Education Teaching Books

I just took the Praxis II Social Studies Content Knowledge test just the other day and I must admit - I am not particulary feeling very confident after using this book as a review/ study guide. Granted my degree is in history, but the book itself (which may I add took two weeks to get, receiving it three days before the test when they stated up to 4 business days) was virtually useless.

I found so many grammatical errors, misinformation, and down right wrong answers to the questions stated. The test had I believe maybe three questions from the Cliff Notes let alone majority of it was on gov't, behav sciences, and econ. The book in my opinion is not worth the money unless you want to use it as a quick reference but I would recommend using another form of study guide that has its information relative and up to date.

I bought this book thinking it was going to be a good review of all the topics, and as mentioned by other posters, it's full of typos and is not very thorough. While no book can adequately review all the content included in the Praxis, this one leaves out basics that should have been covered. However, it is good for a couple reasons... it has two practice tests. The practice tests seem to have the most typos. The best way I've found to study for these tests is to use a combination of things- old textbooks/lecture notes from college, cliffs notes of each individual section (econ, US history, etc.) and the actual prep book from ETS (which also had it's problems). Long story short... buy this book knowing it is extremely basic and incomplete, be aware of typos/mistakes, & practice using the tests in the back.

But then I got my scores. I got a 170 on Content Knowledge and 169 on Interpretation of Materials. After the test, I was sure I had failed. So was this book helpful? I guess yes and no. I studied what it told me to study, and I did the practice tests in the back. Not very much of what was in the book was on my test, but it must be somewhat helpful for me to get that score.
I would buy it, but realize that the test is incredibly hard and no book will completely prepare you. As for this book specifically, there were typos and confusing questions but all in all a good jumping off point.

I am in the process of studying for the Praxis Exam 0081. I purchased the ETS edition first then I purchased the cliff notes edition. The praxis edition gave me the actual subject topics that I will need to be sucessful at passing this test, but I had to reasearch every single topic. The cliff notes version gives you information about the topic. The summarys were very helpful and they were pretty close to the accurate research that I had done for different subject areas. The actual practice test is better in the ETS version because it is an old exam, but with both items and research, I should not have a problem passing this exam. The people that think that this study guide sucks do to the type-o's is paying to much attention to what isnt important. This book is a study guide. That means it gives you the directions that you need to study sucessfully, not the answers. Its your job to utilize the information as well as other sources (history books, economic books) to make sure that you have enough knowledge to pass this test. This books gives you a very good starting point. I wish I would have purchased it first.

I bought this book online without skimming through the actual volume in the bookstore, which was my mistake. It is a carelessly written and poorly executed preparation for PRAXIS II Social Studies Content Knowledge. There is very little in the way of familiarization or study skills for the test. The book does not give the reader any indication as to how the test is scored, therefore the reader cannot use the practice tests as an accurate gauge of his/her performance. The review section is shoddily written, with many spelling and typographical errors. It does not provide any kind of in-depth review, it merely states historical events without any kind of context to aid in understanding. It does not cover everything it purports to cover, although in fairness, this is difficult to do. The explanations for the answers are half-hearted and, at times, confusing. Overall, this book is a waste of time and money, and I was fortunate to have been an astute student of history all my life. Otherwise, I would have been out of luck.

This book was wanted by our reading coach. She liked it so much that she got PTO to order 12 more. Thanks for the great service.

I highly recommend this to teachers and college students who need a resource guide to follow. It gives you a one stop place to find out the developmental stages for the literacy levels that a child should be at.

Activities are not organized in a developmentally appropriate manner. Does not cover some of the most basic activities to develop awareness of speech sounds (e.g. listening, discriminating) and includes an abundance of activities that would be difficult for children at the pre-reading/early reading level.

I tutor kindergarten students in phonemic awareness and found this book to be an invaluable resource in preparing lessons for the children. While many books tend to emphasize phonics, the children that I tutor cannot yet recognize sounds within words, a necessary pre-requisite to phonics instruction. This book is one of a few that gives specific sound - related activities. One tool that I found to be very helpful is a scope and sequence chart that gives a suggestion as to when to introduce new concepts in phonemic awareness. The book also includes a variety of activities including songs, worksheets, and games that help keep kids actively involved in learning to hear sounds within words. The author also included extra picture cards which can be used to personalize and revise the worksheets and games to keep them fresh and interesting. I recommend this book along with Janiel Wagstaff's Irresistible Sound-Matching Sheets and Lessons that Build Phonemic Awareness, and Jo Fitzpatrick's Phonemic Awareness: Playing with Sounds to Strengthen Beginning Reading Skills to anyone who works with children that need to focus on phonemic awareness, whether tutoring in small groups or in a classroom setting.

I found this book to be very helpful. It is full of fun learning games that target exactly what I need to be teaching at the begining of first grade. The children enjoy the activities and master the skills. A teacher can't ask for more than that!

This book has been so useful with my inner city first graders. I love it!

This book has helped me a lot with homeschooling. Unlike other books of prereading activities I have seen, many of the activities in this book can be done with just a parent and child, even around the dinner table (we are a weird family, I know).

I have also read Blevins other titles, and I particularly enjoyed Phonics A to Z.

My daughter used this workbook throughout the summer to prepare for the start of 5th grade. It includes alot of review and an introduction to new concepts. I liked that it is based on the standardized tests that she will need to take this year. I also liked that there was a place for us to agree to the work she needed to complete and agree on an appropriate incentive for completeing the sections. The fact that the book was broken down also made it easy to find the proper amount of pages to do at a time. All in all I believe this was a good buy.

I really like this math workbook because it has help my 5th grader in math which is tough and harder for him. Which this book allowed him to study and do the work at home to get that extra help and understanding. Which I'm glad to say it has help 100% because he went from a low B to a high B in the 3th quarter. Really I wish I have found this book in the 1st quarter in 5th grade because I know he would have gotten Ath on his report.
Plus when you get the Scholastic Success with Math Workbook Grade 5 ( Grades 5 ) in the mail the package was in 100% excellent and great condition. Can't say anything bad or wrong about this product.

I have compared many math workbooks at the fifth grade level. This one is outstanding. It presents serious math content in interesting games/drills for all fifth grade topics, such as multiplication, division, fraction, decimal, geometry, charts, and measurement. It strikes a good balance between math concepts and fun learning. My child enjoyed it. When kids have
the interest, they become smarter. Practicing math doesn't have to be painful. When my child takes the online Beestar weekly tests, he often ranks high among his peers. I give credits to this book. Highly recommend.

I found this book to be a fun way for my students to review recently taught math concepts. It came in great condition and I was pleased with my purchase.

There are so many trends right now as the pendulum is swinging franticly in a direction that doesn't make sense to me. NCLB, Put Reading First, and the National Reading Panel have about killed reading. Emphasizing low level skill work will not lead to increased reading comprehension. It used to be kids came in my library screaming for whatever subject they were studying in class: penguins! spiders! tornadoes! firemen! etc. Those days are over because they are doing basic skill work in class. Now, they come in not knowing what to checkout. Most do not finish reading the books they check out. Our nonfiction circulation has declined in the past 3 years. Reading Building Background Knoweldge proves why we need more reading in schools...it leads to increased vocabulary which leads to increased reading comprhension. This is a highly readable, enlightening, and affirming book from one of the most important educators of our day.

The author points out some very important aspects of learning through the
prism of background knowledge. There is a general correlation between
academic background knowledge and generalized academic performance.
In addition, the book covers the transitory steps aimed at harnessing
working memory into permanent memory. There is a section which shows how
surface knowledge enhances background knowledge. Text density is another
indicator of learning. Texts which contain many new words not widely
interspersed will have the lowest new vocabulary retention. As newer words
are more widely dispersed, readers have up to a 30% retention from a
mere retention in single digits. Poverty is another correlator to overall
academic performance according to the author. The book presents a very
valuable common Greek/Latin root derivative section. For instance,
Greek words enter into the English language , thusly.
- ast or star means astronomy
- cycle or circle means cycle
- gram finds usage in the word telegraph or autograph
- meter is utilized in thermometer or centimeter
- photo finds usage in photograph
- scop or to see is utilized in the word microscope
- therm or heat is utilized in thermometer

The Latin root "act" is utilized in react or transact. The Latin root
"ang" means to bend as in angle or angular. The Latin root "aud" for
hear is seen in the word audible. The Latin root "credit" is seen in
incredible etc.

The book is a worthy acquisition for the student, linguist, writer or
academic person in your household. It is a good value for the price charged.

As a dual-language elementary teacher it is important that I teach my students the meaning of specific words in the subjects they have to learn in order to get the meaning. This book allows me to concentrate on the meaning, context and usage of words in the different subjects I teach rather than having to look for the words and then do what I described. It has also helped me build a stronger vocabulary and made me a better teacher for my students.

Building Background Knowledge For Academic Achievement: Research On What Works In Schools by Robert J. Marzano (Senior Scholar, Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning, Aurora, Colorado and Associate Professor, Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) discusses how two combined approaches - sustained silent reading and careful study of subject-specific vocabulary terms - can help young adults overcome weaknesses in background knowledge that would otherwise undermine their educational pursuits, from elementary to high school. In addition to the outlined principles for a sustained silent reading program, and effective vocabulary instruction, over 7,923 actual vocabulary terms have been culled for presentation from national standards documents and other publications, organized into 11 subject areas and 4 grade-level categories. A superb home schooling, self-study, or curriculum supplementary guide, highly recommended for parents, educators, tutors, and studious individuals seeking to hone the tools that maximize their comprehension skills.

Once again I'm pleased with a Kumon product. My son who has some fine motor skills issues started out with the beginner cutting book and has never stopped. He loves them all. He can work at his own pace and enjoys the challenge of completing the whole book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Easy to follow guidelines for arranging your home and life in your child's best interest. I and my kids like the games and activities this book introduced. For anyone who would like to know what montessori style is all about and how to raise kids to their best potential, this book needs to be on the list.

We bought this book to get us familiar with the Montessori method of teaching. Our son is about to start at a Montessori school and we wanted to get educated in the teachings as well. It's a great intro book and I especially found the exercises fun and interesting.

I am a medical student, single parent and needed something to introduce me to Montessori instruction. I plan to enroll my 36 month old soon, but at this time, she is fine in the care of her grandparents and in the evenings, with me. Until she begins Montessori, I want to begin instilling some of the instructions. I ordered this book along with one other you will notice in my reviewed items. Both books are very good in my opinion, and all that I need. Even if I never enroll her in daycare, preschool, this is adequate. It gives great ideas that a parent or caregiver can share while with the child. Very good quality book.

My daughter will be attending a Montessori preschool in a couple of months [she's 2], and I wanted a practical manual that would introduce me to Montessori methods I could implement at home. This book is full of practical ideas, and is filled with activities and games thatare easy to implement in the home, and as a follow-up to preschool learning. The book covers topics like who is Maria Montessori, what is the essence of the Montessori method,how to use the Montessori method, planning your home around your child[child's bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, hall &stairs, games & activities] , exploring the neighborhood[in the backyard, in the park, in the countryside, in the city, going to school], & discovering about the world[the human family, journeys & explorations, the universe]. There are lots of practical & useful activities & games that one can implement with relative ease in the home or outside. The ideas in this book go a long way to helping stimulate a young child in line with the Montessori method.

The introduction to this book is horrible. It uses the good name of Maria Montessori to promote "progressive" education; whole language; and socialism. The intro boasts that Montessori was part of the progressive education movement. The PM was started by John Dewey. I've done extensive research on Maria Montessori and not once have I read that she crossed paths with or mention John Dewey. The Montessori method is about sensory education. John Dewey on the other hand says, "The mere absorbing of facts and truths is so exclusively individual an affair that it tends very naturally to pass into selfishness." Their two educational philosophies are wholly opposite.

The introduction doesn't say Montessori was a socialist per se, but that this topic was studied a lot in colleges of her time and she "no doubt" was "eager for social change." And in the introduction, the author makes a plea for, of all things, whole language! Whole language has been an abysmal failure in teaching children to read.

I want with all my soul to recommend a book about Montessori. But this books serves to smear her good name. A common misconception about Montessori is indeed that it is more of a "progressive" education where children are given no guidance, rules, etc. But anarchy is NOT what the Montessori method is about. It is about very specific guidance given to children to help them become self learners. Montessori's primary goal is to create a child who is a self learner, thinker and producer; Dewey's goal was to "socialize" children.

This book may have good practical advice but please beware the propaganda at the beginning.

I ordered this because my son is dyslexic and I decided to home school him this year. I haven't finished reading it yet, but so far what I have read has been very informative. I can't wait to finish it.

I didn't know alot about this topic. I felt this book covered everything I needed to know in order to converse intelligently with a parent. She appreciated my research and so did my student.

This text is a complete eye-opener! In my SPED coursework, no other text comes anywhere close to Stowe as far as clearing up my understanding of learning "dis" abilities and how we all have a prejudiced view of what a brain is "supposed" to act like. Excellent resource!

As a former special education teacher, I am sometimes too aware of little problems. I know my child's self-esteem is affected by this problem however, and this book is very helpful for being me to work with her at home, especially since teachers don't seem to think there is a problem. This book, along with "The Gift of Dyslexia" brought so much practical, usefel information. I took this book out from the library, and will buy it, to use for a longer duration at home.

Thought this book was very indepth. The work pages for students and teachers seemed like great tools. This book needs to be on the shelf of every reading professional. It can help them explain and re-explain tests to parents and the student. The work pages are great for students of all differing abilities.

This is a great product. the activities are appropiate for kindegarten and some skills that are appropiate for advaned learners. A great tool for my work stations. These shoe box activities are also great for extra activities for early finishers.

This book is great for instant independent centers during workshop time! The boxes are easy to use, and can take as much time as you need them to.

This book contains 40 great different activities that you can put together into shoe boxes and set as learning centers for elementary kids. Although it is aimed at kids between 1st and 3rd grades, some of the games can be played by kindergarteners and with some adaptations you can also use them with 4th graders. For every game, it contains reproducible labels and student directions. It gives you a detailed list of the materials that you should put inside the shoe box and it also gives tips of variations to adapt the games to different objectives.

For most of the games, you only need everyday materials, like toothpicks, beans, play dough, number cubes, domino pieces, buttons, crayons, coins, yarn, magazine cutouts, etc.

When I assembled the learning centers, I found out that most of them can be placed in smaller containers than shoe boxes. As a matter of fact, I used photo storage boxes for the most part (you just make sure to reproduce the copies in the proper size). Instead of putting the crayons or pencils inside the boxes, I placed some cans with crayons and pencils in the center of the station, and kids can use them with any activity. The rest of the materials required (except for the play dough and the marshmallows required for a couple of games) can fit into these smaller containers.

Some of the skills reviewed are skip counting, addition, subtraction, place value, making number stories, patterns, time, money, measurement.

If you like having your kids play games while learning, you will love this book!

As a teacher, I find that challenging kids to work on their own or in a small group is a great learning experience. Shoe Box Math is the answer to the teacher's dilemma of how to set up a math center. This book provides reproducibles, easy to follow instructions and meets the standards being taught. My students love the projects!

These learning centers are easy to put together and maintain. I purchased several plastic shoe boxes from one of the dollar stores in the area to use. As a 4th grade teacher, some of the games were excellent for building up basic skills. I'll be teaching 2nd grade next year, and have already gotten some of the other games ready for use.

This is a fantastic tool for getting primary kids excited about math. My "mathletes" love the characters and fun problems.

The book is organized into chapters, with each chapter presenting a type of problem and the ways to think about that problem. And then there is a series of related story problems to solve, divided into 4 levels. For example, one chapter is about calculating whether an item (rope, building, etc) is strong enough for the intended use. Another chapter is about figuring out how much change you'd get in a store transaction. Another is percentages. Midway through, the concept of algebra is introduced and applied to the later chapters. The chapters are presented very conversationally, and explain how to think about the problem and approach the solution. They are illustrated with cartoons, and with characters discussing the problems.

My second grade daughter loves this book. She is gifted in math, and I was looking for some way to add extra challenge without "teaching ahead" in the normal curriculum. This has been great. It's not teaching new methods of computation (which she'll get in school thru the years), it's teaching approaches to problem solving. She usually does the level 1 problems with no help (but has to think fairly hard), but needs help on level 2. She is very proud of herself after conquering these questions. Levels 3 and 4 are beyond her for now. I can see us revisiting this book every year, and using it through about 5th grade.

What an exciting way to present additional math problems: the writing and illustrations capture one's attention, and the subsequent problems are at four distinct levels (from easy to very difficult. The student may solve all of the problems, or the parent/instructor can "save" those difficult levels for later (perhaps next year?) after the student has conquered certain tasks to facilitate success.

Although this may be implemented at various grade levels, I suggest second grade as the youngest starting point. You know your child best, however, and it would be wise to preview book pages at this site before purchasing.

I highly recommend this book for children in all types of classrooms: "regular" school, gifted school, and home school. It is a great supplement for students, and offers a challenge to all.

I'm teaching Challenge Math to 2nd graders and found this book to be very helpful in my preparation. This is my first time teaching this program, so, the examples, structure and illustrations in this book have come in quite handy.

My son's gifted teacher gave him homework from this book in third grade, and now his 4th grade gifted teacher gives him work from Zaccaro's next book for in-class enrichment this year. He enjoys working through it and I like the straight-forward approach and graphics. I teach and I bought it for my parent volunteer to use with our school's first grade math enrichment group. My kids love to go to group!