Teacher, researcher, and consultant Amy Benjamin challenges the idea of “skill and drill” grammar in the second edition of this lively, engaging, and immensely practical guide.Does grammar instruction have to elicit moans and groans from students and teachers alike? Only when it’s taught the old-fashioned way: as a series of rules to follow and errors to “fix” that have little or no connection to practical application or real-world writing.Benjamin’s enligh...

Do word problems and math vocabulary confuse students in your mathematics classes? Do simple keywords like "value" and "portion" seem to mislead them?Many words that students already know can have a different meaning in mathematics. To grasp that difference, students need to connect English literacy skills to math. Successful students speak, read, write, and listen to each other so they can understand, retain, and apply mathematics concepts.This book explains how to use 10 ...

This book shows content area teachers in middle and high schools how to boost student achievement by including lessons and strategies which focus on students' reading comprehension without detracting from content area focus. These mini-lessons and strategies are research-based and address the specific literacy challenges of each particular subject area (social studies, mathematics, science, etc.). The author has provided a large number of reading examples from texts, sample tests and asses...

This book demonstrates how formative assessments, unlike standardized tests, provide the kind of communication between teachers and students that help teachers make instructional decisions to improve student performance.

Like Amy Benjamin’s other books, this one is easy to read and simple to implement. It demonstrates that you can manage the complexities of differentiated instruction – and save time -- by using technology as you teach. It showcases classroom-tested activities and strategies which are easy to apply in your own classroom.

Do you spend entirely too much time correcting your students' papers? Do your students' essays and term papers take side trips to nowhere? Is their writing riddled with mechanical errors? Do their lab reports and essays lack specificity and clarity?Writing in the Content Areas, Second Edition is for middle and high school content area teachers who assign essays, term papers, lab reports, and other writing tasks to students. This book provides strategies and tips to help teachers of...

Vocabulary at the Core, the expanded and updated edition of Vocabulary at the Center (© 2009), is the definitive guide for every teacher engaged in helping students learn essential academic vocabulary. In clear, precise language, Benjamin and Crow explain why vocabulary is at the core of all learning and communicating and why word study should play a more significant role in English class and across the curriculum—as emphasized by the Common Core State Standards.Y...

Zoom in on the academic skills students are required to learn in reading, writing, speaking/listening, and language! This book cuts through all of the Common Core jargon and gets right to the heart of what students need to learn now. Big Skills for the Common Core is packed with engaging strategies you can use immediately to improve your students' literacy skills and help them retain those skills.Special features include...Charts that break down the skills fo...

This book helps educators improve students’ ability to write clear, coherent essays in response to on-demand writing prompts. While it focuses on students’ abilities to succeed at on-demand writing, it also promotes the teaching of writing as an expression of art and self. For grades 4 -12, it provides examples of responses to narrative and persuasive prompts, and provides savvy advice about what scorers look for.

This book demonstrates how to make your classroom more responsive to the needs of individual students with a wide variety of learning styles, interests, goals, cultural backgrounds, and prior knowledge. Focusing on grades 6 through 12, this book showcases classroom-tested activities and strategies.Differentiated Instruction: A Guide for Middle and High School Teachers shows you how to vary your instruction so you can respond to the needs of individual learners. The concrete example...

This book demonstrates how to make your classroom more responsive to the needs of individual students with a wide variety of learning styles, interests, goals, cultural backgrounds, and prior knowledge. Focusing on grades K through 6, it showcases classroom-tested activities and strategies. Differentiated Instruction: A Guide for Elementary School Teachers shows you how to vary your instruction so you can respond to the needs of individual learners. The examples and classroom activities in...

This book provides step-by-step procedures, student hand-outs, and samples of student work.