The 30 Goals Challenge For Teachers

How does a teacher know whether he or she is benefitting learners? What do educators do when they have questions about the best way to integrate new technologies into their classrooms? What should a teacher do to avoid burnout? Who will mentor the teacher who takes on these questions? The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers takes you on a personal journey to accomplish manageable goals, reflect on your experiences, and regain your spark and confidence in teaching. This innovative approach will help you reconnect to your students, improve your classroom practice, and help you transform as an educator. To ensure your success and growth, you will find: 30 short-term goals to complete at your own pace 30 long-term goals that relate to the short-term goals Exercises throughout to help you consider each goal Examples of how the goal has been accomplished in different teaching contexts Tips for the successful completion of the goals Reflection areas to document the result of accomplishing the goal A resource list with free web tools and apps related to the goal’s task

Turn any student into a bookworm with a few easy and practical strategies Donalyn Miller says she has yet to meet a child she can’t turn into a reader. No matter how far behind Miller's students might be when they reach her 6th grade classroom, they end up reading an average of 40 to 50 books a year. Miller's unconventional approach dispenses with drills and worksheets that make reading a chore. Instead, she helps students navigate the world of literature and gives them time to read books they pick out themselves. Her love of books and teaching is both infectious and inspiring. In the book, you’ll find: Hands-on strategies for managing and improving your own school library Tactics for helping students walk on their own two feet and continue the reading habit after they’ve finished with your class Data from student surveys and end-of-year feedback that proves how well the Miller Method works The Book Whisperer includes a dynamite list of recommended "kid lit" that helps parents and teachers find the books that students really like to read.

Develop standardsbased problem solving strategies & skills. Each comprehensive teacher resource contains over 90 task cards, each focused on one problem. The task cards can be used by a whole class, in small groups or individually. The associated activity for each is designed to challenge students to use their acquired problemsolving skills. Detailed teachers' notes provide information on distinct problemsolving strategies, to include: think, estimate & check; draw a diagram or picture; look for patterns; make a model; act out a problem; construct a table or a graph; write a statement; make a list; calculate; and reflect & assess results. The perfect supplement to any math class!

This book is designed for all K-12 educators and teacher preparation faculty. Reading this book is like being in the room with 30 teacher mentors from different grade-levels and school settings who are sharing strategies for: (1) building and maintaining a positive classroom climate; (2) planning; (3) instruction; and (4) professional development. Discover step-by-step breakdowns of how to implement each strategy as well as professional reflections from contributors representing two different grade-levels and a range of suburban and urban settings from all over the globe. Education students and novice teachers will learn from the in-depth descriptions of how to implement each strategy. Veteran teachers will be inspired by contributing teachers’ professional reflection regarding why and how they utilize each strategy. Readers in ALL school contexts will benefit from narrative descriptions of each strategy in action, which bring to life the ways that the strategies have made an impact on student learning and teacher development. The adaptations modeled throughout the book, based on students’ and schools’ assets and needs, help readers to think about how to make each strategy a good fit for their unique classroom. If you are looking for practical ideas from the field, look no further - this is a book designed to build your teaching toolbox with strategies that you will use for years to come.

Design and teach effective learning goals and objectives by following strategies based on the strongest research available. This book includes a summary of key research behind these classroom practices and shows how to implement them using step-by-step hands-on strategies. Short quizzes help readers assess their understanding of the instructional best practices explained in each section.

What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.