Making Themes Work

Making Themes Work is the first book in the series Building Connections, designed to provide practical strategies, innovative ideas, and adaptable examples for holistic teaching in elementary classrooms.

This book shows teachers how to organize curriculum and effectively integrate learning experiences using themes. It gives educators the information they need to make themes work for them and their students.

In this book, teachers will find many valuable examples and strategies including:

innovative ways to start a theme
effective ways for students to show what they know
practical ways to think about theme plannng
powerful evaluation strategies
classroom-tested ways to manage and organize themes
common questions about themes, and the answers
ways to inform parents, administrators, and colleagues about learning through themes.

Anne Davies, PhD, has worked in most Canadian provinces, in American states, and overseas. She works with educators at every level―primary to post-secondary, as well as with parents. Anne is involved with schools and jurisdictions in multi-year projects, working closely with local educators. This allows her to help people find assessment-for-learning solutions that work in a specific context. Anne does sessions at home in the Comox Valley, and works with educators in various locations to provide workshops to meet local needs. She also works with professional development and instructional leaders. Anne has written and produced numerous multimedia resources and books, including Making Classroom Assessment Work and co-authoring the Knowing What Counts series. Her newest project is a multimedia resource titled The Facilitator's Guide to Classroom Assessment (K–12).

Caren Cameron, M.Ed., is on leave as District Principal of Educational Programs for District #62 (Sooke) in British Columbia. She spends her time working with colleagues across North America. She has co-authored several practical books to assist busy teachers.

Colleen Politano, M.Ed., is a consultant working for school districts and the Bureau of Education & Research in British Columbia. She presents workshops on a wide variety of topics, including literacy, brain-based learning, differentiated instruction, multi-age classrooms, and authentic assessment. Colleen was a classroom teacher for 36 years and a recipient of the Canadian Teachers' Federation Hilroy Fellowship for innovation in education. She has co-authored several books.