Puzzling Moments, Teachable Moments: Practicing Teacher Research in Urban Classrooms (The Practitioner Inquiry Series)

In her new book, bestselling author Cynthia Ballenger explores the intellectual strengths of "puzzling children" --poor, urban, immigrant, or bilingual children who do not traditionally excel in school. Ballenger challenges the assumption that these children whose families have less formal education, read fewer storybooks, and talk less with their children about school-like topics, have fewer of what we might call "intellectual" or academically relevant experiences. This practical book offers a detailed roadmap for traversing the daily work of teaching today's diverse population, helping educators to refine their work as it unfolds in the classroom. Ballenger guides the reader as she thinks out loud about what children said, what it indicated about their thinking, and how the dialogue informed her teaching. In her new book, bestselling author Cynthia Ballenger explores the intellectual strengths of students whom teachers find puzzlingpoor, urban, immigrant, or bilingual children who do not traditionally excel in school. Ballenger challenges the assumption that these childrenwhose families in many cases have less formal education, read fewer storybooks, and talk less with their children about school-like topicshave fewer intellectual or academically relevant experiences. This practical book offers a detailed roadmap for traversing the daily work of teaching todays diverse population, and helping educators refine their work as it unfolds in the classroom. Ballenger guides the reader as she analyzes what the children said, what this indicates about their thinking, and how her dialogues with them informed her teaching. Book The author explores the intellectual strengths of students that teachers find "puzzling" : poor, urban, immigrant, or bilingual children who do not traditionally excel in school. She challenges the assumption that these children whose families in many cases have less formal education, read fewer storybooks, and talk less with their children about school-like topics have fewer intellectual or academically relevant experiences. This book offers a plan for traversing the daily work of teaching a diverse population, helping educators to refine their work as it unfolds in the classroom Explores the intellectual strengths of 'puzzling children' - poor, urban, immigrant, or bilingual children who do not traditionally excel in school. This book challenges the assumption that these children whose families have less formal education, read fewer storybooks, and talk less with their children about school-like topics. Cynthia Ballenger. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 127-129) And Index.