Most Popular Books by Douglas Fisher

This is Balanced Literacy: Grades K-6 Students learn to read and write best when their teachers balance literacy instruction. But how do you strike the right balance of skills and knowledge, reading and writing, small and whole group instruction, and direct and dialogic instruction, so that all students can learn to their maximum potential? The answer lies in the intentional design of learning activities, purposeful selection of instructional materials, evidence-based teaching methods, and in strategic groupings of students based on assessment data. Together, these create the perfect balance of high impact learning experiences that engage and excite learners. In this hands-on essential guide, best-selling authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nancy Akhavan help you define that balance for your students, lighting the path to implementing balanced literacy in your classroom. Their plan empowers you to integrate evidence-based approaches that include: • Instructional materials comprised of both informational and narrative texts. • The best uses of instructional delivery modes, including direct and dialogic instruction. • Grouping patterns that work best to accomplish learning aims for different learners at different stages. • Instruction in foundational skills and meaning making, including oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. • Technology used as a tool for increasing learning of a specific literary process. All the tips and tools you need to realize the goal of balanced literacy learning are included, with classroom videos that show strategies in action. Tap your intuition, collaborate with your peers, and put the research-based strategies embedded in this roadmap to work in your classroom to implement or deepen a strong, successful balanced literacy program. Grow as a reading and writing teacher while leading your students to grow as readers and writers.

Arm students with the confidence they need to pursue ambitious goals—together. Collective student efficacy— students’ beliefs that by working with other people, they will learn more—can be a powerful accelerator of student learning and a precursor to future employment success. Harnessing twenty-five years of VISIBLE LEARNING® research, Collective Student Efficacy: Developing Independent and Inter-Dependent Learners illuminates the power of collective efficacy and identifies the many ways teachers can activate collective efficacy with their students. More than cooperative and collaborative learning, collective efficacy requires the refinement of both individual and collective tasks that build on each other over time. This innovative book details how knowledge, skills, and dispositions entangle to create collective and individual beliefs, and leads educators to mobilize collective efficacy in the classroom. It includes: The vital components and evidence-based success criteria necessary for students′ collective efficacy The "I" and "We" skills that need to be developed to ensure students have the skills and confidence to contribute to group success The nature of learning design, lesson planning, and classroom structures that ensure opportunities for all students to engage in collective efficacy The necessity for constructive alignment between learning intentions, tasks, success criteria, and assessments "Learning from a Distance" actions to facilitate building skills in remote learning environments The time is now to prepare students to meet the demands of the future. Through collective student efficacy, students will learn to become actionable agents of learning and change.

Now in its 3rd edition, Better Learning Through Structured Teaching is the definitive guide to the gradual release of responsibility—an instructional framework any teacher can use to help students to be more successful and self-directed learners. To gradually release responsibility is to equip students with what they need to master content and develop new competencies. On a day-to-day basis, it means delivering lessons intentionally structured to incorporate four interrelated phases: * Focused Instruction ("I do it") that sets students up for cognitive apprenticeship by establishing lesson purpose, modeling strategies and skills, and sharing information and insight. * Guided Instruction ("We do it together") that incorporates targeted prompts, cues, and questions to scaffold understanding. * Collaborative Learning ("You do it together") that allows students to consolidate and extend understanding through accountable group tasks built on discussion and cooperative problem solving. * Independent Learning ("You do it alone") that provides students opportunities to practice and apply the skills and knowledge they''ve acquired to create authentic products and ask new questions. Authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey detail the components of each phase, sharing proven strategies and real-life examples. You''ll find a variety of useful tips for classroom implementation, along with new guidance on teacher credibility, social-emotional learning, and embedding assessment throughout all four phases. No matter what grade level or subject you teach, Better Learning Through Structured Teaching is an essential resource for improving your practice and empowering your students.

Engaging Students for Success Through Purposeful Design Every teacher wants engaged students. No student wants to be bored. So why isn’t every classroom teeming with discussion and activity centered on the day’s learning expectations? Engagement by Design gives you a framework for making daily improvements in engaging your students, highlighting opportunities that offer the greatest benefit in the least amount of time. You’ll learn how focusing on relationships, clarity, and challenge can make all the difference in forging a real connection with students. Engagement by Design puts you in control of managing your classroom’s success and increasing student learning, one motivated student at a time.

Accessible and hands-on yet grounded in research, this book addresses the "whats," "whys," and "how-tos" of integrating literacy instruction and the arts in grades K-8. Even teachers without any arts background will gain the skills they need to bring music, drama, visual arts, and dance into their classrooms. Provided are a wealth of specific resources and activities that other teachers have successfully used to build students'' oral language, concepts of print, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing, while also promoting creativity and self-expression. Special features include reproducible worksheets and checklists for developing, evaluating, and implementing arts-related lesson plans.

Fisher & Frey’s answer to close and critical reading Learn the best ways to use text-dependent questions as scaffolds during close reading and the big understandings they yield. But that’s just for starters. Fisher and Frey also include illustrative video, texts and questions, cross-curricular examples, and an online facilitator’s guide—making the two volumes of TDQ a potent professional development tool across all of K–12. The genius of TDQ is the way Fisher and Frey break down the process into four cognitive pathways: What does the text say? How does the text work? What does the text mean? What does the text inspire you to do?

Drive collaboration and improve student learning with PLC+ Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have long been celebrated as a powerful tool for driving collaboration and improving student outcomes. But what if there was a way to take your PLC work to the next level? Your Introduction to PLC+: Building Collaborative Teams That Drive Student Success introduces the next-generation PLC model that prioritizes collective efficacy and actionable strategies by focusing on five essential questions: Where are we going? Where are we now? How do we move learning forward? What did we learn today? Who benefited and who did not? PLC+ emphasizes identifying and applying evidence-based instruction that values the background of every student, ensuring access and opportunities for all. Team members begin by identifying a common challenge. Then, the clear PLC+ framework, practical tools, and research-based strategies ensure that team efforts directly improve teaching practices and student outcomes. This playbook includes: Protocols and tools that promote data-driven decision-making and actionable plans. Engaging features like "Two Truths and a Lie," self-assessment tools, and implementation-ready scenarios. Practical strategies to measure the real-time impact of collaborative efforts. An interactive design with ample space to reflect on your learning and outline steps to build collective efficacy. Transform your professional learning community today. Whether you′re a teacher or school leader, Your Introduction to PLC+ equips you with the knowledge and skills to collaborate effectively and lead with clarity and confidence. Together, you’ll create effective and impactful learning environments that ensure every student thrives.

A professional development assessment tool to elevate learning and instruction in every classroom This unique, hands-on flipbook is designed as a classroom observation tool that redefines RIGOR, with a focus on five key elements, or indicators, that form a framework to promote a rigorous, scaffolded learning environment. Explore the five indicators to identify teacher strengths and areas for growth, and to set goals: Relationships Instruction Goals Organization Relevance Developed for teachers, teams, instructional coaches, and school leaders, RIGOR Unveiled provides a wealth of support and knowledge for classroom observation and reflection, including: Tabbed sections that describe each of the five indicators to help focus discussion and evaluations Rubrics for evaluation including ratings, evidence, and "My Next Steps" 100+ video spotlights defining key concepts 25 classroom videos showing each of the indicators in action 25 videos of coaches discussing what they observed in each of the classroom videos Sturdy flipbook format for individual and team use and easy writing on the go Spot It Happening feature to calibrate observations as they happen Together your teaching teams can improve the learning outcomes for students by committing to continuous improvement in their teaching practice. With this book in hand, you’ll have everything you need to make it happen.

Build and sustain the mindsets and systems that make teacher clarity work. Learning depends on clarity—a shared understanding among teachers, leaders, and students of what is being learned, why it matters, and how success will be recognized, all aligned with the learning experiences and assessment tasks. While many schools want to embrace teacher clarity, progress often stalls without clear guidance for school and district leaders. This book provides the essential framework for leaders to build, sustain, and embed a culture of clarity that transforms teaching and learning across the entire system. Developed for principals, instructional coaches, and district leaders, this practical guide will help you lead and implement teacher clarity, ensuring it is a foundational element of your school′s or district’s culture and not just a temporary initiative. Designed for reading alongside teachers’ use of the bestselling The Teacher Clarity Playbook, this book provides leaders with the tools to support teachers on their journey and ensure the work succeeds and endures. Features include: Planning Your Pitch: Ready-to-use talking points to help leaders communicate key ideas clearly and persuasively The Thinking Leader: Reflective questions to deepen self-awareness and provoke thoughtful leadership discussions A Leader′s Perspective: Real-life stories and insights from experienced educational leaders Leadership Checklist: Actionable steps to guide leaders in implementing new ideas effectively within their own contexts By modeling, protecting, and sustaining clarity, leaders can create the conditions for teachers to collaborate, reflect, and grow together, ensuring every student has a clear vision of success.

Turn good intentions into better outcomes—by design! Why leave student success up to chance? By combining your intuition and experience with the latest research on high-impact learning practices, you can evolve your teaching from good to great and make a lasting difference for your students. Organized around the DIIE framework, Great Teaching by Design takes you step-by-step from intention to implementation to accelerate the impact your teaching has on student learning. Inside, you’ll find: A deep dive into the four stages of the DIIE model: Diagnosis and Discovery, Intervention, Implementation, and Evaluation A fresh look at the Visible Learning research, which identifies the most powerful strategies for teaching and learning Stories of best practices in action and examples from classrooms around the world Great teaching may come by chance, but it will come by design. Whether you’re new to teaching or looking to give your instruction a boost, take up the challenge and discover a new framework for teaching with true intentionality.

Provide the perfect structure and support to develop student independence. Effective scaffolding leads to learner autonomy—but too many educators have been airlifting students to right answers, perpetuating a generation who don’t know how to learn. Yes, we know the sweet spot for learning involves giving our students the right blend of productive failure and productive success, but how to do it is cloaked in misconceptions. How Scaffolding Works unveils the essential moves and methods. Ten interactive modules help every K-12 educator structure support in new ways, including knowing how to: Gradually release responsibility to students through intentional and purposeful scaffolding Design lessons and experiences that attend to the affective, metacognitive, and cognitive aspects of learning Collect data before, during, and after learning, so we can place, move, and take away scaffolds with greater intention Promote independence with front-end scaffolds, distributed scaffolds, back-end scaffolds, peer scaffolds, and fading scaffolds Use a blend of demonstration, modeling, coaching, explaining, questioning and choice Promote purposeful practice—in which learners knows where they’re going and how to get there Perhaps we rush in to rescue learners because the world seems fraught; we want to help our students reach the safety of academic success. Our intentions are good, but it’s time to step back, gradually and purposefully, and let them pilot their own learning.

Feedback keeps learning moving forward. Picture water pouring into a crystal goblet. That’s how clear and dynamic feedback must be. You can achieve that "perfect swirl" of giving, receiving, and integrating feedback with this remarkable book, which is organized into 16 modules for self-study or PLCs. Major concepts include: Defining Feedback: learn the most useful types of feedback, why to align them with transparent criteria, how to gather evidence. 4 C’s of Feedback: offer it with care, credibility, clarity, and clear communication Gathering Evidence for Feedback: use a balance of verbal, written, and kinesthetic responses; peer collaboration, checks-for-understanding, technology, and more.

Lay the foundation for inclusive, impactful classrooms where every student thrives Every student deserves an education that is meaningful, memorable, and built for them. When we design learning with intentional, universal support, the impact extends beyond individual students—it transforms entire classrooms. In Every Child Deserves a Special Education, the authors introduce five powerful mindframes that reshape the way we think about teaching, learning, and inclusion. These mindframes spark a cycle of reflection and growth, shifting not just what we do, but how we see our students, our classrooms, and our role as educators. Inside, you’ll find: Five essential educator mindframes—helping you plan for both diverse learners and the diversity within each learner Stories and examples that bring these mindframes to life through real classroom experiences Reflection tools to help you examine and refine your own beliefs and practices True inclusion starts with how we think, not just what we do. Every Child Deserves a Special Education will help you build the mindset every classroom needs for all students to thrive.

Meet microlearning, a powerful instructional approach with roots in online learning that''s making the jump to K–12 classrooms. Think of microlearning as modernized direct instruction—a systematic yet flexible way to present content via connected small bursts that build to complex understandings. Less about "shorter teaching sessions" than about smarter teaching, microlearning aligns with how the brain makes meaning and resonates with today''s digital-native learners. It''s a new tool for structured teaching that will help them stay focused, support long-term retention, and guide them "micro" step by step toward mastery of essential standards. In this book for practitioners, instructional coach Tyler Gilbert and bestselling authors and educators Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey introduce microlearning''s "brief yet deep" approach and explain why it is so effective. The short, focused chapters mimic the microlearning experience; each features real-world examples, guided reflection, and a self-assessment. You''ll learn how to • Identify focused goals for microlearning sessions and divide complex content into the smaller servings that students can more easily process and teachers can more easily manage. • Design and implement various kinds of microlearning sessions—from teacher-driven and text-based options to technology-enhanced ones that incorporate scenarios, gamification, and simulations. • Gather and use feedback from microlearning sessions to improve student performance and refine your instructional design. At a time when teachers and students are feeling overloaded and disengaged, Microlearning in the K–12 Classroom''s practical guidance can support breakthrough understanding for both you and them.

There is a big difference between assigning complex texts and teaching complex texts No matter what discipline you teach, learn how to use complexity as a dynamic, powerful tool for sliding the right text in front of your students’ at just the right time. Updates to this new edition include How-to’s for measuring countable features of any written work A rubric for analyzing the complexity of both literary and informational texts Classroom scenarios that show the difference between a healthy struggle and frustration The authors’ latest thinking on teacher modeling, close reading, scaffolded small group reading, and independent reading

"This book puts into practice what we′ve long known but often ignored: one picture is indeed worth a thousand words! The chapters offer a practical look at how images in all their many forms can be used to motivate reluctant readers."--Donna E. Alvermann, Distinguished Research ProfessorUniversity of Georgia "Just as vision entails more than seeing, being visually literate means that students can interpret and reflect upon images as well as words. These strategies will help your students develop the literacy they need for this brave new century."--Carol Jago, Director, California Reading and Literature ProjectUniversity of California, Los Angeles Spark students′ interest in reading and help them become critical consumers of visual information!Today′s students live in an increasingly visual world where they are engaged not only by words, but also by images. This collection of innovative articles shows classroom teachers and literacy specialists how to use students′ interest in picture books, comics, graphic novels, film, anime, and other visual media to motivate and engage readers in Grades K-12.Teaching Visual Literacy offers background information, research, practical ideas, and sample lessons to help educators: Capture the attention of learners and boost their critical thinking skills Support and strengthen multiple competencies in literacy Help students comprehend and assess visual information Reach students with disabilities and extend their understanding Visual literacy is an integral part of literacy development, and this much-needed classroom companion helps teachers engage students as critical readers and prepare them for living in the twenty-first century.

Winner of AM&P EXCEL Bronze Award Your Students, My Students, Our Students explores the hard truths of current special education practice and outlines five essential disruptions to the status quo. Authors Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Julie Kroener show you how to - Establish a school culture that champions equity and inclusion. - Rethink the long-standing structure of least restrictive environment and the resulting service delivery. - Leverage the strengths of all educators to provide appropriate support and challenge. - Collaborate on the delivery of instruction and intervention. - Honor the aspirations of each student and plan accordingly. To realize authentic and equitable inclusion, we must relentlessly and collectively pursue change. This book—written not for "special educators" or "general educators" but for all educators—addresses the challenges, maps out the solutions, and provides tools and inspiration for the work ahead. Real-life examples of empowerment and success illustrate just what''s possible when educators commit to the belief that every student belongs to all of us and all students deserve learning experiences that will equip them to live full and rewarding lives.

While social and emotional learning (SEL) is most familiar as compartmentalized programs separate from academics, the truth is, all learning is social and emotional. What teachers say, the values we express, the materials and activities we choose, and the skills we prioritize all influence how students think, see themselves, and interact with content and with others. If you teach kids rather than standards, and if you want all kids to get what they need to thrive, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Dominique Smith offer a solution: a comprehensive, five-part model of SEL that''s easy to integrate into everyday content instruction, no matter what subject or grade level you teach. You''ll learn the hows and whys of Building students'' sense of identity and confidence in their ability to learn, overcome challenge, and influence the world around them. Helping students identify, describe, and regulate their emotional responses. Promoting the cognitive regulation skills critical to decision making and problem solving. Fostering students'' social skills, including teamwork and sharing, and their ability to establish and repair relationships. Equipping students to becoming informed and involved citizens. Along with a toolbox of strategies for addressing 33 essential competencies, you''ll find real-life examples highlighting the many opportunities for social and emotional learning within the K–12 academic curriculum. Children’s social and emotional development is too important to be an add-on or an afterthought, too important to be left to chance. Use this books integrated SEL approach to help your students build essential skills that will serve them in the classroom and throughout their lives.

Recharge Adolescent Literacy: Strategies to Foster Joyful and Proficient Readers There are many adolescent readers who, for a variety of reasons, find it difficult to connect with written words and have fallen behind on their foundational reading skills. Thankfully, it’s never too late to give these necessary skills a boost and help students find joy in reading and learning. Armed with equity, empathy, evidence-based research, and practical application, Teaching Foundational Skills to Adolescent Readers provides classroom practices teachers can use with the whole class or with small groups to integrate reading support seamlessly with grade-level content learning. Bestselling authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, along with Sarah Ortega, Kierstan Barbee, and Aida Allen-Rotell, creatively organize the book around a metaphor: adolescent literacy is a battery—when all the parts are connected, working together, and fully charged—literacy can thrive. Throughout the book, the following features will guide your learning: Plug Into the Research – an overview of the evidence-based research supporting each section of the literacy model Power Up Classroom Practice – connecting the dots on the research, classroom practice and human aspects of learning Voices from the Field – classroom examples of application and strategies from other secondary educators Take Charge – key takeaways and reflection questions Tips on building and organizing your classroom library to incorporate tools, technology, and media available to maximize lesson effectiveness Dozens of videos to model time-efficient strategies and key concepts By focusing on research, classroom practices, and the human aspects of learning, this book is an essential tool to recharge reading practices for adolescent readers and help educators increase foundational reading skills in the classroom.

Let evidence and integrity guide your grading practice If you want to ask a polarizing question in education, ask someone their thoughts on grading. Few topics have elicited more interest or opinions, even though grading practices have remained relatively unchanged for years. But opinions are not evidence. The time has come to get it right with a fresh approach grounded in research and the principles of integrity. Grading With Integrity introduces a measured approach to grading reform based on honesty, transparency, accuracy, and equity with recommendations backed by clear and trustworthy evidence. Addressing the many "whys’’ involved, this thoughtfully organized book addresses central questions related to grading and reporting student learning, covering: An historical overview of grading and reporting practices A discussion of standards-based and competency-based grading Recommendations for reporting non academic learning goals separately from academic achievement, to accurately reflect students′ performance Suggestions for reporting growth and improvement, using specific assessments and other reporting tools An infallible argument for grading with integrity This book is a must-read for K-12 classroom teachers and administrators who are looking to implement better and more defensible grading and reporting policies and practices. Let evidence and integrity be your guide to enhancing students’ best interests and learning success.