Reading Instruction Books

A wonderful resource to have in my dyslexia classroom. It gets the children thinking and using their letters.

This book was well worth the money in helping me to plan phonics lessons that are multi-level for my class and beneficial to my struggling readers.

Patricia Cunningham offers a systematic, month-by-month guide to using a class Word Wall. The book is sprinkled with great word wall games and instrutcional techniques. I reccomend this for a new teacher in need of a program to help get the class word wall started.

This book is exactly what it says: multilevel and systematic. For a good price, I received a full year's plan for phonics and word study instruction that matched the instructional needs of the group of students I bought it for.

Ms. Sherman-Gold has done an amazingly valuable service to all students of Hebrew language and Bible study. Her book is the only resource I know of that presents the complex and sometimes almost mystifying issues of the Qamatz Qatan in a manner that is both comprehensive and user-friendly. Her book should be thoroughly studied by anyone for whom the correct pronunciation of Biblical Hebrew text is of importance. It is also a streamlined and very well organized guide to the grammatical rules and controversies about this unique "vowel and half-vowel". All Torah readers, Rabbis, Jewish school directors, Hebrew or Religious school teachers, Cantors, and libraries should have at least one copy of this wonderful book within easy reach at all times. Even those who have a fluent command of modern Hebrew should use this book both to understand fully how the Qamatz Qatan works and to check the correct Biblical Hebrew pronunciation of those occurences of the Qamatz Qatan which are not commonplace in modern Hebrew. A most hearty and sincere "yiyyasher qohekh" to Ms. Sherman-Gold.

My Cantor recommended this book to me and I absolutely love it! The layout of the book makes it user-friendly to check a Torah portion. The colored pages are also helpful as they draw immediate attention to the kametz katon in question. This book is well worth the $$!

This Hanukah, two of my best Torah students and dearest friends gave me "Ohs and Ahs of Torah Reading" and it's one of my favorite presents of all time. I have been the Torah Reader at Congregation Ner Tamid in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, for the past thirteen years, and I've known about the "closed, unaccented syllable" rule for the kamatz-katan vowel from my days in Hebrew class at the University of Judaism, but to have all of them, from the whole Torah, listed in order, page after page, in color! This book is a remarkably user-friendly guide; a true advancement in the art of Torah Reading. No one who teaches or reads Torah should be without it. On behalf of all Torah Readers, Rivka Sherman-Gold should be commended for her work.

As a "BAAL TEFILA" (Prayer leader) and "BAAL KREIA" (Torah reader) in ISRAEL and as an ISRAELI who is familiar with the Hebrew language, I found this book to be very helpful, informative and accurate. The history of "Kamatz Katan" was quite new for me. I use the book on a regular basis, while preparing for Torah reading and for the prayers. The starcture of the book that addresses all the Parashot and Haftarot makes it very easy to be aware of the "Kamatz Katan" and improves the accuracy of Hebrew pronunciation in Torah reading and in praying. Rivka Sherman-Gold deserves a great "ISHAR KOACH" for the exceelent work!

I borrowed this book from the library 4 times before I decided I just had to add this to my collection. From the beginner to the novice drummer, there's something for everyone in this book. It takes you from what the "job description" of a drummer is, how to get a kit, how to set it up and tune the drums, how to read music, basic beats, advanced beats, fills, more fills, advanced drumming techniques and then where to go from there (ie, join a band, music lessons, recordings, etc).
I've been a drummer (on and off) for almost 18 years now and did the garage band thing back in the day. I still learned quite a few things from this book.
It's also a very easy read. So much so that my impatient 11 year old son picked it up and figured out how to lay a basic click. If it works for him.. hey, you gotta get this book!
The absolute only thing I would have liked different about this book is to have audio tracks either with or in place of the dvd. I'm not usually around a tv/dvd setup, especially when practicing. But I do have a cd/mp3 player handy. However, the dvd is fantastic! Far better quality and detail than I expected.
In summary, you can't afford not to get this book. If you're just starting out, this is your launch point. If you're already playing, this will shore up your educational/experience shortfalls. Something for everyone here, a real winner.

From a step-by-step setup for a drum kit to reading music, learning professional drumming techniques, and practicing the right way, PICTURE YOURSELF DRUMMING is for any beginning drummer who wants to start out on the right foot. Learn how to use expert techniques to make a band sound great, play and invent grooves, and more with this book/DVD package which offers up a logical, progressive drum instructional perfect for drummers who would supplement classroom teachings with more specific routines for advancement.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I must concur w/ reviewer Bobo Nadrumbo; this book should be sold w/ every drum kit sold. Had I owned this instructional manual 40 years ago I might not have given up the drums and picked up the bass, even if I had still made the switch I would have experienced far less frustration moving from the marching snare to a full kit. It's straightforward, humorous, and practical too a fault in both musical and mechanical content. I've performed w/ Jon Peckman and I can tell you he definetely knows the drums. As a teacher myself I can tell you after reading this book and watching the DVD he also apparently knows how to breathe life into what is often an uninspriing dry academic subject. This is practical application that won't put you to sleep and will make you a happier and better drummer quickly if you put in the time.....and your bassist will thank you for buying it if no-one else does.

My brother bought this book for my son and I. we have both been studying it and have found it to be the most comprehensive starter instructional book out there. This really covers the nuts and bolts of getting started on a drum kit, both the mechanical aspects of setting up the equipment and the musical aspects of how to make music on the kit. It should be mandatory with every drum kit sold to an aspiring drummer. I think it will help many new drummers get a solid start on the kit rather then the usual frustration encountered. I highly recomend it.

This book has a lot of relevant information. It explain theories, but also gives concrete examples. Great!

This was exactly the book i needed and I got it for a great price. The delivery timing wa s perfect as well and very fast.

This book is an excellent tool for teachers seeking to improve their instructional practices. It is also a very useful tool for teacher trainers who wish to help educators in the process of reaching English Language learners (ELLs). It explains how effective teachers can reach ELLs. Although short, every page is worth reading.

There is a lot of info. in this book. I took the CLAD exam 7 years ago and remember a lot of the same content. This book goes a step farther than theory and has real-life senerios with a focus on different cultures/children learning English. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about teaching English Language Learners.

This is an excellent resource for developing lessons and support for beginning readers and struggling readers. I plan on using this as a reference for lesson development.

I've been attending a class with other teachers from my school and we're using this book (which our Reading Recovery Teachers use with their students) to better help ALL students learn to read. I wanted my own copy so I can refer back to it whenever I want and make notes during class.

This is my ninth year as a reading specialist. I've had Balanced Literacy training, training similar to Reading Recovery (Collaborative Literacy Intervention Project: CLIP), and have used Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading books and supplements.
Therefore, I was prepared to be disappointed in this book, but after examining it have decided it is an invaluable resource for differentiated reading instruction.
The book covers the very earliest reading instruction through levels 20+.
The thing I really like about it is that it gives the Fountas-Pinnell, Reading Recovery, and DRA levels equivalents for each stage. There are five stages: Emergent Reader, Beginning Reader, Fledgling Reader, Transitional Reader, and Independent Reader. There is a lesson plan template and sample lesson for each level--called stages--(which I have tweaked a bit and made my own template for each level in WORD). The appendix has materials and examples for carrying out the suggested lesson formats. The levels get progressively more sophistocated: Stage 1 includes alphabet activities, for example, and Stage 5 has Word Pattern Sorts.
Moreover, there is a section on screening and evaluation that I wish I had had when I was testing for my reading groups.
If you're a reading specialist, don't throw away your Fountas and Pinnell materials, but this is a great supplement to give you a feeling of focus and direction for the different reading level lesson plans.

This book is the step by step guide to teaching guided reading by reading levels. It also included the word cards, letter cards, dictation sentences and more that go with each lesson. I feel like I am a more effective teacher due to this book. It is a must have for teachers!

I own many, many, many books on the tarot and this is the one that I turn to again and again. I honestly think it is one of the best books on the market. My copy is dog-eared, high-lited, underlined and filled with notes in the margin. I have found this book to be a wonderful source of information. If you are looking for a deep, meaningful, intellectual and intelligent presentation of the tarot, look no farther. Most tarot books have about 10 pages of introductory info with a brief blip about the origin of the cards, and maybe some info on how to choose a deck or do a spread. The meat of the book is just the definitions of the cards, which you could really get anywhere.

This book isn't like that. The bulk of the book discusses the tarot in depth and points out themes within the cards. It discusses Jungian archtypes and how they fit in with the tarot's meaning. Riley also provides detailed information on choosing a deck and learning how to interpret the cards effectively. Her strength lies in drawing connections and illuminating themes within the cards and helping the novice understand how all the cards build on each other and interact with each other. She details the significance of the card numbers in the Minor Arcana and the similarites among all the suits with respect to numerological references. She also discusses the similarities within each suit and also gives a through and insightful description of each card. This is an extremely well written and facinating book that in itself is filled with practical wisdom for life. There are lots of great, quotable lines. If you are interested in learning about the tarot, this is the best book you are going to find.

I was at a library sale this past weekend and found a book called simply "The Tarot Book (Basic Instruction for Reading the Cards)" by Jana Riley. Paid 10 cents for it and once I started looking through it, I realized I had stumbled on quite the gem! It's got unique insights, interesting perspectives and it's just all around a book that you don't come across on Tarot very often (it's got something new to impart), and I stumbled on it by accident.

Serendipity is always cool . Great essays on archetypes, numbers, colours.
A wonderful table on the suits, best I have yet to see! Goes into some depth with the courts. I have to say she covers the numbers quite extensively, which was very welcome as it's my main study with cards

I love how the Majors are treated. She puts it all in a concise, easily assimilated write-up, and then after expands with her thoughts on what she says are cards that need more explanation and are prone to misperception. (some are Magus, Empress and Hanged Man).

All in all, a real keeper of a book! Compact (all this in 200 pgs.), excellent basic info with some great insight and new angles, many superb tables.....she pretty much covers it all in a very unique way.

And here I thought from the title it was going to be another ho-hum rehash, tell me nothing new book on Tarot. Far from it.

I've been looking for books on the Thoth deck to give me more basic concepts other than the confusing rants of Crowley. I now have almost all the books on the Thoth deck, and this is the most original of them all. Rather than give meanings of each individual card available in every other book, the author has essays and chapters bringing the tarot down to more basic terminology. This one stood out out of all the Thoth books because it isn't just meanings of the cards; I already have those and subsequent books bored me.

This is a really great book for beginning tarot readers. It is extremely simple to follow and tells a lot about the cards. For Beginners, I reccomend the Universal Waite Tarot Deck.

If you are a teacher who would like to become familiar with the latest academic research regarding vocabulary acquisition, but who has neither time nor energy to wade through hundreds of pages of technical research in academic journals, then this is the book for you!
Too often, a wide ravine separates literacy teachers from academic researchers in the field. The teachers tend to focus on practical textbooks, oriented around lesson plans for specific grades (such as those in the Scholastic Teaching Resources series), while the researchers produce highly technical articles published in journals such as the Journal of Child Language or Reading Research Quarterly, which are all but inaccessible to the average teacher, whether because of the lengthy and technical nature of the articles, or because of the limited time available to practicing schoolteachers.
However, the present compendium of articles successfully bridges this gap, bringing the latest results of academic literacy research to the literacy teacher. Concepts are presented clearly and succinctly, in a fashion which underscores their relevance to the challenges of the literacy classroom. At the same time, however, these studies do not suffice with a simple recital of the research results; rather, they also include detailed explanations of the field tests from which the concepts emerge, along with complete bibliographical references. Thus, the reader emerges informed not only of the results of the research but with an overview of the research process as well; and the reader who wishes to explore any given matter further needs only follow up the copious bibliographical notes within.
Underlying most of the studies within the book is the contention that wide reading will generally not suffice to build a child's vocabulary. On the one hand, studies show that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the context surrounding unfamiliar words is not sufficiently rich to allow the child to learn the words in any meaningful way. Additionally, the frequency of unfamiliar words tends to be too low for the words to become ingrained within the mind of the reader. On the other hand, additional studies demonstrate that using a variety of proactive instruction strategies, significant quantities of words can be acquired and internalized, such that reading comprehension is bolstered considerably. These latter studies investigate strategies for analyzing unfamiliar words (such as morphology instruction), as well as methods for heightening awareness of new words (such as the Vocabulary Self Selection method).
Given the wide range of authors included within this compendium, it is natural that some differing viewpoints will emerge. For instance, although the word "predict" is used by Shane Templeton as a prime example of a word which can generate a fruitful morphology session in the classroom (page 133), Michael Graves, in his discussion of prefix instruction 50 pages earlier, specifically notes that words such as "predict" are not sufficiently transparent and should be excluded from morphology discussions (page 83). Nevertheless, such differing positions are perfectly reasonable and are certainly welcome in the present book, allowing teachers to make informed decisions, choosing varying methods and strategies as appropriate for their particular students.
The one fault which I have found in this book is that the authors fail to take their vocabulary acquisition methods one step further, towards the writing process. That is, the overarching concern of virtually every one of the writers is the learning of vocabulary for reading comprehension. While this is certainly a worthy goal, and certainly precedes any effort placed upon developing writing skills, I felt that the research explored here regarding the integration of new vocabulary should have also been exploited to develop strategies which would encourage the students to use the newly acquired words in their writing as well.

This review of research is just as important for the Non Reading classroom teacher.

I started by skipping through the chapters that I thought applied to me, but ended up reading all of the chapters and finding use for all of the information.

I shared this with collegues who ended up buying their own copies!

The collaborative effort of James F. Baumann (Professor of Reading Education, University of Georgia) and Edward J. Kame'enui (Director of the Institute for the Development of Educational Achievement, College of Education, University of Oregon), Vocabulary Instruction: Research To Practice is the newest title in the outstanding "Solving Problems in the Teaching of Literacy" series from Guilford Publications. Focusing upon student vocabulary development, this compendium of research-based approaches provides current findings in the areas of effective classroom curriculum strategies for increasing vocabularies through the teaching of specific word meanings, strategies for learning new words independently, opportunities for word and language play, and developing a lifelong appreciation for words, their meanings, and their usages. Enhanced with illustrative classroom examples, Vocabulary Instruction can well serve as a primary text for aspiring teachers, as well as informative supplemental reading for practicing classroom instructors developing curriculums for any grade level of instruction.

I am an educator who recently had to overhaul and redesign a large-scale vocabulary instruction program. The information in this book was invaluable to me. I found it to be accurate, insightful, actionable, well-organized, and comprehensive.

As another teacher suggested, this book is not full of teaching activities, lesson plans, or word lists. (If you want that kind of book, you might try The Vocabulary Teacher's Book of Lists.) It is, however, full of big-picture facts and credible answers to important questions. It gave me confidence in my approach and helped me make many decisions. It also helped me plan teacher training.

If you are teaching in a traditional classroom setting with an established curriculum and an established set of practices, this book will probably not change the way you teach very much (although it might be interesting). However, if you are making larger-scale decisions about your vocabulary program, this book is a wonderful resource.

I bought this book for a graduate course. It is easy to read and very clear. The authors write it in a very friendly manner. You gain a lot of information and it gives great suggestions. If you need help with what's happening in the reading world, this is the book for you!!

I will keep this book as a teaching Bible. It has amazing examples and useful material and resources.

This is one of my favorites. It has every assessment possible for reading-ready to copy and use! short chapters too!

complex, yet easy to understand. informative, yet exciting. i recommend this boook to anyone who feels an intense love for music and the history of sound and noise.

This is a very comprehensive guide on the different sides of "audio culture". Many of the authors and readings you'll find here are among the most influential on the subject...From Luigi Russolo's futurist musical manifesto to Brian Eno's ambient music, coming across Stockhausen, Steve Reich, Cage, Kim Cascone, etc. Very thought-provoking, it gives an interesting macro view of the world of audio as well as the different currents and inflexion points that have changed the way we perceive music and its context...

I definitely recommend it, but beware: you'll want more!

My son is into "Modern Music" and said this was good, so I got it for him for Christmas.

This book is the text for a graduate literacy course that I am taking. Along with a balanced outlook on the reading readiness vs. emergent literacy debate are practical ideas on how to teach reading effectively. Interesting and user-friendly.

I purchased this book for a graduate course I took last year. It is now an important part of my professional library. O'Donnell and Wood cover everything from the whole language v. phonics approach to creating your own assessments.

I'm an elementary school librarian in NE PA. In PA we have an excellent inter library loan system. It's the envy of the nation. Ninety percent of the libraries in the state share a centralized OPAC. There are well over 1.5 million distict titles in the database, available for circulation.
One of the faculty suggested recently that I pull 25-30 currnet titles on the topic of reading instruction, and set them up in the faculty room. I limited my search to titles published within the last 5 years. We received about 20 titles. This is the over-all bestof the lot. All aspects of reading instructional techniques are covered. There are even reading inventory assesments in the appendix for someone who would want to perform a study.
this is an excellent book. I plan to add it to our professional developement library.
mike reavey