Educational Books

I have been looking for Christmas books to inspire me. We are going slim this year with the economy the way it is. This book takes place at Christmas but it is not a Christmas tale. The plight of the gargoyle, dwarf and goblin is unusual. I'm not sure if the fairies really help their fellow magical beings but they do lead them on a path of self discovery. A magic WishMaker character ends up surprising us at the end. This is an interesting book and I enjoyed it, quick and fun reading.

My first thought was that this would only be good for a person who likes fairies. After reading this book I don't think that is so. I think it would be good for a lot of different readers. I found this when shopping for snow globes and decided to get it for a friend who likes things like mermaids and sprites. I won't see her for awhile so I read the book. I loved it. There's just enough cuteness mixed with realness mixed with Christmas. I think most kid oriented books have something to teach. This one teaches us to be ourselves and not to compromise on that. This is a good book and I do recommend it.

I loved this installment of what has become my favorite new fantasy children's series. I love to immerse myself in children's books and revert back to childhood on lazy afternoons, especially with enchanting adventures such as this one.

A gremlin, dwarf, and gargoyle are having strange urges that are unexplainable. The fairies are called to help them. Solving the mystery results in finding the Wishmaker, a man with a magic snow globe who can grant wishes. The adventure is exciting and has a surprising ending. I really enjoyed it.

For those who liked the gremlins in the first book of this series, Ripper (a gremlin who likes to fix things instead of breaking them), will enchant and delight in this new Fairy Chronicles tale. The book also features a dwarf and a gargoyle, along with the fairy team members who set out to solve a mystery.

This is a tale that sticks with you, a quick and easy read, but very memorable. Full of fairy fun, this book takes place at Christmastime, but will enchant all year round.

Again, these girls are using their heads, and not just barreling along without a care. They did this in the Cave of Courage and when they were looking for the Princess of Haiku --- they had to use their heads. Good role models for kids --- think before and while acting. There is still action in this book, enough to keep us interested, but this is another fun and puzzling fairy adventure. We loved the little gremlin in this story. He is so funny and full of goodness, and he is bound and determined to fix things instead of breaking them. We will be reading this book again.

Reading a book on pedagogy written by a neurologist sounds like as much fun as reading a standardized test manual, but Dr Judy Willis's Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning truly surprised me. Willis has written an excellent book for helping teachers understand how to teach in ways that engage students' brains and lead to deeper learning. The short text is easy to understand, yet filled with valuable information for teachers.
Teachers must constantly make decisions about which teaching method to use at any given point. Complicating the decision-making, however, is the plethora of methods from which teachers may choose, and the fact that proponents of so many different methods claim to have scientific research to support their ideas. Nevertheless, the task of choosing might be a little easier after reading Willis's book. While many texts focus on advising teachers how to implement a specific teaching strategy, Willis focuses on helping teachers understand how the human brain works and how teachers can use that knowledge to choose strategies that tap into the brain's normal processes.
In just over 100 pages, Willis deals with a wide range of educational issues. For example, she describes how the brain stores information and develops networking connections between related data. This, she writes, can help teachers understand why students sometimes have difficulty learning vocabulary. Unless a student is shown the relationships between existing knowledge and the new vocabulary, the student's brain stores the new information in isolation. Storing information in isolation then makes it more difficult for the brain to retrieve the information later. Conversely, if the student understands the connections between previous knowledge and new knowledge, the brain literally networks the information, which makes it easier for the brain to retrieve the information in the future. Willis describes how teachers can use graphic organizers, visualization, and role-play to help students make those cognitive connections.
An entire chapter is dedicated to understand how stress affects the brain and how schools and families can work together to reduce stress on students and help students handle the stress they do feel. Another chapter is dedicated to discussing many good assessment techniques. In this context, rather than merely describing how to write rubrics, Willis describes how rubrics help students' brains develop.
Of course, in describing so many neurological functions, it is necessary for Willis to use intimidating terms, such as dendrites, occipital lobes, and prefrontal cortex. Willis does a remarkable job, however, explaining such terms. And in case the reader forgets what a term means mid-book, the book includes a handy glossary.
I found Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning to be a surprisingly understandable, yet treasure-packed resource. And its readability and short length mean one can easily read it over a weekend. Best of all, the book could meet the needs of a wide audience. Willis has explained her ideas well enough that preservice teachers could easily understand the material; in fact, I can see this book becoming popular in teacher education programs. At the same time, the book offers such a unique perspective and valuable information that even veteran teachers are likely to benefit from investing their time in reading it.
Lovestoteach

This book is amazing! It clarifies how the brain works when a person learns, and it shares many ways in which learning can be enhanced. I wrote all over in mine, and I'm ordering another copy for my principal. Now, I need a syn-nap. THANK YOU, Dr. Willis!

I am so excited to finally be able to see what is going on inside my teenage student's brains.

As teachers, we are aware that presentation is a key element of what we do to engage our students. How did we get that usually reluctant student to answer a question; what made the class get so excited about our lesson today. Dr. Willis presents some very practical yet eye-opening details on how to engage students before you have even begun your lesson.

As often as I am reminded of how short the typical adolescent attention span is, Dr. Willis offers us a scientific explanation for why it is true. I find myself excited at the prospect that I can hack (a la computer hacking) my classroom presentation to achieve success in the classroom in a more consistent way.

Judy has changed my teaching forever. Thanks Judy!

Well written. Excellent resource, and I look forward to more books from this author.

Board-certified neurologist and middle school teacher Judy Willis, M.D. presents Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning, a guide for K-12 educators that combines the latest findings of learning-centered brain research with practical experience in the classroom. The result is a resource for helping students achieve their full academic potential that covers memory, learning, and test-taking success; strategies to corner student attention; how to mitigate the negative effects and draw benefits from the positive effects of stress and emotion in learning; and much more. A glossary, bibliography for further reading, and index round out this invaluable supplement to enhancing one's grade school curriculum for maximum effectiveness.

Stan Davis' book, Schools Where Everyone Belongs is an informative guide for teachers, administrators and parents. Mr. Davis clearly outlines the practical strategies to create a safe environment for students documented with solid reseached based data. This is a must read for ALL schools, (and Parents).
Deb Landry, children's author

If we all work to put an end to this silent killer of our children's self-esteem...the educational experience will be what it should be: an empowering, learning experience where all children feel connected. As an educator I have used (and written about in my book) simple strategies that parents, teachers and schools can use to prevent any child from becoming a bully or victim.Let's work together!

I have been working with children for a long time and this book really opened my eyes. I need good reason to change my way of thinking and Stan Davis has given me that. In addition to making some very good points, he has seen this method be successful at numerous schools. I would recommend the book to anyone that works with groups of children.

Great tips and strategies for deveoping an anti-bully environment along with invaluable information on the issue of bullying...its causes and effects. Another outstanding book that details what schools,teachers, principals and parents need to do to design a bully-free environment is: Bully-Proofing Children: A Practical, Hands-On Guide to Stop BullyingIt actually also contains a whole curriculum on the topic that needs to be taught to our kids. Highly recommended.Buy them both.

Written by family and child therapist and school counselor Stan Davis, Where Everyone Belongs: Practical Strategies for Reducing Bullying is a highly practical guide written especially for schoolteachers and other educational professionals, yet invaluable for anyone who oversees groups of children. Now in an updated second edition, Schools Where Everyone Belongs demystifies what bullying it is and common myths about its effects, what doesn't work to combat it, and most importantly of all, classroom-tested methods that do work to stop bullying and reverse its harmful effects. "When there are inconsistent consequences for bullying, young people are likely to continue. When we have to customize a consequence for each incident, the process of discipline becomes impossibly time-consuming. Planned, rubric-based consequences take much less time to administer and thus can be used more consistently. When consequences are predictable and based on a clear rubric, young people can learn from each other's misdeeds." An absolute "must-have" for grade school teachers and principals everywhere.

The book is great and I'm glad I bought it, though, if your child is under 4 or even 5 you might need to wait before you can actually enjoy this book.

The ideas presented for exploration in this book are simple and accessible to even a non-science minded person. I especially like the children's book suggestions pertaining to the topic - it gives me some resources for further "research" with the kids. Unlike many curricula-type books it is not particulary designed for multi-child experience... so for me and my 2 kids it is very easy to use with little adaptation for homeschool work.

This book is a must have for teachers/parents of young children. It is written in an excellent format and has great experiments. I conduct numerous hands on science experiments with my class of four year olds and turn to this book more than any others I have. The parent info. page for each section is an added bonus. Wish I had written it.

Teaching science to preschoolers since 1998, Peggy Ashbrook draws upon her considerable experience and practical expertise in "Science Is Simple" to showcase 250 child-friendly activities spanning 39 fun and informative science concepts ranging from magnets, to bubbles, to insects, to volcanoes, to plant life, to physics. "Science Is Simple" features both solo projects and group projects; an invaluable appendix listing science websites and other resources; a bibliography of children's literature related to science concepts, letters for explaining to parents each concept to be studies by the child; open-ended questions for creativity and self-discovery; and child-involving experiments for every season. "Science Is Simple" will prove a welcome addition to preschool, day-care center, elementary school, and homeschooling reference libraries and curriculums.

This book has a nice layout and is very user friendly. Endless supply of ideas!

This by far, was an amazing SIDS book. It's been almost a year since we lost Jacob to SIDS, and I still go back and re-read the book. It's so hard to find people that could relate to your SIDS loss, and this book is full of them. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this book.

I've been through this loss. Chances are, if you're searching for this book, you have just experienced your own loss. READ this book.

If you have lost a child to sids then you must get this. It was recommended to me and it has been a valuable tool. It is fully of case studies, answers to questions you wont have thought of and usefull information on how to try and get through this.

Horchler and Rice give comfort, encouragement, and insight to the issues that surround Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Infant Death. Families who have suffered the devastating loss of a baby will find many questions they may have answered among the pages. The topics covered bring a sense of normalcy and healing to the bereaved as the authors guide the reader down the path of surviving their loss and again finding joy in living.

The SIDS Survival Guide was my beacon of light during the darkest part of my life. My son, Dominic, passed away from SIDS on April 10, 2001, at only 4 1/2 months young. I began to reach out and search for all the information I could find on SIDS, drinking it all in by the bucket. A few months after he died, I found "The SIDS Survival Guide", and am so incredibly thankful. There was so much information, so many stories so like my own. I shed many tears while reading it for the first time, and even now, when I go back to read sections, I still cry. I am now expecting our second child in June 2002, and am scared to death. But knowing that I am informed about SIDS is somewhat of a comfort to me; in a way, I am as prepared as I can ever be. I would recommend this book to anyone expecting a child, who has a young baby, or knows someone who is or does.

My husband and I lost our son to SIDS in September of 2000. Our souls have been torn. The grieving process over his death has been draining. I recall little over the past 4+ months since his death. The one thing I do recall is thinking I was going crazy. I had wished their was another SIDS survivor I could speak with. Someone who could possibly relate to what my husband and I were going through. Someone who could understand our emotions. I searched under the keyword SIDS and found this book. I have not read the book in its entirety. I have read the sections I have needed at the particular times in my grieving. This book has helped me confirm that I am not going crazy. What I am feeling, though very personal, is normal. I feel this book is a neccesity for any parent who has to suffer this terrible tragedy. I have placed an order of these books in my babies memory to send to my state SIDS Coordinator in hopes that other parents may find comfort in its contents. Thank you Joani and Robin.

I just love this whole series. Such a huge help in teaching Spanish & English for my children & myself! Easy to read.

Great book for bilingual ed. or children learning English or Spanish. Very elementary level. Clear drawings and nice labeling in English and Spanish.
edconnectionsllc.com

I have purchased several Spanish books on Amazon and as always make many of my purchases based on the reviews of those who have gone before me. My daughter is trying to teach my granddaughter how to speak Spanish and she loved this book. Of course she loved sucking on the corners too but it was colorful, well planned out and joyful.

We bought this book because my son loved "Mi familia y yo" by the same author. This one has a bit more vocab to get hold of, but we are slowly getting to learn the body parts. Love it that both languages are side by side. Another great resource from Gladys Rosa Mendoza.

This is an excellent book with respect to teaching young children Spanish! My granddaughter will be three years old next month (01-15-08) and there is nothing she cannot say in English, so teaching her Spanish is fairly easy. She is familiar with the language since I speak to her. However, she finds it more fun to speak when we use the book. In the back of the book there is a section that teaches the reader how to pronounce the words for the children in the event that the reader is also learning. I am fluent in Spanish, but did not teach my two boys. I am now teaching my two grandchildren; books like this are a perfect way to help children and adults learn.

This book makes a teacher out of every one who reads it. Whether you are a parent, guardian, relative, teacher of a child with special needs, this book will give you the tools to teach essential skills and enable you to use them effectively.
This book was recommended to me and I recommend it to every else.

This book is a must have for parents struggling with training there children independence skills. It ofter so many easy to do exercise to get your little or big one independence. My 3 year old is finally bushing his teeth, because this book showed easy to do steps to get him going. I highly recommend this book to any parent struggling with training there children independence. It offers easy steps by step solutions in teaching your child what you have been trying to teach them for months . Try it, its a great training tool for independence.

No parent OR special education teacher should be without this book! Easy to read, and the content is excellent! Step-by-step approaches to teaching everyday skills to children with special needs, but would be just as valuable to ANY parent! After reading this book, I have found it easier to establish goals for my students and everyone is using the same approach to teaching everyday living skills (play, toileting, self-help, PLUS behavior management)! It is working fabulous! The students are learning more with less frustration! A must-have for your resource library!

The book is formatted very well. It has helped me approach my child in a new manner with excellent results. Some of the tasks we take for granted are broken into smaller steps that can be overlooked. This book helps you identify missing steps and provides multiple methods of application. It isn't a "one size fits all" approach. It gives good ideas for praise and correction if consistently followed.

The page layouts are easy to read and the cartoons are cute. Everything addressed in this book has samples to serve as a guide for you. The appendices has more ideas for aiding with independence. Overall, the application of this book, used in a routine, is great for any age and any skill level.

I've been looking for a book like this for quite some time. Here's what it covers:
Chapter 1: Setting Out
Chapter 2: Targeting a Skill
Chapter 3: Establishing Steps
Chapter 4: Picking Rewards
Chapter 5: Setting the Stage
Chapter 6: Teaching
Chapter 7: Observing Progress and Troubleshooting
Chapter 8: Get Ready Skills
Chapter 9: Self-Help Skills
Chapter 10: Toilet Training
Chapter 11: Play Skills
Chapter 12: Independent Living: Self-Care Skills
Chapter 13: Independent Living: Home-Care Skills
Chapter 14: Independent Living: Information Skills
Chapter 15: Plugging into the Personal Computer Revolution
Chapter 16: Behavior Problems
Chapter 17: Initiating a Behavior Management Program
Appendix A: Get Ready Skills
Appendix B: Self-Help Skills Inventory
Appendix C: Self-Help Skills Programs
Appendix D: Play Skills Programs
Appendix E: Information Skills Programs
Index

I am using this book for a graduate course. I find the book to be easy to read and very informative.

SuperVision proposes a developmental approach to supervision and administration to better our schools. A "one size fits all" administrative approach to running a school has proven ineffective - this book helps supervisors tailor their approach to each individual staff member for effective administration. With effective supervision of instruction our staff and schools can grow and reach their goal of improving student outcomes.

This textbook is very well written and insightful in the areas of supervision in leadership in schools. It is apparent that the Authors took great care in the design and compilation of the book. I am more than halfway through it and the ideas and scenarios are true to life and very inspiring.

Excellent text with 21st century solutions to managing and guiding effective leaders in schools today.

Very easy to read. Very practical knowledge. The author's bias or opinion tends to wear through frequently, but easily digestible information for a textbook.

The is a very good resource. It gives great ideas on how to use the internet in the classroom. What I like particulary is the wealth of ideas it gives on how to incorporate the internet in the classroom.

I highly recommend Teaching with the Internet to the novice and experienced net user. It is a great sounce of "current" web sites spanning the educational needs for K-12 students. I have used lessons taken directly from the book with great success. I consider the text to be an invaluable resource in my personal journey in understanding the "net" as well as to open new areas of exploration for my young students. This book is also a wonderful tool for parents trying to assist their children with study projects, book reports, etc. The information in this book is updated regularly through its web site as changes take place on the www. This educational tool is a wise investment for anyone who uses the "net".

Teaching With the Internet: Lessons From the Classroom is a practical, hands on guide well suited for layman use. It encompasses both Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers as well as the IBM and Macintosh systems. Each chapter is devoted to either a specific Internet strategy such as navigating and communicating or to specific subject areas and concerns within the public school curriculum K-12. This text should be included as an essential component in every school's technology reference library and utilized as an indispensable resource in effective Internet teaching. It is packed with countless creative teaching suggestions and noteworthy web sites as well as step by step instructions on how to implement it all.

This book proved to be very informative, giving step-by-step models to use to incorporate internet resources into classroom activities, computer workshops, research projects and student inquiries.It is organized by chapters that give curriculum based internet ideas, with excellent related educational web-sites. It is geared for all levels of teacher ability, so everyone can get their classroom started. Although some ideas and sites seemed repetitious, it allows you to refer to a specific chapter by subject area to find related sites and sample activities. This book is comprehensive enough to highlight features of various navigation tools, cover both MAC and PC platforms for grades K-12.

Don and Deborah Leu have created a great Interent reference/teaching guide for teachers of all computer skill levels, from beginners to old pros!

The book not only inlcudes explicit explanations of Internet terms and procedures, but includes plenty of figures and examples of what the screen would actually look like as you are working. The Email to You sections contain real teachers describing real projects that they have sucessfully done with their students. Leu and Leu also provide many, many links to resources and project ideas in the major academic disciplines for teachers to use as they begin to incorporate the Internet in to the classroom.

I would highly recommend this book to teachers and teacher educators alike. I consider my self to be an advanced user of the Internet and I learned several new things from reading this book!

As others have said, this is so much more than a coloring book. I have a serious illness that really limits me and the time that I spent coloring these added so much to my days plus the fact that I could then display them so that I could look at them over and over. I have a wall that I displayed them on along with other stained glass designs that I love to look at. It is definitely a great book to add to any collection.

I use watercolor in these books. I've made some beautiful suncatchers with "my" artwork from this book.

I love stained glass. I think the stained glass coloring books are fantastic. This one has so many wonderfull designs in it. Glad to have added it to my collection.

This coloring book is so beautiful, you might be afraid to color on it. The artwork is wonderful and detailed, and it's a great book for older children and adults.

The book presents 16 color images on its covers.
The patterns on 16 pages are translucent black and
white patterns suitable for enlarging 300-800%.
The "coloring book" misnomer disguises the books use
for serious stained glass makers.