Book Bytes: They Say, I Say

I love to read! I’ll share my thoughts (book bytes instead of sound bites) on old favorites and new books for children and adults here.

 

They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein is a very small book with some very big ideas.

The publisher’s blurb says:

“They Say / I Say” shows that writing well means mastering some key rhetorical moves, the most important of which involves summarizing what others have said (“they say”) to set up one’s own argument (“I say”).

In addition to explaining the basic moves, this book provides writing templates that show students explicitly how to make these moves in their own writing.”

While some may cringe at that the thought of using a writing template, Graff and Birkenstein lay out a very good rationale for doing so.  They even make a case for writing in the first person, something that was anathema when I was in college.

They also have a blog by the same name, where they post current articles from a variety of sources, along with prompts for discussion.

Book Bytes: Monstrous Book on MultiSensory Teaching

Thank you to Kathy Penn of 3DLiteracy for the heads-up on this weighty book. I just received my copy of the brand new, 786 page, 3rd edition of Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills by Judith R. Birsh.  Chapter 18 on “Learning Strategies and Study Skills” by Claire Nissenbaum and Anthony Henley is worth the price of the book all by itself!!

The book is jam-packed with references, including links to many websites.  This is just one that looks like it holds oodles of useful information for parents, teachers, and students: The Learning Strategies Database from Muskigum University.

If you work with students who have learning disabilities, in particular ones that are language-based, you gotta have this book!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apps Designed with Disability in Mind–Great Resource!

The Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence has compiled a categorized list of iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch apps.  Categories include:

Communication

Early Literacy

Access to Reading and Writing

Organization and Study Skills

Reinforcement/Data

Social Competence

Visual Motor and Movement

Accessibility

Other Fun and Useful Apps

Resources

They also include  links to other online resources for finding apps. OCALI‘s main website looks like a treasure trove of information! They are also on Facebook.

Thanks to Mobile Education Store for posting this link on Facebook!

Complete Class Organizer: I Could Have Used This!!

This terrific app is great for any student, but could be particularly helpful for students who have ADHD, dyslexia, or other issues that complicate organizing classes.

• Take lecture notes.
• Record lectures at the same time.  Double tap on a word in your notes to hear what was being said at that time.
• Record notes to yourself.
• Add drawings.
• Import photos.
• Track homework assignments and due dates, including adding them to the iPad calendar.
• View your weekly schedule.
• Check Google, Wikipedia, and the Dictionary.
• Import PDF, PPT, and text documents from Dropbox, Google Docs, or the Web.
• Print your drawings and notes.
• Export drawings and notes  to Dropbox.
• Email them to yourself or someone else.
• Export your recordings.
• Store your grades and automatically calculate your class grade.
• And do it all for every class you are taking!!
• Just be sure to hold onto that iPad!!

Version 2.0 will include fonts, colors, and underlining, a document manager, full calendar view, and more.

The developer is very responsive to feedback.

It’s enough to make me want to go back to school!

All this for only $4.99, available on iTunes.

Timely Tips #24: Apps for Children with Special Needs

Here’s a new blog I just heard about, Apps for Children with Special Needs.   They do video reviews of apps, which allows you to see them in action before you buy.

Apps for Children with Special Needs (a4cwsn) is committed to helping the families and carers of children with special needs and the wider community of educators and therapists who support them, by producing videos that demonstrate how products designed to educate children and build their life skills really work from a user perspective.

I’m going to get busy exploring their site!

Timely Tips #20: It’s a Revolution (In English Grammar)

Does the thought of diagramming sentences scare the words right out of your head? Fear not!!

Check out The Grammar Revolution for all the help you never knew you needed!  You can get free tips via Elizabeth O’Brien’s ezine in your email.  If you’re teaching grammar, you can get a subscription to Daily Diagrams which will arrive in your email weekly.  Dare I say it? Yes, I do!  Elizabeth makes teaching and learning about grammar FUN!

If you prefer, you can start with these videos, her workbook, or her grammar encyclopedia.

Basic English Grammar Video Course

This course walks you through everything you need to learn basic English grammar. It includes 17 videos that will clearly teach you the parts of speech and basic sentence diagramming. By the end of this course, you’ll have an excellent understanding of grammar. You can watch the videos online or download them onto your computer. You’ll also receive two PDF files that include practice exercises and extra information. You’ll love it! ($67)
Click here to view more details

Sentence Diagramming Exercises Ebook

The Sentence Diagramming Exercises Ebook is a 70 page ebook filled with 10 chapters of instructions, exercises, and answers to help you learn sentence diagramming. Learning grammar through sentence diagramming is fun and effective because diagramming sentences is like a fun word game. Once you start, you can’t stop, and your grammar knowledge will explode! ($19)

  

Click here to view more details

Sentence Diagramming Encyclopedia Ebook

The Sentence Diagramming Encyclopedia is an excellent sentence diagramming reference for your classroom or personal use. Print it off and keep it handy during your sentence diagramming lessons. It contains an alphabetical table of contents which makes it a snap to find what you are looking for. ($17)

Click here to view more details

iPad App: Say a Word, Get the Definition!!

Thank you, Kathy Penn, of Sound Literacy for the heads-up on the Merriam-Webster Dictionary iPad/iPhone app.

If you don’t know how to spell the word, or it’s too tedious for you to type it in, you can push record.  Using Voice Search by Dragon, the device records your voice and searches for the word.  When the word comes up, you can push a button and hear it spoken, as well as see the definition.

Be sure to speak clearly, though.  The first word I spoke, salad, came up as ballet!

 

P.S. You can also use Voice Search to look up information on the internet!

 

S.O.A.P Stuff #10: The Handwriting Advantage in Learning?

Social, Organization, Attention, and Processing Stuff

A recent article in Business Week cited research that showed the act of writing by hand has advantages for learning over using a keyboard.  Writing by hand appears to cause a “motor imprint” in the sensory-motor area of the brain. This is linked to the visual recognition of letters and words. Brain scans showed that learning through handwriting activated a region of the brain called Broca’s area, but this was not the case for learning through keyboarding.

S.O.A.P. Stuff #8: Helping Your Disorganized Child

Social, Organization, Attention, and Processing Stuff

I’ve written about Ann Dolin’s book, Homework Made Simple, here and here.

She discusses how to help the disorganized child in this article, found on her website.

Key Points:

• Establish a homework area
• Create a dedicated homework folder
• Post a checklist
• Give a bonus for staying organized
• Have a weekly ‘clean sweep’ session.

Book Bytes: Homework Made Simple–More!

I love to read! I’ll share my thoughts (book bytes instead of sound bites) on old favorites and new books for children and adults here.

If you’d like another taste of this very helpful book, check out Four Simple Ways to Help the Frustrated Child.

If homework is a struggle in your home, consider reading the book. Ms. Dolin discusses several typical homework profiles.  These include:

• The Disorganized
• The Rusher
• The Procrastinator
• The Avoider
• The Inattentive
• The Easily Frustrated

As an experienced teacher, tutor, and mother, Ms. Dolin hits the mark with her profiles and with her suggestions for improving homework time.

Check out  Book Bytes #11, for a link to her videos on these profiles.