Teach Smarter
Teach Smarter

Author: Vanessa J. Levin

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-06-02

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 1119698898

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Discover new, practical methods for teaching literacy skills in your early childhood classroom. Has teaching early literacy skills become a stumbling block to getting your preschool students kindergarten ready? Break out of the tired “letter of the week” routine and learn how to transform your lessons with fun and effective techniques. Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers will equip teachers to infuse every aspect of their teaching with exciting hands-on literacy teaching methods that engage students and help them build authentic connections with books, so that 100% of their students will have a strong literacy foundation and will be fully prepared for success in kindergarten and beyond. Respected author Vanessa Levin, veteran early childhood educator and author of the “Pre-K Pages” blog, breaks down the research and translates it into realistic, actionable steps you can take to improve your teaching. Features specific examples of teaching techniques and activities that engage students in hands-on, experiential learning during circle time, centers, and small groups. Offers a simple, four-step system for teaching literacy skills, based on the foundational principles of early literacy teaching Demonstrates how to build your confidence in your ability to get 100% of your students ready for kindergarten, long before the end of the school year Understand the problems with traditional literacy teaching and identify gaps in your current teaching practice with this valuable resource.

Reading Reconsidered
Reading Reconsidered

Author: Doug Lemov

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2016-02-29

Total Pages: 453

ISBN-13: 1119104246

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

TEACH YOUR STUDENTS TO READ WITH PRECISION AND INSIGHT The world we are preparing our students to succeed in is one bound together by words and phrases. Our students learn their literature, history, math, science, or art via a firm foundation of strong reading skills. When we teach students to read with precision, rigor, and insight, we are truly handing over the key to the kingdom. Of all the subjects we teach reading is first among equals. Grounded in advice from effective classrooms nationwide, enhanced with more than 40 video clips, Reading Reconsidered takes you into the trenches with actionable guidance from real-life educators and instructional champions. The authors address the anxiety-inducing world of Common Core State Standards, distilling from those standards four key ideas that help hone teaching practices both generally and in preparation for assessments. This 'Core of the Core' comprises the first half of the book and instructs educators on how to teach students to: read harder texts, 'closely read' texts rigorously and intentionally, read nonfiction more effectively, and write more effectively in direct response to texts. The second half of Reading Reconsidered reinforces these principles, coupling them with the 'fundamentals' of reading instruction—a host of techniques and subject specific tools to reconsider how teachers approach such essential topics as vocabulary, interactive reading, and student autonomy. Reading Reconsidered breaks an overly broad issue into clear, easy-to-implement approaches. Filled with practical tools, including: 44 video clips of exemplar teachers demonstrating the techniques and principles in their classrooms (note: for online access of this content, please visit my.teachlikeachampion.com) Recommended book lists Downloadable tips and templates on key topics like reading nonfiction, vocabulary instruction, and literary terms and definitions. Reading Reconsidered provides the framework necessary for teachers to ensure that students forge futures as lifelong readers.

Rigorous Curriculum Design
Rigorous Curriculum Design

Author: Larry Ainsworth

Publisher: Lead + Learn Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1935588052

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The need for a cohesive and comprehensive curriculum that intentionally connects standards, instruction, and assessment has never been more pressing. For educators to meet the challenging learning needs of students they must have a clear road map to follow throughout the school year. Rigorous Curriculum Design presents a carefully sequenced, hands-on model that curriculum designers and educators in every school system can follow to create a progression of units of study that keeps all areas tightly focused and connected.

Making Curriculum Matter
Making Curriculum Matter

Author: Angela Di Michele Lalor

Publisher: ASCD

Published: 2021-07-21

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 1416630252

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

At the heart of education are two fundamental questions: What should we teach? and How should we teach it? Educators striving to design and deliver the best-possible learning experiences can feel overwhelmed by the possibilities. To help them make these critical decisions, Angela Di Michele Lalor identifies five key priorities of a curriculum that matters—practices, deep thinking, social and emotional learning, civic engagement and discourse, and equity. Emphasizing the importance of schools' determining their own path forward, Lalor provides a framework for action by * Describing how each element contributes to a rigorous, meaningful curriculum, * Providing strategies for incorporating each element into daily instruction and assessment, and * Offering reflection activities to identify strengths, needs, and possible next steps. With insightful observations, research-based background information, and real-world examples from a variety of schools and districts, Making Curriculum Matter presents teachers and administrators with a path for reaching their most important overall goal: to provide comprehensive, meaningful learning to all students.

Understanding by Design
Understanding by Design

Author: Grant P. Wiggins

Publisher: ASCD

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 1416600353

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.

Creating the Curriculum
Creating the Curriculum

Author: Dominic Wyse

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 0415687691

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Is there an ‘ideal’ primary school curriculum? Who should decide what the curriculum is? Should teachers have autonomy over how they teach? The curriculum is the heart of what teachers teach and learners learn: effective teaching is only possible with an effective curriculum. Yet in spite of its importance, there has been a crisis in curriculum that has been caused in large part by governments assuming direct control over the curriculum, assessment, and increasingly, pedagogy. Creating the Curriculum tackles this thorny issue head on, challenging student and practising primary school teachers to think critically about past and present issues and to engage with a new wave of curriculum thinking and development. Considering curriculum construction and its impact on teaching and learning in the four countries of the UK, key issues considered include: who should decide the curriculum, its aims and its values the extent to which issues in primary education swing back and forth Subjects versus thematic organisation, stages and phases, progression, breadth and balance prescription versus teacher autonomy the key features of effective classroom practice strategies for assessing the whole curriculum how language in the classroom influences curriculum design understanding curricula in the context of children’s social and personal circumstances creativity, curriculum and the classroom. Illustrated throughout with strategies and case studies from the classroom, Creating the Curriculum accessibly links the latest research and evidence with concrete examples of good practice. It is a timely exploration of what makes an effective and meanginful curriculum and how teachers can bring new relevance, motivation and powerful values to what they teach.

Curriculum Making in Europe
Curriculum Making in Europe

Author: Mark Priestley

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing

Published: 2021-01-20

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1838677372

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the context of profound social, political and technological changes, recent global trends in education have included the emergence of new forms of curriculum policy. Addressing a gap in the literature, this book investigates the ways in which curriculum policy is influenced, formulated, and enacted in a number of countries-cases in Europe.

Curriculum Development
Curriculum Development

Author: Bill Boyle

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2016-06-20

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1473944104

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Curriculum and curriculum issues are at the heart of current debates about schooling, pedagogy and learning. This book will enable practitioners, scholars and academics to understand how to re-design or to suggest changes to curriculum structure, shape and content. Grounded in theory and philosophy, the book also offers practical help in grasping this controversial area. Inside, the authors: provide practical planning templates support and provoke analysis, discussion and experimentation include definitions of key terms and reflective questions incorporate practical examples and case material based on their work worldwide on curriculum design and evaluation.