November 2023 MBR The Education Shelf

The Education Shelf

Promote Reading Gains
Laura Robb, author
Tim Rasinski, author
David Harrison, author
Shell Educational Publishing
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Shell-Education
c/o Teacher Created Materials
https://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com
9798765903421, $39.99, PB, 312pp

https://www.amazon.com/Promote-Reading-Gains-Ready-Use/dp/B0BYRF3DGF

Synopsis: With "Promote Reading Gains: Ready-to-Use Differentiated Lessons for Grades 3-5" elementary school classroom teachers can accelerate their students learning gains using differentiated instruction! This professional teaching resource supports educators with easy-to-use lessons that strengthen students' reading skills.

"Promote Reading Gains" provides teachers with 36 lessons that support differentiated instruction in grades 3, 4, and 5. The lessons focus on four advanced reading skills: visualize, infer, draw conclusions, and compare/contrast.

Written by literacy experts Laura Robb and Tim Rasinski and award-winning children's author David L. Harrison, "Promote Reading Gains" offers useful lessons and reading strategies that meet students' diverse reading needs.

The first part of this resource provides helpful information that supports the ready-to-implement lessons in the second part. These lessons create opportunities for individual and collective growth by reading, discussing, and writing about poems and texts. Now both novice and experienced classroom teachers can build key literacy skills such as comprehension, critical thinking, vocabulary building, and word study with this thoroughly 'user friendly' curriculum planning resource!

Critique: Of special relevance to readers with an interest in reading/phonics teaching materials and elementary school curriculum planning resources, "Promote Reading Gains: Ready-to-Use Differentiated Lessons for Grades 3-5" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, school district, college/university library Reading Skills & Instruction collections and supplemental Teacher Education curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for teacher and home-schooling parents that "Promote Reading Gains: Ready-to-Use Differentiated Lessons for Grades 3-5" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $37.99).

Editorial Note #1: Laura Robb, M.S.Ed., is an author, teacher, coach, and speaker who has taught grades 4 to 8 for more than 40 years. In addition to speaking and consulting, she coaches K-8 teachers. Robb is a featured speaker at conferences and leads workshops in the United States and internationally. In 2016, Robb was NCTE's recipient of the Richard W. Halle Award for Outstanding Middle Level Educator.

Editorial Note #2: David L. Harrison, M.S., is a children's author and Missouri's poet laureate. His poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for young readers have been anthologized in more than 200 books. Harrison gives presentations at national, regional, and local conferences and has been a featured speaker at literature festivals and schools. In 2020, Harrison received the first Laura Ingalls Wilder Children's Literature Medal for his body of work.

Editorial Note #3: Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D., is the author of numerous articles, books, and curriculum programs on literacy education. He is a professor of literacy education at Kent State University where he previously directed the university's award-winning reading clinic. Rasinski is known for his work on word study, reading fluency, and readers who struggle. In 2010, he was inducted into the International Reading Hall of Fame.

Addressing Anxiety in Young Learners
Dr. Sarah Taylor Vanover Ed.D., author
Kristen Mennona LPC BC-DMT & CEDS, author
Brookes Publishing Company
www.brookespublishing.com
9781681256498, $29.95, PB, 160pp

https://www.amazon.com/Addressing-Anxiety-Young-Learners-Recognizing/dp/1681256495

Synopsis: Anxiety rates are skyrocketing among young learners -- and their teachers need explicit training on how to understand and support these students. A concise, reader friendly guide written especially for teachers, "Addressing Anxiety in Young Learners: A Teacher's Guide to Recognizing Needs and Resolving Behaviors" by educators Sarah Taylor Vanover and Kristen Mennona is urgently needed book will prepare early educators to recognize anxiety issues in children ages 3 - 8, identify the associated behaviors, and work effectively with students who have anxiety symptoms.

Teachers will start with a well organized primer on the different types of anxiety in children, featuring symptoms, causes, triggers, treatment options, and case stories. Then they'll get expert guidance on addressing anxiety and challenging behaviors in the classroom, with dedicated chapters on key topics like assessment, intervention, and the parents' experience.

Ideal for both preservice and in service professional development, this introductory guide gives teachers the accessible information they need to understand learners with anxiety and support their success inside and outside the classroom.

"Addressing Anxiety in Young Learners: A Teacher's Guide to Recognizing Needs and Resolving Behaviors" will prove of immense benefit and interest to educators with an interest in: Exploring seven types of childhood anxiety: generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety, selective mutism, OCD, phobias, and anxiety rooted in childhood trauma; Reviewing the assessment and evaluation process, and understand the role a teacher should play; Recognizing co-morbidities with anxiety (including ADHD, autism, and depression) and how they may affect a child's symptoms and treatment plan; Understanding the issues and emotions parents face, so that teachers can offer them sensitive support; Using effective classroom interventions to meet the needs of children with anxiety and create a nurturing learning environment; Learning which strategies to avoid, from unrealistic expectations to excessive reassurance.

Critique: Thoroughly 'user friendly in organization and presentation, "Addressing Anxiety in Young Learners: A Teacher's Guide to Recognizing Needs and Resolving Behaviors" will be of particular value to readers with an interest in early childhood education and mental health. Highly recommended for personal, professional, school district, college/university library Developmental Psychology, Education Counseling, and Classroom Crisis Management collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted that "Addressing Anxiety in Young Learners: A Teacher's Guide to Recognizing Needs and Resolving Behaviors" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $28.45).

Editorial Note #1: Sarah Taylor Vanover has been working in the field of early childhood education for over twenty-three years. She first began as an assistant teacher in an infant classroom, and since then she has served as a lead teacher, a program administrator, a trainer, a classroom teaching coach, and a college professor. Dr. Vanover is currently the Director for the Division of Child Care in Kentucky where she is responsible for early education policy development, child care subsidy, the Kentucky child care quality rating system, and professional development for early childhood educators.

Editorial Note #2: Dr. Vanover completed her doctoral research on what families look for when selecting child care for their children. She is an active trainer in Kentucky and surrounding states, and she frequently speaks at conferences on topics like quality childcare indicators, early childhood special education, and the importance of the child care system.

Kristen Mennona is the founder of Nurture Family Counseling, LLC in Denver, Colorado. Her practice specializes in the treatment of pediatric eating disorders, OCD and anxiety within the context of the family. Kristen is a licensed professional counselor, a board-certified dance/movement therapist, a certified eating disorder specialist (CEDS), a registered yoga instructor (RYT 200) and a BTTI trained clinician for pediatric OCD. Kristen combines best clinical practices with ancient, embodied experiences for her clients. She believes in the inherent wisdom of the body to bring forth that which needs healing.

Kristen presents nationally on topic of body image acceptance and the integration of expressive arts. She enjoys teaching clinicians how to incorporate non-verbal methods to help clients tolerate body sensations (like anxiety). She hosts an Instagram account called THE_BODY_AS to inspire more people to work on body image acceptance and to pass that acceptance on to the next generation.

Creative Thinking in Schools: A Leadership Playbook
Bill Lucas, et al.
Crown House Publishing
81 Brook Hills Circle, White Plains, NY 10605
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781785836848, $34.95, PB, 150pp

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Thinking-Schools-Leadership-Playbook/dp/1785836846

Synopsis: Written by an internationally renowned team of thought-leaders, researchers and facilitators, "Creative Thinking in Schools: A Leadership Playbook" is a practical guide that draws together various understandings about school leadership combined with a deep experience of cultivating creative thinking in all aspects of school life and promoting creative learning habits in the classroom.

"Creative Thinking in Schnools" is a leadership playbook that has been published to coincide with the global release of the first PISA test results on creative thinking, the Creativity Collaboratives under way in England and the growing importance of creative thinking in countries across the world.

"Creative Thinking in Schools" focuses on how leaders can create capacity among their staff to embed creative thinking, both in their own lives and in the lives of their pupils. It also offers a framework for improving creative thinking based on the widely used five creative habits framework developed by the Centre for Real-World Learning. The framework focuses on developing learners who are inquisitive, persistent, collaborative, disciplined and imaginative.

Underpinned by research and analysis of practice in hundreds of schools across the world, and more recently by an in-depth study of fifty schools in England, "Creative Thinking in Schools" provides a range of accessible resources, planning tools and practical examples. These support leaders to reflect on their core purposes, understand the changes needed to embed creative thinking, develop leaders across their staff, facilitate the development of their teachers, plan, teach and assess creative thinking, and work with external partners, all the while developing a vibrant professional learning community.

Complemented and supported by a dedicated website which contains additional downloadable materials and case studies, "Creative Thinking in Schools" will allow leaders and teachers around the world to connect with each other and share their own experiences in order to develop, spread, extend and evaluate creative thinking within and across schools.

"Creative Thinking in Schools" will support a professional learning community of leaders and teachers who see creative thinking as a core purpose of education and are interested in making it a priority in their school. It will encourage pupils to develop their creativity in the classroom, allowing future generations to thrive in a world that is increasingly complex.

Critique: creative thinking is a core purpose in education from preschool to highschool and beyond. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, it should be noted that "Creative Thinking in Schools: A Leadership Playbook" has been supported by the Mercers Company, Creativity, Culture and Education and the Arts Council of Wales. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $26.99), "Creative Thinking in Schools" is especially and unreservedly recommended for classroom teachers, school administrators, school board members, and education policy makers.

Editorial Note: Professor Bill Lucas is Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning at the University of Winchester. An acknowledged thought-leader in education, Bill has been a school leader and the founder of two national educational charities. With Guy Claxton he created the Expansive Education Network: an organisation of schools that share a common view of the goals of education, as outlined in their seminal book, Educating Ruby. Bill is in demand across the world as a researcher, speaker and facilitator. Bill's work on developing capabilities is widely used in Australia and across the UK. The model of creativity on which Teaching Creative Thinking is based is the subject of a 14 country study by the OECD.

Paying for College, 2024
Kalman Charry, author
Geoffrey Martz, author
The Princeton Review
c/o Random House Inc.
www.PrincetonReview.com
9780593516614, $$25.99, PB, 353pp

https://www.amazon.com/Paying-College-2024-Everything-Admissions/dp/0593516613

Synopsis: Financing a college education is a daunting task no matter your circumstances. With line-by-line instructions for filling out the FAFSA and consumer-friendly advice to minimize college costs, "Paying for College, 2024: Everything You Need to Maximize Financial Aid and Afford College" helps you take control of your experience.

"Paying for College 2024" covers: Maximizing your financial aid eligibility; Preparing for upcoming changes affecting student aid; Exploring long term and short term strategies to reduce college costs and avoid expensive mistakes; Completing every question on the FAFSA and CSS Profile aid applications to your best advantage; Comparing aid offers and learning how to appeal them if necessary; Planning strategically as a separated/divorced parent, a blended family, or as an independent student.

Critique: Comprehensive, accessible, and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Paying for College, 2024: Everything You Need to Maximize Financial Aid and Afford College" is an indispensable and mandatory addition to every highschool counselors office, an essential and timely addition to community library collections, and also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99) for personal and family use.

Editorial Note: The experts at The Princeton Review have been helping students, parents, and educators achieve the best results at every stage of the education process since 1981. The Princeton Review has helped millions succeed on standardized tests, and provides expert advice and instruction to help parents, teachers, students, and schools navigate the complexities of school admission. In addition to classroom courses in over 40 states and 20 countries, The Princeton Review also offers online and school-based courses, one-to-one and small-group tutoring, as well as online services in both admission counseling and academic homework help.

The Kid Across the Hall
Reid Saaris
Redwood Press
c/o Stanford University Press
www.sup.org
9781503615274, $28.00, HC, 352pp

https://www.amazon.com/Students-Across-Hall-Inequality-American/dp/1503615278

Synopsis: Growing up, Reid Saaris was confused and disturbed by the radically different opportunities his best friend received. After a childhood spent together, Jamie and Reid found themselves on opposite sides of a high school hallway that separated kids based on a misunderstanding of their supposed "potential". The gap between the two friends widened as Reid's classes enabled him to pursue an elite college degree across the country studying educational opportunity and teaching.

Then, Reid became a teacher at an under-resourced South Carolina high school where efforts to serve the incredible students were stymied by internal segregation and administrative ambivalence. He was disabused of the Hollywood myth that a good teacher could simply save the day, when each false start with his students forced him to reckon with how much he didn't know. After Reid assigned students a project to create a positive change, they pushed him to figure out how he, too, could make a bigger difference.

While an individual's efforts are no match against entrenched systems, Reid learned firsthand that a community of people powered by data can effect change. This lesson motivated him to found Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to finding the students who were overlooked, discouraged, or otherwise missing from higher-level classes.

As EOS became more successful, partnering with major philanthropies, universities, and even the White House, Reid grappled with his role as a leader. Only through the efforts of, first, his students in South Carolina, and later his team at EOS, would he come to understand, and begin to overcome, the limitations of his vision. Informed by extensive new data on educational opportunity in America, "The Kid Across the Hall: The Fight for Opportunity in Our Schools" is a powerful story of learning and unlearning; of leading and learning to follow.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, thoughtful, thought-provoking, organized and presented, "The Kid Across the Hall: The Fight for Opportunity in Our Schools" is part memoir, part economic impact study of income inequality upon our education system. Having a great deal of value for readers with an interest in education reforms and the role that non-profits and charity endowments/awards/grants can play, "The Kid Across the Hall: The Fight for Opportunity in Our Schools" must be considered essential reading a an important contribution to personal, professional, community, school district, college, and university library Contemporary Issues in Education collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for student and classroom teachers, education administrators, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Kid Across the Hall: The Fight for Opportunity in Our Schools" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Reid Saaris (https://reid4waschools.com) is the founder of Equal Opportunity Schools, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that students of all backgrounds have opportunities to succeed at the highest levels. He is an Echoing Green, a Draper Richards Kaplan, and a Stanford Social Innovation Fellow, and has advised federal, state, and local leaders, teachers, philanthropies, companies, and universities on topics like justice, impact, data analysis, communications, and learning. His most challenging and meaningful professional experiences have been as a classroom teacher.

Different Minds, second edition
Dierdre V. Lovecky
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
www.jkp.com
9781849059244, $47.00

https://www.amazon.com/Different-Minds-Children-Asperger-Syndrome/dp/1849059241

The second updated edition of Dierdre V. Lovecky's Different Minds: Gifted Children with ADHD, ASD, and Other Dual Exceptionalities compiles works that help identify dual exceptionalities and insights into gifted children's special needs. This continues to offer parents and educators a range of insights, options, and specific approaches to children with ADHD and autism, from diagnosis to meeting ongoing needs. Much has changed since this book's original appearance in 2004, but one thing has remained - the ongoing need for a reference such as this, which incorporates the latest studies about creativity, assessment, and growth strategies tailored to these kids and those who work with them. From suggestions for improving social communication skills to enhancing motivation and monitoring this group, a wide audience receives the concrete blend of analysis and application that makes Different Minds a key acquisition for libraries or readers interested in the latest insights into gifted children who also have special needs.

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