Ad Techniques / Close Reading the Media
by Frank Baker · Published 10/31/2017 · Last modified 12/01/2019
In today’s advertising-saturated world, their attention may be the most valuable thing students own. Marketers want it and they’ll grab it anyway they can. It’s the job of educators to make sure kids understand what’s going on, media literacy expert Frank W. Baker says.
When teachers choose literature that widens the lens on life, students discover how to reach beyond their experiences, reading between the lines, walking in others’ shoes, breaking down walls, and realizing they can act to affect the world, says teacher Bridget Suvansri.
What sets this book apart from many other professional books is that it not only gives a rational for using its strategies, it explicitly offers step-by-step instructions on how to unlock elusive teaching dilemmas. Janice Rustico recommends it to literacy leaders.
Every school has unique procedures, traditions, and personalities. What if new and transitioning teachers, starting fresh in an unfamiliar space, had a checklist to make induction easy and systematic? Author-consultant Frank Buck supplies that tool!
With its ready-made product menus and immediate applicability, Differentiating Instruction with Menus is one of those books that won’t gather dust, as teachers will turn to it for quick reference throughout the school year, says ELA and gifted facilitator Kim Rensch.
Walton Burns’ easy-to-use book can help teachers find creative ways to accomplish the necessary and often mundane tasks that come with the start of school. Renee Bogacz notes most of often engaging activities can be adapted for any subject area or grade level.
In Routines for Reasoning, authors Kelemanick, Lucenta and Creighton make the case for establishing and sticking to routines to foster mathematical practices for all students. Educator Rita Platt finds she is “a better teacher and thinker for having read it.”
Teachers at Florence (AL) Middle School use common planning time to discuss many instructional strategies. Once a month they look at student work together, across grades and subjects. Here, instructional coach Jill Edwards shares six video clips and related resources.
Reading Nancie Atwell and Anne Atwell Merkel’s The Reading Zone, 2nd edition, is like getting a letter from a good friend and mentor, says ELA teacher Amy Matthes. Find reading workshop case studies to help readers become passionate, skilled, and habitual.
A book to treasure! All of Jennifer Serravallo’s engaging 300 lessons are fully developed and easily adaptable for differentiation. The premise of the book is to meet the students where they are and not to teach each of the skills in isolation, writes Linda Biondi.
