Essential Questions
Essential Questions

Author: Jay McTighe

Publisher: ASCD

Published: 2013-03-27

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 1416615709

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What are "essential questions," and how do they differ from other kinds of questions? What's so great about them? Why should you design and use essential questions in your classroom? Essential questions (EQs) help target standards as you organize curriculum content into coherent units that yield focused and thoughtful learning. In the classroom, EQs are used to stimulate students' discussions and promote a deeper understanding of the content. Whether you are an Understanding by Design (UbD) devotee or are searching for ways to address standards—local or Common Core State Standards—in an engaging way, Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins provide practical guidance on how to design, initiate, and embed inquiry-based teaching and learning in your classroom. Offering dozens of examples, the authors explore the usefulness of EQs in all K-12 content areas, including skill-based areas such as math, PE, language instruction, and arts education. As an important element of their backward design approach to designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment, the authors *Give a comprehensive explanation of why EQs are so important; *Explore seven defining characteristics of EQs; *Distinguish between topical and overarching questions and their uses; *Outline the rationale for using EQs as the focal point in creating units of study; and *Show how to create effective EQs, working from sources including standards, desired understandings, and student misconceptions. Using essential questions can be challenging—for both teachers and students—and this book provides guidance through practical and proven processes, as well as suggested "response strategies" to encourage student engagement. Finally, you will learn how to create a culture of inquiry so that all members of the educational community—students, teachers, and administrators—benefit from the increased rigor and deepened understanding that emerge when essential questions become a guiding force for learners of all ages.

Write Now & Write On, Grades 6-12
Write Now & Write On, Grades 6-12

Author: Rebecca G. Harper

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2021-08-04

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 1071849751

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From social media to school success—take student writing to the next level! Your students may not realize it, but they’re already writers. All those informal text messages, Instagram captions, and Facebook posts have given them skills they can use as a springboard to the formal, content-specific writing they’ll need for success in school, college, and careers. The key, of course, is practice—plus a little guidance from you. And you’ll be ready, no matter what subject you teach, because this essential reference is packed with relevant, contemporary teaching strategies that are easily customizable to work across content areas. Inside, you’ll find: Engaging exercises based in the kinds of writing students already do Versatile "parachute writings"—quick bursts of practice to drop into a day’s lesson Strategies for introducing academic vocabulary and making it stick Skill-boosting strategies for successful summarizing and using textual evidence Variations specific to all disciplines and content areas Students should be writing daily, in all their classes, and they should be writing a lot, both inside and outside school. With this practical guide, you’ll be ready to help them up their writing game—and make literacy relevant, valuable, and authentic.

Rigor is Not a Four-letter Word
Rigor is Not a Four-letter Word

Author: Barbara R. Blackburn

Publisher: Eye On Education

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1596672269

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Reader-friendly and practical, Rigor is NOT a Four-Letter Word is filled with tools you can use every day to raise the level of rigor in your classroom. These strategies can be incorporated immediately across content areas, grades, and subjects. Barbara Blackburn clearly defines what rigor is and how individual teachers can provide challenging learning experiences in their classrooms to prepare students for a better future.

High-Quality Lesson Planning (Quick Reference Guide 25-Pack)
High-Quality Lesson Planning (Quick Reference Guide 25-Pack)

Author: Jane E. Pollock

Publisher:

Published: 2019-10-23

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781416628712

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It's possible to create high-quality lessons that increase student engagement and achievement every day. In this quick reference guide, Jane E. Pollock, Susan Hensley, and Laura Tolone present GANAG, a classroom-tested, five-step schema for planning effective instruction:* G: Set the goal* A: Access prior knowledge* N: Introduce new information* A: Apply new information* G: Review the goalHigh-Quality Lesson Planning shows teachers of all subject areas and grade levels how to help students use the nine high-yield learning strategies to retain knowledge and skills, promote meaningful discussions, and facilitate critical and creative thinking for improved classroom results. 8.5" x 11" 3-panel foldout guide (6 pages), laminated for extra durability and 3-hole-punched for binder storage.

Driven by Data
Driven by Data

Author: Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-04-12

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0470548746

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Offers a practical guide for improving schools dramatically that will enable all students from all backgrounds to achieve at high levels. Includes assessment forms, an index, and a DVD.

Get Better Faster
Get Better Faster

Author: Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2016-07-25

Total Pages: 503

ISBN-13: 1119278716

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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.

Now That's a Good Question!
Now That's a Good Question!

Author: Erik M. Francis

Publisher: ASCD

Published: 2016-07-22

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 1416620753

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In this book, Erik M. Francis explores how one of the most fundamental instructional strategies—questioning—can provide the proper scaffolding to deepen student thinking, understanding, and application of knowledge. You’ll learn: *Techniques for using questioning to extend and evaluate student learning experiences. *Eight different kinds of questions that challenge students to demonstrate higher-order thinking and communicate depth of knowledge. *How to rephrase the performance objectives of college and career readiness standards into questions that engage and challenge students. Francis offers myriad examples of good questions across content areas and grade levels, as well as structures to help teachers create and use the different kinds of questions. By using this book to fine-tune your approach to questioning, you can awaken the spirit of inquiry in your classroom and help students deepen their knowledge, understanding, and ability to communicate what they think and know.

Rigor by Design, Not Chance
Rigor by Design, Not Chance

Author: Karin Hess

Publisher: ASCD

Published: 2023-01-18

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1416632190

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A practical and systematic approach to deepening student engagement, promoting a growth mindset, and building a classroom culture that truly supports thinking and learning. Every student deserves access to deep and rigorous learning. Still, some persistent myths about rigor can get in the way—such as the belief that it means more or harder work for everyone, rather than challenging and advancing students' thinking. So how can teachers get more clarity on rigor and foster more meaningful learning in their classrooms In Rigor by Design, Not Chance, veteran educator Karin Hess offers not only a clear vision of what makes learning deep and rigorous but also a systematic and equitable approach for engaging students of all ages in rich learning tasks. To that end, she outlines five essential teacher moves that foster thinking and learning: 1. Ask a series of probing questions of increasing complexity. 2. Build schemas in each content area. 3. Consider ways to strategically scaffold learning. 4. Design complex tasks that emphasize transfer and evidence-based solutions. 5. Engage students in metacognition and reflection throughout the learning process. From there, Hess details how to create an "actionable" assessment cycle that will drive learning forward in any classroom. This book offers a treasure trove of strategies, student "look-for" behaviors, and templates to guide teachers in their work as well as an array of rich performance-based assessments to engage and challenge students. School leaders and instructional coaches can also benefit from the variety of teacher-friendly supports to foster rigorous learning in their schools. Ultimately, Rigor by Design, Not Chance helps educators empower students to take greater ownership of their own learning.

Rise to the Challenge
Rise to the Challenge

Author: Jeff C. Marshall

Publisher: ASCD

Published: 2019-07-22

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 1416628010

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Do you sense that some students have mentally "checked out" of your classroom? Look closely and you'll probably find that these students are bored by lessons that they view as unchallenging and uninteresting. In this follow-up to The Highly Effective Teacher: 7 Classroom-Tested Practices That Foster Student Success, Jeff Marshall provides teachers with a blueprint for introducing more rigor to the classroom by - Reorienting themselves and their students toward active learning—and establishing the habits that allow it to flourish; - Creating a classroom culture where students aren't afraid to take risks—and where they grow as learners because of it; - Planning the same lesson at different levels of challenge for different levels of development—and designing assessments that gauge student progress fairly without sacrificing expectations; and - Implementing inquiry-based activities that push students beyond their comfort zones—and that result in well-rounded learners with stronger character and sharper thinking skills. Leveraging the latest research in the field as well as years of hard-won classroom experience, this book offers practical strategies, replicable examples, and thoughtful reflection exercises for educators to use as they work to help students embrace the mystery, complexity, and power of challenge.

Learning in the Fast Lane
Learning in the Fast Lane

Author: Suzy Pepper Rollins

Publisher: ASCD

Published: 2014-04-10

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1416618716

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Too often, students who fail a grade or a course receive remediation that ends up widening rather than closing achievement gaps. According to veteran classroom teacher and educational consultant Suzy Pepper Rollins, the true answer to supporting struggling students lies in acceleration. In Learning in the Fast Lane, she lays out a plan of action that teachers can use to immediately move underperforming students in the right direction and differentiate instruction for all learners—even those who excel academically. This essential guide identifies eight high-impact, research-based instructional approaches that will help you * Make standards and learning goals explicit to students. * Increase students' vocabulary—a key to their academic success. * Build students' motivation and self-efficacy so that they become active, optimistic participants in class. * Provide rich, timely feedback that enables students to improve when it counts. * Address skill and knowledge gaps within the context of new learning. Students deserve no less than the most effective strategies available. These hands-on, ready-to-implement practices will enable you to provide all students with compelling, rigorous, and engaging learning experiences.