Pizzo's Paperbacks
"Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise. View life as a continuous learning experience.
- Denis E. Waitley
Every year new research unveils instructional practices that are most effective for reading, writing and learning. As an educator, I feel it is my moral obligation to stay current with best practices and provide my students with quality, research-based instruction that will help them beyond the classroom walls.
Disrupting Thinking
This book focuses on developing critical readers and provides teachers with concrete strategies to help students do just that. "Learning to extract information isn't enough...We need to develop readers who raise questions, hold multiple ideas in their minds, see a situation from multiple perspectives and who can evaluate texts..."
Quickwrites Handbook
I worked with Linda Rief in the summer of 2018 and together we completed many of the writing activities that are in this handbook. Teaching writing by being a writer is one of the most profound ah-ha moments I have had. The mentor texts she has provided are engaging and I have used most of them during our writing workshop.
Learning in the Fast Lane
My principal led a book study for our staff here at Merton Williams and this was the first book she chose. I loved the concrete interventions and strategies that Suzy Pepper Rollins presents: from effectively starting class to developing vocabulary and other inventions. Ready for next day implementation!
Better Conversations
Effectively co-teaching, coaching each other and generally improving how we talk and engage with one another is the focus of Jim Knight's Better Conversations. I am impressed by how much I have learned about simply becoming a better listener and how that leads to trust while finding a common ground.