Teaching Resources and Texts
Nancy Hutchinson's handbook for teachers is an excellent resource for beginning and experienced teachers alike. It provides up to date information on behavioural, social, and physical disabilities and disorders that are present in todays schools. The book was designed to provide specific information about the realities of teaching in Canada's inclusive schools . This resource comes with an electronic MyEducationLab disk that provides resources for instructors and students.
This book is a fantastic tool for elementary school teachers who want to teach kindness, respect, friendship, and empathy to their students. It was written by Tom Rath, the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller How Full is Your Bucket? (the adult version and original that the children's version was adapted from). It is based on the analogy that everyone carries around an emotional bucket which can be filled or depleted by kindness or hurt. Students learn to be 'bucket fillers' and not 'bucket dippers'. It is a great resource to have in an elementary classroom and can even be used to design class rules and expected behaviours.
The Daily 5 and Cafe Menu books were written by the. They are designed to be instructional and management plans for teaching literacy to Elementary students. I first encountered these books during my studies at St. Thomas University, in my Elementary School Reading and Language Arts course. I had never heard of the concept of Daily 5 or Cafe Menu and had no idea what they would look like in the classroom. During my first internship I got to both teach and experiences Daily 5 and Cafe Menu in action. They are excellent tools and resources for any teacher needing a change in their Langauge Arts/Literacy delivery and lessons.
This text is an excellent resource for teachers needing ideas for Differentiation in their classroom. It highlights how differentiation can be applied in all subject areas and across grade levels. The book also provides several examples and resources for implementing the concepts of differentiation in your own classroom. It includes templates and ideas for scaffolding, responding to different learning styles, and planning your own differentiated instruction. It is a valuable and worth-while resource for all educators.
John Van de Walle has provided great insight and ideas in his book Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics. I was first introduced to this book, and toVan de Walle's methodology during my studies at St. Thomas University, in my Elementary Mathematics Methods course. This text provides ideas for teaching students mathematics in the most comprehensive and hands on way as possible. Van de Walle emphasizes the use of math manipulatives and the development of number sense as building blocks to mathematical success. It is a fantastic resource for teachers needing fresh ideas for teaching mathematics, or for teachers who want to learn about mathematical concepts from the perspective of a student.
I was first exposed to The 7 Habits of Happy Kids during my internship at Park Street School. Park Street is titled a 7 Habits School, this means that they follow, teach, and emphasize the ideas of student happiness and success as highlighted in Covey's book. This book teaches students how to be leaders in their own lives. There are 7 steps that are taught throughout the school year which teach students how to be proactive, fair, responsible, goal-oriented, self-motivated, collaborative, and empathetic. This is taught each week in the classroom and followed by the entire school. The 'kids' version was adapted from Covey's best seller self-help book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It is a great book for students to learn real-world 21st century skills. Students of all elementary ages can benefit from this book being used in their classroom. There are also more advanced versions of the book for Middle and High School students.