What are "essential questions," and how do they differ from other kinds of questions? What's so great about them? Why should you design and use essential questions in your classroom? Essential questions (EQs) help target standards as you organize curriculum content into coherent units that yield focused and thoughtful learning. In the classroom, EQs are used to stimulate students' discussions and promote a deeper understanding of the content. Whether you are an Understanding by Design (UbD) devotee or are searching for ways to address standards—local or Common Core State Standards—in an engaging way, Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins provide practical guidance on how to design, initiate, and embed inquiry-based teaching and learning in your classroom. Offering dozens of examples, the authors explore the usefulness of EQs in all K-12 content areas, including skill-based areas such as math, PE, language instruction, and arts education. As an important element of their backward design approach to designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment, the authors *Give a comprehensive explanation of why EQs are so important; *Explore seven defining characteristics of EQs; *Distinguish between topical and overarching questions and their uses; *Outline the rationale for using EQs as the focal point in creating units of study; and *Show how to create effective EQs, working from sources including standards, desired understandings, and student misconceptions. Using essential questions can be challenging—for both teachers and students—and this book provides guidance through practical and proven processes, as well as suggested "response strategies" to encourage student engagement. Finally, you will learn how to create a culture of inquiry so that all members of the educational community—students, teachers, and administrators—benefit from the increased rigor and deepened understanding that emerge when essential questions become a guiding force for learners of all ages.

In this 2nd edition of Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning, Mike Schmoker extends and updates the case that our schools could be on the cusp of swift, unparalleled improvements. But we are stymied by a systemwide failure to simplify and prioritize; we have yet to focus our limited time and energy on the most essential, widely acknowledged, evidence-based practices that could have more impact than all other initiatives combined. They are: simple, coherent curricula; straightforward, traditional literacy practices; and lessons built around just a few hugely effective elements of good teaching. As Schmoker demonstrates, the case for these practices—and the need for them—has grown prodigiously. In every chapter, you’ll find late-breaking discoveries and practical advice on how to simplify the implementation of new state standards in the subject areas; on the hidden pitfalls of our most popular, but unproven instructional fads and programs; and on simple, versatile strategies for building curriculum, planning lessons, and integrating literacy into every discipline. All of these strategies and findings are supported with exciting new evidence from actual schools. Their success confirms, as Michael Fullan writes, that a focus on the best "high-leverage practices" won’t only improve student performance; they will produce "stunningly powerful consequences" in our schools.

"A research-based ... grammar series for beginning- to advanced-level students of North American English. The series focuses on the grammar structures most commonly used in North American English, with an emphasis on the application of the grammar structures to academic writing. ... It is designed for use both in the classroom and as a self-study learning tool"--Introduction.

(Essential Elements Recorder). The new Essential Elements Classroom Method for Recorder is designed for today's classroom, including easy-to-use technology features that enhance the learning experience for any teaching situation. Essential Elements for Recorder is an effective tool for introducing or reinforcing general music concepts, as an introduction to ensemble performance (band, orchestra, and choir), or for individual or small group instruction. Includes over 130 songs, instrument basics, music reading, duets and rounds, music history, and a fingering chart.

The perfect pharmacology study tool for the classroom and examinations! Pharmacology: An Essential Textbook, Second Edition by Mark Simmons covers pharmacology facts and concepts necessary for success in the classroom and on board examinations. The clear and concise text presents important, clinically relevant pharmacology knowledge and concepts students must master. The updated edition includes the addition of new drugs, a chapter on water and fatsoluble vitamins, a greater number of clinical questions, and a fresh design. Key Features Hundreds of full-color illustrations, beautiful infographics, and summary tables provide visual depictions of important concepts The succinct, bullet-point format focuses on must-master information Flow charts used to delineate drug effects make complex interactions between different cells and organs easier to comprehend Sidebars build on and integrate learning across the basic sciences and apply it to the clinical setting Nearly 200 board-style and factual self-testing questions with explanatory answers are ideal for exam practice An additional 200 questions and answers are available online at MedOne via the scratch-off code in the book This is an invaluable resource for medical and nursing school pharmacology courses, pharmacy school students, other health professionals studying pharmacology, and advanced undergraduate courses in pharmacology or pharmaceutical sciences. This book provides robust test prep for the USMLE® Step 1, COMLEX Level 1, NAPLEX, NCLEX and other licensing exams.

Provides a basis of structures and vocabulary English containing material for about a year's work with a vocabulary of 3,000 words.