Because We Can Change the World

A Practical Guide to Building Cooperative, Inclusive Classroom Communities
Second Edition
Mara E. Sapon-Shevin - Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
Because We Can Change the World
June 2010 | 288 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781452271668
Available from January 0001
Paperback
ISBN: 9781412978385
Available from January 0001

Description

Companion Website Available

"Because We Can Change the World is a powerful antidote to the bullying, intolerance, and exclusion that are all too commonplace in our schools. Through helpful insights, practical strategies, and a powerful vision grounded in social justice, this book gives teachers the inspiration and hope they need to carry on."
—Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"I have personally seen classroom cultures completely transformed as a result of using the techniques in this book. If you don't already use this book to promote community, collaboration, and inclusion in your school, do it immediately so students can learn that inclusion is more than a place or a policy—it is a commitment to acceptance, an honoring of difference, and, as Sapon-Shevin so eloquently reminds us, a belief that we just might 'change the world.'"
—Paula Kluth, Educational Consultant

Change the world, one classroom at a time!

It is impossible for most students to achieve academically if they do not feel safe, supported, welcomed, and accepted. By structuring democratic classrooms as models of diversity, cooperation, and inclusion, teachers can help children learn skills and values that lay a foundation for good citizenship and will make a differences in their lives now and in the future.

Mara Sapon-Shevin provides a unique vision of elementary classrooms that allow all children to experience academic success. This long-awaited new edition of a highly acclaimed book:

  • Calls on all educators to create diverse, inclusive classrooms and promote social justice
  • Discusses the barriers to creating cooperative classrooms and how they can be overcome
  • Includes activities, songs, and children's literature that promote acceptance and understanding
  • Includes new "Reframing Our Work" sections with reflective questions that help readers examine their own beliefs and teaching practices

With updated resources and a stronger emphasis on differentiated instruction, Because We Can Change the World gives teachers the vision, courage, and strategies to make the world a better place, starting with their own classrooms.

Contents

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Author

Introduction

  • 1. CIVICS: An Agenda for Our Schools
  • Courage
  • Inclusion
  • Value
  • Integrity
  • Cooperation
  • Safety
  • 2. Schools as Communities
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 3. Sharing Ourselves With Others
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 4. Knowing Others Well
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 5. Places Where We All Belong
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 6. Setting Goals and Giving and Getting Support
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 7. Working Together to Learn
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Implementing Inclusive Cooperative Learning
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 8. Speaking Truth and Acting Powerfully
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum

Final Thoughts: First Steps for New Beginnings

Final Thoughts: First Steps for New Beginnings

References

References

Index

Index

Resources

Supplemental Resources Website

This companion website is designed to provide easy access to the songs referenced in Because We Can Change the World. For each song cited in the text, links are provided for you to hear the song, find and download the lyrics, and, in some cases, hear others perform the song as well. Links to the songwriters' websites and ordering information for their recordings are also included.

Also contained on this website are some additional references for cooperative games and community building activities.
http://www.corwin.com/changetheworld

Description

Companion Website Available

"Because We Can Change the World is a powerful antidote to the bullying, intolerance, and exclusion that are all too commonplace in our schools. Through helpful insights, practical strategies, and a powerful vision grounded in social justice, this book gives teachers the inspiration and hope they need to carry on."
—Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"I have personally seen classroom cultures completely transformed as a result of using the techniques in this book. If you don't already use this book to promote community, collaboration, and inclusion in your school, do it immediately so students can learn that inclusion is more than a place or a policy—it is a commitment to acceptance, an honoring of difference, and, as Sapon-Shevin so eloquently reminds us, a belief that we just might 'change the world.'"
—Paula Kluth, Educational Consultant

Change the world, one classroom at a time!

It is impossible for most students to achieve academically if they do not feel safe, supported, welcomed, and accepted. By structuring democratic classrooms as models of diversity, cooperation, and inclusion, teachers can help children learn skills and values that lay a foundation for good citizenship and will make a differences in their lives now and in the future.

Mara Sapon-Shevin provides a unique vision of elementary classrooms that allow all children to experience academic success. This long-awaited new edition of a highly acclaimed book:

  • Calls on all educators to create diverse, inclusive classrooms and promote social justice
  • Discusses the barriers to creating cooperative classrooms and how they can be overcome
  • Includes activities, songs, and children's literature that promote acceptance and understanding
  • Includes new "Reframing Our Work" sections with reflective questions that help readers examine their own beliefs and teaching practices

With updated resources and a stronger emphasis on differentiated instruction, Because We Can Change the World gives teachers the vision, courage, and strategies to make the world a better place, starting with their own classrooms.

Contents

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Author

Introduction

  • 1. CIVICS: An Agenda for Our Schools
  • Courage
  • Inclusion
  • Value
  • Integrity
  • Cooperation
  • Safety
  • 2. Schools as Communities
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 3. Sharing Ourselves With Others
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 4. Knowing Others Well
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 5. Places Where We All Belong
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 6. Setting Goals and Giving and Getting Support
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 7. Working Together to Learn
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Implementing Inclusive Cooperative Learning
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 8. Speaking Truth and Acting Powerfully
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum

Final Thoughts: First Steps for New Beginnings

Final Thoughts: First Steps for New Beginnings

References

References

Index

Index

Resources

Supplemental Resources Website

This companion website is designed to provide easy access to the songs referenced in Because We Can Change the World. For each song cited in the text, links are provided for you to hear the song, find and download the lyrics, and, in some cases, hear others perform the song as well. Links to the songwriters' websites and ordering information for their recordings are also included.

Also contained on this website are some additional references for cooperative games and community building activities.
http://www.corwin.com/changetheworld
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Because We Can Change the World

A Practical Guide to Building Cooperative, Inclusive Classroom Communities


June 2010 | 288 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 27/02/2023 9781412978385 $43.95
Lifetime 27/02/2023 9781452271668 $40.00

Companion Website Available

"Because We Can Change the World is a powerful antidote to the bullying, intolerance, and exclusion that are all too commonplace in our schools. Through helpful insights, practical strategies, and a powerful vision grounded in social justice, this book gives teachers the inspiration and hope they need to carry on."
—Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"I have personally seen classroom cultures completely transformed as a result of using the techniques in this book. If you don't already use this book to promote community, collaboration, and inclusion in your school, do it immediately so students can learn that inclusion is more than a place or a policy—it is a commitment to acceptance, an honoring of difference, and, as Sapon-Shevin so eloquently reminds us, a belief that we just might 'change the world.'"
—Paula Kluth, Educational Consultant

Change the world, one classroom at a time!

It is impossible for most students to achieve academically if they do not feel safe, supported, welcomed, and accepted. By structuring democratic classrooms as models of diversity, cooperation, and inclusion, teachers can help children learn skills and values that lay a foundation for good citizenship and will make a differences in their lives now and in the future.

Mara Sapon-Shevin provides a unique vision of elementary classrooms that allow all children to experience academic success. This long-awaited new edition of a highly acclaimed book:

  • Calls on all educators to create diverse, inclusive classrooms and promote social justice
  • Discusses the barriers to creating cooperative classrooms and how they can be overcome
  • Includes activities, songs, and children's literature that promote acceptance and understanding
  • Includes new "Reframing Our Work" sections with reflective questions that help readers examine their own beliefs and teaching practices

With updated resources and a stronger emphasis on differentiated instruction, Because We Can Change the World gives teachers the vision, courage, and strategies to make the world a better place, starting with their own classrooms.


Table Of Contents:

  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
  • Introduction
  • 1. CIVICS: An Agenda for Our Schools
  • Courage
  • Inclusion
  • Value
  • Integrity
  • Cooperation
  • Safety
  • 2. Schools as Communities
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 3. Sharing Ourselves With Others
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 4. Knowing Others Well
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 5. Places Where We All Belong
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 6. Setting Goals and Giving and Getting Support
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 7. Working Together to Learn
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Implementing Inclusive Cooperative Learning
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • 8. Speaking Truth and Acting Powerfully
  • The Vision
  • Challenges to the Vision
  • Reframing Our Work
  • How to Begin
  • Links to the Curriculum
  • Final Thoughts: First Steps for New Beginnings
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

Great text -- gives students the vision and big picture for inclusion and ways to live this vision out day to day in the classroom. Thank you for this useful book!
Dr Polly Attwood, Education Dept, Northeastern University
The content will be inspiring to our pre-service teachers!
Dr Lauren Small, School of Education, Bishop's Univ
I like that this text is filled with practical applications for my graduate students. They are always wanting texts that contain usable ideas.
Dr Kimberly Silbaugh, School Of Education, Lesley University
"For teachers committed to making schools that work for all students, this book is a guide for facilitating that transformative process. Not just practical, but a real treat."
Kiernan Rok, Inclusion Teacher, Edna Brewer Middle School, Oakland, CA
"Because We Can Change the World is a powerful antidote to the bullying, intolerance, and exclusion that are all too commonplace in our schools. Through helpful insights, practical strategies, and, most of all, a powerful vision grounded in social justice, this book gives teachers and others who care about our schools the inspiration and hope they need to carry on."
Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

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