Finally, says reviewer Shelly Sims, there’s a book combining literacy strategies with what we know about math thinking and problem-solving. Author Amy Benjamin “challenges the teacher-reader to incorporate both receptive and productive math instruction.”

This teacher research guide can help educators analyze, reflect upon and improve their practice, says reviewer Amanda Wall. The authors “clearly value and respect the work of teachers and include short essays, tips, and examples submitted by teacher researchers themselves.”

Bill Bigelow’s teacher-friendly book offers concrete strategies to help students understand immigration and globalization issues, says teacher educator Kelly Moser. Firsthand accounts and other resources provide students with a glimpse into how other peoples live, the challenges they face, and the reasons they come to the United States.

Imagine, 125 icebreakers and 40 closure activities all in one book! It’s a teacher’s dream come true, says our reviewer Anne Anderson. The rich collection of activities, she says, will help teachers in many grades and subjects engage students while meeting the high demands of Common Core State Standards.

Visual literacy is a vital skill for iGeneration students, says our reviewer Patricia Thomas-Jeanig. In this second edition of a book first published in the 1990s, Steve Moline explores many kinds of visual texts and includes great teaching ideas, all in the context of today’s pervasive social media.

This Responsive Classroom guide for PK-8 educators can improve teaching of essential academics, social skills, routines and behaviors, says reviewer Linda Biondi. The author’s practical advice “builds upon best practices that teachers may already apply in their classrooms, and introduces us to the highly useful Interactive Modeling concept.”

This book may be too structurally complex to be a valuable everyday resource to the classroom educator. But there’s still plenty to admire, says teacher-reviewer Kevin Hodgson,  including its stance that rote learning and memorization do “not produce the kind of thinking, problem-solving citizens that the world will need.”

Larry Ferlazzo effectively ties student motivation to relationship-building, classroom culture and metacognition, says book reviewer and intermediate grades teacher Becky Bair. It’s the go-to book when we’re looking for good ways to respond to that sad, familiar comment: “These kids just don’t want to learn!”