Education Teaching Books

This book has several important themes for educational leaders. Chiefly they revolve around two ideas-- considering what is best for an individual in light of what is best for an institution. I read this book as the Minnesota Gopher basketball situation was emerging, so it created a great deal of dialogue in our class. In addition, several scenarios appear in the book that create interesting atmospheres for discussion. My one criticism of the book is that it could have developed more of an ethical decision making model. Overall, a good book for graduate students pursuing an administrative position.

Great book if interested in becoming an ethical leader. There ares some really good ethical situations and solutions presented by the author that will help any professional in thier leadership pursuits.

The book is filled with lesson plan fun activities to teach children better phonic skills. I am a future Teacher and I found this book very helpful.

Great book! Has a lot of different ideas to use with your students. I teach Title I Reading and this book has easy & applicable ideas. Pat Cunningham is a trusted name in reading.

I found this book to be very helpful and well written. The text is organized according to activities needed to build literacy for children. Every teacher, especially a beginning teacher, should have this book on the shelf with pages tabbed. Excellent resource.

This product arrived on time and in excellent condition. I would definitely order my textbooks from amazon again

I recieved my item soooooo fast. The book was in excellent condition!!!! very fast on shipping....highly recommended!!!!!!

Besides teaching math in a middle school, I also sponsor a math club. It can be tough finding useful, stimulating activities that are enticing to students, especially when the alternative is free time to socialize. I borrowed this book from a co-worker and found that it was a real hit---full of great ideas that are fun and easy to use. I liked it so much that I bought the book for myself, and a copy for still another teacher, too! At the end of the school year when parents start asking me what they can do with their child over the summer to strengthen math skills, you can bet that I'll be recommending this book.

I use this book to get the kids in my classroom hooked on liking math. Most of the time they end up asking "Is this math?" because they've always believed it was too hard or boring, but this book makes learning math fun because of its interactive activities. I would say it's a must have for teachers too.

I hate math. Memories of trying to understand long division in fourth grade can still make me squirm. Algebra was a lost year of my life - I had no idea what the teacher was talking about. Wouldn't you just guess I'd end up with a son who could add two digit numbers in his head before he started kindergarten? (I'm over 40 and I still can't do it very well) He even thought it was fun to do so.

You can probably guess that the normal elementary school math curriculum did not thrill him. Fortunately, early on, his kindergarten teacher lent me her copy of this book, and suggested that it might help him get started on understanding some higher math concepts, while still being age appropriate. The words "higher math" were not exactly music to the ears of a math phobe like me. But within a couple of weeks, after trying out a few games, I was hooked, and bought my own copy.

During the time he was in elementary school, I think we did at least 3/4 of the activities in the book, not because I thought he should, but because he wanted to. And, to my enormous surprise, so did I. The games and activities in this book are so intriguing that even I began to develop a sense of what it must feel like to really love math. (And, amazingly enough, I even got a little better at basic arithmetic.) Several of the games were so much fun, they became obsessions. We played them day after day.

My younger child, who recently finished kindergarten, doesn't remotely share her brother's love of numbers, but this year I dug out my old copy of the book to see if it might get her more interested. Sure enough, it worked. The games of logic and the games designed to develop rapid mental arithmetic skills that so fascinated her brother don't really interest her. In fact, most of the book is still way beyond her skill level. But I've found quite a few games that are appropriate for a child still struggling to add and subtract single digit numbers. (She says they're more fun than the math games they play at school). And there are several activities (Tangrams, and Color Designs, for instance) that take advantage of her love of art to help her understand math better. At the end of kindergarten, my daughter told me that her favorite school subject was math. I have no doubt that her exposure to Family Math games had a lot to do with that. And I have no doubt that we'll be using this book more and more over the next few years.

Fantastic! Family Math puts math and problem solving skills on the kitchen table. A far cry from homework, these games and activities involve common household materials like toothpicks and dried beans. They are easy to learn, quick to play, and cover a range of mathematical abilities and topics. Definitely enjoyable for both adults and children.
The book is organized into different math topics (like Logical Reasoning, Numbers and Operations, Probability and Statistics) and each activity clearly states the age level that it is for and its purpose.
FAMILY MATH ends with instructions for setting up a Family Math class to teach parents and teachers how to use the material.

This was recommended by our son's 1st grade teacher, we borrowed hers and then bought our own. It's a great family book that incorporates math into fun games. We have a 1st and 4th grader and it works great for both of them. The reviews and suggestions are appropriate and easy to use. The activities are age/level appropriate also, it's a great way to spend some time away from the t.v. and computer.

This book provides a great foundation for math skills grades K-3. I consult this resource for nearly every math lesson I teach. This book supplements what other textbooks take for granted or leave out. I highly recommend this book!

This book is an excellent resource for those teaching mathematics to students in the primary grades. The authors provide rationale for concepts taught, games to be played, and templates of materials needed. There is also a website to get additional resources from. My students have enjoyed the games and I have enjoyed using it.

I am so glad I bought this book. I have been teaching for over 10 years, but I always felt something was missing from my math lessons. This book fills in the gaps.

It explains how kids learn math and the connections that need to be made from one concept to the next. It also has assessments to help determine each student's level of understanding and how they are solving problems.

I can't wait to start trying these activities in the fall. A must-have book for all K-3 teachers!

Easy to read and understand. Complete math center ideas and teaching strategies. Great easy ideas for differentiation.

I really like this book as a source for conceptual Math activities. I recommend purchasing only 1 either K-2, 3-5, depending on which you think you would use more. They overlap alot.

"Educating Esme" is a great book for any new or perspective teacher. She uses humor to demonstrate the struggles of a first year teacher, and yet the book isn't entirely about those struggles. It also includes some cute anecdotes about the little things that make you want to be a teacher and some great classroom ideas! This book is a great read if you want to be inspired as a teacher!

This book is a great book for anyone looking at the teaching profession. I used it in an education introduction class and it is very insightful as well as just a great read. This is a real life personal experience in the first year of teaching for Esme, and shows the good and the bad of teaching as well as effective and ineffective teaching strategies. Great for education, thought, or just enjoyment!

Everthing that Esme says really hits me hard because I'm a student in the typical public school. I really wish I had a teacher like this, who could make boring subjects interesting, instead of reading everything straight out of the text book.
I didn't think she was too self-absorbed, as many reviewers have said, I think her need for approval is very appropriate. I mean, I would just scream having to be in the unhealthy enviroment Esme is in. She handled everything with confidence and was always there for her "children."
This is a great read for anyone who has ever stepped foot in a public school. All of her stories are either entertaining or shocking, and definitely worth reading twice.

In our day and age, years equal experience. Well, not in this story! As an educator, I, like Esme, can see the profound lack of capability in American schools. Teachers are expected to follow guidelines and do what the principal suggests with no argument (apparently that is a guarantee of keeping one's job these days). Esme questions the status quo and challenges each of us to do the same. Many of the decisions that are made regarding schools are done by politicians who have never set foot in classroom. I've read some of the other reviews. I think the people who didn't like the book thought so because they are the types of people that Esme bulldozed in the story; those lousy teachers who run any idea into the ground because it wasn't their own-- who have sat all day in front of a class for 20 some years and have yet to come up with an individual thought. She deserves self-promotion. Clearly she's not too bad-- she got asked back for a 2nd year at the same school and won an amazing literary award. I think I would share my excitement with my diary.

Things have fallen to a very low level indeed when the best an institution has going for it is a single star. Think of a ballet company, a baseball team, or even a corporation. What would it be like if only of person in the group was doing a good job? This is the premise of Esme's memoir. "Look at me! I'm edumacating 'em!" Mind you, this has been a trend in American education now for some thirty years. These earnest Antioch College types with zebra leotards and high-top tennis shoes want to dance on their desks. It's the Robin Williams to-the-rescue syndrome. Meanwhile the schools fall apart: there is no discipline, no curriculum, no learning. Ms Esme's is a name-caller, whose deepest insight is that her principal is "homophobic." Of course. But she'll straighten them all out with her philosophy of inclusion and her love of diversity. The career teachers are dismissed by these walk-through reformers as standing in the way of change, with the result that most inner-schools are revolving doors of "burned-out" do-gooders who take Fridays off to recharge their batteries. After two years they hit the road and tell everyone they miss the kids. How long can a society survive such an assault?

NOTE: Review submitted by me for Ms. Haines.

I made it with room to spare. Thanks so much for this book. We're using it in out district.

S.Haines
Chaffin Jr. High

Just finished reading "So, You Want to Become a National Board Certified Teacher?" and it may be one of the best investments I've made in my teaching profession so far.

After 30 years at IBM, I decided the best way to give back would be to teach. I just finished my first year as a second grade teacher and plan to apply for NBCT as soon as I'm eligible in June 2008. (Old broads can't afford to waste time :-) I'm planning to use this book over the next 24 months to help me prepare for the NBPTS process. Thanks!

I purchased this book along with another National Boards book. Both have been helpful tools.

This is a helpful book in the early stages. It is an easy read. It is motivational. Get this book if you are curious, not necessarily if you are already involved.

As others have pointed out, this little book is a helpful, motivating supplement to your NBPTS instruction and information guide. The help to me was that it verified what I was doing correctly, and stimulated some ideas regarding phrasing and wording that I might not have thought of.

Since what I write--not so much what I teach--is what will determine my score, I felt much more comfortable having this little handbook along the way. While I wish there might have been more on the taking the test, the rest of the book was well-worth the inexpensive price on Amazon. Highly recommended (for the job it purports to do).

I plan on purchasing the author's mentor book out of curiosity alone.

Maybe I didn't read the description closely enough, but I didn't realize that the books needed to be cut out and assembled. The book is still sitting on a shelf waiting for me to find enough time to figure out how to assemble them. Not a good product for a busy mom with a lot going on.

Each of the little books not only uses a different word family, but also offers one or two new sight words. These are very short little books, great for the beginner reader that gets discouraged easily.
A snake
A snake wants to bake
A snake wants to bake a big cake
A snake wants to bake a big cake on a lake.
The last page offers the child a chance to fill in the first letter of the "ake" words.

The "eep" book goes like this
The Sheep
The sheep drove the jeep
The sheep drove the jeep and went beep
The sheep drove the jeep and went beep in his sleep.

Well you get the idea.

Children are excited about making and reading their own little books which they make. Funny pictures help them enjoy making additional words in each word family.

This is another good resource for children to use hands on to learn word families at any grade. My students really love these books and like to take them home to read to their parents.

I have found this book to be helpful for using with my kindergarten class to work on word families. The children are very excited to learn that once they can spell (or read) a few words in a word family, they can spell (or read) many others with that same ending.

Each mini-book can be copied double-sided onto one page, and then cut apart and stapled to become an 8-page mini-book. This makes them a good choice if you are concerned about using too much paper or going over your copy budget.

As a psychologist with 30 years experience, I have been focusing on issues of attention, memory and cognition, as it relates to self esteeme, performance, and the development of emotional difficulties. The text is more focused on school which is where we developed and where we met our most difficult challenges in performance. It is exciting to see that educators are doing more to help children who are between the special education criterion and the kids who don't have difficulty. It is also important to understand the process of learning so we can better teach to the student rather than the student learning how we teach! This book can help open the educators doors to higher learning.

This is an excellent, informative book on executive function, which is often a lot of the problem with students further on the spectrum and who are mainstreamed in school. It explains things I haven't really understood previously about executive function problems that my son deals with -- why he doesn't get started on a project, why he doesn't continue through a project and finish it to the end. Various authors contributed to this book, and so you get a psychological, physical, and educational perspective that is necessary for understanding the situation, and some very good tools to help. Also of benefit is a full explanation of the battery of tests that are used to figure out if a student has executive function problems.

I took the book with me to our son's IEP this year, and used it quite a bit to help our son's teachers understand what might be issues in the coming year.

Good resource - explains that principals don't often know that they should be a curriculum leader. One of their jobs is to keep abreast on curriculum - changes, effective teaching strategies, etc. It has been my experience as a teacher that many principals have no idea about what is being taught in the classroom. Some have no clue on teaching strategies to help best meet the standards.