Synopses & Reviews
Primary classrooms are just four walls until the teachers enter. Step by step, they build their classrooms: They build the environment, they build relationships with the children, they build partnerships with families, they build classroom communities, and most important, they build competent, successful learners. This acclaimed new book provides the framework and practical strategies primary teachers need to build great classrooms where teaching and learning are a shared responsibility.
Building the Primary Classroom puts the best elements of classroom management and curriculum content together in one concise volume. The first part of the book defines six strategies that form a framework for making decisions and implementing a responsive curriculum. They include: knowing the child you teach, building a classroom community, establishing a classroom structure, guiding children's learning, assessing children's learning, and building a partnership with families. Part II demonstrates how to teach concepts and skills, using this framework, in six different subject areas: language and literacy, mathematical thinking, social studies, scientific thinking, technology, and the arts.
Join the Discussion The Primary Classroom Discussion Group
Are you looking to network with other first, second, and third grade teachers about the "real world" of the classroom? A place where you can talk about what structure is all about, energize your long-term studies, and get help from experts and colleagues on challenges we all face in our classrooms? If so, then the Primary Classroom Discussion Group is the place for you.
Join this free online community to share insights and have your questions answered by Toni Bickart, Judy Jablon, Diane Trister Dodge, Teaching Strategies' staff, and your colleagues from around the world who are using Building The Primary Classroom: A Complete Guide to Teaching and Learning.
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Review
The content is spectacular. My one wish is that teachers throughout America would get to use itSharon L. KaganPresident of NAEYC
Synopsis
Good teaching is hard work. Although curriculum guides and performance standards offer directions about what children are expected to know and do, it is the classroom teacher who ultimately decides what each child needs to become a successful learner. This book provides the tools for making informed decisions, enabling teachers to build developmentally appropriate classrooms in which learning thrives. The book is organized into two parts. Part I has six strategies for making decisions about working with children -- knowing the children you teach, building a classroom community, establishing a structure for the classroom, guiding children's learning, assessing children's learning, and building a partnership with families. The second part of the book demonstrates how to use the six strategies to teach primary grade subject areas, presenting an overview of each subject area.
Synopsis
Primary classrooms are just four walls until teachers enter. Step by step, teachers build their classrooms: They build the environment, they build relationships with the children, they build partnerships with families, they build classroom communities, and most important, they build competent, successful learners. This acclaimed new book provides the framework and practical strategies primary teachers need to build great classrooms where teaching and learning are a shared responsibility. Building the Primary Classroom puts the best elements of classroom management and curriculum content together in one concise volume.
About the Author
Toni Bickart, senior associate and editor in chief at Teaching Strategies, is the co-author of Preschool for Parents, What Every Parent Needs to Know about 1st, 2ndand3rd Grades, Building the Primary Classroom, Reading Right from the Start, and a contributing author of The Creative Curriculum for Preschool. In addition to her own classroom teaching experience, she has worked as a teacher mentor in the D.C. Public Schools and presents workshops for teachers and parents around the country. She is an "Early Education Expert" for ParentSoup, a leading Internet site for parents. In addition to her educational background, Ms. Bickart holds a master's degree in social work from Columbia University.Judy Jablon is an experienced classroom teacher, author, and staff development specialist. She spent 12 years in the classroom teaching grades one through four, and holds a master's degree in early childhood education from the Bank Street College of Education. Ms. Jablon is a nationally recognized expert on early childhood assessment. She has worked on major school reform projects with the South Carolina Department of Education and the Maryland Department of Education. She is a co-author of The Work Sampling System and The Power of ObservationDiane Trister Dodge, founder and president of Teaching Strategies, Inc., is the author of numerous books, articles, and training materials on early childhood education. She is the lead author on all of Teaching Strategies books, including the popular The Creative Curriculum«...series.
After earning a Master's degree from Bank Street College of Education, Diane earned 30 years of experience working with teachers and administrators first as a kindergarten teacher, and then as the education coordinator for a Head Start program in rural Mississippi. Her experiences in the field have taught her the value of curriculum and training materials that articulate a clear philosophy and practical approach to meaningful learning. Her belief that curriculum and assessment are intracately linked led to the development of The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum and The Creative Curriculum Developmental Assessment Toolkit for Ages 3-5. She has also written many books for parents including Building Your Baby's Brain, Reading Right from the Start, and A Parent's Guide to Early Childhood Education.
Diane is a renowned speaker and trainer, and a former member of the Governing Board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). She currently serves on the Board of the Center for the Child Care Work Force and other local Washington, DC organizations.
Table of Contents
I. Six Strategies for Building the Primary Classroom
Knowing the Children You Teach
Building a Classroom Community
Establishing a Structure for the Classroom
Guiding Children's Learning
Assessing Children's Learning
Building a Partnership with Families
Curriculum Content
Language and Literacy
Mathematical Thinking
Social Studies
Scientific Thinking
Technology
The Arts