February
2008
This is a short initial list of books which I hope
will provide some useful professional resources for teachers of the Primary
Years of the International Baccalaureate. I have tried to choose books which
do not have a narrow focus but which are transdisciplinary in concept. I am
gradually adding to the list and improving it as I have time to add to it
and as I get more feedback from teachers and librarians.
Titles recently included are marked •
I have always been reluctant
to recommend teacher reference materials as I am not teaching in a classroom
and therefore cannot test or put into practice the strategies suggested in
the books. However I have received many requests for recommended books and
since I have access to many books which teachers in International Schools
do not see, I have put together this short list of teacher resources. It is
not at all a comprehensive list. However it does contain a selection of books
which I think PYP teachers will find helpful. The books put forward ideas
and strategies and although some do have activity suggestions that is not
their main focus. Many of the books have been published recently.
Please
Note All prices are in Australian dollars and include
the 10% GST tax. However this GST does not apply to exports from Australia.
If you would
like to order any of the books on the list, send the orders to Austral Ed
by post, fax or by email. Payment can be made with bank cheques in Australian
dollars, by direct bank transfer or by Credit card. Freight is sent by the
most economical method within Australia or overseas, depending on urgency.
Recommended by Kate Shepherd
Classroom Connections: Strategies for Integrated Learning
by Kath Murdoch pb $39.95
This is an immensely helpful book. It puts the case for an integrated
curriculum and also for using inquiry as a framework of learning. However
the emphasis is on a wide range of very practical strategies to support
teacher's plans and teaching of integrated units of work. Strategies suggested
are structured to support the various stages of implementation of a unit
of work. These stages come under the headings of Tuning In, Finding Out,
Sorting Out, Going Further, Making Conclusions, Taking Action and Sharing.
The final chapter, Putting It Altogether contains two sample integrated
units of work; Night and Day for grades 1 & 2 and Water, Water Everywhere
for grades 4 – 6. These sample units show how strategies from each
stage can work together to enhance planning. The book also shows how the
strategies suggested can be adapted for different age levels and topics
and how these ideas will help in the development of flexible learners.
The book is written in very readable, accessible language.
Planning Curriculum Connections: Whole-School Planning for Integrated
Curricu lum by Kath Murdoch and David Hornsby pb $39.95
Some schools which are enthusiastic about integrated curriculum find there are
difficulties in its implementation because of problems with planning, management
and organisation. The main purpose of this book is to assist teachers in planning
and implementing integrated curriculum both within individual classrooms and
across the school. It provides a range of ideas to assist with planning, documenting,
record keeping, assessment and evaluation for an integrated curriculum and is
therefore useful for administrators as well as classroom teachers. As a non-teacher,
I found the section where the authors challenge some of the misconceptions that
have arisen about an integrated curriculum especially interesting and also their
discussion of the development from a thematic approach to the advantages of
an integrated curriculum. Again this is a very practical book which will help
in basic planning and documenting and also in discussion about what constitutes
an integrated curriculum.
How to succeed with Creating a Learning Community by Kath Murdoch
and Jeni Wilson pb 29.95 (One of the series of Little Books of Big Ideas)
A constructive learning community is a place where students want to come each
day and is also satisfying and motivating for teachers. Feeling valued as a
team member can encourage risk taking and motivate learners to think, perform
and make responsible learning decisions. As well as discussing the advantages
of creating a learning community, this book introduces structures and strategies
for building a constructive student-centred classroom environment. The role
of the teacher, the physical environment and assessment and record-keeping tasks
and techniques are all discussed. It is a very helpful reference which is engaging
and always interesting in its practical ideas for teachers.
How to succeed with Cooperative Learning by Kath Murdoch
and Jeni Wilson pb $29.95 (One of the series of Little Books of Big Ideas)
This is another title in this series of small books concentrating on one aspect
of classroom learning. The authors discuss the benefits of a group of students
working together as a team, sharing resources, ideas and a shared goal. They
also stress that cooperative learning works best when used with a variety of
teaching approaches. The book outlines the essentials for developing cooperative
learning skills for use at school and beyond. It suggests strategies and structures
for developing cooperative learning in the classroom, including the role of
the teacher, the organization necessary and recording and assessment and recording
tasks and techniques. Again a very accessible and helpful book.
Knowing me, knowing you: Exploring identity and difference through an integrated curriculum by Kath Murdoch and Julie Hamston pb $44.95
Another very helpful book by Kath Murdoch. The authors explain in the first chapter that they are endeavouring to “challenge students’ concepts of difference and identity; teach them about how differences between people, cultures, and lifestyles are constructed; teach them how to examine and critique representations of difference embodied in texts; promote understandings of the similarities that exist within and across cultures, and promote students’ understanding of the fact that people’s identities are crafted and remade throughout their lives.”
Focus on Inquiry: A practical approach to integrated curriculum planning
by Jeni Wilson and Lesley Wing Jan pb $39.95
I have had positive feedback from teachers regarding this title. It aims to
assist teachers to plan, implement and assess inquiry-based integrated curriculum
units. The first three chapters deal with these aspects. The fourth chapter
contains 12 sample integrated curriculum units.
Learning Links: Strategic teaching for the learner-centred classroom
by Kath Murdoch and Jeni Wilson pb $39.95
This is an extremely readable and interesting discussion of the reasons why
we need to build up a learning community where students work collaboratively
and how it can be done. The authors show how important it is to help students
develop the capacity to become lifelong learners. They examine the key elements
that contribute to a learner centred classroom and provide practical guidelines
and strategies to improve teaching practice. As the authors explain in their
introduction "The ideas within this book encourage systematic application
of beliefs rather than haphazard implementation of strategies. It is organised
in a way that shows the important link between beliefs and practice; between
what we do and why we do it." The book is organised in a way that encourages
exploration by teams of teachers or a whole staff. As well as chapters on constructing
a learning community and helping students work collaboratively, there are also
chapters on how to engage individual learners (since each student learns differently),
on how to establish community connections and on teaching thinking skills and
strategies. The final chapters link assessment to learning and set up pathways
for curriculum planning.
Literature as a Way of Knowing by Kathy G Short pb $42.00
This is an extremely comprehensive and interesting book full of anecdotes and
examples of classroom use and student response to a wide variety of literature.
It is a well thought out analysis of why literature is so important and how
it can be integrated into the curriculum. Kathy Short outlines four roles that
literature plays in the classroom. It helps students learn the language and
it can also be used to help students explore the content areas of social studies,
science, mathematics and the arts. It is an important pathway to knowing and
understanding the world around us and it opens an awareness of society and culture.
Kathy Short shows how to use real books in the classroom and how to implement
a variety of teaching strategies using literature including independent reading,
partner reading and sharing, literature circles and reader's theatre. Descriptions
of a wide variety of novels and picture books that she and other teachers have
used with success in the classroom are interspersed through the book. Kathy
Short concludes with a discussion of evaluation as part of the curriculum and
gives examples of specific evaluation techniques which can be used.
Speaking Rules! Games and activities for creating effective speakers, presenters
and storytellers by Cathy Miyata pb $39.95
Many students find public speaking intimidating. This book has an excellent
collection of ideas aimed at helping students enjoy speaking and performing
in public. I was surprised to find it such an entertaining book. Its many anecdotes
and instructions are so explicit and vivid that it is easy to imagine putting
into practice many of the games and activities. It is divided into two major
sections. The first section focuses on oral communications with suggestions
for imagining, for listening skills, for remembering and retelling stories,
for developing rapport with an audience and using body language. The second
section deals with performance. The book shows how these skills can gradually
be developed through many rewarding activities. (For Upper primary and Middle
years)
Young Writers Guide third edition by Rodney Martin pb $31.95
This is really intended as a guide for young writers but I think that it would
also be very helpful as a teacher resource. All the entries are very clearly
set out and explained and pertinent examples given. It has proved very popular
in schools and the third edition has been extended and revised. I find it fascinating.
As the book explains, it is not at all a grammar textbook. It is a style guide
and should be used as a reference book. It explains and gives examples of English
language in use and techniques for writing. The setting out is very simple and
makes for easy browsing. I guess the main attractions for me are the examples
of usage and writing styles. Many are very funny and all are interesting. There
is also a very interesting section on word histories. This guide is an excellent
reference to help young writers think about the different ways of structuring
reports, recounts or arguments etc and it is also full of information on writing
conventions. I have had some feedback from teachers who also think that that
it is an excellent resource. This edition is revised and expanded and updated.
It is also available (2nd ed) as a CD-ROM $29.95 For upper elementary and also middle
school students.
• Martin’s Junior Writers Guide pb $19.95
This Junior Guide was published in 2006. It is aimed mainly at Grades 3 to 5. It is an alphabetical reference for 8 – 10 year old students and offers basic explanations and examples on a wide range of writing-related subjects such as abbreviations, capital letters, grammar, confusing words, punctuations, style, and text types. The language is simple and many of the examples are humorous. It is extremely well set out and easy to use and will be a very helpful resource for the library, the classroom and also for each student.
Books about Reading for parents (and teachers)
It’s interesting that the three recent books on learning to read by Australian authors are each very good and yet each has a different focus.
Rocket Your Child into Reading by Jackie French pb $19.95
Jackie French wrote this book because she has dyslexia and is the mother of
a dyslexic child and the aunt of another. Her problem of dyslexia is surprising
since she is a well known and loved writer of many books. However she has seen
how reading problems can take over a child's life and wrote this book in order
to give some guidance in how to spot reading problems in children. She also
suggests different ways of helping children to read. Naturally she first talks
about how children can be encouraged to love books so that they want to learn
to read. However this book is different from others I have read in its emphasis
on the difficulties some children have in reading and how this can be helped
through coordination skills. Many suggestions are given for games that are fun
but which also help with developing focus and coordination. Jackie French also
outlines problems to watch out for and steps which can be taken to get professional
help. She emphasises that there is no one way to learn to read and that
a combination of methods is often best.
In Mem Fox's book Reading Magic pb $7.95 you can hear Mem's own very distinctive voice talking
about the wonders and delights of sharing books with children.
The Reading
Bug ... and how you can help your child to catch it by Paul Jennings pb $24.95 also emphasises
the delights of sharing books with children but he also analyses in much more
detail the various methods of teaching reading and I found this fascinating.
Jackie French's book emphasises the problems that some children have with
reading and gives many practical examples of games and activities that can
help. All the books are written for teachers and for parents.
All prices are in Australian dollars.
If you would like to order any of the above books, send
orders to Austral Ed by fax, post or email.
For additional lists of recommended books and newsletters from
Austral Ed, visit our website www.australed.iinet.net
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