Close Reading Strategies
Students will take the strategies from Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading beyond their current classroom to strengthen their critical thinking and their enthusiasm about reading, says reviewer Sandy Wisneski.
Category: Book Reviews
Crazy Good Teaching Stuff
The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy Good Stuff I’ve Learned About Teaching Along the Way is a major collection of the author’s columns and articles on middle grades teaching practice and is indeed “crazy good stuff,” says reviewer Elizabeth Stein.
Inspire Student Writers & Poets
Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Cappelli, the co-authors of Poetry Mentor Texts: Making Reading and Writing Connections, K-8, have provided another “must have” resource for teachers of all disciplines – even poetry haters – says reviewer Linda Biondi.
A Wonderful Advisory Resource
The Advisory Book: Building a Community of Learners (2nd Edition) by Linda Crawford is an excellent resource for specific ideas & activities as well as the research that supports Advisory, says teacher educator Amanda Wall.
Research, Adventure & CCSS
Blend research into an adventure story? Reviewer Kevin Hodgson says this intriguing book, Writing to Explore: Discovering Adventure in the Research Paper, can help achieve standards for expository, informational & narrative writing.
Climbing Reading Ladders
Teacher Mark A. Domeier likes the concept behind Teri Lesesne’s reading ladders in Reading Ladders: Leading Students from Where They Are to Where We’d Like Them to Be, but he says they’ll have to be adapted to the realities of middle school class size.
More Why To than How To
Serious Comix: Engaging Students with Digital Storyboards is a book less about teaching comics & more about settings that let all students thrive by mixing conversation, art, storytelling & technology, says Kevin Hodgson.
Theory Rooted in Rich Research
In Background Knowledge: The Missing Piece of the Comprehension Puzzle Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey focus on an essential topic, says reviewer Fran Toomey: How do we activate, access & build background knowledge in learners?
The Educator’s Bible
High-Impact Instruction: A Framework for Great Teaching by Jim Knight “spectacularly delivers on its promise” to present a comprehensive framework for great teaching, says Julie Dermody. “It’s a career investment.”
Building a Culture of Excellence
Reviewer Elisa Waingort finds Ron Berger’s 2003 book, An Ethic of Excellence: Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students, timeless and timely, with concrete suggestions for building a classroom culture of excellence.
