Classrooms of Wonder and Wisdom
Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking for the 21st Century
"The authors illuminate theoretical ideas with insightful, practical ways for teachers to encourage students to develop the critical and creative thinking necessary in a flourishing democratic society."
—Angela Ward, Acting Associate Dean, University of Saskatchewan College of Education
"An excellent resource filled with useful strategies and approaches for creating student-centered learning through reading and writing."
—Eric A. Combs, Teacher, Fairborn City Schools, OH
Discover how to enhance learning for your students
Engaging from the first page, this is a book that you "do" rather than read. Award-winning authors Kurtis S. Meredith and Jeannie L. Steele actively guide teachers through the learning process with this well-tested and successful literacy-based professional development program. Educators are encouraged to assess their knowledge, make predictions, ask questions, and track their own progress to deepen their understanding of teaching and learning processes. Grounded in a framework that has been effectively implemented in more than 30 countries, the carefully designed sequence prepares teachers to help students:
- Become lifelong learners with the capacity to integrate knowledge and experiences across content areas
- Efficiently sort information and transform learning into action
- Contextualize knowledge by adding new information to what they already know
- Enhance their capacity to meet 21st-century demands
Each chapter includes an overview of expected outcomes, self-evaluation activities, learning experiences, and reflection exercises. This action-oriented guidebook is immediately applicable and is ideal for individual or group professional development.
“This book provides strategies that are varied and vital for student success, especially as critical thinkers.”
“I wish this text were available today—I could really use it in the Center of Excellence I direct! In fact, I really could have used it a year and a half ago—it would have saved me HOURS of work!”
“The author's excellent exercises and examples effectively illustrate the application of the instructional strategies. These examples are at the heart of the text and are the major reason it will be successful in improving classroom instruction.”
“An excellent resource filled with useful strategies and approaches for creating student-centered learning through reading and writing.”
"Jeannie Steele and Kurt Meredith illuminate theoretical ideas with insightful, practical ways for teachers to encourage students to develop the critical and creative thinking necessary in a flourishing democratic society."
"The authors bring their extraordinary experience to the task of masterfully suggesting powerful ways to effectively address the question of how we can best prepare students for life in the twenty-first century and bring about lasting change. They share a wealth of ideas for effective learning experiences in a range of professional development settings."