This text contains a step-by-step guide to the Quality Circle Time model which is used in thousands of schools nationally and around the world. It helps teachers deliver the Department for Education's guidance on Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning.

Bright Ideas is crammed with lively easy-to-use ideas to brighten up your day. * Very simple to use - slot into your existing teahing. * Ideal for busy teachers - one page per activity. * Fresh, ready-to-use teaching ideas and resources. * Addresses the rea day-to-day needs of the classroom teacher.

Discover new, practical methods for teaching literacy skills in your early childhood classroom. Has teaching early literacy skills become a stumbling block to getting your preschool students kindergarten ready? Break out of the tired “letter of the week” routine and learn how to transform your lessons with fun and effective techniques. Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers will equip teachers to infuse every aspect of their teaching with exciting hands-on literacy teaching methods that engage students and help them build authentic connections with books, so that 100% of their students will have a strong literacy foundation and will be fully prepared for success in kindergarten and beyond. Respected author Vanessa Levin, veteran early childhood educator and author of the “Pre-K Pages” blog, breaks down the research and translates it into realistic, actionable steps you can take to improve your teaching. Features specific examples of teaching techniques and activities that engage students in hands-on, experiential learning during circle time, centers, and small groups. Offers a simple, four-step system for teaching literacy skills, based on the foundational principles of early literacy teaching Demonstrates how to build your confidence in your ability to get 100% of your students ready for kindergarten, long before the end of the school year Understand the problems with traditional literacy teaching and identify gaps in your current teaching practice with this valuable resource.

(Faber Piano Adventures ). Written for ages 5 and 6, My First Piano Adventure captures the child's playful spirit. Fun-filled songs, rhythm games and technique activities develop beginning keyboard skills. Three distinguishing features of the Lesson Book A make it unique and effective for the young 5-6 year old beginner. 1. A strong focus on technique embedded in the book through playful technique games, chants, and carefully-composed pieces that gently lead the child into pianistic motions. 2. An outstanding CD for the young student to listen, sing, tap, and play along with at the piano. The orchestrated songs on the CD feature children singing the lyrics, which has great appeal to the 5-6 year old beginner. The CD becomes a ready-made practice partner that guides the student and parent for all the pieces and activities in the books. 3. The fanciful art features five multi-cultural children who are also learning to play. These friends at the piano introduce basic rhythms, white key names, and a variety of white and black-key songs that span classical, folk, and blues. Young students will listen, sing, create, and play more musically with Nancy and Randall Faber s My First Piano Adventure, Lesson Book A. The Lesson Book introduces directional pre-reading, elementary music theory and technique with engaging songs, games, and creative discovery at the keyboard. Young students will enjoy the multi-cultural "friends at the piano" who introduce white-key names, basic rhythms, and a variety of songs which span classical, folk, and blues. Ear-training and eye-training are also part of the curriculum. The Fabers' instructional theory "ACE" - Analysis, Creativity, and Expression, guides the pedagogy of My First Piano Adventure. Analysis leads to understanding, creativity leads to self-discovery, and expression develops personal artistry. The CD for this book offers a unique listening experience with outstanding orchestrations and vocals. The recordings demonstrate a key principle of the course: when children listen, sing, tap, and move to their piano music, they play more musically. View Helpful Introductory Videos Here

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.

7 Steps to Building a Language-Rich Interactive Classroom provides a seven step process that creates a language-rich interactive classroom environment in which all students can thrive. Topics include differentiating instruction for students at a variety of language proficiencies, keeping all students absolutely engaged, and creating powerful learning supports.