national standards: 1992 edition

History on Trial tells the story.

Ed was tangentially involved in the creation of the 1992 national history standards, which are now used by New York state and receive a grade of "A" from the Fordham Foundation. The entire undertaking was a political fiasco, and having taken a look at Chester Finn's recent description of the standards I have no reason to think things would be different today.

Here is Finn, writing in Troublemaker:

...the quest for standards was instead weakened by the credulous expectation that self-interested experts, mostly free from the discipline of consumers, parents, practicing teachers, and policymakers--and sometimes free from leading university scholars in their own fields--could successfully distill from their own cherished subjects the essential skills and knowledge that kids should learn in school, and could do so while (a) avoiding political correctness, (b) sparing schools from the savage internecine disputes within the field, and (c) producing a manageable document of essential curricular guidance rather than a kitchen-sink tome with the heft of the Los Angeles phone directory.

The dismaying results ranged from incoherent blather (English) to left-leaning political correctness (history) to immense, encyclopedic treatments (geography) that placed the authors' discipline at the center of the intellectual universe and made everything else revolve around it. The U.S. Senate voted 99-1 to condemn the history standards, and an early draft of the English standards was so vapid that Clinton's Education Department cut off further funding.

Troublemaker by Chester E. Finn
p 173

It's always worse than you think.^*

Chester Finn is one of the few policy types who has championed liberal education. Yet here we see him dismissing major historians as "self-interested experts" who require the "discipline" of consumers, parents, practicing teachers, and policymakers to produce an acceptable set of history standards.

David Klein got the same treatment.

Worse yet, Finn's glancing mention of the 99-1 vote is obnoxious. The Senate did not vote 99-1 to "condemn" the standards. The Senate voted 99-1 on a bill concerning unfunded mandates to which an amendment condemning the standards had been attached.

Here's Gary Nash:

To well-informed observers in the Senate gallery, it was obvious the action had been hasty and purely procedural. The Senate had held no hearings on the history standards; the Subcommittee on Education, Arts, and Humanities had taken no action; and not one of the teachers and scholars who had produced the guidelines had been consulted. It was also apparent that most of the senators voted on the resolution without having opened a copy of the documents at issue. Patty Murray, Gorton's Senate colleague from Washington, admitted that she voted for the resolution without ever having seen the standarsd "in order to move the debate back to the unfunded mandates bill that was on the floor at the time."

[snip]

Less than two weeks after the Senate passed the resolution, it voted to strip its Unfunded Mandates Bill of all extraneous provisions, including the resolution disapproving the history standards. Later the House took up the bill but neer introduced the history standards issue at all. Nevertheless, a chill wind blew through the NCHS office in Los Angeles. The world's most powerful deliberative body had intervened in support of the most fervent critics of the standards to tell the nation's teachers and academic historians that its guidelines for schools had been written irresponsibly and malevolently.

p. 235-236

There you have it: how politics work. The Senate voted 99-1, then took it back, but the damage was done and that's the point.

99-1!

Those were some bad standards!

Nearly 20 years later Chester Finn, champion of quality, can roll out this astonishing number as proof that you don't want historians in charge of history, geographers in charge of geography, or mathematicians in charge of math.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Foundation he leads bestows a grade of 'A' upon these self-same standards and no one's the wiser.

The fact is: parents and college professors cut no ice with anyone, including most of the folks advocating on our behalf.

So I'm not going to be signing on for national standards.

I'm giving Gary the last word:

The standards have been used extensively across the country, and for eight years I have not received a single criticism of the revised volume.
Lynne Cheney's Attack on the History Standards, 10 Years Later

Case in point.

David Klein on IB and AP
Chester Finn on curricular gold
Gary Nash: Reflections on the National History Standards
Lynne Cheney's Attack on the History Standards, 10 years Later
History on Trial Chapter One
History on Trial (Harvard Education Letter)
Whose History? by Linda Symcox

the standards:
National Standards for History Basic Edition
National Center for History in the Schools UCLA
ISBN 09633218-4-6
National Standards for United States History Grades 5-12 Expanded Edition
National Center for History in the Schools UCLA
ISBN: 09633218-1-1
National Standards for World History Grades 5-12 Expanded Edition
National Center for History in the Schools UCLA
ISBN: 0-9633218-2-X

^* family motto

before and after - ELL student using text reconstruction

from Why Johnny Can't Write: How to Improve Writing Skills by Myra J. Linden and Arthur Whimbey:

Student C: Paragraph Written Before TRC

The best movie I’ve seen recently is “The Killing field.” Why I said this movie is good. Because it was a true story of Cambodia. This movie showed how miserable all the Cambodian people during Communist took over, and talking about Cambodian translater was a good honest man with his American reporter friend, stucked with communist for 5 years and finally try to escape the country and got succeeded, how he lived in United States.

Twelve Weeks Later: From Opinion Paper

The United States is an enjoyable place to live. Having been born and raised in Cambodia and also having traveled through Europe I know the United States is the best place to live….Secondly opportunity most people in this country live in the middle class of society. If you work hard you can have just about anything you want. You can study and improve your way of life and your job; therefore, increasing your income. You don’t need to be a doctor or engineer to own your own home or car because with good credit you can get a loan. In Cambodia, my dad worked hard seven days a week with no time off to afford one home, two cars, and send my brother to college. There were no such thing as loans.


Instead of the scrambled constructions marred with verb errors of the first sample, in the second this student, learning English as a second language, uses sophisticated sentences with participial phrases and prepositional phrase openers. She also uses complex sentences opening and closing with adverbial clauses and demonstrates the use of cohesion devices such as “Secondly.”

[This student] continued to have proofreading problems and …mechanical errors (although less frequently), requiring additional work. But [she] learned to organize coherent paragraphs and furnish specific details to support general statements.

In describing weak writers—estimated to be roughly 70% of America’s 11th graders—The Writing Report Card observes that the understood “what is required in” an analytical writing assignment, but their evidence is “disorganized or unelaborated. Rather than using coherent arguments or explanations, far too many students resorted to simple lists…”

Myra Linden on text reconstruction (excellent)
Analyze, Organize, Write by Arthur Whimbey and Elizabeth Lynn Jenkins (terrific text reconstruction textbook)
text reconstruction posts

The Writing Report Card: Writing Achievement in American Schools by Arthur N. Applebee, Judith A. Langer, Ina V.S. Mullis
Princeton, N.J. : Educational Testing Service, [1986]
ISBN 088685055X (pbk.)

To the Instructor

Writing to the Point Fourth Edition
William J. Kerrigan and Allan A. Metcalf
p. vii

Moreover, the Kerrigan method doesn’t get dull. Each set of sentences X, 1, 2, and 3 is a stimulating intellectual challenge for the instructor as well as the student: a triumph if all the sentences stay on the point, an exercise in revision if they do not. Each theme is a similar exercise in virtuosity. The method is simple, but its application to the actual matter of writing is endlessly challenging, and the visible development of students into sure practitioners is a recurring satisfaction. And Kerrigan’s book itself offers challenges to conventional nostrums about teaching writing, challenges that stimulate thinking anew each time the instructor guides a class through the Kerrigan experience.

He's right.

I've done 10 X-1-2-3 sentence sets, as Kerrigan directs.

Result: I now have a formal thesis statement that captures the whole of Temple's & my new book.

This book is gold.



ISBN numbers and editions

I think there were at least 4 different editions of Writing to the Point, maybe more.

Here are ISBNs for three:

Writing to the Point Fourth Edition
William J. Kerrigan and Allan A. Metcalf
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1987
ISBN-10: 015598313X
ISBN-13: 978-0155983137

Writing to the Point: Six Basic Steps
William J. Kerrigan
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; 2d ed edition (1979)
ISBN-10: 0155983113
ISBN-13: 978-0155983113

Writing to the Point: Six Basic Steps
by William J. Kerrigan
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1974)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0155983105
ISBN-13: 978-0155983106


Writing to the Point Fourth Edition Table of Contents
Amazon review Kerrigan & home program
Writing to the Point, first installment
William J. Kerrigan and the sentence
writing and swimming: pp 1 & 2 Kerrigan
To the Instructor

the kids are rioting again

I love Amazon.

Reviews for Glencoe Algebra, the new textbook selected by my own district:


from Sarah, one star:
My name is Sarah and I attend Ridgeway High School located in Memphis, Tn. I am in the 11th garde. I'm taking Alebra II right now, but I remember dealing with that book. It is not a good book. They have pages put in the wrong places. They will tell you to do a problem and you wouldn't know a thing about it, then at the end of the chapter, it will show you everythign about it. I encourage you not to buy this book. I would not waiste my money!!!


from high school math teacher, another one star:
I must agree with the other reviews: this book stinks. It is not organized in a logical order. For instance, in section 1-1 students are expected to translate verbal expressions into algebraic ones. To do this, a student needs to understand order of operations, which isn't introduced until a later chapter. If you are a teacher picking an Algebra 1 book for your students, don't pick this book.


from a reader, one star:
All I have to say is that this "book" was definatly not intended for human use, nor was it written by humans who actually understand the human mind.


from Karim Pluma, one star:
I'm a student from Ridgeway Middle School in Memphis who is curretly taking Algebra 1. All I have to say about the book is that it is INFESTED with those annoying integration chapters that are: poorly made, come in the middle of the other chapters in a very unexpected time. Also, the book is poorly organized and, the worst part, it has some of the most ridiculus problems that NO ONE will figure out on their own. If it wasn't because my Algebra 1 teacher is a wonderful one, my generation would be lost.


from another reader, 2 stars:
This book presents too much material in an unorganized fashion. The sections concentrate on so much extra stuff that the math is difficult to follow. It is unclear what is important and what is not with all the vocabulary and activities and practice problems. I haven't seen later editions but it definitely needs to be cleaned up. It does have lots of real world examples and activities but this is algebra 1 and kids need to learn the basics first. One has to pick and choose what to do with it and that's not what I want.


one star:
....I don't know if what i am saying is making sense but DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK unless you enjoy books with no detailed examples, advanced explanations of concepts you have probably never learned, and boring real world connections. After using this book at my school i checked out a few other books and have found that i really enjoy Algebra when i can actually understand it and apply my skills. I think the book is a major deciding point in a students grades. I think more schools should focus on down to earth, but still informative books and maybe then they would see more effort applied to difficult concepts.


a reader, one star
When I write this review, I am really referring to both volumes of the Algebra 1 series. I am a college engineering student and just completed my fourth calculus course. For the past year I have tried to help my younger brother in his Algebra class because this book didn't help at all. Examples are insufficient and the book and tests are riddled with errors. The teacher had to work out all the problems because there were so many mistakes that he could not trust his answer key....Also students are told to tell the difference between rational and irrational roots by looking at their calculator display. Perhaps if you only use this book as a source for problems, it might be OK. But it is nearly impossible to try and learn something from this book which seems to be fixated on providing pretty graphics instead of relevant examples. My advice: Buy some other Algebra book. It is not possible to put too much effort into the search for a good algebra book because algebra is really the language of science and engineering that needs to become second nature. I haven't seen them myself, but I have heard good things about Algebra 1 by Paul A. Foerster as well as Algebra: Structure and Method by Richard G. Brown, Mary P. Dolciani, Robert H. Sorgenfrey, et. al. You might want to take a look at these books.


Hey!

That's what I hear, too!

Foerster; Dolciani....those are the algebra greats.

Too bad my kid doesn't get to use one of them in his high-performing school.

And too bad I just blew forty bucks purchasing the wrong Teacher Wraparound Edition. (damn!)

For the record, the wrong Teacher Wraparound Edition is:

Glencoe Algebra 1: Integration, Applications, Connections
Teacher’s Wraparound Edition
ISBN: 0-02-825326-4 Student Edition
ISBN: 0-02-825328-0 Teacher’s Wraparound Edition


info on the Dolciani & Foerster books:

Algebra Structure and Method: Book 1
Richard G. Brown, Mary P. Dolciani, Robert H. Sorgenfrey, William L. Cole 1994
ISBN: 0-395-67608-8
0395676088
Solution Key:
ISBN: 0-395-67764-5
0395677645

Algebra 1 Expressions, Equations, and Applications
Paul A. Foerster
Teacher’s Edition
ISBN 0-201-86095-3
Also see: http://wtmboards.com/HSboardApr172007/messages/555.html
TE - 0201860953
solution manual - 0201861003


ISBN lollapalooza
good money after bad

cats and dogs living together

ISBN 1-881317-15-3


On its In-Depth page, the Morningside Academy, in Seattle, whose students "typically score in the first and second quartiles on standardized achievement tests in reading, language and mathematics," makes parents this offer:

Morningside Academy offers a money-back guarantee for progressing 2 years in 1 in the skill of greatest deficit. In twenty-five years, Morningside Academy has returned less than one percent of school-year tuition.

from Chapter 6: Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Self-Regulation

Morningside has wrestled with the problem of guaranteeing that skills taught in isolation truly become an integral part of the everyday activity of the learner. Two methods that we are evolving are designed to bridge typical behavioral skill instruction and useful, real-world application in the spirit of progressive education and John Dewey. When we discuss our procedures with developmental psychologists, constructivist educators, and others outside of the field of applied behavior analysis, we have found them receptive. This is in part a response to our respect for many of their philosophies, methods, and materials. Many of these colleagues maintain activite dialogue with us in our joint effort to find and develop technologies of teaching from basic skills to inquiry and project-based learning.

constructivist behaviorists!

something new under the sun

Here's what they have to say about critical thinking:

Morningside directly instructs and monitors improvement in strategic thinking, reasoning, and self-monitoring skills. Strategic thinking is the glue that allows students to employ component skills and strategies in productive problem solving.... Morningside's instructional and practice strategies build tool and component skills that are needed to solve problems. In addition, most of our students need direct and explicit instruction in "process" or "integrative" repertoires--methods that help them recruit relevant knowledge and skills to solve a particular problem. At Morningside we have found that these strategic thinking skills, characteristic of everyday intellectual activity, are not automatic by-products of learning tool and component skills.

Does this contradict the notion that teaching to fluency, as opposed to mastery, produces contingency adduction? (And see here.)

Are the authors saying that Morningside students have more problems generalizing knowledge to new contexts than students who are doing well in the public schools?

Or are they saying that fluency doesn't increase generalization after all?

I'm getting the feeling that no one really knows how, exactly, critical thinking, problem-solving, and knowledge transfer emerge. As best I can tell, the most that is known is that they don't emerge before mastery of component skills and concepts within a particular domain of knowledge.

More from the book:

There are a number of reasons why traditional efforts to promote creative thinking and problem solving have not been wholly effective. First, watching someone else solve a problem does not reliably teach the process. Second, in routine practice, problem solving behavior is private behavior that other learners can't observe. Third, cooperative problem solving often reinforces already-existing problem solving repertoires of some students in the group, but doesn't enhance the skills in others, even though everyone may come away from the group believing they have "solved the problem."

[snip]

At Morningside, we view the failure to self-monitor and reason during problem solving as a failure of instruction rather than as a failure of the learner. This perspective has provided a challenge to develop instructional strategies that turn learners into productive thinkers and problem solvers.

A note: for those of you who aren't familiar with behaviorism, this is a -- or even the -- core tenet of the field. If an instructional approach isn't working, the problem lies in the instruction, not the student. Or, rather, the problem lies in the contingencies; that might be the proper way to put it (don't know). I'm not sure you could be a behaviorist without subscribing to this principle.

This principle -- it's the teaching, not the student -- led Irene Pepperberg to her breakthrough with Alex the parrot (chapter excerpt), by the way.

Back to Morningside:

Thinking Aloud Problem Solving

To develop these strategies and to provide students with a set of self-monitoring, reasoning, and problem solving strategies, Morningside turned to an approach developed by Arthur Whimbey and Jack Lockhead in the 1970s...They developed Thining Aloud Problem Solving (TAPS) to improve analytical reasoning skills of college students. Perhaps the most impressive evidence of its effectiveness comes from its use at Xavier University in a four-week pre-college summer program for entering students. The program, Stress On Analytical Reasoning (SOAR), was replicated over several summers at this perdominantly African-American college and produced stunning results.... Participants gained 2.5 grade levels on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and an average of 120 points on the Scholastic Achievement Test. (p. 122)

This assertion flatly contradicts the conclusion of cognitive science that critical thinking and problem solving cannot be taught directly, at least not separately from extensive teaching of content. At least, I think it does; I don't know what kind of domain knowledge was involved in this program.

Interesting.


the cog-sci position

The Mind's Journey from Novice to Expert by John T. Bruer

A few of these programs, such as the Productive Thinking Program (Covington 1985) and Instrumental Enrichment (Feuerstein et al. 1985), have undergone extensive evaluation. The evaluations consistently report that students improve on problems like those contained in the course materials but show only limited improvement on novel problems or problems unlike those in the materials (Mansfield et al. 1978; Savell et al. 1986). The programs provide extensive practice on the specific kinds of problems that their designers want children to master. Children do improve on those problems, but this is different from developing general cognitive skills. After reviewing the effectiveness of several thinking-skills programs, one group of psychologists concluded that "there is no strong evidence that students in any of these thinking-skills programs improved in tasks that were dissimilar to those already explicitly practiced" (Bransford et al. 1985, p. 202). Students in the programs don't become more intelligent generally; the general problem-solving and thinking skills they learn do not transfer to novel problems. Rather, the programs help students become experts in the domain of puzzle problems.


Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach? (pdf file)
by Daniel Willingham

After more than 20 years of lamentation, exhortation, and little improvement, maybe it’s time to ask a fundamental question: Can critical thinking actually
be taught? Decades of cognitive research point to a disappointing answer: not really. People who have sought to teach critical thinking have assumed that it is a skill, like riding a bicycle, and that, like other skills, once you learn it, you can apply it in any situation. Research from cognitive science shows that thinking is not that sort of skill. The processes of thinking are intertwined with the content of thought (that is, domain knowledge). Thus, if you remind a student to “look at an issue from
multiple perspectives” often enough, he will learn that he ought to do so, but if he doesn’t know much about an issue, he can’t think about it from multiple perspectives. You can teach students maxims about how they ought to think, but without background knowledge and practice, they probably will not be able to implement the advice they memorize. Just as it makes no sense to try to teach factual content without giving students opportunities to practice using it, it also makes no sense to try to teach critical thinking devoid of factual content.

I would sure like some help on this issue, seeing as how I am living in failure to transfer land. For the time being I'm going to carry on assuming fluency will help -- fluency and lots of practice with word problems:

Give me a problem which you think is not by type, and I shall invent ten similar problems which will put it into a type. In fact, I often have to do this when I teach: first I solve a problem at the board, then I give a similar problem for all to solve in class, then I give a similar problem as a homework, then I give a similar problem on a test. All these stages (often more) are necessary, otherwise many students will not grasp the method.

Between Childhood and Mathematics: Word Problems in Mathematical Education (pdf file)
by Andrei Toom

Between Childhood and Mathematics: Word Problems in Mathematical Education (pdf file)
Word Problems in Russian Mathematical Education (pdf file)
How I Teach Word Problems (pdf file)

The Executive Brain
Meet Alex

results of sentence combining exercise

This is the 2nd sentence combining exercise Chris has done using Altman's book.

Exercise Two Exam Stress

source: Sentence Combining Workbook, Second Edition by Pam Altman, Mari Caro, Lisa Metge-Egan, & Leslie Roberts ISBN 1-4310-1977-3

Sigmund, a college student, is taking an exam in his psychology class, and one of his short-essay questions reads:

What are some of the causes of problems between parents and teenagers?

Immediately Sigmund writes down some points he wants to include in his answer:

1. Rules and expectations aren’t made clear.
2. Resentment occurs when chores aren’t done.
3. Blame is placed on teenagers for anything that goes wrong in the home.
4. The way in which parents discipline is by yelling too much.
5. The complaint is that teenagers aren’t listened to.
6. There isn’t the ercognition that parents are human beings too.
7. Enough respect isn’t shown to parents.

Then Sigmund begins to write his answer:

“The causes of problems between parents and teenagers are …”

but he gets stuck before he even begins to show what he knows. Why? He has begun by focusing his first sentence on the subject causes, an abstract word, and the verb are. It looks like he is going to name all of the causes of problems in one sentence.
Help Sigmund by writing a more clearly-focused beginning sentence. Ask yourself “Who does what?” and make your answer the subject of the sentence.

Write your beginning sentence here:

Chris wrote:

Parents and teenagers have problems because

directions:

Now go back and improve the focus of six of the seven sentences in Sigmund’s notes. Ask yourself “Who does what?” in each sentence, and make your answer the sentence subject. Write your clearly-focused sentences in the spaces provided. Sigmund’s original sentences appear in parentheses below the spaces.

EXAMPLE 1: (Rules and expectations aren’t made clear.)

SOLUTION: Parents don’t make their rules and expectations clear.

Chris wrote (this is his original spelling & punctuation):

2. When teenagers don’t do their chores parents show resentment. [comma error]

3. Parents blame teenagers for anything that goes wrong in the home.

4. Parents yell too much when they dixxxxxxx (indecipherable) thier children. [2 spelling errors]

5. Teenagers feel their parents do not listen to them.

6. Teenagers don’t see their parents as human.

7. Teenagers don’t show enough respect to their parents.

directions:

Now write three well-focused sentences in which you state what you think are the causes of conflict between teenagers and parents:

Chris wrote (his original spelling & punctuation):

1. Parents make their children do work during the summer and weekends.

2. They let other siblings have television in their rooms.

3. They constantly threaten to take away rights from their children.


I'm sold.

Sentence combining is a brilliant technique. I gather there's a fair amount of evidence that sentence combining works; see here and here. But as far as I'm concerned, the proof's in the pudding. These sentences, which Chris wrote on his own, are far more sophisticated than anything he's written before; they have fewer errors to boot.

We're doing the whole book.


help for the struggling writer
sentence combining exercise
we're starting a copybook
man-eaters of Kumaon - text reconstruction
expert advice on teaching writing from Joanne Jacobs
eureka
more from Joanne Jacobs
doctor pion on writing a precis and critical reading
first crack at editing exercise
home writing program in place, for now
why kids should do text reconstruction

whimbey.com
Arthur Whimbey obit
BGF Performance Systems (carries Whimbey's books)
Why Johnny Can't Write
Tips for Teaching Grammar from the Writing Next Report (pdf file)
Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve the Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools (pdf file)

why kids should do text reconstruction

I've found the answer for our household re: afterschool writing instruction.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I'm using two books:

• Sentence-Combining Workbook by Pam Altman, Mari Caro, Lisa Metge-Egan, Leslie Roberts ISBN 1-4130-1977-3
  

• Analyze, Organize, Write Revised Edition by Arthur Whimbey & Elizabeth Lynn Jenkins ISBN: 0-8058-0082-4
  

You can look at Whimbey & Jenkins' book online at Google books, and order his books from BGF Performance Systems. (You can find them used online, too.)

.............................

C's first completed exercise, on page 36 of the book, tells me why reading doesn't (necessarily) translate to writing.

The exercise asks students to arrange a set of sentences giving directions from the the corner of Oak and Adams to the movie theater. The map is below; you can see a larger version of it here.

_____ Go two blocks, which will bring you to the end of the road, and make a left onto Blossom.

_____ You will come to a fork in the road, where you should take the left branch, putting you on Spruce.

_____ Drive west along Oak Street to the first light and make a left.

_____ When you get to the Texaco station, bear right onto L Avenue.

_____ Go straight until you pass over the railroad tracks, then at the next corner make a right.

C. correctly numbered the sentences, but he didn't do the text reconstruction well at all. The directions for reconstructing the passage from memory:

Next, copy the sentences in the order you numbered them on a separate sheet of paper. Copying sentences can be especially helpful for improving writing skills if done as Ben Franklin did -- from memory. Do not just copy word-by-word. For each sentence, follow these steps:

1. Read as many words as you believe you can write correctly from memory (usually five to ten words).

2. Write those words from memory, including all capitals and punctuation marks.

3. Check back to the original sentence and correct any errors you made.

4. Read the next group of words and repeat the steps.

Generally you will be able to read, memorize, and correctly write between five and ten words. Sometimes you may be able to remember an entire simple sentence correctly. But with a large difficult-to-spell word, you may try to write only that one word correctly from memory.

Writing from memory is a powerful technique for learning the spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word patterns used in standard written English (Linden Analytical 2).

Here's what C. wrote:

Drive west along oak street and turn left. Go two blocks and make a left on to Blossom. Get to the Texaco station and turn right on L ave. Turn left on Spruce. Pass over railroad tracks and turn right. Drive two blocks and arrive at movie theater.

See what's missing?

C's version is correct in terms of content, but the coherence devices are missing. When Ed looked at C's version he said, "This is a list, not a paragraph."

This is the way the brain reads. We remember the meaning of a passage, not the specific words. I'm wondering whether good readers, which C. is, may absorb less useful information vis a vis writing when they read than not-so-fluent readers. (I think I've read research showing that autistic readers do the opposite ... they focus on the words more than the meaning. Will have to track that down.)

In any case, the fact is that C. is going to have to be taught coherence devices directly; he isn't going to "pick them up" from reading (I don't think). He doesn't seem to be getting a lot of direct instruction in coherence devices at school, though I could be wrong. As far as I can tell, the school is assigning book reports and "research papers" to kids who can't yet write a coherent paragraph.


short writing assignments with a point

After each text reconstruction exercise, the student writes his own paragraph:

A friend wants to drive from the bowling alley to Turner Ct. at night when it will be har to read street signs. Write directions using these easy-to-see landmarks: fire station, fork in the road, AAA Restaurant, Star Motel, and bridge over stream. Remember to mention in which direction your friend should start driving along Central Ave.

fluency in mechanics and punctuation

I cleaned up C's punctuation & mechanics before posting his reconstruction of the paragraph, because I couldn't bear to put the thing up here in all its non-punctuated, non-capitalized glory.

He knows how to capitalize street names, but didn't bother to do so because he's writing for me, not the school.

This tells me that while he "knows" capitalization, he's not fluent in capitalization; he doesn't do it automatically. It takes effort to remember to capitalize street names, where for me it would take effort to remember not to capitalize street names.

We'll be practicing mechanics and punctuation to fluency, too.


whole language at home

The irony here is that Whimbey considered his approach to be "whole language," which I suppose it is -- (!) He was also, I gather, a leading figure in the "thinking skills movement."






help for the struggling writer
sentence combining exercise
we're starting a copybook
man-eaters of Kumaon - text reconstruction
expert advice on teaching writing from Joanne Jacobs
eureka
more from Joanne Jacobs
doctor pion on writing a precis and critical reading
first crack at editing exercise
home writing program in place, for now
why kids should do text reconstruction
results of sentence combining exercise

whimbey.com
Arthur Whimbey obit
BGF Performance Systems (carries Whimbey's books)
Tips for Teaching Grammar from the Writing Next Report (pdf file)
Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve the Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools (pdf file)

summer school 2007

Algebra 1
Skill Builders
ISBN: 1-932210-10-5

Megawords Book 4
ISBN 0-8388-1826-9
Teacher’s Guide and Answer Key 1
ISBN 0-8388-1825-0

Mixed Skills in Math
I started C. on this book after discovering the precision teaching folks and the concept of fluency. I'm using "Mixed Skills" to provide "slices," which I gather are very short blitz-type practice sets. (I don't know what slices are; I'm guessing from context.)
Basically I'm trying to do a form of fluency teaching with zero training and no materials. So we'll see.
ISBN: 1-56822-861-9

Spanish 1
Skill Builders
ISBN-10: 1932210148
ISBN-13: 978-1932210149

Spectrum Math Grade 7
(an instructivist recommendation, as I recall)
We're doing the entire chapter on decimal and percent; then we'll figure out what to do next.
ISBN-10: 0769636977
ISBN-13: 978-0769636979

Vocabulary Workshop Level A
(you don't need a teacher edition)
ISBN: 0-8215-7606-2

Skill Builders: all series
Spectrum: all series

also:
Saxon Math Algebra 1
We're doing all of the "percent bubbles."
Saxon Math 8/7
all of the fraction bar model problems (Saxon uses bar models for fraction problems in 8/7 & possibly in a couple of the other books)


I located Steps to Good Grammar: 169 Lessons, Exercises, and Tests by Genevieve Walbert Schaefer the other day (ISBN-10: 0825128765 ISBN-13: 978-0825128769), and we may start back with it - although I may decide to have C. do the Instructional Fair diagramming workbooks first (Walberg's book teaches diagramming, too):

Better Sentence Structure Through...Diagramming Book 1
by Mark Dressel & Greg Carnevale
ISBN 1-56822-175-4
ISBN-10: 1568221754
ISBN-13: 978-1568221755
Better Sentence Structure Through...Diagramming Book 2
by Mark Dressel & Greg Carnevale
Instructional Fair
ISBN 1-56822-176-2
ISBN-10: 1568221762
ISBN-13: 978-1568221762


I'm thinking about having C. do an Aleks assessment....

Last but not least, we are now doing sentence recombining and text reconstruction exercises.


update 7-15-2007: I just remembered. Saxon Math 8/7 has Fast Facts sheets.


summer supplement time, part 2 (2005)
summer plans 2006 (Carolyn J.)
summer school 2006

help desk - books on handling disruptive behavior

Lessons two comments from anonymous:

Ordered the book IMMEDIATELY! I'm in search of scripted responses to disruptive situations. I'm currently in love with Engelmann's Direct Instruction. I'm teaching the 4 year old to read with his 100 lessons! [ISBN-10: 0671631985 ISBN-13: 978-0671631987]

It's great! There have been a few tough days...learning to rhyme and learning to sound out the word silently and then just saying the word were tough. But after the struggle (literally) the next day was like epiphany for her! She is reading better everyday!

If you know of any great books like Techniqes for managing...

Send your recommendations NOW!

.........................

I'm a teacher also. I'm not using the book for my own kid. I just wanted to point out that I enjoy the scripts and I need some scripts to handle the disruptive students.

Also, I'm a high school teacher. It's my first year. I taught younger kids before this.

Thanks for any input.

This is a big topic for me, because whenever I think about maybe teaching middle school some day I instantly wonder whether I would be able to keep order in a classroom. I know I couldn't do it given what I (don't) know now - would there be anyone who could teach me?

So I'm interested in books on this subject.

The one book I have, which looks terrific though I've read only a couple of chapters, is: Reluctant Disciplinarian: Advice on Classroom Management from a Softy who Became (Eventually) a Successful Classroom Teacher by Gary Rubinstein.

Here's one of my favorite passages:

As part of the training process, future teachers are often sent to observe dynamic teachers. They scribble notes furiously, as these phenomenons silence chatter by merely asking, "Are you respecting y our classmates right now?"

After observing one teacher with excellent classrom control, I asked, "What do you do if they throw paper airplanes?" She answered, immediately, "I don't put up with that kind of nonsense!" In my notebook I jotted, "Don't put up with that kind of nonsense!"

That would be me, I fear.

Here's another terrific passage:

In-service topics range from the utterly useless to the totally useless. One year my colleagues and I spent three hours learning the subtleties of new grade sheets, with advice like, "When you bubble, use a number two pencil, and be sure to erase any stray marks." At my friend's school, teachers recently received "risk management" training. This program could have been called "How to avoid hurting yourself on campus so we don't have to pay your disability income," with advic like, "You can prevent slipping on rainy days by thoroughly drying off your shoes when going indoors."

If a television is posted near the podium, teachers can be sure they are about to endure the least effective in-service imaginable — the video. I resent this medium because it just encourages those teachers who too often elect to "make it a Blockbuster lesson." The video usually depicts a round-table informational meeting with a group of teachers asking the moderator about the in-service topic. The video, with its bad acting and unnatural dialogue, takes the tone of a late-night infomercial.

Sometimes teachers are given an information packet to supplement the video. Once, while watching a video describing the latest standardized tes, I flipped through the booklet and discovered a section titled "Commonly Asked Questions." The questions and answers seemed very familiar. I soon discovered that they had given us the very script from which the teachers on the video were reading. I quickly pointed this out to some of the more obnoxious members of our staff, and they began reading the answers, loudly, along with the video.

ISBN-10: 1877673366
ISBN-13: 978-1877673368

jackpot

The largest collection of Warriner's ISBN numbers in captivity.

Don't say I never gave you anything.

mixed review workbooks

Middle Grades Math Minutes is the one math workbook Christopher doesn't mind doing.


Creative Teaching Press (mixed review workbooks – popular w/parents)
First-Grade Math Minutes: One Hundred Minutes to Better Basic Skills
by Angela Higgs
ISBN-10: 1574718126
ISBN-13: 978-1574718126

Second-Grade Math Minutes: One Hundred Minutes to Better Basic Skills
by Angela Higgs
ISBN-10: 1574718134
ISBN-13: 978-1574718133

Third Grade Math Minutes: One Hundred Minutes to Better Basic Skills
by Alaska Hults
ISBN-10: 1574718142
ISBN-13: 978-1574718140

Fourth-Grade Math Minutes: One Hundred Minutes to Better Basic Skills
by Alaska Hults
ISBN-10: 1574718150
ISBN-13: 978-1574718157

Fifth-Grade Math Minutes: One Hundred Minutes to Better Basic Skills
by Alaska Hults
ISBN-10: 1574718169
ISBN-13: 978-1574718164

Middle-Grade Math Minutes: One Hundred Minutes to Better Basic Skills
by Doug Stoffel
ISBN-10: 1574717235
ISBN-13: 978-1574717235


more mixed review:

Mixed Skills in Math
ISBN: 1-56822-861-9
1568228619


and, from Susan S & instructivist:

edhelper

Costs approximately $25/yr ($40 if you subscribe to high school material as well).

Site will print out mixed review or single-problem worksheets with answers. All subjects.

A lifesaver.


Instructional Fair Workbooks
Skill Builders Word Problems Workbooks (fantastic & cheap $3.95/book)
Skill Builders Workbooks (all)
mixed review workbooks
Spectrum Math workbooks

Spectrum Math workbooks

I'm pretty sure instructivist recommended the Spectrum books. I haven't used them yet, but probably will. Spectrum books have pre- and post-tests for each topic along with lots of word problems. (Other subjects, too.)

Spectrum Math Kindergarten
ISBN-10: 076963690X
ISBN-13: 978-0769636900
Revised updated edition (I’ve never seen the updated editions):
ISBN-10: 0769677916
ISBN-13: 978-0769677910

Spectrum Math Grade 1
ISBN-10: 1561899011
ISBN-13: 978-1561899012

Spectrum Math Grade 2
ISBN-10: 156189902X
ISBN-13: 978-1561899029

Spectrum Math Grade 3
ISBN-10: 1561899038
ISBN-13: 978-1561899036

Spectrum Math Grade 4
ISBN-10: 1561899046
ISBN-13: 978-1561899043

Spectrum Math Grade 5
ISBN-10: 1561899054
ISBN-13: 978-1561899050

Spectrum Math Grade 6
ISBN-10: 1561899062
ISBN-13: 978-1561899067

Spectrum Math Grade 7 by Thomas J. Richards
ISBN-10: 0769636977
ISBN-13: 978-0769636979

Spectrum Math Grade 8, by Thomas J. Richards
ISBN: 1-56189-908-9
ISBN-10: 1561899089
ISBN-13: 978-1561899081
Revised (haven’t looked at this):
ISBN-10: 0769637086
ISBN-13: 978-0769637082

Instructional Fair Workbooks
Skill Builders Word Problems Workbooks (fantastic & cheap $3.95/book)
Skill Builders Workbooks (all)
mixed review workbooks
Spectrum Math workbooks

Skill Builders workbooks - $3.95/book

Fantastic series! Christopher is doing the Skill Builders Algebra 1 along with Instructional Fair's Algebra 1.

I've been threatening to make him use the Skill Builders Spanish series, too - and I will! (Skill Builders has books for every subject under the sun...I should probably look to see if they've got one for Earth Science...)

Skill Builders Series
hard to pull up on Amazon, but lots of places sell them
ABC Teacher’s Outlet is a good source

Rainbow Bridge Publishing:

Division: Grades 4-6
ISBN-10: 1594412685
ISBN-13: 978-1594412684

Fractions, Decimals, & Percents: Grades 5 & 6
ISBN: 1594412693

Math grade 6
ISBN : 1-932210-05-9
1932210059

Word Problems: Grade 5
ISBN-10: 1932210776
ISBN-13: 978-1932210774

Word Problems: Grade 6
ISBN-10: 1932210784
ISBN-13: 978-1932210781

Pre-Algebra
ISBN: 1-93221-009-1
1932210091
ISBN-10: 1932210091
ISBN-13: 978-1932210095

Algebra 1
ISBN-10: 1932210105
ISBN-13: 978-1932210101

Algebra 2
ISBN-10: 1932210830
ISBN-13: 978-1932210835

Geometry Grades 4-5
ISBN: 1-932210-79-2
1932210792


Skill Builders word problem books:

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 2
ISBN-10: 1594412790
ISBN-13: 978-1594412790

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 3
ISBN-10: 1932210709
ISBN-13: 978-1932210705

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 4
ISBN-10: 1932210717
ISBN-13: 978-1932210712

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 5
ISBN-10: 1932210776
ISBN-13: 978-1932210774

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 6
ISBN-10: 1932210784
ISBN-13: 978-1932210781

Instructional Fair Workbooks
Skill Builders Word Problems Workbooks (fantastic & cheap $3.95/book)
Skill Builders Workbooks (all)
mixed review workbooks
Spectrum Math workbooks

Instructional Fair Workbooks

Given the fact that I'm having a nervous breakdown over stereotypies, dopamine, opioids, serotonin, novelty and a bunch of other things I can't remember all at the same time, today seemed like a good day to assemble a list of workbooks for my friend P., who just got her kids' final math assessments in the mail.

Their assessments may have been even worse than the one Christopher got in June 2006, e.g.: one of her kids has mastered integers, and that's it.

That seemed odd.

"Integers are hard!" I said.

"My kids are twisted," my friend said.

She's buying workbooks.

.................................

I love the Instructional Fair workbooks; we're using Algebra 1 this summer.

Instructional Fair series
IF
www.FrankSchaffer.com

Mixed Skills in Math
ISBN: 1-56822-861-9
1568228619

Pre-Algebra
ISBN: 0-7424-1787-5
0742417875

Algebra
ISBN-10: 0742417883
ISBN-13: 978-0742417885

Algebra II 5-8
ISBN: 0-7424-1789-1
0742417891

Intro to Geometry
ISBN: 0742417778

Precalculus by Wayne J. Bentley
ISBN: 1-56822-488-5

Instructional Fair Workbooks
Skill Builders Word Problems Workbooks (fantastic & cheap $3.95/book)
Skill Builders Workbooks (all)
mixed review workbooks
Spectrum Math workbooks

bar model, grade 6 Skill Builders word problem

solution:

The bar model tells you to multiply $8.92 by 2.
Sammy needs $17.84.

large size

source:
Skill Builders Grade 6 word problems
page 34


I may have to force my friend P. to hand over her son for part of the summer. He has a natural interest in math, but is now being potentially moved down to the SPED math track because he can't do word problems.

I'm pretty sure I can fix that.


the Skill Builders series

These little books cost $2.95 apiece.

They can be a bit difficult to track down, so I've got their ISBN numbers here:


Skill Builders World Problems Grade 2
ISBN-10: 1594412790
ISBN-13: 978-1594412790

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 3
ISBN-10: 1932210709
ISBN-13: 978-1932210705

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 4
ISBN-10: 1932210717
ISBN-13: 978-1932210712

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 5
ISBN-10: 1932210776
ISBN-13: 978-1932210774

Skill Builders World Problems Grade 6
ISBN-10: 1932210784
ISBN-13: 978-1932210781


Instructional Fair Workbooks
Skill Builders Word Problems Workbooks (fantastic & cheap - $3.95/book)
Skill Builders Workbooks (all)
mixed review workbooks
Spectrum Math workbooks

ISBN lollapalooza

In case any of you were wondering what structured procrastination looks like, this is it:


finding used texts:

http://www.isbn.pl/
http://alibris.com
http://www.fes.follett.com/
http://www.bestwebbuys.com/
http://www.ecampus.com/
http://www.abebooks.com
http://www.thebackpack.com
http://www.isbn.pl/ (ISBN search)
http://www.biblio.com
and: Google the ISBN number without dashes


pre-algebra

Pre-Algebra: An Accelerated Course
Mary P. Dolciani, Robert H. Sorgenfrey, John A. Graham
Student Edition:
ISBN: 0-395-59123-6
0395591236
Teacher’s Edition
ISBN: 0-395-43051-8
0395430518


algebra 1

Algebra 1 Expressions, Equations, and Applications
(now being republished in Prentice Hall Classics Edition – fantastic text)
Paul A. Foerster
Teacher’s Edition
ISBN 0-201-86095-3
Also see: http://wtmboards.com/HSboardApr172007/messages/555.html
TE - 0201860953
solution manual - 0201861003

Algebra Structure and Method Book 1
Richard G. Brown, Mary P. Dolciani, Robert H. Sorgenfrey, William L. Cole 1994
ISBN: 0-395-67608-8
0395676088
Solution Key:
ISBN: 0-395-67764-5
0395677645

Basic Algebra
Richard G. Brown
Geraldine D. Smith
Mary P. Dolciani
Basic Algebra Teacher’s Edition
ISBN: 0-395-63747-3
0395637473
Student edition:
ISBN: 0-395-98002-X
039598002X

Elementary Algebra
Harold Jacobs
Student edition
ISBN: 0-7167-1047-1
0716710471
A Teacher’s Guide to Elementary Algebra
(my edition doesn’t have an ISBN number)
ISBN-10: 0716710757
ISBN-13: 978-0716710752
9780716710752


algebra 2 & trigonometry

Algebra and Trigonometry
Structure and Method Book 2
Richard G. Brown, Mary P. Dolciani, Robert H. Sorgenfrey, Robert B. Kane
ISBN: 0-395-97725-8
0395977258
Solution Key
ISBN-13: 978-0-395-67765-0
9780395677650
ISBN-10: 0-395-67765-3
0395677653

Algebra and Trigonometry: Functions and Applications
Prentice Hall Classics
Paul A. Foerster
Teacher’s Edition
ISBN: 0-13-165711-9
0131657119


geometry

Geometry by Moise & Downs 1971, 1975
ISBN 0-201-04783-7
Solution Key by Gerhard Wichura 1964 Addison-Wesley (no ISBN number)
(This is the original SMSG book – the “New Math” of the 1960s – people love this book)

Modern School Mathematics: Geometry by Jurgensen, Donnelly, Dolciani
Houghton Mifflin
Student’s Edition ISBN: 0-395-13102-2
0395131022
Teacher’s Edition ISBN: 0-395-13103-0
0395131030
Purchased 4-23-2007
Solution Key, Modern School Mathematics Geometry
Donnelly, Dolciani, Jurgensen
ASIN: B000OXANM8
Houghton Mifflin 1969

I think this is the updated version of Jurgensen; I have a dim memory Barry told me this book is good, too (must check):
Geometry
Ray Jurgensen
New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000
ISBN-10: 0395977274
ISBN-13: 978-0395977279

Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding
Third Edition
Harold R. Jacobs
ISBN: 0-7167-4361-2
0716743612
Enhanced Teacher’s Guide for Geometry Seeing, Doing, Understanding
Third Edition
ISBN: 0-7167-5607-2
0716756072


pre-calculus

Pre-calculus 7th edition
(in its 8th edition now – 2007)
Michael Sullivan
Instructor’s Edition
ISBN: 0-13-143133-1
0131431331
Student Edition:
ISBN 0-13-143120-X
013143120X


Amsco books

Amsco books (geared to New York state Regents)
(note: Florida School Book Depository carries these http://www.fsbd.com/browse_select.asp?publisher=0&subject=665 http://www.fsbd.com/browse_search.asp)
Integrated Mathematics Third Edition Course 1
Isidore Dressler & Edward P. Keenan
ISBN 0-87720-228-1 softcover
0877202281
ISBN 0-87720-230-3 hardbound
0877202303
Teacher’s Manual Third Edition
ISBN: 0-87720-222-2
0877202222

Mathematics A
Isidore Dressler & Edward P. Keenan
ISBN 1-56765-545-9/NYC Item 56756-545-8 softbound
1567655459
ISBN 1-56765-546-7/NYC Item 56765-546-6 hardbound
1567655467
Teacher’s Manual w/answers Math Course A
ISBN: 1567655475

Mathematics B
Isidore Dressler, Edward P. Keenan, Ann X. Gantert
ISBN: 1567655505 hardcover
ISBN: 1567655513 softcover
Teacher’s Manual w/answers Math B
ISBN: 1567655521

grammar recommendations from ktm-1

help desk - request for grammar recommendations

grammar recommendations from the "Favorites for kids" page

You may need to hit "refresh" a couple of times, but the page will come up.



Here are the notes I took after hours of Warriner's-hunting on the Web:

• Warriner’s English Composition and Grammar: First Course grade 7 is used by Wilton in grade 7 [ed.: just checked some other sites - First Course is 7th grade]
  

• Warriner’s English Composition and Grammar, Third Course is used at huffenglish.com to work with the book TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (the teacher teaches 9th & 10th grades)

• Warriner’s 4th Course is for 10th grade in the Seton Home School website
  

• Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition: Course 5 – Liberty Edition ISBN: 0153118040 January 1986 hardcover Holt Rinehart & Winston $63.85 list (this is probably an 11th grade course)

• Warriner’s High School Handbook 1992 Holt Rinehart Winston ISBN: 0030540097 (seems like teacher’s guide is integrated with the handbook??)

• Warriner’s High School Handbook 1992 Teacher’s Manual ISBN: 0030540127

From isbn Search:

“The Complete Course is a summary of the six book Warriners series and is used for 12th graders. A comprehensive grammar course for high school used in many home school situations. Contains all aspects of a high school English curriculum with clear explanations, examples and exercises. Includes sentence diagraming.

Warriner, John - Warriner's English Grammar and Composition Complete Course (12th Grade)”

Www.setonbooks has quite a few of the Warriner’s books, including an answer key

ISBN search



only the good die young

from the blog Dean's World:

I need a copy of Warriner's English Grammar and Composition published by Harcourt -- Complete Course -- Teacher's Manual with Answer Keys. The ISBN is 0153119454. Believe me, I've searched everywhere on the Net. Amazon doesn't have it. I've checked all the usual suspects. None of the meta-search engines can find it. Maybe you know someone who does. If you do, shoot me an email (my address is found on the link in the first comment to this post).

What's amazing is that everyone wants this book, but it is out of print. It seems that the teaching of grammar is deeply frowned upon today, so there's not much sense in printing it any more. But home schoolers and private school teachers, like someone important to me, are going nuts for this book, and there is nary a copy to found. Let me know if you can help!

P.S. There are a million variations on this title. It needs to be the Teacher's Edition. It needs to be the Complete Course. We need Answer Keys. We need Grammar and Composition (not Composition and Grammar!).

And if you can suggest a reasonable alternative, I'm all ears.

Having spent hours of my life trying to decode the Warriner's series, I think I've got it straight:

The books start in grade 7 and proceed year by year through grade 12:

1. Course 1: 7th grade
2. Course 2: 8th grade
3. Course 3: 9th grade
4. Course 4: 10th grade
5. Course 5: 11th grade
6. Complete Course: 12th grade

a couple of lists of Warriner's books (assuming the links remain good):

Warriner's at abebooks

Warriner's at ISBN search

success!

Christopher finally got his quiz back, the one he took after I started my brand-new preteaching-not-reteaching regime.

He got an 80!

This is on a quiz he forgot about, didn't tell me about, and didn't study for.

Just walked into the class cold and took it.

Even better, the other kids didn't blow him out of the water. A couple of the class stars got scores in the 80s.

This is the way to go.

I'm also having him do KUMON-like practice every night to build speed. For whatever reason, he's not giving me vast quantities of grief about it. I've said "You need speed" so many times (scroll down), and related the need-for-speed to athletics so many times....maybe it's just sunk in.

Spaced repetition, the Key to life. Water wears away rock.

Also, it's a bit easier getting a middle school kid to do extra math if you say, "Go solve these 10 equations as fast as you can."

Makes the whole thing sound less onerous.

I've been using two workbooks:

• Instructional Fair's Algebra 1 ISBN 0-7424-1788-3
  
• Skill Builders Algebra 1 ISBN 1-93221-010-5

This is an amazingly low-stress way to remediate the school.

Extraordinary.

Just sorry it took me two years to think of it.


preteaching not reteaching
success!
success, part 2

English Basics

I stumbled across this series of what appear to be self-teaching (or nearly so) grammar books for 9-11 year olds while trying to figure out what the plural of rhonceros is. (rhinoceroses, apparently)

I like the cover so much I just may buy them.

Also, I love Cambridge Press.

English Basics 1 Practice & Revision; Table of Contents (pdf file)
English Basics 2 Practice & Revision; Table of Contents (pdf file)
English Basics 3 Practice & Revision; Table of Contents (pdf file)

Japanese math textbooks

Instructivist links to a video of a presentation on constructivist math by David Klein and James Milgram hosted by Where's the Math.

I haven't seen it yet, but apparently Klein mentions a translated Japanese middle school curriculum he likes.

Instructivist thinks Klein is referring to these books:

[14] Mathematics 2: Japanese Grade 11 - Kunihiko Kodaira, Editor - AMS, 1997, 262 pp., Softcover, ISBN-10: 0-8218-0582-7, ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-0582-4, List: US$32, All AMS Members: US$26, MAWRLD/9

[15] Basic Analysis: Japanese Grade 11 - Kunihiko Kodaira, Editor - AMS, 1996, 184 pp., Softcover, ISBN-10: 0-8218-0580-0, ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-0580-0, List: US$26, All AMS Members: US$21, MAWRLD/11

[16] Algebra and Geometry: Japanese Grade 11 - Kunihiko Kodaira, Editor - AMS, 1996, 174 pp., Softcover, ISBN-10: 0-8218-0581-9, ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-0581-7, List: US$26, All AMS Members: US$21, MAWRLD/10

[17] Mathematics 1: Japanese Grade 10 - Kunihiko Kodaira, Editor - AMS, 1996, 247 pp., Softcover, ISBN-10: 0-8218-0583-5, ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-0583-1, List: US$32, All AMS Members: US$26, MAWRLD/8

I have in my own files this list, which may be the same as Instructivist's books:

Resource Materials available from the UCSMP Director's Office

• Soviet Studies in Mathematics Education, vols. 7-8
• Japanese Grade 7 Mathematics
• Japanese Grade 8 Mathematics
• Japanese Grade 9 Mathematics
• Russian Grade 1 Mathematics
• Russian Grade 2 Mathematics
• Russian Grade 3 Mathematics
• Developments in School Mathematics Education around the World, vols. 1-3

About UCSMP's Translation Series

Translations of Japanese Elementary textbooks are sold here: Global Resources. (Klein didn't mention these, I gather. I have no idea whether he's seen them.)

You can look at sample pages here

Myrtle (hi, Myrtle!) found this link: Japan: A Different Model of Mathematics Education (pdf file)

I still can't do these middle school entrance problems. At least, not the first one. Not in two minutes.

sigh

UPDATE: Yes, I can.

In fact, I may even be able to do this problem in 2 minutes.

Saxon Math to the rescue.