This practical, easy-to-read guide explains how to raise the rigor for students with special needs so they can achieve higher levels of learning. Learn how to set clear goals and expectations establish a climate of success scaffold and model lessons use graphic organizers and "think-alouds" apply modifications and accommodations use rigorous questioning strategies differentiate instruction increase family involvement Get even more out of this book by discussing it with others! It’s ideal for study groups and the appendix features a detailed guide on how to make it work for your group! Bonus! You get a great variety of handy black line masters for use in your own classroom.

In this new book, bestselling author Barbara R. Blackburn and intervention expert Bradley S. Witzel show you how to develop rigorous RTI and MTSS programs that will support students and lead them to lasting success. Written in a clear, engaging style, Rigor in the RTI and MTSS Classroom combines an in-depth discussion of the issues facing at-risk and learning-disabled students with practical strategies for all teachers. You’ll discover how to: Improve academic and social-emotional performance with scaffolding and demonstration of learning techniques; Establish and teach class rules, expectations, and consequences; Use evidence-based activities to spark student discussion; Implement rigorous, research-based strategies for math, literacy, reading, and writing development; Assess student growth and encourage self-reflection. Form an MTSS leadership team to ensure that student needs are met across building and district levels. Each chapter contains anecdotes from schools across the country as well as a variety of ready-to-use tools and activities. Many of the tools are offered as free eResources at www.routledge.com/9781138193383, so you can easily print and distribute them for classroom use.

Reader-friendly and practical, Rigor is NOT a Four-Letter Word is filled with tools you can use every day to raise the level of rigor in your classroom. These strategies can be incorporated immediately across content areas, grades, and subjects. Barbara Blackburn clearly defines what rigor is and how individual teachers can provide challenging learning experiences in their classrooms to prepare students for a better future.

Developed specifically for grades K-2, this resource presents classroom-ready lessons that support the ISTE Standards for Students (NET standards). Use the lessons, which focus on four essential skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity), to take instruction and learning to the next level through the use of technology. Each chapter includes strategies for developing authentic learning experiences and ends with discussion questions for personal reflection. Integrate digital learning and support the ISTE Standards (formerly National Educational Technology Standards for Students or NETS): - Understand that real transformational change results from teaching and learning, not ever-changing digital devices. - Give students opportunities to exercise their voice, choice, and creativity using multimedia and digital tools. - Implement practical novice-, operational-, and wow-level lessons and tips for using digital tools in classroom lessons. - Foster digital citizenship, helping students keep themselves and their data safe online and make ethical decisions on the Internet. - Learn how to get students communicating, collaborating, innovating, and thinking critically in grade K-2 classroom lessons. Contents: Chapter 1: Learning Technology Operations and Concepts Chapter 2: Embracing Creativity Chapter 3: Communicating and Collaborating Chapter 4: Conducting Research and Curating Information Chapter 5: Thinking Critically to Solve Problems Chapter 6: Being Responsible Digital Citizens Chapter 7: Expanding Technology and Coding Concepts Epilogue Appendix References and Resources

Learn how to increase instructional rigor so that all students can reach higher levels of learning! In this new edition of a best seller, author Barbara R. Blackburn offers practical ideas for raising expectations, increasing complexity, integrating scaffolding into instruction, creating open-ended choices and projects, and much more. This timely new edition provides connections to rigorous standards, plus it features new sections on topics such as questioning models, student ownership, Genius Hour, summative assessments, becoming a teacher-leader, and increasing rigor in instructional technology. Appropriate for teachers of all grade levels and subject areas, the book is filled with helpful strategies and tools that you can implement immediately. In addition, full-sized templates are available as eResources on our website (www.routledge.com/9781138569560) so you can download and print them for classroom use. With its practical advice and helpful tools, Rigor Is NOT a Four-Letter Word will set you and your students on the fast track to higher learning and sustained success.

Special education teachers, as a significant segment of the teaching profession, came into their own with the passage of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, in 1975. Since then, although the number of special education teachers has grown substantially it has not kept pace with the demand for their services and expertise. The roles and practice of special education teachers have continuously evolved as the complexity of struggling learners unfolded, along with the quest for how best to serve and improve outcomes for this diverse group of students. High-Leverage Practices in Special Education defines the activities that all special educators needed to be able to use in their classrooms, from Day One. HLPs are organized around four aspects of practice collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral practices, and instruction because special education teachers enact practices in these areas in integrated and reciprocal ways. The HLP Writing Team is a collaborative effort of the Council for Exceptional Children, its Teacher Education Division, and the CEEDAR Center; its members include practitioners, scholars, researchers, teacher preparation faculty, and education advocates--Amazon.com

Mind-opening writing on what kids need from school, from one of education’s most outspoken voices Almost no writer on schools asks us to question our fundamental assumptions about education and motivation as boldly as Alfie Kohn. The Washington Post says that “teachers and parents who encounter Kohn and his thoughts come away transfixed, ready to change their schools.” And Time magazine has called him “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.” Here is challenging and entertaining writing on where we should go in American education, in Alfie Kohn’s unmistakable voice. He argues in the title essay with those who think that high standards mean joylessness in the classroom. He reflects thoughtfully on the question “Why Self-Discipline Is Overrated.” And in an essay for the New York Times, which generated enormous response, he warns against the dangers of both punishing and praising children for what they do instead of parenting “unconditionally.” Whether he’s talking about school policy or the psychology of motivation, Kohn gives us wonderfully provocative—and utterly serious—food for thought. This new book will be greeted with enthusiasm by his many readers, and by teachers and parents seeking a refreshing perspective on today’s debates about kids and schools.