Keeping the Wonder: An Educator's Guide to Magical, Engaging, and Joyful Learning

Embarking on your first solo road trip. Receiving a special surprise that arrives out of the blue. Finding a sudden flash of inspiration that sets you on a wondrous new path. When we think about the moments that stand out in our memory, it’s clear that our minds hold onto the unusual or unexpected. By tapping into students’ innate curiosity, you can design memorable, meaningful learning experiences that captivate their interest and ignite their imaginations.

Structured around four key elements that fuel engagement—surprise, curiosity, freedom, and inspiration—Keeping the Wonder offers practical strategies and abundant inspiration for K-12 educators to create lessons that are fun and compelling. Combining enchanting anecdotes, real-world experience, and a wealth of research, the authors share their collective expertise as educators and founders of the innovative Keeping the Wonder workshop. In this dynamic handbook, Jenna, Ashley, Abby, and Staci offer a fresh approach to learning through the lens of wonder. By providing creative ideas for switching up standard lesson plans in ways both subtle and profound, they show us how to recapture our fascination with the world by employing all of our senses, and enhance engagement and critical thinking for students and teachers alike.

Before reading Keeping the Wonder, I saw my social studies classroom for what it was: brick walls, desks, and a few colorful posters. Today, I see magic seeping through the cracks of every space. Keeping the Wonder reignited my assion for student engagement and learning with every turn of the page. —Dr. Jacob Bauer Zebley, high school social studies teacher and 2015 Cecil County Teacher of the Year

From personal stories, practical advice, and research-based strategies, Keeping the Wonder is a book you will reach for time and again. After reading, you’ll start looking not just at your own classroom and curriculum through the lens of wonder, but the world around you. A must read for any teacher who is looking to bring that sense of curiosity and love of learning back into their classroom. —Caitlin Mitchell and Jessica Cannata, cofounders of EB Academics and bestselling authors of The Empowered ELA Teacher

Abby, Ashley, Jenna, and Staci have written the book that all educators have been waiting for: inspiration to (re)invigorate their classroom instruction while providing rigor, depth, and synthesis with their approach to specific lessons. From the awesome workshops they have conducted for years, drawing educators from around the nation in droves, these amazing educators have proven they are rock stars. Reimagining how we teach and engage our students is a priority, and Keeping the Wonder gives practitioners permission to create wonder, curiosity, and, yes, fun, in the classroom! —Dr. Angelyne Collins, library media specialist, Brookwood High School, 2021 Gwinnett Media Specialist of the Year, and 2020 Georgia Library Media Association Exemplary Media Program

If there ever were “perfect timing,” it might be right now for this practical yet truly inspirational book! Whether you are beginning a career in teaching, or just returning after long periods of “virtual” practice, this book has a spark for everyone. From ideas for catchy repurposed furniture to provide an engaging atmosphere to instructional strategies grounded in research-based practices, consider “the wonder” of this new book! Become a Wonder Maker and bring curiosity, surprise, freedom, and inspiration to your teaching practice! —Nate Ridgway and Dr. Angelia Ridgway, coauthors, Don’t Ditch that Tech: Differentiation in a Digital World