What would a classroom look like if understanding and respecting differences in race, culture, beliefs, and opinions were at its heart? If you were inspired to become a teacher because you wanted to develop young minds, but now find yourself limited by "teach to the test" pressures and state standards, Mary Cowhey's book Black Ants and Buddhists: Thinking Critically and Teaching Differently in the Primary Grades will reignite the passion and remind you that educators provide more than test prep. Starting her career as a community activist, Cowhey shares her roots and how they influenced her Peace Class, where she asks her students to think critically, learn through activism and discussion, and view the entire curriculum through the framework of understanding the world, and what they can do to make it a better place. Woven through the book is Mary's unflinching and humorous account of her own roots as well as lessons from her heroes: Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Jr, and others. Her students learn to make connections between their lives, the books they read, the community leaders they meet, and the larger world. Black Ants and Buddhists offers no easy answers, but it does include starting points for conversations about diversity and controversy in your classroom, as well as in the larger community. Students and teachers investigate problems and issues together, in a multicultural, antiracist classroom.

What would a classroom look like if understanding and respecting differences in race, culture, beliefs, and opinions were at its heart? Welcome to Mary Cowhey's Peace Class in Northampton, MA, where first and second graders view the entire curriculum through the framework of understanding the world, and trying to do their part to make it a better place. Woven through the book is Mary's unflinching and humorous account of her own roots in a struggling large Irish Catholic family and her early career as a community activist. Mary's teaching is infused with lessons of her heroes: Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, and others. Her students learn to make connections between their lives, the books they read, the community leaders they meet, and the larger world. If you were inspired to become a teacher because you wanted to change the world, and instead find yourself limited by teach-to-the-test pressures, this is the book that will make you think hard about how you spend your time with students. It offers no easy answers, just a wealth of insight into the challenges of helping students think critically about the world, and starting points for conversations about diversity and controversy in your classroom, as well as in the larger community.

What would a classroom look like if understanding and respecting differences in race, culture, beliefs, and opinions were at its heart? If you were inspired to become a teacher because you wanted to develop young minds, but now find yourself limited by "teach to the test" pressures and state standards, Mary Cowhey's book Black Ants and Buddhists: Thinking Critically and Teaching Differently in the Primary Grades will reignite the passion and remind you that educators provide more than test prep. Starting her career as a community activist, Cowhey shares her roots and how they influenced her Peace Class, where she asks her students to think critically, learn through activism and discussion, and view the entire curriculum through the framework of understanding the world, and what they can do to make it a better place. Woven through the book is Mary's unflinching and humorous account of her own roots as well as lessons from her heroes: Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Jr, and others. Her students learn to make connections between their lives, the books they read, the community leaders they meet, and the larger world. Black Ants and Buddhists offers no easy answers, but it does include starting points for conversations about diversity and controversy in your classroom, as well as in the larger community. Students and teachers investigate problems and issues together, in a multicultural, antiracist classroom.

Using examples from a Reggio-inspired school with children from ages 6 weeks to 6 years, the authors emphasize the importance of children's rights and our responsibility as adults to hear their voices. Seen and Heard summarizes research and theory pertaining to young children's rights in the United States, and offers strategies educators can use to ensure the inclusion of children's perspectives in everyday decisions. Real-life classroom vignettes illustrate how young children perceive the idea of rights through observation and discussion. The authors' work is based on these essential ideas: (1) the "one hundred languages" children use for exploring, discovering, constructing, representing, and conveying their ideas; (2) the pedagogy of listening, in which children and adults carefully attend to the world and to one another; (3) the notion that all children have the right to participate in the communities in which they reside.

Anderson offers smart, ready-to-use ideas for assessment.

Our Last Best Shot presents the personal stories of twelve girls and boys from across America. Their stories, and Laura Sessions Stepp's extensive research, provide real insight for parents trying to raise well-adjusted children in this difficult age. Filled with wisdom and common sense, based on cutting-edge research, and featuring an invaluable resource list, this is a book that parents and educators cannot afford to be without.

Authors Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak are back with an updated version of Still Learning to Read: Teaching Students in Grades 3-6, 2nd Edition. In the years since the first edition, prevalence of testing and Common Core State Standards have redefined requirements and what is expected of both teachers and students.This new edition focuses on the needs of students in grades 3-6 in for the following areas: reading workshops, read-alouds, classroom design, digital tools, fiction and nonfiction, and close reading. The authors examine current trends in literacy and introduce a new section on intentional instructional planning, as well as a new chapter on scaffolding for reading nonfiction. Expanded examples of lessons and routines to promote deeper thinking about learning are also included.In Still Learning to Read, you'll also find online videos that provide insight into classrooms. Students make book choices, work in small groups, and discuss their reading notebooks. Finally, updated and expanded book lists, recommendations for digital tools, lesson cycles, and sections for school leaders round out this foundational resource.