Education Teaching Books

the purchase was great! the book arrived about three or four days after i purchased it so it was perfect! the book is in great condition and has all the info i needed

This book was in extremely good shape and at a very good value. I saved a ton of money by not buying this at the school's bookstore. I will never again purchase a book at a college bookstore.

Had to purchase for a college class. Very good information. Each chapter starts with an interesting case study.

Do you know what "collaboration" means? According to this book it's about talking to your co-workers and making sure to be nice to them....and it takes 10 text-book sized pages to explain that simple fact.

Then there's the section on laws and modern special education concerns, where each major law is given a paragraph and a half of explanation, and the acronyms for these skipped-over laws are used consistently from that point onwards without further explanation.

That's really the problem with this book. It's too much for some things, and not enough for others. The writing is about as engaging as the instructions for installing your cable tv, and the stories are well too short to carry any significant meaning.

In short...skip it. If this is your classroom textbook, as it was mine, I feel your pain.

I am very happy with Amazon's service. The book is great and the price is much cheaper than the university bookstore.

This amazing true story is about a violent 6-year old. You will be amazed by the details of how her teacher--Torey Hayden--reaches out to this child with special needs. This book is a must for teachers and parents.

I was required to get this book for my special education training that I need for my master's. This book was very interesting. It showed the good and bad things Torey Hayden did in the course of serving this one child, Sheila. I could not put it down.

This story gave me tears of sadness and tears of joy. While it is heartbreaking to learn of all the abuse Sheila has endured, it is
heartwarming to know that SOMEONE took the time and effort to encourage her and to reach out to her. This book is a wonderful testament to the power of love and the human spirit.

I'm half-way through this book and I LOVE it so far!! I'm in school to become a teacher and we're reading this book. It has opened my eyes!!!

My second book by Torey Hayden, but definitely not my last.

ONE CHILD is the story of Sheila, a young girl who was abandoned on the side of a highway by her mother. Now the charge of her drunken father, Sheila is wild, sometimes crazy, and never cries.

What follows after her arrival in Ms. Hayden's classroom (following an incident that is truly chilling) is the relationship that grows, in a short period of time, between Sheila and Torey.

A very good but emotional read. I highly recommend it, and also recommend picking up a copy of The Tiger's Child, which is the continuation of Sheila's story.

Ellen Notbohm has succeeded in coming up with more "things" to let the reader understand the child with autism (which shows the respect learned in the first book of recognizing the child first and the diagnosis second instead of saying the autistic child). Teachers are taught little to nothing on child development and child psychology as they learn to be teachers. This includes the teachers going into special education or emotional / behavioral disorder areas.

This book should be a must for all who work with these children, from the teachers and paras (and administration)to the staff for the cafeteria, library, and front office. There are too many negative assumptions about the motives of the behaviors of these children. 10 Things will help them to walk in the shoes of these children for a moment, hopefully developing a better understanding and empathy for what they are going through, and allowing for more support and accommodations that will allow them to learn and grow as individuals.

As a general education teacher who has never worked with autistic children before, I found this book to be very enlightening. It gave me a better idea of the type of students I will be working with this next year and how to better adjust my plans to help them learn in a gen ed class.

I bought this book to prepare my son's new, mainstream school for him coming to 1st grade next year. It gives a great overview of ASD, and speaks directly to teachers about having children with autism spectrum disorders in their classroom. I donated a copy to the teacher's library at the school, and they were very receptive.

My recommendation is to read every book Ellen Notbohn writes about autism. All of her books are easy reads. The information is on target, clear and sometime humerous and always relatable. If you have a child with autism ask the teacher if they have read it, if not purchase a 2nd copy for them.

Ellen Notbohm's second book about autism, TEN THINGS YOUR STUDENT WITH AUTISM WISHES YOU KNEW, is every bit as informative and encouraging as her first. She gets to the point, writes from personal experience, provides practical insight, and she cares. Her first book, TEN THINGS YOUR CHILD WITH AUTISM WISHES YOU KNEW, addressed matters pertaining to the very young. This book continues with the older child's development. After reading her book(s), anyone who deals with the mysteries of autism should feel greatly encouraged and better equipped to help these children grow.

Really helped prepare for the AP exam. The practice tests are key. They really get you a good feel for the exam. Princeton Review does a great job.

This book will easily get anyone who really understands it a 5 on the exam, especially if you can score well on the practice tests in the back. It's better for review, rather than learning. If you want an AP book that you can learn from, I suggest using 5 Steps to a 5. I never really understood electromagnetic induction or nuclear physics from my textbook, and this book was even worse for that, but 5 Steps to a 5 cleared up all my issues with those topics in about an hour. I think that this book is way better for review, though, mostly because the questions they ask at the end of each chapter are better and help your understanding of the concepts.

Don't be discouraged if you don't score well on the practice tests in the back, because the actual AP exam is much more conceptual and less calculation-based. But if you can do the Princeton Review tests, you'll have no problem with the real one. It's not overly difficult though, so don't let that discourage you from buying it.

Overall, this definitely gets a 5/5 for its explanations and for being so concise and on target regarding information the exam will test you on.

Freeman & Freeman have hit a great niche with their book. I don't want or need, a complex linguistics book in the style of Chomsky. Freeman & Freeman take language research and package the relevant "real-world" findings so they will be of use for teachers. Although my interest is for English as a Second (ESL) teachers, I believe every teacher is concerned with literacy, and Freeman & Freeman's book covers what teachers need to know concerning phonics v. whole word instruction, spelling, and grammar. Freeman & Freeman seem to belong to the Stephen Krashen school of language and reading. This is a plus for me, but for Krashen-haters, it probably wouldn't be, and they should look elsewhere. This is "baby" linguistics book--you won't get a section on Chomsky's generative grammar here. I think it would be a good companion volume along with VanPatten's "From Input to Output"--which is a slim volume solely concerned with second language acquisition and has the same conversational tone--and--this is important--their teaching advice and philosophy meshes.

This book describes what it is like to have Asperger's Syndrome with disarmingly simple language and adorable photos of kittens. Great for kids and adults. An absolutely lovely and well-crafted book!

This book seemed like such a bizarre idea that I just had to own it. But when I read it, I found that the concept worked well. I really enjoyed it, and my mom loved it, too. It does a fairly good job of explaining how Aspies are different, without implying that there's anything wrong with them. I also like how it spoke to the strengths of people with AS. Educational doesn't have to mean totally serious--when people are laughing, they are listening. My only problem with the book is that it only uses male pronouns. A small thing, sure, but most AS resources are targeted towards boys, and it's easy for Aspie girls to feel left out.

I have a 13 year old son who has AS. this book will be very good for younger children who dont quite understand whats going on with them. it was vert well written.

I found this at a Barnes & Noble and I read it then and there from cover to cover. The writing is geared more for elementary-aged children, but the pictures and the text, which compares cat behavior to that of a person with AS, is spot-on, if you want to gently introduce your child (AS or neuro-typical) to this unique condition to help them better understand a schoolmate, friend or even themself. It made me smile and I couldn't help inwardly cheering at how well-done this book is!

Speaking as a late-diagnosed person with AS (I'm 31 and was not diagnosed until I was 27), I gladly reccommend this book!

This is an excellent simple to read book. Very good for young and older people. My sons and I have read many times over. I would recommend to anyone!

Finally a book all about how to incorporate the newest in technology in the classroom. Combines info that's been floating around on the internet into a concise book and an easy read. Many great ideas.

I started reading Will Richardson's book to educate myself about how teachers and instructors have been utilizing web tools into their curriculum. In October 2007, I attended the Computers in Libraries conference and participated in a workshop called "New Research Tools" where they discussed practical and successful cases of educators using various online tools, like Flickr, Clipmarks, or RSS readers.

As a librarian, a 2nd year educator, and one who personally uses these different tools, I really am interested in incorporating these tools into the curriculum.

During the course of reading this book, I have started reading Will Richardson's blog - Web-logged - as well as other educator and librarian blogs. This book has inspired me to try to incorporate the different tools that I enjoy using personally into the curriculum.

Richardson's enthusiasm for these various web tools is conveyed through each chapter. He devotes chapters to each tool. For example, there is a chapter on Blogs, one on RSS and one on wikis. It is easily explained and whether you use these tools already or not, his writing is easily accessible. I have been promoting this book to my colleagues and have also pointed some of them to his blog.

His chapter on Wikis has caused me to reassess my hesitance towards utilizing Wikipedia as a valid source of information. I am still skeptical but one should be skeptical when approaching print media as well.

The chapters are short and easy to understand. He has an excellent list of resources and great examples of people who are already incorporating the read/write web into their classrooms. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Web 2.0, education and technology.

This is a great book. I am thoroughly enjoying every page! It is giving me so much inspiration and instruction on how to use these tools. Great examples and resources too.

I am an elementary school teacher who values technology integration in classrooms. Initially, the book begins slow with an overabundant amount of details about the simplicity of blogging. Some advice is given to lead novices in the right direction tailored to their blogging interests.

An aside: As I was searching on the Internet for safe and secure blog sites for young students, I found this website: http://mhetherington.net/blogs/?p=8 which was created by a middle school teacher with similar interests in student technology involvement. It details steps that can lead any teacher into a free (yet time consuming) setup for students to use. (I used this website to create my own blog site for my 32 fourth grade students and it worked marvelously!)

The author then introduced the power of wikis. I really appreciated the real-life accounts from actual educators who use wikis for group projects with students. I did feel a like the examples came mostly from secondary education and did not focus heavily on primary student possibilities with wikis. PB wiki (peanut butter wiki) for educators was explained and the book offered some great resources for teachers on a low budget with wiki interests.

Next, RSS feeds were explained. Although much of the explanations of RSS feeds were still above my head in understanding, I learned a number of values in using RSS feeds with the Web. One of the examples used in the book was that one could subscribe to all RSS feeds in Cyberspace about a topic of interest. If a person is interested in "Global Warming in California," they can subscribe to any place on the Internet that may use those words as an update when stories or writing is produced and submitted on websites you may not know existed. RSS feeding is a promising method of allowing the computer to do the searching for you.

During my reading of this book, I posted two blogs (on blogger.com) about my reflections. Within 3 days of my writing, the author of this book, Will Richardson, posted a comment on my blog thanking me for reading his book. My inferences told me he may have an RSS feed in Cyberspace that brings him news about whenever information is posted about himself or his book. I was impressed by his comment as this showed me he practiced what he preached in his book and really values the technology he promotes.

By the end of the book, podcasting, screencasting, and videos were introduced as well. In all, the book catered more toward novices and technology learners, not experts. Experts may find this book a bit juvenile, while I enjoyed it for its practicality and rapid information. My favorite part of the book stands at the providing of websites and tools that can be searched just seconds after reading about them. I found that using this book as a user's manual was helpful for technology novices on the go.

This book gives an introduction to a number of Internet-based tools and how they can be used by teachers. The focus tends to be on K-12, but the principles are applicable (generally) to other settings, including higher education.

The author covers blogs, wikis, RSS, social bookmarking, Flickr, and podcasting. Some strengths of this book include:
-Solid introduction to each tool for those not familiar
-Simple "how to" to get started with each tool
-Good pointers to resources, especially the free ones
-Some commentary on the significance of these tools that goes beyond "gee whiz"

Some weaknesses:
-In spite of a focus on K-12, there was little discussion of how to use these tools to support specific educational standards. Granted, that's a huge task, but some examples would be nice. Then again, if you "get" the tools, that exercise is for the reader.
-Huge emphasis on blogs, much shorter entry on podcasting. I can only guess that the author wrote about what he knew most about.

The physical paperback itself is ok. Mine definitely shows the wear and tear of being carried around in my bag.

Overall: if you're a teacher (or technology coordinator) and are a relative newcomer to these tools, this is a very good place to start.

Need this book for a class and I got it on time! Thank you!

I received within a week. I was very happy with the service. Thank you

I already had an earlier addition of this book that I borrowed from a friend because I needed it for one of my graduate classes. Since books are soooo expensive we share whenever we can, but I really found this book to be useful so I bought my own copy. I highly recommend it for K-5 teachers...even upper grade teachers could benefit from it. It's full of ideas for writing in every genre. An excellent resource.

Certainly a good buy. This book is practical and inspirational. How education has advanced since the days I was in elementary school!

This book is an excellent resource for teachers. It is full of great ideas and of lessons for writing. It is also very helpful to those teachers who are reluctant to have their students write daily. The feature that I like best is that the author includes great trade book lists to assist the teacher in modeling good writing.

Book was delivered on time. I would purchase from seller again. Thank you very much.

As a high-school English teacher, I am personally fed up with the growing mob of self-appointed gurus and "experts" who are attempting to usurp the intellectual authority of teachers, instill professional groupthink, and intimidate teachers and parents alike with their "research-based" snake oil. BEST PRACTICE is a polemic masquerading as accepted professional doctrine. The authors denounce E.D. Hirsch and his Cultural Literacy program as mere commercialism, as if they themselves aren't engaged in the same act of self-promotion and greed with this book. They deplore standardized testing as "heartless" and "authoritarian," yet conveniently ignore what spawned it in the first place. The fact is that both Hirsch and the testing craze wouldn't exist if there were not a significant public demand for them, and that demand exists largely because of the disgraceful, time-proven results of progressive education.

Example: This 2005 edition of BEST PRACTICE continues to laud the 1989 reforms in math education (read: Connected Math) set forth by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, yet within the last two months the NCTM issued headline-making changes in its recommendations to math teachers, effectively retracting its pro-CMP policy in favor of a more traditional approach. Again, this happened because schools and parents recognized the harm wrought by ten years of CMP and its "student-centered" philosophy. Alas, they didn't see it in time to prevent a decade's worth of damage. Why? Because they were sold a bill of goods by the American education establishment, which abandoned substantive learning ages ago in favor of shallow pop-psychology, fad-chasing, and sophism.

I can attest to the failure of Whole Language, another gimmick foisted on America's children in the name of cutting-edge reform. Today's high-school juniors and seniors were first taught to read and write in the mid-1990s, during Whole Language's heyday, and it shows: their writing suffers from rampant spelling and syntax errors, and many students have trouble comprehending what were once standard high-school-level texts like The Scarlet Letter. Worse, they are easily frustrated and resentful for having any reading material outside their narrow self-interest assigned to them, no doubt because the student-centered movement has made them complacent and, ironically, disinterested in reading about cultures, time periods, and experiences unlike their own.

The authors present the standards proposed by numerous education think-tanks and associations as if they were above reproach. The NCTM example alone proves they're not; and as Diane Ravitch notes in her book The Language Police, the 1996 NCTE-IRA standards for teaching English were so bad the Clinton Administration temporarily withdrew funding for the project before it was published. The NCTE in particular is as much a political association as a professional one; it does not welcome or tolerate dissenting views, and it therefore does not speak for all, or even a majority of, the nation's English teachers.

There is nothing wrong with classical teaching. I'll take rote-memorization, seat work, and lecturing over the "experiential," "active," "hands-on learning" drivel so ardently promoted by today's education apostates. It gets results, and it doesn't have to be boring, either, not if it's taught by someone who cares about students and knows their subject-matter thoroughly. Zemelman et al know this, which is why they are so contemptuous of anything remotely traditional occurring in the nation's classrooms; where would their careers be if traditional teaching methods were widely validated over the new nonsense? It's also the reason why they obfuscate their assertions with pseudo-scientific studies--all of which are as vulnerable to selective interpretation and flakiness as is medical research--not to mention pseudo-scientific language. To my mind, manipulative jargon like "constructivist learning" and "triangulated assessment" does more to reveal the dishonest agenda and desperate aspirations of today's educrats than it does to legitimize their authority.

Teachers--i.e. working classroom teachers, not theorists and pedagogues--should do what works best for them and their students. The more we submit to crass opportunists and smug politicos, the more we give up our intellectual integrity in favor of "research-based" gimmickry, the more our entire profession suffers.

Great stuff for Reading teachers, and the Elementary classroom in general!

This is a good updated version of Best Practice. It includes the new NCLB practices and is updated from the last edition.

Overall, I can't say this book was that terrible, however because it was somewhere in the 300s page wise, I was easily burned out on finishing it. I have noticed that good teaching books get the point across in a little over 100 pages, this one repeats itself so much that I was ready to stab myself in the eye after the 3rd chapter. This is one of those "pefect world" books that makes you question when the last time the authors were in the classroom. It seems to center around mostly secondary situations. The authors tell stories about great classrooms but never explain how to achieve them, or they talk about strategies that everyone does as if it was something they thought up themselves yesterday. My main quesion for them, how do you expect teachers to know how to teach this way? Most secondary ed students take barely any methods courses and mostly just subject area courses, they teach the way there were taught.... taking notes.

I'm an italian vet and I'm studying for my Toefl exam and I think that Barron's Toefl IBT is a excellent book! It is not very difficult and it provides to give you a solid english basis in order to take your Toefl exam.
To buy!

It is very good book
Barron is the best product for TOEFL
I recommened it

hey guys I'd like to suggest you about Barron's TOEFL, it really helps you to improve your english skills.

Though the book is quite complete and comes with a bunch of standard tests on the cd-rom, the text on the book refers to the audio cds time and time again, even though you don't have them. That renders most of the book's exercises useless.

I am an English instructor of ESL students, many who are preparing for the Toefl exam. I have reviewed 5 books myself before recommending students buy one. While this book appears to be well organized, WATCH OUT!!! It is loaded with typos and errors from the start.

For example, in the Model Test 1: Pretest, I counted 11 errors in just 5 pages!!!

For example, They indicate which paragraph to read, and have them numbered incorrectly (1 and 2 are ok, but they have questions for paragraph 5 and there are only 4 paragraphs!)

Vocabulary words on the test should be highlighted, but they missed one, so a student has to search for it in the paragraph, thus wasting valuable time for a timed test.

For the question asking the student to insert a sentence, the correct answer is "C" and the answer key has the correct answer as "B" - which is NOT correct!! Then they go on to say why B is correct, while explaining the answer response for "C". This is just careless and unforgivable for a test publisher!

On one answer - where three choices are required - they list the correct choices as: "E, F and D". Fine, but why not make it: D, E, and F?

The Toefl test is difficult enough for ESL students, and I would NEVER recommend a book that makes the test literally impossible and so confusing.

The Princeton books are so far, my top picks.