Education Teaching Books

As a 4th grade teacher, I've been looking for a book with exercises that will help my students with their writing - something with short, easy to digest information, and something that will allow them to write just a paragraph (as opposed to 1-2 pages). I think this book looks to be the ticket. I've not used it yet, but the components are all there. There are 18 lessons, each containing tips for the teacher, 2 paragraph rewrite challenges, and a "before" and "after" example, which I really like. The "before" shows what students typically write before employing the recommendations of the tips, and the "after" example shows how the example could be written when using the tips. Some of the lessons include: repairing run-on sentences, giving specific information, beginning with unusual facts, and using active verbs.

Based on other Amazon reviews of this book, maybe it is best for people who are already quite familiar with the principles behind the Montessori approach. When I went through the training course to become an AMI Primary teacher (Montessori, ages 3-6), most of the women in there were regularly saying, "Oh, if I only knew this when my children were young!" I didn't have children yet, but when my first was born, I bought this book to give me more detailed ideas of how to create a good environment for my baby girl. We learned some basics about babies in my class, but of course focused on the 3-6 age group. This book has been incredibly helpful to me. I've read it twice so far (my daughter is now 10 months old) and have used highlighters to mark important passages for various age groups, so I can use it as an easy reference in the future. (One color for 0-6 months, one color for 6-12 months, etc.)

Like other reviewers, I disagree with their suggestion to wean at 9 months; however, I challenge the idea that babies aren't ready for exposure to the potty until they're older. I highly recommend the book "Diaper Free Before Three" for more information on that topic - from medical, historic, and practical parenting perspectives.

Do I agree with everything in this book? No, but then rare indeed is the book I agree with 100 percent. I still find this book to be a very helpful resource as I'm working to create the best possible environment for my child.

And, yes, my daughter does sleep on a floor bed, eat at a weaning table, select toys from her toy shelves, and is sitting on a potty twice a day. And I LOVE the results of those things!!

After reading this book I had a go at putting into practice some of the techniques suggested for involving them in daily activities, and how to break down the tasks. I noticed a difference in my son's behaviour after a week or so, and was surprised at the effectiveness of the techniques suggested.

At first, I was a bit skeptical at how one could use Montessori for babies, but then as I read the book I realized that it was only logical and using common since. I have tried a lot on our baby and let me tell you he is not an easy baby!

I was amazed at how well the methods worked. It also proves that babies are very very intelligent, I mean I always new that, but when you put practice into work and see the results, it is really very fascinating! It also proves that all the work you put in now and the more patient you are, the better result you get.

Vienna, Austria

Has great insight into the infant psyche, and a wonderful tool for the new moms!

My son is 13 months and I would have done things differently if I would have had this sooner. It is definately worth it!

Yes, it's true. I've read this book three times since I first obtained it back in 2004. Autism was a serious weakness in my game at that point so I knew that I had to improve my knowledge base. I first heard about it from a superintendent with whom I interviewed who identified it as one of the publications in the field that everybody was reading. I definitely was not disappointed by what I found. Time and again it has strengthened me and assisted me in my work. It's a sound gospel upon which to draw--particularly in lieu of what can only be described as an autism craze that's sweeping the country. More and more physicians are diagnosing (over-diagnosing?) the disorder at present, and this tome is just the medicine that diagnostians need. It offers great statistics and research along with--in Chapter 16--solid suggestions for assisting the afflicted and their families.

The book came very fast. Faster than I actually expected. It was in brand new condition. Thanks

I have many resources on the subject of teaching autism, but this book is one of the best I have found. I highly recommend it. This book gives research-based information for identifying learning difficulties in children with autism and strategies for teaching these students.

This book is the real deal. It is informative and gets to the point fast. Definetly worth buying!!!!

I bought this book after reading most of it on-live via the library. It's one of those books that brings a lot of information together, and it has the authoritative seal of the Council for Exceptional Children. I bought it because my son's school administrators and staff are living in the Dark Ages. The administrative law judge needs to be enlightened regarding the current professional standards == widely recognized and accepted theories, educational methodologies, elements for multi-disciplinary programming, for children on the Autistic Spectrum. A must for serious advocates' bookshelves/offices.

This book is an excellent guide in provoking thought in my child. The stories target areas that encourage openness and reveal to me what she really feels. It provides opportunities to correct and guide her in what is spriritually right and wrong.

I am very impressed with this book. It not only gives you very important character building stories, it also gives you a story for every single day of the typical school year. My students enjoy hearing the stories and love sharing their own stories with their classmates. I strongly recommend this book to parents and other teachers.

This book is just what I was looking for to jumpstart conversations about good character in my reading program, grades one through five. The stories are short, leaving plenty of time for discussion or written reflection.

Co-authored by educators Anne D. Mather and Louise B. Weldon, Character Building Day By Day: 180 Quick Read-Alouds For Elementary School And Home is an informed and informative introduction to character building for elementary school aged children. Guiding readers through 180 creative and productive strategies for inducing introspection into young minds, Character Building Day By Day draws upon many fun and inventive illustrative "read aloud" stories useful for children to engage in self-interpretation of the story's ethical implications. Character Building Day By Day is very strongly recommended for all elementary-level educators and parents for its invaluable collection of easily implemented daily practices for an overall better understanding by children of what good character and decision making consists of.

I was very excited to order this book. I couldn't wait to read stories to my 5 and 7-year old that focused on character traits. Problem is, the stories are way too short. Most are 1/2 - 3/4 of one page. Both children complained that the stories are not long enough. Honestly, I would be better off looking for picture books at the library that focus on one character trait, but have a more involved story that the children really get into. Great intentions, but falls short.

As a Kindergarten teacher, I have found the Starting Out Right book to be one of the best resources that I have ever used in my classroom. The text is very easy to read and very user friendly. The activities are great for any teacher making the changes in education. I only wish that I had found this book years ago. I would recommend this book for any teacher who is teaching reading strategies. In fact, my district is purchasing this book for ALL kindergarten teachers for our personal resource library.

this is such a great book if you are looking for a book that gives basic developmental guidelines for reading AND some wonderful activities to do with children! the focus is on children birth to 3rd grade! I absolutely LOVE it!

The Projects in this book help stretch the math skills of children and make them practical at the same time. The children have fun learning and seeing math skilss applied in everyday situations.

I own all the other Words Their Way books so why not this one? Most of the time I do not get spellers this sophisticated but some of my ESOL students this year are good spellers. I think these word sorts will help those students become even better spellers than they are and comprehend vocabulary more deeply.

This book really help me to break through the bottle neck of my dissertation preparation. I found it is helpful and recommend to any other who are preparing their paper.

I read the reviews and purchased this book. It is a little unrealistic! It assumes you can write a dissertation in approximately 100 pages. The majority of universities this will not work! Advisers and mentors have their idea of how many pages the dissertation should be based on the topic you choose. If you have started your dissertation, this book will be of minimal assistance. If you have not stareted your dissertation, it could give you a false sense of the process.

The number of ABD's is approxmiately 50% according to some statistics. If the dissertation process was this easy, would that percentage be that high? NO!!!

The book will provide a baseline of the steps you must complete and issues you will need to address. If you know nothing about a dissertation, then this book will give you a general idea of the process and what may be required. The book was a disappointment and provided little assistance.

This book is the best resource that I have encountered. The author addresses questions from your innermost dark thoughts and fears. This is a Must read and use. I haven't completed my dissertation yet, but Ogden has given me the "umpf" and encouragement to actually put the pen on the paper and WRITE!!!

This is one of the most useful references for dissertations that I have reviewed. As a matter of fact, I have passed it on to a couple of other folks in Ph. D. programs for their reading and use.

The thoughtful comments are helpful and well stated.

Great accompaniment to the dissertation writing process, it is!

A compact, yet excellent book. It is chock full of information that is necessary for those who have a short time to complete such a task. I highly recommend this book.

I purchased this book used and I was made aware before I purchased that the rear cover had a fold in it. I decided to go ahead and purchase the book anyway and was amazed when the book came. I could barely detect the small crease in the back cover. I was definately pleased with the savings and the book with hardly any damage.

Thanks for the book. I had an earlier addition, and loved that one to bits (literally). I like the 5th revision even more. The spelling list now has extra notes where the British vs American, or other versions of English are different. I recommend this resource to any other home schoolers, or English teachers, tutors, etc.

I made flash card from the Phonogram list and it really helped my emergent reader to finally learn to sound things out. (Just a hint... you can buy the flash cards ready made instead of the book if you wish.)

My daughter started reading some phonic cards when she was almost 5 and I was immediately in a panic that I couldn't explain why ow made an O sound in blow and an ow sound in clown. I found this book and in less than six months her penmanship has improved beyond my wildest expectations and she is able to read early reader books on her own. It has been so empowering for her and for me to be able to have a framework for why we pronounce things the way we do. We have encountered very few exceptions to the rules presented in the book. While I feel that the notation system presented is too complex for my daughter, she is able to use the ideas behind the notation (that each phonic unit has multiple sounds that are listed in order of use). For example, if she gets stuck on a word, I can tell her "that is the second sound of c" and then she can sound it out herself.

this is a must for anyone involved in teaching anyone (especially challenged pupils) to read. The understanding of human learning capacity is right on, and since I've tried several other approaches, none has succeeded as quickly or as long term and as thoroughly as this. I don't know why it's not used more often and more well known. I only wish the government knew the secrets revealed here, then the "no child left behind" program would actually see real benefits. can't recommend this highly enough. Some teachers may need to get the lesson planning guide. but others will do fine with just the book, making lessons up as they plan with each group of students.

This was one of three required texts for my masters level Adv. Language Arts class. At first, I thought that the book would follow the pathway of others dealing with education in urban schools--focus on the "Great White Hope". Although the author is Caucasian and the majority of her students are minorities, the book didn't come off as a "Made in Hollywood" story. Christensen is completely honest in her sharing of students' attitudes, experiences, beliefs, and achievemnets as well as her own. She is explicit in her teaching methods, and openly shares what works and what doesn't. It is impossible for me to give Christensen the credit that she deserves in such a limited space. However, I encourage you to discover her on your own. Happy reading.

I had expected this text to be a collection of teaching ideas and suggestions for students preparing to teach language arts in school. There are some useful ideas for educational majors. There is also a ton of unuseful, uninsightful and personal ramblings of an apparent devout feminist who obliviously would more comfortable wrting about societies ills with men in charge, instead of useful educational ideas. Writer Christensen should write social commentaries, instead of professing to write useful text, when she can spew extreme left wing ideas. This should have been a book for a sociology class, not an education class.

I bought this book because I thought it seemed interesting. I had no idea how useful it would be.

I work with out of school teenagers who are almost all Latino. This book has given me so many activities to use with my students. They are really starting to understand the power of their voices and how important their stories are. It was really a blessing to finally come across a book that actually addresses the population that I work with.

I'm so glad Ms. Christensen has collected many of her articles from the popular social justice journal, Rethinking Schools. I've known Linda for several years and I've find her to be a teacher who goes the extra mile to bring relevant, culturally conscious teaching to her classroom. She strives to use writing, poetry, reading, literature, activism, and reflective thinking as tools for her students to empower their own lives, their community, and the world at large.

Teachers seeking to bring social justice and cultural awareness to their classroom can do no better than having Linda's book as part of their reference. Her writing is both personal, reflective, and seriously enganging. She shows how to use varied writing, reading, and group activities that encourage students to do their best work. In fact, social justice teaching and quality work go hand and hand in Linda's teaching and writing.

Some of my favorite articles include "Where I'm From: Inviting Students' Lives Into the Classroom," "Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us: Critiquing Cartoons and Society," "Essay With An Attitude," and "Teaching Stanard English: Whose Standard?" All the articles in her book call for students be the center of teaching. Her approach is to pull on the experiences and thoughts of her students. She uses the backround of her students to help them think about issues of race, class, gender, injustice, and justice.

This book will be useful for teacher education programs, staff developers, and new and experienced teachers seeking fresh ideas, lessons, and critical approaches to their teaching.

Even if you as a teacher can't apply many of the ideas that Linda writes about, reading her book will be a good read for how to be a good teacher.

Linda Christensen's book is one of the most useful and rewarding books for teaching Language Arts, period. Reading, Writing, and Rising Up is totally hands on, useful, and will help any teacher figure out better, more effective ways to make learning meaningful for their students. I've used this book many times in my own classes and my students have responded well. No other Language Arts book incorporates issues of social justice so seamlessly. Thank you Linda!