Education publishers send us a wide variety of professional books for review. Our always-hungry-to-improve TLN reviewers pick out what piques their interest(s) and fit the reading around school work and weekend chores — or as an appealing alternative to boring TV sitcoms. Here’s our latest batch of reviews from our bottomless pile of publications. You’re sure to find something of interest, and you’ll likely appreciate the teacher point of view. To read the full review, just click on the title. We’ve also included price and publishing information and links to publisher websites, in case you’d like to check out their upbeat ad copy. You can browse the complete list of more than 100 TLN reviews at our book review index page.
Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships
By Anne Henderson, Karen Mapp, Vivian Johnson and Don Davies (reviewed by Amy Bailey)
Less is More: Teaching Literature with Short Texts (6-12)
By Kimberly Hill Campbell (reviewed by Cindi Rigsbee)
Seven Simple Secrets: What the Best Teachers Know and Do!
By Annette Breaux and Todd Whitaker (reviewed by Laurie Wasserman)
Differentiated Literacy Coaching: Scaffolding for Student and Teacher Success
By Mary Catherine Moran (reviewed by Kathie Marshall)
Lead Me—I Dare You: Managing Resistance to School Change
By Sherrel Bergmann and Judith Allen Brough (reviewed by Laura R. Jones)
Everyday Editing: Inviting Students to Develop Skill and Craft in Writer’s Workshop
By Jeff Anderson (reviewed by Mary Tedrow)
What Great Teachers Do Differently: Fourteen Things That Matter Most
By Todd Whitaker (reviewed by Laurie Wasserman)
Research-Based Methods of Reading Instruction for English Language Learners, Grades K-4
By Sylvia Linan-Thompson and Sharon Vaughn (reviewed by Rebecca Malone)
Teaching Beyond the Test: Differentiated Project-Based Learning in a Standards-Based Age
By Phil Schlemmer and Dori Schlemmer (reviewed by Georgiean Benson)
Ignite Student Intellect and Imagination in Social Studies
By Sandra L. Schurr and Kathy L. LaMorte (reviewed by Cossondra George)
Here’s a sample, from (literacy coach) Kathie Marshall’s review of Differentiated Literacy Coaching:
“Where does that leave those of us in the coaching world — instructional coaches, content-focused coaches, literacy coaches, reading coaches, peer coaches — when, in truth, we can’t even agree on a term, much less exactly what our expectations are for coaches? What qualifications should we have? How should we be trained? What job responsibilities should we share? How do coaches juggle the on-site demands that at times conflict with district-level demands? How do we survive this very complicated world of literacy coaching?
“Mary Catherine Moran addresses each of these issues within a tightly structured, high readable model that provides important background information, a deeper look at the varied roles of literacy coaches, and professional learning modules to support our work. This book is full of illuminating information both for literacy coaches and the administrators who work with them.”
