Learners First: Purpose and Practicality in Your Early Years of Teaching (2025, Corwin)

Practical advice, inclusive strategies, meaningful impact. 

The early years of teaching can be exhilarating and overwhelming in equal measure. Drawing on over 50 years of combined experience in public schooling, coaching, and higher education, authors Denise Furlong and Keri Orange-Jones equip novice educators with the tools, insights, and perspectives they need to thrive in today’s classrooms.

Learners First applies an equity lens to a range of topics essential to every teacher’s first years in the classroom, including grading and assessment, inclusive practices for diverse learners, key considerations for multilingual learners, and more. Additional features include

• Chapter-opening reflection questions and key vocabulary to support understanding

• Quotes and vignettes from a diverse range of educators, including novice teachers, seasoned mentors, instructional coaches, and administrators

• Practical advice for lesson planning, assessments, evaluations, and behavior management

With its holistic approach to the whole child and the whole teacher, Learners First empowers educators to foster inclusive classrooms and develop as resilient, reflective professionals. This essential guide is more than a "survival guide" for new teachers―it’s a call to action and growth.

Voices of Newcomers: Experiences of Multilingual Learners (2022, EduMatch)

This is an easy-to-read guide for all teachers looking to meet the needs of Multilingual Learners/English Learners, in particular Newcomers and SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education). Educators may feel intimidated admitting that they need to learn more about ways to help their students; here they will find easy-to-implement and non-judgmental support that busy teachers can put into place from the first moment they pick up the book.

• How to manage the first days and first weeks to assist their Newcomers in adjusting (academically, emotionally, socially) to their new school and class

• Asset-based perspectives on the progress of Multilingual Learners (MLs)

• Information that will help teachers academically engage these students, in addition to ways to assess and motivate them

• Reflection questions and discussions for each chapter to guide book clubs or conversations in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

• Ready-to-use resources are provided to support educators as they meet the needs of MLs

This book is designed to be a go-to resource for general education teachers, preservice teachers, administrators, and ESL/ENL teachers who need support in teaching children who are new to the country and have little English. By amplifying the voices of these students, their families, and their teachers, this handbook includes real-life stories to help educators understand these diverse perspectives. This book is practical for educators of all ages who want to best empower their students to succeed.