The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual Review

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While the media run rampant with flimsy leads and stories based solely on hearsay, it's good to know that at least their grammar stays in check, thanks to the hard and fast rules set forth in the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual.
Providing direct distinctions between similar words, the correct spelling of commonly-misspelled words, and the politically-correct use of dangerous words, the AP stylebook delineates specific style rules for virtually every journalistic possibility. Set up in a dictionary-style format, the manual's general stylebook lists everything from the perils of "a" versus "an" to the preferred usage of ZIP codes.
Following the stylebook are the more specific sections dealing with sports and business style, both also set up with A to Z listings, including usage and spelling. Although sports writing info may be confined to the needs of the sportswriter, the business section is helpful for those who take interest in corporate designations and definitions of stock market terms.
Finally, just before the manual switches from the absoluteness of style to the murky legal waters of the libel section, comes, in my opinion, the pièce de résistance-A Guide To Punctuation-music to the ears of syntax-psychos and grammar-Nazis, alike.
Starting with words of wisdom from what the AP refers to as "a bible of writers," "The Elements of Style," this portion is eleven pages of invaluable knowledge for any writer, regardless of profession, and is arranged so succintly that even children can access its information for their own use.
Although I have thus far had little use for the information about libel in this book, it is primarily what its introduction claims-not a libel text, but merely a useful guide which "explains the fundamental principles in libel for working writers and editors." It also contains some key parts of the Freedom of Information Act which should be read by everyone to fully know our rights regarding the access to federal information, during what has now become the Age of the X-file.
All-in-all, the AP Stylebook and Libel Manual should be a welcome edition to any writer's reference library.

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The style of the Associated Press defines clear news writing. In fact, more people write for the AP news service than for any single newspaper or broadcaster in the world. The AP Stylebook is therefore "the journalist's bible," an essential handbook for all writers, editors, students, and public-relations specialists.The AP Stylebook contains over 5,000 entries laying out the AP's rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage. It gives journalists the references they need to write about the world today: correct names of countries and organizations, language to avoid, common trademarks. Special sections cover business and sports reporting. This edition, published in the Associated Press's 150th year, also includes crucial advice on how writers can guard against libel and copyright infringement.An up-to-date AP Stylebook belongs on the desk of every working writer.

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Best Practices in Literacy Instruction, Third Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I begged my administrator to purchase this for me after attending the state reading convention. What a great resource! This provides practical, yet expertly researched ideas and solutions to common literacy problems. A great feature is included for pre-service and new teachers at the end of each chapter - questions and activities to evaluate current teaching.
My copy is all highlighted, dog eared, and sticky noted. It has been passed around the building for sharing ideas. This book should be a gift to each new teacher by their principal!

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Now in a thoroughly revised and expanded third edition, this evidence-based book distills the latest knowledge about literacy teaching and learning into clear strategies for helping all children succeed. Within a comprehensive conceptual framework, the field's leading authorities provide eminently practical recommendations to guide instructional decision making. The third edition has been fully updated with current research findings, policy issues, and program innovations. It offers significantly revised coverage of assessment, motivation, approaches to integrating different kinds of texts and multimedia resources, and adolescent literacy. New chapters address working with English-language learners and supporting teachers' professional development. Also featured is a new concluding commentary by Michael Pressley.

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Thinking about Mathematics: The Philosophy of Mathematics Review

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(More customer reviews)Anybody who's interested in why mathematics might have the least bit to do with philosophy will be interested in this book. To many the philosophy of mathematics may seem too specialized and peripheral to be of much interest. But such is not the case. The philosophy of math is intricately intertwined with many of the classic epistemological questions that I have never seen satisfactory answers to. This book will force you to think about things you have never considered before. Why does mathematics 'just happen' to describe empirical studies so well if mathematics is solely logical and in the head? Or is mathematics empirical and merely charading as necessary logical truth? These questions will be brought up in the book and the different answers given from the different philisophical sides.
Some of the book is a little dense and may be skimmed. He does go into detail a bit much in some places and the non technical reader will be lost. But Shapiro usually does do a good job of summarizing complex thoughts.
This book whetted my appetite for more and I plan on continuing thinking about these things and hopefully take some classes in mathematical logic and philosophy.

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This unique book by Stewart Shapiro looks at a range of philosophical issues and positions concerning mathematics in four comprehensive sections. Part I describes questions and issues about mathematics that have motivated philosophers since the beginning of intellectual history. Part II is an historical survey, discussing the role of mathematics in the thought of such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Mill. Part III covers the three major positions held throughout the twentieth century: the idea that mathematics is logic (logicism), the view that the essence of mathematics is the rule-governed manipulation of characters (formalism), and a revisionist philosophy that focuses on the mental activity of mathematics (intuitionism). Finally, Part IV brings the reader up-to-date with a look at contemporary developments within the discipline. This sweeping introductory guide to the philosophy of mathematics makes these fascinating concepts accessible to those with little background in either mathematics or philosophy.

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21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times Review

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First off, thanks to the authors for writing a book that is applicable to teaching and learning. I've read 6 other books on 21st century skills topics and none have come close to providing models, examples, etc. on teaching and learning. In this book the authors spend less time detailing the changes in our world that are bringing an emphasis on "21st century skills" back to the forefront and more time on defining the skills and a learning framework to be used by educators in assisting students acquisition of these skills. The text details each "21st century skill" with descriptors of what students should be able to do. For educators, this is paramount in designing performance tasks and/or evaluating student performance tasks as actually being a "21st century skill." The authors then provide a learning framework or the "the project learning bicycle" and finish up with good descriptors of system changes to promote the implementation of their ideas. To sum up my thoughts, this is a book written for educational practitioners.
Dee W. Hartt, Ed. D.


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The new building blocks for learning in a complex world
This important resource introduces a framework for 21st Century learning that maps out the skills needed to survive and thrive in a complex and connected world. 21st Century content includes the basic core subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic-but also emphasizes global awareness, financial/economic literacy, and health issues. The skills fall into three categories: learning and innovations skills; digital literacy skills; and life and career skills. This book is filled with vignettes, international examples, and classroom samples that help illustrate the framework and provide an exciting view of twenty-first century teaching and learning.
Explores the three main categories of 21st Century Skills: learning and innovations skills; digital literacy skills; and life and career skills
Addresses timely issues such as the rapid advance of technology and increased economic competition
Based on a framework developed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)

The book contains aDVD with video clips of classroom teaching. For more information on the book visit www.21stcenturyskillsbook.com.

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Milestones in Mass Communication Research (3rd Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)Students of the theoretical side of mass communications, and who are looking for a historical angle, will find this textbook quite informative. A strong opening chapter outlines the traditions and techniques of communications research, and then the book goes into a collection of influential studies. Some are quite famous, like the case study of the War of the Worlds panic or various government-sanctioned studies on the effects of TV on children. The authors do a good job of introducing each study and explaining its influences on communication theory, and that goes double for some studies that didn't even start out in the communications paradigm but had an unexpected influence, such as the study on diffusion of innovations among Iowa farmers. But those strong points can't quite hold up the entire book, as the writing style tends toward hyperbolic statements of importance, and the individual studies are so painstakingly explained that the book starts to appear extraneous, as one could just read the individual studies themselves and gain almost the same amount of knowledge. And finally, this book is docked one star due to the monstrously excessive retail price. This is a function of forced scarcity in the college textbook market. Paying that much for a paperback book with about 400 pages is beyond obscene. Buy a used copy, so at least you're giving a percentage back to some poor sap who already got soaked by the publisher. [~doomsdayer520~]

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Quantitative Research Methods for Communication: A Hands-On Approach Review

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(More customer reviews)I signed up for my classes early(two weeks) and was able to have all of my books by the first day of class.

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Conducting research can be one of the most fascinating--and intimidating--tasks for students and scholars. A relevant and accessible guide to quantitative research, Quantitative Research Methods for Communication: A Hands-On Approach offers an innovative and insightful look at this complex subject. Drawing on their extensive research and teaching experience in the field of communication, authors Jason S. Wrench, Candice Thomas-Maddox, Virginia Peck Richmond, and James C. McCroskey have compiled their diverse, acclaimed work into one comprehensive volume. In clear, straightforward language, the authors encourage students to take an active, hands-on role in the learning process, giving them the tools they need to locate, conduct, collect, and present their research. Students are not only introduced to new skills, but they also have the opportunity to immediately apply these skills in research scenarios. Beginning with a brief history of social science research, the text incorporates the following resources:* An introduction to the fundamentals of communication research, from library skills to basic mathematical concepts* An examination of the three most common techniques used in communication research: survey, content analysis, and experiment* A sophisticated analysis of sampling and hypothesis testing* A step-by-step introduction to statistical tools* Guided research assignments based on actual data-driven research questions* In-depth analyses of articles that feature statistical tests* A guide to presenting research findings, from delivering research papers at conferences to submitting original research for publicationThe text integrates rich pedagogical features throughout, including chapter objectives, case studies, data sheets, and lists of key terms. The accompanying CD-ROM offers many helpful tools, including ten articles originally published by the Eastern Communication Association and a Student Workbook. An invaluable resource for gathering and processing information in the twenty-first century, Quantitative Research Methods for Communication equips students with the skills--and confidence--to produce their own cutting-edge research.

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In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning Review

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(More customer reviews)Atwell introduces her teaching experiences with chapters about how teach writing and reading to the fragile adolescent age groups. In the following chapters she describes, in detail, her procedure of the "writing and reading workshop" for teaching in her classroom. She goes into great detail about how she prepares herself before the students ever come to class, what she does in the first week of school and how she introduces the workshop technique to her students, her use of minilessons, how she responds to students' writing and how she values and evaluates the students' writing. This book is very thorough in its descriptions of how to teach the workshop style of reading and writing. Atwell walks the reader through every step to make this technique successful. She gives many examples of dialogue she, as a teacher, has had with students showing the reader how she handled particular situations that had come up. It leaves no question unanswered. I believe this book is very helpful to teachers who wish to teach this method. Atwell captures her audience by using real stories and references to experts in this field who have studied this technique for years. Although this is a very involved technique and some beginners may feel overwhelmed by the detail, I highly recommend it.

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When first published in 1987, this seminal work was widely hailed for its honest examination of how teachers teach, how students learn, and the gap that lies in between. In depicting her own classroom struggles, Nancie Atwell shook our orthodox assumptions about skill-and-drill-based curriculums and became a pioneer of responsive teaching. Now, in the long awaited second edition, Atwell reflects on the next ten years of her experience, rethinks and clarifies old methods, and demonstrates new, more effective approaches.
The second edition still urges educators to "come out from behind their own big desks" to turn classrooms into workshops where students and teachers create curriculums together. But it also advocates a more activist role for teachers. Atwell writes, "I'm no longer willing to withhold suggestions and directions from my kids when I can help them solve a problem, do something they've never done before, produce stunning writing, and ultimately become more independent of me."
More than 70 percent of the material is new, with six brand-new chapters on genres, evaluation, and the teacher as writer. There are also lists of several hundred minilessons, and scripts and examples for teaching them; new expectations and rules for writing and reading workshops; ideas for teaching conventions; new systems for record keeping; lists of essential books for students and teachers; and forms for keeping track of individual spelling, skills, proofreading, homework, writing, and reading.
The second edition of In the Middle is written in the same engaging style as its predecessor. It reads like a story - one that readers will be pleased to learn has no end. As Atwell muses, "I know my students and I will continue to learn and be changed. I am resigned - happily - to be always beginning for the rest of my life as a teacher."

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