I have a neighbor and a nephew both diagnosed with ADHD and borderline Asperger's syndrome. They have both asked for my advice and I will soon be working with my neighbor's child. Both boys are in fourth grade and the social aspect of their learning is their greatest need. Sounds like I need this book!

Book review: Clock Watchers: Six Steps to Motivating and Engaging Disengaged Students Across Content Areas by Stevi Quate and John McDermott

The authors, Stevi Quate and John McDermott, created this book because of their desire to share sound, doable ways to motivate and engage students. State mandates and funding can create an atmosphere of pressure to raise test scores in schools. As an answer to this pressure, teachers often drill their students and use strategies without thinking about an essential component: Do students' care (p. 5)? Quate and McDermott's book offers ways to change the culture in the average classroom by sparking curiosity, developing competency, and allowing students to have control over their learning.

Clock watchers: Six Steps to Motivating and Engaging Disengaged Students consists of eight chapters based on the six C's. The six C's is a framework that will guide planning, teaching, and reflecting on instruction and learning (p. 7). The six C's are: 1. Caring Classroom Community, 2. Checking In and Checking Out, 3. Choice, 4. Collaboration, 5. Challenge, and 6. Celebration. Chapter one stresses the urgency and importance of motivating and engaging all students. Chapters two through seven focus on the six C's; each chapter relating stories of teachers' trials with a particular C, citing research supporting why the concept is important, and offering strategies along with examples of how to incorporate the concept in a classroom. Chapter eight ties everything together. The book also has masters of activities, maps, rubrics, etc. available to copy and print.

The authors' message is that teachers can get their students to come to class prepared, participate in discussions and activities, and turn in quality work. The authors want to increase achievement and attitudes about school, not just offer tips and tricks. The book encourages a sense of caring, collaborating, and choice; establishing a unique environment not seen in many classrooms. Questioning, research, reading, and even assessment require the students' input and participation. In the forward, Cris Tovani states, "Our profession obligates us to motivate and engage our students. Clock Watchers supports teachers who want to create classrooms where real world learning takes place" (p. xiv).

I would recommend this book to all administrators and teachers, although with a caution that it requires dedication and determination. While the strategies can be used individually, the goal is to combine or "braid" them together. The methods become a bit overwhelming as they require a lot of practice and training of the students in order for them to be comfortable. I have seen some of the strategies used in classrooms, although not in a continuous, daily format. The combination of stories and strategies keep the book interesting; pulling it off could be challenging. However, any teacher should be proud if the culture of their classroom is as productive as the examples given. For teachers seeking to spark their students' curiosity and create competent learners - this is the book to read.


Amazon Website Link: http://www.amazon.com/Clock-Watchers-Motivating-Engaging-Disengaged/dp/0325021694/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329094725&sr=1-1

Great question I didn't address in the review. All the examples used are middle to high school oriented and seem to require a level of maturity that elementary students would not possess. I think that's where the ideas have appeal; they require maturity and responsibility of the students. Adolescents crave expectations and love to have control because it shows you trust them. Team-work makes everyone's job easier and is such a necessary concept to teach students.

My daughter is in fourth grade and loves The Daily 5. I sit on the school improvement team at her elementary school and the teachers all use it in their classrooms. I think I need to get the book!

Lenski, Susan (2011, Dec.). What RTI means for content area teachers. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 55.4, 276. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.00034

According to this article, RTI (Response to Intervention), authorized by the Department of Education in 2004, is based on the theory that struggling readers have not had sufficient instruction and should be given opportunities to advance before referring them for further testing. It has three levels, or tiers; Tier 1 focuses on classroom instruction available to all students, Tier 2 targets students' specific needs and addresses those needs, and Tier 3 is intensive one-on-one instruction. This article's main focus is Tier 1 and literacy strategies for content area teachers. It briefly touches on Tier 2 literacy instruction and intervention.

Elementary schools already have classroom reading instruction for all students, making it easier to implement the RTI legislation. Secondary schools have the least amount of time, support, and resources. The article offers reasons adolescents have difficulty reading and highlights basic strategies to aid struggling adolescents in reading text. It also suggests that secondary teachers evaluate and record students' literacy progress and report those in need of further instruction.

The article is beneficial to educators not aware of the Response to Intervention legislation. It is a beginner's guide to understanding RTI. Content area teachers, mostly middle and secondary, can incorporate the ideas into their instruction. Even those teaching in schools that are not enforcing RTI can gain useful information on literacy practices geared at helping struggling students. It also raises the question: "Which students in my class(es) can read and understand the required text, and which ones need further support?

Dr. Clinton, when you stated that RTI is not legislation, I looked back on the article to see where I had misinterpreted information. The article states exactly what you commented on, that RTI is a model within legislation. It sparked my interest and I found an entire website dedicated to RTI. After reading more, I wondered how many schools/districts are really using this model to identify and help these struggling learners. Last night in class all three clock buddies I shared with knew about RTI and were using it or had used it in their teaching. A lot of my questions have been answered and I am now semi knowledgeable about this seemingly important concept! Thanks!