Good listening skills are vital to learning and to everyday life. Educational research shows a direct link between the ability to listen effectively, and measurable intelligence. If we improve listening skills, we improve IQ. Yet though we often complain about students' listening skills, do we apply focused teaching to improve them? "The Learning To Listen" series increases student ability to listen actively for sustained amounts of time. Each book consists of 20 appealing, high-interest stories which are read to students. After listening to each story, students complete related listening comprehension questions which require students to retain specific information from the story to answer given questions. Activities can be completed as a class, in groups or individually. Don't just talk about how students should learn to listen. Do something about it.

It is hard to overstate the importance of learning and retaining the basic sight words to the level of instant recognition of a good start in learning to read. This Read more...graded photocopiable resource series uses large and small motor activities and sentence reading and writing activities with contextual clues to introduce basic sight words. Book 1 covers the 45 words detailed in the National Literacy Strategy to be taught in YR. Books 2 and 3 each cover half of the 113 words required to be learned in Y1-Y2. The activities repeat, so that for each word students' independence is quickly achieved making the activities ideal for groups and independent work during the Literacy Hour. Activities can be built into a book that children can use as an independent reading resource.

Actively listening for information is an essential skill for all students and is one that needs to be developed and practised - it doesn't just happen. The exercises in this two-book series require the listener to actively listen for information in each story. The student shows that they have understood and processed this information by adding information onto the picture that accompanies each story. Students may need to add colour to the picture or they may need to add into the picture an item that is referred to in the story but not included in the picture. For each picture (24 per book) there are two stories or a story and a set of instructions at two levels of difficulty so each picture can be used twice.

Actively listening for information is an essential skill for all students and is one that needs to be developed and practised - it doesn't just happen. The exercises in this two-book series require the listener to actively listen for information in each story. The student shows that they have understood and processed this information by adding information onto the picture that accompanies each story. Students may need to add colour to the picture or they may need to add into the picture an item that is referred to in the story but not included in the picture. For each picture (24 per book) there are two stories or a story and a set of instructions at two levels of difficulty so each picture can be used twice.

At the heart of this inquiry into the ethical implications of education reform on reading practices in middle and secondary classrooms, the central question is what is lost, hidden, or marginalized in the name of progress? Drawing on her own experiences as an English teacher during the No Child Left Behind era, the author examines school cultures focused on meeting standards and measurable outcomes. She shows how genocide literature illuminates the ethics of reading and helps teachers and students rethink how literature should be taught in this modern, globalized era and the purposes of education more broadly.

In the decade since the first edition of Still Learning to Read was published, the prevalence of testing and the Common Core State Standards have changed what is expected of both teachers and students. The new edition of Still Learning to Read focuses on the needs of students in grades 3-6 in all aspects of reading workshop, including reading workshop, read-aloud, classroom design, digital tools, fiction, nonfiction, and close reading. The book stays true to its original beliefs of slowing down and knowing our readers, but it also takes into account the sense of urgency that changing times and standards impose on classrooms. This edition examines current trends in literacy, includes a new section on intentional instructional planning, and provides expanded examples of mini-lessons and routines that promote deeper thinking about learning. It also includes a brand new chapter on scaffolding for reading nonfiction and showcases the authors' latest thinking on close reading and text complexity. Online videos provide glimpses into classrooms as students make book choices, work in small groups, and discuss their reading notebooks. Expanded and updated book lists, recommendations for digital tools, lesson cycles, and sections specifically written for school leaders round out this foundational resource.

Treasure House Spelling Skills Pupil Books are aimed at ages 5-11 offering complete coverage of the 2014 National Curriculum. Treasure House Spelling Skills Pupil Book 3: - has 25 units - is directly matched to the 2014 National Curriculum - explains each spelling rule clearly and simply, followed by a set of carefully tailored questions - ensures pupils will master all appropriate language skills - provides regular progress checks with 3 review units. This pupil book can be used with Treasure House Spelling Skills Teacher's Guide 3 and activities on Collins Connect for a complete spelling programme.

Learning objectives at the start of each lesson explain the grammar focus and how it will be used to achieve a certain effect. Extracts from real texts demonstrate the different effects that writers use and model how grammar choices can create these effects. Each fiction unit draws on several novels and students should be encouraged to read full texts independently or as a class alongside the units. Activities give students a chance to put their learning into practice, experimenting with creating different effects in their writing and then reflecting on it. These help to develop the core writing and linguistic analysis skills required at KS3 and into GCSE.

The Skills Builders Year 4 Grammar and Punctuation Pupil Book includes 31 units of full colour activities, to help children gain a firm understanding of grammar and punctuation. The worked examples ensure children understand the concepts, before moving onto fun activities to consolidate their skills. Investigative exercises at the end of each unit provide fun challenges for children to apply their knowledge.

These engaging Storybooks provide structured practice for children learning to read the Read Write Inc. Set 1 sounds. Each set of books is carefully levelled to match childrens growing phonic knowledge so children can read them with accuracy, fluency and comprehension. The Storybooks include a range of engaging stories such as fairy tales, myths and legends, rhyming stories and familiar settings. Activities at the start of the books help children to practise the sounds and words they will encounter in the story. Questions to talk about at the end of the story provide an extra opportunity for developing childrens comprehension. The books are part of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, developed by Ruth Miskin. The programme is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. It includes Handbooks, Sounds Cards, Word Cards, Storybooks, Non-fiction, Writing books and an Online resource. Read Write Inc. is fully supported by comprehensive professional development from Ruth Miskin Training.

These engaging Storybooks provide structured practice for children learning to read the Read Write Inc. Set 1 and 2 sounds. Each set of books is carefully levelled to match childrens growing phonic knowledge so children can read them with accuracy, fluency and comprehension. The Storybooks include a range of engaging stories such as fairy tales, myths and legends, rhyming stories and familiar settings. Activities at the start of the books help children to practise the sounds and words they will encounter in the story. Questions to talk about at the end of the story provide an extra opportunity for developing childrens comprehension. The books are part of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, developed by Ruth Miskin. The programme is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. It includes Handbooks, Sounds Cards, Word Cards, Storybooks, Non-fiction, Writing books and an Online resource. Read Write Inc. is fully supported by comprehensive professional development from Ruth Miskin Training.

These engaging Storybooks provide structured practice for children learning to read the Read Write Inc. Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds. Each set of books is carefully levelled to match childrens growing phonic knowledge so children can read them with accuracy, fluency and comprehension. The Storybooks include a range of engaging stories such as fairy tales, myths and legends, rhyming stories and familiar settings. Activities at the start of the books help children to practise the sounds and words they will encounter in the story. Questions to talk about at the end of the story provide an extra opportunity for developing childrens comprehension. The books are part of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, developed by Ruth Miskin. The programme is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. It includes Handbooks, Sounds Cards, Word Cards, Storybooks, Non-fiction, Writing books and an Online resource. Read Write Inc. is fully supported by comprehensive professional development from Ruth Miskin Training.

In this book, Dr. Timothy Horan presents an original and highly effective writing program whose major goal is to transform high school students into accomplished writers and mature young adults. This writing program is innovative, rigorous, and engaging, and was designed with high school students in mind. This volume contains a total of twenty original writing projects that represent creative (and innovative) interpretations of Common Core Writing Standards. These projects focus on the worlds of contemporary secondary students, exploring such topics as technology, literature, goals for the future, and potential careers. Each assignment in this book is full and complete, and includes a reproducible outline that presents the assignment to students in a simplified graphical format. As students progress through this program, they will encounter engaging writing projects that foster growth and anticipate the changes occurring in students' lives during this time of development and transition. It will also prepare students for the rigors of writing in college, career, and the unwritten future that awaits all of them. Finally, Dr. Horan issues a call for every secondary school in the United States to create and implement courses singularly devoted to the craft of writing-and this book contains the curriculum for that course.

This work is a game-changer! Recognizing an all too often tragic outcome ("School to Prison Pipeline"), it provides the tools to alter prognosis. Attention hones the identification and treatment of those underlying and often overlooked causative factors that result in long-term reading failure. Smart Kids, Struggling Readers. reconsiders the current models and methods for Teaching Reading. It offers creative strategies that support and enhance existing research-based techniques. It provides efficient and effective methods that rapidly ameliorate the overt and subtle interference to skills mastery. Rapid progress is assured because intervention supports both Academic and Affective needs. The novel instructional plan, Reading In A Nutshell, incorporates the strong intellectual potential bright students bring to task. The learner comes to apply information (metacognition, error analysis, instructional options) as a primary functional tool. Slow-paced repetitive practice and drills are avoided.

Teachers' writing groups have a significantly positive impact on pupils and their writing. This timely text explains the importance of teachers' writing groups and how they have evolved. It outlines clearly and accessibly how teachers can set up their own highly effective writing groups. In this practical and informative book, the authors: share the thinking and practice that is embodied by teachers' writing groups provide practical support for teachers running a group or wishing to write for themselves in order to inform their practice cover major themes such as: the relationship between writing teachers and the teaching of writing; writing as process and pleasure; writing and reflective practice; writing journals and the writing workshop. The authors provide a rationale for the development of writing groups for teachers and for ways of approaching writing that support adult and child writers and this rationale informs the ideas for writing throughout the book. All writing and teaching suggestions have been extensively tried and tested by class teachers, and will be of enormous interest to any teacher or student teacher wishing to run their own successful writing group.

Teachers' writing groups have a significantly positive impact on pupils and their writing. This timely text explains the importance of teachers' writing groups and how they have evolved. It outlines clearly and accessibly how teachers can set up their own highly effective writing groups. In this practical and informative book, the authors: share the thinking and practice that is embodied by teachers' writing groups provide practical support for teachers running a group or wishing to write for themselves in order to inform their practice cover major themes such as: the relationship between writing teachers and the teaching of writing; writing as process and pleasure; writing and reflective practice; writing journals and the writing workshop. The authors provide a rationale for the development of writing groups for teachers and for ways of approaching writing that support adult and child writers and this rationale informs the ideas for writing throughout the book. All writing and teaching suggestions have been extensively tried and tested by class teachers, and will be of enormous interest to any teacher or student teacher wishing to run their own successful writing group.

Stimulating Emerging Story Writing! Inspiring Children aged 3-7 offers innovative and exciting ways to inspire young children to want to create stories and develop their emerging story writing skills. This practical guide offers comprehensive and informed support for professionals to effectively engage 'child authors' in stimulating story writing activities. Packed full of story ideas, resource suggestions and practical activities, the book explores the various ways professionals can help young children to develop the six key elements of story, these being character, setting, plot, conflict, resolution and ending. All of the ideas in the book are designed to support a setting's daily writing provision such as mark making opportunities, role play and using simple open ended play resources. Separated into two sections and with reference to the EYFS and Key Stage 1 curricula, this timely new text provides practitioners with tried and tested strategies and ideas that can be used with immediate effect. Chapters include: Creating Characters The Plot Thickens Inspired Ideas Resourcing the Story Stimulation This timely new text is the perfect guide for inspiring young children aged 3-7 in the classroom and will be an essential resource for practitioners, teachers and students on both early years and teacher training courses.

Stimulating Emerging Story Writing! Inspiring Children aged 3-7 offers innovative and exciting ways to inspire young children to want to create stories and develop their emerging story writing skills. This practical guide offers comprehensive and informed support for professionals to effectively engage 'child authors' in stimulating story writing activities. Packed full of story ideas, resource suggestions and practical activities, the book explores the various ways professionals can help young children to develop the six key elements of story, these being character, setting, plot, conflict, resolution and ending. All of the ideas in the book are designed to support a setting's daily writing provision such as mark making opportunities, role play and using simple open ended play resources. Separated into two sections and with reference to the EYFS and Key Stage 1 curricula, this timely new text provides practitioners with tried and tested strategies and ideas that can be used with immediate effect. Chapters include: Creating Characters The Plot Thickens Inspired Ideas Resourcing the Story Stimulation This timely new text is the perfect guide for inspiring young children aged 3-7 in the classroom and will be an essential resource for practitioners, teachers and students on both early years and teacher training courses.

The central unifying theme of this state-of-the-art contribution to research on literacy is its rethinking and reconceptualization of individual differences in reading. Previous research, focused on cognitive components of reading, signaled the need for ongoing work to identify relevant individual differences in reading, to determine the relationship(s) of individual differences to reading development, and to account for interactions among individual differences. Addressing developments in each of these areas, this volume also describes affective individual differences, and the environments in which individual differences in reading may emerge, operate, interact, and change. The scant comprehensive accounting of individual differences in reading is reflected in the nature of reading instruction programs today, the outcomes that are expected from successful teaching and learning, and the manner in which reading development is assessed. An important contribution of this volume is to provide prima facie evidence of the benefits of broad conceptualization of the ways in which readers differ. The Handbook of Individual Differences in Reading moves the field forward by encompassing cognitive, non-cognitive, contextual, and methodological concerns. Its breadth of coverage serves as both a useful summary of the current state of knowledge and a guide for future work in this area.

Descriptosaurus: Ghost Stories builds on the vocabulary and descriptive phrases introduced in the original bestselling Descriptosaurus and, within the context of ghost stories, develops the structure and use of the words and phrases to promote colourful cinematic writing. This essential guide will enable children to take their writing to the next level, combine their descriptions of setting and character and show how the two interact. Children can then experiment with their own ghost stories, armed with the skills, techniques and vocabulary necessary to describe their ghostly scenes in a way that allows the reader to feel the characters' fear and visualise the source of their terror within the setting. This new system also provides a contextualised alternative to grammar textbooks and will assist children in acquiring, understanding and applying the grammar they will need to improve their writing, both creative and technical.

A critical question in social studies education is not whether teachers develop and teach units of study, but what is in the units of study teachers develop and teach. Curricular planning and instruction must focus on what we teach in the social studies classroom. It is not uncommon for students to experience fine units about the westward movement and exit the fifth grade with little or no geographic literacy. Most students leave middle school grades unable to name even one person who made a difference in the history of Indian people in the United States. After three to five years of history classes, high school students routinely self-report that history is boring. And it is the rare middle school graduate who knows how to use a free enterprise economy for his or her benefit. This book explains the content of nine areas in social studies. If teachers know what history, biographical studies, and the United States Constitution mean for instruction, they can increase the probability of better-focused content in their social studies instruction.

The central unifying theme of this state-of-the-art contribution to research on literacy is its rethinking and reconceptualization of individual differences in reading. Previous research, focused on cognitive components of reading, signaled the need for ongoing work to identify relevant individual differences in reading, to determine the relationship(s) of individual differences to reading development, and to account for interactions among individual differences. Addressing developments in each of these areas, this volume also describes affective individual differences, and the environments in which individual differences in reading may emerge, operate, interact, and change. The scant comprehensive accounting of individual differences in reading is reflected in the nature of reading instruction programs today, the outcomes that are expected from successful teaching and learning, and the manner in which reading development is assessed. An important contribution of this volume is to provide prima facie evidence of the benefits of broad conceptualization of the ways in which readers differ. The Handbook of Individual Differences in Reading moves the field forward by encompassing cognitive, non-cognitive, contextual, and methodological concerns. Its breadth of coverage serves as both a useful summary of the current state of knowledge and a guide for future work in this area.

The nation's demographic of public schools are more ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse than ever before (Strauss, 2014). However, there are still educational policies and practices that call to question whether traditionally marginalized students receive an equitable education. This is demonstrated in national achievement trends, which highlight disproportionality ratings among minoritized student groups. Also when examining school discipline policies, expulsion ratings, special education services, and school choice movements, all seem to handicap educational opportunity for low-income Black and Brown students. As American schools become more and more diverse, it is imperative that the literacy practices used to teach young students of color reflect the nation's changing demographic. This book provides practical insights guided by conceptual and contextual knowledge in understanding how to teach urban African American and Hispanic/Latino(a) students by discussing issues associated with critical pedagogies, literacy, and culturally appropriate instructional strategies that have demonstrated success for traditionally marginalized student populations. This book examines culturally affirming literacy practices from three main components: (1) scholarship, (2) the field of practice, and (3) teacher education models. Each of these three are significant in understanding how to teach minoritized populations. As such, chapters have been organized into three main sections that address scholarship and research, trends in the field, and implications for teacher education models - all in order to advance the literacy achievement of African American and Hispanic/Latino(a) students.

Updates existing prompts and introduces 50 new ones; Features prompts that are designed to be impersonal and avoid requiring students to express personal viewpoints or feelings on specific issues; Suited for seventh grade to adulthood.

Focused on the teaching and learning argumentative writing in grades 9-12, this important contribution to literacy education research and classroom practice offers a new perspective, a set of principled practices, and case studies of excellent teaching. The case studies illustrate teaching and learning argumentative writing as the construction of knowledge and new understandings about experiences, ideas, and texts. Six themes key to teaching argumentative writing as a thoughtful, multi-leveled practice for deep learning and expression are presented: teaching and learning argumentative writing as social practice, teachers' epistemological beliefs about argumentative writing, variations in instructional chains, instructional conversations in support of argumentative writing as deep learning and appreciation of multiple perspectives, contextualized analysis of argumentative writing, and the teaching and learning of argumentative writing and the construction of rationalities.