Marketplace : Product Reviews :
Product Reviews August/September 2005
Each month Teaching Pre K-8 reviews outstanding products for the classroom.
This month's products are:
Read For Real from Zaner-Bloser
GO Write from InVision Enterprises
T is for Teachers from Sleeping Bear Press
Mark-my-time from Mark-my-time
Getting to Know ... All About Art from Getting to Know
We saw Read for Real from Zaner-Bloser and it's a winner. This series consists of six books of nonfiction strategies, suggested for grades three and above.
There are six units per student book with three nonfiction reading selections per unit. Students learn, practice and apply the unit strategies. Levels A-C have 224 pages each and levels D-F have 272 pages each.
There's a teacher's guide with lesson plans and teaching suggestions(ESL and ELL support is included), as well as assessment for every selection. A real bonus is the transparency and blackline master book, which contains 12 graphic organizer transparencies and corresponding blackline masters, a strategy transfer chart, a KWL chart and a parent letter. A CD is included with each teacher's guide. Standards-based objectives for comprehension, vocabulary and fluency strategies are also a part of this really complete package.
A real strength of this program is the common instructional framework that provides consistent strategy instruction throughout the program.
The unit topics span Jobs that Help through weather, overcoming obstacles and more. As the readability levels go up, so do the selections such as Hammurabi's Code and unsolved mysteries in medicine.
We spent quite some time reading the various nonfiction selections of the program and they are really very well done. We never knew about bee dances...but some early readers will. This selection is in the first book of the program. There are three parts to each selection: the student learns the strategy, such as making connections. Then he or she practices the strate-gies and finally applies the strategy. Vocabulary words are pulled out and defined in boxes on each page.
In the application section of the selection the focus on reading is put into a realworld context for the student. There are pages for developing vocabulary and developing fluency included in each of the parts of the selection.
We really like the organization of this program. Lots of little helpers are built in to insure kids' success. For instance, pronunciation guides are included in the text. Boldface words cue students to look at the vocabulary tabs, or boxes at the bottom of the pages. There are button icons that cue students to stop reading and find out how his or her reading partner uses the "During Reading" strategy. There are also nonfiction text features, common to contentarea reading, that extend student learning. Standards-based tests provide great practice.
We really love the reading-writing connection, too. Actually, we love a lot about this program. Our best advice is for you to check it out for yourself at the Zaner-Bloser website or call 800-421-2018 for more information.
Zaner-Bloser
www.zaner-bloser.com
Dry erase products that you can stick directly on the kids' desks are just super! There are also rolls of this product available for larger surfaces. At the spring National School Supply & Equipment show we saw GOwrite! There was a tremendous amount of interest in these products from the school supply dealers attending. Some had carried the products before and had really good things to say about them. We don't know how we missed these items before now. We all know the benefits of this type of product, but it's even neater in individual applications. With money so tight, think of the paper that can be saved!
The sheets come in various packages from 8 1/2" x 11" to 17" x 24." There are handwriting grids, grid line sheets and presentation sheets. There are even dry erase easel pads. You can apply these sheets, peel them off and reuse them over and over.
Do go to the website listed below and see these products. Make sure your school supply dealer is stocking this item. We recommend GOwrite! for every classroom.
InVision Enterprises
www.mygowrite.com
Steven Layne is one of our favorite teachers, and his new book, T is for Teachers – A School Alphabet is a comprehensive romp through the 26 letters, highlighting a teacher's world from teachers' manuals to the content of a science class.
This unique book could have been written only by a teacher. There's a four-line poem introducing each letter, wonderful art and an in-depth statement about the subject used as an illustration of the specific letter. Enjoy this poem for the letter "S:"
The glue that holds a school together starts with letter S. They're Secretaries, and their work makes staff and kids feel blessed.
Or
Librarians – a super L In 'Matchmaking' they're leading. They find great books for everyone and keep the whole school reading!
The in-depth statements in sidebars provide just the right amount of information for any age kid to absorb about his or her school. Kids aren't the only ones who will enjoy this alphabet book. 16.95 at your local bookstore.
Sleeping Bear Press
www.sleepingbearpress.com
This device is so clever! It's a digital bookmark with a clock and a countdown timer with alarm! Your kids will find it so much fun, you'll find them reading more and more. the bookmark also includes a cumulative timer for multisession reading – great for those after dinner or before-bedtime stories.
But not to worry; Mark-My-Time has a replaceable battery, so it's a one-time purchase. You'll find it at Barnes and Noble and Borders bookstores as well as at Walgreens and some other leading retailers. However, our suggestion is to go to the Mark-My Time website and see the various ways you can not only buy the digital bookmark, but help your school at the same time. There are three programs that made a lot of sense to us. The essence of all three is that when you buy one of the bookmarks, you can help your school – or library – to receive a percentage of the purchase price. What could be better?
There seem to be only upsides to this product; it helps nonmotivated readers tremendously; it helps motivated readers keep track of the time they spend reading (a critical factor in reading success); it works both in school and at home and can eliminate those "Did you read for 15 minutes" queries by parents. One of these little wonders is $8.95. If you go to the website you'll find those sources in your state that sell them.
Remember, they can be used as fundraisers, which means you'll see many library names among the sources on the website. You can support your school or your library. This is certainly a win-win product.
Mark-My-Time
www.mark-my-time.com
Getting To Know…All About Art!
This video series is fantastic. The grand masters (vanGogh, da Vinci and Monet) are put to work to illustrate the basics of line, color, shape and form. The videos are narrated by young voices and feature sound effects, music and, not least, images of some of the world's great art.
Each of the videos encourages the viewer to observe the elements of art through examples in the classroom, real works of art and in the world around them.
Line in Art begins with the basics, defining and identifying kinds of lines (horizontal, vertical, diagonal). The video goes on to explore the lines around us as shape, pattern and texture as well as line in art, which is illustrated by the crosshatching in a da Vinci sketch. We learn that this crosshatching is what gives the illusion of 3-d and adds shadow. Contour lines give shape to faces in a Cezanne portrait and gesture lines indicate movement in a dancer's body in a work by Degas. There's also a section of the video on cartooning which lets young viewers realize how simple lines can show motion and emotion effectively.
Color in Art introduces the concept of primary, secondary and complementary colors and the color wheel. Once again, the word's great artists are used as dazzling examples.
Shape and Form in Art features animated sequences that define shapes as two-dimensional (having height and width) and forms as three-dimensional with the addition of depth. Shapes from our everyday lives – street signs, buildings, etc. and organic shapes of shells, clouds, etc. – are viewed along with sketches and sculptures by da Vinci and Michelangelo.
With money for most of education still being tight and very few full time art teachers, classroom teachers – with their zillion tasks each day – need all the help they can get filling in for specialists, like the art teacher. This series can go a long way to help. Each of these videos is $29.95 for the DVD version and $24.95 for the VHS version, plus s/h on these. Running time is from 17 to 26 minutes. These are for grades K-4 and there's a Teacher's Guide available on line. We really like this product a lot.
Getting To Know, Inc.
gettingtoknow.com
