World's most popular and comprehensive academic skills series—thoroughly updated for today's global learners Full-color design showcases compelling instructional photos to strengthen the educational experience Enhanced focus on vocabulary building, test taking, and critical thinking skills promotes academic achievement New strategies and activities for the TOEFL® iBT build invaluable test taking skills New "Best Practices" approach in Teacher's Edition cultivates critical thinking skills Our Interactions/Mosaic Silver Edition team has produced an edition that focuses on Best Practices, principles that contribute to excellent language teaching and learning. Our team of writers, editors, and teacher consultants has identified the following six interconnected Best Practices: Making Use of Academic Content
Materials and tasks based on academic content and experiences give learning real purpose. Students explore real world issues, discuss academic topics, and study content-based and thematic materials. Organizing Information
Students learn to organize thoughts and notes through a variety of graphic organizers that accommodate diverse learning and thinking styles. Scaffolding Instruction
A scaffold is a physical structure that facilitates construction of a building. Similarly, scaffolding instruction is a tool used to facilitate language learning in the form of predictable and flexible tasks. Some examples include oral or written modeling by the teacher or students, placing information in a larger framework, and reinterpretation. Activating Prior Knowledge
Students can better understand new spoken or written material when they connect to the content. Activating prior knowledge allows students to tap into what they already know, building on this knowledge, and stirring a curiosity for more knowledge. Interacting with Others
Activities that promote human interaction in pair work, small group work, and whole class activities present opportunities for real world contact and real world use of language. Critical Thinking
Strategies for critical thinking are taught explicitly. Students learn tools that promote critical thinking skills crucial to success in the academic world. |