This innovative book helps K–6 teachers infuse the entire school day with research-based literacy best practices. Classroom-tested strategies are presented for planning and implementing each component of the "exemplary literacy day"--vocabulary and word study sessions, literacy work stations, differentiated guided reading groups, reading and writing workshops, and interdisciplinary projects. Teachers get tips for organizing a print-rich classroom, supporting students' social–emotional well-being, and using assessment to guide instruction. User-friendly features include vivid vignettes, classroom management tips, questions for discussion and reflection, and 15 reproducible forms, checklists, and lesson templates. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Note: this book is a contemporary follow-up to Morrow's influential earlier title Organizing and Managing the Language Arts Block.

This innovative book helps K–6 teachers infuse the entire school day with research-based literacy best practices. Classroom-tested strategies are presented for planning and implementing each component of the "exemplary literacy day"--vocabulary and word study sessions, literacy work stations, differentiated guided reading groups, reading and writing workshops, and interdisciplinary projects. Teachers get tips for organizing a print-rich classroom, supporting students' social–emotional well-being, and using assessment to guide instruction. User-friendly features include vivid vignettes, classroom management tips, questions for discussion and reflection, and 15 reproducible forms, checklists, and lesson templates. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Note: this book is a contemporary follow-up to Morrow's influential earlier title Organizing and Managing the Language Arts Block.

All of us struggle at one time or another with creative block. Always striking at the worst moment, it can leave you feeling completely paralyzed. Take solace in knowing that you are not alone. It happens to everyone and is actually an inevitable part of the creative process. Breakthrough!is a lively compilation of strategies for combating creative block offered by a who's who of leading graphic designers, typographers, cartoonists, photographers, illustrators, musicians, writers, and other creative professionals. Because every block is different, they offer a wide variety of solutions—from cleaning the house and eating spicy food to making a plaster cast of your hands and feet—that are surprising, amusing, at times weird, but always inspiring. Breakthrough! is rocket fuel for any creative individual in need of a catalyst to get ideas flowing again.

All the tips and tools you need to realize the goal of balanced literacy learning. Students learn to read and write best when their teachers balance literacy instruction. Best-selling authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nancy Akhavan help you strike the right balance of skills and knowledge, reading and writing, small and whole group instruction, and direct and dialogic instruction, so that all students can learn to their maximum potential. Using this essential guide, tap your intuition, collaborate with your peers, and put the research-based strategies embedded within to work in your classroom for a strong and successful balanced literacy program.

What is trauma and what does it mean for the literacy curriculum? In this book, elementary teachers will learn how to approach difficult experiences through the everyday instruction and interactions in their classrooms. Readers will look inside classrooms and literacies across genres to see what can unfold when teachers are committed to compassionate, critical, and relational practice. Weaving her own challenging experiences into chapters brimming with children’s writing and voices, Dutro emphasizes that issues of power and privilege matter centrally to how attention to trauma positions children. The book includes questions and prompts for discussion, reflection, and practice and describes pedagogies and strategies designed to provide opportunities for children to bring the varied experiences of life, including trauma, to their school literacies in positive, meaningful, and supported ways. “This stunning book about trauma interrogates the very notion. Dutro excels at interweaving her stories with those of teachers and students and at challenging readers to find their way into the fabric. I recommend this book to teachers so that they might accept her challenge to explore and understand the importance of both witnessing and testimony in relation to trauma in literacy curriculum and pedagogy.” —Mollie Blackburn, The Ohio State University

Boost students' language arts skills and meet standards—without adding to your schedule! Do you start the day with Morning Meeting? If so, you can use some of that time to reinforce students' language arts learning. These fun, lively activities enable you to seamlessly integrate language arts into a daily Morning Meeting. You'll find language arts activities for each component of Morning Meeting—greeting, sharing, group activity, and morning message. From reading poetry with sound effects to pantomiming idioms to guessing which character someone's describing, these activities are varied, challenging, and confidence-building. Features that make them easy to use: Clear, step-by-step directionsCan be used with any curriculumFew or no materials requiredVariations and extensions for language arts lessonsActivities sorted by grade, but can be adapted for any grade This book helps you inspire students' interest in language arts and give them practice in key skills—all while enriching and enlivening your Morning Meetings.