Zwiers & Crawford provide background on why they chose to write a book about the conversations students have in classrooms and then share strategies that have worked with real students.  Each section of the book discusses five key conversation styles: Elaborate and Clarify, Support with Examples and Evidence, Build On & Challenge Ideas, Paraphrase, and Synthesize.  The end of the book focuses on academic conversations strategies for specific content areas. 

 

Danielson FFT
1e: Designing Coherent Instruction
2a: Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport

3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques

3c: Engaging Students in Learning

 

 

 

 

Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey share the research of formative assessment and strategies that can be implemented in any classroom.  If you are looking for some new ideas on how to make your student's thinking visible, this book is for you.

 

Danielson FFT

1a: Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy

1b: Demonstrating knowledge of students
1c: Setting instructional outcomes
1f: Designing student assessment
3a: Communicating with students
3d: Using assessment in instruction

3e: Demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness

4a: Reflecting on teacher and student learning

Rick Wormeli leads you through the steps to differentiate to meet the diverse needs of the students in your classroom.  Each chapter provides you with the next step to create strong differentiated units and examples using real content.  You will find strategies in this book, but more importantly, you will learn a process that you can use again.

 

Danielson FFT
1a: Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy
1b: Demonstrating knowledge of students
1e: Designing coherent instruction
3a: Communicating with students

3b: Engaging students in learning
3d: Using assessment in instruction
3e: Demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness

4a: Reflecting on teacher and student learning

Susan Brookhart argues that effective feedback can be the difference in student achievement.  She outlines her argument, provides research and share examples of effective feedback in her book.  There are plenty of content specific examples that can be extrapolated to your specific subject.  Fair warning for secondary teachers, there are a number of examples from the elementary level. 

 

Danielson FFT
1f: Designing student assessment

3c: Communicating with students
3d: Using assessment in instruction
4a: Reflecting on teacher and student learning

4b: System for managing students' data

In this book, Connie Moss and Susan Brookhart create a twist on the SWBAT seen in many classrooms.  Instead, they write the daily and larger goals for students in kid-friendly language, using "I will be able to..." to communicate their expectations.  This minor switch helps students to take ownership of their learning.  The idea is that students will read the "I will be able to...", know the target, participate in the lesson and know when they have achieved your objective.  This book outlines the strategies and goes in depth on how to create learning targets for all of your units.  Fair warning: It can be too overwhelming to follow all the steps suggested, but the conversation about learning targets is worthy of the read.

 

Danielson FFT

1a: Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy

1c: Setting instructional outcomes
1e: Designing coherent instruction

1f: Designing student assessment

3a: Communicating with students
4a: Reflecting on teacher and student learning

This book isn't just for English teachers.  Kelly Gallagher, once again, gives teachers of various content areas tools that can be used in any classroom. 

 

Each chapter explores a different form of writing used in the real world:
   *express and reflect

   *take a stand/propose a solution

 

Danielson FFT:

1a: Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy
1c: Setting instructional outcomes
1e: Designing coherent instruction

3e: Demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness