Curriculum Books

I HIGHLY recommend this book to all high school English teachers, especially first-year teachers. It offers progressive, enlightened ideas along with practical, thorough, and useful unit plans. Deborah Stern has provided us with a true gift.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to all high school English teachers, especially first-year teachers. It offers progressive, enlightened ideas along with practical, thorough, and useful unit plans. Deborah Stern has provided us with a true gift.

This book is a must-read for teachers and administrators faced with the demands of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. NCLB requires that all children progress in the general curriculum. Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age lays the theoretical groundwork and offers practical examples and recommendations on how digital technologies can be used to break down barriers to learning that impair the performance of many students.

Authors Rose and Meyer cite two converging dynamics at play that are helping eliminate such barriers: one is the discoveries of neural science that explain the great diversity in student learning; the other is the growth in digital technologies. As they see it, digitization makes possible a rich array of media that are beginning to match the complex of ways that students learn and express that learning.

Rose and Meyer urge material developers to follow principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Just as buildings today are designed to be accessible to all, without added ramps, so say the authors, educational materials should be created without barriers to content. If type is a barrier, alternative routes to content (such as audio, enlarged type, or shifts in foreground and background color) can and should be provided.

As I noted, this book has an excellent balance between theory and practice. It is supported by a rich Web site (http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent) and would make an excellent text for pre-service or in-service programs.

This book was required for a Master's class taken at U of I (IL). It will open your eyes as a teacher. I especially enjoyed the section that discusses Universal Design for Learning. The applictions were very practical. For those wanting to incorporate technology into their lesson plans, this book is for you. It focuses on how to do so for students of all learning types. A great reference book for the future.

Teaching Social Skills To Youth: A Curriculum For Child-Care Providers by Tom Dowed and Jeff Tierney is a comprehensive, step-by-step educational guide to helping young people unlearn problem behavior and cultivate their social skills. From learning how to carry on a conversation; to accepting criticism graciously; to the basic abilities necessary for human interaction; and simple ways to help young people learn and adapt positive behaviors, this methodically organized and presented instructional guide is replete with point-by-point pieces of advice, do's & don'ts, and suggestions. Teaching Social Skills To Youth is very highly recommended to parents, day care providers, school counselors, and elementary classroom teachers.

This is a wonderful book for teachers, parents or anyone who wants to become more effective in helping children to use good social skills. It is very practical and useful. Various skills that children frequently have difficulty with are broken down into simple steps, easy to master and practice. For example: How to Accept Criticism; How to Disagree; How to Accepts No for an answer. What is difficult and often vague is simpified for children in a very clever and interesting way. For this middle school teacher, it was a great help and a very effective and easy way to teach what is so often lacking and difficult for children this age.

I've read dozens of books about reading instructions, but never one so helpful. Dr. Willis clearly and concisely explains how the brain learns to read, build vocabulary, and comprehend reading. She then provides classroom ready strategies that clearly connect to the brain's processing. When I read about how neuroscience research connects to the strategies provided I discovered ways of modifying my own teaching to be more of what Dr. Willis calls NEURO-LOGICAL. As a result I enjoy my teaching more and my students certainly respond with improved fluency, vocabulary, confidence, comprehension, and motivation.

Knowing how to help students who have reading difficulties while still providing stimulating lessons and activities for more advanced readers is another focus of the strategies provided. The book is so clearly written and formatted that it includes differentiated reading instruction all along the way.

Teaching the Brain to Read: Strategies for Improving Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension fulfills its promise to help teachers help students not only learn the mechanics of reading and comprehension, but also develop a love of reading. The engaging activities, classwork, and homework suggestions have students wanting to put in the effort to achieve their "personalized reading goals" - a process that Dr. Willis clarifies into practical lessons.

The strategies presented are constructed such that as students build fluency and vocabulary they also develop the tools they need to improve their comprehension and connections with what they read AND to form long-term memories. This is not a teach-to-the-test manual, but rather a resource that will result in test success and more importantly help students construct the foundation they need to read for knowledge and pleasure long after they leave the classroom.

Thank you Dr. Willis!

Teaching the Brain to Read: Strategies for Improving Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension is a great resource of integrated information. Both brain research and reading research have been a source of great debate, and both with a potential for developing a template for learning to read and teaching how to learn to read. Dr. Willis has undertaken an extremely difficult task presenting both brain and reading research and translating the findings in a manner that would be invaluable for all educators and parents.

Dr. Willis' book is unique in that it presents big ideas and strategies to promote children's "reading brains" integrates a fine linguistic grain and emphasizes the wonderful capacities of children. The knowledge gained from this book is well worth the read.

Dr Willis is to be commanded for presenting the research data in a manner that is responsible and clear on the limits of what is known and what might be inferred from the findings. What we know about cognitive functions must at some point be compatible with neuroscience findings. Dr. Willis has demonstrated the compatibility of neuroscience research with strategies to promote successful reading.

Dr. Jules Zimmer
Dean Emeritus, University of California Graduate School of Education

I read this book because I was considering using it in a college level diversity issues class that I teach for teachers and those preparing to be teachers. Once I read it, I knew that I would have to use it; I couldn't put it down! It was like a great novel. Hankins reminded me of the importance of truly listening to students and knowing them. That is an important message for teachers at any level. Plus her meditations on journal writings as data for qualiative research are fascinating. I recommend this book for anyone who could use a little inspiration.

Any teacher, from pre-service to veteran, would be greatly served by reading this book.

The marks of a great teacher are those that cannot be taught in even the best of teacher ed programs. These are the qualities of compassion, empathy, and sincere love for one's students. The author possesses these qualities; she shares them with the reader time and time again in the text.

The book is part reflection, part narrative. Through reflection/narrative, we enter into the lives of several first graders. At times, the horror of what children live through is overwhelming. At other times, Ms. Hankins' tender and creative methods of teaching the children are what leaps from the page (you find yourself wondering if you would ever have been able to think of such ingenious strategies for soothing the troubled 6 year old).

What stands out, though, is not the heartbreaking stories (although they are unforgettable), but how Ms. Hankins was able to better inform her teaching, and therefore better serve her students, by reflecting on the everyday occurrences in the classroom. Highly recommended book.

This is a fun and educational book with great illustrations. A must-have for your child's library.

And so do I. The language and story are very creative, and the illustrations are fun and colorful. My daughter is just learning to talk and this is an excellent book.

I've been doing a lot of research on ancient Rome for a book I'm writing and accidentally stumbled on this text (the 1985 edition) in a used bookstore. It's a fascinating read and an invaluable resource.

What I love about it is that it not only provides a very concise history of Rome, but explains how the Romans dressed, ate, worked, played, entertained themselves and lived day to day. It also covers the literature and religions of the time.

If you loved HBO's "Rome" series, Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" books or are interested in the era for other reasons, this is a superb, well-written account of the people and the time. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

The Romans how can you not love them! This book gives you the reason why. It covers all aspects of the Roman livelihood, their homes, jobs, lands and customs. I think it is one of the better general informative books about the Romans out there, and would give a real good education for the general reader. For the skilled professional or student of the classics, this book will help touch up what you don't know and secure what you do. It is worth the read, and you will be able to tell why it is a standard classic used to teach in so many universities.

I've seen Dan make this presentation live three times at different venues. But this curriculum is a great way to learn what Dan has to say without seeing him live. The dvd's and discussion materials are "very to the point" and creatively put together. You get more out of these materials in a shorter time than seeing Dan speak for a full day.

I also like the other stuff that comes on the DVD. You also get sermon outlines and short clips to use for your messages, if you want to preach on the series or any of the individual topics. There is also graphics and publicity materials for use in your church that match the book cover.

What's missing in these materials? The Q & A interaction that you get if you see Dan live. Though he has a great way of engaging his audiences in a live setting, you will be very engaged with these materials, too!

This study is something that i feel all church leaders should be participating in. As disciples and missionaries in our own culture, it is imperative that we see and understand what those outside the church see inside the church. I've had some of these same discussions with students, co-workers and even family members about many of these same misconceptions. I've started to use this study in our council meetings and other leadership meetings to help expose all who are in a leadership role in our community to see those outside the church and possibly help them see form the eyes of those who like Jesus but not the church.

This series gives great assignments, which are especially useful in assigning for homework. The categories of activities are helpful in determining what activites will be appropriate with goals the client is working on. I appreciate that there are mutliple activites for each target area. This allows me to work through a spectrum of approaches to the same issue. The kids seem able to relate to the stories in the exercises. I have found the activities helpful in beginning to get them to approach difficult subjects, without feeling like they are in the 'hot seat'.

I use Ann's book to guide my classes in an adult psychiatric setting. Some adaptation is needed but developmentally, these adults need this information that they did not get as adolescents. It's very helpful.

This series gives great assignments, which are great for para-professionals or parents to utilize between sessions. The age targeted activites are great, especially for the little ones. The categories of activities are helpful in determining what activites will be appropriate with goals the client is working on. I appreciate that there are mutliple activites for each target area. This allows me to work through a spectrum of approaches to the same issue. The kids seem able to relate to the stories in the exercises. I have found the activities helpful in beginning to get them to approach difficult subjects, without feeling like they are in the 'hot seat'.

This book is an exceptional tool for providing exercises when working with children. It provides hours of activities that counselors, new and experienced, can apply in the K-12 school system.