Teaching Books

My son really enjoys reading this book a lot. It approaches social situations and appropriate behavior in a written and pictorial method that he can really relate to, and actually enjoys looking at the book and talking about how to do things the 'right way' and 'wrong way'. He loves to pretend to be a space invader now as a joke.

We took it with us on Holiday, and my nephew on his own picked it up and read the entire book. Every parent I know who has seen it, has commented it would also be beneficial for NT children as well.

highly recommended.

This social skills picture book is instrumental in helping my son learn every day life skills through pictures. I borrowed it from a friend and began using it with him. When she asked me to return it, I decided I needed one too. It keeps my son engaged for at least 20-30 minutes at a time and he is communicating with me through questions and giving answers. I have a lot of books and there are none that quite match up to this one. It's a "must have".

Great answer & guidance for families with Asperger's children.

We love it.

My son and I love this book. The stories and photos are highly relevant, and some make my son laugh. He loves to see how the children do the "wrong" thing and then the "right" way, and finds the wrong way highly amusing. HIGHLY recommended!

I work as a Mobile Therapist/Behavior Specialist and this book is great for teaching social skills not only for children on the Autism spectrum, but any children needing assistance in learning or improving social skills. Parents can also join in!!! The pictures are real and the words are easy to understand. The pictures give a visual, reading the book gives the auditory and the pictures show great social cues and non verbal gestures, along with what the person may be thinking. I highly recommend this book.

First of all, I realize this book is slightly dated, in that it was published 17 years ago. The unfortunate thing is that I don't believe much has changed since Kozol wrote it... if there have been major changes, he wouldn't have found it necessary to write his second book, Shame of the Nation, or continue to push for equal-opportunity education like he is still doing today. So, although this book was researched and written awhile ago, I do believe it is still relevant for discussion today.

This book is sad. Plain and simple, it made me very sad to read about the way these kids have to "learn" every single day. Children who live in poverty every single day of their lives, who struggle just to get a decent meal and a good night's sleep, who cannot count on safety, a clean environment, or even love from their families, should absolutely, 100% have one place they can call their sanctuary - their school. Unfortunately, this book showed that is simply not the case. Children who live in these horrifying conditions of dire poverty are going to "schools" (and I say that loosely because some of the schools Kozol describes simply are not places to learn) that are decrepit, dirty, disgusting, with not enough space, not enough teachers, not enough books, no computers, and sometimes not even enough working toilets. There isn't another way to describe this book other than horrifying. Pure and simple, we should not be allowing any child to spend a minute in these conditions, let alone every day for eight hours a day. This book is heartbreaking to read, but it needs to be read, because I truly do not think that conditions have changed since the book was published in 1991. This is something that, as a country, we need to improve, big time. Our future literally depends on it.

Kozol begins his book by writing about east St.Louis. Wikipedia writes about East St.Louis as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the nation. This is one of the poorest cities in America and of course the school system suffers. The school buildings are run down, bathrooms are broken, and the kids don't have textbooks to study from. The physics labs haven't had water for 25 years and the sports field is completely in ruins . A lot of industrial waste is dumped here from the chemical factories that have established themselves in these areas. Usually it happends by accident when trains with the stuff spills it out on the ground. Then an alarm sounds and people have to take cover. But the kids here suffer from lead poisoning, high asthma rates and other diseases that can be traced to the toxic elements that surround them. The neighbourhoods themselves are filled with 24 hour liquor stores, strip bars, gambling houses, and dealers roaming the streets at night. Its hard to think of a worse start for a kid.

He writes of another neighbourhood in Chicago, called North Lawndale. That was a vibrant community until the riots after Martin Luther Kings death when a lot of the businesses where destroyed. It never really recovered. Now the gangs have moved in and the industries have moved out. A pastor from the area says"kids like these will kill each other over nothing". Dr.Martin Luther King himself lived there but there is no memorial. Only an old truck stands at the spot where his house once was. The schools here are also in terrible condition. Out of a kindergarten class of 23 kids 14 will drop out. 4 at most will go to college. 1 of those 4 will graduate. Three of the twelve boys will have spent time in prison. A few teachers are great but mainly there is a shortage of teachers, leaving many classrooms without one. In fact these kids are economically getting much less than the kids are in the richer areas. Although many adults say that one should not tell these poor kids that because that would encourage "victim" thinking. Although I would feel like a victim if I was reading a textbook that said Nixon was president like some of these kids do! Top salary of a teacher in an underpriveledged innercity school is 40000 dollars a year whereas in a suburb up to 60000 dollars. About 2900 dollars is spent every year on a child in a poor neighbourhood whereas 7800 dollars is spent on a child in a rich one. There is a silent understanding amongst many corporations that the kids in the inner city schools are perfect for the bottom end jobs that they offer. They aren't expected to become doctors or lawyers. This has led to principles and teachers of these innercity schools in "framing their language carefully" when requesting grants or money from corporations to "train ghetto children to become good employees".

In the Bronx one school that is overpopulated is located in an old roller skating rink. It was made to fit 1000 people now there are 1550 people there. The interior is old and falling apart. Too many people crowd into small rooms and many of the windows are broken. There are hardly any computers and the school is surrounded by heavy traffic. In another Bronx school there is a gaping hole in a classroom floor, the blackboards are so cracked that students risk cutting themselves on them when writing, paint flakes off the wall and covers the floor, and when it rains theres a waterfall flowing down the six flights of stairs in the school. Out of 500 freshmen from one school 82 will go on to take the SAT. On the other hand a school in a well off district is close to a park with lots of flowers around it. 825 kids attend this school. Here the library contains 8000 books in contrast to the skating rink school library that contained 700 books.

Wan to understand why our education system is in the shape that it's in? READ THIS BOOK! Explains why lower income schools perform the way they do....must have for any educator's collective of continuing education books. Worth reading twice!!

Kozol's Savage Inequalities paints a frightening picture of urban schools in the United States. He describes schools that are overcrowded, dilapidated, and flooded with sewage. He asks why we allow our children to go to schools in conditions where none of us would choose to work. He deeply explores the issue of inequality in funding. While he does suggest equalizing funding, he is careful to mention that the problems facing schools are complex and require innovative solutions. I know many teachers have read this book, but we need policymakers and elected officials to read it as well.

I needed this book for a class I was taking. WOW!, it was a real eye-opener. As it was really hard to read because it is sad. How amazing that there are schools here in the United States that are in dire need. I would reccomend it, but be prepared to cry.

I have not read this book nor am I a teacher, but have a question. Does this book help with other professionals and adults? For example someone who knows science and takes Calculus improves comprehension analytically? Or someone who knows spelling and now uses shapes for math may help in identifying, say, words? So, not to just teach the kids how to read but to help them with their profession (outside of just teaching) or with their everyday activity/living too? Sorta like self empowerment. Thanks! Steve
Sorry for the negative rating. I just want to be indifferent about it and I cannot put zero stars.

This book has a lot of ideas to help teachers of middle school and high school. It contains examples of many strategies for phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

If you are stuck on a particular student and can't figure out what to do to help them, read this book and find help.

This book is also good for content area teachers who need help with their struggling readers.

I am a fist-year English teacher serving in a low-performing high school (based on states tests scores)in an inner-city public school district. I struggled to teach on-level text to below grade level students. Once I found this book, I felt like I had a master teacher standing next to me as I taught me students how to use strategies to create meaning from text. The title of this book is befitting of its content because when my students lacked comprehension, I had specific strategies to aid their understanding. Direct instruction of these strategies is based in cooperative learning. Hands down, this warmly written book equipped my students with the ability to comprehensively read any text that any teacher gives them.

Main contents of the book covers reading strategies, vocabulary, fluency, phonics, literary discussions, the reading process, philosophy on direct instruction of reading strategies, and cooperative learning.

This book is an excellent resource for teachers in all grade levels. The strategies can be used for elementary students and the book has helpful charts that direct you to the information you need if a student has difficulty with comprehension, vocabulary, word recognition and fluency, or spelling. One of the best resources I have ever used in 27 years of teaching.

This book provides excellent practical advice for teachers and specific strategies to help middle and high school students who struggle with reading. Most teachers will find this book easy to understand and apply to their day work of endeavoring to get kids into literature, regardless of whether or not the students are independent readers.

Like many of my peers, I too want to do the best possible job raising my children. The desire to be respectful and supportive does not always involve consistent discipline, but it should! Anyone with a sensitive, loving child can benefit from this book. Any parent who feels like they have tried every trick in the book to promote good behavior in their children, but can't seem to gain compliance in their kids, will benefit from this book.
I was recommended this book by our psychologist, whom we have been seeing because I ran out of coping strategies for dealing with my very sensitive, very smart, and very compliant child who seemed addicted to PUSHING MY BUTTONS!! Turns out, the very emotional responses I had to my child's poor behaviors, was promoting the very things I was trying to "punish away" Time outs escalated into screaming matches and made me feel like a drill Sargent, not very productive, and definitely not respectful or supportive! Transforming the Difficult Child has opened my eyes to "accentuate the positive" and "down play the negative" In short, shifting all of my aggravated tirades into positive reinforcement of GOOD behaviors. Within two weeks of implementing this style of attention, my 5 year old was more relaxed, more cheerful, more agreeable and happier than I had ever seen him. In turn, he was also less anxious, stopped a nervous habit of lip licking that had been with him for two years, and lots of chapped skin! He now knows that he is good MOST of the time, and only bad once in a while. I was failing to acknowledge his good behavior, because that is what we think of as "expected" but He was feeling as if he was always bad, because our energy was always spent on correcting bad behaviors.
Please read this book if you recognize any of the above story, or if you know someone who is in constant power struggles with their children. This book has a simple, gentle, loving and supportive plan of action that will change your Family for the better, even if your child isn't difficult. After all, we all want someone to acknowledge our good behaviors, who better to do it than your parent!!

After much therapy and trying every technique in the book to help my son "behave" better, this book just blew every other technique away! I felt as if it had been written for our family personally.
At the risk of sounding dramatic, this book has brought a lot of peace and happiness into our home, where before there were a lot of power struggles and misbehavior going on.
I teach children in the Arts field, and it has also helped me deal much more effectively with the more difficult students.
I think this book should become a course that parents and educators could take. If it already has, where can I sign up?
This is, hands down, the most valuable book I've read in years!

We adopted 2 boys through the foster system. Both of our boys have high energy and came to us with some inherent behavioral problems. We were able to help both of our boys with the help of the techniques we learned while attending a seminar taught by Howard Glasser. We've gone back to this book again and again when we needed to refresh our resolve to do conscious parenting. I highly recommend this book. I recently bought my 4th copy of this book because I've given away the first 3 books to people we knew who were struggling with a challenging child.

After reading numerous books that seemed like sound advice for regular kids, a child counselor recommended this book.
FINALLY I've found a book that seems like it's talking about MY type of challening child. I only wish I had read it years ago.
I too was a bit turned off by the title but thrilled once I began reading. Techniques are applicable to even my non-challeging children so it's easy to get the whole house going in the same direction.
Very Helpful Book!

I thought I knew a lot about 'parenting' until I became one! I have one easy-going child that makes parenting seems like a breeze and one who is so wired and always pushing limits so far that I didn't like the person I was becoming. I was VERY frustrated and came across this book. I hate labeling so I don't like the title much, and carrying it around I wanted to put a darn book cover on it so others would not see it! The contents however are thought-provoking and profound. I never realized the slump that my son and I had gotten into... him pushing, my reacting... everything seemed negative. Things got worse before they got better. I am still reading the book and still implementing the ideas. However, I am realizing that as they say 1. My son enjoys playing with me like his live toy, 2. He always gets my attention by doing something negative.

I have implemented the strategy of noticing him when he's doing something that is not negative, and telling him I notice him in a neutral way (this way I am not giving him false praise but allowing him to see that I really DO pay attention to him). I found that alone has made a huge difference. I also realize that most of my talking to him was "don't......." which is NOT a life for the poor guy! I have stopped reacting to his inappropriate behaviors. In the book they compare it to a video game.... kids do good at video games because if the do wrong, they get an immediate consequence and there's no wiggle room (unlike mom who allows that and can be talked into/out of something), and video games always inspire kids to do better because they are always rewarded with flashing lights and whistles etc. So while I am perhaps a bit preliminary in my review, I have to say that this book is a TRUE help, especially if you are your wits end and ALL the best traditional parenting in the world is JUST NOT WORKING!

I used this book with my barely 4 year old (developmentally normal) who has 'anger management' issues that originate with anxiety. There are pages in the book that we were able to write or draw pictures of how he felt. The scale of 1 (calm and safe) to 5 (out of control) was a concept that he grasped right away. He is getting better and better at recognizing when he's getting worried before he gets to a 5. If he does lose control and melts down, just the verbal cue "what number are you at" or asking him to calm down and try to get back to a 1 or 2, and he immediately starts to use his strategies - deep breathing, squeezing hands, thinking happy thoughts. I love this book.

This is a great book to work with your child. You can personalize it and change it as they grow.
Barbara V

This is a really cute book for kids who worry. It is not real meaty but the concept is great. It helps them put worry into perspective and gives a scale to help prioritize worries.

This book is an excellent tool for children having diffiulties controlling their emotions. The visual thermometer and the "social story" makes it very helpful to assist these children to learn how to respond to their feelings/emotions more appropriately. My four year old likes to look at his thermometer and read the story every time he has reached a "5". It's been very helpful for him.

I have bought and given several copies of this book. It helps give a language to feelings that might otherwise be hard to describe.

I am a reading specialist at a K-8 school. I found this to be an excellent resource to put into practice myself and to share with classroom teachers. The writing style makes it easy to read and there are very practical strategies to put to use right away. This should be required reading for every teacher to know how to effectively approach teaching comprehension stategies to their students.

Up-to-date research on what works when teaching reading in an easy to read format. Personal experiences.

During my credential program, I heard and read about think alouds and comprehension strategies, but didn't get to see those in practice in the classroom. I knew they were important, but didn't know how to implement them. This book offered practical advice (for multiple grade levels) that will help me begin to teach these strategies in the fall. The authors describe a clear structure for teaching comprehension, and offer real world narratives of teachers using the strategies. There was a lot to think about in this book, and I'm sure I'll be reading it again!

I did not care for the writing style of this book. (Too chatty and conversational.) The "think-aloud" and "questioning" examples sounded forced and patronizing.

Ellin Keene has added a lot more depth and practicality in her second edition. All teachers of reading should read this book!

Provides great background information and explanation for using the notebook and lesson ideas. Yet, it's still easy to go straight to the lesson ideas without reading the rest of that other stuff. I bought this along with A Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher, and I liked this book more for helping me teach.

I have been using writer's notebooks with my students for years and always struggled with integrating them into the entire language arts curriculum. This book has several hands on strategies which illustrate ways to use the students' own writing to teach a variety of writing skills. There is also a very helpful chapter on assessing the notebook. One of the most helpful books on the subject I have seen!

This book was a quick and easy read that easliy lent itself to great lesson plans for the whole school year. I highly recommend this book if you are a first time writing teacher, or a novice writing teacher.

This is not one of those books that will collect dust on a shelf. It will be read and reread many times! It is a great resource for any teacher of writing! Thank you Aimee Buckler! This book contains a wealth of organized and practical strategies that will add to any writing program. Buckler gives teachers easy to model tools to pass on to their students. She gives many examples from literature that can be used as springboards for specific areas. I will never look at notebooks the same! What an inspirational addition to my teaching library!

I am torn by this book- the first half was full of ideas and lessons that I felt would help me improve writing instruction. The second half was not, at least for me. The writing is brillant and down-to-earth. Buckner has good ideas and great real world lessons.

The downside for me was the amount of time it would take for me to do everything- the ideas work best for self-contained teachers.

Do I recommend this book? Absolutely.

There is something for every type of student here. There are universal strategies from basic reading comprehension to literary analysis. I've always struggled with how to teach inference and analysis to students- I know how I do it, but how do I transfer this knowledge to my students? This book covers the strategies along with the author's personal experiences teaching them in the classroom. Most, if not all, teachers will be able to relate to the author's humorous yet realistic writing style. Student responses to reading are reenacted and I found myself nodding and smirking with the commonalities. The book makes it all come to life.

The information in this book is invaluable to anyone working with adolescents. Tovani's narrative provide practical application of all of the strategies. I immediately tabbed the book for easy reference for use with middle school teachers. EVERY literacy coach needs to own this book! I used one of the activities from the book today to demonstrate reading for a specific purpose, and the teachers immediately said they wanted to use it with their students. This would be an excellent choice for a study group or book club!

Tovani has produced a concise and practical resource for literacy development in high schools. Full of practical ideas based on current knowledge about how we learn, the book is useful to teachers in all subject areas. I have used this book in my work as a school administrator, and now it is a basic textbook in our university secondary teacher education program.

It's a good book if you are looking for inspiration. Tovani discusses her experience in trying to promote reading in all classrooms. However, I feel that it is more reminiscient than a tool for instruction, although she does offer suggestions to use in the classroom at the end of her chapters.

I found that by reading this book, not only did I learn strategies for teaching reading to my students but I also learned how to improve my own reading. The books tells us to remind the kids that even though they arent the best readers, they still have time to be.

This book is a quick read and you are bound to get a greater understanding of how to create a classroom climate that is safe, and provides a place for children to be honest about their learning, confusion and understanding on a text. Reading this boook has given me several lesson plans that will help me teach my students this upcoming year and I feel well-prepared!

I bought it for use with a classroom and found it hard to explain the connection- between cats and aspergers. A book that presented facts- without the cats- would have suited this purpose better. That being said it has good information and works well for adults who do not know alot about Aspergers.

All Cats have Asperger's Syndrome is a fantastic book for helping your child understand Aspergers. It's also a great read for a public school or church class that is trying to understand a student with AS. My 9 yo Aspie grandson read it to his Sunday School class, and all of the kids were much more open and caring towards him once they understood what he was dealing with and why he sometimes behaves the way he does. I highly recommend this book!

Viki Stanley-Hutchison, cambridgecoachingco.com

This book describes what it is like to have Asperger's Syndrome with disarmingly simple language and adorable photos of kittens. Great for kids and adults. An absolutely lovely and well-crafted book!

I have a 13 year old son who has AS. this book will be very good for younger children who dont quite understand whats going on with them. it was vert well written.

This book seemed like such a bizarre idea that I just had to own it. But when I read it, I found that the concept worked well. I really enjoyed it, and my mom loved it, too. It does a fairly good job of explaining how Aspies are different, without implying that there's anything wrong with them. I also like how it spoke to the strengths of people with AS. Educational doesn't have to mean totally serious--when people are laughing, they are listening. My only problem with the book is that it only uses male pronouns. A small thing, sure, but most AS resources are targeted towards boys, and it's easy for Aspie girls to feel left out.

the book was great. it provided a lot of ideas on how to differentiate the students and how to differentiate the students' work.

I like the book very much.
Tomlinson gives lots of examples and it is written in layman's terms so it is easy to read.
I felt the sender should have checked the book as it had post-its in it and several passages were highlighted.

I cannot review this item because AMAZON SCREWED UP THE ORDER - NEVER RECEIVED THE ITEM, AFTER 15 years of business - Could not get any satisfaction when trying to resolve the issue. The address on my order was correct, the same address that I have received MANY other orders at - Sorry - can see it, can't review it!!

I like the theory and implementation strategies behind this book! It was easy to read and understand, too. I bought it for an education/ teaching methods course and I've used it to write every lesson plan, unit plan since. It relates to the idea that classrooms are made up of so many diverse types of learners that you must try and vary your instruction. (It's a lot like Howard Gardner's "Ways of Knowing".) It gives suggestions on how to add "difference" to your lessons. A lot of school corporations near where I live are adopting "DI" as well. It's catching on along with "Understanding by Design." Differentiated instruction works really well with Special Needs students, too. I recommend that anyone teaching these students at least read a copy of the book if not keep one for their own libraries!

Tomlinson presents the material in an easy to read and use format. The book is easy for the teacher to use immediately, either read one chapter at a time or all the way through. A great resource. Now if we could just get the regular education teachers to give it a try!!