Tools for Teaching in the Block

"It is not unusual for teachers to feel overwhelmed when their school shifts from a traditional bell schedule to a 90-minute block. Sejnost guides teachers from feelings of apprehension and nervousness to those of confidence and excitement by giving them tools and research-based strategies to reach their students in new and challenging ways."
―Nancy W. Sindelar, Instructor and Consultant
California State University, San Bernardino

"Sejnost presents strategies that enable students to locate, synthesize, evaluate, retain, and utilize information as successful adolescent learners and as successful adults in our fast-paced, knowledge-driven society."
Nancy K. MaGill, Program Director, Our American Voice
Barat Education Foundation

Effectively use extended class periods to enhance student achievement!

Roberta L. Sejnost offers an alternative to the usual lecture format to help teachers create coherent, effective lessons for extended blocks of instructional time, no matter what the subject or grade level. This book provides teachers with a four-phase lesson planning framework and numerous teaching strategies to build higher-level thinking skills and increase student learning.

Teachers can use practical, research-based methods and tools such as cooperative learning, quality questioning, and graphic organizers to reach secondary students. The author includes reproducible blackline masters for classroom use, plus activities for:

• Preparing students for learning by fostering their prior knowledge, helping them set a purpose for reading and learning, and teaching the vocabulary necessary for understanding
• Helping students actively interact with and process what they have learned
• Clarifying and reinforcing content and taking learning to the next level

Tools for Teaching in the Block enables educators to take advantage of block scheduling to promote reading, writing, and critical thinking in adolescents.

Roberta L. Sejnost is a university professor and literacy consultant who has taught secondary-level courses in social studies, reading, and English, and college-level courses in literacy, authentic assessment, brain-based learning, multiple intelligences, and cooperative learning. A nationally recognized staff developer and certified trainer, Sejnost has presented at over 200 educational conferences across the country. In 2003, she received the Reading Educator of the Year award from the Illinois Reading Council. Sejnost received a master of education degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a doctorate of education in curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University, Chicago.