Creating Calm Classrooms

Creating Calm Classrooms presents easy-to-follow and guaranteed to succeed strategies, teacher behaviors and class management practices that the author successfully deployed to create oases of peace and tranquility in his classrooms in more than twenty years of teaching in urban schools. The methods contained in this book can enable any teacher, regardless of lack of experience, to create calm classroom environments in which teaching and learning flourish without the strenuous stresses of students’ misbehavior. Unlike most books on classroom management, Creating Calm Classrooms is not espousing a narrow academic theory on classroom management arrived at through a narrowly focused study carried over a year or two. This book is a rich distillation of knowledge gathered, examined and refined in more than two decades of teaching. The teacher behaviors, management practices and students’ reactions described here yielded classrooms for the author where he was always able to teach and the students were also always ready to learn. It is not an exaggeration that this is the kind of knowledge that every teacher in the USA should have before he or she steps into a classroom to teach.

Easy and brief ways to incorporate yoga techniques in the classroom. Stress is everywhere in kids’ lives and impacts their well-being at home and school. Exercise is known to reduce stress, yet students have never been more sedentary. And teachers have little time to add yet something else into the school day. Enter Louise Goldberg and Classroom Yoga Breaks. In this essential book, readers will find a comprehensive guide to incorporating short yoga breaks into their classrooms. Teachers will learn how to promote movement, learning readiness, attention skills, cooperative community, and self-regulation—all in just a few minutes a day. Goldberg’s evidence-based principles of “Creative Relaxation”—creating a peaceful environment where students feel safe, engaged, successful, and independent, promoting empathy and mutual respect—lead the way toward successful use of yoga in the classroom. The book includes a step-by-step curriculum for integrating yoga breaks into the classroom and over 200 illustrated exercises—enough to incorporate one every day of the school year. Twelve units are arranged by theme, with lessons consisting of one- to five-minute exercises, that can be done from the seat or standing. Each unit includes topics for discussion or writing, movement, breathing exercises, focusing activities, relaxation techniques, mindful practices, and self-calming skills. Yoga is a complement to social and emotional learning, mindfulness training, and physical education. It can help address bullying behaviors, students with autism and special needs, and promote overall resilience and executive function. With this book in hand, readers can integrate these fun, relaxing, and healthy breaks into the daily lives of their students and themselves.

The Teacher Toolbox for a Calm and Connected Classroom is a whole-child, whole-hearted approach to teaching, wellness, and student--teacher relationships. Chock-full of practical advice and brain-based tools from an experienced teacher and counselor, this book solves the question of how psychology and education can enrich and empower both teachers and students' wellness. Peppered with relatable anecdotes from the authors' experiences, the book deals with how to help unpack the' "invisible backpack" that both teachers and students bring into the classroom. Chapters are broken down to show how to practically address common issues such challenging behavior, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed education, attachment theory, mindfulness, mental health and much more. Each chapter outlines these common challenges but also provides an abundance of practical tools that can be used to help. Written accessibly, and with tools which are easy to implement, The Teacher Toolbox for a Calm and Connected Classroom is an indispensable guide for any teacher.

"Discover strategies grounded in neuroscience that help teachers foster a truly calm classroom environment that supports emotional awareness, psychological safety and belonging, and connected relationships"--

Help students and educators cope with fear in the classroom with this up-to-date new resource In The Courageous Classroom: Creating a Culture of Safety for Students to Learn and Thrive, community psychiatrist Dr. Janet Taylor and nationally acclaimed educator, Jed Dearybury deliver a concise and insightful take on the culture of fear in schools around the country. You'll learn about the various ways fear is present in students and educators, practical tools and strategies for educators to cope with fear and anxiety in the classroom, the reality of racism, homophobia and microaggressions and their impact on learning, and how to create a landscape of calm in your classroom. This important book will show you: The difference between fear and anxiety and how to respond to both How to create social-emotional learning environments where students feel mentally and physically safe Why, despite schools being safer than ever, students and educators fear for their personal safety How to manage educator stress, fear, and anxiety in a time of increasing coverage of school shootings Perfect for K-12 public school educators, Courageous Classrooms will also earn a place in the libraries of educators in training and parents with school-age children who wish to better help children cope with fear.

A step-by- step and easy to understand guide to support teachers, social workers, and administrators in learning all of the techniques of the Calm Classroom program. The accompanying CDs and presented by the Luster Learning Institute's staff. An exact demonstration of how to implement each three minute modules is provided. The manual is fully illustrated and includes a comprehensive description of the following age appropriate techniques: * Twenty-five physical stretching movements, steady postures and relaxation techniques * Twelve breathing techniques to maintain alertness and energy * Twelve mental concentration and focusing methods * Templates and instructions for designing a unlimited variety of unique lesson plans

Strategies and activity ideas to support emotional development in children. What is an emotion-rich classroom? Similar to how a print-rich environment exposes children to a variety of printed materials, an emotion-rich one intentionally surrounds children with a wide range of social emotional learning experiences and supportive interactions. Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom provides frameworks for planning and implementing strategies to support emotional development in children. This practical and easy-to-use resource helps early childhood educators develop the emotional literacy of the young children in their classrooms. Readers learn how to: increase children’s emotional vocabulary model how to recognize and cope with various emotions support self-regulation and reduce challenging behaviors discuss emotions in others and in storybook characters support and engage families in fostering emotional skills at home Experienced in emotional development in children and early childhood education, author Lindsay N. Giroux, M.Ed., shows readers how to effectively weave social and emotional instruction into the fabric of the school day. Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom focuses on individual skills, making social and emotional instruction specific and measurable. With consistently structured chapters, this book is easy to use and rich in ideas and strategies. Digital content includes checklists, planning sheets, and other materials to support educators as they build an emotion-rich classroom. A free downloadable PLC/Book Study Guide is available.

`At last a book is written by teachers for teachers based on sound research that will generate enquiry based learning. It is essential for every classroom with lots of mathematical activities. These will purposefully engage children and allow for differentiation for those who require additional support to understand the number system and the more able children who require to be challenged. Mathematical standards in our schools will improve tremendously following these instructional activities' - Carole Cannon, Development Officer for Mathematics Recovery 'This book ‘Teaching Number in the Classroom with 4-8 year olds’ is an absolute "must have" for all educators involved in early number. Based on sound theoretical foundations, it offers a wealth of down-to-earth, tried and tested, effective approaches to teaching early number concepts and skills. It is a clearly a book written by teachers for teachers. Every single activity in the book is a nugget. Engaging with these activities will change your whole approach to teaching early number' - Noreen O’Loughlin, Associate Vice-President/Lecturer in Maths Education, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. 'The authors prove it is possible to write a teacher friendly/teacher useful mathematics book that connects theory and practice. This book may become the primary teacher's "Math Bible"' - Angela Giglio Andrews, Primary Intervention Specialist and Coordinator, and Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, National Louis University 'Teaching Number in the Classroom translates years of research into a very understandable and comprehensive approach for teaching children how the number system is structured and how to think like a mathematician. For too many years there has been the perception that children who are struggling with mathematics don't know the basic facts. The reality is that these children lack number knowledge and skills. Teaching Number in the Classroom will guide the educational professional through the steps of understanding the development of "number sense", identifying the current levels of knowledge and providing instruction that helps children use the "framework of mathematics" to solve number problems. Teaching Number in the Classroom is a thinking skills approach to mathematics. Children are taught a variety of strategies for solving mathematical problems. The teacher using this book will be able to help all children develop a strong foundation of mathematical understanding' - Carol Meland, K-3rd Grade Principal for the School District of Milton Wisconsin, USA Teaching Number in the Classroom with 4-8 year olds is an absolute "must-have" for all educators involved in early number. Based on sound theoretical foundations, it offers a wealth of down-to-earth, tried and tested, effective approaches to teaching early number concepts and skills. It is a clearly a book written by teachers for teachers. Every single activity in the book is a nugget. Engaging with these activities will change your whole approach to teaching early number' - Noreen O'Loughlin, Associate Vice-President/Lecturer in Maths Education, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick Following the success of their previous bestselling titles, Early Numeracy and Teaching Number, the authors of this brand-new text now bring the principles and practice of their acclaimed Mathematics Recovery Programme to whole-class teaching. Central to the book is the concept of an inquiry-based approach to classroom instruction, and topics covered range from beginning number and early counting strategies to multi-digit addition and subtraction right through to multiplication and division. As world leaders in the field of Mathematics Recovery, this book's authors have drawn on their vast experience to create a user-friendly, practical guide focusing on classroom teaching. With its step-by-step approach, the text can be used as a training manual and course reference by teachers everywhere. Key features which make the book such a valuable tool include: - Real-life examples from classroom work - Teaching activities - Assessment tasks - Guidance on classroom organization and teaching specific topics - Activities for parents to do with children An invaluable resource for experienced mathematics recovery teachers, as well as all primary classroom teachers, from kindergarten level to Year three, this text will also be of use to classroom assistants and learning support personnel. Primary mathematics advisors, numeracy consultants and educational psychologists will also find it helpful.