This innovative book helps K–6 teachers infuse the entire school day with research-based literacy best practices. Classroom-tested strategies are presented for planning and implementing each component of the "exemplary literacy day"--vocabulary and word study sessions, literacy work stations, differentiated guided reading groups, reading and writing workshops, and interdisciplinary projects. Teachers get tips for organizing a print-rich classroom, supporting students' social–emotional well-being, and using assessment to guide instruction. User-friendly features include vivid vignettes, classroom management tips, questions for discussion and reflection, and 15 reproducible forms, checklists, and lesson templates. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Note: this book is a contemporary follow-up to Morrow's influential earlier title Organizing and Managing the Language Arts Block.

This innovative book helps K–6 teachers infuse the entire school day with research-based literacy best practices. Classroom-tested strategies are presented for planning and implementing each component of the "exemplary literacy day"--vocabulary and word study sessions, literacy work stations, differentiated guided reading groups, reading and writing workshops, and interdisciplinary projects. Teachers get tips for organizing a print-rich classroom, supporting students' social–emotional well-being, and using assessment to guide instruction. User-friendly features include vivid vignettes, classroom management tips, questions for discussion and reflection, and 15 reproducible forms, checklists, and lesson templates. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Note: this book is a contemporary follow-up to Morrow's influential earlier title Organizing and Managing the Language Arts Block.

All of us struggle at one time or another with creative block. Always striking at the worst moment, it can leave you feeling completely paralyzed. Take solace in knowing that you are not alone. It happens to everyone and is actually an inevitable part of the creative process. Breakthrough!is a lively compilation of strategies for combating creative block offered by a who's who of leading graphic designers, typographers, cartoonists, photographers, illustrators, musicians, writers, and other creative professionals. Because every block is different, they offer a wide variety of solutions—from cleaning the house and eating spicy food to making a plaster cast of your hands and feet—that are surprising, amusing, at times weird, but always inspiring. Breakthrough! is rocket fuel for any creative individual in need of a catalyst to get ideas flowing again.

This is Balanced Literacy: Grades K-6 Students learn to read and write best when their teachers balance literacy instruction. But how do you strike the right balance of skills and knowledge, reading and writing, small and whole group instruction, and direct and dialogic instruction, so that all students can learn to their maximum potential? The answer lies in the intentional design of learning activities, purposeful selection of instructional materials, evidence-based teaching methods, and in strategic groupings of students based on assessment data. Together, these create the perfect balance of high impact learning experiences that engage and excite learners. In this hands-on essential guide, best-selling authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nancy Akhavan help you define that balance for your students, lighting the path to implementing balanced literacy in your classroom. Their plan empowers you to integrate evidence-based approaches that include: • Instructional materials comprised of both informational and narrative texts. • The best uses of instructional delivery modes, including direct and dialogic instruction. • Grouping patterns that work best to accomplish learning aims for different learners at different stages. • Instruction in foundational skills and meaning making, including oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. • Technology used as a tool for increasing learning of a specific literary process. All the tips and tools you need to realize the goal of balanced literacy learning are included, with classroom videos that show strategies in action. Tap your intuition, collaborate with your peers, and put the research-based strategies embedded in this roadmap to work in your classroom to implement or deepen a strong, successful balanced literacy program. Grow as a reading and writing teacher while leading your students to grow as readers and writers.

What is trauma and what does it mean for the literacy curriculum? In this book, elementary teachers will learn how to approach difficult experiences through the everyday instruction and interactions in their classrooms. Readers will look inside classrooms and literacies across genres to see what can unfold when teachers are committed to compassionate, critical, and relational practice. Weaving her own challenging experiences into chapters brimming with children’s writing and voices, Dutro emphasizes that issues of power and privilege matter centrally to how attention to trauma positions children. The book includes questions and prompts for discussion, reflection, and practice and describes pedagogies and strategies designed to provide opportunities for children to bring the varied experiences of life, including trauma, to their school literacies in positive, meaningful, and supported ways. “This stunning book about trauma interrogates the very notion. Dutro excels at interweaving her stories with those of teachers and students and at challenging readers to find their way into the fabric. I recommend this book to teachers so that they might accept her challenge to explore and understand the importance of both witnessing and testimony in relation to trauma in literacy curriculum and pedagogy.” —Mollie Blackburn, The Ohio State University

Scholastic Book Club Selection Alabama Camellia Award list, 2010-11, K-1 category A unique monster-under-the-bed story with the perfect balance of giggles and shivers, this picture book relies on the power of humor over fear, appeals to a child's love for creatures both alarming and absurd, and glorifies the scope of a child's imagination. One night, when Ethan checks under his bed for his monster, Gabe, he finds a note from him instead: "Gone fishing. Back in a week." Ethan knows that without Gabe's familiar nightly scares he doesn't stand a chance of getting to sleep, so Ethan interviews potential substitutes to see if they've got the right equipment for the job—pointy teeth, sharp claws, and a long tail—but none of them proves scary enough for Ethan. When Gabe returns sooner than expected from his fishing trip, Ethan is thrilled. It turns out that Gabe didn't enjoy fishing because the fish scared too easily.

Give students the power of language by using the inspiring ideas in this very readable book.

Describes the nature of writer's block, suggests exercises designed to break it, and tells how to set up a work schedule

With our unique step-by-step lessons, children gain confidence in their comprehension skills so they are eager to read more! Our Reading Workbooks use a combination of phonics and whole-language instruction to make reading feel effortless. By mastering grade-appropriate vocabulary and completing fun, colorful exercises, children discover that they love to read!