This refreshingly frank handbook shows teachers how to close the achievement gap in their classrooms by teaching students innovative paths to academic success. Drawing on over 20 years’ experience, Kelley presents straightforward strategies for helping learners improve their grades and test scores and experience greater school engagement—all while streamlining the teacher’s work to yield maximum efficiency. Strategies include team-grading essays, using Socratic seminars and sworn statements, allowing for re-dos, and ruthlessly pruning assignments, among others. Often humorous and irreverent in tone, this guide will be the talk of the break room. Includes online digital content.

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.

This refreshingly frank handbook shows teachers how to close the achievement gap in their classrooms by teaching students innovative paths to academic success. Drawing on over 20 years’ experience, Kelley presents straightforward strategies for helping learners improve their grades and test scores and experience greater school engagement—all while streamlining the teacher’s work to yield maximum efficiency. Strategies include team-grading essays, using Socratic seminars and sworn statements, allowing for re-dos, and ruthlessly pruning assignments, among others. Often humorous and irreverent in tone, this guide will be the talk of the break room. Includes online digital content.

Nctm Past President Cathy L. Seeley shares her messages on today's most relevant topics and issues in education. Based on Cathy L. Seeley's award-winning nctm President's Messages, and including dozens of new messages, this must-have k-12 resource offers straight talk and common sense about some of today's most important, thought-provoking issues in education. With topics ranging from the impact of rising expectations and the trap of timed tests to the role of technology and the phenomenon of jumping on bandwagons, this book provides a base for lively discussion among elementary, middle, and high school teachers; leaders; policy makers; and families. This book contains 41 messages included in three sections: (1) School Mathematics for the 21st Century: Elementary and Secondary Mathematics in America; (2) Great Ideas Whose Time Has Come (and Gone?): Mathematics Issues Facing Schools and Districts; and (3) Real Students and Real Teachers: Mathematics in Today's Classroom. This book also contains the following: (1) Foreword by Marilyn Burns; (2) Introduction; (3) How to Use This Book; (4) Afterword: The Sum of the Parts Is Greater than Some of the Parts; (5) Acknowledgments; (6) Readings and References; (7) Index; and (8) About the Author.

"Your charts don't need to be perfect, just thoughtful. You don't even have to be able to draw. Just put the child before the chart." Marjorie Martinelli and Kristine Mraz Listen to an interview with Marjorie and Kristi, the Chartchums, on Education Talk Radio. Commercially available charts leave you hanging? Want the secret to jump-off-the-wall charts that stick with kids? Trust Smarter Charts. Did you ever want to know: What do great charts look like? How many is too many? Where are the best places for them in my classroom? How long do I keep them? How do I know if they are working? Then you'll want to meet Marjorie Martinelli and Kristine Mraz, the Chartchums. They struggled with the same questions, and Smarter Charts shares not only the answers, but the best practices they've discovered as well. Amp up the power of your charts with tips on design and language, instructional use, and self-assessment. Even better, discover surprising strategies that deepen engagement, strengthen retention, and heighten independence-all by involving students in chart making. Packed with full-color sample charts from real classrooms, Smarter Charts shares simple, brain-based strategies proven to make your classroom an even more active, effective space for literacy instruction and classroom management.

Make Your Kids Smarter is chock-full of drills, tips, and exercises to enhance children's learning. The skill builders encompass areas ranging from general school smarts to library use, computer literacy to study skills, writing and verbal skills to strategic thinking. Devoted parents will use this book to give their kids the advantage that will make all the difference.Dr. Karres, both a parent and an educator, understands the busy and often stressful lifestyles of today's parents. Parent pointers, FYI explanations, and guided minilessons are all included to make the parents' job a little bit easier and a little less time consuming. Parents will be able to thumb through this manual, isolate the exercises that will benefit their child the most, and get right to it. Ready, read, action. It's that simple. This is a must-have manual for all parents who believe their children deserve the very best.

`This concise book is strongly recommended as an invaluable source both for new teachers and for their mentors who may be well experienced, but nevertheless glad of new ideas for coping with the demanding and fundamental shifts in how teaching is undertaken and assessed′ - ESCaslate Making Teaching Work provides a down-to-earth, jargon-free book for teaching staff in universities and colleges and includes reference to some of the best modern literature on assessment, teaching and feedback. By focusing on the learner in a variety of situations and contexts, the book explores how teachers can help learners to make learning happen. The authors emphasize ′teaching smarter′ - helping busy, hard-pressed teachers to increase the efficiency as well as effectiveness of their work. Written with both full-time and part-time staff in mind, the book allows teaching staff to balance the various tasks which make up their workload, including the increasing paperwork and administration they encounter whilst carrying out assessment, teaching and providing feedback to students. The book addresses a wide range of aspects of assessment, learning and teaching in post-compulsory education including: - how to provide a supportive learning environment - including online learning - how to design and manage formative assessment and feedback - how to support diverse students - including addressing and achieving student satisfaction. - developing teaching - including lecturing, small-group teaching, supporting individual learning and dealing with disruptive students - how to use research to improve teaching - creatively designing curriculum - promoting student employability - broadening horizons - including widening and deepening participation - addressing and achieving student satisfaction. It is a self-sufficient and thought-provoking resource about teaching and learning for all practitioners in post-compulsory education.