Reviews (12)

A classic!
I can't add much to what is already written here.But I must say, these teaching approaches work.The authors back up every method with careful research.Best of all, the methods are described specifically.
don't buy if you need a hardcopy!
I don't have an opinion on the book itself, it's a requirement for a class. However, I thought although there were restrictions (understandable copyright issues) on printing, I could have the inexpensive ebook, and print a hardcopy to take to the class. If you have printer issues (and you will) you will be penalized for those copies, whether they are printed, readable, or not. Subsequent downloads to override posed a different kind of printer issue, as it began printing pages 'backwards'...so I'm still out my pages. I'll have to buy the hardcopy anyway.

All the keys are here
If someone gave you a book that had the keys to learning in it, would you read it?You are a good teacher, so of course you would, and it is this book.Many books out there are some research, some theory--this book is all research-based strategies that are proven to work in a classroom, so there is no guessing if these are effective methods or not.
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Subjects:  1. Academic achievement    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Effective teaching    5. General    6. Research    7. Statistics    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    9. United States    10. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (21)

Excellent book fora beginer working with young people
1. Easey to follow.
104 Activities that Build Teamwork
I give quarterly supervisor training meetings with about 10 supervisors from our division. I use the activities in this book to help build communications and teamwork with the supervisors.

Creative Ideas
I selected this book in order to complete a required communications class assignment that I am presently enrolled in. The title of the book caught my attention. I am an Assessment Coordinator and I work with approximately 10 to 20 individuals at a time with a new group every three weeks. Several of the issues that I need to address that are a major concern with our clients are covered in Alanna Jone's book. These are issues dealing with self-esteem, communication, anger management, self discovery and coping skills. As instructors and parents we often find ourselves in situations where people are resistant to learning. The many reasons for this vary.
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Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    4. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    5. Activity Programs    6. Educational Games    7. Game/puzzles    8. Management Games    9. Youth   

Reviews (8)

Great for Elementary and Middle School Teachers
This book gives insights and helpful hints to teachers about math strategies that can be integrated into the math curriculum.

Not too helpful!
This book is not really helpful for teachers in methods classes. I was not impressed with the lay out, or the accessibility to information. I consider this book a waste of my money!

Thorough, progressive math for elem. teachers
This book contains multiple solid strategies for teaching mathematic concepts to children in elementary school.I never knew there were so many ways to look at addition and subtraction, but I do know different children will have different perceptive needs. Van de Walle catalogues strategies to help elem math teachers of any level. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Elementary    4. Elementary School Mathematics    5. Mathematics    6. Study and teaching (Elementary    7. Study and teaching (Elementary)    8. Study and teaching (Middle sch    9. Study and teaching (Middle school)    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - Mathematics    12. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Mathematics    13. Primary / junior schools   

Reviews (1)

Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Gr. 3-5 Units of Study)
Excellent step by step lessons for teaching writing. These units dofor the intermediate grades what Lucy's program does for the primary grades.Can'twait to use it with my 5th graders this fall. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curricula    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    5. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    6. Teaching Methods & Materials - Language Arts   

Reviews (7)

From 2 Points of View
First and foremost, I am sorry that two readers have not had a positive experience from this book; however, they sound like they are 90 year old teachers who have forgotten why they entered the profession of teaching in the first place. Fill out the retirement papers and go home!
I love this book!!Judge it for yourself!!
I wish I had this years ago.My kids love it and soaking up everything we do.This half of the year is going great!!I've never had a class so interested in anything!

Excellent book for teachers who WANT to learn
For those great teachers out there, they will find they naturally use many of the strategies in this book. This books puts them all in one place and give you more ideas as well as the research to back them up.I do feel sorry for the rater that is having this approached forced on him or her. I am afraid to say that learner centered education is far from "trendy" nor is a constructivists approach to learning.Just throwing the books at the teachers not modeling the approach for even in teacher education, the adults should also construct meaning in their learning.I do agree with the reader that some teaching methods take more time upfront and there is a lot of pressure on teachers to hit all the standards but if retention is key, spend a little more time on the front end and they will retain it after a test rather than just for the test.This book is great if you want 20 specific ideas for injecting new way to learn in your classroom.It is not an all to nothing approach, just try one new thing while maintaining you own teaching style. Those teachers who are stuck in there own methods and fearful of sharing control of the learning with their students will have a hard time with this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Effective teaching    4. General    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Learning    7. Lesson planning    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    9. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / General    10. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (15)

Great Reading
Classrooms That Work has a multitude of ideas that actually work in the classroom to help students become better readers and writers.

Great resource
This book is written in a reader-friendly format. It provides many useful strategies which are easily adapted to individual classrooms. The authors reference specific books which lend themselves to cited strategies. ( Some books will prove hard to come by as they are out of print, however.) Current reasearch is presented in a clear manner. Classrooms That Work
For any experienced teacher, Cunningham's condescending,dogmatic style borders upon the insulting. Carefully read, her "best methods" approach, "research-based" book is neither supported, cited nor properly footnoted within the confines of her book. In spite of that fact, her books are being implented as if they were "Bibles" in numerous districts throughout the USA. In fact, the bureaucrats of the state of Illinois are requiring that we teach her methods!Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Elementary    4. Elementary School Language Arts    5. Language arts (Elementary)    6. Reading (Elementary)    7. Reading In Elementary Education    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    9. Teaching Methods & Materials - Language Arts    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - Reading    11. United States    12. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Reading   

Reviews (6)

For the Instructional Designer
We used this book in my design class when I was earning a masters in training. It is still on my bookshelf. It is critical not only for instructional designers, but for managers who may know little or nothing about training but make training decisions.
An Evergreen for Good Reason
This rock-solid text belongs front-and-center on your bookshelf if you're an instructional designer, trainer, training manager, or anyone else like that.Dick & the Careys present a simple yet thorough approach to eliciting, understanding, documenting, prioritizing, and reaching learning goals that deliver or exceed expected value.Better still, the book is designed with its own methods in mind, giving thoughtful and perceptive readers a living demonstration of these methods' usefulness.The clear, orderly, crisply-written text and comprehensive, able summaries make quick brush-ups and "reminder reads" a simple and effective task.The Systematic Design of Instruction is a must-have.

Useful Instructional Design Model
This text book describes the Dick & Carey System Approach Model for the design of instruction. This Instructional Design model is one of the better-known systems used in the field of Instructional Technology, and is included as part of the curriculum of many undergraduate and graduate programs.
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Subjects:  1. Business Software - General    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Design    5. Education / Teaching    6. Instructional systems    7. Lesson planning    8. Methods Of Instruction And Study (General)    9. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    10. Education / Computers & Technology    11. Mathematics and Science   

Reviews (1)

Not Really An Integration
Each well-known separately in educational circles--McTighe as one of the developers of UbD and Tomlinson as the guru of differentiated instruction--they have come together to write a book that is an attempt to meld their philosophies.In that, they are at best partially successful.
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Subjects:  1. Curriculum planning    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Educational Psychology    5. Learning    6. Research    7. Teaching    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    9. Teaching Methods & Materials - General   

Reviews (6)

Hands-On Writing Tools for Young Writers
I enjoyed this book.It gave some very practical advice on creating a workshop environment for writing in the Intermediate grades.I have used the ideas (modified) with younger writers and they are equally as beneficial.
Mini-Lessons helped me improve my test scores
Fabulous book that I discovered last fall.I used many of the mini-lessons in the text and found my writing test scores went up tremendously.Great ideas and easy to prepare lessons.My students loved the poems and plays that were designed to help the students recall different writing skills.

WANT TO RAISE YOUR STATE ASSESSMENT WRITING SCORES?
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING!94% OF MY SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS MET OR EXCEEDED THE A.I.M.S. WRITING STATE ASSESSMENT THIS YEAR AFTER USING THIS BOOK! DID I MENTION MY SCHOOL IS A TITLE ONE SCHOOL?MORE THAN THAT WAS THE WRITING THAT MY STUDENTS PRODUCED.THEY USED ONOMATOPOEIA, STRONG VERBS, SIMILES, TAKE-AWAY ENDINGS.MY STUDENTS BECAME AUTHORS AND WERE INCREDIBLY PROUD OF THE WAY THEY COULD WRITE.THIS BOOK MAKES WRITING FUN FOR THE KIDS AND THE TEACHER.THE FIVE-MINUTE PLAYS WERE A HIT TOO!THE LISTS THAT THE KIDS COULD REFER BACK TO FOR STRONG VERBS, JUICY-COLORS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES, ETC.MADE WRITING A BREEZE.KIDS HAVE AMAZING IDEAS---THEY JUST HAVE TO BE TAUGHT HOW TO GET THEM ON PAPER.BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!I HIGHLY RECOMMEND "GRAMMAR WITH A GIGGLE" TOO."GRAMMAR WITH A GIGGLE" GIVES KIDS EXCELLENT VOCABULARY TO USE IN THEIR STORIES AND TEACHES GRAMMAR IN A FUN WAY. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition and exercises    2. Education    3. Education / Elementary    4. Education / Teaching    5. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Arts & Humanities    6. English language    7. Language Experience Approach    8. Language arts (Elementary)    9. Study and teaching (Elementary    10. Study and teaching (Elementary)    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    12. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    13. Teaching Methods & Materials - Language Arts    14. Elementary    15. Teaching Methods & Materials - Arts & Humanities   

Reviews (1)

Very Good, Easy Reading Book for Teachers Who Want to Learn More About English Language Learners
I thought this book was very good for classroom teachers who want clear information on how to include English Language Learners in their classrooms.It is very difficult to explain to classroom teachers how to include students who are learning English in short sound bites.This book helps clarify information and teachers can read it at their leisure.
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Subjects:  1. Bilingual Education    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. English as a Second Language    5. English language    6. Foreign speakers    7. Language and education    8. Linguistic minorities    9. Special Education - General    10. Study and teaching    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    12. Teaching Methods & Materials - Language Arts    13. United States   

Editorial Review

In a time when educators and politicians in the United States are fumbling for a fix--from vouchers to smaller class sizes--for ailing public schools, it's refreshing to read the more sophisticated take on what can be done to improve American education found in Read more

Reviews (12)

Do The Easy Things First!
American middle-school and high-school pupils continually lag their peers in other developed countries - especially in mathematics - despite years of decreasing class size, building ornate new structures, "new" math, etc.However, these efforts are bound to fail if what goes on inside the classrooms is poorly structured.
It may not be correct, but...
After reading the book and the previous posters, even if the Japanese mathematics classes were not representative of the education system as a whole, the implications of this study and the ideas that the authors came up with are what we should be focusing on.
Interesting for a Education Student
I am in a program to become a High School math teacher. Our professor recommended this book. I found it to be pretty interesting. The authors do a detailed analysis of a video study from the TIMSS study. Their analysis compares how math is taught in the US, Germany and Japan. Their conclusion is that the US approach focuses on teaching terms and procedures where as the other countries emphasize understanding concepts. They go onto to propose a system of "lesson planning" to improve teaching in the US. Lesson planning calls for teachers to work in teams and develop a single lesson plan (maybe one per semester). The process of developing the lesson plan and refining it imparts to the teachers involved a kind of "best practices" that they can then use in their everyday planning. I am not sure if this is practical, but it sure sounds reasonable to me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comparative Education    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Educational Policy & Reform    5. Educational Reform    6. Germany    7. Japan    8. Mathematics    9. Study and teaching    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - Mathematics    12. United States    13. Central government policies    14. Education / General    15. Organization & management of education   

Reviews (1)

Three Minute Classroom Walk-Through
An effective guide for pinpointing effective classroom instruction.This book also outlines specific strategies for engaging teachers in reflective dialogue that could enhance classroom instruction.A must read for administrators. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Administration - General    2. Classroom Management    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Observation (Educational metho    6. Observation (Educational method)    7. Reflection (Philosophy)    8. School supervision    9. Teacher-principal relationship    10. Teacher-principal relationships    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    12. Education / Administration    13. Organization & management of education    14. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (3)

Great for Professional Book Study with Teachers!
I used this book to guide a book study with elementary teachers in a school where I was the principal.All teachers in the study were reading Marzano's Classroom Instruction that works and a couple of us had a copy of this book to bring in additional information and activities to enhance our study. Both books present the "cut to the chase" version of research that many teachers appreciate because of their busy schedules.The books present strategies that have been proven repeatedly to be effective and professionals who have looked carefully at Marzano's work know that it is scholarly work.He has, however, tried to present it in a very down to earth fashion.No high brow research jargon here.Teachers appreciated and learned from the study and the structure and additional information this guide brought to our work together was an significant factor.

Simplstic
Do you like magazine surveys about how effective your marriage is, or if you exercise frequently enough?This book has one for each chapter (rate yourself 1-4), AND has worksheets like the ones you did in grade school as you work to explore "novel" techniques in education!There have to be more thought provoking monographs about the application of research in the classroom.Sanitized statistics, silly stories, a frighteningly short list of references and text that probably does not read beyond the 6th grade level disturbs me.Does Mr. Marzano think that all educators are semi-literate morons?His ideas are not new in the science classroom, and most ideas he covers are reiterations of something old for me. I was required to use this book and its sister textbook for a GRADUATE LEVEL education course.I would recommend NEITHER.

Trite and repetitive
Don't waste your time on this book - there is very little material of any use here.Read more

Subjects:  1. Administration - General    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Effective teaching    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Learning    7. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    8. United States   

Reviews (14)

Great resource for teachers new to this technology!
Will's book is a great resource for teachers who are interested in introducing blogs etc. into the classroom but who may be intimidated by the technology. His book is easy to read and understand for those of us who are not as technologically advanced as of yet. I believe Will's book will be one of the greatest resources in my classroom in September. I would recommend this book to any teacher who does not want to be left behind by his/her students as technology advances.

Step by Step Book for Beginners
Will Richardson displays great pedagogical style in walking the reader through the steps of seemingly complicated technological tasks.He makes learning about great tech tools for the classroom like blogs, wikis, and rss easy and exciting. He not only tells how to set them up but various ways to use them in the classroom.I had been searching for such a text and now that I've found it, I plan to use it as the main text for my grad student course about educational uses of the Internet.

Will's book
We just finished a 3 day conference with Will for HS reform.My staff just loved the book and the conference.I cannot understand how anyone could rate the book low but everyone has an opinion.We plan to order for staff this fall. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aids and devices    2. Computers & Technology    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Educational Software    6. Educational Web sites    7. Internet in education    8. Teaching    9. Computer-aided learning (CAL)    10. Curriculum planning & development    11. Education / Computers & Technology   

Reviews (4)

Well Worth the Purchase
This book is a great place to start for individuals who already have some teaching experience, have a general familiarity with differentiated learning, but need help with the scope and implementation. This is not for someone who wants linear how-to manual. This book begins with a rationale for differentiated learning and then provides a framework for understanding the process, content, and structure for setting up your classroom. There is plenty of practical advice and examples. If you already know that this is the direction you want to take, I highly recommend this purchase.

excellent choice for learning about differentiation
This would be an excellent resource for all classroom teachers and reading coaches.With much emphasis on differentiating instruction, many teachers are at a loss as to what it really is.This book explains the idea of differentiating instruction in simple easy to read chapters.You will be glad you purchased it and will want to share it.

Fantastic Book
Wonderful book, easy to read book about differentiation.The book covers all areas of differentiation a simple way. Does not read like a textbook!Great book to refer back to. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classroom Management    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Learning Styles    5. Learning ability    6. Mixed ability grouping in educ    7. Mixed ability grouping in education    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    9. United States   

Reviews (9)

Classroom Assesssment Review
Excellent book!Angelo was very clear and concise in guiding teachers through the assessment process.

CATs for the classroom
The text was used in a course through UW Stout and it is a very good resource for methods that can be used to assess learners progress towards a goal.Great tool to have on the bookshelf!
A Classic
Cross and Angelo is a classic text that all professors should have in their teaching and learning library.The techniques are concrete, simple, and powerful.This is not a theory book but truly a handbook of techniques that will not only improve your teaching but more importantly improve your students' learning. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. College students    3. College teaching    4. Curricula    5. Education    6. Education / Teaching    7. Educational evaluation    8. Evaluation    9. Handbooks, manuals, etc    10. Methods Of Instruction And Study In Higher Education    11. Rating of    12. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    13. Testing & Measurement    14. United States    15. Colleges of further education    16. Education / Testing & Measurement    17. Examinations & assessment   

Reviews (18)

Very helpful as a starting point for developing a solid writing program
This is a thoughtful book that helps to put you into the mindset of being an excellent teacher by really listening to and valuing the world around you, listening to and valuing your students, and encouraging them to cultivate the wonder in themselves.

A Must Read for Writers and Teachers
I'm in the process of obtaining a masters degree in elementary education and I read this book for a class. But in my opinion, it's a worthwhile read for anyone who teaches writing at any level or for anyone who writes on a regular basis for that matter.
Review of The Art of Teaching Writing
Calkins book was an easy, yet informative read.As a education student, I learned a lot about how to motivate children to want to write.Calkins techniques are practical and simple.It seems that the book could be geared to not just elementary grades, but also to middle school ages.The examples of student writings were great.I will definitely be re-reading this book when I begin teaching in a couple of years. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition and exercises    2. Education / Teaching    3. English language    4. Report writing    5. Rhetoric    6. Study and teaching    7. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    8. Teaching of a specific subject    9. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (4)

Great Resources!
This is a great resource for planning and coming up with projects for a wide range of students.Every time I refer to it, it opens my eyes to something more.

excellent resource
This book offers great templates to help teachers differentiate instruction so all students can reach their potential.Easily read and understood.

Disappointed
I purchased this book last winter, hoping it would provide additional valuable insight into ways to differentiate within my 5th Grade classroom.I was sorely disappointed, however.I found the book to only "skim the surface" of the entire concept of differentiation in general.It was more of a broad-based introduction for a new teacher, rather than a valuable reference tool. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cognitive styles in children    2. Education    3. Education / Teaching    4. Elementary    5. Individualized instruction    6. Mixed ability grouping in educ    7. Mixed ability grouping in education    8. Secondary    9. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - General   

Reviews (5)

A Trainer's Necessity
Written by the patron saint of trainers everywhere, Robert Mager provides a quick, humorous and easy-to-understand read in what is the heart and soul of training--objectives.
The easiest read in education!
This book is the easiest read I've had in studying education.It is a "choose your own adventure" in education.Read about how to write instructional objectives and then turn the page to find out if you understand what you've read.Very simple and to the point.You don't need any other book to help you write objectives!

A must have for anyone involved in educating others
Very straight-forward and easily digestible read. Step-by-step instructions will have you creating meaningful objectives, which translate into meaningful instruction. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aims and objectives    2. Career/Job    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Lesson planning    6. Personal & Practical Guides    7. Reference    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    9. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (1)

The Answer to Open-ended Questions is Here!
This is the perfect way for teachers to break down open-ended questions.So many states are asking students to write open-ended answers and teachers don't always know how to teach this.This book allows teachers to include open-ended questions as a part of their everyday teaching; it doesn't teach to the test. In fact, it teaches students to become more critical thinkers.
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Subjects:  1. Composition and exercises    2. Education    3. Education / Elementary    4. Education / Teaching    5. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Arts & Humanities    6. English language    7. Examinations    8. Study and teaching (Elementary    9. Study and teaching (Elementary)    10. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    12. Teaching Methods & Materials - Language Arts    13. Teaching Methods & Materials - Reading    14. Elementary    15. Teaching Methods & Materials - Arts & Humanities