Many of us would love to improve our communication skills. Thankfully, Jim Knightâs Better Conversations: Coaching Ourselves and Each Other to Be More Credible, Caring, and Connected can help us achieve this goal, says instructional coach DeAnna Miller.
Jennie Magiera urges teachers to launch edventures, pursuing innovations that boost student engagement, build class culture, differentiate, promote digital citizenship and more. Laura Von Staden also likes Magiera’s plentiful ideas about professional learning.
Rosalind Wiseman’s Owning Up takes on the ambitious task of talking to middle schoolers about some of the complex social situations adolescents encounter. Maeghan Warburton recommends the 17 flexible lessons addressing bullying, social cruelty, and injustice.
In “Read Talk Write” Laura Robb provides strategies that can grow students’ ability to have rich, accountable conversations, leading to productive, engaging writing. Reviewer Linda Biondi especially appreciates the mentor texts, detailed lessons, and reproducibles.
The second edition of John F. Barell’s “Why Are School Buses Always Yellow?” shows teachers how they can inspire young minds to think beyond the text, to ask questions and to wonder, achieving inquiry learning while meeting standards, says reviewer Linda Biondi.
Russell Quaglia advocates for “principal voice” using a creative Three L’s framework, surfacing our awareness of things that we know are good leadership practices. Former principal Rick Jetter finds Quaglia’s tips and take-aways thoughtful and easy to implement.
Steven M. Constantino leads school and district teams through a process of building a culture that welcomes and engages students’ families, says veteran teacher Cindy Purdy. She suggests that individual teachers can also apply some of the author’s key ideas.
By adopting Jonathan Eckert’s Novice Advantage, teachers can harness the enthusiasm of the ânewâ teacher and capitalize on the wisdom they have to improve their practice, says educator/reviewer Amber Chandler. Eckert’s innovative book offers many real-world examples.
Book Reviews / Building Relationships
by MiddleWeb · Published 09/21/2016 · Last modified 11/19/2019
In Hard Conversations Unpacked Jennifer Abrams offers effective strategies for engaging in difficult but necessary dialogue, helping educators grow the confidence and skills to create positive change in varied environments, says literacy specialist Lisa Maucione.
John Spencer’s book on tools for language acquisition will likely be most useful to teachers who are new to working with ELLs but not new to using technology in their lessons. ESL educator Susan Schwartz would have liked fuller explanations for various strategies.
