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.

For success in school and life, students need more than proficiency in academic subjects and good scores on tests; those goals should form the floor, not the ceiling, of their education. To truly thrive, students need to develop attributes that aren’t typically measured on standardized tests. In this lively, engaging book by veteran school leader Thomas R. Hoerr, educators will learn how to foster the “Formative Five” success skills that today’s students need, including Empathy: learning to see the world through others’ perspectives.Self-control: cultivating the abilities to focus and delay self-gratification.Integrity: recognizing right from wrong and practicing ethical behavior.Embracing diversity: recognizing and appreciating human differences.Grit: persevering in the face of challenge.When educators engage students in understanding and developing these five skills, they change mindsets and raise expectations for student learning. As an added benefit, they see significant improvements in school and classroom culture. With specific suggestions and strategies, The Formative Five will help teachers, principals, and anyone else who has a stake in education prepare their students—and themselves—for a future in which the only constant will be change.

Can your organization keep up with today's rapid pace of change? Or is it falling behind, overrun by forces that seem almost uncontrollable? In Future-Focused Leadership: Preparing Schools, Students, and Communities for Tomorrow's Realities, Gary Marx suggests that staying abreast of current worldwide trends and being aware of those just around the corner is the essence of successful leadership. In this insightful and informative guide, Marx presents principles, tools, and techniques to help leaders steer their organizations confidently into the future and prepare the next generation of leaders for life in the 21st century. Readers will learn to* Scan the environment to identify and analyze significant trends and issues;* Manage issues to set priorities and minimize negative fallout;* Identify the characteristics of an ideal organization and construct scenarios that depict possible futures;* Engage the larger community in building a future-focused organization; and* Develop a strategic communication plan that supports the organization's goals and contributes to its ultimate success.Future-Focused Leadership is written not only for education leaders, but also for anyone interested in successful, forward-looking leadership. Combining stimulating ideas and practical suggestions, the book will ensure that your organization or community is fully prepared today to confront the challenges of tomorrow.

Is your school prepared to deal with a crisis, whether it's a hurricane, an earthquake, an explosion at a nearby chemical facility, an active shooter, or one of many other possibilities? Does your school have an up-to-date plan to deal with hazards of all sorts? Do teachers and other staff members know what to do in emergency situations to protect their students and themselves from harm?In this informative and comprehensive guide, school safety experts Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger offer significant—and sometimes surprising—statistics on school safety, dispel common misunderstandings, and provide preK–12 school leaders with the specific information they need to prepare for and effectively respond to natural disasters, accidents, or violent events.Readers will learn how and why it is important toRealistically assess threats and vulnerabilities.Create and implement an emergency operations plan that follows government guidelines and best practices.Decentralize authority and responsibility for crisis response.Distinguish between three levels of "lockdown."Plan for short- and long-term recovery following an incident.Make school safety an everyday component of school operations.At a time when schools at every level and in every community face the possibility of a crisis event, Keeping Students Safe Every Day equips leaders with the knowledge they need to give their students, staff members, parents, and the broader community confidence that their school knows what to do and makes safety a top priority.

WINNER OF THE CREATIVE CHILD MAGAZINE 2018 BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD, EARLY EDUCATION ADVENTURE BOOKS CATEGORYYour voice is your choice.It is special, you'll see.Your voice is unique.I hope you agree. The world is a noisy place. It's full of voices, but what are they all for? How are they different, and how do people use their voices to be heard?Two young birds, Cay and Adlee, are going on an adventure to find out! Follow along as they explore, listen, learn, and meet new friends who use their unique voices to express themselves.Along the way, Cay and Adlee find their own voices and aspirations. We all have an important voice. What kind of voice do you have?Created by internationally recognized education leader Russ Quaglia and his daughter Cali along with award-winning illustrator Daniel Minter Cay and Adlee Find Their Voice supports Quaglia's pioneering work around the importance of student voice.

For too long, educators have focused only on getting students ready for the next test, for the next grade, for graduation, or maybe for college. Students must be prepared to succeed in school, and they must know how to read, write, and calculate. But that’s only the beginning. Our job—whether we teach kindergarten, 5th grade, or high school or we lead a school or district—is to prepare students for success in the real world. To do so, we must also teach grit. Grit is a combination of tenacity and perseverance—a willingness to take risks even if it means sometimes failing and starting again. Knowing how to respond to frustration and failure is essential whether a student struggles or excels. Veteran school leader and popular Educational Leadership columnist Thomas R. Hoerr shows what teaching for grit looks like and provides a sample lesson plan and self-assessments, along with a six-step process applicable across grade levels and content areas to help students build skills they need to succeed in school and in life.

This publication offers clear and positive strategies that empower teachers and administrators to develop effective rules and consequences. Richard Curwin’s approach emphasizes student and parent engagement; schoolwide collaboration; and developing student responsibility. Curwin shows how educators and administrators at all levels can-Ensure that classroom and schoolwide rules are meaningful and significant.-Involve students to develop effective rules and appropriate consequences.-Collaborate with parents and colleagues to foster a sense of community.-Treat students fairly by enforcing consistent rules while adapting individual consequences to fit the circumstances.The strategies offered aim to make schools more harmonious and equitable environments, where students and teachers can move beyond discipline problems and get down to the real work of learning and teaching.

In Making Sense of Math, Cathy L. Seeley, former president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, shares her insight into how to turn your students into flexible mathematical thinkers and problem solvers. This practical volume concentrates on the following areas:* Making sense of math by fostering habits of mind that help students analyze, understand, and adapt to problems when they encounter them.* Addressing the mathematical building blocks necessary to include in effective math instruction.* Turning teaching “upside down” by shifting how we teach, focusing on discussion and analysis as much as we focus on correct answers.* Garnering support for the changes you want to make from colleagues and administrators.Learn how to make math meaningful for your students and prepare them for a lifetime of mathematical fluency and problem solving.

Many teachers in regular classrooms feel unprepared to teach students with learning disabilities. Fortunately, brain research has confirmed that strategies benefiting learners with special challenges are suited for engaging and stimulating all learners. In this book, neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis explains that we can best help students by putting in place strategies, accommodations, and interventions that provide developmentally and academically appropriate challenges to suit the needs, gifts, and goals of each student. Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom will help teachers* Understand how the brain learns and the technologies that reveal this process. * Implement strategies that are compatible with students' individual learning styles and honor their multiple intelligences. * Improve the focus of students with attention disorders and help them gain the confidence and skills they need to develop goal-oriented behaviors. * Create an enriching learning environment by incorporating student-centered activities, discovery and hands-on learning experiences, cross-curricular learning, and multisensory lessons. * Implement strategic review, study, and test preparation strategies that will allow students to retain information and connect it with future learning. * Build safe, supportive classroom communities and raise class awareness and empathy for students with learning disabilities.It's time for teachers to lower the barriers, not the bar. Using strategies that align with research on how people's brains function, teachers can engage all students as individuals and help them reach their maximum potential with joy and confidence.

What do we know about the brain's day-to-day functions?What does neuroscience tell us about how we learn?How can we make sense of the complex interconnections of billions of neurons in the human brain?Just as educators divide many subjects into parts, goals, and learning objectives, we can begin to understand the workings of the human brain by focusing on five learning systems: emotional, social, cognitive, physical, and reflective. In Teaching to the Brain's Natural Learning Systems, Barbara K. Given has investigated brain structures and functions of these five systems and applied findings from neurobiology to education without making leaps of judgment or unfounded claims. In this book, she translates neuroscience into an educational framework for lesson planning, teaching, and assessment.Educators can use details from each chapter to add to their repertoire of teaching strategies and instructional approaches. For example, understanding the five learning systems promotes effective, ongoing assessment of youngsters' basic human needs to belong, to know, to do, to reflect, and to be one's self. In addition, each chapter can help teachers' understand the roles they play (mentor/model, collaborator, facilitator, coach, and talent scout) and the personal/professional qualities they bring to the classroom (passion, vision, intention, action, and reflection). This is a practical book for educators based on current neurobiological insights into learning.

Nearly 50 percent of students in the United States alone are known to have been exposed to some form of trauma. Kristin Souers, a mental health counselor, and Pete Hall, a former principal, present 12 practical, easy-to-implement strategies to help students living with trauma thrive in the classroom. Based on the best-selling, award-winning book Fostering Resilient Learners, this laminated reference guide will give every educator the tools needed to ensure every child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged in school.