Your guide to grow and learn as a math teacher! Let’s face it, teaching elementary math can be hard. So much about how we teach math today may look and feel different from how we learned it. Today, we recognize placing the student at the center of their learning increases engagement, motivation, and academic achievement soars. Teaching math in a student-centered way changes the role of the teacher from one who traditionally “delivers knowledge” to one who fosters thinking. Most importantly, we must ensure our practice gives each and every student the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve at high levels, while providing opportunities to develop their agency and authority in the classroom which results in a positive math identity. Whether you are a brand new teacher or a veteran, if you find teaching math to be quite the challenge, this is the guide you want by your side. Designed for just-in-time learning and support, this practical resource gives you brief, actionable answers to your most pressing questions about teaching elementary math. Written by four experienced math educators representing diverse experiences, these authors offer the practical advice they wish they received years ago, from lessons they′ve learned over decades of practice, research, coaching, and through collaborating with teams, teachers and colleagues—especially new teachers—every day. Questions and answers are organized into five areas of effort that will help you most thrive in your elementary math classroom: 1. How do I build a positive math community? 2. How do I structure, organize, and manage my math class? 3. How do I engage my students in math? 4. How do I help my students talk about math? 5. How do I know what my students know and move them forward? Woven throughout, you′ll find helpful sidebar notes on fostering identity and agency; access and equity; teaching in different settings; and invaluable resources for deeper learning. The final question—Where do I go from here?— offers guidance for growing your practice over time. Strive to become the best math educator you can be; your students are counting on it! What will be your first step on the journey?

"Answers to your Biggest Questions About Teaching Elementary Reading aims to help new teachers to start on the right foot, offering research-backed advice and experience an educator who has been in the profession throughout these shifts - and who has led her school to adopt best practices in reading instruction. Written in a friendly, accessible, and practical style, this brief, colorful book will provide answers to the most critical questions early-career teachers have about reading instruction, providing the MOST critical things a new teacher can do and know to have the most success in teaching reading as well as next steps toward thriving as a reading teacher"--

"Answers to your Biggest Questions About Teaching Elementary Writing aims to help new teachers - or teachers who need a confidence boost - to understand the foundations of solid writing instruction. Melanie Meehan has led her school to adopt best practices in writing instruction, and has worked with many teachers in her district, in professional development settings, and in online workshops, and she knows the biggest challenges teachers face in writing instruction. This installment of the Five to Thrive series will provide answers to the most critical questions early-career teachers have about writing instruction, providing the MOST critical things a new teacher can do and know to have the most success in teaching writing, as well as next steps toward thriving as a writing teacher"--

TEACH YOUR STUDENTS TO READ WITH PRECISION AND INSIGHT The world we are preparing our students to succeed in is one bound together by words and phrases. Our students learn their literature, history, math, science, or art via a firm foundation of strong reading skills. When we teach students to read with precision, rigor, and insight, we are truly handing over the key to the kingdom. Of all the subjects we teach reading is first among equals. Grounded in advice from effective classrooms nationwide, enhanced with more than 40 video clips, Reading Reconsidered takes you into the trenches with actionable guidance from real-life educators and instructional champions. The authors address the anxiety-inducing world of Common Core State Standards, distilling from those standards four key ideas that help hone teaching practices both generally and in preparation for assessments. This 'Core of the Core' comprises the first half of the book and instructs educators on how to teach students to: read harder texts, 'closely read' texts rigorously and intentionally, read nonfiction more effectively, and write more effectively in direct response to texts. The second half of Reading Reconsidered reinforces these principles, coupling them with the 'fundamentals' of reading instruction—a host of techniques and subject specific tools to reconsider how teachers approach such essential topics as vocabulary, interactive reading, and student autonomy. Reading Reconsidered breaks an overly broad issue into clear, easy-to-implement approaches. Filled with practical tools, including: 44 video clips of exemplar teachers demonstrating the techniques and principles in their classrooms (note: for online access of this content, please visit my.teachlikeachampion.com) Recommended book lists Downloadable tips and templates on key topics like reading nonfiction, vocabulary instruction, and literary terms and definitions. Reading Reconsidered provides the framework necessary for teachers to ensure that students forge futures as lifelong readers.

Your guide to grow and flourish as a science teacher! The past two decades have seen a paradigm shift in science education, thanks in large part to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which advocate a move away from procedural lab investigations and direct instruction and toward increased emphasis on reasoning, sensemaking, phenomena exploration, problem solving, and collaboration. Under this new paradigm, students are learning real science as scientists practice it, so that more and more students are actively investigating questions and pursuing solutions of their own making. As part of the Five to Thrive series for early-career educators, this comprehensive guide provides those who are new to teaching science, as well as seasoned teachers looking to enhance their practice, the fundamentals to develop best teaching practices that reflect their students’ experiences and requirements. Written by experienced science educators, Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Secondary Science provides practical guidance on successful strategies and techniques for teaching science in a way that gives every student the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve at high levels, while providing opportunities to develop their agency and authority in the classroom, ultimately resulting in a positive science identity. The book is organized around five overarching questions and answers that will help you most thrive in your secondary science classroom: How do I build a positive science community? How do I structure, organize, and manage my science class? How do I engage my students in science? How do I help my students talk about science? How do I know what my students know and how can I use that information to plan and move them forward? The book concludes with a sixth question—Where do I go from here?—that provides guidance for growing your practice over time, including discussions on self-care, advocating for students, and an extensive discussion on growing your professional network. Woven throughout, you′ll find helpful sidebar notes on fostering identity and agency; access and equity; teaching in different settings; and invaluable resources for deeper learning.Strive to become the best science educator you can be; your students are counting on it!

Because high-level comprehension cannot be divorced from wide-ranging texts To be literate is to think through multiple perspectives, exploring diverse texts, and using the power of story to give students the life skills to discuss just about anything with critical curiosity. Critical Comprehension transforms this vital work into an accessible, three-step lesson process. Using picture books, multimodal texts, and thoughtfully framed questions, each differentiated lesson expands students’ understanding of a text through: First read: the "movie read", during which the text is read without interruption Second read: The teacher poses questions that probe deeper meanings through interaction with the text to summarize, name and highlight issues, analyze and infer, to make more informed decisions about what to believe and what to question. Third read: Harnessing students’ curiosities, the class revisits the text to talk back to theme, symbols, central idea, or social, cultural, historical influences at work on author and audience Popular media, classic novels, breaking news — the world’s content is ready for students to absorb. But are we ready to help them read it well? Equipped with this resource, the answer is, Yes, we are.

"With a focus on goal-directed, purpose-driven reading conferences, the author shows how form follows function--the structure of each conference is clearly designed to serve its purpose. Through "Researcher Spotlights" in each chapter, she'll also introduce you to a few of the teaching mentors and researchers who've had a profound influence on her work. The author describes different types of conferences, some designed for individuals, others for small groups. Some are used during independent reading time, others during partnership or club time. One can read the chapters in order or dip into the chapter that best suits their needs and purpose"--

Do your students need more practice to develop number sense and reasoning? Are you looking to engage your students with activities that are uncomplicated, worthwhile, and doable? Have you had success with number talks but do your students crave more variety? Have you ever thought, "What can I do differently?" Swap out traditional warmup practices and captivate your elementary students with these new, innovative, and ready-to-go routines! Trusted elementary math expert John J. SanGiovanni details 20 classroom-proven practice routines to help you ignite student engagement, reinforce learning, and prepare students for the lesson ahead. Each quick and lively activity spurs mathematics discussion and provides a structure for talking about numbers, number concepts, and number sense. Designed to jump-start mathematics reasoning in any elementary classroom, the routines are: Rich with content-specific examples and extensions Modifiable to work with math content at any K-5 grade level Compatible with any textbook or core mathematics curriculum Practical, easy-to-implement, and flexible for use as a warm-up or other activity Accompanied by online slides and video demonstrations, the easy 5–10 minute routines become your go-to materials for a year’s work of daily plug-and-play short-burst reasoning and fluency instruction that reinforces learning and instills mathematics confidence in students. Students’ brains are most ready to learn in the first few minutes of math class. Give math practice routines a makeover in your classroom with these 20 meaningful and energizing warmups for learning crucial mathematics skills and concepts, and make every minute count.

The ability to comprehend and to respond meaningfully to text is a skill students need every day--not just on test day. That's a GREAT Answer! provides complete and ready-to-go support to help teachers get great answers to open-ended comprehension questions from the students who need help the most--elementary students, struggling older readers, and English language learners. In this revised second edition, Nancy Boyles now includes new Common Core State Standards-based objectives, step-by-step lesson sequences, collaborative tasks that link teaching to learning, insightful new teaching tips, updated and enhanced bibliographies, and student targets on the CD that specify how to meet each objective and answer a particular comprehension question. Her ready-to-go student scaffolds then break comprehension objectives into fifty-three specific, measurable, open-ended questions divided among four thinking strands. A chart shows the correlation between all objectives and the Common Core State Standards for comprehension--easily aligned to the literacy objectives of any state curriculum. Each open-ended question includes: a step-by-step lesson sequence; a template for a related oral collaborative task; teaching tips; a bibliography of fiction and nonfiction picture books aligned with the question; a template instructing students how to find key evidence for the objective before writing their response; an answer frame scaffold for initial response practice that helps students at any grade level organize and elaborate; and a target on the CD that specifies for students how to meet each objective and answer a particular comprehension question. The included CD provides all of the answer frames and targets for the open-ended questions, as well as rubrics, criteria charts, planners, and an extensive master bibliography that matches key fiction and nonfiction literature models with appropriate objectives. From setting a foundation with great standards, books, and instruction through guidelines for assessment, That's a GREAT Answer offers a (now more) complete, great answer for teachers who want to empower their students to respond well to open-ended questions.

From social media to school success—take student writing to the next level! Your students may not realize it, but they’re already writers. All those informal text messages, Instagram captions, and Facebook posts have given them skills they can use as a springboard to the formal, content-specific writing they’ll need for success in school, college, and careers. The key, of course, is practice—plus a little guidance from you. And you’ll be ready, no matter what subject you teach, because this essential reference is packed with relevant, contemporary teaching strategies that are easily customizable to work across content areas. Inside, you’ll find: Engaging exercises based in the kinds of writing students already do Versatile "parachute writings"—quick bursts of practice to drop into a day’s lesson Strategies for introducing academic vocabulary and making it stick Skill-boosting strategies for successful summarizing and using textual evidence Variations specific to all disciplines and content areas Students should be writing daily, in all their classes, and they should be writing a lot, both inside and outside school. With this practical guide, you’ll be ready to help them up their writing game—and make literacy relevant, valuable, and authentic.