Books published by publisher ASCD

In this inspiring and thought-provoking follow-up to his 2009 best-seller Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life, Baruti Kafele makes the case that the "attitude gap" that often affects underperforming students can only be closed if educators first help students develop the will to strive for excellence. According to Kafele, educators can achieve remarkable results by focusing on five key areas:* The teacher's attitude toward students* The teacher's relationship with students* The teacher's compassion for students* The learning environment* The cultural relevance of instructionReplete with practical strategies and illustrative anecdotes drawn from the author's 20-plus years as a teacher and principal in inner-city schools, Closing the Attitude Gap offers a wealth of lessons and valuable insights that educators at all levels can use to fire up their students' passion to learn.

Why do some schools succeed while others struggle? Why do policies and programs often fail to deliver what they promise? In this follow-up to their insightful School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and Transform It, authors Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker offer practical advice and strategies that help you build positive energy to reinvigorate your school's culture and staff.Written as a standalone guide, School Culture Recharged clarifies the difference between culture and climate and zeroes in on key school improvement efforts, includingMoving from the culture you have to the culture you want;Using the school's culture to improve teaching, job satisfaction, and morale;Maximizing the intentions of professional learning communities; andDeveloping organizational habits—rules and rituals—that can contribute to positive change.For education leaders at all levels, this book delivers a compelling message: Understanding and harnessing the transformative power of school culture can propel your school into the kind of place where teachers want to work, administrators can focus on what matters most, and students can thrive.

Foreword by John HattieIn this fully revised and expanded third edition of the bestselling Reciprocal Teaching at Work, Lori D. Oczkus provides both tried-and-true and fresh solutions for teaching reading comprehension.Reciprocal teaching is a scaffolded discussion technique that builds on the Fab Four strategies that good readers use to understand text: predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing.With a focus on these four evidence-based and classroom-tested strategies, Oczkus presents new ways to use reciprocal teaching to improve students' comprehension while actively engaging them in learning and encouraging independence. Appealing to students and teachers alike, reciprocal teaching encompasses social aspects of teaching and learning with modeling, think-alouds, and discussion. This helpful guide is packed with fresh material, includingMore than 40 new and updated step-by-step lessons and minilessons that reflect current thinking and best practice.Dozens of rich suggestions for diving into informational texts. Updated research and relevant results that show the effectiveness of reciprocal teaching.Creative and targeted tips that capitalize on the specific benefits of whole-class settings, guided reading groups, and literature circles.Ideas for differentiating instruction for struggling readers and English language learners.New and newly designed support materials, including reproducibles, posters, bookmarks, and a lesson planning menu.With a wealth of ideas to get you started and keep you going this is the all-inclusive resource you need to help students become active, engaged, and independent readers who truly comprehend what they read.Copublished by ASCD and the International Literacy Association (ILA).

The goals of restorative practices are twofold: 1) build and maintain relationships and 2) repair relationships that have been harmed. Restorative practices are helpful for Creating a respectful classroom. Developing rapport with students.Managing conflicts.Establishing routines and expectations for positive student behavior.This guide's tips, strategies, sample questions and statements, and peacemaking tools will help teachers successfully use restorative practices in their classrooms.

Formative assessment is a process, acted out in a formative learning cycle, that partners the teacher and the student to regularly gather evidence of learning with the express goal of improving student achievement. Formative assessment is most effective in classrooms in which the learning cycle enables students toUnderstand what they are trying to learn and the criteria by which they can assess that learning.Produce evidence of how they are doing.Receive formative feedback.Use the feedback to improve the quality of their work.In this guide, experts Susan M. Brookhart and Jay McTighe show how best to incorporate the formative learning cycle into everyday instruction. They offer techniques for sharing learning targets, assessment activities to use in the classroom, and strategies for providing student feedback.

In this latest installment to his series of best-selling self-reflection guides, celebrated educator, author, and motivational speaker Baruti Kafele offers school leaders 35 thought-provoking questions to ponder from one fundamental overarching query: "Is my school a better school because I lead it?"Musing deeply on discrete leadership matters is an essential component of success for anybody overseeing the day-to-day operations of a school, and doubly so in communities plagued by drugs, violence, or other markers of societal dysfunction. In this book, Kafele offers those seeking to improve the quality of instruction in their institutions hard-won wisdom on such critical issues as ensuring an optimal culture and climate, engaging in parent and community outreach, confirming emergency preparedness, rallying staff, and much more.Because the sheer volume of responsibilities for a principal or assistant principal can leave you with very little time for developing an effective and consistent self-reflection regimen, Kafele has done the work for you. You need only open the book and begin reading to embark upon a penetratingly insightful journey destined to transform your practice, boost teacher satisfaction, and—most important of all—inspire students to excel academically.

What strategies are most effective in creating a well-managed classroom that supports the best possible teaching and learning? What rules and procedures should you establish, and what kinds of consequences are appropriate for those who break the rules? How can you foster positive relationships with even the most challenging students?This companion volume to Classroom Management That Works helps teachers at all grade levels master the array of skills that lead to a productive learning environment. Through exercises, worksheets, case studies, and other materials, readers explore the seven essential facets of effective classroom management that Robert J. Marzano identified by analyzing more than 100 research studies. Discussion questions and self-assessments for each facet help readers examine their own practices and understanding, while also providing a framework for study teams using the book for professional development.Teachers are the most important factor in student learning, and their success in managing their classrooms directly effects student success. A Handbook for Classroom Management That Works provides sound advice and real-world solutions to help create a classroom where learning and teaching can thrive.

What does research tell us about how teachers can most effectively help young students learn to read? In Research-Based Methods of Reading Instruction, Grades K-3, Sharon Vaughn and Sylvia Linan-Thompson explore the research on reading, providing a comprehensive overview of the five core instructional areas and how each affects student achievement: *Phonemic awareness*Phonics and Word Study*Fluency*Vocabulary*ComprehensionThe authors include dozens of reading activities and lesson plans that teachers can use immediately, all of which have worked in actual classrooms and are grounded in solid research. A glossary and annotated resource lists will help you better understand key reading concepts and find reliable resources, including relevant Web sites.Whether your students have special needs or show no apparent learning difficulties, this book will expand your repertoire of teaching strategies and help you put students on the road to literacy.

Curriculum maps are among the simplest yet most effective tools for improving teaching and learning. Because they require people to draw explicit connections between content, skills, and assessment measures, these maps help ensure that all aspects of a lesson are aligned not only with each other, but also with mandated standards and tests.In Getting Results with Curriculum Mapping, Heidi Hayes Jacobs and her coauthors offer a wide range of perspectives on how to get the most out of the curriculum mapping process in districts and schools. In addition to detailed examples of maps from schools across the United States, the authors offer concrete advice on such critical issues as* Preparing educators to implement mapping procedures, * Using software to create unique mapping databases, * Integrating decision-making structures and staff development initiatives through mapping, * Helping school communities adjust to new curriculum review processes, and* Making mapping an integral part of literacy training.Teachers, administrators, staff developers, and policymakers alike will find this book an essential guide to curriculum mapping and a vital resource for spearheading school improvement efforts.

Includes 7 free web apps!For years, the teaching and learning of fractions has been associated with rote memorization. But this mechanical approach to instruction—which strips students of an ability to reason or make sense of math—has resulted in a failure of understanding.Author Monica Neagoy, drawing on decades of research studies, evidence from teacher practice, and 25 years of experience working around the world with teachers, students, and parents, addresses seven big ideas in the teaching and learning of fractions in grades 2–6. Each idea is supported by a vignette from a real classroom, common misconceptions, a thorough unpacking of productive mathematical thinking, and several multistep and thought-provoking problems for teachers to explore.She offers three fundamental reasons why it's imperative for us to take a closer look at how we teach fractions:Fractions play a key role in students' feelings about mathematics.Fractions are fundamental to school math and daily life. Fractions are foundational to success in algebra.While a solid grounding in algebra is necessary for a STEM career, the worthy goal of "algebra for all" will not be possible until "fractions for all" is a reality. Unpacking Fractions provides teachers with concrete strategies for achieving that reality in short, helping all students gain the knowledge they need to feel at ease with fractions.

Teaching is as much about students as it is about curriculum, and no one understands this better than middle and high school teachers. But even the most dedicated teacher can sometimes feel defeated by the challenge of reaching distracted, disconnected, and defiant adolescents.Drawing on her own experience as a high school teacher, Katy Ridnouer shares an approach to classroom management that will help you spend less time "dealing with" your adolescent learners and more time inspiring them to be their best selves in school and beyond. Managing with heart means accepting teenage students as they are and recognizing what they need: a connection with the curriculum; a sense of order; and most essentially, a sense that someone cares. In this book, you'll find practical strategies for* Balancing care and discipline* Interacting with students and their parents* Establishing classroom routines that keep students on task* Communicating expectations and ensuring accountability* Handling common challenges, from classroom noise and personality conflicts to inappropriate clothing and disrespectful language* Building trust and helping students feel emotionally and intellectually safe.Vivid, real-life examples and questions for reflection make this a perfect choice for faculty reading groups and any middle or high school teacher looking to create a positive learning community, enhance students' confidence and interpersonal skills, and rediscover the reward of being a teacher.

Why do some schools succeed while others struggle? Why do policies and programs often fail to deliver what they promise? In this follow-up to their insightful School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and Transform It, authors Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker offer practical advice and strategies that help you build positive energy to reinvigorate your school's culture and staff.Written as a standalone guide, School Culture Recharged clarifies the difference between culture and climate and zeroes in on key school improvement efforts, includingMoving from the culture you have to the culture you want;Using the school's culture to improve teaching, job satisfaction, and morale;Maximizing the intentions of professional learning communities; andDeveloping organizational habits--rules and rituals--that can contribute to positive change.For education leaders at all levels, this book delivers a compelling message: Understanding and harnessing the transformative power of school culture can propel your school into the kind of place where teachers want to work, administrators can focus on what matters most, and students can thrive.