Chapter 10

This chapter gives us ways to get students to do things outside of the classroom that has them use the knowledge they learned. Things like internships, have projects that involve experts, have them look toward summer and enrichment programs and support their learning on their own. Making this connection to the outside world with students will help them appreciate and value school more than they did before. Students are simply looking to be intrigued and inspired with the work they do and if they never get that then there is no motivation for them to be in school.

Chapter 9

This chapter is about trying to make any rough edges smooth before you even get to them. Like when a student feels discouraged with school it usually means that something went wrong with the grades they are getting or got. It could also be that the student isn't secure or lacks the confidence needed to be appreciated. The students created a list of questions that teachers should ask before grades a posted and after they are. One student said that a new teacher should be sure to maintain control and or of his or her classroom environment. There is another important section that deals with what to do when things go wrong. In it Cushman says don't be afraid to apologize, reexamine your teaching approach, don't take a bad day too hard, your success shouldn't be based on whether or not your students like you and don't try to be a superhero.

Chapter 8

This was a very important chapter in this book. It is so important because we as teacher need to know what to expect in any situation and this may very well be a situation that many of us face. When you have an English learning student in your class they will feel uncomfortable to answer questions or share work for fear of messing up their English. But what we as teachers need to do is ensure that their grammar skills, accents and other differences they may have don't get made fun of. Getting them to take risks is an essential part of them learning the language so look past spelling errors and grammar mistakes, ask them if they are understanding the content that we are teaching to them and make sure that we give them alternate ways to present the knowledge on the subject.

Chapter 7

There is some material that will come difficult to some students, I actually experienced this when I was in the classroom. This chapter tries to help us as teacher create ways that will get the student to better understand and learn those harder materials. Ways such as breaking down the material, linking the material to something that they already know or can do, make connections to things they already do and use different approaches when teaching the material. Getting students to think about the subject will get them to better understand and get them to remember it better when it is time to take the test than when they are just trying to cram knowledge in their brain for the test.

Chapter 6

This chapter is talks about the reasons why students go to school and why they would stay in school. It is also about what motivates the students as well as what makes them bored. Andres tells us that a reason he attends school because he wants to reach his full potential even though some of the classes he doesn't like. By connecting the lessons and activities that a teacher is doing you will create a classroom that is going to be less boring to all of you students. Basically keep the students actively thinking about what is being taught and how they can use it.

Chapter 5

This chapter has two parts. First Cushman presents concepts of how each individual student works in the classroom. The second part is about the same ideas but instead of individuals it is about groups. Cushman has different types of student classifications on the individual basis. When doing things with groups, the groups need to be set up with a purpose (the students should get something out of it).

Chapter 4

Inform students of the high expectations you have of them. This will help create a culture of success. No human is perfect, so 2nd chances should be given to students who do try to complete their work on time. It's only fair that students get rewarded for the work they attempt. DON'T FAVOR ANY STUDENTS. Allow students to have an opinion on something and ensure that their opinion doesn't get made fun of or disregarded. All of these are ways to create a successful class culture.

Chapter 3

The chapter describes how to create, keep and identify ways and problems that arise when making an orderly and purposeful classroom. When creating this classroom a teacher needs to inform the students indirectly that he or she truly wants the them to learn and succeed in the classroom. To keep an orderly and purposeful classroom one must get the entire class involved in making class rule and having class discussion throughout the year. Identifying disruptions and dealing with them in a respectful and proper (for the situation) manner.