Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School Classrooms: A Project-Based Approach, Second Edition
By Joseph S. Krajcik, Charlene M. Czerniak, Carl F. Berger

McGraw-Hill, 2003

This text provides an overview of current science teaching practices for the elementary and middle grades. The authors, top scholars in the field of Science Education, believe that all children should develop an in-depth and meaningful understanding of scientific concepts and processes. To achieve this, the text utilizes the Project Based Approach. Project-based science stresses that science teaching should emphasize the active engagement of students in science, rather than teachers telling students information. Each chapter has several Portfolio Activity boxes that provide active learning experiences or reflections for the student.

Like the first edition, the text includes numerous strategies in each chapter that help both new and experienced teachers understand how to teach science in an active and engaging manner. The text also shows teachers how to implement the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and constructivist strategies. A NSES marginal feature keys content to the standards. Moreover, this textbook helps teachers learn how to implement all of today’s major reforms; not just read about them.

Teaching Language: From Grammar to Grammaring by Diane Larsen-Freeman

Heinle, 2003

A must-read for every language teaching professional, Teaching Language: From Grammar to Grammaring explores the regular, predictable elements of language as well as the potential creativity of its underlying system. By combining a wide range of view points with her own personal experiences and studies, Diane Larsen-Freeman challenges the static descriptive ideas of grammar, based on the rules, and promotes the more fluid and dynamic notions of reason-driven grammaring, which she defines as “the ability to use grammar structures accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately.” The reader is left not with an encyclopedic set of definitions, but rather with a deeper understanding of the organic nature of language and its acquisition, and a hones set of tools with which to approach language in language teaching.

Handbook of Early Literacy Research edited by Susan B. Neumanand David K. Dickinson

Gilford Press, 2003 (http://www.guilford.com)

The field of early literacy has seen significant recent advances in theory, research, and practice. This volume brings together leading authorities to report on current findings, integrate insights from different disciplinary perspectives, and explore ways to provide children with the strongest possible literacy foundations in the first six years of life. The Handbook first addresses broad questions about the nature of emergent literacy, summarizing current knowledge on cognitive pathways, biological underpinnings, and the importance of cultural contexts. Chapters in subsequent sections examine various strands of knowledge and skills that emerge as children become literate, as well as the role played by experiences with peers and families. Particular attention is devoted to the challenges involved in making schools work for all children, including members of linguistic and ethnic minority groups and children living in poverty. Finally, approaches to instruction, assessment, and early intervention are described, and research on their effectiveness is presented.

Assessment & Instruction of Reading and Writing Difficulty: An Interactive Approach, Third Edition
By Marjorie Y. Lipson and Karen K. Wixson

Pearson Education, Inc., 2003

Extensive, in-depth treatment of current research and best practices make this text a 'must-have' addition to any current or future teacher's library. Section I (Chs. 1-3) provides the readers with a strong, comprehensive knowledge of reading/writing research and assessment practices from which readers can move forward to the second and third sections of the text (Chs. 4-10), which contain detailed discussions and examples of assessment practices. Traditional assessments of students are fully explored, and two chapters are devoted to assessing context factors like instructional methods and materials and tasks. Both classroom-based and standardized assessments are described. Section IV stands alone as an important chapter linking assessment to instruction by means of diagnostic instruction. Section V (Ch. 12-15) is devoted to instructional practices designed to improve reading and writing instruction for struggling students. Chapters on word recognition, vocabulary, comprehension-composition, and “high-utility strategies” address the major components of literacy development. In the final section (Ch. 16), issues related to professional standards and written reports is addressed.