Reading Instruction Books

The classics of literature have been replaced with simplistic tales that fail to develop our children's ability to read, write, or think. Intellectual goals have been displaced by social and political goals and moralizing pedagogy. Details, details, details, examples and overwhelming evidence. Stotsky sends home a strong message - education's aim should be to teach children to read from the best literature available, not from the most ethnically diverse sections we can find.

Sandra Stotsky, a researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has for over 20 years studied the cognitive and political (she prefers "civic") consequences of contemporary educational fads, as well as their historical predecessors. Losing Our Language argues that during the past 30 years the pedagogical theories and strategies used to teach children English have harmed their cognitive development by supplanting academic goals with social goals and increasingly anti-intellectual methods and materials.

Stotsky reports that contemporary English "language arts" readers misrepresent American history by refusing to tell children about great American leaders, inventors, and scientists because they tended to be white males. Thus children are given to believe that Amelia Earhart invented the airplane, and the only "George Washington" they hear of is George Washington Carver. When presented at all, white males are portrayed as despicable racists. The focus, instead, is on American Indians, blacks, and Hispanics, all of whom are presented as victims.

The editors of these readers, and the professors of education and state education commissars whose recommendations they follow, are concerned primarily with quotas for the number of politically correct readings by writers who are black, Hispanic, Indian, disabled, and so on. The quotas and ideology leave little room for exciting, new children's literature, and since classic children's literature largely comes from the politically suspect pre-1970 "dark ages," it has practically been outlawed.

Stotsky cleverly intuits that the claim of prejudice in classic children's literature (for example, by Robert Louis Stevenson and Rudyard Kipling) is a cover story for the source of the multiculturalists' real anger: that the stories are so bloody good! The fantasy, whimsy, and relatively rich vocabulary of the great literature children have traditionally wanted to read creates a special, private world of the imagination.

Stotsky indicts multiculturalists as seeking to imprison children in a regimented, mean little public world. The preachy pseudo-literature they force on children uses vocabulary that is a mix of leaden, abstract nouns, useless foreign terms that are often presented with no guide to pronunciation; confusing pidgin languages such as "Spanglish" and "ebonics"; and little or no vocabulary that children can build on in their future studies. Thus, at ages when children's learning should be accelerated, it is actively decelerated. And instructional guides demand that teachers lead small children in discussions of grown-up concerns such as the evils of capitalism and racism.

The impoverished vocabularies are part of a war on English, which the educationists and state education officials who run the textbook-adoption process insist oppresses black and Hispanic children. Instead of improving the teaching of English for these children, the "solution" is to destroy the English language: "Self-righteous educators have chosen to take out their professed anger at this country's social problems on the English language itself. Unwilling to engage in the hard work of helping all children learn how to read and write, they have spitefully made the English language the object of their seeming frustration because it is so vulnerable, especially in its written form. What is not clear is how these educators can be held accountable for the damage their pedagogical notions are inflicting on a fundamental biological process in human development."

Stotsky observes repeatedly that no scholarship supports the multiculturalists' pedagogical claims. Influential education researchers such as Carl Grant of the University of Wisconsin and James Banks of the University of Washington constantly refer to other "research" that supposedly backs up their outlandish claims. But no such research exists. Stotsky notes that in contrast to early twentieth-century progressive pedagogues, multiculturalists consider the mere request for factual support proof of racism.

Concluding that dodges by multicultural education professors and teachers are the result of their laziness, unconscious racism, and desire to enhance their own self-esteem at children's expense, Stotsky gives parents advice on how to regain control of their children's education.

This is an exhaustively researched, rigorously argued work. However, in her insistence on maintaining a civil tone, Stotsky has avoided telling the occasionally brutal social history from which this pedagogy derived. The Black Power and New Left movements grew into the apartheid movement of multiculturalism, which mixes notions from communism, national socialism, and caste thinking. Through affirmative action and violent "community control," multiculturalists took over both university schools of education and slum-district schools. They installed incompetent professsors and often functionally illiterate school teachers based on the color of their skin and their degree of hatred, while running off competent educators of all colors. Only then did the pedagogy and teacher guides come along to rationalize the apartheid.

The truth can be a nasty business.

This is high quality material, written about what is taking place in elementary schools around the United States, on the subject of reading. There is a reason why many young children are not learning how to read properly and Sandra explains it in detail.

Thank you Sandra Stotsky for bringing all of these facts and figures together in one place. This is the book I have been waiting for.

If you are a parent with children ages 4 thru 12 you need this book now, even if your child reads well. Order it today. See the many reviews under the hardcover version of the book - ISBN # 0684849615.

...

Bobzt
Engineer.

Many of the harmful side effects to the current multicultural trends in education have been well documented by a host of authors. While Sandra Stotsky adequately peruses the many obvious harms of this divisive fad, she is the first whom I have encountered to also zero in on a too-often overlooked impairment caused by this divisive fad-its degradation of the English language. By analyzing the basal readers offered by five publishing houses and used almost exclusively in public grammar schools, Ms. Stotsky shows how adhering to rigid multicultural dictates has yielded a body of literature that neither stimulates young vocabularies nor stresses a command of standard English. Obsessing on the sacred cow of diversity, school-age children are regularly force-fed a bland non-chronological compilation of stories designed to emphasize the victim status of various groups. The book repeatedly demonstrates that this misplaced harping on cultural identity usually assumes that "culture" equals "victim status," a weird equation that very few parents proud of their heritage would want their children to adopt.

Among the tragic side effects of multicultural agitprop is the omission of genuine heroes whose lives could truly inspire children but who satisfy nobody's agenda. In addition to the putative aversion to white males, Ms. Stotsky shows how Helen Keller fails to pass politically correct muster. On the rare occasions when she is included, her story is subjected to perverse distortions; one author described her as "proud" to be deaf. Ms. Stotsky wisely laments, "Is Helen Keller's story disappearing because it cannot be used to indict the world in which she grew up?" Shouldn't such a charge be all the more reason to include her uplifting narrative?

Ms. Stotsky wisely stresses the complete lack of any research to support the truculent claims of multicultural proponents. No studies suggest that race-based philosophies help children learn better. Forcing non-English speaking children to sit through classes in their first language has not attested to an enhanced ability to learn English. No evidences supports the vagary that class warfare and group identity tendencies increase the much ballyhooed self-esteem of minority children (or anyone else or that matter), and nothing has ever shown salutary outcomes from stressing to various children that they are victims and to others that they are oppressors. In a brave display of realism she writes, "those who stand the most to lose the most intellectually from their (diversity proponents) subconscious racism will be the children in whose names the changes in reading instruction are taking place."

Several other thoughtful dissertations have accented these separatist aspects of multiculturalists, but "Losing our Language" goes a step further and shows how the diversity craze is hostile to the English language. Much of the juvenilia offered in modern day public schools substitutes politically correct gibberish for works that could stimulate a child's vocabulary. Linguistically hybrid stories are frighteningly commonplace based on the many flaccid passages Ms. Stotsky cites. Included are stories for 4th through 6th graders that feature alarmingly high volumes of Spanish, Japanese, or Swahili words. A familiarity with even the most basic Swahili is not a terribly high requirement for most productive United States citizens, nor is this exceedingly rare dialect the first language of many children in America (or anywhere else in the world) in the twenty first century. Even when the stories avoid bilingualism, a push to use foreign proper names is utilized in these readers. She sites characters or place names like Maizon, Eliscue, Emeke, and Quito Sueno as hard to pronounce examples that children will probably never encounter outside of an agenda-heavy classroom.

This volume is a caveat that we should not let the intricate English language be supplanted by the sectoring cant of multiculturalism.

Is your child's school using a series of "literature" books, with each year's text containing a wide variety of stories? Well, take a close look. Take a very close look. Are those stories uplifting? Challenging? Do they introduce valuable new vocabulary and increasingly more complex writing? Or do they have startling high proportions of stories you've never heard from, from third world sources? Stotsky's book is a searing indictment of these "basal readers", and just how badly they have slipped in the last twenty years. They are softer, fluffier, and have less inspirational content than ever before. This is a very scary book, and I heartily recommended it.

To me, this book is just a waist of time!

I wanted to read this book since the first time it was published in 1997 but I think I was to young to have appreciated. Now that I finished it I just can say it was a real feast for the mind and soul, it was just the best meal I ever had. Isabel Allende writes after a terrible moment in her life which was the dead of ther daughter Paula but she does it with so much passion, such zeal for life as if celebrating it together with love and lovemaking, just couldn't help but devouring the book in 3 nights. Is not only a novel (if you can call it that way) but is also a cooking book with so many exquisite recipes that you would like to try with your partner (or on your partner) at once. If you happen to speak spanish native or have a good knowledge of this language I'd recommend you to buy the spanish version to enjoy Isabel Allende at her best.

Es inevitable, no arrepentirse de las cosas de las que se arrepiente la autora.
Las recetas están bastante bien introducidas en el texto, aunque lo veo un poco forzado, no hay una unidad, son historias aisladas que a veces no pegan demasiado bien con la receta en cuestión y te quedas un poco a medias, ( en la receta y en la historia), pero es ameno y original.
A mi entender éste y los demás libros de Isabel Allende, pecan un poco de "aburguesados" y ésto no me gusta demasiado, tniendo en cuenta que pretende escribir precisamente para un público no burgués.
Tampoco me gusta la excesiva diferencia entre las ediciones existentes. La calidad del papel y de las ilustraciones es abismal, no así los precios.Que también pecan de "burgueses".

As I am a person that likes to eat desserts (especially) chocolate I would really even Love it more to explore in a book written by such a succesfull author as Isabelle Allende... It seems a delicious book to explore in, there it has so delicious and beautiful things to eat and read in...

Es sobresabido que nosotros los latinos o al menos una gran parte de nosotros TODO lo festejamos alrededor de la comida, y creo que en este libro se hace un honor al ejercicio de convivir en familia

No esperes encontrar la gran historia, pero si una perfecta y maravillosa narracion sobre comida e interesantes recetas

I am extremely upset with this buyer. I ordered and paid for the book over a month ago and still have not recieved it. I emailed the buyer over two weeks ago and have still not gotten a response. I would not recommend bying from this person.

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 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.

I got this book along with the Modern Method for Guitar. But it's just too difficult to figure out how to properly use it. As I become a better player and reader, I can see how the drills in this book will be good practice.

I give the book 3 stars for now and will update the review if I find in 6 months that I really can use the drills in this book.

Lots of music to read. The book is designed in a way that will produce results.

This is a great book for developing eye+finger+fretboard co-ordination...There are exercises in all keys (ouch!). The best thing is make sure you READ the intro by Leavitt, ie play the pieces without stopping - and dont play too fast - thats not the point of the book. One thing I'd like to have seen was maybe more rhythmic variations. BUT there is another book (Melodic Rhythm studies) so there you go. This is a real old-school reading book, I recommend it.

Simply put, if you want to become a competent sight reader, you need to have this book. This is the book that truly solidified my sight reading skills, and I can't recommend it enough.

The sight reading starts on page 2 or so, with a brief introduction by Leavitt. The reading sections begin in open position, then progress through positions through VII.

The reading exercises cover the gamut of scales and key signatures. The book is very good for solidifying your finger-eye connection for notes. The weakness of this book is that nearly all the reading exercises are rhythmically simple, mainly constant streams of eight notes. It would have been a stronger book to include more complicated rhythms, with rests. The other William Leavitt book, "Melodic Rhythms for Guitar," covers some of this. But MRfG's weakness is that it's too jazz centric, written primarily with 8th notes, rather than 16th notes. Where are the 16h notes? There should be another volume of one of these books that addresses rhythms more comprehensively.

I resisted using this book at first, but now I find it very helpful. I like the mini books and use them in my class as I introduce letters and words. I like that the students have easy to read books and it's a nice way to reinforce the words I teach in class. I don't use much from the book, but what I do use is great. It's a nice addition to my Word Study curriculum. I recommend it.

I am currently using this book with my 2nd preschooler & thought I should add a review since I've been so happy with the curriculum. This satisfies the needs of those siblings who beg to do schoolwork with their older brothers & sisters. Even my kindergartener who has moved on to bigger and better things, still enjoys looking through her poems and pictures, and reading her mini-books. I did not do every thing reccommended in the book, but used the mini-books, along with the craft and poem to introduce the letters & sounds of the alphabet. My son looks forward to reading his completed books to his Daddy. I highly reccommend it!

Supports learning letters and sounds while doing it in the context of reading little books. The self-esteem of the children grows rapidly as they have success "reading" the little books. A must for anyone who teaches children all about letters and sounds!

This book looks impressive at over 500 pages, but unfortunately much of the page count is taken up with repetitive information. Each letter has an art activity to go with a poem that focuses on an object beginning with the letter. There is a reproducible half page book with objects beginning with the letter followed by full page sized pictures of the same object which you are to make into a "big book" to read with a group. The activities for each letter are identical:

* read and act out poem
* identify letter on a card
* name object held up that start with the letter
* complete art project (mostly cutting and pasting with some painting and stamping)
* read big book for letter to child
* the child reads a little book of the same text.

Each step is described in detail for each letter although the format is exactly the same, which makes the book unnecessarily long. The little books are the best part of this curriculum, with repetitive text suitable for young readers and plenty of words that start with the letter being studied. The drawings seem a little crude, but they are friendly.

I modified ideas from the book for my preschool class with great results. We did a poem and a little book a week. We read the poem and book every day; it only took a few minutes. At the end of the week, I let the students make their own little book to take home. We would all read it together, and they had to touch each word as we read. Then we would play a game where I would have them touch different words at random to see if they could recognize the words and they did!
This is a wonderful resource for older preschoolers and kindergarteners!

"... Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles has continued to be one of the most disputed of early Christian texts. It has been depicted by scholars as anything between the original of the Apostolic Decree and a late archaising fiction of the early third century." J. Draper, Gospel Perspectives



Didache, Church Manual:
The Didache (Greek; the teaching, a word related to Didactic). An ancient Church manual, that drew upon early Church traditions, repeatedly revised, it existed in varying forms at various communities. The Didache was a sort of church catechetical instruction book for novice Christians, probably in rural areas, remote from metropolis, mostly dependent on traveling preaching ministers. The subjects, style and source material of the Didache make of it one of the most disputed Early Church texts, hard to determine either a date of composition or a point of origin.
The 'Teaching of the Two Ways' were included in the first six chapters, followed by four sections of liturgical practices. Five chapters followed on disciplinary matters for the congregation, and presbyters (prophets, bishops, and deacons.) A concluding encouragement to stay faithful until the second coming, posts a warning against the antichrist.

Didache's Development:
Fragments of the Didache (Papyrus No. 1782) were found at Oxyrhyncus, upper Egypt from the 4th century, and in a Coptic translation from 3rd or 4th century. Quotations showing traces of this instruction text are widespread in the writings of the second and third centuries, in Syria and Egypt. This testifies to the wide use and the high regard it enjoyed. It was used by the compiler of the Didaskalia (Ca 2/3rd) and referred to by the Liber Graduun (Ca 3/4th), as well as being absorbed by the Apostolic Constitutions (Ca 3/4th) and by various Egyptian and Ethiopian Church Orders, partly.
Athanasius describes it as 'appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of goodness' [Festal Letter 39:7]. Hence a date for the Didache in its present form later than the second century must be considered unlikely.
The Greek 'Apostolic Constitutions' with many references to the Didache, was revised and edited with supporting Scriptures, and endorsed with church traditions, to form the 'Ecclesiastical Canons of the Apostles'. Arabic versions, after becoming the state language in Syria and Egypt, both add and subtract from the Didache. Hence after, it ceased to circulate as authoritative.

Milavec's Commentary:
As a complementary overview to his lengthy academic tome: 'The Didache: Faith, Hope, & Life (of the Earliest Christian Communities, 50-70 C.E.), of over a thousand pages, Aaron Milavec provides a concise analytical commentary which uncovers the unity of its topics and governs their progression. The early Church communities in Alexandria and Antioch, where these instructions are suspected to have built up, constituted of a majority of Diaspora Jews who converted to Christianity while preserving the Therapeutae liturgical practices, including the use of the Septuagint. These were slowly joined by their Gentile neighbors.
Milavec utilizes literary tools and insights of social tradition to reconstruct the challenges and anxieties of the early church community of faith and hope, figuring out how the converts trained in liturgical rituals towards a participant group discipline.

This short book is highly recommended for anyone interested in understanding the development of the early Christian church. I read with fascination about the practices of one early group. At least some of the writings must date back to the very earliest years when there were several distinct "Jesus sects", probably before the writings of Paul were well known. Specifically, I found that the text for the eucharist (Section 9) is truly a thanksgiving, without the Christology of the later church added. (The word "eucharist" comes from the Greek for "thanks".) However, one can find traces of later additions, such as the Trinity added in Section 7. Thus we can see layers as the church developed.

Milavec has a good introduction to the material, and then gives a strong argument for why the Didache is organized as it is.

This book is required reading in our Permanent Diaconate training program. I found it to be a very easy read without any of the difficulties of ancient language to get in the way of your reading or understanding. I found myself saying "Yes, of course! I know that!" as I read every line, but the key to understanding the greatness of this text is to remember that it was written before any of the canonical scriptures in today's Bible. It was written down after many years of being passed from small early Christian group to another. It was really a training manual for newcomers to Christian communities.

Not only did I enjoy the ancient text--by the way the early Greek from which it is translated appears on the left page with modern English on the right-I found the analysis that follows to be crisp and concise, lending a level of understanding that I probably would have missed had the analysis not close at hand. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand the roots of early Christian teaching that pre-dates the Bible.

The translation is quite adequate, the commentary . . . not so much.

The introduction closes with the most laughable paragraph included in any book that I actually own.

Included are prayers to trees to forgiveness, an equation with virtually all modern industry with "The Way of Death", a more than comic helping of self-loathing, and a warning that poor children in the Pacific Northwest may have to bathe in polluted water because of the paper mills (no, even in Washington, are there people so poor that they must bathe out of doors-- while there are some who do, but out of mental illness). Upon reading such drivel, I thought it more than likely that the author wrote it in lip-stick on his bathroom wall.

I am sorry to be so rude to the author of such a competent translation, but I can't help it because it is just so wickedly absurd.

If you are interested in understanding Jesus better, and you've already studied the gospels in depth, I highly recommend reading the Didache. It re-words the teachings of Jesus in the language of another group of early Christinas. This gives those of us who have read the gospels a million times a fresh appreciation of Jesus' teachings and the variety of early Christian interpretations. As a result I felt a spiritual bond with these early followers who were trying to pass the teachings of Jesus on, just like I am.

If you are looking for the best Didache translation, this is the one we used at Yale Divinity School so I am sure it is one of the best.

I don't understand why some reviewers are "shocked" that this is vocal music theory training, not "how to sing" lessons. It delivers exactly what it says it does, and I'm learning alot.

Thanks to Austin & Howard, we finally have a practical training program in Vocal Musicianship. Scales, intervals, chords, rhythm & meter are the building blocks of music. ABCs of Vocal Harmony gears to the human voice and helps you play your vocal instrument with greater skill while learning the language of music. A member of my choir found it at Amazon.com and now I have everyone using it. My choir has never sounded better. Be sure to get the CD version for maximum effect in accessing any subject or exercises at the tuch of a button.

"Your Vocal Harmony Course is great! It's fun and encouraging too. For the first time we have something other than just a book for the kids. Having both male and female voice to listen to and match makes all the difference ... and filling in the missing notes of intervals and chords and getting immediate feedback is just what we need. Thanks." Jayne Campbell - Westlake - Harvard School

Like the last reviewer I was very disappointed by this set. Mainly because I thought this set would teach vocal techniques. This set teaches theory based information like intervals, scales, octaves, rhythms, notes,etc. Howard and Austin take you step by step vocally thorough all the theory based info on the 4 discs. Still despite my own disappointed with this set I would recommend it to anyone who desire to know theory or may be short of knowledge on music theory. However I wouldn't reccommend this to anyone who just wants to learn vocal improvement techniques or general vocal techiques.

Easy, interesting stepwise approach to learning harmony, great for my students and even for some of their parents. A tin ear will become more sensitive to pitch. Very useful product!

There are so many books on pen and ink with the most boring and insipid illustrations that it's a wonder anyone with any artistic sensitivity would ever venture into the medium at all. This book is a wonderful exception to that pedestrian norm.

The author is a master in the medium of pen and ink. He's not just a person who can hatch until his eyes bleed but he has something to bring to art besides a laborious technique. This guy is an artist not just a technician! It's not that he doesn't know technique! He knows everything I could imagine to ask about the subject and more.

When I first started looking for a decent book on pen and ink I was hoping to find a book just like this. Don't waste your time on the books that have all the excitement of watching paint dry. This is one for the serious artist's bookshelf. I can't believe it's not in reprint from the publisher.

The Chapter on Materials and Tools is full of information and very good. But very downhill from here. Very little instruction, rather filled with weird drawings and frontal male nude drawings. The "Todays Artists" that I know would not appreciate this book.

I bought this book because it was part of the class list of a course I signed up for. The class was cancelled for lack of registration, and I am now stuck with it.
The most interesting part is a listing of materials used in pen and ink drawing. As for the actual instructions, they are fairly confusing and far from sufficient.They assume you already know what you are doing. This is not a book for beginners, as pen and ink drawing is definitely not for beginners in drawing. This medium requires a great deal of control. There is not much room for corrections or second thoughts. In this regard, it's similar to sumi-e (oriental brush and ink painting).
There are no step-by-step pictures. I would have liked to see how ink washes are done, for example. There are practically no drawings of landscapes. Most of the illustrations are the author's work, and I must admit I found many of them very disturbing and dark. This is not an enjoyable book to leaf through. It might give you nightmares!
I purchased this book used, at the lowest price I could find. I would not recommend buying it at all.

I started drawing in Pen & ink back in high school-- IMHO it is one of the most versitile mediums out there. I found this book to be a great resource and one that I use often as a source of reference and inspiration before I begin a drawing. While some of the images may be a little dark--I think if you look at the technique used in creating them you can gain a whole new understanding of the medium. The section on the different types of materials is useful. If you have dabbled in pen & ink and have become addicted to it--then I highly recommend this book. If you are someone that has never tried inking and you want to learn this book might not be for you.

This book presents procedures you can try at home to better your technique no matter what level you're at. The author generously shares his accumulation of knowledge. Very modern and contemporary. The illustrations are inspiring, you'll want to drop everything and start your own drawings!

This book is very well laid out. All of the main points are clear and there are strong summaries. The pictures could have been more attractive, which is trivial. The wording was such that the book was boring, but why should we expect a textbook to be a novel?

Do not waste your money on Foundations of Reading Study guides. This help me understand different key concepts that Fountas and Pinnel over indulged in their book. This book is simple, easy to read, focus on strategies, realistic classroom scenarios, and so on and so forth. In the back of the book it gave a whole section on teaching stragegies that can be used as a reference guide. This came to me from several friends who had recommended the book to me to help me study after we have the Fountas and Pinnel book, Guiding Readers and Writers. I hope this helps.

Not only is this book a great resource for teaching young children, but it a great tool for future teachers. The material in the book can help you study for MTEL's.

This book is very informative and offers a plethura of ideas to work with the various reading strategies.

I found this book to be very helpful in teaching Elementary Reading. It had great ideas and good insight. Also, easy to read and well organized.

I used this book in addition to Ready for RICA by James Zarillo. You MUST read the instruction pages, or the book will seem pointless. But if you read the instructions, you will get a lot from the book itself. There are sample case studies similiar to those on the RICA with all possible answers listed. There are also study tips to help prepare for the exam. This book was a core in my preparation for the RICA and I passed on the first try.

This book prepares you for the case study on the RICA exam and has sample case studies for you to test yourself. Great book!

This book ONLY covers the case study section for the RICA. Use it in conjunction with "Ready for Rica" by James Zarillo and study it and you'll be fine on the RICA exam. I studied the books while taking the RICA class in the credential program and it went smoothly!!!

I am going to take the RICA in about a month. Many of my friends have already taken the test and said this book was helpful. The book is not intendend to be a sole preparation for the RICA. You need to have a knowledge of terminology and strategies to go along with this book. There are some helpful web sites and books for this purpose as well as any "Language and Literacy" courses you may be taking in your credential work. This book is to give you sample case studies such as the ones you will be required to write about on the real test. Keep this in mind when studying.

This book was very helpful to my RICA preparation, but in conjuction with the Ready for RICA book. If you're using both, the approaches are slightly different, like the difference between the Clifs and the Barron's prep books for the CSET. Each had some merit, neither would be a good idea to be the single source for preparation. My essay portion was helped, however, by studying from this book, as it's suggested answers were different from the Ready for RICA.