational psychology, and fourteen years of high school teaching experience, Peter Smagorinsky's advice is both theoretically sound and grounded in the daily realities of today's teacher. Complemented by a wealth of web-based illustrations, Teaching English by Design is the ideal resource for preservice teachers as well as those in the classroom who want to take charge of their curriculum and find new energy in it. Read more