Katherine S. McKnight – författare

Tap into the power of graphic organizers for classroom success Veteran educator and NCTE trainer Katherine McKnight shows how students can use graphic organizers as an important tool to organize new information. Providing a visual representation that uses symbols to express ideas, concepts, and convey meaning, graphic organizers help to depict relationships between facts, terms, and ideas. The author demonstrates how graphic organizers have proven to be a powerful teaching and learning strategy. Includes 100 graphic organizers-more than any comparable bookIncluded graphic organizers can be used before-, during-, and after-learning activities across the content areasContains easy-to-follow instructions for teachers on how to use and adapt the book's graphic organizersOffers strategies for teachers to create their own graphic organizers for different grade levelsThe author Katherine McKnight is a noted literacy educator.

Problem-solving techniques for all aspects of the English teacher's job This unique time-saving book is packed with tested techniques and materials to assist new and experienced English teachers with virtually every phase of their job from lesson planning to effective discipline techniques. The book includes 175 easy-to-understand strategies, lessons, checklists, and forms for effective classroom management and over 50 reproducible samples teachers can adopt immediately for planning, evaluation, or assignments. It is filled with creative and functional ideas for reading response activities, writing assignments, group and individual projects, and speeches. Offers instructions for creating and implementing an effective classroom-wide behavior management programShows how to practice the art of teaching English effectively and reduce time on labor intensive tasksReveals how to work effectively with parents, colleagues, substitute teachers, administrators, and community resourcesThe second edition includes coverage of technology in the classroom, advice for working with reluctant readers, a wealth of sample teaching units and more.

Teaching the Classics in the Inclusive Classroom offers teachers a practical resource for helping students in grades 6-12 connect to and appreciate classic literary works. The book is filled with high-interest and engaging exercises that work with a variety of learners (with a particular emphasis on students with special needs), utilizing “pre-reading,” “during reading,” and “after reading” activities. Many of these exercises help to strengthen reading comprehension while other activities are specifically designed to reinforce vocabulary skills, as these apply to selected classic texts. Using these exercises and techniques to teach the classics will help your students appreciate literature and become better critical thinkers, writers, and readers.

Most people know The Second City as an innovative school for improvisation that has turned out leading talents such as Alan Arkin, Bill Murray, Stephen Colbert, and Tina Fey. This groundbreaking company has also trained thousands of educators and students through its Improvisation for Creative Pedagogy program, which uses improv exercises to teach a wide variety of content areas, and boost skills that are crucial for student learning: listening, teamwork, communication, idea-generation, vocabulary, and more.

100 ready-to-use graphic organizers that help elementary students learn Graphic organizers are a powerful metacognitive teaching and learning tool and this book features 100 graphic organizers for teachers in grades K-5—double the number of any other book on the market. These graphic organizers can be used as before learning, during learning, or after learning activities, and support students' learning in the major content areas: English language arts, science, social studies, and mathematics. Teachers can use each graphic organizer as-is or customize for their own classroom's unique needs. Tips for classroom implementation and information on how the tool supports learningA Difficulty Dial that indicates the complexity of each graphic organizerTwo Student Samples demonstrating how the organizer may be used with younger and older studentsThis book gives teachers in grades K-5 a powerful way to help students understand relationships between facts, terms, and ideas.

Common Core Literacy for ELA, History/Social Studies, and the Humanities In this age of the Common Core State Standards, all content area teachers must integrate literacy standards into their curriculum. If you're like most content area educators, you're feeling a bit overwhelmed at the thought of applying the new standards, or you might just need a little extra help.In this hands-on resource, Common Core literacy expert Katherine McKnight offers secondary teachers a clear understanding of what literacy looks like in English Language Arts (ELA), social studies, and other humanities-related subjects. She gives educators proven teaching techniques that will help them to develop literacy skills in their students. The book offers a wealth of practical strategies and activities that content area teachers can integrate seamlessly. Included are A selection of activities that support literacy skills and build content knowledgeIdeas for implementing the literacy requirements of the Common Core in specific content areasAn easy-to-use Difficulty Dial that indicates the complexity of each activityRobust student samples that bring the activities to life across a variety of grade levelsPraise for Common Core Literacy for ELA, History/Social Studies, and the Humanities "McKnight eloquently dispels much of the mythology surrounding the new standards, and explains how to help students find success. You'll find this engaging book your 'go-to' resource for implementing the Common Core!" — Richard M. Cash, Ed.D., Educational Consultant; Author, Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century"While this book would be a gift to any beginning teacher, its practical and comprehensible support for literacy as defined by the Common Core State Standards makes it a must-have for all teachers." — Laura Garner, Language Arts Coordinator, Berkeley County (South Carolina) Public Schools"This is a must-read for all middle and high school content area teachers! McKnight shows how every strategy in the book supports student achievement of the Common Core." — LeAnn Nickelsen, M.Ed., Educational Consultant; Coauthor, Deeper Learning and Bringing the Common Core to Life in K – 8 Classrooms

Resources and guidance for the journey of Common Core implementationIn this age of the Common Core State Standards, all content area teachers must integrate literacy standards into their curriculum. If you're like most content area educators, you're feeling a bit overwhelmed at the thought of addressing all the new standards, or you might just need a little extra help.In this hands-on resource, Common Core literacy expert Katherine McKnight offers secondary teachers a clear understanding of what literacy looks like in math, science, and technical subjects. McKnight gives educators proven teaching techniques that help develop literacy skills in students. She also offers a wealth of practical strategies and ready-to-use activities that content area teachers can integrate seamlessly. Included are Ideas for implementing the literacy requirements of the Common Core across content areasA selection of activities that support literacy skills and build content knowledge in math, science, and technology classroomsAn easy-to-use Difficulty Dial that indicates the complexity of each activityRobust student samples that bring the activities to life across a variety of grade levels and subjectsCommon Core Literacy for Math, Science, and Technical Subjects is designed for practicality. With bonus web downloads, a literacy resource guide, and countless ideas for deepening content knowledge, this book provides excellent support for rigorous Common Core implementation.Praise for Common Core Literacy for Math, Science, and Technical Subjects"A realist with an incisive wit, Katie's robust pedagogy and trenchant analysis inspire all of us to incorporate the CCSS meaningfully in specific content areas. For her gifted writing, let alone her substantive and easy-to-implement ideas, this is a godsend for content area teachers. Move it to the top of the priority reading stack."—Rick Wormeli, veteran educator, author, and teacher trainer"McKnight eloquently dispels much of the mythology surrounding the new standards, and explains how to help students find success. You'll find this engaging book your 'go-to' resource for implementing the Common Core."—Richard M. Cash, Ed.D., educational consultant; author, Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century

The new standards were written to address the harsh realities for poor performance of American students across all grades levels, k-12. According to NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) data, more than 60% of our students in grades 4, 8, and 12 are not proficient readers and the United States is one of the lowest performing in mathematics. The statistics are even more staggering for our children who live in poverty, students with disabilities and English Language Learners. The new standards have sent a clear message: all students must be engaged deeper learning. This deeper level of understanding and comprehension is communicated through a more sophisticated and independent level of applied literacy skills. In this book, some of our leading educators envision the standards as a vehicle to provide more rigorous instruction and illustrate how teachers are uniquely qualified to determine the most effective methods for developing students’ skills and close the achievement gap.

The new standards were written to address the harsh realities for poor performance of American students across all grades levels, k-12. According to NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) data, more than 60% of our students in grades 4, 8, and 12 are not proficient readers and the United States is one of the lowest performing in mathematics. The statistics are even more staggering for our children who live in poverty, students with disabilities and English Language Learners. The new standards have sent a clear message: all students must be engaged deeper learning. This deeper level of understanding and comprehension is communicated through a more sophisticated and independent level of applied literacy skills. In this book, some of our leading educators envision the standards as a vehicle to provide more rigorous instruction and illustrate how teachers are uniquely qualified to determine the most effective methods for developing students’ skills and close the achievement gap.

When students are in elementary school, a teacher who has expertise in teaching the fundamentals of reading instructs them. At the middle and high school level that stops – and the timing could not be worse. The literacy demands increase exponentially, yet typically schools do not teach adolescents how to successfully read the increasingly difficult materials they encounter throughout their day. As the rigor increases in their classes, student coping skills become less effective. Consequently, the achievement gap becomes wider and more difficult to close during the adolescent years.When it comes time to prescribe an intervention, middle and high school teachers are hitting a wall. Decoding and comprehension materials are often presented at an elementary level. The students feel bad enough that they struggle with reading; assigned ‘baby work’ increases the stigma. This book addresses the need for 6-12 teachers to have appropriate literacy intervention materials to use with struggling adolescent readers. This book will also help teachers learn how to support any adolescent reader—struggling or not—when they encounter challenging text. The book features two strands: decoding and comprehension. Each strand contains lessons, materials, a difficulty dial, tips for implementation and student samples.