the teacher-student contract is a good thing. A teaching veteran, he has used learning contracts successfully with his own middle school students. Beginning with his first year of teaching, he entered into a contract in which four students "taught" a novel. They led discussions, assigned chapters, chose important vocabulary, wrote the final test, and were responsible for assessment. Most important, they were engaged. In this unique handbook for middle-level teachers, Greenwood provides the practical wherewithal to implement learning contracts, along with the inspiration and theory to convince us of their value. He takes us into his classroom and explains contracts inside and out: how to get started how to be smart about organizing and managing how to maximize benefits through a flexible approach how to respond to students needing extra support. Greenwood's warmth and lively style, his "teacher-down-the-hall" wisdom and no-nonsense advice make it clear why his learning contracts have been so successful-and why they can work for us, too. Get students active and engaged in their learning. Give them a measure of choice and control. Actually gain more power by gradually relinquishing it. Just sign learning contracts-then watch as a new kind of teaching and learning begins.

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