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.
Category: Book Reviews
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.
Unpacking the Common Core
This teacher-friendly book, Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, and Christopher Lehman, helps us understand what the ELA CCSS really say and how to bring them to life in classes, writes reviewer Julie DeMicco.
Good Recipes for ELA Classrooms
In The Literacy Cookbook: A Practical Guide to Effective Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening Instruction, Sarah Tantillo’s banquet of tasty recipes for good literacy instruction are also a helpful ELA Common Core resource, says reviewer Linda Biondi.
Creative Assessment Strategies
This book about creative approaches to assessment, Authentic Assessment: Active, Engaging Product and Performance Measures, is clearly written for both teachers and students, says reviewer Tracey Muise. Sandra Schurr’s book provides many ready to implement ideas.
Family Science Night Fun
Reviewer Catharine Pierce says the well organized fun found in Shelley S. Connell’s Family Science Night: Fun Tips, Activities, and Ideas can enrich after-school clubs and classroom teaching.
Promote a Passion for Reading
Penny Kittle, says Kevin Hodgson, offers an ode to the power of reading to expand our intellects and a guide to encouraging our most reluctant readers in Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina and Passion in Adolescent Readers.
Teaching Argument Writing
Teaching Argument Writing: Supporting Claims with Relevant Evidence and Clear Reasoning is not a portable guide, says reviewer Jaime Greene, but a book that “did help me begin to wrap my brain around what quality argument in the classroom sounds and looks like.”
