If you've ever sat down to confer with a child and felt at a loss for what to say or how to help move him or her forward as a writer, this book is for you. If you are a strong teacher of writing but are not seeing results from your students, this book is for you. Authors Kristin Ackerman and Jennifer McDonough have been teaching writing for several years and know that conferring can be a murky and messy process-;perhaps the hardest component of all. Written from the lessons they've learned through hard-won classroom experience-;their mistakes and challenges-;Conferring with Young Writers is based on what Kristin and Jen call the three Fs-: frequency, focus, and follow-up. They've created a classroom management system that offers routine and structure for giving the most effective feedback in a writing conference. This book will help writing teachers-;and students-;learn to break down and utilize the qualities that enable good writing: elaboration, voice, structure, conventions, and focus. The authors also provide the knowledge and skills it takes to confer well, which will help you improve as a writing teacher and give your students the confidence to think of themselves as writers.

All students enter our math classrooms with ideas worthy of discussion. Some of the most effective breakthroughs come from short, intentional conversations between students and teacher, yet planning for these moments can seem daunting. In her innovative book, Conferring in the Math Classroom: A Practical Guidebook to Using 5-Minute Conferences to Grow Confident Mathematicians, Gina Picha focuses on simple and transformative ways teachers can use math conferences, short conversations between teachers and small groups of students at work, to guide instruction, assess understanding, and build strong math thinkers. Inside you will learn to: Facilitate math conferences to listen to students, identify and build on their strengths, and encourage them to share their math thinking Build a positive math identity that will help nurture student-centered math classrooms Ask exploratory questions to gain data-driven insight into their math reasoning and plan the next steps for instruction Provide differentiated math instruction based on the individual or small group needs Drive fun and interactive math talk in the classroom Picha includes teacher questioning guides, If-Then charts organized by grade level and math topic, and note-taking templates to help you get started with math conferring right away. This practical and highly accessible approach can help students deepen their math understanding, build confidence in their math abilities, and connect learnings between math subjects.

Inspire students to develop as writers in the sixth grade classroom with these engaging and creative writing lessons. This classroom-tested resource shows positive results in students' writing and simplifies the planning of writing instruction. It contains detailed information on how to establish and manage daily Writer's Workshop and includes consistent, structured instruction to encourage students to actively participate in the writing process. Specific lessons to help students develop the traits of quality writing are also included. This resource develops college and career readiness skills and is aligned to today's standards.

Inspire students to develop as writers in the sixth grade classroom with these engaging and creative writing lessons. This classroom-tested resource shows positive results in students' writing and simplifies the planning of writing instruction. It contains detailed information on how to establish and manage daily Writer's Workshop and includes consistent, structured instruction to encourage students to actively participate in the writing process. Specific lessons to help students develop the traits of quality writing are also included.

Inspire students to develop as writers in the first grade classroom with these engaging and creative writing lessons. This classroom-tested resource shows positive results in students' writing and simplifies the planning of writing instruction. It contains detailed information on how to establish and manage daily Writer's Workshop and includes consistent, structured instruction to encourage students to actively participate in the writing process. Specific lessons to help students develop the traits of quality writing are also included. This resource develops college and career readiness skills and is aligned to today's standards.

Inspire students to develop as writers in the second grade classroom with these engaging and creative writing lessons. This classroom-tested resource shows positive results in students' writing and simplifies the planning of writing instruction. It contains detailed information on how to establish and manage daily Writer's Workshop and includes consistent, structured instruction to encourage students to actively participate in the writing process. Specific lessons to help students develop the traits of quality writing are also included. This resource develops college and career readiness skills and is aligned to today's standards.

Nearly every state has independently adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), making this practical guide an indispensable resource for PreK-2 teachers and teachers-in-training. Leading authorities explain each of the English language arts (ELA) standards and vividly show how to implement them. The book is filled with grade-specific classroom vignettes, instructional strategies and activities, sample lesson plans, and discussion questions. Chapters cover the major ELA strands: reading (literature, informational texts, and foundational skills); writing; speaking and listening; and language. Issues of assessment and technology integration are also explored. An appendix includes thematic units for each grade level demonstrating ways to embed CCSS/ELA standards into content-area instruction. See also Teaching with the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts, Grades 3-5.

One-on-one conferences have become a cornerstone in many language arts teachers’ elementary classrooms as an effective method to foster individualized student growth. But how do educators make conferences manageable, meaningful and student-driven in the secondary English classroom? In this practical, teacher-friendly text, we consider strategies for managing the logistics of conferencing with 100+ students, and moving the preparation, and direction of conferences from teacher to student. Readers will walk away with specific tools to create, develop, or revise their practice of conferencing leading to greater student ownership.

This book introduces the Cycle of Responsibility (COR) model--the next step in the evolution of the Gradual Release of Responsibility model, which has been a conceptual mainstay of literacy education for decades. This new model shifts the current linear model to a cyclical process of multifaceted interactions that better reflect the complexities of early literacy, and with an emphasis on constructing knowledge together in the context of vibrant learning communities. Focused on reading, writing, and word study in the primary grades, the COR is put into motion through five key motivators: challenge, creativity, collaboration, choice, and independence. Vignettes demonstrate how to enact COR in classroom contexts. This practical resource is based on the authors' shared research and teaching experiences in employing the COR to empower children as literacy learners and teachers as agents of impactful instruction. Book Features: Presents the Cycle of Responsibility model--a new, field-tested teaching and learning model. Moves away from linear task completion to a cyclical collaborative process that reflects the energetic, complex, and creative world of classrooms. Provides a teacher-centric approach that emphasizes shared construction of knowledge and the forces that motivate young learners. Includes vignettes from the author's first-grade classroom to illustrate ideas in practice, as well as a chapter on teacher professional learning.

This research-based, easy-to-use resource includes all the tools needed to create a successful Writer's Workshop and enhance student writing. Teachers will learn classroom-tested techniques and engaging instructional approaches to support all levels of writers. The resource provides sample mini lessons, activities, classroom snapshots, student resources, and more. Lesson plans are tailored to these specific grade spans: K-2, 3-5, 6-8.