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Day to Day Dyslexia in the Classroom - J. Pollock, E. Waller
by cheshirecat64
Day to day Dyslexia in the classroom is one of the few texts aimed at the busy classroom teacher with the dyslexic in their class and very little time to write and teach a tailor made programme exclusively for that child. The book aims to show how minor changes to you practice can ensure that most dyslexics are included in the clarr ... teaching.
As the mother of a dyslexic and a class teacher I found this text a useful tool to my arsenal. Even with the many years expereince I have I still found new ideas and practices in this book. The ideas are well laid out and follow a logical pattern. They do not start from the premise that the class teacher knows nothing about teaching dyslexics but that the class teacher needs help to address their needs. Many texts aimed at teachers start with the idea that they have no knowledge at all and teachers treat the dyslexic as a stupid child. This book just encourages knowledge of the difficulties they experience and show ways to address themwithout undermining either the teacher or child.
I found the ideas well founded in practice and well supported by both anitdotal evidence and also reasearch evidence. The new edition has been updated to include ideas from the latest research and classroom practice including every child matters.
If I had any negative comment to make of the book it would be that they brush over the emotional issues of a dyslexic child in school or that more boys are identified than girls due to the more disruptive nature of boys.
For anyone starting on a teaching career or has an interest in teaching dyslexic children this book would prove a useful classroom book to inform and support good practice. Its not a definative guide and without additional knowledge would not allow you to diagnoise a dyslexic but it would certainly allow you to identify a child with dyslexic tendencies.
In conclusion a useful book to have around but not the easiest of reads.
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Usborne First Experiences: Going to the Dentist - Anne Civardi
by Janet57
This is one of Usborne's First Experience Books. I bought this when my daughter was two, so that I could get her used to the idea of going to the dentist. The book tells the story of a brother and sister, who visit the dentist. The book introduces the family, including the dog! The book shows the visit to the dentist, and explains to the ... reader about what happens whilst there.
I have used this with both of my children, who are now 3 and 4 years of age. I do think that it helped them, as they were familiar with the story before going to the dentist. We have even taken this book to the dentist, to read in the waiting room. We have compare our experience to that of the children in the book.
In the story one of the children has to have a filling. It explains this well, in language that can be understood by the child and is not frightening. There is also a little yellow duck on each page, for the child to find.
I bought the book from Amazon, it is currently £2.50 for a paperback. It can also be bought as a sticker book, costing £3.99. I chose not to buy in like this, as I wanted the book to last for a while, and I find that little children like to pull the stickers off after they have been put on.
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AS Level Biology A Revision Guide - Richard Parsons
by victorias_books
I relied on the CGP revision guides enormously when I was studying for my AS levels last year. I find that the explanations offered by my text book can sometimes be confusing, and it can help to have concepts explained by another source. The great thing about the CGP guides is that because they cover topics in a smaller space they give ... very simple and concise explanations for often difficult topics.
The CGP AS biology guide is suitable for those studying the following syllabuses:
- OCR
- AQA A
- AQA B
- Edexcel
There are notes at the top of the pages explaining whether the topics covered in that section should be avoided by students studying certain syllabuses, to ensure you do not revise information unnecessarily.
One of my favourite things about the CGP guides is the use of colour and diagrams. The section on gene therapy, for example, includes an easy to understand diagrams of 3D carrier proteins in pink, with the plasma membrane coloured green. There are arrows to the different ions involved, and the diagram is set out in such a way that the is ample space between ions and the membrane to avoid confusion regarding the various processes occurring simultaneously.
The guide contains many humorous comments which, while a welcome distraction, are rarely laugh out loud funny. However, this aspect does make the guide stand out from others on the market. Each new concept is outlined in bold, and contained within a green box to mark it out from the rest of the page. The layout of the guide is excellent in general, although I would say that the divisions between sections are not as obvious as in some other guides. Generally however, this is an excellent guide, and I picked up a lot of extra information that my text book did not offer.
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