Young Children and the Environment is a practical, future-oriented resource that explores how early childhood educators can work with children, their families and wider community to tackle issues of sustainability. Now in its third edition, this seminal text covers Early Childhood Education for Sustainability, as well as the science of sustainability, public health, children's wellbeing, ethics and a broad range of environmental management topics. 'Stories from the Field' present practical ideas for early childhood educators to support their own learning and teaching in sustainability, and international case studies provide examples of how sustainability is taught to young children across the globe. Young Children and the Environment is a call to action for those who work with children to put in place practices for a sustainable future. This book is a vital resource for students and practitioners looking for guidance on how to implement change for the future of children and the environment.

An illustrated guide to the Montessori method of childhood development and education, written by the renowned Italian physician Dr. Maria Montessori. The Montessori method has become a popular approach to educating and nurturing children's development, particularly between the ages of three and six. In this volume, Dr. Montessori gives detailed explanations of her approach to various subjects, including grammar and arithmetic. First published in 1917, this guide is illustrated and features many examples of recommended exercises that can be completed by children anywhere, including the classroom and their home. The Montessori Elementary Material is divided into seven sections: - Grammar - Reading - Arithmetic - Geometry - Drawing - Music - Metrics

The causes of teacher burnout are often systemic and best addressed with coordinated group support. So what tools do principals and other school leaders need to make a difference? In Illuminate the Way: The School Leader's Guide to Addressing and Preventing Teacher Burnout, veteran teacher and instructional coach Chase Mielke outlines the three dimensions of burnout-exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy-and provides the methods to help foster agency, relatedness, and competence in your staff. School leaders have a responsibility to develop the skills, the strategies, and a school culture that emphasize resilience. Decades of psychological and organizational research have shown that we must eradicate the causes of helplessness, which leads to ineffectiveness, and instead promote the conditions of well-being and engagement. The best path to an effective educator is an affective educator who has * A strong level of autonomy and an internal locus of control. * High self-efficacy in diverse teaching contexts. * Resiliency skills for tackling individual and group challenges. * Awareness of when and how to regulate diverse emotions. * Intrinsic motivation to grow oneself, one's students, and one's team. * Positive relationships with students, their families, colleagues, and administration. Teacher burnout ripples out to the entire school system, and if we want to create thriving schools, we need to support thriving teachers. Help improve your teachers' well-being and illuminate the way to a more resilient and engaged school.

The single greatest authority on student learning is the student doing the learning-but the right structures must be in place for students' voices to be clearly heard and truly valued. Conventional formative and summative assessment are most often conducted through one-size-fits-all quizzes and tests that yield narrow, predetermined categories of data about students' academic progress. But if we want a truly accurate look at what, how, and to what extent students are learning, who better to consult than the obvious experts on the matter: the students themselves. In this lively and comprehensive guide, veteran teacher and author Starr Sackstein provides the tools needed to help students compile and present evidence of learning through portfolios and student-led conferences-from templates and rubrics to personal testimonials, reflection questions, and activities. The book features * Forms-applicable across grade levels and content areas-for unpacking standards, co-constructing success criteria with students, evaluating current classroom practices, and more. * Real-life perspectives and scenarios from educators in the field who have embraced portfolios and student-led conferences over standardized tests and letter grades. * Practical, experience-based guidance for building classroom and schoolwide learning cultures that promote both learner agency and academic achievement. The resources, recommendations, and reflections in Student-Led Assessment allow educators at all levels to develop systems and protocols for ensuring student ownership of-and pride in-their own hard-won achievement.

Learning® Magazine 2020 Teachers' Choice℠ Award for Preschool winner! 2019 Midwest Book Award Winner in the Education category! After studying the current research on literacy learning for young children, delving into the beliefs and schools of Reggio Emilia, and discovering the Maker Movement, the authors created StoryMaking. With great success, they implemented it in their diverse and large public school district. StoryMaking shares the processes, first steps, next steps, uses for materials, and lessons learned so teachers can implement their own versions in their classrooms. The book shares practical suggestions, student samples, photographs, anchor charts, and other forms of documentation.

Something Very Sad Happened is intended to be read to two- and three-year-old children to help them understand death and process the loss of a loved one. When a loved one dies, it can be hard to know how to explain it to a young child, particularly if you are grieving the loss yourself. Written at a developmental level that is appropriate for two- and three-year-olds, the story explains death; lets children know that it is okay to feel sad; and reassures children that they can still love the person who died, and the person who died will always love them. Since the two- to three-year-old child cannot read, this story is intended to be personalized; certain words are color-coded in red to cue to you to substitute with the appropriate names and pronouns for the person who died. Includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers with more information about talking to children about death, guidelines for answering a child's questions, advice for attending funerals and visiting cemeteries, and ideas for commemorating the loved one.

CHILD, FAMILY, SCHOOL, COMMUNITY: SOCIALIZATION AND SUPPORT, now in its Eleventh Edition, offers an excellent introduction to socialization grounded in a powerful conceptual framework--Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model of Human Development. Examining how the school, family and community influence children's socialization, this trusted text addresses complex issues in a clear, comprehensive fashion. An enjoyable read, the text packed with meaningful, timely examples and effective learning tools to help you understand and apply key concepts. A sensitive presentation of diversity issues encompasses culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and special needs. Newly updated throughout, the Eleventh Edition features a strong emphasis on NAEYC and NASW standards, as well as a new focus on cooperative learning strategies and real-world applications to expand on what you learn in the classroom.

Universal Design for Learning in English Language Arts is the gold winner of the 2024 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award in Education! In this latest addition to Katie Novak's UDL Now! series, Novak has teamed up with literacy experts Ryan Hinkle, Brianne Parker, Jina Poirier, and Anne Wolff to offer educators an insightful, practical resource that shows how to integrate Universal Design for Learning in the ELA classroom to build rich, collaborative, engaging literacy environments. By focusing on the established domains of literacy, including reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language and vocabulary development, this book shows K-12 teachers how to engage students of diverse needs and backgrounds and explore the connections between social emotional learning, character education, and deeper understanding of literacy. Educators will learn how ELA classrooms provide a unique opportunity to explore the human experience through literature, writing, and communication and discover strategies for selecting texts that appeal to all learners; developing inclusive writing prompts; and offering authentic assessment opportunities. The practices can be used in classrooms preK-12, in college and careers, and in professional learning. Katie Novak, EdD, is an internationally renowned educational consultant, adjunct instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, best-selling author, and founder of Novak Educational Consulting. Ryan Hinkle, MA, Brianne Parker, MEd, Jina Poirier, MEd, and Anne Wolff, MEd, are educators in the Orange County Department of Education in California.

Foundations of Child & Youth Care< explores the field of child and youth care, introducing unique perspectives, theories, and interventions in which the practice is grounded as well as emerging concepts essential to current practice. Foundations of Child & Youth Care: Describes foundational concepts while challenging readers and instructors to further understand and investigate areas of interest through suggested resources, chapter exercises, and practice examples Effectively combines the importance of personal and professional learning through suggested exercises that give students the opportunity to reflect on their current knowledge and understanding of the world around them Integrates terminology that is inclusive and reflects what is used in the rapidly changing field of child and youth care Features updated links, tips and resources, and references Incorporates updated information representing a primarily North American perspective on the field Foundations of Child & Youth Care prepares the student to understand themselves and their practice in order to develop meaningful and therapeutic relationships that benefit children, youth, and families. This book also describes the approach that child and youth care practitioners take to do the work that they do. Foundations of Child & Youth Care will ensure that students become skilled, reflective, and knowledgeable practitioners.

Teacher burnout demands systemic solutions, not "self-care." Learn what leaders can do to actively reduce frustration and provide real, sustaining support for all staff. With teachers across the board assuming additional responsibilities, stress and job dissatisfaction are more prevalent than ever. Widespread staff shortages, which further increase workloads, and budget directives that require everyone to do more with less continue to demotivate and erode morale. It's no wonder so many teachers choose to leave the profession-or that many who remain feel overworked and unappreciated. The proper response from principals and other school leaders is not to encourage so-called self-care but rather to take a systemic approach that focuses on the factors they can control: time, effort, and resources. To increase teacher retention and alleviate the compounded effects of teacher burnout, leaders need to ask less of their staff and offer them more. In What Can I Take Off Your Plate?, veteran educators Jill Handley and Lara Donnelly detail both the immediate steps you can take to triage your staff's emotional exhaustion and the big-picture structural changes you can make to reduce frustration, increase motivation, and support the whole teacher. You'll learn useful ways to * Reduce initiative fatigue. * Give the gift of time. * Support from within the classroom. * Foster and support a healthy work-life balance. * Demonstrate appreciation. * Infuse fun in the workplace. This book is for school leaders who are ready to treat burnout like the complicated challenge it is-and meet it with both focused action and the lasting, sustainable solutions it demands.

Play is a magnificent activity that sustains life and promotes joy and hopefulness. Loose Parts for Children with Diverse Abilities addresses the importance of play while providing appropriate accommodation to support young children with diverse abilities. Award-winning author and educator Miriam Beloglovsky advocates for play for play sake and invites early childhood educators and families to see children with diverse abilities' strengths, recognize them as capable, competent and creative, and listen to their powerful voices. With hundreds of illustrative full-color photographs and infused with real stories of children with diverse abilities engaged in loose parts play, the book also includes narrative comments from families and educators.

From healing to astronomy to our connection to the natural world, the lessons from Indigenous knowledge inform our learning and practices today. How do knowledge systems get passed down over generations? Through the knowledge inherited from their Elders and ancestors, Indigenous Peoples throughout North America have observed, practiced, experimented, and interacted with plants, animals, the sky, and the waters over millennia. Knowledge keepers have shared their wisdom with younger people through oral history, stories, ceremonies, and records that took many forms. In Sky Wolf's Call, award-winning author team of Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger reveal how Indigenous knowledge comes from centuries of practices, experiences, and ideas gathered by people who have a long history with the natural world. Indigenous knowledge is explored through the use of fire and water, the acquisition of food, the study of astronomy, and healing practices.

From a tiny seed to a huge, fold-out bloom, the transformative life cycle of a sunflower plays out in this bold read-aloud. A Sibert Honor Book! A Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book! To understand how a seed becomes a sunflower, you have to peek beneath the soil and wait patiently as winding roots grow, a stalk inches out of the earth, and new seeds emerge among blooming petals. "A seed falls, And settles into the ground, And the Sun shines, And the rain comes down, And the seed grows..." Leading up to a striking fold-out spread of a full-grown sunflower, the lively, bold illustrations in A Seed Grows offer a close-up view of each step of the growth cycle.  Additional material in the back of the book explains the science of plant life cycles, and goes into more detail on the ways in which flowers and seeds depend on other creatures. Antoinette Portis is the author of A New Green Day, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and NCTE Notable Book in Poetry, as well as the Sibert Honor winning Hey, Water! An American Library Association Notable Children's Book A CALIBA Golden Poppy Award Finalist A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection A Horn Book Fanfare Title

Key Selling Points Teaching progressions, activities, and tools to support teachers in the implementation of a sound systemic phonics program that aligns with the Science of Reading (SOR) Flexible, structured weekly lessons with concept overviews, model lesson plans, and corresponding word lists and high-impact activities for easy classroom use Easy high-impact activities that can be used from K-3 and across phonics concepts patterns Addresses unique needs of diverse learners including intervention, extension, English language learners, and home support SOR and the "Right to Read" have been big news this year, with Ontario, for example, committing to a $25 million investment in reading intervention programs (which means phonics!), beginning September 2022 Book is being piloted by teachers in classrooms in British Columbia and Alberta

This book will inspire, challenge and engage you--and transform your teaching and learning. Each chapter in this book is written by a different educator or team about their experiences with project-based learning, both in and out of the classroom. They reflect not only on the how of project-based learning, but more importantly, on the what and the why. They offer insight into how connecting with learners, honouring their experiences, and promoting deep and rich questioning can be the path to powerful projects and learning. Their writing and thinking is saturated with empathy, expertise, a desire to improve their practice, and an acknowledgment of the need to collaborate.

Wild Learning answers a call in the educational community for practical, easy-to-implement activities that bring core curriculum out of the classroom and into the outdoors. Outdoor learning has risen in popularity in recent years, and it has tremendous benefits. Being outside is healthier, helps children form a strong connection to the natural world, supports a variety of learning styles, increases engagement and motivation, and improves mental health. This book gives teachers practical activities that they can immediately implement, and helps educators overcome common barriers to outdoor instruction. These activities can be done in common outdoor spaces that are accessible to teachers in all school settings, and they are adaptable to their current curriculum--not an extra thing to try to fit into their day. Get ideas for fun outdoor activities that cover core subject matter already being taught Take learning outside, taking advantage of commonly accessible areas, no matter the educational setting Help students develop a healthy appreciation of the outdoors and support hands-on learning styles Support students' physical and mental health without sacrificing learning time This book is a much-needed resource for elementary and special education teachers, as well as those in alternative schools, forest schools, and homeschooling parents.

Learn how to connect your curriculum planning to children's interests and thinking.  With this book, educators will discover a systematic way for using documentation to design curriculum that emerges from children's inquiries, what they wonder, and what they want to understand. Get strategies for designing a classroom environment at the start of the year to facilitate emergent inquiry curriculum. Each chapter guides teachers to document and reflect on their thinking through each of the five phases of a cycle of inquiry process, including observing, interpreting the meaning of the play they see, and developing questions to engage children.

Carla loves to be different. So when her teacher announces an upcoming vision screening, Carla hopes she'll be the only kid in class to need glasses. To prepare for her new look, she starts wearing homemade funky frames to school each day.  Turns out that the only one who needs glasses is Buster. But unlike Carla, Buster does NOT like to be different. He likes to blend in. When Carla concocts an ingenious plan to help Buster, it's clear to see that the power of friendship - and Carla's creativity - will save the day.  This long-awaited companion to the award-winning Carla's Sandwich will be adored by kids with or without glasses.  

Thinking made visible: That' s what happens when elementary students record their thoughts in science notebooks. This practical guide shows how notebooks can become a tangible record of their emerging understanding of and proficiency in science. Students can use their notebooks to pose questions, write down observations, work through puzzling data, or think through new ideas. You can use them to ascertain each student' s strengths and challenges in participating in the academic work of science. Science Notebooks in Student-Centered Classrooms offers the following: * Specific guidance on how to start using notebooks-- or improve what you already do. Find out how to help students learn to organize information while also preserving their own voices and choices. Many of the samples are from actual student notebooks. * Advice on the best ways to use notebooks. Explore lessons, instructional routines, and assessment techniques that pair well with science notebooks. * Practical techniques. Discover how to use notebooks to assess student work and plan future lessons even as you integrate language arts and mathematics into your science class. * Blackline masters you can use at your discretion. These are provided in the appendix for organizational elements (such as a table of contents) and instruction (graphic organizers). Throughout, the book' s approach aligns with the vision in A Framework for K- 12 Science Education, the Next Generation Science Standards, and current research about notebooks. You can be sure the strategies in this book really work because author Jessica Fries-Gaither is a veteran teacher who has personally tested every technique. She is also the author of the award-winning NSTA Kids books Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings and Exemplary Evidence: Scientists and Their Data. As she says in the book, science notebooks have the power " to engage students as active participants in the practice and learning of science."