"I was rejuvenated by the opportunities for exciting and meaningful instruction. My creative thoughts ran rampant with how I could use these ideas with my novice teachers as well as within my classroom." —Jayne Englert-Burns, Consulting Teacher, Special Education Montgomery County Public Schools, Germantown, MD "The authors have done a nice job of describing how to make teaching student-centered by focusing on individual student interests and learning styles and by making classroom instruction exciting and fun." —Dennis H. Reid, Director Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center Engage students′ interest and build foundational literacy skills! Teaching literacy to middle school and high school students with significant disabilities can prove challenging when available reading materials often don′t match students′ reading levels and interests. This accessible, step-by-step guide shows teachers how to match students with appropriate texts and develop inventive themed units that encourage literacy learning. Teachers can build whole units around a selected text and create hands-on activities that engage multiple senses. This valuable resource includes sample activities and lesson plans, ideas for adapting general education materials, and essential information on how to: Build vocabulary and use retelling and guided reading Teach functional skills on a daily basis Incorporate media and assistive technology Coordinate with general education teachers and involve parents Assess students′ learning and meet IEP goals Perfect for special education and inclusive classrooms, this resource features everything teachers need to motivate students with disabilities and help them develop literacy skills!

From the award-winning illustrator and author of The Fox and the Star, Coralie Bickford-Smith, a beautifully illustrated tale about a Worm, a Bird, and the importance of being present and appreciating what you have, where you are. Winner of Communication Arts 2018 Illustration Annual Digging through the ground day in and day out, Worm dreams of a better life. Despite having endless paths of dirt to plough, other burrowing creatures to befriend, and underground treasures to discover, Worm wants more—more space to be alone. Too busy to see the world around it, pushing everything aside, Worm learns a hard lesson in appreciating what you have and where you are. This beautifully illustrated tale by award-winning author and illustrator Coralie Bickford-Smith explores themes of hope, curiosity, and the circle of life. Taking inspiration from Seneca’s essay “On the Shortness of Life,” which reads “But life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present and fear the future,” and drawing from the simple wisdom of the natural world, Bickford-Smith reminds readers about the importance of slowing down and engaging in the life around us. Printed in Italy, with a foil-stamped cloth cover, sewn binding, metallic inks, and high-quality paper, Bickford-Smith's new illustrated book is for readers of all ages of fables and fairy tales, from gardeners to bird-watchers to design lovers, and for those seeking mindfulness. —and it will be a great companion volume to her first book, The Fox and the Star, named Waterstones Book of the Year in 2015.

A new, interactive approach to storytime, The Whole Book Approach was developed in conjunction with the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and expert author Megan Dowd Lambert's graduate work in children's literature at Simmons College, offering a practical guide for reshaping storytime and getting kids to think with their eyes. Traditional storytime often offers a passive experience for kids, but the Whole Book approach asks the youngest of readers to ponder all aspects of a picture book and to use their critical thinking skills. Using classic examples, Megan asks kids to think about why the trim size of Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline is so generous, or why the typeset in David Wiesner's Caldecott winner,The Three Pigs, appears to twist around the page, or why books like Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express and Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar are printed landscape instead of portrait. The dynamic discussions that result from this shared reading style range from the profound to the hilarious and will inspire adults to make children's responses to text, art, and design an essential part of storytime.

Describes in pictures the proper responses to real-life situations that youth with social communication challenges face on a daily basis.

Talking Beyond the Page shows how different kinds of picturebooks can be used with children of all ages and highlights the positive educational gains to be made from reading, sharing, talking and writing about picturebooks. With contributions from some of the world's leading experts, chapters in this book consider how: children think about and respond to visual images and other aspects of picturebooks children's responses can be qualitatively improved by encouraging them to think and talk about picturebooks before, during and after reading them the non-text features of picturebooks, when considered in their own right, can help readers to make more sense out of the book different kinds of picturebooks, such as wordless, postmodern, multimodal and graphic novels, are structured children can respond creatively to picturebooks as art forms picturebooks can help children deal with complex issues in their lives Talking beyond the Page also includes an exclusive interview with Anthony Browne who shares thoughts about his work as an author illustrator. This inspiring and thought provoking book is essential reading for teachers, student teachers, literacy consultants, academics interested in picturebook research and those organising and teaching on teacher education courses in children's literature and literacy.