"The writers introduce a handful of instructional shifts offered from an invitational stance to help readers consider research beyond a one size fits all mentality and confront their own biases and misunderstandings as they explore ways Balanced Literacy practitioners can reimagine early literacy instruction by incorporating some powerful tenants from the Science of Reading"--

In So What Do They Really Know? Cris Tovani explores the complex issue of monitoring, assessing, and grading students' thinking and performance with fairness and fidelity. Like all teachers, Cris struggles to balance her student-centered instruction with school system mandates. Her recommendations are realistic and practical; she understands that what isn't manageable isn't sustainable. Cris describes the systems and structure she uses in her own classroom and shows teachers how to use assessments to monitor student growth and provide targeted feedback that enables students to master content goals. She also shares ways to bring students into the assessment cycle so they can monitor their own learning, maximizing motivation and engagement. So What Do They Really Know? includes a wealth of information:Lessons from Cris's classroomTemplates showing how teachers can use the workshop model to assess and differentiate instructionStudent work, including samples from linguistically diverse learners, struggling readers, and college-bound seniorsAnchor charts of student thinkingIdeas on how to give feedbackGuidelines that explain how conferring is different from monitoringSuggestions for assessing learning and differentiating instruction during conferencesAdvice for managing ongoing assessment Cris's willingness to share her own struggles continues to be a hallmark of her work. Teachers will recognize their own students and the challenges they face as they join Cris on the journey to figure out how to raise student achievement.

Radically reimagine our ways of being, learning, and doing Education can be transformed if we eradicate our fixation on big data like standardized test scores as the supreme measure of equity and learning. Instead of the focus being on "fixing" and "filling" academic gaps, we must envision and rebuild the system from the student up--with classrooms, schools and systems built around students' brilliance, cultural wealth, and intellectual potential. Street data reminds us that what is measurable is not the same as what is valuable and that data can be humanizing, liberatory and healing. By breaking down street data fundamentals: what it is, how to gather it, and how it can complement other forms of data to guide a school or district's equity journey, Safir and Dugan offer an actionable framework for school transformation. Written for educators and policymakers, this book · Offers fresh ideas and innovative tools to apply immediately · Provides an asset-based model to help educators look for what's right in our students and communities instead of seeking what's wrong · Explores a different application of data, from its capacity to help us diagnose root causes of inequity, to its potential to transform learning, and its power to reshape adult culture

The Magic Belt, Totem and Talisman 1 & 2 series are four phonic reading series for older, 'catch-up' students. Starting at the very beginning, the reader is swept along with Zak's adventures while learning to read, following step-by-step phonic progression. The table on page 2 shows the over-arching structure of the four series and how they interlink.

Written by Anishinaabe educator Christine M'Lot, the Teacher Guide for Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story offers a diverse menu of activities that support teachers in planning lessons throughout the reading process creating dynamic learning experiences for their students, while maintaining a respectful and dignified approach to Indigenous topics using trauma-informed practices to prepare students for sensitive topics infusing Indigenous pedagogical practices, such as working with others, seeking holism in understanding, and learning through storytelling The activities in this guide are most appropriate for grades 9-12 and could be adapted for use in university or college courses.

Companion to Wiley Blevin's best-selling classic Phonics From A to Z, this strategy book for upper elementary has been updated to include the latest in phonics instruction and the science of reading. Includes a model weekly schedule with high-impact routines for older students who need support, revised word lists for irregular and decodable high-frequency words, strategies for differentiating during whole-group lessons while targeting small-group work, sample intervention lesson, and more.

How can teachers balance the needs of busy classrooms with the needs of their own health and well-being? This remarkable book illustrates that embracing a healthy lifestyle is not only beneficial for teachers, but for students, classrooms, and schools, too. It suggests that teachers can reduce the work they do outside the classroom and still be a motivated and engaged teacher. Promoting a healthy work-life balance, the book explores how to avoid burnout while still creating an effective learning community. The conversational tone and a wealth of anecdotes will make this an invaluable guide for every educator.

How can teachers make their literacy classrooms a place of joy? Fun, caring, and passion are the key to a shame-free, healthy classroom that nurtures students in mind, body, and spirit. Full of simple strategies and activities for building community, this practical book is committed to promoting strong literacy skills. It is full of simple strategies and activities for building mindful classrooms where students are free to speak with compassion, write with conviction, and read with joy.