It’s all about Thinking:  Collaborating to Support All Learners

How can we help students develop the thinking skills they need to be successful learners? How does this relate to deep learning of important concepts? How can we engage and support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms where they develop understanding and thinking skills? In this book, Faye and Leyton explore these questions and offer classroom examples to help busy teachers develop communities where all students learn.

This book is written by two experienced educators who offer a welcoming and “can do” approach to the big ideas in education today. In this book, you will find:

• insightful ways to teach diverse learners, e.g., literature and information circles, open-ended strategies, cooperative learning, inquiry
• curriculum design frameworks, e.g., universal design for learning (UDL) and backward design
• assessment for, of, and as learning
• lessons to help students develop deep learning and thinking skills in English, Social Studies, and Humanities
• excellent examples of theory and practice made accessible
• real school examples of collaboration — teachers working together to create better learning opportunities for their students

Meet Leyton and Faye and learn more about “It’s All About Thinking”

Student Diversity: Classroom Strategies to Meet the Learning Needs of All Students

This practical handbook shows teachers how to use collaboration, assessment, and strategic teaching to meet the needs of all students — from ESL learners and children with disabilities to students with different learning styles. From relationship-building activities to ways to meet specific curriculum expectations, the book offers practical strategies and organizational frameworks that help teachers reach all students. It demonstrates how to:

• choose key strategies and skills, and model these strategies for students;
• adapt units of study to make them more accessible for all students;
• incorporate the power of multiple intelligences in planning lessons;
• design effective learning sequences within the classroom;
• provide students with special needs support to reach their learning goals;
• use assessment to inform instruction;
• create learning experiences that help all students grow and succeed.

Based on extensive classroom experience, the authors present teaching scenarios that embrace collaboration between classroom and support teachers. They offer samples of exemplary classroom practices ranging from structured activities, strategies, and sequences to workshops, projects, and thematic units. First steps in implementing and modeling strategies for students are an integral part of the book.

This updated edition has been expanded to include major sections on narrative and personal writing as well as specific strategies that tie assessment to lesson planning. New approaches to novel study, math, and social studies instruction are also included.