M. Colleen Cruz – författare

Mistakes are not the problem. The problem is the shame we attach to mistakes and inability to grow from them.

You have likely heard the adage, ‘Everyone makes mistakes.’ But what you might not have heard is that there are some predictable reasons why we make these mistakes. Knowing why we make mistakes can help us make fewer mistakes and ensure that when we do make mistakes they’ll be more of the more useful variety.

In Risk. Fail. Rise. teachers will learn how to address their own teaching mistakes, model with their own mistake-making, and improve their response to others’ mistakes. Colleen shares what research studies say on mistake-making as part of learning and what that means for teaching. She provides research, examples, and tools that help teachers destigmatize mistake-making so that they and their students can do the real work of growth.

The more aware we are of why we make mistakes, what we can do to avoid unnecessary ones, and respond to useful ones, the more our classroom will be a place of risk-taking and growth for all students. Lay the groundwork for a mistake-welcoming school culture and embrace positive risk-taking and productive failure in your classroom. The outcomes for you and your students are worth it.

Create classrooms where every reader and writer can thrive

Most teachers receive minimal training on supporting neurodivergent learners—yet these students make up a significant portion of every classroom. Neurodiversity in the Literacy Classroom fills this gap with clear, practical guidance for teaching literacy to all students, including those with dyslexia, ADHD, and autism.

This accessible guide delivers what literacy teachers need most: foundational knowledge paired with strategies you can use tomorrow. You'll explore Universal Design for Learning, gain clarity around IEPs, and discover strengths-based practices for common learning profiles.

Inside you'll find

Whether you're preparing for an IEP meeting or reflecting on your instructional approach, this book equips you with the knowledge to create literacy classrooms where belonging and learning go hand in hand.

We know that writing skills reinforce reading skills, but what’s the best way to capitalize on this beneficial relationship? By flipping the traditional “reading lesson first, writing lesson second” sequence, Colleen Cruz ingeniously helps you make the most of the writing-to-reading connection with carefully matched, conceptually connected lesson pairs. The result is a healthy reciprocity that effectively and efficiently develops students’ literacy skills. Backed by long-term academic and field research, Writers Read Better presents a series of 50 tightly interconnected lesson pairs that can be implemented either as supplement existing curriculum or as a stand alone module. Each pairing leads with a writing lesson, used as a springboard for the reading lesson that will follow. Throughout the book’s four sections, organized to cover distinct and complementary phases of working with non-fiction texts, you’ll discover

Complete with practical suggestions on adapting the lessons to suit the particular needs of your classroom as well as individual students, Writers Reader Better offers a solid foundation for giving your students the advantage of powerful, transferable literacy skills.

Mistakes are not the problem. The problem is the shame we attach to mistakes and inability to grow from them.

You have likely heard the adage, ‘Everyone makes mistakes.’ But what you might not have heard is that there are some predictable reasons why we make these mistakes. Knowing why we make mistakes can help us make fewer mistakes and ensure that when we do make mistakes they’ll be more of the more useful variety.

In Risk. Fail. Rise. teachers will learn how to address their own teaching mistakes, model with their own mistake-making, and improve their response to others’ mistakes. Colleen shares what research studies say on mistake-making as part of learning and what that means for teaching. She provides research, examples, and tools that help teachers destigmatize mistake-making so that they and their students can do the real work of growth.

The more aware we are of why we make mistakes, what we can do to avoid unnecessary ones, and respond to useful ones, the more our classroom will be a place of risk-taking and growth for all students. Lay the groundwork for a mistake-welcoming school culture and embrace positive risk-taking and productive failure in your classroom. The outcomes for you and your students are worth it.