The District 7 Instruction Portal

An Essential Read: Classroom Instruction that Works

Tony Thompson — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 01:41:04 +0000

Amazon.com Description

This is a perfect resource for educators seeking best strategies for raising student achievement through classroom instruction. Readers will find a wealth of research evidence, statistical data, and case studies. Nine categories of instructional strategies that maximize student learning are introduced, along with the pertinent information to understand and synthesize each.

Excerpts from the Top-rated Review @ Amazon.com

[This book] should be required reading for every new teacher. It clearly details what is effective in the classroom, regardless of grade level. There is little philosophy here. This is ‘meat and potatoes’ practicality.

The research in this book should become an integral part of every teacher-evaluation process. It provides a model paradigm of excellence in teaching above and beyond the subjectivity extant in most evaluations today. —- Dr. J.L. Parks | Georgetown, KY

Resources

ASCD Study Guide | Book Study Procedures

Getting Acquainted with the Essential Nine

Marzano’s+Nine | Kershaw Powerpoint

An Essential Education Site: Doing What Works

Tony Thompson — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:12:12 +0000

Doing What Works (DWW) is a website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The goal of DWW is to create an online library of resources that may help teachers, schools, districts, states and technical assistance providers implement research-based instructional practice.

Editorial Comment: Doing What Works works – this web site is tremendous. One of the all-time best.

An Essential Education Site: Edutopia.org

Tony Thompson — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:30:22 +0000

The George Lucas Educational Foundation has 30 full-time employees, a $4 million annual budget and a headquarters on the founder’s Skywalker Ranch here in the Marin County hills.

It publishes a magazine, produces documentaries, supports projects in both public and private schools, and maintains an outstanding Web site: Edutopia.org

An in-depth and interactive resource, Edutopia.org offers practical, hands-on advice, real-world examples, lively contributions from practitioners, and invaluable tips and tools.

An Essential Read: Teaching with Poverty in Mind

Tony Thompson — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:44:36 +0000

In Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids’ Brains and What Schools Can Do About It, veteran educator and brain expert Eric Jensen takes an unflinching look at how poverty hurts children, families, and communities across the United States and demonstrates how schools can improve the academic achievement and life readiness of economically disadvantaged students.

Jensen argues that although chronic exposure to poverty can result in detrimental changes to the brain, the brain’s very ability to adapt from experience means that poor children can also experience emotional, social, and academic success. A brain that is susceptible to adverse environmental effects is equally susceptible to the positive effects of rich, balanced learning environments and caring relationships that build students’ resilience, self-esteem, and character.

Drawing from research, experience, and real school success stories, Teaching with Poverty in Mind reveals

What poverty is and how it affects students in school;

What drives change both at the macro level (within schools and districts) and at the micro level (inside a student’s brain);

Effective strategies from those who have succeeded and ways to replicate those best practices at your own school; and

How to engage the resources necessary to make change happen.

Too often, we talk about change while maintaining a culture of excuses. We can do better. Although no magic bullet can offset the grave challenges faced daily by disadvantaged children, this timely resource shines a spotlight on what matters most, providing an inspiring and practical guide for enriching the minds and lives of all your students.

An ASCD Study Guide for Teaching with Poverty in Mind

The above description is taken from the book’s Amazon.com Editorial Review.

An Essential Education Site: Thinkfinity.org

Tony Thompson — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:51:10 +0000

The Verizon Foundation’s Thinkfinity.org may be the best educational web site you never heard of.

It may be the best educational web site – period.

Thinkfinity contains thousands of free, standards-based lesson plans, materials, and engaging resources for every core subject and all grades.

The Verizon Foundation invested millions of dollars in Thinkfinity, and it shows: the content is first rate, and the site is best in class. Verizon and its partners – the leading educational organizations in the United States – have combined to offer an award-winning learning center that can turbo-charge your instruction.

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