Mrs. Pedemonti's Portfolio

Learning and Teaching: Research-Based Methods
by Donald P. Kauchak and Paul D. Eggen

Kauchak and Eggen explain teaching and learning through four separate themes: diversity, assessment, motivation, and technology.  Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of teaching or learning through each of these four themes such classroom management, teacher planning, and guided discovery. 

Classroom Management in Photographs
by Maria L. Chang

The book uses pictures from real teachers in real classrooms to explain classroom management.  The use of pictures helps the reader actually "see" management techniques.

Positive Discipline In the Classroom
by Jane Nelsen, Lynn Lott, and Stephen Glenn

Nelsen, Lott, and Glenn present strategies for classroom management that focus on mutual respect, encouragement, cooperation, and responsibility.  They provide the teacher with a procedure for implementing classroom meetings and discuss how to increase positive behavior in students through the development of social skills and a positive classroom environment.

The Cornerstone
by Angela Powell

This book is written by a teacher currently practicing in the field.  She discusses the topic of classroom management from the teacher's perspective.  She provides teachers with ideas for establishing routines, organizing the classroom, behavior systems, and much more.  She also has a website that is frequently updated with new ideas and forms that teachers can download for use in their classrooms.

The Fluent Reader
by Timothy V. Rasinski

This book has research and strategies in one.  It gives teachers the research to support why fluency is so important AND it gives them strategies to use to increase fluency.  He gives instructions for assessing word recognition and fluency as well as the forms needed to complete the assessments.  The book changed the way I viewed oral reading.

The Read-Aloud Handbook
by Jim Trelease

I consider this book to be a must-have for any classroom teacher.  Trelease explains why reading aloud is important and the different stages of reading aloud.  He provides guidelines for what to do and not do when reading aloud as well as how to link it to independent reading.  The best part of this book is the list of books that are great for read aloud purposes organized by categories.  Under each book, he also lists the grade level range that the book is appropriate for.

Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature
by Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Cappelli

I saw Ms. Dorfman and Ms. Cappelli speak at a literacy conference I attended.  I was so impressed with the concept of mentor texts that I bought the book that afternoon.  The book is organized by writing skills such as beginnings, voice, and organization. Within each chapter/skill, they give several mentor texts that can be used as models for the skill as well as ways to teach the skill using the mentor text. 

Writing Essentials
by Regie Routman

Routman provides teachers with an excellent framework for writing in the classroom.  She describes everything from teacher planning to assessment to conferencing.  I also loved the way she talks about writing:  you have to be a writer and share that with your students, expectations need be set high but scaffolding also needs to be provided for the students to be successful and reading and writing need to be connected. 

If You're Trying to Teach Kids How to Write
by Marjorie Frank

This is a fabulous book recommended to me by a first grade teacher.  It provides teachers with many, many different ways to encourage writing in their classrooms.  It emphasizes that every time students write they don't have to publish and it doesn't have to be a story.  The ideas given I believe can truly make students love to write.

Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teaching Developmentally
by John A. Van De Walle

This text does an excellent job of explaining how to teach the concepts of mathematics instead of just explaining how to solve a problem.  It made me look at math from a different perspective.  My favorite part of this book is the chapter on developing number sense.  It provides several examples of strategies for teaching number sense at all levels. 

Making the Most of Small Groups: Differentiation for All
by Debbie Diller

Teaching With Intention
by Debbie Miller

Tools and Toys
by Rick Morris

Tools and Toys is a resource book for teachers by a veteran teacher.  Mr. Morris gives 50 examples of "tools and toys" to use in the classroom to make it a motivating and fun place for students to be.  He gives examples for classroom management, motivation, interaction between peers and the teacher, ways to use the magic number, and organizations tools to use with desk teams.  This book is overflowing with great ideas that are simple but powerful.