Sheryn Spencer Waterman shows the way to make the evaluation as well as the curriculum fit the learner. Middle school teacher Joanne Bell finds the author’s fully developed discussion of differentiated formative assessments helpful for social studies and English.
We may assume that by middle school children have developed social skills, but this is often the age when they need to work on grounding activities the most. Carla Tantillo Philibert and Peggy Collings offer 4 tips to make SEL part of everyday teaching and learning.
Literacy coach Shawna Coppola urges us to rethink the familiar start-of-year writing activity – the personal narrative. In its place she suggests a framework of ideas to free students to write about what interests them. As we try new approaches, we also renew ourselves.
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!
Accessible Algebra provides teachers a better understanding of where students might struggle, methods that can meet individual student needs, and fresh ways to teach a concept. The 30 modules can be adapted for any algebra class, says math teacher Trever Reeh.
Donna Spangler and John Alex Mazzante have “a keen understanding of a language student’s need for frequent changes, movement, playfulness, collaboration, and gentle competition,” says Spanish teacher Jane Swisher, noting this “gem of a book” is easily adaptable.
Carol Pelletier Radford’s 2017 books can help beginning teachers by giving their mentors detailed guidelines, a clearly defined schedule, and routines that allow flexibility for both mentor and mentee, says school district new-teacher liaison Michael DiClemente.
To break through the complacency that often slows positive school change, author and middle level leader Ron Williamson turns to Harvard Business School professor John Kotter for four strategies school leaders can use to create urgency within their organizations.
Young writers will blossom when teachers trade in their red pens for an appreciative approach to feedback, says consultant Patty McGee. As writing mentors, teachers help students achieve quality writing with originality, voice, and style. McGee includes more than a dozen teaching tools.
Book Reviews / Professional Development
by MiddleWeb · Published 07/06/2017 · Last modified 02/03/2019
The High-Trust Classroom by Lonnie Moore is a step-by-step guide to personal and professional fulfillment, says educator Laura Von Staden, adding the book is a quick read, broken into easy chunks that lay out each of the 25 essential qualities of great teachers.
