There is a truth, and an irony, in this - that writing is a supreme act of independence and yet most writing programs foster inherently dependent behaviors. But no more. Colleen Cruz knows that it's possible to teach and fully support a whole classroom full of independent writers. And you can do this with each young writer no matter the genre, the topic, or the stage of the writing process. With Independent Writing, she takes you inside her classroom and documents a full school year of writing instruction with plentiful student examples, teacher's notes, practical advice, and attention to writing standards. Cruz offers a variety of methods not only to get students writing independently, but to get them producing work that both reflects their own interests and displays their skills. Look inside for: 
<li>step-by-step instructions in the use of "mentor texts" - published pieces of writing used to inform students' own work in progress</li> <li>ways to turn notebooks into authentic working documents by referring to writing notebooks of professional writers</li> <li>examples for changing the classroom into a writing colony full of writers who can be a resource to each other</li> <li>suggestions for dealing with trouble, maintaining quality of work, and moving forward</li> <li>easy-to-follow charts for organizing minilessons, addressing problems, and making modifications for students needing additional support.</li> Children can "make or write anything they want," says Cruz, and they can do it independently if they are shown how. Find out how in this practical book. And make each of your students a lifelong writer.

Independent Writing: One Teacher---Thirty-Two Needs, Topics, and Plans

Reference

Cruz, M. Colleen

Words, Language & Grammar

Heinemann

In A Quick Guide to Reaching Struggling Writers Colleen Cruz shows how to stop struggling with writers who struggle. You'll find effective support for students who say: I'm not a good writer; My hand hurts; I don't know how to spell; I don't have anything to write about; I never get to write anything I want to write; I'm done. A Quick Guide to Reaching Struggling Writers is part of the Workshop Help Desk series. About the Workshop Help Desk series The Workshop Help Desk series is designed for teachers who believe in workshop teaching and who have already rolled up their sleeves enough to have encountered the predictable challenges. If you've struggled to get around quickly enough to help all your writers, if you've wondered how to tweak your teaching to make it more effective and lasting, if you've needed to adapt your teaching for English learners, if you've struggled to teach grammar or nonfiction writing or test prep...if you've faced these and other specific, pressing challenges, then this series is for you. Provided in a compact 5" x 7" format, the Workshop Help Desk series offers pocket-sized professional development. For a comprehensive overview of the Units of Study in Opinion/Argument, Information, and Narrative series, including sample minilessons, sample videos, videos, frequently asked questions and more, visit UnitsofStudy.com.

A Quick Guide to Reaching Struggling Writers, K-5 (Workshop Help Desk)

Computers & Technology

CALKINS, LUCY

Business Technology

Veteran teacher and author Colleen Cruz has seen it all and done it all in the writing classroom-and she's got something to admit: this is hard work. Real hard. In The Unstoppable Writing Teacher she takes on the common concerns, struggles, and roadblocks that we all face in writing instruction and helps us engage in the process of problem solving each one. From dealing with writing workshop skeptics to working with students both gifted and challenged, and of course combating that eternal barrier-lack of time-Colleen offers tried-and-true strategies to address and overcome obstacles. For the struggles unique to you, she includes a "Name Your Monster" section that helps you identify your own individual roadblocks and even offers sustainable support through her blog, colleencruz.com. "We can't solve all the problems we're faced with in writing instruction," Colleen promises, "but we can choose how to respond to them. And our responses will make all the difference." What makes you unstoppable, or what's stopping you? Connect with Colleen on her blog at www.colleencruz.com/blog.htm or on Twitter, #unstoppablewritingteacher.

The Unstoppable Writing Teacher: Real Strategies for the Real Classroom

Education & Teaching

Schools & Teaching

"Pencils ready? On your mark...get set...begin!" Remember flipping over a page full of unrelated fact problems and scrambling to answer as many as possible in a minute? Remember trying to memorize math facts by rote? Many of our children are still asked to learn this way-even though research shows this approach can harm student learning more than help. Explore an effective, research-based approach to math fact instruction. No More Math Fact Frenzy examines this research and concludes that our approaches to math fact instruction are often ineffective. We want our students to know their math facts. We know they're better mathematicians when they're comfortable with them. Yet the ways we ask students to learn them in many classrooms remain unproductive. To address this, the authors outline three phases for helping students master their math facts. <ol>
<li>Building foundational concepts and strategies</li> <li>Learning more efficient reasoning strategies</li> <li>Meaningful, ongoing practice leading to full fact fluency</li> </ol>
Then they share recommendations for all three phrases: activities and games that build number sense, strategies that lead to flexible thinking, and ways to create and sustain a classroom culture of fluency. This kind of teaching helps students learn their math facts more successfully-and with less stress and anxiety. "When we emphasize foundation concepts and reasoning strategies as the path towards building authentic fluency, students can develop their number sense, articulate their thinking, and understand the reasoning of others." -Linda Ruiz Davenport, Connie S. Henry, Douglas H. Clements, and Julie Sarama

No More Math Fact Frenzy (NOT THIS, BUT THAT)

Science & Math

Clements, Douglas H.

Sarama, Julie

Davenport, Linda Ruiz

Henry, Connie S.

Duke, Nell K.

Mathematics

It is common to engage students in the process of science, using mostly hands-on activities, and equally common to provide students with only science knowledge through mostly text-based experiences. Neither of these approaches is authentic to how scientists make sense of the world. Both fail to connect those experiences to the larger purpose of science. In this book Jacquey and Gina show you why, and how integrating science and literacy instruction supports students' understanding of and engagement in both. Using research as their guide, Jacquey and Gina show you how to integrate science and literacy learning in a way that reflects the authentic ways scientists work. The authors have identified three key principles supporting this integration: Principle #1: Frame student investigations with a scientific purpose. Principle #2: Integrate "hands-on" science with literacy to support science learning. Principle #3: Help students engage with text in science. Throughout the book, they describe research that supports each principle and share examples of effective integration in the classroom that enhance students' science learning, reading and writing growth, and motivation. To avoid the trap of textbook-only science or inquiry-only science, we need to aim for synergy - engaging students in using firsthand experiences and text-based experiences as connected parts of investigating questions about the natural world.

No More Science Kits or Texts in Isolation: Teaching Science and Literacy Together (NOT THIS, BUT THAT)

Barber, Jacqueline

Cervetti, Gina

Mistakes are not the problem. The problem is the shame we attach to mistakes and inability to grow from them. You have likely heard the adage, 'Everyone makes mistakes.' But what you might not have heard is that there are some predictable reasons why we make these mistakes. Knowing why we make mistakes can help us make fewer mistakes and ensure that when we do make mistakes they'll be more of the more useful variety. In Risk. Fail. Rise. teachers will learn how to address their own teaching mistakes, model with their own mistake-making, and improve their response to others' mistakes. Colleen shares what research studies say on mistake-making as part of learning and what that means for teaching. She provides research, examples, and tools that help teachers destigmatize mistake-making so that they and their students can do the real work of growth. The more aware we are of why we make mistakes, what we can do to avoid unnecessary ones, and respond to useful ones, the more our classroom will be a place of risk-taking and growth for all students. Lay the groundwork for a mistake-welcomingschool culture and embrace positive risk-taking and productive failure in your classroom. The outcomes for you and your students are worth it.

Risk. Fail. Rise.: A Teacher’s Guide to Learning from Mistakes

Business & Money

Job Hunting & Careers

Teachers know the importance of strong relationships with their students, but sometimes connecting with them feels challenging. No More Teaching Without Positive Relationships reviews the teacher-student relationship research and provides practices for building relationships that make a difference. To learn, students need positive relationships with their teachers. So what gets in the way and how can we do better? Since there is no one way to make every relationship positive, authentic, sustainable, and trusting, the authors provide a range of strategies for building and maintaining connections with students. They also discuss critical considerations such as: <ul>
<li>Learning about students' backgrounds and interests</li> <li>Communicating with parents and caregivers</li> <li>Developing culturally responsive content</li> <li>Understanding the importance of race and ethnicity</li> <li>Building and protecting students' self-esteem</li> </ul> Positive teacher-student relationships do not just transform student learning-they also create more stimulating and caring classrooms. A true relationship is dynamic, often requiring a change in behaviors and mindsets. It can be intense work, but it is the kind of work that can change a student's life.

No More Teaching Without Positive Relationships (NOT THIS, BUT THAT)

Howard, Tyrone C.

Howard, Jaleel R.

Milner-McCall, Tanya

Educational software can do many things-assess a student's reading skill, give instruction and practice at the student's level, and assess again to determine progress. But software cannot build a relationship with a child and it cannot look at a child's face and recognize understanding or confusion. It still comes down to teaching students, not technology. EdTech cannot replace a knowledgeable and skilled teacher, but it can support effective literacy learning and be your assistant in creating powerfully literate students and citizens. With constant upgrades, innovations, and new capabilities, in some ways technology has never been more overwhelming. It's easy to get lost in the abundance of options and steadily increasing administrative demands. Suzanne and Beth offer a path that puts teachers in charge, pairing research on literacy and technology with practical, actionable advice to help you bring quality instruction and technology together. While there are books that show you how to include tech, Technology with Intentionalso addresses how to decide whetherto use tech at all. Intentional is the key word for integrating technology into instruction, and you will find helpful guidelines and prompts to help you decide when, how, and why to use technology with your students. Cut through the noise and focus on what matters most-teaching students, not technology. Learn to how to use technology to enhance, not replace, quality teaching and learning, and consider the best choices for the specific content and the students in front of you. How will you use tech with intention?

Technology with Intention: Designing Meaningful Literacy and Technology Integration (NOT THIS, BUT THAT)

Dobler, Elizabeth

Kelly, Suzanne

Software

Trauma and adversity are increasingly common experiences for students and educators, with growing poverty, income inequality, social injustice, institutional inequity, and the global pandemic worsening the situation. Now more children are attending school while experiencing significant chronic and acute stressors. What can educators do to support students, help them learn, and ensure they reach their full potential? Trauma-informed schools are lauded as one way to address this challenge, but trauma-informed pedagogy can be hard to define and, consequently, difficult for teachers and schools to implement.\nTrauma-Responsive Pedagogy explores the research and practices around trauma-informed education in an easy-to-digest, actionable text that elevates the healing and wellness of both the children and the adults in our classrooms. It describes the challenges of a classroom that does not attend to adversity and trauma, then presents the research on trauma-responsive classrooms, and finally provides an inclusive framework that supports educators in centering the whole child in their classrooms-offering a recipe for what to do next period, next week, and next school year. Pedagogy that is trauma-responsive invites us to heal alongside our students while explicitly elevating evidence-informed teaching methods and practices and facilitating the necessary inner work to bring our whole being to the profession in healthy ways. Our students' challenges are not a deterrent to their learning. Together, we can turn wounds into wisdom.

Trauma-Responsive Pedagogy: Teaching for Healing and Transformation (NOT THIS, BUT THAT)

Casimir, Arlène Elizabeth

Baker, Courtney N.

Does your classroom ever feel stuck, or out-of-tune? Meaningful teaching is something educators strive for each day. Educators also know that there is no such thing as a perfect classroom. Despite our best intentions, our classrooms sometimes feel like they're stuck, or out of tune. In Tuned-in Teaching, Antero Garcia and Ernest Morrell offer a road map for creating a classroom that is transformative for your students and revitalizing for you. They explain why students play an integral role in turning classrooms into spaces for greater engagement and innovation. By tuning into youth culture and the lives of students, we become more connected to their needs and ways of learning. Build an active, just, and engaging classroom withstudents The authors examine critical research and discuss the connection to specific aspects of teaching. They also offer six important considerations for teachers who want to build more active, just, and tuned-in learning environments: <ul> <li>Students at the Center: How are you ensuring you are fully seeing who your students are?</li> <li>Authenticity as a Standard: How do students' interests and expertise get to shine?</li> <li>Get in Touch with Student's Digital Lives: How can technology be used meaningfully in your instruction?</li> <li>Keep It Playful: How is student curiosity cultivated in your classroom?</li> <li>Center Action: Who are the audiences your students communicate with?</li> <li>Put It All Together: How do you assess learning in your classroom?</li> </ul> This book is an invitation to learn and grow alongside the suggestions and research presented. It offers guidance for more meaningful teaching in the present, and critical pedagogy for transforming classrooms for the societies of the future.

Tuned-In Teaching: Centering Youth Culture for an Active and Just Classroom (NOT THIS, BUT THAT)

Garcia, Antero

Morrell, Ernest

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Books by Cruz, M. Colleen