Inventing A Classroom

A new and expanded edition of one of the decade's most influential education books. In this practical guide, Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager provide K-12 educators with the how, why, and cool stuff that supports making in the classroom, library, makerspace, or anywhere learners learn.

What are the patterns of teaching and learning that make a classroom holistic? How do children invent oral and written language? How do they create the culture and curriculum of a classroom? How does the spirit of community and collaboration develop among children and teachers? What are the relationships between literacy, schooling, and socialization as they form among the children? These are a few of the broad questions that Kathy Whitmore and Caryl Crowell answer in this absorbing portrait of Caryl's third-grade classroom, "the Sunshine Room." Over the span of a school year, we watch the students in this bicultural classroom within a bilingual, working-class neighborhood work and develop together as a community of learners. It is the story of how the Sunshine Room, like many whole language classrooms, invents itself; and how in this process the children themselves are continually inventing oral and written language, culture, and curriculum. In two separate collaborative voices, the authors carry readers through several critical events in the life of the classroom: the process through which the children and the teachers negotiate the curriculum, the creation of a theme study about the Middle Ages, and a vicarious experience of the Middle East war through children's literature and discussions. On an individual level, the deep friendship between Seaaira, an English-speaking child from the volunteer community, and Lolita, a bilingual Latina from the barrio, is symbolic of the bicultural experience fostered in the Sunshine Room.

"This is a clearly written, tightly organized, well-researched book. Its strength is in the five-step process it introduces and develops." -Francisco Guajardo, Assistant Professor Department of Educational Leadership University of Texas Pan American "This book offers a wealth of concrete and specific examples, models, and directions. Any teacher or prospective teacher reading it should be able to develop a Classroom Management Plan and implement it." -Frances Fowler, Professor & Director of Graduate Studies Department of Educational Leadership Miami University "Dr. Bosch provides a very practical, step-by-step approach to developing a management plan that works! Teachers take suggestions and develop their plan to fit their beliefs and styles." -Linda Scott, Principal Oscar Smith Middle School, Chesapeake, VA Increase student learning with an effective classroom management plan! One of the most challenging tasks for teachers is classroom management that ensures high levels of achievement for all students. In this updated edition, Karen Bosch helps preservice and experienced teachers develop classroom management plans tailored to their specific needs and skills. She discusses a five-step process that includes introspection, classroom observation, plan development, implementation, and plan revision. Field-tested for more than ten years, this unique book includes: Worksheets with questions to guide each step of the process Ample vignettes and examples Strategies for organization, discipline, classroom operation, and instruction Tips for working with diverse students This excellent resource provides guidance for teachers seeking to create a positive classroom environment, plan for student-centered learning, and meet the demands of today′s classrooms.

This practitioner-focused guide to creating identity-safe classrooms presents four categories of core instructional practices: Child-centered teaching ; Classroom relationships ; Caring environments ; Cultivating diversity. The book presents a set of strategies that can be implemented immediately by teachers. It includes a wealth of vignettes taken from identity-safe classrooms as well as reflective exercises that can be completed by individual teachers or teacher teams.

The Invention of Science: Why History of Science Matters for the Classroom introduces readers to some of the developments that were key for the emergence of Eurocentric science, the discipline we call science. Using history this book explores how human groups and individuals were key to the invention of the discipline of we call science. All human groups have a need and desire to produce systematic knowledge that supports their ongoing survival as a community. This book examines how history can help us to understand emergence of Eurocentric science from local forms of systematic knowledge. Each chapter explores elements that were central to the invention of science including beliefs of what was real and true, forms of reasoning to be valued, and how the right knowledge should be constructed and the role of language. But most importantly this book presented these ideas in an accessible way with activities and questions to help readers grapple with the ideas being presented. Enjoy!

"How to flexibly organize school book rooms in service of instruction-aligned classroom libraries"--

Deals with management of student conduct in the classroom, which is the number one area of concern for many teachers. This book includes discussions and real-life cases with reference to the influence of Chinese culture on Hong Kong classrooms. It covers topics such as managing behaviour, establishing classroom rules, and conveying authority.

From philosophy and rationale to sample lesson plans and evaluation forms, this complete design for the mixed-age primary classroom provides practical answers to teachers', administrators', and parents' questions about planning, implementation, environment, curriculum, management, assessment, and evaluation. Reproducible forms and assessment tools ease use. Grades K-6. Index. Bibliography. Illustrated. Good Year Books. 277 pages.