Classroom Confidential : The 12 Secrets of Great Teachers

by Schmidt, Laurel

• ISBN13: 9780325006604
• ISBN10: 0325006601
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-09-08
• Publisher: Heinemann

Summary

Schmidt gives you everything you need to double or triple your instructional capabilities, including a step-by-step plan to improve parent-teacher communication, guidelines for avoiding burnout, and a do-it-yourself kit for creating a culture of success in your classroom.

Author Biography

Laurel Schmidt is the Director of Pupil Services for the Santa Monica-Malibu School District and an adjunct professor at Antioch University.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	xi
INTRODUCTION	xiii
Secret # 1 Great Teachers Are Equal Opportunists	1	(22)
Capitalizing on How Kids Learn
What's the Big Idea About Learning?
How Kids Are Smart
Multiple Intelligences Go to School
Meet Lisa Bartoli
How Full-Brain Learning Looks
Thinking with Things-Learning Through Process and Projects
Equal Opportunity Assessments
Resources
Secret #2 Great Teachers Are Power Brokers	23	(20)
Building a Culture of Eptness
What's the Big Idea About Eptness?
Building a Class Resume
Why Great Teachers Insist on a Culture of Eptness
Ten Teacher Behaviors That Promote Eptness
How Am I Doing? A Self-Assessment
Social Safety and Eptness
Meet Ava de la Sota
Waking Magoun's Brain
Resources
Secret #3 Great Teachers Are Ringmasters	43	(24)
Nurturing Free-Range Students in a High-Stakes World
What's the Big Idea About Behavior?
Understanding Self-Acommodaters
Understanding Camouflagers
Meet Linda Catanzano
Eight Strategies for Ringmasters
The Roots of Free-Range Behavior
The Law, Special Education, and 504s
Hope for Free-Rangers in a High-Stakes World
Resources
Secret #4 Great Teachers Are Curiosity Seekers	67	(24)
Fostering Success in Multicultural Classrooms
What's the Big Idea About Culture in the Classroom?
Meet Rafe Esquith Culture-Blind or Just Confused?
Seeing Your Class Through Culture-Colored Glasses
Navigating in Multicultural Settings
Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies
Cultural Awareness and Your Curriculum
Culturally Inappropriate Materials
Resources
Secret #5 Great Teachers Don't Take No (or Yes) for an Answer	91	(22)
Teaching by Asking Instead of Telling
What's the Big Idea About Inquiry Teaching?
The Three Basic Moves
The Impact of Inquiry on Learning
Wait Time in a Hurried World
Planning Inquiry-Based Instruction
An Inquiry-Based Unit: The Rise of Civilization
Inquiry and Classroom Culture
Resources
Secret #6 Great Teachers Know a Hemingway When They See One	113	(25)
Getting to the Heart of Writing
What's the Big Idea About Writing?
From Craft to Art
Getting to the First Draft
Everyone's an Editor
How to Grow a Writer
The Fine Art of Journaling
Is There a Hemingway in the House?
Resources
Secret #7 Great Teachers Are Escape Artists	138	(26)
Exploring the World Beyond
The Lot Project
What's the Big Idea About Your Community as Classroom?
Escape Artists: Tips for Exploring Your Community
Capturing Epiphanies-Documenting Discoveries
Where in the World? Getting Smarter About Mapping
Down Memory Lane-Discovering the Used-to-Be Community
Historic Buildings-Learning Through Landmarks
Deep Mapping
Becoming an Expert
Culminations-Sharing Expert Knowledge with the Community
Resources
Secret #8 Great Teachers Are Gossipmongers	164	(24)
Putting the Social Back in Social Studies
What's the Big Idea About History?
Meet Bill Coate
Tools of the Trade
How to Make Documents Talk About History
How to Make Images Talk About History
How to Make Objects Talk About History
How to Make Buildings Talk About History
How to Make Books Talk About History
Encouraging Investigative Independence
You Were There-Historic Simulations
Authentic Assessments in History
Resources
Secret #9 Great Teachers Are Drama Queens	188	(21)
Using the Arts as a Second Language
What's the Big Idea About the Arts?
The Brain, Learning, and the Arts
Helping Students Learn Through Drama
Helping Students Learn Through Movement
Helping Students Learn Through Music
Helping Students Learn Through Art
Recognition
When All Is Said and Done
Resources
Secret #10 Great Teachers Are Insurrectionists	209	(25)
Learning Through Social Action
Meet Barbara Henry, Ruby Bridges' Teacher
What's the Big Idea About Social Justice?
What Kids Learn from Social Justice
Planting the Seed
Taking Sides: How to Choose a Social Justice Project
Prepping Students for Action: Politics 101
A Social Activist's Toolbox
Getting Smarter About Social Justice Through Primary Source Documents
Literature and Social Justice
Click for a Cause
The Downside of Social Justice
Improve Yourself, Improve Your Community
Resources
Secret #11 Great Teachers Speak in Tongues	234	(24)
Mastering Communication in the Information Age
What's the Big Idea About Communicating with Parents?
Ten Essentials of Effective Communication
Cross-Cultural Communication
A Parent Conference Kit
Public Relations or Self-Defense?
What's in It for You?
Resources
Secret #12 Great Teachers Are Lifelong Learners	258
Reaching, Recharging, and Moving On
What's the Big Idea About Teaching as a Famine Culture?
Connecting with Colleagues
Collaborating and Coaching
Meet Anne Brown, Mentor Extraordinaire
Connecting with Professionals Beyond Your Campus
Rethinking-The Moving-On Questionnaire
Job Searches and Sources
Moving On
Resources