As a 4th grade teacher, I've been looking for a book with exercises that will help my students with their writing - something with short, easy to digest information, and something that will allow them to write just a paragraph (as opposed to 1-2 pages). I think this book looks to be the ticket. I've not used it yet, but the components are all there. There are 18 lessons, each containing tips for the teacher, 2 paragraph rewrite challenges, and a "before" and "after" example, which I really like. The "before" shows what students typically write before employing the recommendations of the tips, and the "after" example shows how the example could be written when using the tips. Some of the lessons include: repairing run-on sentences, giving specific information, beginning with unusual facts, and using active verbs.

Professional educator, Laura Robb, has done an excellent job explaining the whole langage philosophy, practice, and politics to other educators and to parents. Robb's remise is that language is all around us and should not be confined to classes labeled "reading" and/or "language arts." She describes how teachers and administrators can move students from traditional basal readers and workbooks to a true whole language approach. Robb explains how incorporating a true whole language curiculum need not cost an enormous amount of money although incorporating such a program requires effort and commitment on the part of the teachers and administrators. Robb also offers suggestions and tips that parents could use working with the PTA/PTO/Parents' Guild to move a traditional school more toward a whole language philosopy. I highly recommend this book to every parent with a child is a public, parochial, or private school. I whish it were required reading for all teachers. This book should be recommended reading for every parent who is interested in his/her child's education and it should be required reading for every educator in America.

Linda Rief's Seeking Diversity and Nancie Atwell's In The Middle offered a great deal more that was helpful and insightful. This book had much less content - plenty of big print, lots of pictures and charts - and what was there was rather basic. Rief's book is better for concrete activities that kids will actually enjoy, and Atwell's book has a novel and solid philosophy that I think will offer more real guidance than any number of handouts on journal formats. I mainly used the book for some information on books that middle schoolers would like, but honestly other teachers and my own students had much more to tell me.

This is a good starter book for those diving into the world of teaching their first English class. The only downside to the book is it's small size format which makes reproducing some the pages look like you "shrunk" them down instead of them being full size. Easy reading on how to teach reading strategies. . . not how to teach students how to read.

This is a great book. I teach middle school reading intervention. I have used many of the techniques with my kids. The five finger rule for picking out a book that is at their reading level is very helpful. I also like the questions about reading.

This book goes hand-in-hand with Laura Robb's, "Teaching Reading in Middle School." The activities and lessons that she presents in the mentioned book are available in this book. All you have to do is copy the page - everthing else is done for you! Although you do not need to purchase "Teaching Reading in Middle School" it will be helpful to see how Laura Robb implements the assessments and record keeping forms.

Want to stir up discussion after a reading selection? This is a great book to do so. When teaching literary elements such as analysis of character, story plot, setting, etc...this book provides cards to promote discussion in group settings or students can sit at their desks and work independently. This is also a great way to motivate your students into a lessson. I recommend this book to any teacher who would like to spruce their reading lessons up. This book also has very creative prompts that students can relate to.

A legend about a boy who falls out of his family wagon as they are crossing the country. He is forced to raise himself in the wide open west and learn how to protect his life.
This was an ok book from my point of view. The illustrations were amazing they really kept my attention. However, the writing was nothing too spectacular. The story of Pecos Bill is one of adventure and I just didn't feel like this version of the story captured the really adventure of the legend. This book sends the message of standing up for yourself and never giving up on your dream. I think it did a good job of getting the message across and my second graders knew what the message was as soon as a closed the book.

This mild, but event-filled re-telling of the Pecos Bill story lacks the incorrigible air of tongue-in-cheek humour and bold-faced lies of the typical tall tale. However, and especially if your young`uns never heard a tall tale, the wonderful illustrations will partially make up for this. When we started to read this book, we thought those sweet-faced, round-eyed, snub-nosed cowboys looked a little familiar: this guy is the same feller who illustrated HOW MUCH IS A MILLION? which we like alot. My boys love the snake lasso, and we return many times to the fantastic "critter" that Bill wrassles into submission. But breaking-in "Widder-maker" is an let-down after that adventure, I am afraid. I recommend Adrien Stoutenburg`s AMERICAN TALL TALES for older children (9-12yrs) which has few illustrations but whose style is far better suited to the dramatic and poetic nature of the tall tale genre. My seven-year old loves to hear me read those aloud.