Lesson planning is a requirement of every teacher. Whether you are planning your day-to-day lessons or a formal observation, planning is a skill that can be refined and improved to ensure your workload is manageable and your lessons exceptional. Aimed at committed and reflective teachers who want to develop their practice, this book introduces Tweaks for Teachers: small changes that make a big difference! It encourages you to review your current lesson planning practice and develop lessons that enable students to make outstanding learning gains. The book focuses on making practical, small changes that, over time, can make a real difference to the quality of learning and teaching in the classroom. Organised around real lesson snippets and full lesson plans covering every secondary subject, the book focuses on the key areas you need to plan for every lesson: assessment for learning, questioning, stretch and challenge and commitment to learning, as well as covering the importance of developing a good marking practice. Real examples of successful lessons are provided as well as a commentary of missed opportunities and practical 'tweaks' that could be made to improve students' learning and to develop outstanding teaching. This format means that the book is not only useful to those teachers wanting to develop their practice, but it is also a really useful training tool for those with responsibility for training new teachers or devolving a school's CPD provision. Lesson Planning Tweaks for Teachers takes a highly original approach to improving your lesson planning. Mel and Debbie's down to earth and accessible style will help every secondary teacher, whatever your level of experience, to make the planning process more meaningful and manageable, and one that leads to outstanding progress over time. Follow them on Twitter today for daily tips: @TeacherTweaks

Lesson planning is a requirement of every teacher. Whether you are planning your day-to-day lessons or a formal observation, planning is a skill that can be refined and improved to ensure your workload is manageable and your lessons exceptional. Aimed at committed and reflective teachers who want to develop their practice, this book introduces Tweaks for Teachers: small changes that make a big difference! It encourages you to review your current lesson planning practice and develop lessons that enable students to make outstanding learning gains. The book focuses on making practical, small changes that, over time, can make a real difference to the quality of learning and teaching in the classroom. Organised around real lesson snippets and full lesson plans covering every secondary subject, the book focuses on the key areas you need to plan for every lesson: assessment for learning, questioning, stretch and challenge and commitment to learning, as well as covering the importance of developing a good marking practice. Real examples of successful lessons are provided as well as a commentary of missed opportunities and practical 'tweaks' that could be made to improve students' learning and to develop outstanding teaching. This format means that the book is not only useful to those teachers wanting to develop their practice, but it is also a really useful training tool for those with responsibility for training new teachers or devolving a school's CPD provision. Lesson Planning Tweaks for Teachers takes a highly original approach to improving your lesson planning. Mel and Debbie's down to earth and accessible style will help every secondary teacher, whatever your level of experience, to make the planning process more meaningful and manageable, and one that leads to outstanding progress over time. Follow them on Twitter today for daily tips: @TeacherTweaks

There is no single best approach in teaching. This new text challenges the idea that there is a ′best way′ to teach. Instead, the authors explain, a more pragmatic approach is required. Teachers need a range of skills and strategies to select from, work with and adapt. Every school, cohort, class and child is different. Beyond that, strategies that worked well with a class one week, may prove ineffective the next. This book: presents a range of strategies, well grounded in research, for trainees and beginning teachers to use in their own classroom settings and contexts presents a model of teaching that views teaching not as a profession in which there is always a single correct answer, but as a complex interaction between teacher and students addresses common issues that beginning teachers face when developing their practice If you are a teacher wanting to find out what works best for your class, in your school, right now, this text will show you how to harness the power of small or large scale research to help you find the answer.

The fourth edition of this informative, accessible and intellectually engaging teacher training book provides a definitive guide for trainee and newly qualified secondary school teachers and their mentors. The book has been fully updated to reflect the many changes in policy and practice, including developments in the national curriculum, PSHEE and SEN provision. The latest edition covers topics such as how pupils learn, assessment, planning classroom communication and developing positive approaches to pupil behaviour. The wide range of specialist contributors, each bringing extensive first-hand experience of teaching, covers the core professional skills and concepts that new secondary school teachers need to acquire, irrespective of their subject specialism or training route, while the following key features of the book are: • Examples and illustrations from real classroom practice. • Details of current research. • Activities, case studies and scenarios. Ian Abbott, Associate Professor; Prue Huddleston, Emeritus Professor; and David Middlewood, Research Fellow, are all based at the University of Warwick’s Centre for Education Studies, UK.

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.

Martha Boyne, Emily Clements and Ben Wright’s Thrive: In your first three years in teaching equips trainee secondary school teachers with the know-how to lay the foundations for a successful career in teaching, long after the challenging first few years are over. Martha, Emily and Ben are thriving teachers. In Thrive they share their personal experiences and demonstrate how you too can thrive during the tricky training year, the daunting NQT year and the crucial RQT year. Using their collective insights, and plenty of evidence-informed strategies and advice, they detail how you can get to grips with the classroom basics – from behaviour management and lesson planning to differentiation and providing for SEND – and effectively continue your professional development. This book is not just a survival manual to help teachers get through their first three years in teaching. Nor is it an academic text that has been written by authors who have only a distant memory of what it takes to stand in front of a class of teenagers for the first time. Thrive is something very different. It gives both the aspiring and the newly qualified the support and guidance to become a thriving teacher, and has been co-authored by three recently qualified teachers who in this book invest their passion and practical knowledge to inspire and inform others who want to pursue enjoyable and rewarding careers in teaching. Thrive is divided into three parts – specifically detailing what can be expected in the training year, NQT year and RQT year respectively – with the authors’ commentary threaded throughout to demonstrate how the ideas discussed can be successfully put into practice. Their accounts are also complemented by expert advice from two people who are at the very top of their profession, Lianne Allison and Dr Simon Thompson, who provide wider perspectives drawn from a wealth of teaching experience. Forty of the book’s forty-six chapters begin with a checklist outlining what a developing teacher is expected to do, and each chapter ends with a to-do list that can be used as a quick reference point to structure the strategies implemented. These to-do lists are also followed by lists of suggested further reading so that readers can delve deeper into topics and fields of research that they find particularly interesting or relevant. Furthermore, the book offers helpful counsel on choosing the best training route as well as an in-depth analysis of the change in priorities for busy teachers as they progress: encouraging constant reflection, outlining potential pathways and emphasising the importance of evidence-based practice and how new teachers can, and should, incorporate this into their teaching. Rooted in practical strategies and innovative ideas, Thrive is the essential guide for trainee secondary school teachers and teacher trainers.

This essential guide helps teachers refine their approach to fundamental challenges in the classroom. Based on research from cognitive science and formative assessment, it ensures teachers can offer all students the support and challenge they need – and can do so sustainably. Written by an experienced teacher and teacher educator, the book balances evidence-informed principles and practical suggestions. It contains: A detailed exploration of six core problems that all teachers face in planning lessons, assessing learning and responding to students Effective practical strategies to address each of these problems across a range of subjects Useful examples of each strategy in practice and accounts from teachers already using these approaches Checklists to apply each principle successfully and advice tailored to teachers with specific responsibilities. This innovative book is a valuable resource for new and experienced teachers alike who wish to become more responsive teachers. It offers the evidence, practical strategies and supportive advice needed to make sustainable, worthwhile changes.

Why the education system is failing our kids and how we can start the revolution that will save our schools With their emphasis on regurgitated knowledge and stressful exams, today’s schools actually do more harm than good. Guiding readers past the sterile debates about City Academies and dumbed-down exams, Claxton proves that education’s key responsibility should be to create enthusiastic learners who will go on to thrive as adults in a swiftly-changing, dynamic world. Students must be encouraged to sharpen their wits, ask questions, and think for themselves - all without chucking out Shakespeare or the Periodic Table. Blending down-to-earth examples with the latest advances in brain science, and written with passion, wit, and authority, this brilliant book will inspire teachers, parents, and readers of all backgrounds to join a practical revolution and foster in the next generation a natural curiosity and the spirit of adventure.

Packed with practical teaching strategies, Making Every Lesson Count bridges the gap between research findings and classroom practice. Shaun Allison and Andy Tharby examine the evidence behind what makes great teaching and explore how to implement this in the classroom to make a difference to learning. They distil teaching and learning down into six core principles challenge, explanation, modelling, practice, feedback and questioning and show how these can inspire an ethos of excellence and growth, not only in individual classrooms but across a whole school too. Combining robust evidence from a range of fields with the practical wisdom of experienced, effective classroom teachers, the book is a complete toolkit of strategies that teachers can use every lesson to make that lesson count. There are no gimmicky ideas here just high impact, focused teaching that results in great learning, every lesson, every day. To demonstrate how attainable this is, the book contains a number of case studies from a number of professionals who are successfully embedding a culture of excellence and growth in their schools. Making Every Lesson Count offers an evidence-informed alternative to restrictive Ofsted-driven definitions of great teaching, empowering teachers to deliver great lessons and celebrate high-quality practice. Suitable for all teachers including trainee teachers, NQTs, and experienced teachers who want quick and easy ways to enhance their practice and make every lesson count. Educational Book Award winner 2016 Judges' comments: A highly practical and interesting resource with loads of information and uses to support and inspire teachers of all levels of experience. An essential staffroom book.

In the past schools have labelled the most able students in a class or year group as 'gifted and talented'. While segregating these students may help them to achieve their academic potential, there is little benefit in this practice for their 'less able' classmates. Even less so for those who are left in the middle space, identified as neither highly academic nor severely struggling. The Stretch and Challenge model focuses on setting high expectations for all students, regardless of their ability. Encouraging all children to meet universally high targets introduces flexibility between, otherwise rigid, ability groups, and gives children greater opportunities to exceed. Split into two parts, Stretch and Challenge focuses on different ways of thinking about and implementing this model in school. Debbie Light begins by helping teachers to create a culture of high expectations in their classroom by setting challenging learning objectives, creating opportunities for students to develop independence and supporting students, as they become resilient learners. The second half of the book advises teachers how to create an inclusive learning environment where all children feel challenged by encouraging teacher questioning, designing tasks, grouping students and effectively using teaching assistants. Filled with honest, experienced and undeniably helpful advice, Debbie Light's Stretch and Challenge is a must have guide for all teachers who want to collectively maximise their students' learning and achievement. The book provides a set of ready-to-use training plans to help you train your colleagues and is accompanied by PowerPoint slides available to download online for free. It offers 19 hours of CPD, equating to a cost of just £1.20 per hour of training!