Education Teaching Books

Book was beneficial for class. Emphasizes on different issues within the schools system.

This is a great book about current education policy that everyone should read.

Current educational significant issues for 2007 are listed within this book including such issues as social experience, standardizing curriculum, producing good citizens, charter schools, bilingual education, school violence, homework, and merit pay. Two major sides are looked at for each issue listed, and one of the issues, redefining of "public school" in question, lists 4 people on the "no" side of the issue and 1 person on the "yes" side. The table of contents does not show that there are 4 different excerpts, but lists it as only "et. al" for three people when it really should be written out for clarity and easier reference.

The bonus issues, changing science curriculum on evolution (known as Intelligent Design (ID) ) and boys' education are extra issues they decided to tack on. They really don't fit into any of the categories from the issues originally listed, and are much more theoretical and directly less significant than the issues originally in the text. The bonus issues are not a necessary read unless you intend on reading everything or something on those particular topics, but it's nice addition for the book.

Considering that this is a 14th edition, there are still way to many places where they forgot to place a space between words and I think a couple of misspellings too.

Besides all the tidbits, the issues are worth reading and understanding, as they capture many nuances that you may or may not have thought of. Even if the points are already obvious to you, it's very arguably a handy well written reference if nothing more than that.

You Have to Write is a must for every teacher who teaches writing. It is perfect for generating ideas. Students will identify with the struggle of what to write.

Just received this book and am returning it pronto. It starts out picturing a kid in a classroom feeling he has nothing to write about because he's not rich like the other kids. It actually suggests giving kids ideas for writing through such life experiences as their parents fighting and them having holes in their socks, to such imaginary experiences as a tree falling on their house and killing their mother in her sleep!! Give me a break! There are MUCH better books out there -- I plan to keep the other 6 writing books for kids that I ordered from Amazon.

I used this book in a 3rd grade classroom where I am student teaching. The students hate to write, but they loved this book. They realized that they really do have a lot to write about. We brainstormed a list of possible writing ideas for the days when they are stuck. They love to get out their list and pick something to write about. This book is a must have for any classroom!!!!!!

You Have to Write is a great book to use to encourage young writers to look at their own experiences as the launching pad for their writing. Uses kid language and thought to stimulate ideas.

This is a kid's book that explains you always have something to write about, even if you think your life is boring and plain. The book gives you ideas of things to write about like the moldy overdue book in the corner, and how your grandmother cracks her knuckles. The illustrations depict kids of various cultures putting their lives to paper in fun ways.

Having taught Latin for several years now and having been required to use this text, I can recommend precious little about it. Why does this text irk me? Let me tell you...
1. First off, the title - all my students felt like having a book with "...for Americans" in the title implied that Americans had to have a special, "dumbed-down" version of a text in order for them to grasp the concepts within. Can you imagine a "Economics for Americans" text ever being made?
2. The text itself has not changed substantially in several decades. My students and I both groaned and chuckled at a story used in the last half of the text that asked if they had heard of the Cold War! I realize that Roman history is ancient, but surely reference to culture in the last ten to fifteen years might just motivate kids to start making connections between their lives and those of the Romans.
3. The stories themselves vary from description of slaves working in a field and finding a frog in a water jar to discussions of war, Roman households, and summaries of the Aeneid. In theory this sounds wonderful: in practice, there is no connection between chapters, nothing that grips the imagination of the students and makes them want to continue reading and learning about the Romans, let alone the Latin language. And if there is, it is not continued throughout - each chapter feels hermetically sealed ("well you've learned about Roman footwear, kids, so now we move on to its natural continuation, Caesar's invasion of Gaul...").
4. Yes, it is nice to have a text in color; yes, some of the illustrations have been updated, and there are many color photos of Rome and Roman ruins. Pretty pictures, however, do not a Latin grammar make.
5. Online support for the text is minimal at best. I spent a good part of my free time as a teacher creating activities for my students to do at home on Quia.com.
6. The workbook associated with the text is hit-or-miss at best. Some chapters are good and really cement the concepts learned - others are just there to occupy space and students' time.
7. The inefficiency of the ordering and grouping of chapters is maddening. The first semester of Latin I at my school was too easy, the second too hard. My greatest disgust with the book was that, teaching about a lesson a week puts the kids at learning the relative pronoun (a pretty tough topic for students) right at the end of the year. When they came back for Latin II, they had of course not really learned the relative pronoun, which means teaching that concept twice, as well as reviewing for weeks at a time to get them back up to speed. Going any slower in this text means that the kids have to learn from the same god-awful text for three years in a row - yes, that's right, it takes about two years to finish this book, and that is with review in the second year. By the end of year 2, teacher and students wanted to never see this text again.

OK, I have ranted enough. Please, if you are considering a Latin text, consider one of the reading-based approaches such as Ecce Romani, the Cambridge and Oxford courses, Lingua Latina etc. If you are someone who has already had some Latin and wants to review it, perhaps this text will be your cup of tea (I would still recommend Wheelock's Latin for that). And McGraw-Hill, you are fooling no one - get off your keyster and either re-tool LFA or go with a better text!

This textbook does an excellent job of explaining Latin. It teaches vocabulary, grammar, culture, etc. The pictures in the book are excellent. It is an easy to understand textbook. It is the best Latin textbook on the market today. I took Latin thirty years ago (1970-1973) and Using Latin books 1, 2 and 3 by Annabel Horn, John Flagg Gummere and Margaret Forbes were the textbooks used in my classes. These books were published by Scott Foresman and Company and went out of print when the authors died. They were last published in 1961 (Book 1), 1963(Book 2) and 1968 (Book 3). These were very good books also but Latin for Americans is very similar in content to the Using Latin textbooks.. My son who took Latin two years ago in high school used Latin for Americans by B L Ullman, Charles Henderson and Norman E. Henry and he benefited very much from the textbooks. I purchased all three of these books because they are the best. Latin for Americans was originally published in 1941 and the latest edition which is the 9th edition was published in 2003. These are GREAT books!

I am in 8th grade and am currently using this Latin textbook. It is far better then the book I used in 6th grade Jenny's First Year Latin. I like the way the textbook is broken up in to Units and then into lessons. Every lesson has a short story to go along with the vocab list relating to an event in Roman history. The unit reveiws before a test are great. The only negative about this book, is that sometimes they thow in some concepts you dont know yet. But overall this book is great! And the workbook is also great that comes with it

I recommend this book to anyone interested in receiving a multititude of practical ideas for the classroom, supported by the latest research in the field of ESL.

Gibbons does a good job of balancing theory and practice in this book. Although some of the practice can be applied at middle school level, the book is most useful to elemntary teachers. The 6 period day common at the secondary level does not lend itself to the integrated curriculum that Gibbons recommends. This is still a good read for ESL teachers of all levels. It is a book an elementary ESL teacher or ESL coordinator should read in order to set up a good ESL program at the elementary school level.

The book I recived was brand new as stated by Amazon. I also recieved it in a timely manor.

This book was recommended to me as a good resource for preparing for National Board Certification in the area of English as a New Language. I found the book to be easy to follow and informative. It provides suggested activities that are applicable to various grades at the elementary level. My students enjoyed several lessons based on suggestions from this book.

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If you are a teacher, you know there are a lot of crappy teacher "resources" out there. This book is NOT one of them. I bought it as a requirement for a class and devoured it in a couple of days.
As other reviewers have stated, it's great because it talks about the theories behind learning a second language through content in the classroom, but it doesn't go so in-depth as to bore you to death. Gibbons also has a great balance between talking about the theories behind her work and giving teachers concrete examples and activities to try out on our own. If you follow the SIOP method (or are trying to) this book supports much of the content of the SIOP book, but in more accessible language and organization.
This book covers teaching speaking, writing, reading, and listening to ESL students, in homogeneous groups as well as in an integrated classrooms of native and non-native speakers. It also made me aware of aspects of my teaching that can either facilitate language learning or create a roadblock for ESL students.
Overall, great book!

The text is exactly as described and promised. A very practical tool for the bachelor's or master's student.

the shipping for this item took forever! book is in nice condition though.

It's interesting that books on fieldwork tend to exclude extended discussions of note-taking as a part of fieldwork. The focus of many guides on fieldwork methods usually is on completing audio or video interviews and on the use of photography in fieldwork. This book fills this gap in research methodology. The writers show good, practical techniques for taking notes during ethnographic and oral history field research. More importantly, they convincingly demonstrate how creating good fieldnotes is essential to completing good ethnographic studies. Each section of the book blends practical ideas with theoretical generalizations in ways that not only show readers how to complete field research, but the discussion also reveals why these techniques are useful. The chapter that provides ways to turn fieldnotes into written ethnographies is an especially helpful discussion of a challenging task. In this particular chapter, and in the book in general, readers can find ideas that can also be applied to the use of other field-generated resources such as structured audio/video interviews and photo sessions. This book is also valuable as a resource for understanding and examining various written ethnographic studies. In this respect, the insights offered by Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw give readers good ideas for evaluating written ethnographies and useful perspectives for understanding the process of completing ethnographically-grounded research and how ethnographic study contributes to the representation of culture.

I had checked out several research methodology books to find out 'how' to keep fieldnotes. I had been looking for very 'practical' and 'down to earth' reference which can offer me the real examples and approaches of fieldsnotes. Although there were good research methodology books, I could hardly find the reference for 'fieldnotes'.



The content of this practical and theoretical guide to fieldnotes is quite satisfactory and now I think I know how to keep my own fieldnotes. The text size, however, is so small that I got tired of reading it. On the whole, I am satisfied with this little booklet (small in size but big in quality) and I would love to recommend this book to those who are interested in writing qualitative research articles.

Jimmy Lee, PhD Student, mmed, Florida State University

Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw have put together not only an excellent handbook for writing ethnographic fieldnotes, but an insightful study of the practical issues confronting anyone doing interpretative writing about culture.

The book's primary focus is on how to effectively take and maintain fieldnotes. They appropriately begin at the ground by discussing how to take jottings and other quick notes, providing memory cues for the later write up of complete fieldnotes. Always keeping the focus on the task of writing, while balancing that with the task of honest and rigorous reporting, they give excellent advice for how to create a clear record of your field experience. While their focus is primarily on an ethnographic style of careful observation of interactions, their ideas remain useful to those with other theoretical concerns. Because they are always keeping an eye toward the end product of a finished, written document, this book also provides and excellent resource for how to use your fieldnotes in order to write a finished ethnography.

But this is not just an excellent book for ethnographic fieldworkers. Reading the book not only gave me solid ideas for my fieldwork, but also for the task of reading and note-taking around text-based and image-based culture. Additionally, I see this as an invaluable tool for someone engaged in more journalistic research, and for those of us who teach and tutor writing.

This is a good book. It was my text for a self paced class with University of San Diego. Easy to follow. Good examples.

Very well done and easy to understand. Samples are good and support the ideas throughout.

This book gives so many examples of the qualities to look for and teach in writing instruction. I especially like the fact that this edition is more inclusive of secondary ideas and samples.

With this book as a guide, it is hard to miss what is important to the writing instructional process. The information is comprehensive and user friendly.

This book offers tons of practical approaches and practice scoring for the 6 Traits of Writing. It is written by a recognized master in the field and has been so helpful.

Spandel's book is an authentic, engaging, and encouraging read for those that teach writing, want help infusing writing, or want to enhance their own writing. It is written conversationally and is well supported with numerous examples. I found it visually appealing as a reader and insightful. (Another review didn't like the visuals because it isn't easy to lift examples "as is" for sharing in class. To that angle I agree, but as a reader the layout is very pleasing.) Highly recommended.

Singleton and Linton impart guided wisdom for the courageous captains who navigate the waters of racism in the sea of school reform. They aid school leaders in the quest for achieving the goals of narrowing the racial divide of achievement, heightening racial consciousness, and ensuring equity. School leaders will find this to be an indispensable handbook for discussing race, dealing with racial issues, and establishing a common language in a professional and productive atmosphere.
The authors' diverse backgrounds provide the reader and practitioner with six conditions that form the basis for antiracist leadership: getting personal; keeping the focus on race; engaging multiple racial perspectives; fostering interracial dialogue in a safe environment; establishing a common language around race; and discussing aspects of whiteness.
Singleton and Linton provide samples of racial histories and provide school leaders with the tools to realize their visions of equity and closing the achievement gap.
Self-examination, personalized racial histories, and the intentional acts of persistence, practice, and passion will lead school leaders on a journey towards engaging in Courageous Conversations About Race. This has been the "pink elephant" that many avoid acknowledging in numerous staff lounges, school board meetings, and classrooms for so long. The authors guide us towards opening our collective eyes, touching, and unpacking the "pink elephant.

Singleton has managed to present an incendiary topic in such a way that is palatable and astounding. "Courageous Conversations" creates a great outlet for discussion, and provides great opportunities for educators to actually be the student. It was a pleasure to read.

This is an outstanding book that every educator should read. It sheds light on one of the most serious problems in our society and in our schools and provides the impetus for action.

This is truly a courageous book! Richard Hernstein first broke Political Correctness's stranglehold on the discussion of race and educational achievement with his book The Bell Curve, and though that groundbreaking book was meticulously researched, the author suffered a hail of mindless political-inspired assaults. Now, the authors of this book have built on Hernstein's work, calling for meaningful dialogue on what changes need to be made to the American educational establishment to provide meaningful results for non-whites.

If you care about the future of America, then read The Bell Curve and Courageous Conversations about Race!

WOW! I was fortunate to work with Glenn Singleton as he brought "Courageous Conversations" to my school district. His method of getting all of us to reflect on what we bring to the table is invaluable. When we are able to look at what race means to us and learn to 'listen" to other peoples stories we are able to grow. Get this book, it's life changing and life affirming.

This book was used for my freshman Foundations of Education course. I found the book a joy to read, and it provided a balanced look at the teaching profession. This one book that will definantly not be sold back. The supplemental materials on the CD-ROM seemed to be high quality, but I disliked having to read them on my computer and ended up ignoring the CD.

As a special education teacher on special assignment this year to implement RTI, I will be brief and to the point. I attended a lecture by this professor and now have read his book. If you want clear cut information about how to implement RTI and what choices would best serve you, this is the book to use. His lecture was impressive and cut through much of the blatheration that education professionals seem to love that confuses themselves along with everyone else. RTI is not rocket science. It is a practical approach to early intervention with struggling learners that has as a side benefit their escape from the doldrums of special education and the dreaded disability labels. I highly recommend this book.