This flexible resource combines character education with analogies to powerful stories from nature. The heart of each of the book’s twenty-five lessons is an engaging story, written to kids, describing a particular animal or plant and its distinctive qualities. Busy classroom teachers will like this book’s accessibility and flexibility. Kids can read a story individually or in groups, or follow along as the teacher reads it aloud. Accompanying each story, teachers will find several activities—most of them quick, easy, and requiring few supplies—that further investigate animals or plants and the connections between their qualities and human behaviors. Every lesson examines several main character traits, providing starting points and sample questions for discussing and exploring analogies between events in nature and human acts of character. Features include a chart cross-referencing lessons to specific character traits and a list of further resources. Digital content contains all of the book’s reproducible forms, including a color photo of each plant and animal, plus a complete bonus lesson.

These proven, practical early childhood teaching strategies and techniques help teachers identify young gifted children, differentiate and extend the curriculum, assess and document students’ development, and build partnerships with parents. Individual chapters focus on early identification, curriculum compacting, social studies, language arts, math and science, cluster grouping, social-emotional development, and finding and supporting giftedness in diverse populations. The text includes current information on brain research and learning; rigor and complexity; and integrating creativity, the arts, and higher-level thinking in accordance with learning goals. Scenarios and vignettes take readers into teachers’ classrooms. The book includes extensive references and resources to explore. Digital content includes customizable forms from the book.

A guide for busy elementary educators on how to easily incorporate mindfulness activities into existing curriculum Teaching students how to focus and self-regulate at a young age can provide them with skills that will help throughout their schooling and adult lives. Like anyone, they need easy-to remember tools and strategies to calm their minds and focus on the moment. This interactive, research based curriculum helps preK and elementary teachers integrate simple, ready-to use stretching, breathing, and reflective exercises as well as other mindfulness practices into their daily routines. Includes digital content with reproducible handouts from the book.

Not your typical how-to manual for new teachers, this no-nonsense, jargon-free guide offers a wide variety of tools and tactics for getting through every school day with grace and sanity. Covered in glue, glitter, orange juice—or worse? Make a quick change into the spare set of clothes you keep on hand for just this purpose. Butterflies in your stomach before your first-ever Meet the Teacher Night? Keep your cool by writing the agenda on your board—it’ll double as a crib sheet for you. These tips and hundreds more, covering virtually every aspect of teaching, have all been learned the hard way: from real-life classroom experience. Otis Kriegel’s “little black book” will be a treasured resource for teachers who want not only to survive but to thrive in any situation.

Make social emotional learning fun and engaging with 24 ready-to-use lessons about phenomenal plants and astonishing animals. Storytelling is a learning device used by humans for centuries, and for good reason: storytelling is one of the best ways to increase critical thinking skills and social emotional learning (SEL). The award-winning Social Emotional Stories combines storytelling with thought-provoking lessons and activities to help elementary students improve their self-esteem, increase their engagement with school, and give them a sense of empowerment. The book contains 24 individual lessons that include: An SEL objective with specific keywords like “inner strength,” “problem solving,” and “responsibility” An engaging story that focuses on a distinctive quality of either a plant (like the inner strength of bamboo) or an animal (like the courage of a pig) Multiple activities that are quick, easy, and require few supplies to help kids identify and dive deeper into the specific SEL concepts represented Educators can use these lessons individually with students, in small groups, or with an entire class. The lessons are interdisciplinary and flexible, with only minimal prep time required, allowing educators to adapt them for their situation. Extensive digital content supports the lessons with reproducible forms and a full-color photo of each plant and animal.

Without layering, a story is one-dimensional, unbelievable, boring. Layers mean stronger characters, settings, plots, suspense, intrigue, emotions and motivation. Layering also produces cohesion of all elements. Characters must blend naturally with the setting the writer has placed them, just as plot becomes an organic part of character and setting. If a story doesn't work, it could very well be because the elements aren't cohesive. Cohesive Story Building shows how each element hinges on the other two and how to mix them until they fuse irrevocably. Additionally, Cohesive Story Building carefully explores each stage of story development from brainstorming and outlining to drafting and revision. From a thorough look at the fundamentals of writing to comprehensive story building techniques, as well as submission guidelines and etiquette, this must-have guide will see writers through the entire book writing process from start to finish. Set within the framework of comparing the process of building a house to the process of building a story, Cohesive Story Building gives a solid plan of action from start to finish through in-depth examples and exercises, and leave-no-stone-unturned checklists that will help writers take the plan into their own writing. Features detailed examples from published books to illustrate story-building principles. Those who have read Karen S. Wiesner's reference First Draft Outline, which focuses on in-depth outlining and goal-setting, will find Cohesive Story Building a perfect companion to that book.

Perhaps the best-kept secret in the publishing industry is that many publishers--both periodical publishers and book publishers--make available writer's guidelines to assist would-be contributors. Written by the staff at each publishing house, these guidelines help writers target their submissions to the exact needs of the individual publisher. ""The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines"" is a compilation of the actual writer's guidelines for more than 1,700 publishers. A one-of-a-kind source to browse for article, short story, poetry and book ideas.

This stimulating edited collection focuses on the practice of revision across all creative writing genres, providing a guide to the modes and methods of drafting, revising and editing. Offering an overview of how creative writing is generated and improved, the chapters address questions of how creative writers revise, why editing is such a crucial part of the creative process and how understanding the theories underpinning revision can enhance writers' projects. Innovative and thought-provoking, this book is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate students of creative writing, along with all creative writers looking to hone and polish their craft.

From wondrous fairy-lands to nightmarish hellscapes, the elements that make fantasy worlds come alive also invite their exploration. This first book-length study of critically acclaimed novelist Patricia A. McKillip's lyrical other-worlds analyzes her characters, environments and legends and their interplay with genre expectations. The author gives long overdue critical attention to McKillip's work and demonstrates how a broader understanding of world-building enables a deeper appreciation of her fantasies.