Assn/Supervision & Curric. Dev.

Habits of mind across the curriculum; practical and creative strategies for teachers.

Costa (education, California State U., Sacramento) and Kallick, a private consultant and former teacher's center director, present a collection of 20 chapters by educators from the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia who describe how they have implemented the 16 Habits of Mind in their K-12 classrooms. They survey the habits, such as persistence, thinking flexibly, metacognition, and finding humor, and strategies for their development, while discussing suggestions for grade levels and content areas, including reading, math, social studies, the arts, foreign languages, character education, poetry, and physical education. Some of the chapters are updated versions of those in the authors' Activating and Engaging Habits of Mind. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

How to help your school thrive without breaking the bank.

Gabriel and Farmer, both with long experience in Virginia's public schools, offer school and department leaders strategies for improving a school through the cultivation of a "healthy culture," one that encourages involvement and excellence from faculty and students alike. The chapters address honing leadership, developing a vision and a mission, promoting excellence among staff, helping students succeed, managing time well, facilitating effective meetings, and mining and using data with purpose. Strategies employed include peer observations for teachers, curriculum review, a work plan, and class evaluation through surveys. The final third of the book comprises materials for these and other undertakings. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)