OPENING MINDS

u003cpu003eu003ciu003e"Introducing a spelling test to a student by saying, 'Let's see how many words you know,' is different from saying, 'Let's see how many words you know already.' It is only one word, but the already suggests that any words the child knows are ahead of expectation and, most important, that there is nothing permanent about what is known and not known."u003cbru003eu003c/iu003e — Peter Johnstonu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eSometimes a single word changes everything. In his groundbreaking book u003ciu003eChoice Wordsu003c/iu003e, Peter Johnston demonstrated how the things teachers say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for the literate lives of students. Now, in u003ciu003eOpening Minds: Using Language to Change Livesu003c/iu003e, Peter shows how the words teachers choose affect the worlds students inhabit in the classroom, and ultimately their futures. He explains how to engage children with more productive talk and to create classrooms that support not only students' intellectual development, but their development as human beings.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eGrounded in research, u003ciu003eOpening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives u003c/iu003eshows how words can shape students' learning, their sense of self, and their social, emotional and moral development. Make no mistake: words have the power to open minds – or close them.u003c/pu003e