Knowing how to interest and motivate pupils is a skill, which separates the "great" teachers from the mediocre. This book will inform and inspire staff and give them confidence in dealing with pupils who are not naturally "teacher pleasers." The book explains: (1) how personality affects learning styles; (2) suggests assessment tools and…

The "Research in Practice Series" is published four times each year by Early Childhood Australia. The series aims to provide practical, easy to read, up-to-date information and support to a growing national readership of early childhood workers. The books bring together the best information available on wide-ranging topics and are an…

When writers read, they evaluate all the time. This book is about what students can do to become better evaluators of themselves as writers and readers--and how the teacher can help. The book has been extensively revised in this second edition which is organized around five concepts that are central to an effective writing-reading program: voices,…

This book discusses the debate over the English-only movement, examining how it affects teachers and students and highlighting one California district's experience with changes brought about by Proposition 227. Chapter 1, "Introduction," reviews the issue. Chapter 2, "Teachers' Place in the Local Enactment of Language Policy,"…

Noting that few would dispute the essential role of motivation in promoting academic engagement and achievement, this book serves as a guide to motivating students in grades K-3. The book presents research-based strategies and techniques that are then illustrated in three extended case studies of highly successful motivators, demonstrating how…

This book focuses on learner-centered instruction in college and university classrooms, presenting the meaning, practice, and ramifications of this approach and explaining how it transforms the college classroom environment. The book shows how to tie teaching and curriculum to the process and objectives of learning rather than to the content…

Most students pass through five major transitions from one level of schooling to another. This book-for principals, teachers, and counselors-focuses on the transition from middle school to high school. The book is grounded in Queen's Twelve Factors for Successful Student Transitions, a research-based set of findings and guidelines. Each factor is…

Children are drawn to nature and the outdoors. This guide details the inclusion of gardening in the preschool curriculum at a university child development program in Illinois. Chapter 1 of the book, "Why Garden?" details the benefits of gardening for young children, describes the project approach used, discusses the role of the teacher,…

Using the violent events that took place at Columbine High School in 1999 as an example, this book serves to inform teachers, administrators, school resource officers, and concerned parents about school violence. It can be used to help develop a response and prevention plan to handle threats and violence in schools. This book is a guidance manual…

This book offers an in-depth understanding of the unique challenges and contributions of urban primary schools. The authors set urban education in the wider social context of structural disadvantage, poverty, oppression and exclusion, and reassert some critical urban educational concerns. Recognizing that practice needs to be informed by theory,…

In order to meet the goals of No Child Left Behind, standardized testing is preeminent as the sole indicator determining whether states all across America demonstrate adequate yearly progress regarding the improvement of student achievement in literacy education. This book will help teachers and parents raise children's scores on standardized…

Based on the premise that improvement in students' reading, writing, and content area skills occurs when authentic literature is used as the core of reading instruction, this book offer guidelines for teachers who wish to incorporate literature into their classrooms. According to the book, the educational value of children's books as teaching…

This book traces the first year of a magnet school called Mega Center for Learning, established in 1990 in a large midwestern urban school district. It focuses on how the primary metaphors embedded in school documents and in stakeholders' perceptions and practices helped or hindered reform. Data were obtained from classroom observation; informal…

The Boys Town Education Model for classroom management is described in 15 chapters of this book. Emphasizing social skills instruction, each chapter elaborates a tool or technique needed to foster a positive, supportive, and structured classroom environment. Chapter 1, "The Well-Managed Classroom," discusses the four components of the…

This book tells the story of one year in the life of a juvenile court classroom. The Chicago (Illinois) juvenile court is the largest site of incarcerated youth in the world, and was the first state court provided exclusively for children. The experiences of the detention center school, focusing on the classroom of "Mr. B.," a committed…