Good to Great Teaching: Focusing on the Literacy Work That Matters

"We often talk about the importance of, and benefits of focused intentional teaching. Mary Howard is not only the champion of such instruction, but she coaches the rest of us, breaking it down so we can all do great work that truly matters." Gail Boushey and Joan Moser (the Sisters),
authors of The Daily Five

In this valuable resource for teachers, Mary Howard shares a step-by-step process for focusing on the literacy work that matters in any effective literacy design-including schools implementing the Common Core State Standards and an RTI model-to identify good work, to celebrate great work, and to accommodate high quality literacy practices.

Throughout Good to Great Teaching, Mary describes spotlight teachers who will guide you through a process of evaluating, adjusting, and elevating your teaching. Personal reflection tools are included to help you alleviate anything that deters your efforts to accomplish what you already do well and move your teaching to even higher levels. Mary will take you into real classrooms where practical ideas rooted in best practice offer a clear understanding of what great work can feel like, look like, and sound like.

As you work through this reflective process on your own or with colleagues, you will:

• build a common understanding of the quality of great work
• generate vision statements and overarching goals to guide your literacy design
• identify how to sustain great work to keep the momentum going.

No matter where you are in your teaching career, the real key to great work is what you bring to the table. Let Mary lead you as you move from good to great teaching so you can focus on the literacy work that really matters.

Mary Howard is the author of the Heinemann titles Good to Great Teaching, RTI from All Sides and Moving Forward with RTI. A "teacher's teacher," she's been an educator for almost four decades. Mary combines extensive experiences as a special education, Title I, and Reading Recovery teacher with continued in-school support as a reading consultant and literacy coach. She understands the realities of today's classroom and supports teachers across the country in creating high-quality literacy experiences for every child.