Enhance students' higher-level thinking skills, engage their brains, and build their self-esteem and achievement!

Expert teacher and trainer Susan J. Jones presents a no-nonsense, reality-based approach to classroom instruction that will help learners at all levels achieve life long success. Her expert knowledge covers a generous collection of teaching strategies, activities, and applications that add up to a blueprint for sound instructional delivery and student success.

Innovative topics Jones discusses include:

• Laying the groundwork for learning and organizing experiences for understanding
• Illustrating the framework for secure change in the classroom and identifying the big picture for learning
• Demonstrating how to engage the brain?s capacity for making connections in order to enhance the learning process
• Transferring learning to real-life and facilitating the recall process
• Feedback, assessment, evaluation, and determining mastery learning

Blueprint for Student Success is a dynamic book that stresses the importance of learning through discovery, creativity, application, adaptation, and high level thinking. Jones reiterates the need for a positive atmosphere, rituals, and procedures enabling educators, in turn, to strengthen students? knowledge and achievement resulting in life long success.

Using Talk to Support Writing presents a new and innovative approach to the teaching of early writing. The authors discuss both theoretical and practical issues around using talk in the classroom to support children as they learn to write. Set within the context of national concern for achievement in the development of writing ability, it addresses the gap in understanding early teaching and focuses on the exploration of how talk and writing interface. This includes: - Numerous examples of teaching and activities for using talk to support writing - Using extensive data from classrooms; video and audio recordings, and transcripts of children's talk - Exploring three aspects of talk when used to support writing: talk for idea generation; talk for oral rehearsal and talk for reflection. This book is for students on Primary ITT courses, particularly for English specialists. Students on M-level English and literacy courses will also find it useful.

'A wonderful contribution to the presentation field. As a presenter for 15 years, I have purchased, read, or perused many books on presentations. This is the most useful and captivating book I have read thus far. . . . I love the dollops of research integrated into the manuscript. Since brain research is my area, I am happy that others will see how it relates. The author makes important connections between preparation, presentation, and prudence. This Backstage Pass can make the difference between an acceptable presentation and an outstanding one!' - Marilee Sprenger , Professional Development Consultant, Presenter, and Author 'The warm, friendly, conversational tone makes it feel like the author is right there with you, cheering you on as you put her tried and true suggestions to work. . . . Her suggestions resonate with my own professional experience. I found myself laughing, agreeing, and shouting 'yes!' (even though there was no one in the room to hear me). . . .I plan to re-read this book periodically to remind myself of this powerful advice and apply it to my own presentations' - Lynell Burmark , Thornburg Center Associate, Presenter, and Author A how-to guide to working effectively with adult audiences in small or large presentation settings. With an emphasis not only on communicating information, but also on winning audience approval and buy-in, this friendly and humorous little book can be read in one sitting on the plane or train as a do-it-yourself mentor, speaking coach, image consultant, and train-the-trainer all in one. The topics range from "pack for success and catch the early train" through "closers for summary, review, reflection, and connection." Also featured are strategies for designing audience handouts, seating the audience, maintaining group energy, working with angry and challenging audiences, structuring breaks so the audience returns after the break, and more. Assessment methods include self-evaluation, formal evaluations, and partnering with trusted colleagues for collaborative observation and feedback.

Enhance students' higher-level thinking skills, engage their brains, and build their self-esteem and achievement!

Expert teacher and trainer Susan J. Jones presents a no-nonsense, reality-based approach to classroom instruction that will help learners at all levels achieve life long success. Her expert knowledge covers a generous collection of teaching strategies, activities, and applications that add up to a blueprint for sound instructional delivery and student success.

Innovative topics Jones discusses include:

• Laying the groundwork for learning and organizing experiences for understanding
• Illustrating the framework for secure change in the classroom and identifying the big picture for learning
• Demonstrating how to engage the brain?s capacity for making connections in order to enhance the learning process
• Transferring learning to real-life and facilitating the recall process
• Feedback, assessment, evaluation, and determining mastery learning

Blueprint for Student Success is a dynamic book that stresses the importance of learning through discovery, creativity, application, adaptation, and high level thinking. Jones reiterates the need for a positive atmosphere, rituals, and procedures enabling educators, in turn, to strengthen students? knowledge and achievement resulting in life long success.