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Welcome to Books for Educators

Books for Educators is your one-stop shopping site for the latest in:

  • The Kovalik ITI (Integrated Thematic Instruction)/HET (Highly Effective Teaching) Models which have become the Learning-Centered School Model (LCS)
  • Brain-Compatible Learning
  • Neuroscience-Based Definition of Learning
  • Citizenship Development
  • Character Education

Our Mission is to provide the best resources—from theory to practice—and to do so with quality customer service. Rest assured that our materials are built upon a 21st century knowledge of how the human brain learns. We do the research for you!

 

About Our Store

Books for Educators is proud to be the publisher and sole source of resources for the Kovalik ITI (Integrated Thematic Instruction) and HET (Highly Effective Teaching) Model, which has recently been updated and renamed the Learning-Centered School Model (LCS).

Developed over the past 35 years, this model is continually revised to stay current with forthcoming brain research and to respond to the needs of classroom teachers and their students. The result is a powerful, comprehensive view of teaching and learning for the 21st century coupled with doable, step-by-step implementation strategies for curriculum development and learning strategies.

Our thought-provoking books and DVDs are designed for use at school, at home, and at work.

 

 

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BOOKS


 

 

Available June 15th, 2025

 

Tools for Citizenship & Life II : Using the Lifelong Guidelines & LIFESKILLS in Your Classroom

by Sue Pearson, Karen D. Olsen, and Terri Patterson, EdD

Are you finding classroom management more challenging since COVID? If so, this book is your all-in-one resource for creating a sense of community dedicated to academic learning as well as supporting student personal and social growth. Plus, you’ll find it an effective classroom management tool.

Proven and refined by the experiences of tens of thousands of teachers who precede you, you’ll find resources for teaching the five Lifelong Guidelines (Active Listening, Truthfulness, Trustworthiness, No Put-Downs, and Personal Best) and the 19 LIFESKILLS which help define Personal Best (Caring, Common Sense, Cooperation, Courage, Creativity, Curiosity, Effort, Flexibility, Friendship, Initiative, Integrity, Organization, Patience, Perseverance, Pride, Problem Solving, Resourcefulness, Responsibility, and Sense of Humor).

In a chapter dedicated to each of those Lifelong Guidelines and LIFESKILLS, you’ll find a discussion of its role in life in and beyond the classroom: Why practice it, how to practice it, what it looks like in the real world, what it looks like in school, inquiries/activities to develop it, signs of its success, and lists of fiction and non-fiction titles to use with students grades preK–12.

 

What’s New in this totally revised edition?

• 448 “mini lessons”—ready-to-go, thought-provoking inquiries/activities for PreK–2, Grades 3–6, and Middle/High School that move students into an understanding and use of each Lifelong Guideline and LIFESKILL until the old, contrary behaviors are no longer students’ first response

 

• Expansion into new grade levels—now a PreK–12 resource

 

• Tips from neuroscience on how to get the new behaviors you’re teaching to override the old ones you’re trying to extinguish

 

Oldies But Goodies That Remain

• The 5 Lifelong Guidelines and 19 LIFESKILLS

 

• A user-friendly tool for preparing students for success in the classroom and beyond

 

• Still an integral part of the Kovalik ITI/HET/LCS (Learning-Centered School) Model as well as a stand-alone character education and classroom management resource

Although a foundational pillar of the Learning-Centered School Model, the Lifelong Guidelines and LIFESKILLS can also be used as a stand-alone character education program. (450+ pages)

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$47.50 for 1-4 copies

    Discounts for five or more copies
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5–10 copies, 10% off

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11-20 copies, 20% off

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21-30 copies, 25% off

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31+ copies, 30% off

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Responsive imageAvailable August 31st, 2025

Exceeding Expectations II: The Learning-Centered School Model—Using Neuroscience to Improve Student Outcomes

by Susan J. Kovalik, Karen D. Olsen, Sue Pearson, Terri Patterson, EdD, Dean Tannewitz, Linda Jordan, EdD, and Kendall C. Terry; Preface by Pat Bradley
Whether your goals include helping students catch up after COVID-19, preparing students for the future world of work, or retaining teachers by making their job more rewarding and satisfying, Exceeding Expectations II is a must-read for today’s teachers and educational leaders at all levels.
This edition of EE focuses on the neuroscience-based definition of learning as a four-phase process —information critical for making curriculum standards more “gettable” for students and determining the most effective instructional strategies for delivering them. The book takes its readers seamlessly from research to practical, do-able strategies for speeding up learning and ensuring concepts and skills become wired into long-term memory. In addition to the many practical examples throughout the book, the reader will find references to video clips providing visuals of critical aspects of the model.
The origins of the educational model described in this book—the Learning-Centered School Model—began as the Kovalik ITI (Integrated Thematic Instruction) Model in the early 1980s then morphed into the HET Model (Highly Effective Teaching) in the early 2000s. Renamed and updated once again, the Learning-Centered School Model makes another giant stride toward applying neuroscience in practical ways that improve student outcomes. Especially key is that this book reflects the experiences and advice of the more than 50,000 teachers who have used the models over the past four decades. (450+ pages)
 

$47.50 for 1-4 copies

    Discounts for five or more copies
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5–10 copies, 10% off
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11-20 copies, 20% off
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21-30 copies, 25% off
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31+ copies, 30% off
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    Available October 15th, 2025

    Outside In: Creating a Schoolwide Micro-Community

    by Terri Patterson, EdD
    Few disagree: Learning by doing is the most powerful way to learn. Behind the vocabulary, doing creates meaning and enables students to build the capacity to use what is understood in real-world ways beyond the classroom—as students and later as adults and citizens. And doing doesn’t get richer than in the IT/HET/LCS micro-community which provides a realistic and comprehensive experience in economics, civics, self-governance, entrepreneurialism, and community service.
    Not an add-on, the ITI/HET/LCS micro-community is a deliberate and strategic means of using real life to integrate curriculum and make it come alive for students, regardless of language or socioeconomic status.
    This handbook provides both the background knowledge and rationale for creating a schoolwide micro-community and the structures needed to make it all happen. Written by an educator who helped develop two micro-communities—as teacher and then as principal—you’ll find templates to help replicate such things as: banking (loans and interest-bearing accounts), business (licensing, regulations, taxation, space rental, etc.), governmental agencies (such city hall, police, courts), communication organizations (newspaper, radio, TV), non-profit organizations, and entrepreneurship writ large . You’ll find all you need to get off to a quick start creating life experiences our future citizens need.You’ll find all you need to get off to a quick start creating life experiences our future citizens need.
    If you're looking for a way to significantly boost student engagement and achievement scores—especially in math, language, and civics—learning and living in a micro-community is your most direct pathway. The easiest way to create such a micro-community goes through this book and the video described below. (book, 100 pages).
    The companion video, Jacobsonville, provides a fascinating look at a fully integrated micro-community and the deep engagement of students in learning about their world—the academic skills and knowledge as well as the personal and social skills needed to succeed in that world.
    (video, 32 mins.)

     

     


    $19.85 Book & DVD combo

     

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    Are We There Yet?: Connecting Real Life to Real Learning

    e-book and video by Kari Kling
    “Are we there, yet?” It’s a common question kids ask of their parents no matter their ages or the destination . . . and it doesn’t matter how long it may take to get there before it’s asked. Whether you’re going to the zoo, a museum for an afternoon, or taking a family vacation for a weekend or a week, you can transform preplanning conversations into focal points for what your child can learn when you get there.
    When we use the world as our classroom, children have real-life opportunities to engage in situations that naturally stimulate their learning. This 30-page booklet—designed for parents—gives a springboard to connect real life to academic learning and family memories that will last a lifetime! (video, 30 mins.)


     

    e-book & DVD combo, $5.00

     

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    CHARACTER EDUCATION RESOURCES


     

     

     

    Available June 15th, 2025

     

    Tools for Citizenship & Life II : Using the Lifelong Guidelines & LIFESKILLS in Your Classroom

    by Sue Pearson, Karen D. Olsen, and Terri Patterson, EdD

    Are you finding classroom management more challenging since COVID? If so, this book is your all-in-one resource for creating a sense of community dedicated to academic learning as well as supporting student personal and social growth. Plus, you’ll find it an effective classroom management tool.

    Proven and refined by the experiences of tens of thousands of teachers who precede you, you’ll find resources for teaching the five Lifelong Guidelines (Active Listening, Truthfulness, Trustworthiness, No Put-Downs, and Personal Best) and the 19 LIFESKILLS which help define Personal Best (Caring, Common Sense, Cooperation, Courage, Creativity, Curiosity, Effort, Flexibility, Friendship, Initiative, Integrity, Organization, Patience, Perseverance, Pride, Problem Solving, Resourcefulness, Responsibility, and Sense of Humor).

    In a chapter dedicated to each of those Lifelong Guidelines and LIFESKILLS, you’ll find a discussion of its role in life in and beyond the classroom: Why practice it, how to practice it, what it looks like in the real world, what it looks like in school, inquiries/activities to develop it, signs of its success, and lists of fiction and non-fiction titles to use with students grades preK–12.

     

    What’s New in this totally revised edition?

    • 448 “mini lessons”—ready-to-go, thought-provoking inquiries/activities for PreK–2, Grades 3–6, and Middle/High School that move students into an understanding and use of each Lifelong Guideline and LIFESKILL until the old, contrary behaviors are no longer students’ first response

     

    • Expansion into new grade levels—now a PreK–12 resource

     

    • Tips from neuroscience on how to get the new behaviors you’re teaching to override the old ones you’re trying to extinguish

 

Oldies But Goodies That Remain

• The 5 Lifelong Guidelines and 19 LIFESKILLS

 

• A user-friendly tool for preparing students for success in the classroom and beyond

 

• Still an integral part of the Kovalik ITI/HET/LCS (Learning-Centered School) Model as well as a stand-alone character education and classroom management resource

Although a foundational pillar of the Learning-Centered School Model, the Lifelong Guidelines and LIFESKILLS can also be used as a stand-alone character education program. (450+ pages)

________________________

$47.50 for 1-4 copies

    Discounts for five or more copies
    ____________________________

5–10 copies, 10% off

    ____________________________

11-20 copies, 20% off

    ____________________________

21-30 copies, 25% off

    ____________________________

31+ copies, 30% off

    ____________________________

 

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DVD's

 

 

Divide and Conquer: Long Division in a Day

DVD with Martha Kaufeldt
When the learning environment is brain-compatible, something as “hard” as long division—concept and computation—can be mastered and wired into long-term memory in a single day. Follow a fourth-grade teacher as she takes 50 students, grades 4-6, through an unforgettable day of conquering long division. (55 mins.)


 

$9.95

 

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Mission Addition: Mastery Through Integration— DVD

Neuroscience has much to tell us about how to teach to long-term memory. Watch as four classrooms of 2nd-grade students, 85% of whom are second language learners, master addition in two days—concepts and application through combinations up to 20. In two days? What a time saver!

Moreover, subtraction can likewise be dispatched in two days and multiplication through the 12's in a week. More time saved! (DVD, 18 mins.)

$9.95

 

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LEARNING-CENTERED SCHOOL COMBO SPECIALS

 

Included in this Package Special are:
 
  • Tools for Citizenship & Life II: Using the Lifelong Guidelines and LIFESKILLS in Your Classroom by Sue Pearson, Karen D. Olsen, and Terri Patterson, EdD
  • Exceeding Expectations II: The Learning-Centered School Model -- Using Neuroscience to Improve Student Outcomes by Susan J. Kovalik, Karen D. Olsen, Sue Pearson, Terri Patterson, EdD, Dean Tannewitz, Linda Jordan, EdD, and Kendall C. Terry; Preface by Pat Bradley
  • LIFESKILLS: How to Build a Class Family (DVD, 17 mins.)
  • HET/ITI/LCS in the Urban Middle School (DVD, 15 mins.)
  • I Can Divide & Conquer: Long Division in a Day (DVD, 17 mins.)
  • Mission Addition (DVD)

 

 


$74.85

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  • We take great care in handling our merchandise. However, if you receive merchandise in damaged condition, we will replace merchandise at no charge, but ONLY IF you notify us within 3 days of receipt of the shipment and you retain all shipping materials to expedite filing a claim with our shipper.
  • In the case of a shipping error on our part, please contact us immediately. We will work with you to arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution.
  • If an item does not meet your expectations, you may return it for a full refund if it arrives in resalable condition and you pay the return shipping.
  • If you have any other questions about your order, please contact us at 805/975-6338 or Email us at: books4educCA@gmail.com