Education Teaching Books

The book, Already Ready, is essentially a "how to" book on developing writers in Pre-K. It is a book about teaching writing, but not in the sense that you teach children to form letters or spell words-- it focuses on teaching composition. It uses a project-style approach by using bookmaking as an ongoing class project which helps children feel valued as writers. Your students will feel like real authors who write real books.

I highly recommend this book to Pre-K teachers. While you could implement bookmaking on your own, this book will give you more insight into a child's process of becoming an author and creator of books, and will help you understand how to evaluate their efforts and progress. The book gives many ideas for supporting children as writers and for teaching children about the elements of books (e.g. authors, illustrators, genre, etc.)

this was a required book for my master's program and let me say this is a HARD book to read. The language is difficult to understand and it is just plain drab to read. It lacks creative examples and activites. The information is good, just not presented in an interesting manner.

This book is not very user friendly, a very tough read!

This book is required reading in a graduate class I am taking and is an excellent resource. It gives a comprehensive look at Bilingual Education. It begins with an overview of bilingual education, then moves into specific programs and policies which include important court cases that shaped the face of education today. The historical view was particularly interesting! After chapters on language and culture, Ovando does a great job of explaining how to teach in different content areas. Anyone in the field of education will benefit from reading this book. It is well researched and written by someone with a deep understanding of bilingual education.

This book has some interesting and useful information. On the downside-it is very dry reading and can be quite boring. I found some of the information to be over my head.

The authors emphasize relevent material and content towards the importance of "teaching in multicultural contexts". The excepts from teachers and students provide a personal connection. This book addresses issues of cultural diversity, Bilingual/ESL strategies, and provides a reference on laws and policies that have evolved to focus on today's changing educational settings.

My boys and I listen to this in the car; they beg me to leave the car turned on "just a little longer" once we arrive at our destination so that we can finish a chapter. Jim Weise is our favorite narrarator, and we are learning all kinds of history. MUST have for all children.

I am so glad I bought this! My 7 year old daughter had a hard time paying attention to the subject matter....she prefers more pictures. She enjoys the audiobook and follows along with her book. I am free to do housework and can still enjoy the story of the world...you moms know about multitasking! I would highly recommend this. The storyteller keeps it interesting.

We really enjoy using the CDs with the books. Keep in mind, however, that the CDs don't include the illustrations that are in the books. These make a great supplement, but I wouldn't use them to REPLACE the books.

I am planning on posting a VIDEO review here very soon, to make my thinking on Lois's amazing book visible to the world.

Please do think about getting this book if you are a teacher, artist, instructional leader/principal, policy maker or interested citizen who is interested in developing quality arts education...

This book is an aid not just for the teacher, but for the studio artist. As an educator, I benefit from its cogent analysis, but as a dedicated studio artist, I find the Eight Studio Habits of Mind the first tangible distillation of the process and thinking that happens in my studio. There are so many books about what artists do and how to access creativity. Hetland et al have shown that critical and creative thinking is not a matter of magic or divine inspiration, but rather the result of a mind set that can be used by students and artists alike. This book provides the connection between the teacher and the artist and the artist and her/his studio.

Lois Hetland and Ellen Winner (et al) make a strong case for arts education for every child based on solid research. Their initial analysis of arts education research sets the stage for their in-depth, immersive inquiry into the practices of highly-skilled, professional teaching artists. The blending of theoretical perspectives with 'in-the-trenches' data collection, analysis and synthesis surround the types of teaching and learning occuring in the visual arts studio classrooms. Selecting such qualified teachers who also have vibrant art practices strengthens the relationships between the ideal professional who is an artist, educator and researcher. The practical examples will motivate teachers and the thoughtfully built argument for the arts in education will provide a valuable source for any advocate and policy maker.

As a former K-12 art educator and current teacher of art education at the college level, I find this book a major contribution to the field and invaluable for pre-service and practicing teaching artists.

Lois Hetlund and her colleagues have written an important book that grounds academic research firmly in the real world of schools. It is readable, accessable, and yet contains profound truths. Documenting and describing the sorts of thinking that can take place in high quality arts programs, the authors remind us of what a true education should contain, despite the teach-to-the-standardized-test momentum in many public schools.
Here is an article about the authors' work:
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Highly recommend the book.

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.

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.

As a recent college graduate working towards a teaching certificate, i got this book to help me study for the Praxis test(s). But honestly, who did they get to edit this book?, a mentally challenged monkey? An ESL student? Seriously?! Im a history person, and not all that great when it comes to picking up on gramatical errors, but i found at least a dozen! Including skipping an entire number on the answer sheet (106, 107, 109...108 anyone??) for test number 1. While the content seemed okay, the grammer and some rather ambigious questions really makes me doubt this book's creditability. Dont buy it!

The Praxis II is an intimidating exam. It is more difficult than the study guides let on; however, this book offers a reasonable overview. I would use it as a place to start, but NOT exclusively. Start with one of the many study guides out there (borrow one from the library for free) then move on to finding a good overview book in each catagory...geography, poli sci. etc. The study guide tests (this and other praxis II study guides) also serve as a way to test which areas need additional review. Good luck!!

Wow! This book shows how to teach, REALLY teach, kindergarten students how to write. Too often, kindergartners are left to experiment with writing when what they actually need, and can handle, is ongoing, explicit instruction. The author covers every aspect of teaching writing - phonemic awareness, phonics, handwriting, pencil grasp, staying on topic, conventions, classroom management, struggling students, and fluency. The included writing samples prove that this approach works and teaches kids to write well beyond a kindergarten level. Buy it, implement it, and empower your students!

Considering this book is about assessment, I should probably give it a grade, right? This order got an A! It was in great condition and arrived on time! Now I am giving out better grades!

This is an excellent text for defining what we mean by assessment and for examining how different types of assessments fit different purposes. It is very uiseful for teacher professional development.

Great book! The book was brand new, and really will help me with feedback and knowledge I will need to become a teacher. This book is great for future teachers!

This text could be helpful to novice and highly experienced teachers. The assessments types are outlined and discussed in good detail and actual examples are illustrated. The first few chapters define and discuss the nature of assessment and how this will relate to the teacher and their students. Both the teacher and student will benefit from assessment that is well planned in advance. The next few chapters discuss how to plan and develop your assessment plan. The school of thought here seems to be in the variations in difficulty and type of assessment. If teachers are able to change up their assessment routines students will have more ways to demonstrate their knowledge, reasoning skills, performance skills, formative and summative products, and dispositions in the subject material. Four different types of assessment are featured: Selected response, essay, performance, and personal communication. All of these assessment methods can be used as both formal and informal assessments depending on the purpose of assessing a specific skill or set of skills being taught. Overall, I think this is an excellent assessment text for teachers who want to assess their students FOR learning rather than OF learning as discussed in the text.

I ordered this book for a master's course I'm taking and found the information on reasoning patterns and assessment very useful in helping me see the difference between sound and unsound asssessment. Stiggins suggests numerous assessment ideas that provide a more positive environment for assessing and learning. This is a book I will keep in my classroom and use frequently.

As a first grade teacher I used this book as an intervention tool with my ELL students last year. It helped with voacbulary as well as phonics. The activities are hands on and we were able to create several games using the lessons as well. I recommend this book to anyone in the primary grades. It is great as an intervention tool, large group activity or as a center.

This book is great! There are many word activities to choose from, which I find very helpful and a time saver!

This concept keeps kids interested. They want to figure out the little words and the big words created by the letters, so it's an excellent one for phonics. If you already use Open Court, it would be a good supplement. There is some prep time involved in writing and cutting the letters, unless you're smarter than me and use die-cut letters from a bulletin board!!

This book is wonderful for primary grades as well as ESL classes. It's interactive and the kids love it. We use it every morning when we enter the "Wonderful World of Words." There is also a Making Big Words for intermediate grades! I definitely recommend it!

This is the best spelling book I have seen. I am a homeschooling mom of 2 boys (9 & 8) and this is the easiest method and they enjoy it too!

Using this book for a grad. course on collaboration and consultation. So far, the information it's provided seems to be quite valuable.

I do not know how I got two books ordered unless it was when I was trying to do the free book offer you had. I was denied credit however. Maybe this is how it happened. I was unhappy that I had to pay shipping on the book I had to send back. I do not need two of the same book. The book is very helpful for the class I am taking I will want to keep it for reference in the future.

Arlene

Much of the same information repeated throughout the chapters. Also would like to see chapters shifted around. didn't think the order was appropriate or logical.

I bought this book as a requirement for a class, but am finding it easy to read and full of useful information.

This book does make some important points about teaming, but is generally a waste of time and money. It is filled with common sense information, and each chapter can be easily summarized in a few short sentences.