An ASCD Bestseller!

In this stirring follow-up to the award-winning Fostering Resilient Learners, Kristin Van Marter Souers and Pete Hall take you to the next level of trauma-invested practice. To get there, they explain, educators need to build a nest--a positive learning environment shaped by three new Rs of education: relationship, responsibility, and regulation.

Drawing from their extensive experience working with schools, students, and families throughout the country, the authors

Explain how to create a culture of safety in which everyone feels valued, important, and capable of learning.

Describe the four areas of need--emotional, relational, physical, and control--that drive student behaviors and show how to meet these needs with interventions framed around the new three Rs.

Illustrate trauma-invested practices in action through real scenarios that identify students' unmet needs, examine the situation from five stakeholder perspectives, and suggest interventions to support students and their families.

Offer opportunities to challenge your beliefs and develop deeper and different ways of thinking about your role in your students' lives.

Educators have a unique opportunity to influence students' learning, attitudes, and futures. This book will invigorate your practice and equip you to empower those you serve--whatever their personal histories.

Although much has changed in schools in recent years, the power of differentiated instruction remains the same--and the need for it has only increased.

Today's classroom is more diverse, more inclusive, and more plugged into technology than ever before. And it's led by teachers under enormous pressure to help decidedly unstandardized students meet an expanding set of rigorous, standardized learning targets. In this updated second edition of her best-selling classic work, Carol Ann Tomlinson offers these teachers a powerful and practical way to meet a challenge that is both very modern and completely timeless: how to divide their time, resources, and efforts to effectively instruct so many students of various backgrounds, readiness and skill levels, and interests.

With a perspective informed by advances in research and deepened by more than 15 years of implementation feedback in all types of schools, Tomlinson explains the theoretical basis of differentiated instruction, explores the variables of curriculum and learning environment, shares dozens of instructional strategies, and then goes inside elementary and secondary classrooms in nearly all subject areas to illustrate how real teachers are applying differentiation principles and strategies to respond to the needs of all learners.

This book's insightful guidance on what to differentiate, how to differentiate, and why lays the groundwork for bringing differentiated instruction into your own classroom or refining the work you already do to help each of your wonderfully unique learners move toward greater knowledge, more advanced skills, and expanded understanding. Today more than ever, The Differentiated Classroom is a must-have staple for every teacher's shelf and every school's professional development collection.

In this one-stop resource for middle and high school teachers, Kristina J. Doubet and Jessica A. Hockett explore how to use differentiated instruction to help students be more successful learners -- regardless of background, native language, learning style, motivation, or school savvy. They explain how to

* Create a healthy classroom community in which students' unique qualities and needs are as important as the ones they have in common.
* Translate curriculum into manageable and meaningful learning goals that are fit to be differentiated.
* Use pre-assessment and formative assessment to uncover students' learning needs and tailor tasks accordingly.
* Present students with avenues to take in, process, and produce knowledge that appeal to their varied interests and learning profiles.
* Navigate roadblocks to implementing differentiation.

Each chapter provides a plethora of practical tools, templates, and strategies for a variety of subject areas developed by and for real teachers. Whether you're new to differentiated instruction or looking to expand your repertoire of DI strategies, Differentiation in Middle and High School will show you classroom-tested ways to better engage students and help them succeed every day.

Classroom management is traditionally a matter of encouraging good behavior and discouraging bad by doling out rewards and punishments. But studies show that when educators empower students to address and correct misbehavior among themselves, positive results are longer lasting and more wide reaching. In Better Than Carrots or Sticks, longtime educators and best-selling authors Dominique Smith, Douglas Fisher, and Nancy Frey provide a practical blueprint for creating a cooperative and respectful classroom climate in which students and teachers work through behavioral issues together. After a comprehensive overview of the roots of the restorative practices movement in schools, the authors explain how to

• Establish procedures and expectations for student behavior that encourage the development of positive interpersonal skills;
• Develop a nonconfrontational rapport with even the most challenging students; and
• Implement conflict resolution strategies that prioritize relationship building and mutual understanding over finger-pointing and retribution.

Rewards and punishments may help to maintain order in the short term, but they're at best superficially effective and at worst counterproductive. This book will prepare teachers at all levels to ensure that their classrooms are welcoming, enriching, and constructive environments built on collective respect and focused on student achievement.

A practical and systematic approach to deepening student engagement, promoting a growth mindset, and building a classroom culture that truly supports thinking and learning.

Every student deserves access to deep and rigorous learning. Still, some persistent myths about rigor can get in the way-such as the belief that it means more or harder work for everyone, rather than challenging and advancing students' thinking. So how can teachers get more clarity on rigor and foster more meaningful learning in their classrooms?

In Rigor by Design, Not Chance, veteran educator Karin Hess offers not only a clear vision of what makes learning deep and rigorous but also a systematic and equitable approach for engaging students of all ages in rich learning tasks. To that end, she outlines five essential teacher moves that foster thinking and learning:

1. Ask a series of probing questions of increasing complexity.

2. Build schemas in each content area.

3. Consider ways to strategically scaffold learning.

4. Design complex tasks that emphasize transfer and evidence-based solutions.

5. Engage students in metacognition and reflection throughout the learning process.

From there, Hess details how to create an actionable assessment cycle that will drive learning forward in any classroom.

This book offers a treasure trove of strategies, student look-for behaviors, and templates to guide teachers in their work as well as an array of rich performance-based assessments to engage and challenge students. School leaders and instructional coaches can also benefit from the variety of teacher-friendly supports to foster rigorous learning in their schools. Ultimately, Rigor by Design, Not Chance helps educators empower students to take greater ownership of their own learning.

Now in its 3rd edition, Better Learning Through Structured Teaching is the definitive guide to the gradual release of responsibility--an instructional framework any teacher can use to help students to be more successful and self-directed learners.

To gradually release responsibility is to equip students with what they need to master content and develop new competencies. On a day-to-day basis, it means delivering lessons intentionally structured to incorporate four interrelated phases:

* Focused Instruction (I do it) that sets students up for cognitive apprenticeship by establishing lesson purpose, modeling strategies and skills, and sharing information and insight.
* Guided Instruction (We do it together) that incorporates targeted prompts, cues, and questions to scaffold understanding.
* Collaborative Learning (You do it together) that allows students to consolidate and extend understanding through accountable group tasks built on discussion and cooperative problem solving.
* Independent Learning (You do it alone) that provides students opportunities to practice and apply the skills and knowledge they've acquired to create authentic products and ask new questions.

Authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey detail the components of each phase, sharing proven strategies and real-life examples. You'll find a variety of useful tips for classroom implementation, along with new guidance on teacher credibility, social-emotional learning, and embedding assessment throughout all four phases. No matter what grade level or subject you teach, Better Learning Through Structured Teaching is an essential resource for improving your practice and empowering your students.

Presenting the latest iteration of the Framework for Teaching--the most comprehensive tool yet for teacher self-assessment and reflection, observation and feedback, and collaborative inquiry.

Since 1996, hundreds of teacher preparation programs and thousands of schools, school districts, and government agencies have turned to the Framework for Teaching for a better understanding of excellent instruction. The Framework's four domains, 22 components, and 78 key elements provide an expansive, holistic definition of what teachers across the K-12 spectrum should know and be able to do in the exercise of their profession. Critically, it gives practitioners a common language for visualizing, talking about, and reflecting on their work as they chart their ongoing progress toward instructional excellence.

This streamlined third edition of Enhancing Professional Practice presents the latest evolution of the Framework for Teaching--one that is true to its constructivist roots, shaped by ongoing research, and informed by the experiences of educators in the field. Here you'll find ...

- An updated exploration of a teacher's essential responsibilities, organized into the Framework's four domains--Planning and Preparation, Learning Environments, Learning Experiences, and Principled Teaching.

- Detailed discussions of the 22 teaching competencies (or components) shown to improve student learning, with rubrics clarifying the critical attributes of each and how they manifest at various levels of professional proficiency--Unsatisfactory, Basic, Proficient, and Distinguished.

- A more explicit emphasis on the Framework's philosophical foundation along with additional attention to what teachers can do to achieve equity, honor students' identities, foster social-emotional development, and promote both joyful inquiry and intellectual rigor.

- A more expansive view of family and community engagement and a look at the importance of high-quality instructional materials.

- Increased emphasis on the Framework as a tool for ongoing professional learning--a way to transform what for teachers is too often a meaningless ritual of supervisory evaluation into a powerful process for thinking about and pursuing instructional excellence.

- A summary of the research base and a full set of reproducible domain and component rubrics.

If you or your school are not already using the Framework for Teaching to enhance professional practice, there's never been a better time to join the movement.

For students to be successful in school, they first have to be in school.

With that simple statement, Jessica Sprick and Randy Sprick launch a compelling case for prioritizing student attendance. This comprehensive guide provides school and district-level administrators and teams with the background information, strategies, and tools needed to implement a multitiered approach to improving attendance and preventing chronic absence. The authors use the results of their work in schools throughout the United States to dispel the myth that educators have little control over student attendance and provide success stories from elementary and secondary schools that have reversed longstanding patterns of absenteeism.

Citing extensive research, Sprick and Sprick share details about the shocking prevalence of chronic absence in U.S. schools and its effects on students, teachers, families, and the school community. They explain how to replace punitive approaches to absenteeism with effective methods that begin with universal supports and continue through Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions for students with more persistent problems. Specifically, they explain how to

• Build an effective school team to address absenteeism .
• Create systems to collect accurate data and set priorities.
• Develop an attendance initiative that generates student enthusiasm as well as staff, parent, and community support.
• Design and implement strategies that are tailored to specific schoolwide concerns and demographics that reach all students.

Equipped with the information and tools presented in this book, educators can ensure wise use of staff and other resources--and create a culture of attendance that is the foundation of successful schools.

This book is a copublication of ASCD and Ancora Publishing.

Today's teachers face a daunting challenge: how to ensure a positive school experience for their students, many of whom carry the burden of adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, poverty, divorce, abandonment, and numerous other serious social issues. Spurred by her personal experience and extensive exploration of brain-based learning, author Marilee Sprenger explains how brain science--what we know about how the brain works--can be applied to social-emotional learning. Specifically, she addresses how to

- Build strong, caring relationships with students to give them a sense of belonging.
- Teach and model empathy, so students feel understood and can better understand others.
- Awaken students' self-awareness, including the ability to name their own emotions, have accurate self-perceptions, and display self-confidence and self-efficacy.
- Help students manage their behavior through impulse control, stress management, and other positive skills.
- Improve students' social awareness and interaction with others.
- Teach students how to handle relationships, including with people whose backgrounds differ from their own.
- Guide students in making responsible decisions.

Offering clear, easy-to-understand explanations of brain activity and dozens of specific strategies for all grade levels, Social-Emotional Learning and the Brain is an essential guide to creating supportive classroom environments and improving outcomes for all our students.

In this provocative and timely book, education writer Natalie Wexler argues that the best way to end the reading wars is to recognize that learning to read is inextricably linked to learning in general.

The science of reading movement has done much to improve instruction in foundational skills. But that hard-won progress may be reversed unless we also help children acquire the knowledge and vocabulary they need to understand complex text.

At the same time, the science of learning movement has introduced many educators to evidence-based teaching principles that can be effective for all students. In Beyond the Science of Reading, Wexler addresses a missing piece of the conversation: the ways in which typical reading comprehension and writing instruction conflicts with those principles.

Wexler also offers practical solutions for bringing science-informed literacy instruction to scale and reveals why

* Teaching phonics isn't enough to create proficient readers.

* Building knowledge is the key to unlocking reading comprehension.

* Writing instruction holds untapped potential to boost literacy and learning.

* Instruction grounded in cognitive science can narrow achievement gaps.

* Current curriculum evaluation methods may be steering schools wrong.

Beyond the Science of Reading charts a bold path forward with a new way to equip all children to read with fluency, understanding, and joy. This is an essential resource for educators, policymakers, parents, and anyone who cares about the future of literacy and equity in the United States.

We differentiate instruction to honor the reality of the students we teach. They are energetic and outgoing. They are quiet and curious. They are confident and self-doubting. They are interested in a thousand things and deeply immersed in a particular topic. They are academically advanced and kids in the middle and struggling due to cognitive, emotional, economic, or sociological challenges. More of them than ever speak a different language at home. They learn at different rates and in different ways. And they all come together in our academically diverse classrooms.

Written as a practical guide for teachers, this expanded third edition of Carol Ann Tomlinson's groundbreaking work covers the fundamentals of differentiation and provides additional guidelines and new strategies for how to go about it. You'll learn

• What differentiation is and why it's essential
• How to set up the flexible and supportive learning environment that promotes success
• How to manage a differentiated classroom
• How to plan lessons differentiated by readiness, interest, and learning profile
• How to differentiate content, process, and products
• How to prepare students, parents, and yourself for the challenge of differentiation

First published in 1995 as How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, this new edition reflects evolving best practices in education, the experiences of practitioners throughout the United States and around the world, and Tomlinson's continuing thinking about how to help each and every student access challenging, high-quality curriculum; engage in meaning-rich learning experiences; and feel at home in a school environment that fits.

You're an Assistant Principal. Whatever your status--the sole AP in your school, one of two or more APs in your school, a career AP, an AP aspiring to the principalship--yours is one of the most misunderstood and underutilized positions in education. Positioned between teachers and the principal, you are an instructional leader. However, you are not the leader of the school. Therefore, you must carefully navigate your way to ensure that you thrive in your role without stepping on the toes of your principal.

In The Assistant Principal 50, award-winning, four-time principal Baruti Kafele presents reflective questions that encompass the breadth and depth of the assistant principalship--from finding your leadership lane to thriving and being an asset to your principal. Kafele infuses the book (which also includes guidance and insights for principals and aspiring assistant principals) from beginning to end with personal anecdotes and accounts of both failures and successes from his years as an assistant principal. He arms you with tools and insights that will drive you to view the assistant principalship as critical to the climate and culture of your school as well as to student achievement.

You, assistant principal, play a critical role in your school's success. The questions that Kafele asks you to consider will aid you as you hone your leadership skills toward becoming an effective leader in your school.

The secret to every positive learning environment? Belonging. When students feel that they belong in their school and classroom, commitment to learning goes up and behavioral disruptions subside. And when teachers embrace an SEL-infused approach to classroom management that helps every student feel valued, safe, and competent, belonging soars.

We Belong offers 50 targeted strategies to increase students' sense of belonging and reinforce the habits that support classroom harmony and learning success. Authors and award-winning educators Laurie Barron and Patti Kinney explore the dynamic partnership of belonging and classroom management and share specific ways to

* Build authentic, positive relationships with students and among students
* Create spaces that feel physically and emotionally safe for all
* Teach and foster social-emotional competence
* Increase student engagement and motivation
* Foster a sustaining sense of community

Covering a range of key topics--from behavioral expectations to conflict resolution to more effective collaboration--this practical guide for elementary and secondary teachers includes downloadable forms and templates to support strategy implementation. Use it to revisit your priorities and reshape your practices so that all students in your classroom can say of themselves and their peers, We belong.

Your Students, My Students, Our Students explores the hard truths of current special education practice and outlines five essential disruptions to the status quo. Authors Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Julie Kroener show you how to - Establish a school culture that champions equity and inclusion. - Rethink the long-standing structure of least restrictive environment and the resulting service delivery. - Leverage the strengths of all educators to provide appropriate support and challenge. - Collaborate on the delivery of instruction and intervention. - Honor the aspirations of each student and plan accordingly. To realize authentic and equitable inclusion, we must relentlessly and collectively pursue change. This book-written not for special educators or general educators but for all educators-addresses the challenges, maps out the solutions, and provides tools and inspiration for the work ahead. Real-life examples of empowerment and success illustrate just what's possible when educators commit to the belief that every student belongs to all of us and all students deserve learning experiences that will equip them to live full and rewarding lives.

Mastering the basic facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is an essential goal for all students. Most educators also agree that success at higher levels of math hinges on this fundamental skill. But what's the best way to get there? Are flash cards, drills, and timed tests the answer? If so, then why do students go into the upper elementary grades (and beyond) still counting on their fingers or experiencing math anxiety? What does research say about teaching basic math facts so they will stick?

In Math Fact Fluency, experts Jennifer Bay-Williams and Gina Kling provide the answers to these questions--and so much more. This book offers everything a teacher needs to teach, assess, and communicate with parents about basic math fact instruction, including

• The five fundamentals of fact fluency, which provide a research-based framework for effective instruction in the basic facts.
• Strategies students can use to find facts that are not yet committed to memory.
• More than 40 easy-to-make, easy-to-use games that provide engaging fact practice.
• More than 20 assessment tools that provide useful data on fact fluency and mastery.
• Suggestions and strategies for collaborating with families to help their children master the basic math facts.

Math Fact Fluency is an indispensable guide for any educator who needs to teach basic facts. This approach to facts instruction, grounded in years of research, will transform students' learning of basic facts and help them become more confident, adept, and successful at math.

ASCD Bestseller! Wiggins and McTighe provide an expanded array of practical tools and strategies for designing curriculum, instruction, and assessments that lead students at all grade levels to genuine understanding.

How do you know when students understand? Can you design learning experiences that make it much more likely that students understand content and apply it in meaningful ways?

Thousands of educators have used the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework to answer these questions and create more rigorous, engaging curriculums. Now, this expanded 2nd edition gives you even more tools and strategies for results-oriented teaching:

* An improved template for creating curriculum units based on the breakthrough backward design method.
* More specific guidelines on how to frame the big ideas you want students to understand.
* Better ways to develop the essential questions that form the foundation of high-quality curriculum and assessment.
* An expanded toolbox of instructional approaches for obtaining the desired results of a lesson.
* More examples, across all grade levels and subjects, of how schools and districts have used the UbD framework to maximize student understanding.

Educators from kindergarten through college can get everything they need--guidelines, stages, templates, and tips--to start designing lessons, units, and courses that lead to improved student performance and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

Challenging behavior is one of the most significant issues educators face. Though it may seem radical to use words like love, compassion, and heart when we talk about behavior and discipline, the compassionate and heartfelt words, actions, and strategies teachers employ in the classroom directly shape who students are--and who they will become. But how can teaching from the heart translate into effective supports and practices for students who exhibit challenging behavior?

In From Behaving to Belonging, Julie Causton and Kate MacLeod detail how teachers can shift from a behavior management mindset (that punishes students for bad behavior or rewards students for good or compliant behavior) to an approach that supports all students--even the most challenging ones--with kindness, creativity, acceptance, and love.

Causton and MacLeod's approach

* Focuses on students' strengths, gifts, and talents.
* Ignites students' creativity and sense of self-worth.
* Ensures that students' social, emotional, and academic needs are met.
* Prompts teachers to rethink challenging behavior and how they support their students.
* Helps teachers identify barriers to student success in the cultural, social, and environmental landscape.
* Inspires teachers to reconnect with their core values and beliefs about students and teaching.

We need to transform our classrooms into places of love. To that end, this book represents a paradigm shift from a punitive mindset to a strengths-based, loving approach and encourages the radical act of creating more inclusive and caring schools.

Carol Ann Tomlinson and Tonya R. Moon take an in-depth look at assessment and show how differentiation can improve the process in all grade levels and subject areas. After discussing differentiation in general, the authors focus on how differentiation applies to various forms of assessment--pre-assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment--and to grading and report cards. Readers learn how differentiation can

* Capture student interest and increase motivation

* Clarify teachers' understanding about what is most important to teach

* Enhance students' and teachers' belief in student learning capacity; and

* Help teachers understand their students' individual similarities and differences so they can reach more students, more effectively

Throughout, Tomlinson and Moon emphasize the importance of maintaining a consistent focus on the essential knowledge, understandings, and skills that all students must acquire, no matter what their starting point.

Detailed scenarios illustrate how assessment differentiation can occur in three realms (student readiness, interest, and learning style or preference) and how it can improve assessment validity and reliability and decrease errors and teacher bias.

Grounded in research and the authors' teaching experience, Assessment and Student Success in a Differentiated Classroom outlines a common-sense approach that is both thoughtful and practical, and that empowers teachers and students to discover, strive for, and achieve their true potential.

As professional learning communities become more widespread, educators have learned that they can't simply form grade-level or subject-area teams and call it a day. To profoundly affect teacher practice and student learning, PLCs need strong and knowledgeable leadership. In Facilitating Teacher Teams and Authentic PLCs, Daniel R. Venables draws on his extensive experience helping schools and districts implement effective PLCs to explore this crucial but often-overlooked need. Taking a two-pronged approach to PLC facilitation, Venables offers targeted guidance both for leading the people in teacher teams and for facilitating their work. This practical resource provides Strategies for facilitating interactions among colleagues in PLCs and building trust and buy-in. Field-tested, user-friendly protocols to focus and deepen team discussions around texts, data, teacher and student work, teacher dilemmas, and collaborative planning time. Tips for anticipating and addressing interpersonal conflicts and obstacles that commonly arise during use of protocols. Current and prospective PLC facilitators at every grade level will find this book an essential guide to navigating the challenging and rewarding endeavor of leading authentic PLCs. Build your skills, and help your team rise to the next level.

When the first edition of Teaching with the Brain in Mind was published in 1998, it quickly became an ASCD best-seller, and it has gone on to inspire thousands of educators to apply brain research in their classroom teaching. Now, author Eric Jensen is back with a completely revised and updated edition of his classic work, featuring new research and practical strategies to enhance student comprehension and improve student achievement.

In easy to understand, engaging language, Jensen provides a basic orientation to the brain and its various systems and explains how they affect learning. After discussing what parents and educators can do to get children's brains in good shape for school, Jensen goes on to explore topics such as motivation, critical thinking skills, optimal educational environments, emotions, and memory. He offers fascinating insights on a number of specific issues, including

* How to tap into the brain's natural reward system.

* The value of feedback.

* The importance of prior knowledge and mental models.

* The vital link between movement and cognition.

* Why stress impedes learning.

* How social interaction affects the brain.

* How to boost students' ability to encode, maintain, and retrieve learning.

* Ways to connect brain research to curriculum, assessment, and staff development.

Jensen's repeated message to educators is simple: You have far more influence on students' brains than you realize . . . and you have an obligation to take advantage of the incredible revelations that science is providing. The revised and updated edition of Teaching with the Brain in Mind helps you do just that.