Nearly every reform effort espouses the importance of “parent involvement.” This research-based guide is essential reading for teachers and administrators who want to make welcoming classrooms a reality. With a focus on literacy instruction, it showcases stories of what works when teachers in elementary school classrooms throughout the country partner with families across cultural and language differences. The author showcases effective strategies that educators can adapt to fit their own school communities. This book is perfect for professional study groups, parent–teacher discussions, and whole-school workshops. This follow-up to JoBeth Allen’s bestselling Creating Welcoming Schools: Features up-to-date research on family involvement that has been shown to make a difference for students’ literacy learning. Demonstrates how teachers and families can collaborate through projects such as dialogue journals, photography and writing projects, and critical literacy inquiry. Details how to establish and sustain genuine dialogue through student-led, family-involved conferences. Offers exercises teachers can use with families, including a version in Spanish, downloadable at www.tcpress.com.

Engaged families make a difference in the lives of their children! The children in today's early childhood classroom are more culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse than ever. As a teacher, your challenge is to partner with each family through recognizing their individual strengths, concerns, priorities, and resources. In The Welcoming Classroom: Building Strong Home-to-School Connections for Early Learning, Dr. Johnna Darragh Ernst offers practical ideas for creating a welcoming atmosphere for families that will encourage them to participate in their children's learning community. Learn practical ways to connect with families from varied cultural and language backgrounds and abilities. Gain new strategies for creating a home-school link to support learning. Create a richer learning environment by integrating unique family cultural perspectives. Learn ways to encourage family participation in decision making. Learn strategies to develop families as resources. Communicate the message that all families are valued members of the learning community. From improving children's school readiness to encouraging positive engagement with peers, promoting student academic achievement, increasing graduation rates, and helping reduce the negative impact of poverty, the benefits of engaging families early will impact the young children in your care long after they leave your classroom! Johnna Darragh Ernst, PhD, is a professor of early childhood education at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois. She specializes in helping early childhood professionals connect with families to create inclusive early childhood classroom communities.

Students' backpacks bulge not just with oversize textbooks, but with paperbacks, graphic novels, street lit, and electronics such as iPods and hand-held video games. This book shows teachers how to unpack those texts and use them to engage students in meaningful learning. Whether you are a technology enthusiast or you favor traditional literature, this book is written for you. With classroom activities, adaptable lessons, and study-group questions in every chapter, this book is guaranteed to help you invigorate your teaching and capture your students' attention!

Effective, intentional teaching begins with a strong set of beliefs, but even the best teachers -- including author Debbie Miller -- struggle to make sure that their classroom practice consistently reflects their core convictions. In Teaching with Intention: Defining Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action, K-5, Miller defines her actions to ensure that children are the true beneficiaries of her teaching. As Peter Johnston writes, Through this book we have Debbie's teaching mind on loan. She engages us in the details of a teaching life from inside her mind, showing the thinking behind her teaching and the consequences of her actions.Teaching with Intention brings us into classrooms of teachers and children Miller has met over the last five years in her work as a literacy consultant. From setting up the classroom environment to the intentional use of language, from comprehension instruction to lesson design, Miller is explicit about what she does and why. At the same time, she encourages teachers to develop their own belief statements concerning teaching and learning and includes key questions to guide them in this important process.In an environment where the handing down of scripted programs and foolproof curricula is increasingly the norm, Teaching with Intention offers a compelling reminder that truly transformative teaching is built from the ground up, and is rebuilt every year, by every teacher, in every classroom, with every new group of students.

This handbook provides teachers with practical tips and advice on improving literacy skills for students with low vision. The book provides easy-to-understand explanations of vital topics such as interpreting eye reports, performing functional vision assessments, working with low vision service providers, and more. The valuable resource section, tables, sample reports and sidebars offer essential information on assessing low vision students and helping them use their vision effectively.

Jason Ohler, well-known education technology teacher, writer, keynoter, futurist, and Apple Distinguished Educator, guides educators on how to effectively bring digital storytelling into the classroom. The author links digital storytelling to improving traditional, digital, and media literacy and offers teachers ways to: o Combine curriculum content and storytelling o Blend multiple literacies within the context of digital storytelling o Plan for creating and executing digital stories.

Summarizing current research and weaving it into practical instructional strategies that teachers can immediately use with young English language learners (ELLs), this book addresses a major priority for today's primary-grade classrooms. All aspects of effective instruction for ELLs are explored: oral language development and instruction, materials, word study, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and home-school connections. Assessment is discussed throughout, and is also covered in a separate chapter. The volume is packed with realistic examples, lesson planning ideas, book lists, online resources, and reproducibles. Discussion and reflection questions enhance its utility as a professional development tool or course text.