3. 3
Study Skills…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..30
Teacher Resources……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….31
Tutor Resources…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..31
Vocabulary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..36
Work……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………39
Working……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….40
Workplace……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………40
World Stories……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….43
Writing…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………44
4. 4
(BIOGRAPHY) 16 Extraordinary Books, by Emma Hahn and Nancy Lobb. J.WestonWalch. Portland,
ME. Each book inthisseries discusses 16 importantAmericanwomen,Asian-Americans,African
Americans,etc. There are reviewquestionsatthe endof eachsection,as well asvocabularywordsand
additional activities. Thisisagood source for funreading.
(CITIZENSHIP) Voicesof Freedom,by Bill Bliss. Prentice-Hall,Inc. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ. Thisbook
coversAmericanhistorical factsfromthe colonizationof Americatothe civil rightsmovement. Itisfull
of exercisesthattestgrammarand vocabulary, aswell asfunctional interview skills. Itisa good
workbook.
Citizenship. CaliforniaLanguage Laboratories. Cupertino,CA. ThisVHScoversthe discoveryof the new
worldupuntil the VietnamWar. It featuresa topicsentence in aprimarylanguage,followedby an
Englishtranslation,with the remainderof the sectioninsimple English. The languagesfeatured include
Cambodian,Hindi,Lao,Portuguese,Spanish,andThai.
Look at the U.S.,by Carole Cross. ContemporaryBooks. Chicago, IL. ThisseriesfeaturesaLiteracy
book,books1 and2, andseparate Teacher’sGuides. Itis designedtohelpESLteachersintroduce civics
concepts to students. The 3 booksteach U.S.history,as well asfactsabout government. Each chapter
has reading,followedbyexerciseslike sentencecompletionandtrue-or-false. The seriesisgood
because ithas increasinglevelsof difficulty.
The Way to U.S. Citizenship,by MargaretW.Hirschy. Dominie Press. Carlsbad,CA. Thisbookis
designedforESLstudents. Itcoversthe whole of U.S. history,aswell asother general factsabout
America. Each chapterhas information,followedbyquestionswhichmostlytestcomprehension.
INS CitizenshipInterview:Will TheyPass? New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. ThisVHShelps in
interview skills, andgivesadviceonwhatto know topass.
The Immigrant Experience, by DennisJohnson. Prentice Hall Regents. EnglewoodCliffs,NJ. Thisbook
discusses awide varietyof importantthingsrelatedto the immigrantexperience,suchasfindingan
apartmentor a job. It hasa little readingeachsection, butmostlyfeatures awide varietyof writing
exercises,fromvocabularyandgrammarto writingcompositions. ItincludesaTeacher’sEdition. This
resource haspertinentinformationformanyESLstudents,aswell asmany activities.
Citizenship:Passingthe Test, by Lynn Weintraub. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookhas a
large amountof U.S. information,fromhistorytogovernment,alongwithsampletests andvocabulary
wordsfor students. Itisverycomprehensive,includingcassette tapes, CDs, aworkbook, aTeacher’s
Guide,andpicture cards.
Citizenship:Interactive DVD. CaliforniaLanguage Libraries. U.S. This DVDhas a sentence in the
primarylanguage, asentence inEnglish, andthe restof the sectionandmultiple choice questionsin
English. The languages featuredare Lao,Portuguese,Spanish, andThai.
5. 5
Language Customs and Protocol,by Herff Moore. CrispPublications. U.S. Thisisa good bookfor
international studentsandemployees. Ithasa lotof readingwhichcoversimportanttopicsfor
immigrantsthatwouldhelp themmake smoothtransitions. Ithas activities,aswell.
Citizenship:Readyfor the Interview,by Lynne Weintraub. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. This
audiocassette helpsstudentsprepare forthe INSinterview,andhelpswithvocabularyon the N-400
application.
(COMPREHENSION) More True Stories, by Sandra Heyer. AddisonWesleyLongmanPublishing.
White Plains,NY. Thisbookisfor readerswithEnglishasa secondlanguage,specificallyhigh-beginning
readers. It featuresmanyinterestingstories,eachone followedbyquestionsthattestcomprehension.
(The bookis actuallypartof a largerseriesfeaturedunderthe “ReadingComprehension”section.)
(CONVERSATION) CommunicationSkillsthat Work,by Wendy Stein and Elizabeth Romanek.
ContemporaryBooks,Inc. Chicago,IL. Thisseriesfeatures books1and2. It teachescommunication
skillsandhasexercisesgearedtowardsapplyingthese skillsinthe real world. The seriesisgoodforreal-
worldpreparation.
CommunicationSpotlight,by Chris Cleary. ABAX,ELT Publishers. SanFrancisco,CA. Thisbookfocuses
on skills relatingtolisteningandstrategies,andskillsrelatingto speaking. Itfocusesonmemory,
listening,speaking,andvocabulary. The bookisgood forjustpure exercise,and alsocomeswith aCD.
Over 1,000 ConversationStarters, by Sue Fenton. Madame Fifi Publications. Newington,CT. Thisbook
showsthe teacherhowto make a “highlycommunicative classroom,”andshowswaystomake speaking
exercisesmore relevanttoeverydayexperiences. Itisall readingand funactivities. Also, itisgoodfor
teachers.
First DiscussionStarters, by Keith S. Folse. Universityof MichiganPress. U.S. Thisbookhas 24 sections,
each withsome readingandopen-endedquestions. Itisgood for practice discussingthings. “More”has
an additional twentyactivities,withpromptsfollowedbymanyopen-endedquestions.
Jazz Chants, by Carolyn Graham. OxfordUniversityPress. U.S. Thisisa collectionof chantsandpoems
whichseteverydayEnglishtojazzrhythms. Ithas funpoems,as well as notesonpronunciation,etc. It
ismissingitscassette,however.
A Conversation,by Tina Kasloff Carver. Prentice Hall Regents. White Plains,NY. Book2 is featured. It
iscentered onpictures,withquestionsandactivitiesbasedoff of the subjectmatter. The formatcan
getboring,but the mainadvantage to thisbookisall the pictures.
Breaking the Ice,by Maureen Hynes. Longman. White Plains,NY. Thisbookcomeswith2 cassettes. It
isfor intermediatestudents. Ithelpsthe students learnhow andwhentomake small-talk, orask
for/give advice,etc. There isnota lotof reading,butinsteadmostlyactivities withlittle promptsor
subjectsatthe start of each chapter. The cassettesallow studentsto hearthe examples.
6. 6
Easy English,by ChristopherA.Warnasch. LivingLanguage. New York,NY. Thisbookcomeswith 2
cassettes. Itgetsright to the point,withjustactivities. Itisverypragmatic,withchaptersfrom“Is the
PostOffice Open”to“I’d Like toMake an Appointment.” Itisa goodlittle book. Also, there isaversion
with3 CDs.
From the Start, by Jann Huizenga. Longman. White Plains,NY. Thisisa photograph-basedbook,with
picturesteachingvariousskillsandexercises. Itcomeswith2 cassettes.
Guessworks!, by Howard Beckerman. HeartWorks. New York, NY. Thissource isintermediate-level,
listening-basedtextandactivities. Itisa verycool and unique book,withpicturesandquestions. Itis
formattedlike aplay,withchapters asscenes. It evenincludessheetmusic.
HelloAmerica,by Jann Huizenga. GrolierInc. Danbury,CT. Beginnerbook2 isfeatured,andcontains
16 sections. These are comprisedpurely of activities,buttheyrequireavideosectionwhichismissing.
Most questionsare basedaroundthe video,making the bookmuchhardertouse. However, afull script
isat the end,soyou don’t necessarilyneed the videos.
Listeningto Communicate in English,by Virginia Nelson. National TextbookCompany. Lincolnwood,IL.
2 bookswith 4 cassettes are featured. The seriesisforintermediate speakers of Englishasa firstor
secondlanguage. The bookshave 30 lessonswithreal conversations,followedbyexercises. The series
includes ananswerbook.
PronunciationPairs, by Ann Baker. Cambridge UniversityPress. Cambridge,U.K. 2 booksand4
cassettesare featured. Thisisa very indepthpronunciationseries. Ithasinstructional picturesshowing
exactlyhowtosay things. It iswell-organized, withgoodpictures andalot of diverse activities.
Speakup!,by Sam Chwat. CrownPublishers,Inc. New York,NY. Thisseriesincludes2cassettes. Its
purpose is eliminatingaccents,specifically Asian,IndianandMiddle Easternones,withveryindepth
instructions. Itisall reading,withnoactivities(althoughthe studentobviouslyhastopractice the
informationhe/she reads).
The Multilingual E.S.L., by Candido Sesma. OrbisPublications. LosAngeles,C.A. Thisseriesincludes3
cassettes. Ingeneral,these are justboringactivitybooks. However,theydohave some benefits. These
include instructions,laidoutonthe back,on exactlyhow touse the books,whichmake iteasierforthe
tutor. The firstbook is inFarsi,(I), andthe secondinCambodian(III).
Tuning in to SpokenMessages,by Lila Blum. Longman. White Plains,NY. Thisseriesincludes2
cassettes. Itis “basedonlanguage fromphone messages,loudspeakerannouncements,commercials,
and radio.” Studentsgetto practice listeningforspecificinformationin the real world. The bookisfull
of exercises.
Basic English for Foreigners. OrbisPublications. Oceanside,CA. Thisseriesincludes2cassettes. It
containsEnglishtranslationsof vocabularyandphrasesinArabic,Hindi,Thai,andVietnamese. The 20
sectionsrevolvearoundreal life topics. Anindepthappendix isfeatured,whichtalks aboutnouns,
verbs, andsentence structure.
7. 7
Learning to Speak English,by Barbara Sullivan. CaliforniaLanguage Laboratories. Cupertino,CA. This
seriescontains2booksand 8 cassettesforArabic,Hindi,Hmong,andLao. The firstbookand4 cassettes
are inPortuguese,Thai,andVietnamese. The seriesmostlyconsistsof simple tocomplexsentences,
withan introduction,directions,sentencesinEnglish,andatranslation. Part2 hassentencesforspecific
thingslike findingajobor visitingthe doctor.
Practical English for Arabic Speakers,by David Lerbs. Educational ServicesCorporation. U.S. Thisbook
featuresphrases,aswell aspicturesof things, withboththe English andArabictranslations. Italsohas
dialog. Itis a good reference book, andincludes 2cassettes.
Englishfor Cantones Speakers. PimsleurLanguage Program. Thisseriescontains4cassettesfor
Cantones,and4 cassettesforHindi speakers. Itallows speakersof these twolanguagestolearnEnglish
at theirownpace.
Englishfor the Real World, by Andrea Penruddocke. Licinf Language. New York,NY. Thisserieshas
dialog,different waystouse newvocabulary,idioms,andexercises. Itfeaturesa little bookand6
cassettes. Itis onlyforJapanese intermediate toadvancedstudents.
Conversational Englishfor Korean Speakers. Crown Publishers. New York, NY. Thisseriesfeatures4
cassetteswhichhelpteachidiomaticEnglishforintermediate to advancedKoreanstudents.
Picture Stories,by Fred Ligon. Longman. White Plains,NY. Thisisa funand funny bookforbeginners,
with16 storiesfull of pictures,which deal withAmericancultural topics. Studentsdovariouslaid-back
activities,aswell asopen-endedwritingexercises.
Somethingto Talk About,by Kathleen Olson. Universityof MichiganPress. U.S. Thisbookcovers
varioustopicslike familyandemployment. Eachsection hasactivitieswhichare fun,andnotdry. The
aimis to drawstudentsoutof theircomfortzonesandintothe conversation. The bookgetsstudentsto
talkabout theirownlives.
Zero Prep(and 0-Prep for Beginners),by LaurelPollard. AltaBookCenterPublishers. Burlingame,CA.
These activities are designedtotake lesseffortfromteachers,while havingmore results fromstudents.
Thissource is goodbecause ithas manydiverse,creative,andfunexercises.
Top-up Listening,by ChrisCleary. ABAXLtd. SanFrancisco,CA. Thisseriesincludes3books,eachwitha
CD. It helpslow-intermediatestudentsimprovelisteningandcomprehension. The booksare purely
activities. The seriesisdesignedtohelpstudentslistenforcontextandmake inferences,aswell asfocus
on soundstructuresin English.
(DICTIONARY) Take it Easy: American Idioms, by Pamela McPartland. Prentice-Hall,Inc.
EnglewoodCliffs,NJ. Thisbookcomeswith acassette. Ithas 164 idioms,organizedbytheme, and
provides contextfromAmericanlife.
8. 8
What’sUp: American Idioms,by Pamela McPartland. Prentice Hall Inc. EnglewoodCliffs,NJ. Thisbook
comeswith a cassette. “[It] helpsintermediate-levelESLstudentsunderstandanduse 87 high-
frequencyphrasal verbsandverbal idioms.” Italsoincludesmanyactivities.
English-LaoPhrasebook. Centerfor AppliedLinguistics. WashingtonD.C. Thisbookcomeswith3
cassettes. Itsimplyhasvocabularyandphrasestranslated fromLaoto English. It isa good little
reference book.
The Basic Oxford Picture Dictionary, by MargotGramer. OxfordUniversityPress. New York,NY. This
bookstarts off withverybasicpictures,suchas colors. It graduallymovesuptomore complex pictures,
such as onesthatare work or health-themed.
The NewOxford Picture Dictionary, by E.C. Parnwell. OxfordUniversityPress. New York,NY. This
seriescontainsover2,400 words withpictures. These are mostlybigpictureswithnumbersonthe
variousitems,correspondingtoalistof words. Inadditionto a monolingualversionthere isa
Cambodian,Korean,Russian,Spanish,andVietnameseversion.AlsoincludedisaTeacher’sGuide.
The OxfordPicture Dictionary, by Norma Shapiro. OxfordUniversityPress. New York,NY. Thisbook
has an incrediblearrayof picturestoaccompany over3,700 words. The wordsare interesting, andnot
whatyou’dtypicallyexpect. Forinstance,asectionall aboutcar vocabularyisfeatured. The material is
put intocontextso that wordsare relevantinreal-life ways. Inadditionto amonolingual versionthere
isa Korean,Russian,Spanish,andVietnameseversion.
A Dictionary of Homophones,by Leslie Presson. Barron’sEducational Series,Inc. Hauppauge,NY. This
bookfeaturesover600 homophoneswith“brief definitionsand part-of-speechdesignations.” Itisa
nice,simple little book, andcertainly helpful forpeoplewhowanttoenhance theirEnglish.
Scott, Foresman BeginningDictionary,by E.L. Thorndike. Scott,ForesmanandCompany. Glenview, IL.
Thisbookbeginswith howto use the dictionary,andincludes24exercises. Then,the restof it is a large-
printdictionary whichfeaturesmanypictures. Itisdefinitely agoodresource forpeople whoare not
advancedEnglishspeakers.
Dictionary of Easily ConfusedWords,by Deborah K.Williams. National TextbookCompany.
Lincolnwood, IL. Thisbookisa good reference forhomophones,wordswithtrickygrammatical use,and
wordsthat are similarbutwithdifferentdefinitions.
Englishfor Everyday Activities,by LawrenceZwier. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseries
comeswith a Teacher’sGuide,byAnne V.Martin. It usespicturestoguide studentsthroughdifferent
activities,like gettingupinthe morningordriving. Test questions are included inthe Teacher’sGuide.
(GAME) Puppiesor Poppies? ESL Bingo,by Elizabeth Kuizenga Romijn. CommandPerformance
Language Institute. U.S. ThisseriesisforbeginningtointermediateESLstudents,andoffersover65
differentBingogameswhichtestvocabulary,grammar,andtrickysounddiscrimination. Itisunique,
9. 9
highlyinteractive,andagreat source fortutors. It comeswithcallingcardsto make yourown Bingo
games.
(GED) Pass the GED. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. ThisseriesfeaturesbooksforLanguage Arts
readingand writing,andSocial Studies. Ithas“5 stepsto testsuccess:”know whatto expect,practice
thinking,practice graphicskills, practice takingthe GED,and “make yourplanfor testsuccess.”
Easing into Essays, by Nan Phifer. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookisa Teacher’sGuide. It
isa goodsource for tutors. It features exampleessaysandoutlines,andexplains how toteachstudents
to write essays concisely.
Pre-GEDSkill Workbooks. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. These booksfeature “Math,”“Reading,”
“Social Studies,”“Science,”“Writing1,”and “Writing2.” Each bookhas differentstagesstudentswork
through,startingwithseeingwhatyou know andendingbytestingwhatyou’ve learned.
GED Score Boost. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. These booksfeature “Math,”“Reading,”“Social
Studies,”“Science,”“ThinkingSkills,”and“Writing.” Theyanalyze how thingsare graded,and the
criteriausedtograde for the GED. There isnothingunique aboutthisseries.
Pre GED Science,by Ellen Northcutt. Steck-VaughnCompany. Austin, TX. Thisisa veryindepthbook
for justscience. Itcovers life science, earthandspace science,chemistry, andphysics. Ithas pretests
and posttests,withplentyof material inbetween.
Visual Literacy, by Betty Aderman. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookhas maps,
photographs,editorialcartoons,scales,charts, diagrams,tables,andgraphs. Itfeaturesvariousimages,
withindepthexplanationsshowinghow,forinstance,acertain type of graphworks.
(GRAMMAR)Three Little Words, by Elizabeth Claire. DeltaSystemsCo.,Inc. McHenry,IL. This book
focuseson“a, an, and the.” It shows ESL studentshow touse these words,andis solelycomprisedof
exercises. The bookisa veryunique source.
Englishin Action, by Barbara Foley. ThomsonLearning. U.S. Thisbookcomeswitha CD, and a
workbook. The workbookhasmany fill-in-the-blankexercises forvarious general topics. The original
bookhas pictures,prompts, andexercisesaboutday-to-daythings.
Tell Me Grammar 2 and 3, by Peter Goodchild. ESL Resources. Toronto,Canada. This seriesispurely
activities,which covermanyessential elementsof grammar,suchas passive voice andindirectspeech.
Grammar Smart, by Julian Fleisher. The PrincetonReview Publishing. New York, NY. This series
features2 cassettes. Itteachesbasicparts of speech,andthenmoveson to more complicatedthings
like “misplacedmodifiers, [and] danglingparticiples.” Qand A reviewsare alsoincluded.
Grammar Works, by Julie Schumacher. PerfectionLearningCorporation. Logan, IA. Thisseriescomes
withbooksD, E, F, andH. All of these come with only the Teacher’sEdition,exceptH,whichhasboth
the T.E. and original book. The seriesincludespartsof speech,paragraphstructure,sentence structure,
10. 10
and mechanicsandusage. Asa complete series,the booksactuallygofromC-H(6 sections),witheach
bookintroducingmore andincreasinglycomplexelementsof grammar.
A Pocket Guide to Correct Grammar, by VincentF. Hopper. Barron’s Educational Series,Inc.
Hauppauge,NY. Thisbook hasno exercises,andisall content. Itcoversparts of speech,sentence
structure,logicandclarity,and evenhow toavoidwordiness. Itisverysleek,compact,andfuntouse.
Grammar Wise 1, by Kevin Anthony Keating. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. ThisbookisforESL
studentslookingtoincrease grammar skills. Primarilythe exercisesare fill-in-the-blank. Eachsection
coversa newtopic. The material isfairlysimple(forbeginners).
Meaningsand Metaphors,by Gillian Lazar. Cambridge UniversityPress. U.K. Thisbookhas pictures
and text,which gowithexercisesthathelpwithfigurative language. Teacher’snotesare featuredinthe
same book. Also,pagescan be photocopiedwithin the classroom. The bookisforstudents whoare
intermediate-level andabove.
PrepositionsMade Easy, by Many Meyers. MainstreamPublications,Inc. Thisbookhas text,pictures,
and verydiverse andfunactivitiesforstudentslookingtolearnaboutprepositions.
Teach yourself:EnglishGrammar, by John Shepheard. ContemporaryBooks. Chicago,IL. Thisbook
coversall sorts of grammar, from“presentsimple”to “phrasal verbs-withobjects.” Itisfull of activities,
and includesanswers. The formatisa bit dull,butthe source is extremelycomprehensive.
The AdvancedGrammar Book, by Jocelyn Steer. Heinle &Heinle Publishers. U.S. A workbookand
Instructor’sManual are featured. Thisseriesisforadvancedstudents. Itisfull of interestingand
culturally relevantprompts,suchasalternative medicine andthe historyof McDonald’s. The seriesis
well-organized, withagoodbalance betweenreadingand writing.
Analogies,by Elliott Quinley. SaddlebackPublishingInc. Irvine,CA. Thisseriesfeaturesbooks1and 2,
bothwithteacher’snotesandanswerkeys. Ithas almostonlyexercises,suchasmultiple choice,fill-in-
the-blank,andshortcompositions. The seriesfocusesoncomparingwords, andlearningtologicallyuse
wordsto describe things.
UsingParts of Speech, by BonnieL. Walker. AmericanGuidance Service,Inc. Circle Pines,MN. This
bookhelps“buildvocabularyskills,punctuation,capitalization,spelling,writingsentences&
paragraphs.” The sectionsstartwithdescriptionsof topic-nouns,verbs,etc.,and thenhave exercisesto
drill students.
(HEALTH)Access to Healthcare in Lowell,Massachusetts. GreaterLowell CommunityHealth
NetworkAssociation. ThisVHSis“an educational videotargetingnew immigrants.”
Eating Right, produced in collaboration with American Institutefor PreventiveMedicine. New Readers
Press. Syracuse,NY. This bookiswritteninlarge textwithpictures,soitisgood forall ages. It covers
topicsfromgood nutritiontohowone shouldbudgetwhenshoppingforthe rightfood. The bookis
veryaccessible because of itsformat.
11. 11
Everyday Health,by DouglasFalk. Globe Fearon. Parsippany,NJ. Thisseriesfeaturesbooksfor
“Exercise,”“FamilyLiving,”“Insurance Basics,”“NutritionSafety,”“Wellness,”andaTeacher’sResource
Manual. Theyare mostlyreading,withabitof writingexerciseseachchapter. These exercises are
primarilyshortcompositionsaskingaboutthe informationstudentsjustread. The seriesisveryreading-
heavy,withthe primarygoal to give studentsloadsof usefulinformation,andhave some questionsjust
makingsure theyunderstood. Alsofeaturedare vocabularywordsrelatedto the subjects. The seriesis
a good,educational resource.
Global Health Program, by Mary Ann Ledda. This seriescontains “AlcoholandotherDrugs,”“Nutrition
and Dieting,”“Self-Esteem,”andaTeacher’sManual. The booksare verywell-done andin depth. They
are fairlyadvanced,withsmall printandlanguage whichis notsimplified. The booksare all reading,
withsome pictures. Eachchapter has learningobjectives,vocabularywords,chaptersummaries,and
activities. The activitiesare notsimple fill-in-the-blanks,butare insteadmore creative,like makinga
posteror doingsome investigatingatyour local library.
Health Stories,by Ann Gianola. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesfeaturesanintroductory,
lowbeginning,andhighbeginningbook,eachwitha CD, workbook,andTeacher’sGuide. Eachbookhas
14 sectionscovering varioushealthtopics,from“PollenProblems”to“Calling911.” The bookshave
readingpromptswhichteachabouta givensubject,andthenhave questionslike fill-in-the blank,etc.
The workbookshave more exercisesoncorrespondingchapters,withCDs forthe exercises.
Cancer Survival Toolbox. National CoalitionforCancerSurvivorship. SilverSpring, MD. 1 bookand6
CDs are featured. Thisisa “self-learning”programdividedinto9sections. Eachsectioncoversa
differentsetof skillsneededtogetcancer survivorsthe bestcare. Thissource is onlyrelevantforcancer
survivors.
Englishfor New Americans:Health & Safety,by Carol Piñeiro. LivingLanguage. New York,NY. This
seriescomeswith aworkbook,VHS,cassette,andcassette audio-script. The studentwatches the video
and answersquestionsin the workbook. Thenhe/shecanpractice listeningandspeakingwordsand
phraseswith the cassette. StudentslearnEnglish,aswell as abouthealth andsafety.
Healthy Beginnings:LeadSafe Families. EducationDevelopmentCenter,Inc. U.S. This seriescomes
witha Teacher’sGuide,glossarywithmanytranslationsof vocabularywords,and2 books. The 2 books
have readingsandexercisesdesignedtoinformfamiliesabout the dangersof leadpoisoning. The series
servesaunique purpose,butintermsof designitisnot well-done. The 2 booksare basicallythe same,
withno indicationwhichismore advanced,althoughthere are subtle,arbitrarychangesbetweenthem.
Things to Know about Medicine and Health,by Richard S. Kimball. J. WestonWalch. Portland, ME.
Thisbookis for ESL students, andteachesaboutnutrition,healthcare,etc. Each sectionhas a writing
prompt(a dialogor shortstory), followedbyexercises thattestvocabulary andcomprehension. The
book includesidioms,andisa fun,well-formattedwork.
Managing Stress,produced in collaboration with American InstituteforPreventiveMedicine. New
ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisisa slimbooktalkingaboutwhat stressis, andhow to manage it. It is
12. 12
writteninbiglettering. Ithas exercises,buttheyare more formanagingstressthan learningEnglish,
althoughthere isvocabulary.
Culture,Health,and Literacy, by Julie McKinney. WorldEducation. Boston,MA. This bookismostlyfor
ESOL students,sotheycan learnhowto get properaccess to healthcare. Itisnot a great book,because
insteadof providinginformation,itsimplylistsanddescribesgoodbooksforthese people inneed,and
manybooksyou must firstpay for. It doeshave some websitesandfree books,butitisjusta reference
list,nota real book.
NIBBLE, by John Cunningham. UMassAmherst. U.S. Thisbook isdevotedtonutrition,andhow to eat
healthy. Ithas tonsof resources,suchasreadings,pictures,healthyrecipes,andstudentexercises.
Nutrition,Food,and Fitness,by Dorothy F.West. The Goodheart-Willcox Company,Inc. TinleyPark,IL.
Thisis perhapsthe mostindepthbookon health,coveringnumeroustopics. Setuplike acollege
textbook, ithas25 chapters,eachwitha summaryand some questionsatthe end. It isa great resource,
but fairlyadvanced.
Women’sHealth. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookislarge print, and justreading. It isthe
same formatas “ManagingStress,”foundonthe previouspage. Itisa good little book.
(HISTORY) From the Beginning,by Judith Bailey. JAGPublications. StudioCity,CA. Thisupper
intermediate bookhaspictures,reading,vocabulary,andexercisesrelatingto America’shistory,starting
before ChristopherColumbus,andendingwithGeorge W.Bush. There are a lotof exercises,butalot of
goodreading,too.
Amazing Century. ContemporaryBooks,Inc. Chicago,IL. Thisseriesfeaturesbooks1-5,anda
Teacher’sGuide. Each bookcoverseventsover20 to 30 years,withthe seriesgoingfrom1900-1992. It
isjust pure funreading,withacouple questionsat the endof eachsection. The booksare upper
intermediate,withperhaps toomuchreadingforsome students,butare veryenjoyable. The Teacher’s
Guide hassuggestedexercises.
Land, People,Nation,by Anna UhlChamot. PearsonEducation,Inc. White Plains,NY. Thisbookcomes
witha Teacher’sGuide. Itis forESL students, andhasreadingsaswell asa plethoraof exercises,all
aboutU.S. history. The book isveryexercise-heavy.
Of the People,by Deborah J.Short. DeltaSystemsCo.,Inc. McHenry,IL. This book isfor ESL students,
and coversU.S. historyfromthe early Europeansettlersto2001 America. It haspictures,readings,and
questions.
Heroesfrom American History, by AnneSiebert. Pro LinguaAssociates. Brattleboro, VT. Thisbookhas
pictures,reading,and exercises,butisfunandlaidback. It teachesaboutall sortsof interestingpeople,
fromGeorge WashingtontoThomas Edison.
U.S. History Shorts 1 & 2, by Kristina Swann. PCIeducational Publishing. SanAntonio,TX. For this
series,the 2 booksfeaturedgofrompre-colonizationtoSeptember11th,2001. Each sectionhas a 1-
13. 13
page story,followedby alotof activities. Ananswerkeyisincluded. These are goodworkbooks,but
not greatif studentswantto readmore.
(HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES) Global Studies,by MarjorieFrank. IncentivePublications,Inc.
Nashville,TN. Thisbookisforgrades 6-8+. “Studentsexplore interestingcultural,social,political,and
economiccharacteristicsof manyworldnations.” The bookiscomprisedmostly of exercises,which
teachstudentsall sortsof greatfacts aboutdifferentcountries.
WorldGeography, by MarjorieFrank. Incentive Publications,Inc. Nashville,TN. Thisbookisthe same
formatas “Global Studies.” Itis comprisedof learningfunthingsaboutthe world. However,oftenthere
are almostimpossible questionswithnoreadingprompt,soinsteadof learningfromareadingand
beingtested,studentswouldhave touse the glossary&answerkeyto have a clue onthese exercises,
whichisnot verylogical asa learningtool.
Vocabulary Advantage for American History, by Vivian Bernstein. Harcourt Achieve Inc. Orlando,FL.
Thisbookfeatureslittle readingprompts,followedbydiverse exercises. Muchattention isfocusedon
learningnewvocabulary. Thisisanelegant,simple workbook.
Skillsin the Content Areas: Social Studies,by multiple authors. SteckVaughn. U.S. Thisbookhas
readingprompts, vocabulary, andquestions. Italsocomeswithpretestsandpostteststotrackthe
student’sprogress. Butitcoversmore than justU.S. history, alsotalkingaboutworldhistory,among
otherthings. The bookcomeswith a Teacher’sGuide.
American History on the Screen,by Wendy S. Wilson. J. WestonWalch. Portland, ME. Thisbook
discusses17 films,providingindepth informationonthem. A lotof readingforeachfilm isincluded,
alongwiththought-provokingquestions. Thisisa great concept,andan interestingbook,althoughitis
fairlyadvanced.
(HOME& FAMILY) Holy Bible:ReaderFriendlyEdition. Thomas Nelson,Inc. Thistranslationof
the Bible isspecifically done soeveryonecanreadit,witheasier-to-readwordsandphrases.
The Bible for Students, by Gilbert Beers. Tyndale House Publishers,Inc. Wheaton,IL. Thisbook
features300 storiesfromthe Bible withillustrations. Also, ithaslarge textand highlightssome
significantquotes.
You Can Give FirstAid, by Kim Bowman. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisshortbook discusses
basicskillsneededincase of an emergency. Ithasinformative readingandpictures,followedby
questionstotestcomprehension. The bookcomeswith a Teacher’sEdition.
ChildCare, by Betty Herzog. FollettPublishingCompany. Chicago,IL. Each chapter of thisbook has
mostlyinformativereadinganda couple pictures,followedbyafew questions. Also,the book includes
vocabularywords.
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In the BeginningWasthe Word, by RuthJ.Colvin. ProLiteracy. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookis all reading,
withsuggestedexercises. Itusesthe Bible toteach readingandwriting. The bookhasinstructionsfor
tutors,as well.
From Home to School, by Ann Gianola. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesfeaturesbooks1,
2, and a Teacher’sGuide. The books are for beginners,with little readingprompts(all school-themed)
followed bya whole lotof exercises. The series focusesonsubjectsrelevanttoparentsandstudents.
Having a Baby, by Sharron S.Humenick. Signal Hill Publications. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookisall reading,
withlarge textandpictures. It iseasyto understandandinformative. The bookcoverseverythinga
womanneedstoknowwhois pregnant.
The Child-BearingYear,by Barbara B.Holstein. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisisa very
comprehensive book,with storiesfromreal mothers,indepthpictures/diagrams,andevensome
vocabularywords. Thisisa greatsource for pregnantwomen.
How to Buy a Home in the U.S. Fannie Mae Foundation. Thisbookteacheseverythingyouneedto
knowaboutbuyinga house. It features small writingprompts,followedbynumerousquestionstesting
readingcomprehensionandgrammar. The bookcomeswitha Teacher’sEdition.
Things to Know About Housing, by Richard S. Kimball. J.WestonWalch. Portland, ME. Thisbookhas a
ton of funreading(includingdialogs,stories,and idioms) withsome questions. It covers all sortsof
topics, frombuyinga home tomaintainingit.
Practical Parenting,by Kathy Sammis. J.WestonWalchPublisher. Portland,Maine. Thisisa veryin
depthbooklayingoutintermseasyto understand the variousskillsneededtocare for youryoungone.
“The emphasisthroughoutisdevelopingpositive,affirmingchildguidanceskills.”
You and Your Child’sTeacher,by Pamela Weinberg. Signal Hill. Syracuse,NY. Writtenasthoughit’sfor
children,thisbook isactuallyforadultswho wantto communicate withteacherstoprovide the best
education. The formattingof thisbookisstrange,butin essence itjustgivesadvice forparentsonhow
to talkto teachersabouttheirchildren.
(LAW/GOVERNMENT) Bythe People,forthe People,by Deborah J.Short. DeltaSystemsCo.,Inc.
McHenry, IL. DesignedforESLstudents, thisbook teachesaboutU.S.governmentand citizenship,and
promotesEnglishdevelopment. Itcontains limitedreading, andinstead mostlyexercises.
U.S. Government-StudentText, by Kristina Swann. PCIEducational Publishing. SanAntonio, TX. This
book is justreading(withbiglettering)aboutgovernmentingeneral,andthenU.S.government. Ithas
vocabulary,interestingfacts,andpictures. Thisisafun book.
American Government,by RobertTaggart. J.WestonWalch. Portland,ME. This bookhas 7 chapters.
The firstone is devotedtogovernmentingeneral,and the next6are devotedpurelyto the U.S. It is full
of exercises,whichare mixedinwithlittle readings,switchingoff frequently. Thisisathick,indepth
book.
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(LIFE SKILLS) Life Skillsfor Today’s World, by Vivian Bernstein. Steck-VaughnCompany. Austin, TX.
Thisseriesfeatures “Community&Government,”“Personal Health,”“YourOwnHome,”“Moneyand
Consumers,”and“The Worldof Work.” There isa goodamountof reading,withpicturesand
vocabulary,followedby areasonable amountof questions. Thishasa good,simple lay-outforteaching
ESL studentsvariouslife skills.
Clock and Calendar Skills,by Jean Bunnell. J. WestonWalch. Portland,ME. Thisis a workbookteaching
studentsall the waysandlabels fortellingtime,starting withbasicsandgettingharderasitprogresses.
The book coversvariousskillsthatrequire readingclocks,settingtimers,etc.
GoingPlaces, by Eric Burton. A PersonEducationCo. White Plains,NY. Book1 isfeatured. Itis all
picture-basedquestionsforbeginningESLstudents. Itcoversa little bitof everything,fromtellingtime
to givingdirections. The bookalsocomeswith a Teacher’sResource.
Choices,by multiple authors. ContemporaryBooks,Inc. Ontario,Canada. Thisseriesfeatures “Families
& Schools,”“HousinginGood Health,”“It’syourRight,”and 2 Teacher’sGuides. The bookshave large
printtext(forESL students),withsome readinganddialogs,alongwithquestions. These questionsjust
testcomprehension,andare more funthan inotherbooks,generally. The booksteachEnglishand
importantlife skillsforadults.
What’sSo Funny?,by Elizabeth Claire. EardleyPublications. Rochelle Park,NJ. Thisbookisdesigned
for intermediate toadvancedESLstudents,usingcomedyto“breakthroughthe cultural andlinguistic
barriersto Americanhumor.” Itis a fairlysophisticatedbook, andfirstgoes throughwhatjokes and
laughterare. There are a fewquestionsatthe endof each chapter. Thisis a veryanalytical work,and
not justa bookof jokes.
ComputerWords, by Dan Deacon. RemediaPublications,Inc. Scottsdale,AZ. Thisbookfeatures50
importantcomputervocabularywords,dividedinto3sections. Eachsectionstartswithsome word
definitions,followedby funandlaidbackexercises. The bookisshort,sweet,andtothe point.
Calendar Activities,by Anne-MarieKaskens. ESLResources. Ontario,Canada. Thisisa short book, with
justfunactivities like crosswordpuzzles,etc. Thisis a greatresource forteachingthe calendar.
Skill Sharpeners,by Judy DeFilippo. PearsonEducation,Inc. White Plains,NY. Thisseriesfeatures
books1-4. It isdesignedforESLand ABE students. A tremendousamountof topics are covered across
the 4 books. Studentslearnabouthistoryandscience,aswell asinterpretgraphsandreadmaps.
However,there isvery littlereading,almostentirelyexercises,anddryanddifficultonesatthat. Thisis
more like a boringtextbookthanafunworkbook.
Department Store Words, by AnneSattler. RemediaPublications,Inc. Scottsdale,AZ. Thisbookisthe
same formatas “ComputerWords”(seenabove) exceptinsteadof 3glossarysections, the wordsare not
defined. Theyare dispersedthroughoutthe book,surroundedbyrelatingexercises.
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Forms & You, by NadineB. Stukel. J.WestonWalch. Portland, ME. Thisbookhas a seriesof important
forms,leftblanksostudentscanpractice fillingthemout. Italsohas a Teacher’sSectionatthe start,
withvocabularywordsand activitiesforthe students. Thisisaveryunique resource.
The Grab Bag ofTelephone Activities,by Elizabeth Ganong. CanadianResourecesforESL. Ontario,
Canada. Almosteverypage of thisbook isa new section,covering numerous telephone-related
scenariosforESL studentswhowantto getbetterat communicatingonthe phone. Ithas dialog,
pictures,andfun,game-likeexercisestodrive the message home. Thisisagood and unique resource.
Out & About, by Amy Hemmert. Owl Publishing. SanFrancisco,CA. Thisseriesincludesastudentbook,
computerbook,anda Teacher’sResource book. The booksjusthave numerousexercisesaboutvarious
topics(the computerone obviouslyfocusesmore oncomputers,whilestillbeingquite similarto the
studentbook). There ishardlyanyreading, andinstead justrelentlessexercises.
Englishfor New Americans:Everyday Life,by Carol Piñeiro. LivingLanguage. New York,NY. This series
comeswith a workbook,VHS,cassette,andcassette audio-script. Itisthe exactsame formatas the
otherE.F.N.A.book (foundunderthe “Health”section),butwithdifferentsubjectmatter.
SurvivingSigns,by RuthB. Leff. CrestwoodCompany. Milwaukee,WI. Thisbookgivesthe mostbasic
signsand symbolsencounteredinthe outside world andathome,fromstopsignsto whichpublic
restroomyoushoulduse. Thisisa goodand unique work.
Things to Know About (Cars & Driving,CommunityResources,and Personal Paperwork),by Richard S.
Kimball. J.WestonWalch. Portland,ME. Thissource isfor intermediate ESLstudents. Ithasdialog,
vocabulary,questions,andevenincludestipsforteachers. The series isdesignedtoteachEnglish,as
well asimportantreal-worldskills.
Studyingfor a Driver’s License,by Dr. FrankC.Kenel. The PeoplesPublishingGroup,Inc. Saddle Brook,
NJ. This isjustan honest,educational book. Ithas a lot of reading,pictures,helpfultips,andexercises,
writteninan easier-to-readwaythanthe state manual. Of course,thisbookalone will notmake a
studentgethis/herlicense. Theyneedtopractice driving, andmaybe use additional resourcesaswell.
Life SkillsPractice, by Ellen McPeekGlisan. PCI Educational Publishing. SanAntonio,TX. The chapters
inthisbook coverbasicnecessaryskills,fromgettingalong withpeople, tousingabudget. It “was
developed tohelpstudentsprepare forlife afterhighschool.” Thissource isnotfor improvingEnglish,
but insteadpurelyforlearninglifeskills.
The Life SkillsLibrary (GreatGroomingfor Guys,Rx, ShoppingSavvy, Staying Healthy, and The World
of Work),by multiple authors. The RosenPublishingGroup,Inc. New York,NY. Thisseriesisjust
reading,inbiglettering. Itiswell-written,straight-forward, andoffersstudentsvaluable advice about
the varioustopicsabove mentioned.
FollowingDirections:Revised!, by Nancy Lobb. J.WestonWalch. Portland,ME. Thisbook has33
activitieswhichimprove students’listeningskills. For the students,it’sjustafunexercise book, andnot
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limitedtodrivingdirections. The readingisdone byteachers,ondesignatedpageswhichgive
instructions onhowto teachthe material. Thisisa fun little book.
FillingoutForms: RevisedEdition,by Ann Martin. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisisverysimilar
to the original “FillingoutForms”book,whichis described4entriesdown.
You Are Here, by Stephen Martin. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisisa veryfun book. Primarily
it features exercisesteachingall aboutreadingmaps,diagrams,floorplans,etc. Itevenhassome
creative drawingexercises. Thisisa cool book.
Restaurant Words, by AnneSattler. RemediaPublications,Inc. Scottsdale,AZ. Thisisthe same format
as “ComputerWords,”found twopagesback. It isdividedinto11 chapters,eachfocusingona different
foodtopic,like drinks,dessert,etc.
What You NeedtoKnow About (Reading AdvertisementsandLegal Documents, and ReadingSigns,
Maps, and Schedules), by Carolyn Morton Starkey. National TextbookCompany. Lincolnwood,IL.
These bookshave a lotof reading,pictures, andin-depthexercises. Theyfeature real examplesof
documentswhichstudents mustuse toanswerquestions. Thisisgood,challengingmaterial.
FillingoutForms, by Wendy Stein. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. The bookcontainsa lot of
valuable reading,explaining the significance of forms. Thenitfollowswith some exercises, mostnotably
sample formsleftblankfordemonstrationandpractice. Thisisa good resource.
Supermarket Words. RemediaPublishing. Scottsdale,AZ. Thisisthe same formatas “Restaurant
Words,”mentioned3entriesback.
(LITERACY) Communicator I & II, by Steven J.Molinsky. Prentice Hall Regents. EnglewoodCliffs,NJ.
Each section inthisseries featuresabook,Teacher’sGuide,and2 audiocassettes,exceptthere isno
bookI, onlya Teacher’sGuide. Itcoversverybasic subjects,likegivingadvice orapologizingfor
something. The book included isfilledtothe brimwithpicturesandexercises, andisalmostabit
overwhelming. Audiotapesspeakoutanyfeaturedconversationsorreading, andcontainlistening
exercises. Fromthissource,studentslearnaboutgrammar,etc.,in“real-life contexts.”
Basically Academic,by Pat Currie. NewburyHouse. New York,NY. Thisbookis forESL students
planningtogo to college,whohave tomake the transitiontoEAPclasses. Ithas a lot of small-print
readingwithfeaturedtextsonthingslikevolcanoesorchildlabor. Studentsmustwrite aboutwhatthey
read,practicingcomprehensionaswell ashow to structure theirwriting. Thisisa unique,thorough
book.
English,No Problem!,by Trish Kerns. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesfeaturesbooks
Literacy,2, and 3, each witha Teacher’sEdition. But there is no book1 or 4. There are CDs, though,for
booksLiteracyand 1-4. The seriesstartsverybasically,reviewingthe alphabet,andbecomesmuch
more advancedby the end. There isjustan enormousamountof exercises,testinggrammar,
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comprehension,etc.withsome readingthroughout. But,itis hard to saywhat makesthiscollection
unique.
Tune in to English, by UweKind. DeltaPublishingCompany. McHenry,IL. Thisseriescomeswith abook
and 2 CDs. It is “a supplementarytextforhighschool oradultESL students.” It usesmusicwithdialog
or narrative lyricstoteach communicative skillsinanumberof ways,such as to introduce yourselfor
ask fordirections. The seriesincludesnumerouslaidbackexercises. There isalso sheetmusicforthe
songs.
Side by Side Interactive: ActivityWorkbook,by Steven J.Molinsky. PearsonEducation. White Plains,
NY. Thisseriescomeswithbooks1A,2A, and2B (missing1B),eachwitha DVD. It “combinesvideo,
audio,graphics,andtext.” The series hassome greatadvantages,like allowingstudentstobe self-
paced,or record theirownvoice andlistenbackto compare withthe video. The general goal isto“put
studentsincontrol of theirlanguage-learning.” They are “self-studycompanions.” The exercises in
these books are fun,diverse,andcolorful. (Formore “Side bySide,”see the followingpage.)
(LABELED WRONG, KIT SAYS “SIDE BY SIDE 2B”) Easy Pronunciation, by Barbara Raifsnider. Living
Language. U.S. This kitcontains1 book and6 CDs. It isfor all levels, andhelpswithcommunication.
The book isa reference forvowelsandconsonants,with manyvocabularywords,alongwith
explanationsandsample sentences. Eachof the 6 CDs has an hour of recording.
Life Prints: ESL for Adults,by multiple authors. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesincludes4
books:Literacy, andbooks1-3. For Literacy,there isa book,workbook,Teacher’sEdition,andCD. For
1, the initial bookismissing. For2 and 3, both are notmissinganything. The seriesstartsoff verybasic,
withexercisesinwritingyourownname ortellingtime. By the last bookthere isa lot of reading,
whereasinthe beginningit’spure exercise. The seriesbecomesmuchmore complex by the end,with
exercises like “readingacreditcard bill.”
In Print, by Lynellyn D. Long. Addison-WesleyPublishingCompany,Inc. U.S. This seriesis“designedto
encourage adult[ESL] studentstouse theirownlivesandculturesasa contextforreadingandwriting.”
It isall exercises,but these are interesting,diverse,andrelevant. Forexample,there are fake “help
wanted”signswhere studentsmustextractthe pertinentinformation.
Longman ESL Literacy, byYvonne Wong Nishio. PearsonEducation. White Plains,NY. Thisseries
featuresastudentbookand Teacher’sResource book. Itispurely abeginner’sbook,withonlyexercises
and no readingprompts. Itisa bigbookwithnumerousactivities,fromreviewing the alphabetand
numberstodiscussingworkandhealth.
Novel Scenes, by Ann Gianola. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesfeaturesthe books
Introductory,LowBeginning,HighBeginning,andLow Intermediate. All of the bookshave a separate
Teacher’sGuide exceptLowBeginning,whichonlyhas aTeacher’sGuide. EachTeacher’sGuide includes
an audioCD. Each bookisitsown fictionstory,andeachchapter startswitha couple-pagechapterfrom
the story,followedbyquestionsaboutwhathappened. Exercisesrange from“completethe story”to
practicingpast-tense verbs. Thisisa verycool series,because ithas fun,ongoingplotswhichkeep the
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studentinvestedin the books. Theywanttodo activitiesandmove onsotheycan see whathappens
nextinthe stories.
Passages,by JackC. Richards. Cambridge UniversityPress. New York,NY. This serieshasbooks1 and 2,
each witha studentbook,workbook,Teacher’sManual,and2 CDs. It isfor upperintermediate to
advancedstudents. These are veryrich,sleekbookswithafairamountof readinganda lotof exercises.
Theyhelp withgrammarand vocabulary,butalsowritingandcomprehension. The CDsare forlistening
exercises. If you’re amore advancedstudent,butwantto improve fluency,thisseriesisagreat,well
thought-outresource.
Side by Side, by Steven J. Molinsky. PearsonEducation. White Plains,NY. Thisseriescomeswithbooks
1-4 (eachwitha separate Teacher’sGuide,and7 CDs). Book2 is missing(itonlyhas a Teacher’sGuide
and CDs), and book4 doesnot have CDs. With a fun,laid-backformat, thingsstartoff verysimple inthe
firstbook. By the fourthbookthe subjectsmove ontothingssuch as differentformsof the pastand
future tense. Muchlike “Passages,”thisseries isprettystandardinformandpurpose,butitisvery
comprehensive andwell-written. There isreadinganda lotof pictures,butmostlyjustdrillingexercises.
(Formore “Side bySide,”see the previouspage.)
Step Forward, with series director JaymeAdelson-Goldstein. OxfordUniversityPress,New York,NY.
Thisseriescomeswith anintroductorylevel book,andthenbooks1-4. Each of the 5 booksisactually
dividedinto3separate books: a normal bookwith2 CDs, a workbook,and a multilevel activitybook.
The booksstart off verybasic and endat intermediate. Inmanyways, the booksare similartoother
textbooks,withpictures,amodestamountof reading,anda whole lotof exercises. Whatperhaps
distinguishesthisseries isthe “multilevel activitybook.” Thisisdesignedforlearner-centered
classrooms,sostudentscanall learnat theirownpace. Activities,forinstance,pairmore advanced
studentstogether,andlikewise forlessadvanced,andtheyrehearse differentelementsof the same
exercise. “One of the keytechniquesinmultilevel instructionistouse materialsthatcan workacross
levels.”
Talk of the Block, by Ann Haffner. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisserieshas“Family,”“Health,”
“Home,”and “Shopping”editions, aswell asaTeacher’sGuide. Each section(minusthe Teacher’s
Guide) haslong-vowel andshort-vowelstoriesandactivities. Theyare focusedaroundreading. Readers
learnabouta “core group of characters wholive andworkwithina cityblockand deal withissuestypical
of everydaylife.” There are activities,fairlybeginner,withreading aswell. There’s alistof vocabulary
at the end,a lotof pictures,anddifferentkindsof readingsuchasnarrativesor dialogs. Thissource is
goodbecause the storiesare interesting. The bookshave alaid-backformat,while still beinghighly
educational.
What’sNext: A Multilevel PhonicsApproachfor ESL Students,by Lia Conklin. New ReadersPress.
Syracuse,NY. This seriescomeswith4books. Each bookisdividedintoaseparate introductorybook,
and a lowbeginnerbook,aswell as a CD. The “storiesfollow Samsam, aSomali immigrant,throughher
dailylife inthe U.S.” “Books 1 and 2 focuson shortvowels, [while] books3and 4 focuson longvowels.”
The introductorybookshave readingformattedalmostlikeacomicbook,followedbyreading
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comprehension exercises,listeningexercises,etc. Correspondinglow beginnerbookshave some
readings,butinparagraph form, whichare alsofollowedbyactivities.
(MATH) Mathematics for NewSpeakersof English. SaddlebackPublishing,Inc. Irvine,CA. This
seriescomeswithatinybook,and a fairlybigTeacher’sResource Guide. Itcovers the namesof
numbers,measurements,geometricfigures,additionand subtraction,roundingandestimating,and
multiplication. Ithas mathvocabulary,detailed pictures,andpractice problems. The Teacher’s
Resource Guide isveryindepth. Ittellshow to teach literallyeverysingle page. Thisisagreat resource
for ESL studentslookingtolearnbasicmath.
Math in Everyday Life, by David E. Newton. J.WestonWalch. Portland,ME. Thisbookcoversa huge
amountof importantandrelevantmath. Studentslearnaboutbudgeting,insurance,taxes,etc. Also,it
has sample forms,withcompleteexplanations. Thisis agreat resource. Everythingdiscussedis
somethingall adultsshouldknow.
Survival Math Skills,by Fred Pyrczak. J.WestonWalch. Portland,ME. Thisbookis focusedentirely
aroundreal worldmath skills. Itisa lot like “Mathin EverydayLife,”except ithaslessheavyreadingand
sample charts. The bookisalmostentirelydrillingexercises.
(MONEY) Control Your Money. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisisa verypragmaticbook,
withinformationonhowtobudgetyourmoney,follow yourmoneysoyourememberwhatyouspentit
on,what “credit”is,and everythinginbetween. Ithasa lot of informative reading,andalot of
exercises. Alsoitisshort,witha laidbackformat. Thisismostlya bookabout how to be in control.
Things to Know About: Spendingand Saving Money,by Richard S.Kimball. J. WestonWalch. Portland,
ME. In thisseries,“eachreproducible activityusesashortstoryor dilemmatointroduce the topic,and
relatedactivitiesreview vocabularyandcheckcomprehension.” The seriesteachesmoneyskillsin
everydaylife,butwithalotlessmathand sample forms,andinsteadmostlyreadingandvocabulary. It
takesa differentapproachto the same material in the “Money”section. Thisisbetterforsome
students, butperhapsworse forothers.
MoneySmart. FDIC Financial EducationCurriculum. Thisseriesfeaturesvolumes1and 2. They are 2
humongousbooks,eachessentiallydividedinto5separate books. The series hasveryin depth
instructionsforteachers,withlessonplanscompletely mappedout. Itdoesn’thave muchreading
(althoughithassome,including the glossary). Thisisagreat resource forteachers,more thananyone
else. Itisnot veryinteresting, andisquite dauntingandoverwhelming. The seriesteachesall the same
basicpointsaboutmoney:credit,loans,budgeting,etc.
Easy Money,by Gail Vaz-Oxlade. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisisa bookabout having money
skillsineverydaylife, andis designedspecificallytobe laidbackandreadable. What’sgreataboutthis
source is it’sall reading,withbigtext inasmall book. There are no pictures,sample forms,orexercises,
but instead justthe authortalkingto the reader,explaininganddiscussingvarioustopicswhileoffering
helpful advice. There are some budgetcharts,andsome math cannotbe avoided. Butprimarily thisis
justa nice,causal readwitha helpful message.
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(PHONICS) PhonicsActivitiesfor ReadingSuccess,by Rosella Bernstein. Jossey-Bass. SanFrancisco,
CA. Thisisa verywell-formattedbook. Itisinlarge print, and isall exercises. Butthe exercises feelfun
and helpful,nottediousandmonotonous. Almost the entire bookis comprisedof activities,covering
everythingfromlongandshortvowelstodiphthongs. Thisisjusta great book. It givestonsof examples
for everyphonogram.
Focus on Phonics, by Gail V. Rice. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriescontains astudent
workbookandTeacher’sEditionforbooks2b,3, and 4. There is only a Teacher’sEdition forbook1, and
no 2a at all. The studentbookisnothingbutreadingsentencesandfillinginthe blanks. There isnota
great diversityinstyleof activitiesfrom the firsttothe lastbook. But, in the Teacher’sEdition,besides
all the answersthere isa lot of indepthreading,explainingexactlywhatthe studentsare tolearn. For
students:thissource is goodfor drills, andalsohasdifferentlevelsof difficulty,butissortof boring
(withnostories, andminimal pictures). Forteachers: thisisa good resource because itoutlineswhatto
do,and exercisesare simpletoenforce andeffectiveatthe same time.
(PRONUNCIATION) ClearSpeech(andClearSpeech:From the Start), by Judy B.Gilbert.
Cambridge UniversityPress. NewYork,NY. “ClearSpeech”contains astudentbookand a Teacher’s
Resource book. “ClearSpeech:Fromthe Start” justhas a studentbook. Everybookcomeswith1 CD at
the back of it. All booksfocuson the differentaspectsof pronunciation,suchashow many syllablesare
ina word,or wordstresspatterns. From “Fromthe Start” to “ClearSpeech,”studentsgofrom
beginninguptohighintermediate. The CDshave numerouslisteningandspeakingexercises. The books
are all exercises,buttheyare verypurposefulandnotjarring. The seriesalsoincludespicturesshowing
howto pronounce certainletters.
(READING) WeavingItTogether, by Milada Broukal. Heinle. Boston,MA. Thisseriesincludesbook
1 inwhat wouldbe a seriesof 4 books. Each chapterhas a page-longreadingprompt,followedbya
goodamount of exercises,coveringsentence structure, punctuation,vocabulary,etc. The exercisesare
plentiful,butprettylaidback. Thisisa goodresource because itstressesreading,writing,andsyntax.
Challenger:AdultReadingSeries,by Corea Murphy. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseries
includes books1-5,8, and a Teacher’sManual. The seriesstartsoff very simple,withapage-long
promptin large text, followedbyexercises,ineachchapter. These exercises alsofocusonrulesof
grammar. By the last book,there isa lotof small-textreading,and the exercisesare multiple choice,fill-
in-the-blank,oropen-endedwriting,whichall focusmostlyonjustthe readingprompt. There are still
grammatical lessons,butitreallybecomesall aboutthe readingandcomprehension. Acrossthe books
are fiction,non-fictionbiographies andarticles,andphonicscharts. Thisisa good resource because it
coversa wide range of students,andhas a lotof stimulatingreading. The Teacher’sManual isonlyfor
books5-8.
Access Reading,by Tim Collins. Heinle. Boston,MA. This series“helpsstudentslearntoaccessthe
informationandresourcestheyneedtobecome effective workers,communitymembers,andfamily
members. Itdevelopscommunication,decision-making,interpersonal,andlifelonglearningskills
throughinterestingreadings.” The serieshasfunreadingprompts,followedbyexercise whichstress
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comprehensionandgrammar,teachingstudentshow toreadand speakbetter,whileteachinglife skills,
too.
Reader’sChoice,by multiple authors. ContemporaryBooks,Inc. Chicago,IL. This seriescontainsbooks
1-3: “Insights,”“Connections,”and“Discoveries,”respectively. ItalsoincludesaTeacher’sGuide. Ithas
readingsaboutvarioustopics,followedbyexercises. Students learnaboutnumerousrelevantthings,
fromvotingor findingajob, to biggerissueslike the environment. Thisisarun-of-the-mill serieswith
reading,comprehension,andgrammarexercises.
Endeavor, with contributing authorsprovided by Vista Resources,Inc. New Reader’sPress. Syracuse,
NY. Thisseriescontainsbooks3-8,each witha separate Teacher’sGuide. The “lessonsinseriesare
non-sequential.” Theyteach goodlife skillslike stayinghealthy, while alsoprovidingfunfictionstories
as readingprompts. There isa lot of readingandopen-endedwriting. The booksare more new,sleek,
and well-organized,makingthemagoodresource. The onlyissue forsome people couldbe that the
booksdon’tgetharder from the firstto last one.
American Lives,by Gail Feinstein Forman,with Teacher’sGuide by Christy M.Newman. New Reader’s
Press. Syracuse,NY. This seriesfeaturesbooks1-3. Each book biographies15 people whohelped
change America. The bookscontain follow-upexerciseswhichtestcomprehension,while teaching
grammar and vocabulary. Theyalsoinclude famousquotes,maps,andtimelines,makingfora
comprehensive learningexperience. Thisisa goodseries, beinglaidbackandeducational atthe same
time.
Easy StoriesPlus,by Ann Gianola. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesalsohas“StoriesPlus,”
“More Easy StoriesPlus,”and“More StoriesPlus,”aswell as a Teacher’sGuide. Eachbook contains15
mini stories,writtenforlow-beginningtohigh-beginningESLstudents. Theyare greatfor beginners,
withshort,fun,and relevantreadingsinbigtext,followedbyexercisestestingvocabulary,grammar,
and comprehension. The booksare black-and-white,buthave alot of pictures.
Impact! AdultReading and Language Skills,by Janice C.Motta. Addison-WesleyPublishingCompany.
U.S. Thisseriescontainsbooks2 and 3, as well asTeacher’sGuidesforbooks1-3. Book 2 focuseson
personal things,likehealthandwork. Book3 featuresdeepertopics,likethe handicapped,andgun-
control. The serieshasthe standardreadingandexercises,butahigherreading-to-writingratio,which
isgood. Also,ithas funpictures,andsome charts,maps,etc. It ishard to have somethingoriginal,and
so thisseries issimilartoothers. Butthe increasedreading,withthe picturesandcharts,helpsvery
much to make the books more fun, and lessmonotonous.
In the Know, by Michael P.O’Donnell. New Reader’sPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesfeaturesbooks1-4
and a Teacher’sGuide. Each book isdividedinto20 or so chapters,withtopicsthatare all overthe
place (fromrobotsto coedsports). Some mightnotlike this,preferringthemedreading(one bookjust
abouthealth,money,etc.),while othersmightlikethisbecause theyfinditmore interestingthan
limitedtopics. The readingpromptsare veryshort, and inbigtext. Followingeachpromptis nomore
than 2 pagesof exercises. The readingsbecome smallertextedand more challengingby the end,but
23. 23
there are still only2 pagesof exercise perprompt. Thisisagood resource forbeginningtointermediate
students,inpartbecause there isnot a ridiculousamountof exercises.
Reading inthe ContentAreas, by Laura Stark Johnson. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseries
includes “Literature 1,”witha Teacher’sGuide,the “Literature 2”Teacher’sGuide only, “Science 1”and
“Science 2,” bothwithTeacher’sGuides,and“Social Studies 1”and “Social Studies 2,”bothwith
Teacher’sGuides. The studentbooksare pure readingandfairlyadvanced,insmall print witheloquent
language. Theyhave some vocabularywords,anda lotof good pictures. The Teacher’sGuideshave a
lotof goodinstructions,includingpre andpostreadingexercises.
Beginat the Beginning,by John R.Boyd. Abaca Books,Inc. Normal,IL. Thisserieshasa book, and
separate Teacher’sManual. It hasverysimple exercises,coveringnumbers,vocabulary,andgrammar.
It issimilartootherbookssuch as “ReadingandWriting:Basic English”(foundonthe followingpage).
What makesitunique isthat the studentbookisworthlesswithout the Teacher’sManual explaining all
the exercises. Thisapproach savesspace and hassle onthe page for teachers,because the instructions
and exercisesdon’thave tobe writteninbothbooks.
Changes, by FrankC. Laubach. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriescontains1bookand 1
audiocassette. Itisa shortbookwith4 chapters. The first2 are fictionand the next2 are about Helen
KellerandMartinLutherKingJr. It is justreading,fairlyadvanced withsmallprint,butnottoo
advanced. It hasvocabularywords,showingalsohow topronounce them, aswell assome funpictures.
Thisis the third bookin a seriesof 4 books,whichispart of a biggerLaubachseries featuredfurther
downthe page. The booksgetincreasinglydifficultfromthe firsttofourth.
City Living,by FrankC. Laubach. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisisbook2 in the Laubach series
of 4 fictionstories. Ithasthe same formatas “Changes,”except ithas7 chapters,all fictitiousand about
citylife. The textalsohas a lotof dialog.
Dirty Money, by Mel Cebulash. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookhas1 cassette. Itisa 60
page longfictionstoryat an upperintermediatelevel. Itis a funmysterynovella. The maincharacteris
private detectiveSullyGomez,whomustfindayoungwomanand $5,000 that have gone missing. There
isno designatedvocabulary, andalot of fun pictures.
In the Valley, by FrankC.Laubach. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisisbook1 in the Laubach
seriesof 4 fictionstories,andcomeswith1 cassette. Ithas 7 chapters of fiction,with accompanying
vocabulary. The bookcenterson nature,andlivinginrural areas,specifically the IndianValley.
Knockout Punch, by Mel Cebulash. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookcomeswith1 cassette.
It isthe same formatas “Dirty Money.” It isalso aboutdetective SullyGomez, butthistime he is
investigatingaboxingmatchwhichwaspotentiallyrigged.
More Stories, by Gertrude Eagle and CarolineBlakely. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseries
featuresbooks1-4. Each bookcomeswith2 cassettes, andthe booksgetprogressivelyharder. The
seriescoversall kindsof topics,from fictional storiesandpoemstoinformative readingslike “The Rights
24. 24
and Dutiesof a Renter.” It seems the first2 booksare just narrative poems,withwordlistsbutno
exercises. The next2 are in prose,withlimitedexercises. Thisisa goodsource, but perhaps couldbe
organizedbetter(becausethe topicsare all overthe place). Note:these booksare alsopartof the
largerLaubach seriesfeatured onthe followingpage.
People and Places,by FrankC. Laubach. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisis book 4 inthe
Laubach series of 4 fictionstories,following“Changes.” Ithas2 cassettes,and 4 chapters,all on famous
people likeGeorge WashingtonCarver. Besidesvocabulary, thisbook alsoincludesrelevanthistorical
maps.
Reading and Writing:Basic English,by S.E.Treadgold. New Leaf ESL materials. Seattle,WA. Thisseries
comeswitha studentworkbookandTeacher’sManual. It isfor beginners. Itcoversvowel and
consonantsoundsandspellings,aswell asnumber-relatedthingslike tellingtime. The serieshasaton
of vocabularyforpracticingthe soundsof lettersacrossdifferentwords. Like for“n,”the book has
wordssuch as “barn” and “night.”
Read On! II, by V.K.Lawson: educationaldesigner/projectdirector. LiteracyVolunteersof America,Inc.
U.S. Thisserieshasbooks1-3, 5, and a cassette foreach of these 4 books. The booksgetprogressively
harder. Theyfeature fiction storieswithsome exercises. The storiesare brokenup,withalmost
unnecessarilyin depthtutornotesandinstructions. Thisisactuallywhatseparatesthe seriesfrom
others:the veryin depthtutor notes. It’sultimatelyagoodsource fortutors,withmuch elaboration
and suggestedactivities,tocorrespondwithreadingexcerpts. (See twopagesahead formore on “Read
On! II.”)
Set to Explode,by Mel Cebulash. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookcomeswith acassette.
Detective SullyGomez’slandlordisalmostkilledbyabomb,and Sullyinvestigates. He facesa “street
gang and helpsayoungman keephislife straight”inthe process. (Formore stories onSullyGomez,see
the previouspage.)
Spaghetti Forever, by Jean W. Bodman. Heinle&Heinle Publishers. Boston,MA. Thisbookcomeswith
a cassette,andis forlowintermediatestudents. All the readingsare dialogs, separatebutwith
recurringcharacters. The bookis extremelyexercise-heavy,asurprise inthe “Reading”section. The
activitiestestcomprehensionandvocabulary, andthe dialogsare funtoread. But the book onlyworks
for people whowantall these exercises,asopposedtojustacasual read.
A Sucker for Redheads,by Mel Cebulash. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookhasa cassette.
Detective SullyGomezhelpsa“womanindistress,claimingtobe an oldarmybuddy’sgirlfriend.” But
he “gets more involvedthanhe should,”because he’sfallinginlove. (Formore storiesonSullyGomez,
see previouspage.)
Tiger’sEye, by Alan McConnellDuff. BBC English. London,U.K. ThisseriesfeaturesEnglish-Hindi and
English-Telugueditions, with3cassettesforeachversion. Itis“speciallywrittenforlearnersinthe
subcontinent.” The fictitiousstoryfollows DavidBlake,aBritishjournalistworkingforanIndian
newspaper. He investigates“Tiger’sEye,”anillegalorganizationinvolvedintradingwildanimals. The
25. 25
storyis pure dialog,withawhole lotof exercisesinbetween. The questionsgenerallyjustfocuson
readingcomprehension. A lotof effortandprofessionalismwentintothe series.
Personal Stories,by Kamla Devi Koch. Linmore Publishing,Inc. Palatine,IL. Thisseriesfeaturesbooks
1-3, each witha Teacher’sGuide. The booksfeature storiesof fictitiousindividuals,withvocabulary
words,questionsforcomprehension,andexercises wherestudentswrite theirowncompositions.
What’sunique isthat throughout the series, the same people are covered. Forinstance,“Bill Miller”is
discussedinall 3 books,butwitheachnew bookyou getmore informationonhim, hisjob,family,etc.
Andit goesfroma fewlinestoafewparagraphs. This isgoodmotivationforstudents,because as they
progressandmove on to the nextbook,theygetto learn more aboutfamiliarcharacters.
Laubach Way to English,and Laubach Way to Reading, by FrankC.Laubach. New ReadersPress.
Syracuse,NY. The “English”sectionfeatures aworkbook,illustrations,and aTeacher’sManual.
“Reading”features askill book,aTeacher’sManual, “More Stories 4,” and“In the Valley”,“CityLiving,”
and “Changes.” There wouldbe “People andPlaces” following“Changes,”aswell as“More Stories1-3,”
but the Laubach collectionismissing4books. “More Stories1-4” and the 4 otherfictionstoriescanbe
found,withcassettes,onthe previoustwopages. Thisisa great series,because it canapplytoso many
people indifferentways. Also,becauseof the amountof material,teacherscanpickand choose what
they wantto work with. Booksgo fromverybasicto fairlyadvanced,fromsimple poemstowhole pages
of small textreading. “Reading”and“English”sectionsworktocovera lot of ground,fromreading
comprehensiontofillinginthe rightpreposition. “Illustrations”hasjustpictureswithlabels,sort of like
a picture dictionary.
Say the Word!,by Barbara Rosenberg Loss. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Onlythe Teacher’s
Manual isincludedhere. The series isspecifically designed for“improvingwordrecognitionskills.”
Unfortunately, the Teacher’sManual dependsheavilyon the workbook,whichismissing. Butthe
Teacher’sManual does actuallyhave a lotof general advice forteacher’s(like whatkindof relationship
to have with a student,whatto doif you suspecta seriouslearningdisability,etc.),soall isnotlost.
Reading Advantage,by Casey Malarcher. Heinle. Singapore. Onlybook3is includedfromthisseries.
The readingisfairlyadvancedand all educational,talkingaboutgeneral conceptslike “strange foods”or
“left-handedness.”The bookalsofeaturessome biographiesof famouspeople,likeJenniferLopez.
There are questionsforreadingcomprehensionand vocabulary,andthere are alsofeaturedidioms.
Thisis an interestingbook, andwouldprobably be evenbetterasa whole series,sincethe students
wouldn’thave tojustbe upperintermediate tocare aboutit.
NewBeginningsin Reading,by Bonnie Tivenan. ContemporaryBooks,Inc. Chicago,IL. Thisseries
featuresbooks1-8,“GroundbreakerExercises,”anInstructor’sGuide,and a placementtest. Teachers
start withthe test,whichhas storiestoreadand questions, andthenaphonicstest. “Groundbreaker
Exercises”correspondwiththe books,andare diverse andfun. There are a lotof pictures, soitdoesn’t
feel monotonous. Italso includestipsforimprovingreading. Books1-8 have tips as well,andvery
diverse andcool exercises. There isalotof reading, whichis alsodiverse. Some readingsgohand-in-
handwithpictures, andothersare biographiesof importantpeople,suchas FrederickDouglass. Some
26. 26
readingsare fictitious,orare abouta general subjectlike someonedescribinghow tofeel goodandlook
good. All the switchingupintypesof activitiesandreadingkeepsthingsinteresting,engagingstudents
indifferentstylesof readingandthinking.
Book DiscussionClubs, by Nancy Oakley. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thissource isveryunique,
as it isa book onlyfortutors. Itbasicallygivesadiscussionwithalotof pointers,aswell as a general
philosophyintermsof whattutorsaspire toaccomplishandwhy. It talksabout how to organize a book
club,and justas important,howtokeepthe successgoingand keepstudents interested/wantingto
learn. The book isan effortof Project:LEARN,an adultliteracyprogram, of whichNancyOakleyhas
beenthe directorsince itbegan. Thisbookisgreat for tutorslookingtodo somethingproactive.
Read On! II (additional material),by V.K.Lawson:educationaldesigner/projectdirector. Literacy
Volunteersof America,Inc. U.S. In additiontobooks1-3 and5, thissection hasbook4, whichis missing
inthe earliersection. However,there are nocassettesfor the books,unlike the earliersection. There is
alsoa workbookforeachof the 5 books,and a general Instructor’sGuide. The workbooksseemto
mostlytestreadingcomprehension,havingstudentsdowritingcompositions. “Readon! ll”is a good,
comprehensive source. (See twopagesback formore on “Read On! II.”)
Skillsin the Content Areas, by multiple authors. SteckVaughn. U.S. Thisseriesfeatures aTeacher’s
Guide. The mainbookis dividedintosections:“ReadingforMeaning,”“Findingthe MainIdea,”
“OrganizingIdeas,”“InterpretingwhatYouRead,”and“UnderstandingFictionandPoetry.” Itswitches
rapidlybetweenreadingandexercises. The readingsare interestinganddiverse,manyof them
biographical. Helpful tipsare alsoincluded. The book seemsdryandboringat first,but the exercises
are actuallyprettylaidback,althoughthereare alot of them. This isan interestingsource because
insteadof testingphonicsorvocabulary,it’scompletelydevotedtomakingyou abettercritical reader.
20th
Century American Short Stories,by Jean A. McConochie. Heinle &HeinlePublishers. U.S. “This
anthologyisthe firstcollectionof twentieth-centuryAmericanshortstoriesdesignedspecificallyfor
ESL/EFL students. There are no exercises,simplyawonderfulcollectionof fine literature.” Thissource is
for highintermediate toadvancedreaders. Italsofeatureselaborationson“uncommonwordsor
meanings.” Thisisa great resource because ithasmature,good-qualityreadingforESL students.
Voyager, by Mary Dunn Siedow. NewReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesincludesanintroductory
book,and books1-3, eachwitha separate Teacher’sGuide. Itfeaturesalotof elements,fromphonics
exercises/vocabularytoreadingcomprehension/writingexercises. A lotof the readingsare fiction,but
some are historical,suchas onesaboutWorldWar ll. The seriesiswell-organized, the readingsare
interesting,andthere are more readingsthanexercises,whichisagoodthing. Also, the diversityof
exerciseshelpsstudentslearn many differentelementsof English, andnotjusthow to readbetter.
(READING COMPREHENSION) Cause & Effect, by Patricia Ackert. Heinle &Heinle. Boston,MA.
Unfortunately,itseemsthatthis bookismissingimportant content,likethe audiocassetteandvideos
for activities,createdspeciallybyCNN. Like manyof these books,there’sreading,vocabulary,reading
comprehension,andsome stuff onphonics. There isalot of interestingmaterial,mostly general facts
27. 27
like “worldpopulationgrowth”or“whatis Jazz?” Thisisa goodsource,but itwouldbe muchbetter
withthe CNN videos.
Thoughts & Notions,by Patricia Ackert. Heinle &Heinle. Boston,MA. Justlike “Cause & Effect,”this
bookis missingthe audiocassette andCNN videoactivities,whichisunfortunate. Ithasshort readings
withvocabularyandreadingcomprehensionquestions. The readingsare interestingbutnotvery
connectedfromunittounit. Forinstance,youhave “InventionsandInventors,”“Unusual Sports,”and
“Food,”whichare verydifferenttopics. Thissource wouldbe betterwith the CNN videos.
ComprehensionQuickies,by Marion Hindesand Linda Miller. RemediaPublications,Inc. Scottsdale,AZ.
The booksin thisseries getgraduallyharder,butnotthat muchharderfrom 1-5. It’snot as wide a
learningspectrumasotherseries,whichgoall the wayfrombeginningtoadvanced. Theyare ina very
unique format,withjustaparagraph of textand some correspondingcomprehensionquestions,and
that’sit. The readingsare historic, or justgeneral information. The booksare laidback,maybe too
laidbackforsome whowouldwantbothmore substantial reading,andmore diverse questions.
Otherwise, thisisagood,quick,non-committal sortof learningsource.
Great AmericanStories,by C.G.Draper. PearsonEducation,Inc. White Plains,NY. Thisseriescontains
books1-3, whichgetincreasinglyharder. The seriesfeaturesworksfromfamousAmericanauthors.
Some worksare original andothersare adaptedforthe specificreadinglevel of eachbook. Besidesthe
stories,there are alsobiographies,questionsbeforeandafterwhich testreadingcomprehension,
vocabularyquestions,andgrammarquestions. Thisisagreat seriesbecause itencouragesreadingreal
literature,fromEdgarAllanPoe toJohnSteinbeck.
NewDirections,by PeterS. Gardner. Cambridge UniversityPress. New York,NY. Thisbookcomeswith
a separate Teacher’sManual. It preparesstudentsforcollege-level readingandwriting. There are very
interestingreadingexcerpts aboutgeneral subjects,andoftenof aphilosophical nature,suchas
individualismorsex roles. The book doesaska lotfrom students,withmany exercises,including
keepingajournal. There isa designatedsectionof the book,“The Essentialsof Writing,”whichteaches
studentsall theyneedtoknowaboutwritinganessay. Thisisa challenging,butveryintellectually
stimulatingsource forcollege-boundstudents.
Easy True Stories, by Sandra Heyer. PearsonEducation. White Plains,NY. Thisseriesisa“picture-
basedbeginningreader,”followedby“True Storiesinthe News,”“More True Stories,”and“EvenMore
True Stories,”the latter3 notpicture-based. The bookshave interestingstoriesaboutordinarypeople,
whichgetlongerandmore challengingfrombooktobook. There are plentyof exerciseswhichtest
readingcomprehension,vocabulary,andgrammar. Itis the storieswhichmake the seriesunique. (To
findan additional installmentinthisseries,see “More True Stories,”underthe “Comprehension”
section.)
Making Connections,by KennethJ.Pakenham. Cambridge UniversityPress. New York,NY. Thisbook
comeswith a separate Teacher’sManual. It isdesigned toprepare studentsforcollege-level reading.
The readingsare about general topicslike “health,multiculturalism,language learningandthe
environment.” There are a lotof questionsbefore andaftereveryreading,andtheyare fairly
28. 28
demanding. Mostlyreadingcomprehensionandvocabularyistested. There isalsoalot of information
specificallygearedtowardsbecomingabetterreader. Thisisa goodbookfor college-boundstudents
whoneedto developstrategiestoreadbetterandfaster.
Real-Life Stories,by Grace Massey Holt. Dominie Press,Inc. SanDiego,CA. Thisbook isfor advanced
beginners. It’sthe firstinalarger series,butthe remainingbooksare missing. Itisdividedinto25
chapters,eachwitha veryshort readinganda lotof exercises,whichmaybe a turn-off forstudents.
The exercisescovervocabulary,comprehension,andsome elementsof grammarsuchas writingthe
correct formof a givenword. The storiesare funlittle fictions,buttooshort. And the activitiesseema
bitredundant. Forinstance,there are too manyquestionsonvocabulary,when10questionsper
chapterwouldsuffice.
Academic Encounters, by Bernard Seal. Cambridge UniversityPress. New York,NY. Thisseriesalso
comeswith a Teacher’sManual. “AcademicListeningEncounters”ismissing,althoughit isnotneeded
to use thisbook,whichprepsstudentsforcollege-levelreadings. The readings are mostly“topicsin
psychologyandcommunications.” The bookteachesreadingskills,suchas“speedreading,guessing
meaningfromcontext,andexamininggraphsandfigures.” Italso teachesstudyandwritingskills. Ithas
a lot of interestingandchallenging reading,withno shortage of intense activities. The bookhas great
articles,especiallyforaspiringpsychologymajors,asalmostall the articlesare relatedtothisfield.
Journeysthrough American Literature,by Myra Shulman. The Universityof MichiganPress. U.S. This
bookcomeswith an Instructor’sManual. It has prose and poetryfromthe 19th
and 20th
centuries,with
biographical information onthe author,pre-readingquestionstestingthingslike“skimming”and
“scanning,”a tremendousamount of vocabularywords,andmore questionsmostlyrelatingtoreading
comprehension. Insteadof simple questionslikefill-in-the-blank,these questionsare more college-like,
askingstudentstogo deepintheiranalysesof the works. Thisisa great resource,asreadinggreat
literature isalwaysimportant,andthe questionsare hardbutstimulating.
Skills-BasedReading,by Marion Hindes. RemediaPublications,Inc. Scottsdale,AZ. Thisseriesincludes
booksfor readinglevels2,4-5, and 5-6 (andis missingthe bookfor2-3). The readingsgetharderfrom
the firstto last book. The storiesare mostlygeneral interestpieces,withsubjectsrangingfromthe Big
Dipperto GPS. Questionsmostlyhave todowithreadingcomprehension,withalittle bitof vocabulary,
too. The seriesisactuallyverylaidback. There’sapage of funreading,anda page of questionswhich
are nottoo hard or boring. While notveryunique,thisisagood series,simple andtothe point,with
interestingandeducational readings.
Strategic Reading, by JackC. Richards. Cambridge UniversityPress. New York,NY. This seriesincludes
books2 and3, eachwith a separate Teacher’sManual. Itfeaturesarticlesandstorieswhichfollow
certaingeneral themes,like namesormovies. The readingsare all informative. The seriesincludespre
and postexercisestestingvocabularyandreadingcomprehension,aswell ashelpful tips. Notasmuch
time isspenton grammaror phonics, withmore time spentonreadingskillslike scanning and
understandingthe mainidea. Thisisnota bad series, withgood,heftyreadingsanda modestamount
of exercises.
29. 29
(SCIENCE) Vocabulary Advantage, by Vivian Bernstein. Harcourt Achieve Inc. U.S. Thisseries
featuresabookfor “Life Science and Biology”and“Earth and Physical Science”. These books help
increase the student’sscientificvocabulary,featuringa complete glossaryatthe end. Theyalsoteach
“skillsthatwill help[students] figure outthe meaningof othernew words.” Eachchapter hasa reading
whichteachesscientificconceptsanddefinesimportantwords. Exercisestestcomprehensionbyhaving
studentsdefinethese wordsindifferentcontexts. The booksalsotestgrammar,such as takingthe root
verbof a wordand addinga suffix. There are a lotof exercises,butthese are veryeducational books
and theyread well.
Skillsin the Content Areas: Science, by multiple authors. SteckVaughn. U.S. Thisbook comeswith a
Teacher’sGuide. Studentsfirsttake apretesttosee how much theyalreadyknow,thenproceedto
learnaboutgeneral topicsinscience,withtonsof funreadingandhighlightedvocabularywords. Atthe
endof eachreadingare just a fewquestions,andatthe endof each unitisa test,butnot an
overwhelmingone. Because itismostlyreading,withmodestbutappropriate quizzesandexercises,
thisisa greatsource forlearningsome essential scientificconcepts.
Englishfor Science,by Fran Zimmerman. Prentice-Hall,Inc. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ. Thisisanotherbook
devotedspecificallytoenhancingthe student’smastery of scientificvocabularyandsyntax. Ithas a lot
of reading,small textedandquite advanced. Strangelyenough,eventhoughahuge focusisvocabulary,
there are not designatedvocabularywordswithaglossary. There are justreadingsandpictures(charts,
diagrams,etc.) fromwhichstudentsmustextractall the informationtoanswerthe questions. Thisis
not to saythat no wordsare defined,asmanyare throughoutthe text. Butthey are not highlighted in
the readings,themselves. Thisisa verysleek,well-writtenandimmenselyeducational book,notjustin
teachingscience butinteachingimportantliteraryelementslike grammarandcritical thinking.
(SPELLING) Structures in Spelling,by Tim Brown. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbook,
whichcomeswith a Teacher’sEdition,ismoderatelysizedandyetextremelycomprehensive. Itcovers
all the basic pointsof formingwordsandsentences,frombreakingwordsdowntorecognizingsuffixes,
evenfeaturingtwounitsonLatinandGreekroots. What’sgreat isthat throughout the book,there are a
tremendousamountof examplesandexplanationsbetweenexercises,dispersedevenlysothatstudents
reada paragraph,do a fewexercises,readanotherparagraph,etc.
Edge on English:All SpelledOut,by Betsy Rubin. ContemporaryBooks,Inc. Chicago,IL. Thisseries
containsbooksA,B, C, and D, whichgetincreasinglyharder. A and B focuson wordsfollowingregular
soundpatterns, while CandD focuson commonlymisspelledwords. Eachchapter teachesa concept
and thenhas drillsforpractice. Studentslearn“spellingpatternsandbuildtheirdictionaryskills.”
Studentsalsolearnaboutprefixes,roots,andsuffixes. The seriescoversalotof essentialsforhavinga
betterunderstandingof English,butitisa bitgrueling. There are nofun breaksor casual readings,only
learningconceptsanddoingexercises.
Programmed SpellingDemons, by GeorgeW. Feinstein. Prentice-Hall,Inc. EnglewoodCliffs,NJ. This
bookfocusesondealingwiththose trickywordspeoplemostcommonlymisspell. Itcoversimportant
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topicslike “silentletters”and“Ibefore e.” The bookis purelyexercises. Itisa great source for learning,
but the studenthasto be readyto work hard,much like the “Edge on English”series,featuredabove.
SpellingPower,by Burton Goodman. JamestownPublishers. Providence,RI. Thisbook isdesignedso
studentscan“master the 320 words mostfrequentlymisspelled.” What’snice isthere are actuallyfun,
educational readingsaswell,sostudentsdon’tgoinsane fromall the drill exercises. It isdesignedin a
laidbackway,witha lotof readingandexplanations,and areasonable amountof exercises. The book
coversmanyimportantexamples,like “then”versus“than.”
SpellingDemons,by ElizabethHagner. J. WestonWalch,Publisher. Portland, ME. This bookis
specificallyformasteringanumberof trickywords,while alsoteachingaboutprefixes,roots,and
suffixes. Eachchapterhas 10-20 wordscovered,withadictionarydefinitionandcorrectpronunciation
for eachone. Thenthere are exercises. There are anastonishing40 chapters,soa teachercoulduse
thisall year,it wouldseem. The bookhassome readingthroughout,likesample storiesand
explanations,butmostlydrillexercises.
Spelling:APhoneticApproach, by Nancy Lobb. J.WestonWalch,Publisher. Portland,ME. Like most
booksin the “Spelling”section,thisone is designedforawhole semesterortwoof work,withone or
twochapters a week. Ithas ineach lessonavocabularylist,pretest,funactivitieslike “puzzlesand
spellinganecdotes,”andthena posttestatthe endof the week. The readingissparse, andthe exercises
are plentiful. Thismaybe a betterresource forteachersthanstudents,because the teachersdon’thave
to workas hard to have lessonplans.
Patterns in Spelling,by TimBrown. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisseriesfeaturesbook1
(PatternswithShortVowels),2(PatternswithLongVowels), 3(PatternswithConsonantBlendsand
Digraphs),and4 (PatternswithOtherVowel SoundsandSpellings). Each book comeswith a separate
Teacher’sEdition. There isa nice diversityof exercises,suchascrosswordpuzzlesandfill-in-the-blanks.
But the onlyreadingsare explanations. Like manybooksin the “Spelling”section,the studenthastobe
readyto workhard. The Teacher’sEditionisoftenbiggerthan the original book,filledto the brimwith
explanations/instructions. Studentslearnvocabularywordsbasedoff whichsoundisbeingcovered,
such as “untie”and “undid,”forthe “un” sound. Thisisa goodseries,butnotunique exceptfor the
hefty Teacher’sEditions.
SpellingSteps,by Mildred Hart Bailey. Steck-VaughnCompany. Austin,TX. Thisseriesfeaturesbooks
1-3. The booksare all exercises,withthe onlyreadingsbeingexplanations. Theyteach students
importantwordsforeverydaylife,aswell asskillstolearnmore wordsontheirown. The words,as well
as the conceptsof grammar discussed,getharderwitheachbook. Itis a well-done series,butnot
unique.
(STUDY SKILLS) Ready, Set,Study!, by Susan Echaore-Yoon. ContemporaryBooks,Inc. Chicago,IL.
In thisseries,“BuildingyourStudySkills”“isaimedatstudentswhoneedtobuildasolidfoundationin
the habitsand skillsnecessaryforacademicsuccess.” Ithas a lot of reading,butitis all instructional and
educational. Itteaches variousimportantskillsforbecomingabetterstudent,suchastime-
31. 31
managementorknowinghowtotake tests. There are a lotof exercises,but the readingsmake this a
rich,in-depthsource. “ImprovingyourStudySkills”“isdirectedatstudentswhohave masteredthe
basicsbut needtostrengthentheirreading,note-taking,research,andtest-takingskills.” Ithasa lotof
informative reading,teaching skillslike readingvisualaids,skimming,andscanning. Iteventeaches how
to write researchpapers. Thisisa good series.
Note-TakingMade Easy, by Judi Kesselman-Turkel. ContemporaryBooks,Inc. Chicago,IL. Thisbookis a
great resource fora fewreasons: itisunique andimportant,because there aren’t5otherbooks about
howto take good notes,onlythisone. It’sa short,small bookbutloadedwithmaterial, andnotdivided
up intoa huge serieswithTeacher’sGuidesandcassettes. Andit’sveryreading-heavy,withmeaningful
exercises, andnotjusta bunch of boringdrills. The bookteacheswhatto listenforwhennote-taking,
howto organize the information,howtotake lecture andresearchnotes,andmuchmore.
HelpYourself,by Gail Murphy Sonbuchner. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. Thisbookfocuseson
howto use your own“learningstyles” tohandle ahuge numberof thingscovered,fromhow to
remembernamesanddirectionstohowtowrite better. Thisbookeven covershow tolearnmathmore
efficiently. Itstartsby testingwhichlearningstylessuityoubest,andonce yousee yourstrengthsyou
can use that informationtolearnbetter. Forinstance,youmaybe a visual learner,ora listening
learner. Thisisa good source,butperhapsittriesto covertoo much material.
(TEACHER RESOURCES) The ELT Grammar Book, by Richard Firsten. AltaBookCenterPublishers.
San Francisco,CA. This isa good bookfor teachers,withawide arrayof grammatical topicsexplainedin
a convenientmanner, sothatthe teacherscan thenexplainthemtotheirstudents. Itcoverstopicssuch
as prepositions,subjunctives,directobjectcompanions,etc. Thissource isdefinitely goodforstudents,
too. There are readingsandexercisesforstudents,aswell asmanyreadingsfor teachers. Thisbookis
unique,butit’sformattedweirdly, asthoughthe studentbookandTeacher’sGuide were crammedinto
one. The bookisultimatelysupposedtobe like areference guide foravarietyof grammatical concepts.
(TUTOR RESOURCES) Approachesto AdultESL Literacy Instruction, by JoAnn Crandall. Delta
SystemsCo.,Inc. McHenry, IL. Thisbook explains“5successful approachestoteachingEnglishliteracy
to adults,”suchas “the competency-basedapproach”or“the use of learnergeneratedwriting.” Eachof
the 5 chaptersiswrittenbya differentexpert. The bookispurelyreading,andof ascholarlymerit,as
thisisnot a book forstudents. There actuallyare some activities,butthey’re for teacherstogive to
students. Thisisa great and veryunique source forteachers,coveringall kindsof teachingstyles.
Sounds Easy, by Sharron Bassano. AltaBookCenterPublishers. Provo, UT. Thisisa bookfor beginners,
withphotocopiableexercises. Itiscomprisedof only exercises,buttheyare funandhave a lotof
pictures. Fromthissource,studentsmostlylearnalotof new vocabularywords,while alsolearning
listeningandspeakingskills.
Multiple IntelligencesandLanguage Learning,by Mary Ann Christison. AltaBookCenterPublishers.
San Francisco,CA. This bookiscomprisedonlyof activities. The unitsare dividedintodifferent
intelligences,one forvisual,one formusical,etc. Thisisa verybig,in depthbook. It’sa goodgeneral
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source for teachers,butdoesn’thone inonanyone conceptlike grammaror phonics. Thisisperhaps
too broadof a resource.
Purple Cows & Potato Chips,by Mary Ann Christison. AltaBookCenterPublishers. SanFrancisco,CA.
Thissource looksto teachlanguage throughexplorationof the 5 senses,like “thunderstorms”for
hearingand“potato chips”for smell andtaste. Thisisa verycool source,witha lotof explanatory
reading,butmostlyfunand unique exercises cateredtoone of the senses. The bookiscertainly
original,butmaybe alittle hokeyforteachersjusttryingtoteachone concept,like grammaror spelling,
ina straight-forwardmanner.
Cloze Reading,by Martha C. Reith. RemediaPublications,Inc. Scottsdale,AZ. Thisserieshasbooks2-5.
They are justshort,fun, and informative storieswithalistof vocabularywords. Studentsfill inthe
blanksto complete the stories,andthat’sit. Alsothere are some readingcomprehensionquestions.
Thisis a good but verysimple series.
All Sidesof the Issue,by Elizabeth Coelho. AltaBookCenterPublishers. SanFrancisco,CA. Thisbook
centerson “cooperative learningandthe Jigsaw method.” Ithas a lotof informationforteachers,as
well asphotocopiableactivitysheets. Studentslearnaboutdifferentimportanttopicslikeimmigration,
takingone side of an issue andpresentingittotheirclassmates. The bookteacheslanguage andcritical
thinking,while alsoteachingstudentshow toworktogether.
Pace Yourself,by Teresa S. Dalle. Teachersof EnglishtoSpeakersof OtherLanguages,Inc. Alexandria,
VA. Thissource isfor people newtotutoringwhowanttotutor small groupsof students,beginnerto
intermediate. Itfeatures“case studiesof actual tutoringsituations.” The bookisessentiallyall reading
for tutors. It isveryin depthandloadedwithsuggestedteachingmethodsandpotential activities.
There issome material foradvancedstudentsnearthe end,butmostlythisbookisfortutors.
Action EnglishPictures,by MaxineFrauman-Prickel. AltaBookCenterPublishers. Provo, UT. Thisbook
has pictureswhichactout a story, witha listof vocabularyanda lotof in depthnotesfortutors,telling
themhowto teach the material. The source isdesignedforbeginningESLstudents.
The Vocabulary Teacher’sBook of Lists,by Edward B.Fry. Jossey-Bass. SanFrancisco,CA. This book’s
“primaryfocusis on vocabularyimprovementforreadingandwriting.” Itisall about interestingand
useful listsof words,suchasSAT words,or oxymorons. There are alsomathand science words. The
bookcan work supposedlyfromelementaryschool tocollege-boundstudents. A verycomprehensive,
unique,andwell-organizedsource,italsoteachesalotaboutgrammar, studyingmethods,etc. This is
not justa bookof lists.
The Teacher/Facilitator,by Marilyn Gerstner-Horvarth. Longmuir/JonesCompany. Largo,FL. Thisis a
bookspecificallyforteachersteachingadultlearners. Adultsmustbe taughtdifferentlythankids,
throughguidingmore thandirecting,andthisbookteachestutorshow to be sensitiveto adultneedsin
the classroom. It contains a lotof valuable reading,andactuallyhashomeworkforteachers! Thisisa
good,useful, andunique source.
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Taking the Mystique out of LearningDisabilities,by Ricki Goldstein. Laubach Literacyof Canada. This
sleek,little book isforeducatingteachersaboutlearningdisorders,specificallyinadults. Itiscomprised
onlyof reading, whichis veryeducational andwell-written. Itincludessuggestionsforsome effective
exercises,aswell as“compensatorystrategies.” Itteachesaboutall kindsof relevant problems,suchas
AdultADD. This isan importantsource forteachers,as theyshouldhave the understandingtorecognize
and deal withlearningdisabilitiesintheiradultstudents.
UsingLanguage Experience withAdults,by KatherineKennedy. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. This
isanotherbookfor justthe teachers,which talksaboutmethodsforteachingadultESLstudents. It is
basedoff the “Language Experience approach,”whichfocusesonstudentswritingoutandarticulating
theirownthoughtsandfeelings. Forexample,the lastchapterfocuses on“elicitingimaginative
writing,”andfeatures creative worksfromstudents. Thisapproachmakesreadingandwritingmore
real and relevant,andlessdryforthe students. Thisisa small book,only40 pages,buta good book.
Cathy’s Cards: Instant Conversationin the Classroom,by Cathy Jo Seitchik Diaz. AltaBookCenter
Publishers. SanFrancisco,CA. Thisseriescomeswithasmall Teacher’sGuide. There isnomainbook,
but insteadthere are 270 conversation cards. These cardshave questions,like “Whatkindof musicdo
youlike? Why?” Or theyhave general promptslike “describeagoodteacher.” The Teacher’sGuide
explainsthe significance of the teachingapproachandsome games youcan playwiththe cards. Thisis a
funtool for students.
Teacher Training through Video:ESL Techniques,by Mary McMullin and K.Lynn Savage. Longman
PublishingGroup. White Plains,NY. Thisseriescontains “Language Experience”,“BeginningLiteracy”,
“Early Production”,“InformationGap”,“LessonPlanning”,“Life SkillsReading”,“FocusedListening”,
“Narrative Reading”,“ProblemSolving”,and“Role Play”. Eachshort book,under40 pages,comeswith
a VHS. The seriesisactuallymissingtwoeditions,“Total Physical Response”and“Dialogue/Drill.” Each
bookhas itsown function,withavideodevotedtoa “demonstrationof aspecifictechniqueor
strategy.” For instance,“Language Experience”focusesonhelpingsemiliteratestudentsreadwhatthey
can say, whereas“ProblemSolving”helpsstudentsbecome bettercritical thinkers. Eachchapterhas a
readingforthe teachers,some questionstoanswer(forthe teachers),anda videodemonstration. A
verywide spectrumof material iscovered,withspecial care andattentiongiventoeachfaction. With
the VHS included,thissource isamustfor teacherstoat leastcheckout.
Pronouncercizing, by Millicent Alexander. PowerhousePublishing. LosAngeles,CA. Thisseriescomes
with2 DVDs. It ismostlyforbeginningESLstudents, althoughitcouldbe helpful forall levels. It focuses
on pronunciation,butwithatwist. Besidesfuncharacters,pictures,simple poemsandliteral
instructionsonhowto pronounce sounds,exercisesrequiringyourwhole bodyare included! The book
tellsthe reader,forinstance,“Positionyourhandsforward,palmsfacingtowardyouandfingers
pointinguptomirror the positionof yourtongue.” Thisparallelswhatyourtongue mustdoto make an
“L” sound,asin the word“let’s.” Thisis a good,laidbacksource,andquite unique.
Englishas a Second Language: Oral Assessment,by JoyeJenkinsCoy. LiteracyVolunteersof America,
Inc. Syracuse,NY. This book comeswith1 Trainer’sGuide and1 audiocassette. A verystraight-forward
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source,itspurpose isto assessthe abilitiesof adultstudentsforwhomEnglishisnotafirstlanguage. It
teststhingssuchas “a student’sabilitytofollow directions,Englishpatterns, [and]abilitytouse specific
basicvocabulary.” The book isdividedinto4sections,which alsotestdifferentthingssuchas the
student’s abilitytospeak inthe future tense. Thissource isdefinitelyamustforESL teachers.
Techniquesand PrinciplesinLanguage Teaching,by DianeLarsen-Freeman. OxfordUniversityPress.
NewYork,NY. Thisbook isfor language teachers,and features8distinctteachingmethods. Examples
include the grammar-translation method,whichhasstudentstranslatesentencesfromone language to
anotherforthe sake of practice. A unique source,itcoversinterestingteachingmethodsnotseen
typicallyinotherbooks.
UsingReadability, by Robert S.Laubach. New ReadersPress. Syracuse,NY. The essence of thisbookis
that ithelpsteachersfindthe perfect materialsforstudents,sinceoftenESLstudentsneedspecifickinds
of readingswhichcatertotheirneeds. Itgivestipsforwhat to lookforinbooks,such as if there are too
manyhard words,etc. Thisis a veryshort,elegant,andpurposefulbook.
Pull:Project for Unique Learningsin Literacy, by multiple authors. LiteracyVolunteersof America,Inc.
Chicago,IL. Thissource is forstudentswho clearlyhave potential,buthave issueslearningby
conventional methods. Almosteverypage isitsownmini-chapterwithaspecificapproachtoreaching
students. Includedisa“reason,”“materials,”and“procedure,”aswell as “preparation”and
“examples.” Oftenthere are picturestofurtherdemonstrate things. Activitiesinclude thingslikea
DialogJournal,orMind Mapping. This isa veryfar-outand funsource. It is definitelyworthatry for
more unique students.
Put It in Print: How to Produce a Book of Writingsby Adult Literacy Students,by Dr. WilmaClark.
ChippewaValleyPublishing. EauClaire,WI. A verysweetbook,itinstructsbothtutorsand studentson
howto, firstoff,write some goodandcreative material,andthenhow togetit publishedandturned
intoa real book. It discussesthe wholeprocess,includingwhyreadingandwritingare importantinthe
firstplace. Thisis a unique andvaluable book.
Back & Forth: Photocopiable Cooperative PairActivitiesfor Language Development,by Adrian S.
Palmer. Alta BookCenterPublishers. SanFrancisco,CA. Inthisbook,studentsworktogetherto
complete among32 exercises,learning“pronunciation,aural discrimination,description,”andmore.
The book isorganizedwell. Itisdividedbythe kindof exercise featured. Sounit1 is aural
discrimination,2& 3 are aboutpictures,and4 isaboutdialog. Thisis a veryaccessible resource, and
goodfor teacherswithmultiplestudents.
LitStart: Literacy Strategiesfor Adult ReadingTutors, by Ed Robson. MichiganLiteracy,Inc. Lansing,
MI. Thisbookteachesconceptssuchas readingformeaning,orcreatingtexts. It isdesigned totrain
volunteertutors,aswell asbe usedbytutorsand students forexercises. Itgivesalot of facts,statistics,
and advice fortutorsabout the importance of literacy,alongwithtonsof suggestedactivates tutorscan
do withstudents. Thisisa comprehensive book, butmaybe alittle toobigandinaccessible.
