Any school interested in preparing students for learning and working in 21st century academic and job settings needs this resource to explain to teachers the new skills students need and provide teachers with tools to teach and reinforce these skills. Based on the work of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, this action tool defines what…

The impulse to investigate the natural world is deeply rooted in our earliest childhood experiences. This notion has long guided researchers to uncover the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of scientific reasoning in children. Until recently, however, research in cognitive development and education followed largely independent…

For more than two decades, the concept of student engagement has grown from simple attention in class to a construct comprised of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that embody and further develop motivation for learning. Similarly, the goals of student engagement have evolved from dropout prevention to improved outcomes for lifelong…

By helping children to form positive thinking and learning habits, and to develop a range of transferable skills, we give them the tools they need to become successful learners. This book is grounded in the best of current practice and theories surrounding thinking and learning skills. It provides a highly effective method for introducing a…

Social-emotional competence--it is a critical part of every child's school success, and just like any academic subject, children need instruction in it. Developed by a top expert, these proven curricula will help promote the social-emotional competence and resilience of children and adolescents. Divided into four age levels from kindergarten…

Designed to develop K-3 children's thinking skills before the children have mastered reading, this book presents 32 activities in which children learn to complete analogies--presented with an "attribute block" with 3 attributes, children choose a fourth attribute block to complete the analogy. The attribute blocks in the book are of 4 types--shape…

Interactive books have parts or pieces that children can manipulate while reading the text. In the interactive books described in this classroom resource book for students in grades PreK-1, the pieces are attached to Velcro and can be moved from one part of the book to another, while the text consists of verses set to familiar tunes so that…

Introducing students to the magic of theater and helping them develop dramatic skills, this book presents nine reproducible scripts for short plays (15 to 25 minutes) with characters and story lines that will appeal to young people. The scripts in the book encompass a variety of story types, from adaptations of well-known fairy tales to original…

Fluency instruction can be seamlessly incorporated into any elementary classroom with the help of this indispensable guide. Provided are fluency development ideas that are effective and motivating, including whole-class and small-group lessons, student-managed activities, and procedures involving classroom volunteers. The emphasis on partner-based…

With the development of state and national achievement standards in the content areas, it is more important than ever for teachers to develop in their students effective reading behaviors, literacy skills, and study strategies that will enable them to tackle increasingly complex materials. This book features 45 literacy skill-building strategies…

Whenever students can't remember, don't comprehend, or won't follow through on your instructions, here's a guide that explores the root cause for these and other learning problems and shows you how to set students on the path to understanding and success. Learning expert Betty K. Garner explains the mental processes students need to gather,…

Designed to show teachers how to create environments that will encourage literate talk, not discourage it, this book discusses ways to organize classrooms that will support the sharing of books in the same way that book-loving families share books. The book builds on the interwoven nature of language, suggesting that by talking about books,…

This book draws on recent theory and research to suggest ways teachers (grades K-12) can raise the levels of thinking involved in classroom activities and give students practice in higher mental operations. Taking the position that helping students understand their own mental processes also helps them function at higher levels in the English…

A collection of 25 games, some illustrated, for English language instruction includes information exchange games for pairs and small groups (Describe and Draw, Describe and Arrange, Construct It, Describe and Construct, Find the Difference, Complete It, Ask the Right Question, Compare and Check, Rescue), linking and matching games (Use It, Picture…

Designed to help youngsters with real-world learning, and with being a smart consumer, this book focuses on having students participate in decisions facing consumers every day. The book contends that this is the best way to help students think critically and solve problems. Activities in the book require students to make consumer decisions related…