Book Reviews / Social & Emotional Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 09/14/2023 · Last modified 11/02/2023
The new edition of Amber Chandler’s “The Flexible SEL Classroom” keeps its promise to provide practical ways to build social emotional learning, writes Anne Anderson. Chandler supports teachers with fresh ideas as they personalize learning for todayβs post-pandemic students.
Where there are challenges, there are also opportunities for creativity, novelty, and adventure to put a barricade between us and burnout. Stephanie Farley offers strategies to help teachers avoid or at least soften the sense of emotional exhaustion that leads to collapse.
School is a naturally stress inducing place for many students, so working to alleviate those feelings will only make our classrooms happier and more productive. Educator Stephanie Choate writes that Martha Kaufeldtβs De-Stress the Test helps with test anxiety and much more.
In Changing Curriculum through Stories: Character Education for Ages 10-12 Marc Levitt shows how personal stories, folktales and fairytales can act as catalysts for reflection and deeper comprehension. Dr. Kevin D. Cordi finds his notes to teachers and students quite helpful.
To help long-term English learners meet reading comprehension challenges, language specialist Tan Huynh shares strategies to use before reading, during reading, and after reading so that multilinguals have the scaffolding they need to read grade-level texts with understanding.
Thomas Newkirk urges ELA educators to move beyond simply assigning formulaic writing grounded in rubrics and include more fiction writing. Using research as well as student and teacher voices, he shows the benefits of encouraging creativity. A call to action, says Katie Durkin.
In Project-Based Learning for Gifted Students Todd Stanley breaks down what PBL is and how to effectively implement it in almost any academic setting. Itβs an ideal resource for those new to PBL or interested in reviewing its key aspects, says teacher Erin Corrigan-Smith.
How can seasoned educators improve teacher retention rates? By helping new colleagues address two retention factors β student behavior and classroom climate β says middle grades veteran Sharon Ratliff. βLetβs show them how to manage their school of fish without being a shark.β
Debbie Silver and Jack Berckemeyer have updated Deliberate Optimism to help educators resolve unsustainable stress levels by adapting their immediately implementable ideas for making each school day better. Written with humor and practicality, says teacher leader Sarah Cooper.
βI want to recognize that my students are, in fact, highly literate human beings whose understanding of literacy has been shaped by an age of screens and digital interactions,β writes ELA teacher Jason DeHart. The question becomes, how do we change to meet them where they are?
