Whether you set resolutions, pick a word or theme, or develop a mantra for the New Year, we have resources to help you reach and teach all students in 2019—and beyond. This month’s
Upbeat News features:
- Ways to create a welcoming environment
- Information on ways to differentiate in your classroom
- Tips and checklists for fostering cultural awareness in your classroom
In this issue, you’ll also find a free download that encourages you to reflect on and map out the academic diversity in your classroom so you can better recognize and respond to students’ needs. And for your behavior and academic support needs, we are pleased to introduce you to two newly revised and updated books,
RTI Success: Proven Tools and Strategies for Schools and Classrooms by Elizabeth Whitten, Ph.D., Kelli J. Esteves, Ed.D., and Alice Woodrow, Ed.D., and
The PBIS Team Handbook: Setting Expectations and Building Positive Behavior by Char Ryan, Ph.D., and Beth Baker, M.S.Ed.
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’Tis the season for behavior and academic support books at Free Spirit. Newly revised and updated, both
RTI Success: Proven Tools and Strategies for Schools and Classrooms by Elizabeth Whitten, Ph.D., Kelli J. Esteves, Ed.D., and Alice Woodrow, Ed.D., and
The PBIS Team Handbook: Setting Expectations and Building Positive Behavior by Char Ryan, Ph.D., and Beth Baker, M.S.Ed., will give educators the tools to implement a tiered system or strengthen an existing program. These user-friendly resources provide practical, research-based strategies to use in your classroom or school to meet the academic and behavioral needs of your students.
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Tips & Tools from the Free Spirit Blog
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Richard M. Cash, Ed.D., author of
Self-Regulation in the Classroom, writes that when we meet students’ universal needs to be competent, to have autonomy, and to feel connected, we build an intrinsic motivation to learn. He offers eight ways you can do that in your classroom.
Read now.
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Susan Daniels, Ph.D., author of
Visual Learning and Teaching, details how using visual journaling with kids can enhance student motivation, retention, and engagement. Included are topics and prompts to help get kids started.
Read now.
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Educational grants available for your school or community:
The Braitmayer Foundation is interested in proposals utilizing innovative practices in kindergarten through grade 12 education throughout the United States. Of particular interest are curricular and school reform initiatives and professional development opportunities for teachers, particularly those that encourage people of high ability and diverse background to enter and remain in kindergarten through grade 12 teaching.
Grants may be used anywhere in the United States as seed money, challenge grants, or as a match to other grants to the recipient organizations. The foundation does not make grants to individuals, multiyear grants, or grants for general operating, endowment purposes, and building programs. Normally the foundation does not make grants for childcare, prekindergarten, after-school programs, or equipment, including hardware, software, and books.
Eligibility:
Public, Private, Charter
Prize:
Grants up to $35,000 are awarded.
Deadline:
Letters of Inquiry are accepted February 1 through March 15, annually.
The Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) Foundation awards EJK Mini-Grants for projects that foster creative expression. Mini-grants provide teachers and librarians an opportunity to design and implement a great program through which students work together and interact with a diverse community. Proposed projects may provide special activities outside the curriculum or may support or extend the Common Core Standards within the curriculum through an experience, activity, or project not otherwise offered. Projects must be free of charge and cannot be used to produce merchandise for sale. Examples of projects are murals, story walks, quilts, theater productions, newspapers or other publications, intergenerational activities, and programs that bring dissimilar communities together.
Eligible applicants are public schools, public libraries, and public preschool programs in the United States and its territories. Only one application per library or school is considered. Application forms are available on the website and must be submitted online by the deadline.
Eligibility: Public, Charter, Other (including homeschool, 501 (c)(3) organizations)
Prize: Grants of $500 are awarded.
Deadline: Electronic applications are due March 31, annually.
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“This book is a must-have resource for any educator! Not only does it discuss many learning differences faced by today’s educators, it also lists behaviors and symptoms to look for as well as providing practical strategies and interventions for educators to use in the classroom. This book speaks the educator’s language and provides us with a tool that can be used in any grade.”
—Dana Smith, 504 coordinator and high school English teacher in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Leave Us a Review
What’s your favorite Free Spirit title? Visit
freespirit.com, select the product that has helped you the most in your work with kids, and leave us a review!
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Upcoming Events and Conferences
January 29–February 2: Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Indianapolis, IN
Did you know we’re on Instagram? Follow us
@freespiritpublishing for behind-the-scenes glimpses, the Free Spirit office dogs, and more!
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* Excludes already discounted sets, clearance items, and ebooks.
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“Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree,
it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” —Albert Einstein
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