New Releases by Kristine Mraz

"This book is a place to start creating the classroom of your dreams from the very first minute of school, a classroom that is research based, child centered, and in step with the world today." - Christine Hertz and Kristine Mraz The classroom of your dreams starts with one big idea. From the first days of school to the last, Kids First from Day One shares teaching that puts your deepest teaching belief into action: that children are the most important people in the room. Christine Hertz and Kristi Mraz show how to take that single, heartfelt value and create a cohesive, highly effective approach to teaching that addresses today's connected, collaborative world. With infectious enthusiasm, hard-won experience, and a generous dose of humor, Kids First from Day One shows exactly how Christine and Kristi build and maintain a positive, cooperative, responsive classroom where students engage deeply with their learning and one another. Kids First from Day One strengthens and deepens the connections between your love of working with kids, your desire to impact their lives, and your teaching practice. It shares: plans for designing beautiful classroom spaces that burst with the fun of learning positive language and classroom routines that reduce disruptive behavior-without rewards and consequences suggestions for matching students' needs to high-impact teaching structures a treasury of the Christine and Kristi's favorite "teacher stuff" such as quick guides for challenging behavior, small-group planning grids, and parent letters links to videos that model the moves of Christine's and Kristi's own teaching. Just starting out and want to know what really works in classrooms? Curious about how to make your room hum with learning? Or always on the lookout for amazing teaching ideas? Read Kids First from Day One. You'll discover that the classroom of your dreams is well within your reach.

Au fil des ateliers présentés dans cet ouvrage, les auteures accompagnent les enseignants dans le processus d'écriture de textes informatifs d'élèves de six et sept ans, et ce, étape par étape. S'appuyant sur la recherche et sur de nombreuses expérimentations en classe, ces enseignantes d'expérience communiquent avec passion une approche explicite, illustrée de nombreux exemples et de travaux d'élèves. Une vingtaine d'ateliers et de multiples activités permettent aux élèves d'acquérir autonomie et aisance en écriture. Guidés par leur enseignant, les enfants conçoivent des livres informatifs regorgeant de détails, de procédés littéraires et d'illustrations. L'ouvrage comprend en outre du matériel reproductible très utile, incluant des gabarits d'écriture, des exemples de tableaux d'ancrage, des listes de vérification ainsi qu'un tableau de la progression des apprentissages de l'écriture informative.

Play is serious business. Whether it's reenacting a favorite book (comprehension and close reading), negotiating the rules for a game (speaking and listening), or collaborating over building blocks (college and career readiness and STEM), Kristi Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler see every day how play helps students reach standards and goals in ways that in-their-seat instruction alone can't do. And not just during playtimes. "We believe there is play in work and work in play," they write. "It helps to have practical ways to carry that mindset into all aspects of the curriculum." In Purposeful Play, they share ways to: optimize and balance different types of play to deepen regular classroom learning teach into play to foster social-emotional skills and a growth mindset bring the impact of play into all your lessons across the day. "We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning," Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. So they provide a host of lessons, suggestions for classroom setups, helpful tools and charts, curriculum connections, teaching points, and teaching language to help you foster mature play that makes every moment in your classroom instructional. Play doesn't only happen when work is over. Children show us time and time again that play is the way they work. In Purposeful Play, you'll find research-driven methods for making play an engine for rigorous learning in your classroom.

"This book is a gem: vivid, fun and thoughtful. It's like sitting next to a skillful, experienced, focused teacher in a real classroom. Kristi and Christine draw on their years of teaching and their dedication to educating children to help students become more empathic and act more thoughtfully and to prepare them with the essentials for success in an uncertain future." -Arthur Costa, author of Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind We know how to teach content and skills. But can we teach the habits of mind needed for academic success, a love of learning, and agency in the world? We can, and A Mindset for Learning shows us how. "We want our students to take on challenges with zeal," write Kristi Mraz and Christine Hertz, "to see themselves not as static test scores but as agents of change." Drawing on the work of Carol Dweck, Daniel Pink, Art Costa, and others, Kristi and Christine show us how to lead students to a growth mindset for school-and life-by focusing on five crucial, research-driven attitudes: optimism-putting aside fear and resistance to learn something new persistence-keeping at it, even when a task is hard flexibility-trying different ways to find a solution resilience-bouncing back from setbacks and learning from failure empathy-learning by putting oneself in another person's shoes. A Mindset for Learning pairs research-psychological, neurological, and pedagogical-with practical classroom help, including instructional language, charts and visuals, teaching tips, classroom vignettes, and more. "This book holds our dreams for all children," write Kristi and Christine, "that they grow to be brave in the face of risk, kind in the face of challenge, joyful and curious in all things." If you want that for your students, then help them discover A Mindset for Learning.

Problems with the charts in your math kit? Want to discover the science of content-area charts? Wish you could make pre-fab social studies charts history? Then you're ready for Smarter Charts for Math, Science, and Social Studies! In the original Smarter Charts, Marjorie Martinelli and Kristi Mraz helped you turn classroom literacy charts into teaching powerhouses. Now they show how to turn up the instructional energy on content-area charts, too. "No matter what area of the curriculum, clear visuals, simple language, and constant reflection on charts are key to helping children gain independence and agency." You don't have to be a graphic designer or a subject-matter expert. In Smarter Charts for Math, Science, and Social Studies, Marjorie and Kristi share how they learned to make truly effective content-area charts with students. You'll turn complex ideas into kid-friendly visuals, help children internalize content processes, and even increase your instructional time. "The more we charted, the less repeating we did and the more teaching was possible." With dozens of examples from the content areas, including full-color photographs, the Chartchums reveal step by step how to create charts that show Routines, Genres and Concepts, Processes, Repertoires of Strategies, and Exemplars. Then their "Charts in Action" sections show how each type of chart builds engagement and improves independence as it gradually releases responsibility to learners. Don't be content with content-area charts made by someone else for generic students. Turn to Marjorie and Kristi for charts that make learning visible for the students in front of you, no matter what the subject. Check out these videos from the authors! Kristi Mraz and Marjorie Martinelli Show Us the Tools for Smarter Charts Chart tips from the ChartChums: Part 1 Drawing People Chart tips from the ChartChums: Part 2 Icons

"Your charts don't need to be perfect, just thoughtful. You don't even have to be able to draw. Just put the child before the chart." Marjorie Martinelli and Kristine Mraz Listen to an interview with Marjorie and Kristi, the Chartchums, on Education Talk Radio. Commercially available charts leave you hanging? Want the secret to jump-off-the-wall charts that stick with kids? Trust Smarter Charts. Did you ever want to know: What do great charts look like? How many is too many? Where are the best places for them in my classroom? How long do I keep them? How do I know if they are working? Then you'll want to meet Marjorie Martinelli and Kristine Mraz, the Chartchums. They struggled with the same questions, and Smarter Charts shares not only the answers, but the best practices they've discovered as well. Amp up the power of your charts with tips on design and language, instructional use, and self-assessment. Even better, discover surprising strategies that deepen engagement, strengthen retention, and heighten independence-all by involving students in chart making. Packed with full-color sample charts from real classrooms, Smarter Charts shares simple, brain-based strategies proven to make your classroom an even more active, effective space for literacy instruction and classroom management.