Hands-on, Practical Guidance for Educators

From math, literacy, equity, multilingual learners, and SEL, to assessment, school counseling, and education leadership, our books are research-based and authored by experts on topics most relevant to what educators are facing today.

Keys to the Elementary Classroom - Book Cover

Look Inside

Bestseller!

Keys to the Elementary Classroom

A New Teacher's Guide to the First Month of School

Third Edition
By: Carrol Moran, Judy Stobbe, Wendy Baron, Janette Miller, Ellen Moir

Start the school year in a powerful way with this edition’s new activities, tips for the classroom environment, and revised instructional materials in English and Spanish.

Full description

Look Inside

Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-4
ISBN: 9781412963695
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2008
Page Count: 224
Publication date: September 19, 2013

Select Format:

Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.

Description

"New teachers will love this step-by-step approach to setting up and managing a classroom while nurturing a community of eager and cooperative learners. The authors also provide a plethora of practical classroom activities for both new and seasoned teachers."
—Catherine Hernandez, Second-Grade Teacher
Detroit Public Schools, MI

"Proficient teachers are key to the future of education. This book is a great resource to help new teachers make their first year a successful one!"
—Janet Crews, Instructional Coach
Clayton School District, MO

Best practices to help you start the school year in a powerful way!

For elementary teachers entering the classroom for the first time, this updated edition of the bestseller Keys to the Classroom provides practical guidelines to help you build a foundation for a successful first year.

Written by a team of experts, this invaluable resource offers new teachers a daily structure and clear classroom procedures and activities to help establish a positive classroom climate and eliminate most behavior problems. This practical, easy-to-use guidebook includes lesson plans, tips for organizing the first day, and reproducible student worksheets in English and Spanish. The new edition features:

An added chapter on planning and creating the classroom environment
Voices of novice and experienced teachers
New assessments for students' learning styles and preferences
Revised instructional materials for English as a second language

With strategies that can be adapted across grade levels, ways to develop relationships with students' families, and resources for professional development, Keys to the Elementary Classroom, Third Edition, will help you get a positive start to the school year and a rewarding career.

Key features

This resource includes:

Lesson plans
Classroom management strategies
Student assessments
Activities and songs in English and Spanish
Sample parent letters in English and Spanish

Author(s)

Carrol Moran

Carrol Moran has worked in education for over 30 years. For the past 12 years, she has served as executive director of the Monterey Bay Educational Consortium and the UC Santa Cruz Educational Partnership Center. Her teaching experience encompasses preschool to graduate school, focusing on low-income students of diverse language backgrounds. She was a writer for Macmillan McGraw Hill on materials for English Learners. She has published over 20 articles and books on education, including “Bilingual Education: Broadening Research Perspectives,” published in The Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education, and A Balanced Approach to Literacy, a resource document and introduction to K-3 literacy in teacher education faculty programs. Moran is coauthor on “Rethinking English Language Instruction: An Architectural Approach” in English Learners: Reaching the Highest Level of Literacy (edited by Gilbert Garcia), and she is the editor of Success by Design: The work of the UC Santa Cruz Educational Partnership Center. She earned her BA from University of California, Santa Cruz; her master’s degree from San Jose State University; and her PhD in Education, Language Literacy, and Culture from Stanford University.

Judy Stobbe

Judy Stobbe is currently a classroom teacher and staff development specialist in a two-way bilingual immersion program specializing in emergent literacy, effective math instruction, second-language acquisition, and effective bilingual education. She has initiated a staff development model based on ongoing teacher collaboration that links authentic assessment to innovative classroom practices across an entire school. As a staff development specialist, she has worked with a wide range of teachers, from preservice to those with the most experience. Outside the classroom, she has written curriculum and articles for a variety of publications, including Into English!: Kindergarten Teacher’s Guide, The Bilingual Classroom, for the DLM Early Childhood Program, Access to Science: Activities and Strategies for Students Acquiring English Kindergarten-Grade 2, and, coauthored with Carrol Moran, “Strategies for Working with Overage Students,” published in The Power of Two Languages: Literacy and Biliteracy for Spanish-Speaking Students.

Wendy Baron

Wendy Baron has taught Grades K-6, served as a Title I reading specialist, supervised and instructed prospective teachers at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), and for the past 20 years, she has worked directly with new teachers and principals in Grades K-12. As associate director with the New Teacher Center, Baron oversees the Santa Cruz/Silicon Valley New Teacher Project, which supports over a 1,000 new teachers annually. She also consults with school districts throughout California and nationally on mentoring, teacher induction, and designing professional development for beginning teachers. Baron has extensive experience in coaching, adult learning theory, group facilitation, and professional development. She is a researcher and practitioner, and seeks continually to impact educational systems to support teacher development. Baron is the author of several articles and book chapters and has produced numerous videos related to mentoring and new teacher development.

Janette Miller

Janette Miller has taught grades K-6, served as a reading specialist, evaluated new employees in Santa Cruz City Schools District, and supported new teachers through the Santa Cruz New Teacher Project. She has extensive training in classroom management, peer coaching, and evaluation. She has particularly enjoyed training novice and veteran teachers in classroom management techniques, direct teaching model, the reading/writing connection, and conceptual math strategies. Currently she is a Cotsen Family Foundation mentor working with veteran teachers to improve their practices.

Ellen Moir

Ellen Moir is founder and executive director of the New Teacher Center, which is committed to the development of an inspired, dedicated, and highly quali¬fied teaching force by supporting new teachers as they enter the profession. For more than 20 years, she has pioneered innovative approaches to new teacher development, research on new teacher practice, and the design and administration of teacher induction programs. Moir continues to work with the Santa Cruz/Silicon Valley New Teacher Project and is an advocate for new teachers across the country. Moir has received national recognition for her work, including the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. 2005 Prize in Education and the 2003 Distinguished Teacher Educator Award from the California Council on Teacher Education. Moir is the author of several articles and book chapters and has produced video series related to new teacher development. Her work has been supported by over 20 private foundations and donors, the National Science Foundation, and several state and federal agencies.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction

Phases of Teaching: The Ups and Downs of a First-Year Teacher

1. A Guide to Planning and Creating the Environment

Annual Planning

Midrange Planning: Getting to Know Your Students and Community

Daily and Weekly Planning

Room Arrangement

Environment Checklist

Preparation Prior to the First Day

2. Assessments

Assessment Overview

Assessment Forms

3. Routines and Procedures

Cardinal Rules of Classroom Management

Freeze and Listen

Cleanup

Procedures for Lessons, Groups, and Rotations

Strategies Regarding Behavior

Daily Ongoing Activities

4. The First Two Weeks of School...A Detailed Account

Overview of the First Two Weeks of School for Kindergarten and First Grade

First Two Weeks of School—Kindergarten

First Two Weeks of School—First Grade

First Two Weeks of School—Second and Third Grades

First Two Weeks of School—Fourth to Sixth Grades

5. Activities for the First Month

Community Builder Activities

Language Arts Activities

Math Activities

Other Activities

6. Fingerplays and Songs for Oral Language in English and Spanish

Attention-Getting Fingerplays

Inclusion Songs

Songs That Are Adaptable to Thematic Units

7. Home and School Communication

First Day of Kindergarten / Primer Día del Kinder

Donation Requests / Donaciones, Por Favor

Daily Snack Program / Programa Diario Del Bocadillo

Classroom Volunteer Request / Voluntarios, Por Favor

Homework Schedule / Horario de la Tarea

The Writing Process / El Proceso De la Escritura

Resource A: Bibliography for Teachers

Resource B: Read-Alouds, K-6, in English and Spanish

Reviews

"New teachers will love this step-by-step approach to setting up and managing a classroom while nurturing a community of eager and cooperative learners. The authors also provide a plethora of practical classroom activities for both new and seasoned teachers."

Catherine Hernandez, Second-Grade Teacher
Detroit Public Schools, MI

"Proficient teachers are key to the future of education. This book is a great resource to help new teachers make their first year a successful one!"

Janet Crews, Instructional Coach
Clayton School District, MO

"A great book to keep on your desk throughout the year."

Maureen Maloney, Second-Grade Teacher
Lusher Charter School, New Orleans, LA

“This book is loaded with ideas and strategies, as well as suggestions for implementing these ideas!”

Melanie Mares, Academic Coach
Lowndes Middle School, Valdosta, GA

Other Titles in: Classroom Management & Student Behavior | Teacher Induction | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles

Select Format:

Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.