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ETFO Book Clubs

Book Club Logo New this year, locals can access ETFO Book Club resources on-line to provide professional development opportunities for members in their own local. ETFO Book Club resources including 11 Facilitator Guides, “Tips and Tricks," and templates, will be available here September 2008.

ETFO Book Clubs provide an excellent opportunity for our members to enhance their professional knowledge and practice. Participants attend four, two-hour sessions that focus on specific chapters of the 11 books introduced below, consider strategies they can try in their classroom, and reflect on and share their experiences within a community of learners.

A book club is a learning experience that gives educators an opportunity for professional networking, sharing, and reflection through an in-depth examination of ideas, concepts, research, and strategies presented in a professional resource. When professional book club experiences are tied to the real work of teachers, and to authentic issues they are grappling with in their classrooms, teachers have a deeper understanding of their impact on classroom practice and student learning.

For more information, please view the program flyer (PDF Version | HTML Version) or contact Janet Millar Grant at the provincial office at 1-888-838-3836 or jmillargrant@etfo.org.

Book Introductions and Facilitators' Guides

Classroom Management That Works
In this book club, teachers will consider the book Classroom Management That Works and discuss what needs to be done to create effectively managed classrooms, for new and experienced teachers alike. Teachers will take a look at the critical role of classroom management and factors affecting student achievement. Teachers will read real classroom stories about how to get every class off to a good start, involve students in classroom management, and develop effective school-wide management policies.

Book club discussions will include the four most important general components of effective classroom management and their impact on student engagement and achievement. The book study will promote the use of effective disciplinary interventions, building positive student-teacher relationships, and developing a sound mental set for difficult situations. Marzano’s work, which is based on more than 100 studies of classroom management will be considered, as well as the practical action steps that can be implemented in any classroom. These include:

establishing rules and procedures;

effective disciplinary interventions;

positive student-teacher relationships;

developing an effective mental set; and

instilling student responsibility.

Teachers will discuss vignettes which will illustrate how the strategies can be applied in real-life situations, and assist with understanding and implementation. The practical and effective strategies presented will allow the acquisition of sound classroom management to be an achievable goal for all teachers.

Facilitator's Guide (18.7MB)
Punished by Rewards
In this book club, we’ll take a look at Punished by Rewards and the presentation of research and reasoning that Alfie Kohn uses for teachers to avoid the use of rewards in order to help students learn. Written for a general audience this book shows how rewards undermine our efforts to teach students.

We will consider the use of rewards and the impact on student’s behaviour. We will examine research and logic to discover that the more schools and teachers, rely on incentives, the worse things get. We will also explore the effectiveness of encouragement, co-operation, and matter-of-fact feedback.

The final sessions of the book club will offer a practical set of strategies for teachers that move beyond the use of carrots or sticks. Participants will look at alternatives to rewards that support student learning. Through discussions, teachers will become familiar with a practical set of strategies for teachers to move beyond rewards towards collaboration, content, and choice.

Facilitator's Guide (9.5MB)
ETFO Special Education Handbook
The ETFO Special Education Handbook: A Practical Guide for All Teachers was developed as a resource for all teachers in Ontario, including classroom teachers, subject teachers, special education teachers and occasional teachers, as they work with students with special needs.
Recognizing that school boards may have different approaches to implementing the Ontario Ministry of Education’s special education policy, the handbook provides a provincial overview of special education and a wealth of information for anyone teaching in the province.

Participating in this book club will provide teachers with practical classroom strategies to support the learning of students with special needs, and will increase their understanding of the structure of special education in the province of Ontario.

The book club is structured as four short sessions. Session One serves as an introduction and an opportunity to outline the expectations for Sessions Two to Four. Along with exploring a topic in the handbook at each session, the bulk of Sessions Two to Four can be described as a case study approach. Participants will select one or more students in their classrooms with special needs, and implement strategies contained in the handbook and share the results with their colleagues at the next session.

Facilitator's Guide (5.5MB)
The Arts Go To School
This book club will give teachers a glimpse into real, exemplary classrooms where the arts are being used to bring learning to life. Based on authentic experiences and featuring chapters on each of the major art forms; music, visual arts, drama, dance and all forms of modern media, the book club will familiarize teachers with the major art forms and will show teachers how to help students meet related curriculum outcomes.

Participants will explore all aspects of implementing and integrating the arts into both the curriculum and everyday life. By combining implementation of ideas outlined in the book, with the sharing of personal arts experience accounts, teachers will develop a wealth of classroom activities that will help kids give form to their thoughts and feelings.

Through the book club, participants will discuss the rich contribution of arts in the classroom and will obtain the background and supports needed to focus on learning through the arts and effectively assessing arts in the school. Teachers will discover the power the arts bring to every aspect of learning. They will find out how by incorporating the arts in the classroom they can open up new possibilities and help students become more open to the world around them, while providing another way of thinking about the world around them.

Facilitator's Guide (393KB)
Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom
This book club is recommended for all teachers committed to reaching and teaching all learners. Through the book study, teachers will discuss examples that illustrate differentiation in many content areas. Discussion will include evaluation in a differentiated classroom, how to manage both behavior and work tasks, ways to get to know your students and how to make instructional changes in response to learners’ needs, styles, and/or interests.

This book club will engage teachers in thinking about teaching and learning; how to respond to an increasingly broad spectrum of student needs, backgrounds, and learning styles in the classroom. Teachers will discuss strategies that help to better address and manage the variety of learning needs in the classroom.

Through the book club sessions, teachers will be introduced to a wide variety of strategies that will help to:

Develop challenging and engaging tasks for every learner

Group your students for instruction

Grade differentiated tasks

Manage your classroom while students are engaged in differentiated tasks

Finally, participants will explore how to plan and organize for differentiation in the regular classroom.

Facilitator's Guide (7.3MB)
Making Math Happen in the Junior Years

In this book club teachers will explore the book Making Math Happen in the Junior Years and discuss the implications of this research based work on classroom practice. It is a book club for both new and experienced teachers and will provide concrete ideas about implementing effective mathematics practice into the classroom to support student’s understanding. This book club is comprised of four sessions:

Session One – The Junior Learner
Session Two – Problem Solving and Communication in the Math Classroom
Session Three – Components of an Effective Math Program
Session Four – Planning and Preparing

Teachers will discuss the readings during each session and using their learning from each session, will try different activities or strategies that will be shared at the following session. This approach will provide teachers with the opportunity to learn with and from each other throughout this professional learning opportunity.

Facilitator's Guide (250KB)
Making Math Happen in the Primary Years

$Math Primary Years$ In this book club teachers will explore the book Making Math Happen in the Primary Years and discuss the implications of this research based work on classroom practice. It is a book club for both new and experienced teachers and will provide concrete ideas about implementing effective mathematics practice into the classroom to support student’s understanding.

This book club is comprised of four sessions:

Session One - Primary Learners and Primary Math
Session Two – Integrating Problem Solving and Communication in the Math Program
Session Three – Making Math Come Alive
Session Four – Planning and Beyond

Teachers will discuss the readings during each session and using their learning from each session will try different activities or strategies which will be shared at the following session. This approach will provide teachers with the opportunity to learn with and from each other throughout this professional learning opportunity.

Facilitator's Guide (13MB)
Professional Learning to Reshape Teaching

This book club shows teachers how to take charge of their own professional development. Participants will focus on their own experiences and strengths, and become problem solvers rather than consumers of external knowledge.

During the sessions, teachers will examine:

Their current beliefs about professional learning;
Contexts for reform and their own teaching contexts;
How the conditions in learning experiences relate to professional development and/or professional learning; and
Knowledge creation culture.

This book club will engage teachers in discussions related to their own professional learning including: taking charge of educational change, models and principles of professional learning, and the differences between professional development and professional learning and professional learning structures.

Participation in this book club will show teachers how they can create change in the education system and improve their students’ chances of success through their own professional learning.

Facilitator's Guide (6.7 mb)
Worms, Shadows and Whirlpools
The Worms, Shadows, and Whirlpools book club captures what is known about learning, effective teaching, and science education of young children. This book represents a new way to think about science education for young children; it identifies important science inquiry skills and concepts appropriate for the very young. Participants will discuss what good science teaching and learning can and should be in classrooms of 3-5 year olds. Participants will also explore what it looks like to integrate science into the curriculum right from the start by creating a context for the development of language, mathematical thinking, and social skills.
During the sessions, teachers will discover answers to the following questions;

Why is science important for young children?

What is appropriate content for three-to-five year olds?

What are the principles of a good science program?

How do teachers engage children in science inquiry?

This book club will engage teachers in discussing what is known about the learning, effective teaching, and science education of young children by using the daily work of teachers and children in Head Start, kindergarten, day care, and preschool programs. Teachers will explore their own stories, and stories of other teachers, photographs and examples of children’s work, and discuss specific teaching strategies and the related impact on student learning.

Participation in this book club will lead to an increased understanding of what a quality science program encompasses and how to raise the profile of science as a major component of the curriculum in the classrooms of participating teachers.

Facilitator's Guide (7.9MB)
Teaching for Deep Understanding

This ETFO Book Club Facilitator Guide was written and organized to assist educators in exploring, discussing and implementing the wide variety of ideas, concepts, beliefs, philosophies, and strategies that are recommended throughout the book Teaching for Deep Understanding.
The goal of this Book Club is to guide teachers through an in-depth examination of the collection of theoretical and practical writing pieces and provide meaningful ways to discuss, relate, and reflect upon their application to the classroom and the curriculum in order to improve student achievement. This Book Club will use the Literature Circles framework to organize the discussions and ensure that all participants engage in an active and thoughtful role.
Teaching for Deep Understanding was written through partnership of ETFO members and the OISE/UT faculty. The objective of the project was to unite the two worlds of educational practice and educational research. This practical and thought-provoking book explores the problems that effective educators encounter when delivering the Ontario Curriculum. The number one goal of this collaborative partnership is to stress the importance of deep understanding for all students. This goal is linked closely to the concept of brain compatible learning. In order for students to truly develop and achieve deep understanding we can no longer “plough” through the curriculum expectations. Our accountability as outstanding teachers should be to search for powerful ways to deliver the curriculum content with passion, meaning and connections to life and real world experiences. These links to life beyond the four walls of the classroom will help to achieve the deep understanding that our students deserve in order to become emotionally intelligent and successful adults. Cross-curricular integration, conscious and unconscious instructional intelligence, a positive, enthusiastic attitude toward problem solving and ongoing learning are all necessary components of developing deep understanding for ourselves and for our Ontario students.

Facilitator's Guide (1.31MB)

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