"This book will serve as the non-content area, general teaching methods book in the Five To Thrive series, which launches in the Fall of 2021 with Answers To Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Elementary Mathematics. It will follow the same general format: a presentation of 5 critical areas of general practice, with 10-15 questions answered in each section. Each question/answer will be featured on a 2-page spread. The five topic areas include: building an affirming classroom community; keeping students at the center; designing effective, fun, and engaging learning for students; making assessments work for you and your students; and "shh! uncovering the answers to what we often don't talk about," which includes work/life balance, asking for support from administrators, navigating difficult parent conversations"--
"Serena Pariser and Victoria Lentfer provide answers to common questions that linger in the brain of a newer teacher. As a newer teacher myself, I wish a book like this existed when I started out. This book is engaging, informative, and so much more. Each section includes helpful tips and is easily organized and accessible. This book is truly an amazing guide for newer teachers, and I highly recommend it as it will form the perfect basis for that exciting and powerful start of a new journey. Teaching can be many things, but this book is truly a game changer for anyone starting out." —Susan Jachymiak Teacher, Leader, and Author Create a positive and energetic classroom where learning can flourish. This insightful, friendly guide to establishing a dynamic classroom is a lifeline of practical support for teachers, providing answers to your biggest questions at the moment you most need them. Through instructional tools, teaching tips, classroom examples, reading suggestions, and more, Answers to Your Biggest Questions about Creating a Dynamic Classroom equips teachers to embark on the path of success toward building a positive and energetic learning environment. It details brief, actionable answers to your most pressing questions in five areas of effort: How do I build an affirming classroom community? How do I keep students at the center? How can I design effective, fun, and engaging learning for students? How can I make assessments work for me and my students? What are the things I need to know that are rarely discussed in a teacher training program? This is a resource to keep handy on your desk and reach for often for establishing a vibrant and welcoming classroom community. Practical guidance on topics such as communicating with parents, asking for administrator support, and maintaining a work/life balance, help teachers not only succeed in the early years of teaching, but thrive.
"This book is exactly what busy teachers need! I found so many tips and strategies to streamline all the busyness of planning, grading, collaborating, interacting with parents, engaging students, and even the layout of the classroom. What a joy to read!" Janel Meehan English Language Arts Teacher, Grades 6 and 7 San Diego Unified School District San Diego, CA Gain more productive time in each day! Real talk about managing time, reducing stress, and avoiding teacher burnout. Do you love teaching but feel overwhelmed by getting it all done? Effective time management skills transform teacher confidence and morale, energize and engage students, and improve the learning climate of a classroom—for both you and your students. Time management directly relates to classroom management, your personal sanity, and your overall quality of life inside and outside of the classroom. Time management experts Serena Pariser and Edward F. DeRoche are here to help you reduce stress and find more time in your day with short, practical time management strategies that can greatly improve your classroom learning environment and your mental health. Weaving wellness research with classroom-tested tips and tricks on everything from lesson planning to grading to meeting the needs of individual students, Real Talk About Time Management includes · 35 practical, teacher-proven strategies for saving time and setting personal boundaries · Stories and vignettes from educators about proactive time management adjustments that worked · Real anecdotes from new teachers about the challenges of time management · "Your Turn" questions after every strategy that invite personal reflection and strategic planning Students deserve teachers who are energized, optimistic, and in control of the daily grind while still having the energy and time to foster meaningful connections. Develop proactive habits for managing time and give your best self to your students.
Build civil discourse with courage, understanding, belonging, and empathy. Discomfort lies at the heart of all learning, especially concerning discussions on difficult and complex topics like climate change, slavery, and police brutality. This book presents ways to help teachers become strong facilitators—not endorsers—of contentious conversations to promote community. There are four themes that arise when exploring civil discourse: courage, understanding, belonging, and empathy. This book is organized around these themes, with each chapter providing: How-to tips for bringing work beyond the classroom Checklists to guide progress and assess learning Exploration of different types of discourse and when to use each Steps for preparing a classroom for contentious conversations Activities to practice discourse and disagreement
Elevating the essential work of today’s teachers Teaching is life-giving work, essential for the development of thriving humans. It is devastating to hear teachers refer to themselves as "just teachers" as if they are powerless and without status. What if we turned the phrase’s meaning upside-down and claimed its redemptive power? "Just teachers" care for each student. Teachers who are just, cultivate freedom, justice, and flourishing. This book will have readers "just teaching" in the best sense of the phrase! Just Teaching has been written for teachers who want to develop the best ways to serve students based on research on how students learn. This book shows how to use appropriate tools, based on the wisdom of generations of educators, in a focused, sustainable way. Readers will find: evidence-based practices to support student feedback, engagement, and wellbeing (for students and teachers, too) case studies from familiar classroom perspectives useful technology suggestions solutions tools for building an overarching approach to meeting the needs of individual students By addressing feedback, engagement, and well-being in ways that are founded on justice and love for students, Just Teaching supports comprehensive, manageable learning while elevating the essential work of educators.
Everything you need to feel confident — and for your students to feel valued — in your classroom When we think of classroom management, we traditionally think of ways to keep students quiet, well behaved, and on task. Times have changed, though, and our classroom management practices need to change, too. Since the first edition of this book was written in 2018, the world has changed - a lot. This second edition walks teachers through how to keep and even stay one step ahead of our ever changing world. To prepare students for today’s and even tomorrow’s world, we need to consider classroom management as guiding students to work collaboratively, communicate with each other, and ultimately feel a sense of belonging. This is when learners thrive. In Real Talk About Classroom Management, Second Edition, award-winning teacher Serena Pariser tells it like it is — teacher to teacher — with her relatable writing style and by sharing authentic personal accounts of failures and successes. Serena paves the way for teachers to develop classroom management practices that honor students while helping teachers to feel confident, prepared, and able to face challenges with grace. With updated research and strategies, this edition includes Reflection on the changes educators have faced over the past five years, particularly ways that the COVID-19 pandemic and sociocultural concerns have affected students and teachers More emphasis on the importance of developing teamwork, communication, curiosity, and conflict resolution skills in students Enhanced focus on social-emotional skills and how they relate to classroom management Deeper exploration of best practices in instructional design, behavior management, and building relationships with colleagues and caregivers — as well as topics rarely covered in teacher preparation courses such as how to navigate colleague conflict in schools Practical suggestions for avoiding burnout — and knowing when to ask for help This thorough how-to book is packed with actionable classroom management practices for new and experienced teachers who want to create a lively, engaging classroom that students and teachers feel excited to enter each morning.
Few character education books published in the 21st century have addressed the resource needs of P-12 teachers. It Starts in the Classroom: Character Education for a Better Tomorrow is a “character education tool kit” that enables P-12 teachers, teachers-in-training, counselors, administrators, and coaches to see themselves as the “key” character educators in their schools, classrooms, and community. This book helps bring humanity, student engagement, and other life skills into the classroom that have been proven to increase student academic achievement. Ultimately, It Starts in the Classroom helps teachers see that they are, in fact, really changing the world for the better. This book shows them how to do this not only with their students but with themselves. With the current state of our world, character education is needed now more than ever. Things can get better, but it starts in the classrooms—with the teachers and the students.
Do the work. Do it with care. This is a book about love. That is, the active, earnest, and intelligent pursuit of our neighbors’ good. Teachers embody this kind of love; we seek and serve the wholeness of others. At the center of this love lies Dave Stuart Jr.’s philosophy that every teacher of every subject area in our schools has the potential to enrich students’ lives long-term through the power of student motivation. From art and physical education to science and social studies—schools can make good on their promise and this book will show you how. Join Stuart in this personable journey by tackling student motivation through The Five Key Beliefs of credibility, value, effort, efficacy, and belonging Ten strategies for incorporating the Five Key Beliefs into everyday teaching Common struggles for each strategy and how to overcome them A companion website with additional resources, videos, and downloadables Do the work. Do it with care. These inspirational guideposts will help us all build a world in which all schools can be both productive and humane.
Tried and true teaching strategies to boost student engagement. Students need to be actively engaged to learn—intellectually curious, physically active, and emotionally involved in collaborative work that builds their capacity for empathy. What can teachers do to instill these elements in the classroom? Active Learning: 40 Teaching Methods To Engage Students In Every Class and Every Subject is the actionable tool every new and veteran teacher needs to construct dynamic learning experiences for students. This hands-on, easy-to-use guide features 40 carefully curated, high-impact teaching strategies that target learning tools, collaboration structures, reading and writing routines, assessment opportunities and more. It includes: Step-by-step teaching strategies that can be mastered quickly and implemented in any order Tools to help teachers identify the most pressing classroom needs and determine which methods to try first Nine instructional structures including essential questions, strategy groups, stations, and simulations Real-world examples, tips, templates, and other supportive resources that offer guidance for each method, identify common challenges, and detail next steps Whether tweaking your existing strategies or finding new moves that will quickly become your own, this is your go-to guide for designing active, engaging learning experiences for students.
It’s time to shift the narrative — teaching should be joyful and teachers can feel successful...even in the face of challenging circumstances. During a time when many educators are leaving the profession, others have rolled up their sleeves and shined brightly through the challenges and pressures of the tumultuous education landscape. Countless others are just entering the field, eager to contribute and make an impact on the lives of their students. What can we learn from both of these types of teachers? What are the habits we know that enable teachers to be effective no matter the environment? And how do we build and sustain professional and personal practices that help us rise to every challenge? (Because let’s face it... there are a lot of challenges!) Habits of Resilient Educators answers these questions, providing teachers with the knowledge and tools necessary to develop habits that will create joyful, successful learning environments for themselves and their students. As a team of eternal optimists, authors Lindsay Prendergast and Piper Lee draw from their vast collective experience and research-based knowledge to show the crucial relationship between teacher well-being and student success. What’s more, they provide a practical framework that teachers can lean on to regain control of their mindset and their practice—despite the many factors outside of their control. This book helps teachers unlock their full potential by Exploring the why’s and how’s of nine habits such as collaborating, setting high expectations, using data to drive decisions, prioritizing effectively, and more Providing on-the-spot reflection boxes, note-catchers, and planning tools—as well as at-a-glance "sounds like/looks like" charts Offering a format that busy teachers can use personally, with a coach, or in a PLC; choose to focus on just one habit at a time, or do a jigsaw study with colleagues Sharing real-life stories of resilience and adaptation from educators that illustrate and bring each habit to life Detailing strategies you can use to navigate classroom challenges and develop a positive learning environment amid the complexities of contemporary education Whether you’re embarking on a personal growth journey or collaborating with colleagues through mentorship, coaching, or professional learning communities, turn to Habits of Resilient Educators to help you achieve teaching habits that will help you thrive, not just survive.
