Education Books

This book is by far my favorite book on the subject. I would recommend it to anyone starting out in their teaching career. Don't be put off by the "dummies" title.

This book is very easy to read and written in an informal style, but manages to provide great tips and information to make teaching a lot easier. I haven't started teaching yet, but this book has served to warn me about some problems and experiences I may encounter. It doesn't go over what they teach you in education courses, like lesson planning and educational psychology, but it does tell you things like what to do if you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of your class and gives management, organizational, and networking tips to help you avoid having to reinvent the wheel in some areas. Overall, a good read that I found hard to put down, because it was entertaining, helpful, and oh-so-true.

I really liked this book. I was an easy read, very helpful, and humorous! I was hesitant at first because it's written by a high school teacher, and I am elementary. However, his advice, tips, and warnings apply to ALL grade levels. This book skips the educational theories, and dives right into the important things that rookies really want to know: setting up your classroom for the 1st day; getting to know parents; how to deal with your administrators; and keeping your kids under control, among many other topics. The author includes many anecdotes from his teaching career. This book is excellent; I definitely recommend!

This book is one of the best I have read on being a teacher. I am a new teacher, but have been in the classroom for 10 years. The author has a very good insight on what it is all about, from dealing with the kids, the never ending responsibilities of being in charge of a classroom and dealing with the adults involved. W. Michael Kelley has a fantastic sense of humor and gives so many inspiring examples of how to make teaching fun, not only for the teacher but for the students as well. I highly recommend this book to rookie teachers as well as veteran teachers who feel they need to revamp their teaching styles and methods.

I am in the stages of deciding whether teaching would be a good career change for myself. Michael Kelley's book has really helped me get a clear picture of what to expect in the world of teaching. It is very easy to read and fun too -- he has a wonderful sense of humor and has some great antidotes. I highly recommend this book. This one will be going in my "to keep" pile as I have highlighted quite a few passages worth remembering.

We first saw this book at our local Children's Museum. After reading it, I had to have this as part of our home library. The illustrations are so original, as is the funny story. It makes us laugh each time we read it together. Plus, the final soup is made of lots of different kinds of vegetables--a great healthy meal reinforcement for your preschooler.

My grandmother used to tell me this story and now I can pass that on to my grandchildren who unfortunately do not live in the same state. It's a wonderful story (with lines I still quote as an adult!) and terrific illustrations that will make you laugh right out loud.

The juxtaposition of the photograph-like mishmashed black and white backgrounds with the colorful illustrations of characters and key items make this book fun and interesting to look at. The twist on the nursery rhyme is hilarious and easy for children to identify with. My child loves to point out the different animals and vegetables and always laughs throughout the story (a lamb hanging out in the diswasher, etc gets lots of giggles). Makes vegetables fun.

We just love the cadence of the words, so fun to read. And the art is so unique, mixing photography with drawing of the characters. My 3 year old picks this one over and over. GREAT gift for a vegetarian friend! (the lady in the book gets so fed up going to Market and managing the animals and fish she has purchased, that she finally gives up and makes veggie soup for everyone~animals included) We are not vegetarians, and this book in no way was preaching Veganism...but it would be appreciated on another level by a Vegan I think. Just buy it...its great.

Anne Miranda made a fun story out of a small nursery rhyme.

The book keeps the rhythm of the old rhyme but you will have trouble keeping it as the artwork has many things to take you away from the story.

The pictures made my daughter stay on each page for a little while as she had to see what happened as each animal started to trash the old lady's house.

It's a great little book and I have had to read it every night. A couple times in fact.

A nice book, but something about it made me not really wanting to read it and I love reading.
Not sure what it was, it is okay, depends on the person. Parent probably would not enjoy it, a person in the practice would.

When I was taking a class with Bobby Newman he suggested I get this book - and I'm so please he did. It's comprehensive, explanatory, and a must have for those of us in the field using the principles of applied behavior analysis to bring about change in the behavior of children with autism. I have many other books - but this is the one I turn to first!

This book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to set up formal ABA programming for their child or for anyone who wants to understand the steps of development in specific areas such as making conversation, understanding the difference between yes/no and learning how to read. I found the checklists at the back of the book to be the most helpful. I have had extensive training (as a parent) in ABA principles and Discrete Trial Training procedures and I found that this book was accurate and gave the right amount of detail when I wanted to set up my own programs to be implemented in my home.

This book is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in behaviorism or anyone who knows a child on the Austic Spectrum.
If this topic isn't your cup of tea, then there's no reason for you to be interested in this book, but if you are into this sort of thing, it's amazing.

Right after I got the autism diagnosis for my son I realized that behavioral therapy would be our main focus of treatment and due to financial constraints, I would be the primary therapist.

After reading some really heady and intellectual literature on behavioral therapy I just wanted to scream, "Yes, I know, but tell me what to do!!"

A Work in Progress does just that. It is simply written and easy to use. Look up the behavior you wish to address in the table of contents, turn to the indicated page, and there, clearly written is a step-by-step plan. Brilliant. Just what we needed.

As a parent of a child with autism, I have faced many struggles.
Working with the public school system to provide my son an appropriate education has been the hardest struggle by far. I have read Wrightslaw: Special Ed Law and From Emotions to Advocacy by Peter Wright and have found them to be an invaluable resource for parents of special needs children. As with any disability, parents must educate themselves in order to help their child. These books are loaded with information that is essential for parents who wants to be strong advocates. I recommend these books to every parent who has a child in the public school system.

I found this book to be an excellent resource for getting the special education my 10 year old son needed. Not only does it point out the "common" methods school systems circumvent the Law (and your childs education), it tells the reader how to deal with it. Also of note was the text of several court cases on special education law and how it relates to the parents. Yes, we have a lot more rights and control of our childrens education than the school systems are willing to acknowledge! Especially educational was how it pointed out that school systems often do not have all the members present for a meeting, but the law requires ALL members to be present. This is a must have for parents of Special Educational need students.

This book is a must have if you have a child with special needs. It is the most comprehensive book around for helping your child get an education! I call it my special education bible. If you can only afford one book to help you through the special education maze, this is the ONE to buy!

Sissy

This book is extremely well written, concise and incredibly practical. As a parent of a special needs child, my copy is dogeared with tons of stickies coming out the sides and highlighted paragraphs throughout. The unraveling of caselaw portions and the clear writing style help you understand the nuances of special ed law, expectations you can have, how to be smarter in and out of an IEP meeting, and how not to be bushwacked. It has the good stuff, but doesn't skip on the real language either. Well balanced with nothing fluffy. I'd rather lose my dayrunner than my copy of Wrightslaw.

This book, is THE guide to protecting your child and making sure he receives the special education services that he needs. The author's give some VERY good, sound advice throughout the book. Just having the laws handy makes it worth the price, the legal commentaries are just the icing on the cake. It it the best book I have bought and highly recommended to anyone who has a special needs child. Whether you are familiar with the laws or not, you should own this book. There is also a companion strategy guide available from the same publisher that is very good. And there is also a Advocate's Guide coming out soon from the same author's and I will buy that as soon as it is released. Knowledge is power. The best way to help your kids is to learn as much as you can. This book is your best resource to do that.

Great job! This book is a wonderful insight of how to best support teachers and students about inclusion in a manner that allows all students to LIVE life whether on the Autism Spectrum or not. Paula shares a lot of personal lessons she has learned through her years of researching what is best for one may not be best for all. Learning how to best address the unique talents and challenges of students with Austism is a continued journey and I look forward to future books from this author. The humor throughout the book just adds to the enjoyment. Strongly recommended! A must read for the entire school staff.

As an elementary teacher and a mother of a child with an autism spectrum disorder, I found this book to be one of the most practical yet thought-provoking texts I've read yet. Ms. Kluth gets right to the heart and mindset of what true inclusion is. Her ability to inspire us all to value the child with special needs as well as to respect and value the input of caregivers is crucial to successful inclusive schooling. In addition, this book has really helped me to keep an open mind about how every child, regardless of the severity of his disability, can and must play a key role in the success of any classroom community. Most importantly, Ms. Kluth addresses the importance of positive attitudes, perseverence and personal reflection in one's own growth experiences as an educator. It was great to read this book. Thanks for the wonderful anecdotes that so vividly helped me visualize how I can create a more effective inclusive environment in my classroom. Can't wait!

I LOVE the chapters on teaching strategies and behavior. Lots of great tips for helping challenging kids. The teaching strategies chapter has ideas for getting ready for transitions, preparing the classroom, and teaching lessons effectively. The planning-in-reverse strategy is really effective!

I have recommended this book to many -- the philosophy is sound but the practical suggestions are the highlight for me.

Brilliant, eloquent, and helpful, this book is not only eye opening, but gives a clear grasp and understanding to the broad spectrum Autism occupies. Dr. Kluth's book clearly explains the way parents and teachers can impact children not only at home, but in an inclusive classroom.

"You re" Going to Love this Kid" is written in a clear, no non-sense style capturing the unique challenges that can occur between school systems, teachers, parents and the special child with autism. Dr. Kluth brilliantly gives examples and steps to help overcome the obstacles so many parents face with educational professionals who may be ignorant or unaware of the promising and doable outlook of inclusive teaching.

Dr. Kluth's book is not only creative, but easy to follow and useful. It is information on routines and other helpful ideas and all done in an easy to follow creative way. This book is inspiring and touching with the many stories she includes from actual students.

I borrow Dr. Kluth's book out regularly and strongly encourage teachers, administrators and parents to attend Dr. Kluth's seminars regarding inclusive teaching and understanding autism.

The book arrived earlier than expected. It was exactly what the ad said it was and more...very satisfied!

I was looking for a book to help me understand my son's ADD. This was very resourceful. It explains everything so well. It has advice for organization, structure, behavior, etc. I was very pleased with this book.

I like the direct "how to" advice in this book. My husband and I have promised one another we will not medicate our daughter and this book has given us more faith that we can keep that committment. This book has given us ideas that are simple to use and practical. Our daughter has a 504 but after reading Dr. Ashley's book we requested another IEP meeting and revised her entire plan based upon the ideas in this book. She is doing much better in school now and homework is not the torture we all used to suffer. The 504 ideas in the back of the book are worth it alone. our school is now using dr. ashley's checklist to help design IEP and 504s for all their add and adhd kids.

After reading this book I have a better understanding of children with ADD & ADHD and what parents are faced with on a regular basis. Extremely well written and I am looking for to more books from Dr. Ashley.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

I just bought this book with the intentions of reading it. I came to this site to see what other people think about the book. So far I have seen really good reviews on it. But what bothers me are those parents who stress that THEY WILL NOT medicate their child. As a mother I never ever wanted to take that route. I read alot of information to help him without medication. What foods he can eat and other helpful ways to help him without medicine, that was very difficult. Finally after he was almost kicked out of Preschool I took him to our school district and they evaluated him having ADHD. With their diagnosis they allowed him to attend preschool at no cost to me, to make him understand school rules. I also took him to our pediatrician, crying with the news of what they told me, I knew that medication was the only way to help him. Upset and depressed we went home. I started 2weeks before kindergarden and I have notice what a good kid he had become. Since then he has been more focus and attentive in class. He gets his moments when he distracts class but other than that he is doing good. He is very very smart, from what the teachers are telling me.

My 1828 edition of Webster's is a wonderful addition to my resource library. It provides a valuable perspective
from which to compare today's culture with that of earlier times in America.

This book is not only beautiful, but a wonderful resource tool and a faithful reproduction of the original--no well-educated home should be without a copy!

The Webster's 1828 Dictionary is a unique and essential tool for educating Christians. It has the greatest number of Biblical definitions of any reference. Roots are traced in 26 languages. Usage examples come from classical literature and the Bible. This dictionary becomes not only a tool for defining words Biblically, it becomes a way of thinking that forms your worldview. It will equip you for Christian leadership, strengthen your vocabulary, give you an edge in communicating your view and become your foundation for thinking and reasoning Biblically. This tool can be the turning point for you to be more effective in communicating Christian principles used in government, economics, and marketing or for your student to clearly understand how the Bible has influenced every area of life.

The American Deictionary of the English Language is a must have dictionary if one is to understand the correct intrepretation of our nation's founding laws. By stydying this dictionary, you will be amazed at how much our language has changed over the past centruy. We need to have a static language if our laws and our liberty are to survive. Get this dictionary, study the original definition of the words that make up the Constutution, and you'll have a better understanding of your own personal liberty.

This dictionary is a wonderful reminder of the spiritual foundations of our country and a sad reminder of how far we have strayed.

The Bob book series are excellent for encouraging very beginning readers. Each page has only a few words and kids who are just beginning to sound out and read the stories. This makes them want to keep learning. The only thing to watch out for is kids sometimes memorize the books if they read only one or two over and over so you need to mix them up to have them actually read the books.

I've been using these with my 4 and 5 year olds and they both love them.

I am amazed at how these books have helped my 4.5 year old son take off with his reading. He eats these books up, and I have taken to letting him read one in bed at night with a little book light to encourage his reading. He even asks about the punctuation marks and what they mean! By the time he hits kindergarten I think he will be through the whole set!

These books have really helped my 5yo daughter get confident in her reading skills. I would highly recommend them to any beginning reader. They are fun stories but the words are all easy to sound out. I'm amazed at how many 3-letter words are in our language that I hadn't thought about!

I am a Special Education teacher. I help children with learning disabilities (K-5) learn to read. I don't think there are words for how highly I want to reccommend these books to parents and other educators. These books are PHONICS based and they are systematic and sequential. They help train a child's brain to see the patterns in the english language. Learning these patterns is how children learn to read. Other reviews have slammed these books for being boring and low interest. Are they the most exciting and engaging books ever? No, not really. Will they help your child/student learn to read? YES, they will. And the stories have enough content that I am able to monitor comprehension with questions such as "Who was this story about?", "Why did the fox try to hide when he saw the hen?", and "How do you think the animals felt when they saw the fox?". But most importantly, it is just such a thrill to see that expression of astonished pride on the child's face when they finish reading the book to you all by themselves. It's that bewildered sense of accomplishment that makes my students willing to take on new challenges and continue improving their reading skills.

I liked this set but unfortunatly it contained many of the same books as the first set, which we already have. I think they could have done it a little differently. If I had it to do over again I would have either skipped this set or started off with this one and skipped the first one.

let me just say i loved this book!...i came across it at my God daughters house this weekend.....it's such a great lesson ...and in such a simple easy to read way...Grace has it on her reading table as her favorite book....which is saying something.....this is a girl that has a room full of the latest toys and books....and i loved reading it to her...there's a great story line...as well as such detailed interesting illustrations...it's a must have for every child!...catherine marvis

I had an opportunity to read Different Just Like Me and was so touched by the author's spirit towards diversity of all people, shapes, colors, conditions, and ailments. This is a wonderful starter book for preschool to young elementary aged children to put language to difference, and to begin awareness to how being different and unique... is really what we're all about. Each page has a new element, be it Braille, sign language, explanation of fruits and vegetables - and makes connections between the differences in each. Wonderful work!

When I first read Different Just Like Me I thought to myself, "What a wonderful book and what a great way to begin discussions in my classroom about respecting each others' differences". Never did I dream that this book would have the impact it had on my third grade class.The converstaions that were stimulated by this book were phenomenal! I was so impressed by how the book was able to open the door to the difficult topic of differences and acceptance. Children began to share their own experiences of times they felt left out or different. Children spoke about times when they felt uncomfortable around someone who was different then they were and they were unsure of how to handle that. I learned that my students had so many questions. They had finally found a safe opportunity to begin asking these questions. The children continued to refer to the book and make textual connectionns with this book throughout the year. It was obvious that the story had made a big impact on the children. Besides teaching a third grade class I also teach the Mainstreaming class for teachers at San Diego State University. I have reccommended this book to many teachers in the class as an avenue to begin the discussion about diversity in the classroom. I have heard such positive results from many of the teachers about how helpful it was to start the discussion with this book.

I learned of this book because my daughter Lindsey has vitiligo, a skin condition, that makes her look different. I went to my local library to check on the book and they had to borrow it from a bigger library. My daughter and I enjoyed the book because it brings out the points that we are all different in some ways but we are all also the same because everyone has feelings and want to be loved and treated well. When I returned the book to the library the librarian told me that she had enjoyed the book also and wanted to order a copy for our local library. The beautiful illustrations and insightful text are a treasure for anyones library.

I've read this book a number of time with my daughter. The odd premise is that we are all alike despite our differences. The main character, April, encounters people who are different races or ethnicities, people with disabilities, even boys and men, and . . .nothing much happens.

She has these encounters before and during a weekend train trip to visit her Grandmother. (Oddly, nothing is made of how older people are different but the same.) Her Grandmother cuts a bunch of different flowers and gives April the bouquet.

This aggregation of flowers symbolizes, one must suppose, that different people can be in the same place. Gosh!

The story is weak, the premise flimsy, but the illustrations are OK.

This is a common sense and logical read. The main ideas seems to make sense on so many levels. Basically our children are not being forced to think and prevoke some thought before reacting. This reading keys in on the need for consistent inner guidance versus short term exterior material motivations or threats that does nothing to teach children well. It helps the adults in their lives become better, more mature, thoughtful stewards of our children's growth and in handling behavior issues in ways that will benefit their overall wellbeing as well as our own. In retrospect, our children will grow not only by our own example, but also by the tools and skills we pass along to them for the most successful and enriching life journey experience possible. In the process, they are learning how to be and how to act, they are learning how to make mindful, self-respecting, civil, responsible choices for themselves in response to the environment around them. Today's high paced, competitive, global world requires our children to reason well and make good choices as they find their place in it so they are not getting lost or taken advantage of in the shuffle of it all. It is better that our children learn diffirently and more thoughtfully than past generations in an effort to reduce the amount of dysfunction and social-emotional challenges we as a society have been facing far too long. Education is a beautiful thing so that history does not continue to repeat itself and spread to the next generation so that we can continue to achieve betterment. We need to grow civility and personal accountability in our culture which is so diverse in a civilized and responsible way and it begins at home and in our educational institutions.

Thanks Dr. Marshall for clearly articulating and outlining these very principles in your book. The book also introduces the foundation of the "how to's" so we can begin utilizing this approach and changing some not so good ineffective practices we have acquired along the way which continue to confuse, belittle and dumb down our kids. Raise the bar and your kids will adjust. If you raise it high enough they will never fall to the bottom and they will love you for it later on in life.

I have been looking for something like this book for the ten years of my teaching career. Finally, there is a ready-to-implement system that combines recent brain research, psychology, and logical consequences into a classroom management system that not only produces a measurable improvement in behavior, but increases motivation for learning and responsibility. Marvin Marshall knows how to relate to children of all ages (and adults, too). I'm giving up my token economies and classroom prizes in favor of this system, which sends out students into the world to become productive, successful workers, family leaders, and citizens. This book will walk you step-by-step through the simple system which requires little to no record-keeping. Hooray!

This book is an excellent resource for new teachers and seasoned teachers
as well, who are struggling with the issues of discipline in their
classrooms. It shows how the old system of punishment and rewards does
not achieve good results and how it can be replaced with a system of
instilling personal responsibility and love of learning in students. I
like the way the book gives specific ways that teachers can do this.
This book should be a "must read" in schools of education, and could
revolutionize American education and society.

I purchased this book after an extremely challenging year of behavior problems in first grade. As a teacher who had previous success using rewards (giving plastic money that could be redeemed in a class store) and punishment (taking away recess time), this new class had so many problems that nothing seemed to work! During the summer, I read everything on behavior management I could find in preparation for my new third grade class and found this book while searching the web. Needless to say, this past year was the best year of teaching I've had in my short career of five years. Using the daily class meetings--the students' favorite part of the day--to solve problems and asking disruptive students to tell me "their level," I found that most problems went away quickly and students didn't get resentful of me because they had to reflect on how they were acting. Using the agenda for students to write down issues that bothered them was a great way to deal with tattling. I also linked the system with students who would forget homework. Rather than punish them, I would give them the Level 1 Essay to reflect on why they forgot their homework and what they could try so they could remember it. It worked! I also recommend buying "Positive Discipline in the Classroom" (Nelson) as a companion to this book if you want more step-by-step instructions for the classroom meeting. It picks up where Dr. Marshall's book leaves off regarding class meetings, especially on how to introduce it at the beginning of the year. One more thing: parents LOVE this system and will love you for using it!

I love the philospohy behind this book, but Dr. Marshall goes one step further and adds the golden element of classroom testing. When he tells me I will need to use a particular strategy with about 2 % of my students, I feel confidence that this material has truly been tested in real situations. Part of the problem with many discipline programs that aim to address classroom management without rewards, tokens, and such is they often talk down to teachers for using token systems, but offer only theories and clinical data as proof without workable ideas for in the classroom. I am trying out Dr. Marshall's program and will see how far it takes me, but after the first two introductory lessons on the ABCD heirarchy, this weird quiet settled into my room, like the idea of democracy had just sunk into my students heads. Very heady stuff.