Education Teaching Books

This guide for beginning teachers begins with the simple statement that "teaching matters," and continues through seven sections and over 400 pages of how to keep that in mind through the daily logistics of organizing, planning, managing, assessing, and communicating with parents and peers. This text is written as a casual, informative reference complied through direct, specific examples and experiences in each chapter, with catchy little boxes popping up on the pages such as "teaching terms" and "tales from the trenches." The authors have provided a comprehensive description of how to succeed in the classroom based on practical advice: providing sample lesson plans (incorporating multimedia and various helpful websites), classroom management tips (creating the environment and maintaining self control), and basics of nurturing student relationships (smile, write a letter, reward successes).
Reading through this massive guide, I found that much of the advice and practical tips offered were really based on solid theories of educational scholars, such as Canter's ideas for positive feedback through assertive discipline, and their advice based on Glasser's choice theory to increase student motivation. This text was valuable to my personal formation of philosophy because it offered practical applications of lofty ideals. Over 400 pages, this text pretty much covered the gamut of potential issues that might arise in the daily classroom, and not only did it give sound advice on how to handle various factors associated with planning, management and communication, but the authors provided their own personal insight and experience with many of the situations they discussed. I plan on referring to this text as a practical how-to guide, and utilizing the myriad rubrics, evaluations, forms, and lesson plans that are provided to more efficiently streamline the daily business so I can focus on effective teaching.

I am going to teach at small private school and I have not gone through credential program; so I was desperately looking for a good book to fill me in for preparation of my first year.

This is the first book I read, before reading First Year Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-To-Use Strategies, Tools & Activities For Meeting The Challenges Of Each School Day (J-B Ed:Survival Guides).

The first thing to note is that this is more like a guide book than a reference book (at least in my opinion). What's the difference between guide and reference? In this case, guide would be how to do specific task or skill, given some type of situation; think about tutor, or someone/thing that helps you to "walk through" issue. Reference is listing of information for specific or particular topic; think of dictionary or encyclopedia.

It was fairly easy & quick reading, as I recall reading this whole book in 6 hours or so.

Let's talk about negative aspects first. Because this book was in "guide" format, there were a lot less information present than it could've been. And the examples provided (along with explanations) were just not adequate enough to learn particular skill or area with proficiency. One annoying thing I found was the URL to websites. Only handful of URLs were mentioned for resource site, but most of the websites do not exist anymore. Keeping in mind that this book was published in 2001, they should revise & update then publish 2nd edition.

Although what I've described are negative, these are less significant factors considering that the book is a general overview guide.

There were many positive things about this book. Because of it's format (or layout), it was easy to read, follow along, and process information given to me. It covers variety of different topics such as classroom setup, lesson planning, classroom management, communications with faculty, students, and parents, and grading / assessment. It provides you with core concepts and ideas, which are easy to "digest".

Another thing I like about this book is the "making the grade" and "teacher's rule" sections at the margin of the book. "Making the grade" tells you great tips to become a good teacher (makes you look good); something an experienced teacher would do. "Theacher's rule" describes something that you definitely want to do in order to be a successful teacher; again something an experienced teacher would do that would save you from extra work & headaches.

Although not a comprehensive guide, it focuses on high school level, which the book is intended for.

Once again, it is a good overview book, and I strongly recommend reading more in depth material or books regarding specific topics. I enjoyed reading this book, and it did help me, and I think first year highs school teacher may also find this book very useful.

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After just recently graduating from an education program, I found this book to be a bit too simplistic. It gave a great overview of everything a teacher could want to know, but lacked new, innovative ideas. If you are just getting into education or teaching, this will be an excellent resource. If you have already been studying education and/or working in classrooms as an undergrad, you may find this, as I did, filled mostly with common sense ideas. I also found several errors throughout, ones which could easily have been found by a good editor. Additionally, as this was written in 2001, the section on technology in the classroom is a bit outdated. They speak about overhead projectors, whereas now, most classrooms are starting to move to SmartBoards and other newer forms of technology. Finally, I found the book ended abruptly. It ended with information on union membership... and that was it. All done! I found it strange how there was no closing or concluding information, ideas, or even a good luck! Overall, it was worth the money as a good refresher, but I was left wishing for more!

This is a good item to have in your bookcase for those venturing into Secondary Education. A lot of books on the market are really geared towards the Elementary educator and does not provide crucial information necessary for the high school teacher (e.g. Wong's First Days of Teaching). I recommend this book because it offers survival tips not found in our education courses, but sometimes can be found through student teaching. It is a great resource!

i agree entirely with the previous reviewer, in that book tries casts a scope so wide that it becomes nearly useless as a resorce for a beginning teacher. this book would be excellent for a person who has not taken a teachers training course (B. Ed., or teachers college), but for those who have, the info is so basic as to become useless. there is simply so much info here that is redundant to any decent training you might have already had, and any gems that may be buried within are lost amongst the mass.

i give this book two stars, because for a person who has not been trained to teach this book really does cover *all* of the basics (mostly theory that guides your practice). however, going into this book i know what i needed, which is: 1) straightforward, practical pointers on what i need to do to prepare, 2) suggestions for activites to use in the first week.

going in to a teaching career, you will hopefully have so much support from fellow teachers that you will be getting first hand info and guidance (probably even lesson plans) that you will not need to worry, but that first week is what things will hinge on, and it is probably the week that you are most on your own. this book should be 1/3 the size, include sample rubrics and other tools, and condensed all of it's info.

I haven't used it yet, but from what I have seen of it I like it.

As a special education teacher, I have used these with my in class support students more as practice and mini assessments. They are only one page long, so they are quick and easy. They provide a teacher's page with a word count and a page for the student without a word count. I also used the lower grade levels for my pull out students. (I prefer to use a more standardized assessment such as Aims Web for documentation purposes.)

Its true; it really only takes 3-5 minutes to assess your students' reading level. It assesses the words correct per minute, the % of correct words, comprehension, fluency, pace, smoothness, and tone. Its great and highly recommended. I wish I had this years ago!

I found this book very useful to use in the classroom. I was able to conduct the assessments fairly quickly and provide both myself and the parents with an abbreviated list of areas in which the student needed to work. Really great for the classroom teacher!

As a teacher of children with a wide variety special needs, this book has been an invaluable resource. Students are offered loads of hands-on activities (which are by far the most effective teaching tool for both special- and regular-education students), covering all the major systems of the human body - the skeletal, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, and urinary-tract systems. Students cut out and assemble each system, all of which can be assembled on the same human body, which also allows pupils to see how all the systems interact. In addition, students can build separate models of the tongue (sense of taste), eye, ear, and musculo-skeletal joints. Further, the authors offer additional hands-on activities, though these require a little preparation. (Teachers may also want to practice assembling the models beforehand to ensure a smooth lesson.) I would recommend this book for upper-elementary and middle school students; third-graders and students with handicaps in fine-motor activies will have difficulty cutting out some of the components. That criticism aside, I heartily recommend this invaluable resource which my students enjoyed and principal greatly appreciated.

Awesome book to learn about the human body. When you are done, you have pieced together a skeleton. We are using this for school this year and all our children ask, "When do we get to do the next part". When you have them asking to learn more meaningful information....it's a great book.

This definitely is geared for the upper end of the age group (3-6th grade). Lots of black & white pictures, not very interesting for the younger child. You must make copies of the cut-out pages or the book is destroyed. I've decided to hold it for a couple of years 'til my grandchild is around 10.

If you have been frustrated using a text book to teach your children anatomy, you've got to try this book! It gets the kids involved instead of just reading big words out of a book. I have 13,12, and 8 year old boys, and they all enjoy the making of the models. I highly recommend this book.

my 5 yr old loved this book! We studied human anatomy for several months, added in books for each system in the body, and she (and I) would create and build all the models for each system in the body. "Susie", my daughter's 'final project' from this book, a 3-4 ft tall skeletal model of the human body with all the organs in their proper place, was a huge hit! I HIGHLY recommend this book! We loved it!

This is a very good introduction to Dr Maria Montessori's teachings and ideas. It gives an account of how she derived many of her methods and the materials she used. The book is filled with details and interesting encounters with her little charges which makes her an endearing educator. However, it does not contain enough information for the actual exercises the child is supposed to practise.

Phonics Pathways gives students a systematic and WONDERFUL consistent method to learn to read. Each page completed lays a foundation for the next section which guarantees success. I have taught school for 30 years and am a reading specialist. I have seen programs come and go and am convinced this program is the BEST PHONICS PROGRAM I've seen. It's a hidden jewel!

I teach in the resource room at my school and use your program with
grades K-7. My students range from IEP's to just struggling readers. I use both the Reading Pathways and Phonics Pathways books. I have seen HUGE success with my struggling kids; especially the younger ones. Parents are telling me over and over how much better their children are reading! Even the children are excitedly telling me "I can READ!" Needless to say, I am so thrilled at their success!

I just want you to know how much I love your program!! Even though I thought I had the training and resources I needed, I could tell I still wasn't reaching some of my students. So, I went searching and luckily found Reading and Phonics Pathways. I've had some training in Orton-Gillingham and I love Pathways so much better. I do incorporate a little of OG as well as some Morgan Dynamic Phonics, but your books are by far superior to them both. They make teaching and learning FUN!!

I have students begging me to do the pyramids. They can't wait to get
into my room and see what we'll be doing that day. Thank you, thank
you!

I have used Reading Pathways since its publication by Jossey-Bass, and I used its predecessor Pyramid since 2002, so I can honestly say I have considerable experience with this unique and effective method.

I have also taught her larger book, Phonics Pathways. These two books are the best materials available for helping children overcome dyslexia. They are very easy to teach and complement each other. They are self-contained and comprehensive.

Reading Pathways is so powerful that it can almost teach itself. Once I had a fourth grader who could only read on a third grade level and had failed the state reading test (TAKS) the previous year. I was very busy with some other students so I just handed him Reading Pathways, asking asked him to sit quietly and read it for himself. In less than three weeks he came to me and said, "Mr. Potter, I finished the book. It was really cool." Working alone with the book, he had advanced to independent fifth grader on my 1987 Riverside Reading Inventory! On the Miller Word Identification Assesssment for whole-word dyslexia, he reduced his phonics errors from 21 (out of 50 words) to only 5; and he could read all those words correctly when he spelled them, indicating that independent reading of the exercises had dramatically reduced his whole-dyslexia and significantly improve his fluency and comprehension. After seeing his progress, all the kids wanted to read Reading Pathways.

The exercises in the book increase eye span, develop eye tracking, and teach syllabication.

Be sure and see the sister book, Phonics Pathways: Phonics Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling

Don Potter, Odessa, TX

I have just begun volunteer tutoring ESL. I've never done this before. Yesterday I had the first session with my student. After experimenting with a few other books, we tried Reading Pathways. My adult ESL student LOVES it! He was smiling from ear to ear as he began to see how the letters, sounds, and words came together. This is a young man who cannot write and spell even in his native language. After going through several pages, he looked up and told me, "I like this book, let's keep going."

Initially I was a bit nervous, not ever having tutored before, but armed with Reading Pathways, I am confident that we will make excellent progress in terms of reading, spelling, writing and also speaking. Thanks for this wonderful book!

This is a great book for children. I purchased this book because I wanted to help my son (6 years)with his reading fluency and I must say it does work. Dolores G. Hiskes has some other books worthy of note, "Phonics Pathways" and "Reading Pyrmid". I actually recommended these books to my mother who is using it with my 10 year old nephew and she is seeing a big difference in his word pronounciation and his reading fluency (he has some speech difficulty).

If you are an English Second Language student from a Latin country, you need this. No matter your learning rate, this will greatly improve your vocabulary. It won't help your accent, but there are great choices on CDs for that purpose. This is a way to build your word store fairly painlessly.
Highly reccomended