Green Light Classrooms

Presents nine strategies for increasing the learning potential of students and encouraging participation, covering techniques such as movement, novelty, socialization, and drama, and includes sample lesson plans.

Transform your classroom into a dynamic learning environment for all students! Focusing on engaging students through brain-based teaching practices, this resource provides practical ideas and implementation strategies for putting the principles of Green Light classrooms into practice. Tuned to the way today’s students learn best, this book offers: Five principles of high-five teaching Detailed sample high-five lesson plans in math, science, reading, writing, and social studies Case studies, technology connections, and ways to create true learning communities An appendix of sample forms, games, and other essential classroom resources

Each lesson shows how the teacher used to present a lesson, outlines their new Green Light approach, and records the often-dramatic results this produced. Designed specifically to engage todays students, this guide offers tools and strategies to inspire best practices in every classroom.

Defining specific generations of individuals currently in the classroom, this work provides an introduction to the unique dynamics created by their combination. It addresses the need for teachers to adjust their teaching strategies to meet the needs of their students.

The optimal state for learning is one of safety, connection, motivation, and engagement. Every student and teacher is different, but there’s one thing each has in common: a responsive nervous system ready for action. Whether it’s a fight breaking out on the playground, a difficult conversation with a parent, or an impromptu fire drill, understanding how the nervous system responds can help keep teachers and students on an even keel. Polyvagal Theory (PVT) has had a tremendous impact on the mental health field, shedding light on how the nervous system predictably moves between different states in response to changing situations. School consultant Debra Em Wilson introduces PVT to educators and shows how using PVT-guided strategies can help create optimal learning environments. When school staff understand the role of the nervous system in learning, they can better help students develop the skills leading to increased resilience, adaptability, and flexibility: essential qualities for social, emotional, and academic success.

A wealth of practical tools and guidance for rooting out injustice and creating science learning spaces in which students feel valued, safe, and eager to engage. In Growing and Sustaining Student-Centered Science Classrooms, David Stroupe promotes powerful conversation and action around knowledge-building practices in science education. The book takes readers into inspiring classroom communities in which all students are invited and encouraged to engage in the work of science. An illuminating series of real-time classroom scenes demonstrate flexible teaching approaches and instructional pivots that Stroupe calls talk moves and shows how they foster inclusive collaboration and participation to create a more expansive, and better, version of science education. Even as Stroupe champions student-centered science education, he acknowledges that common obstructions to knowledge sharing, or epistemic injustices, can often prevent this student-led ideal from materializing. He calls attention to four types of injustices that frequently stifle student voice and access in science learning communities: testimonial injustice, hermeneutical injustice, intrapersonal injustice, and hierarchical injustice. Recounting real-life examples of these individual and systemic injustices, Stroupe gives educators the tools to both identify and eradicate them. This thought-provoking book sets forth ambitious tactics for educators to audit assumptions and biases in science, promote student agency, and conduct action research to document change. Using Stroupe's accessible methods, teachers, teacher educators, and administrators can design immediate and long-term instructional practices to disrupt injustices in STEM classroom communities and support student learning.

This resource offers strategies and sample lesson plans for putting the principles of Green Light classrooms into practice and engaging today's digitally savvy students.