Books about Excited from Amazon.com

In Shelby Steele's beautifully wrought and thoughtprovoking new book, A Bound Man, the award-winning and bestselling author of The Content of Our Character attests that Senator Barack Obama's groundbreaking quest for the highest office in the land is fast becoming a galvanizing occasion beyond mere presidential politics, one that is forcing a national dialogue on the current state of race relations in America. Says Steele, poverty and inequality usually are the focus of such dialogues, but Obama's bid for so high an office pushes the conversation to a more abstract level where race is a politics of guilt and innocence generated by our painful racial history -- a kind of morality play between (and within) the races in which innocence is power and guilt is impotence.

Steele writes of how Obama is caught between the two classic postures that blacks have always used to make their way in the white American mainstream: bargaining and challenging. Bargainers strike a "bargain" with white America in which they say, I will not rub America's ugly history of racism in your face if you will not hold my race against me. Challengers do the opposite of bargainers. They charge whites with inherent racism and then demand that they prove themselves innocent by supporting black-friendly policies like affirmative action and diversity.

Steele maintains that Senator Obama is too constrained by these elaborate politics to find his own true political voice. Obama has the temperament, intelligence, and background -- an interracial family, a sterling education -- to guide America beyond the exhausted racial politics that now prevail. And yet he is a Promethean figure, a bound man.

Says Steele, Americans are constrained by a racial correctness so totalitarian that we are afraid even to privately ask ourselves what we think about racial matters. Like Obama, most of us find it easier to program ourselves for correctness rather than risk knowing and expressing what we truly feel. Obama emerges as a kind of Everyman in whom we can see our own struggle to accept and honor what we honestly feel about race. In A Bound Man, Steele makes clear the precise constellation of forces that bind Senator Obama, and proposes a way for him to break these bonds and find his own voice.The courage to trust in one's own careful judgment is the new racial progress, the "way out" from the forces that now bind us all..
Price: $8.70 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"It was a pleasure readingGetting Excited About Data. I found it precise and on target for enabling school personnel to effectively use their schools' data to plan improvement."
—Theodore Creighton, Executive Director
National Council of Professors of Educational Leadership

"The book is written in friendly language and is a quick read with many examples. The diagrams and sample questions throughout are invaluable!"
—Jill Hudson, Middle School Principal
Madison Middle School, Seattle, WA  

How can we ensure that every student is making adequate progress in an era of school and district goals, state standards, and federal ESEA legislation?

Getting Excited About Data, Second Edition builds upon the best-selling first edition to provide additional guidance and support for educators who are "ready, willing, and able" to explore more sophisticated uses of data. New tools and activities facilitate active engagement with data and a collaborative culture of collective responsibility for the learning of all students.

Precise and on target, this excellent new resource enables educators to effectively use their schools’ data to respond to the challenges of the No Child Left Behind Act, and provides:

• A knowledge base emphasizing the role of data in school effectiveness and successful change
• A focus on tapping the professional passion of dedicated educators who want to work for the benefit of students from an intrinsic motivation perspective
• Group activities that energize people in collaborative efforts
• Key questions to identify sources of the proof of success necessary to stimulate confidence and further action
• A clear understanding of the need for "up close, in real time" assessment to balance high-stakes, external tests
• Information on how to utilize data to establish priorities and integrate accountability requirements with goals that are data-based and grounded in school values  

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Price: $31.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Chapters are grouped according to subject matter. The first group discusses theory; the second considers instrumentation and measurements, and procedures for analyzing and testing systems subjected to shock and vibration. Vibration that is induced by ground motion and fluid flow is considered next; then methods of controlling shock and vibration; followed by chapters on packaging engineering to prevent equipment from being damaged in transit; on the theory and practice of equipment design; and on the effects of shock and vibration on humans. New material includes computer techniques for solving problems, new instrumentation based on microchip technology, advances in analysis of data and models, application of finite element methods, and test criteria and specifications..
Price: $109.44 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In this collection of engaging and entertaining mini-comic books, students share in the adventures of time traveler Scooter McGinty as he celebrates Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims, rides through Lexington with Paul Revere, joins Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery, supports women's rights, and more. Includes background notes and teaching ideas..
Price: $6.69 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A big book of hands-on science fun for the whole family!

Why should your kids have all the fun? In Family Science, award-winning author and science educator Sandra Markle presents more than 200 safe, easy-to-do science activities for entire families to enjoy together.

Divided into lively, thematic chapters that arrange the activities by age level, this step-by-step guide lets you mentor your children as they discover the world around them and practice key problem-solving skills. From biology and chemistry to earth science and physics, you'll tackle investigations, experiments, expeditions, and competitions guaranteed to get your family's creative juices flowing and bring out everyone's inner scientist. You'll also help your kids learn how to apply scientific concepts to real-life situations. Best of all, each activity can be completed with everyday items found around the house, so you can get started right away!

Complete with "Brain Boosters," "That's Amazing" facts, and tasty recipes, Family Science is the best way to learn while having fun with your family!

• Create a Juicy T-Shirt
• Launch Spaghetti Rockets
• Go on a Night Safari
• Bake Foam You Can Eat
• Turn Glue into Glubber
• Make Your Own Marshmallows
• Grow a Room
• Make Animal Splits
• Whip Up Your Own Chalk
• Blow Super Soap Bubbles
• Walk the Plank
• And Much More!

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Price: $4.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Thousands of children's books are published each year-some are outstanding, while others are not. This book makes it easier for you to find the best in children's nonfiction books, and it offers concrete, classroom-tested ideas for presenting them to students in irresistible ways. Booktalks for more than 350 nonfiction titles (appropriate for elementary and middle school students) are organized according to topics popular with young readers-"Great Disasters," "Unsolved Mysteries," "Fascinating People," "Science," and "Fun Experiments to Do." In addition, there are tips on booktalking, an outline for a booktalk program, and a bibliography that can be used for collection development. Appropriate grade levels for each book are cited. Library Media Specialists will find this guide essential. The thematic approach helps teachers search for titles that correlate to curriculum areas or specific units of study. Parents can use the book with their children as a reading selection tool. Anyone who works with young children will find this book an invaluable resource..
Price: $12.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A companion title to the popular Gotcha! by the same authors, this new guide lets you pinpoint the right books to get children excited about reading nonfiction titles! With more than 350 nonfiction books, most of which have been published in the past four years, this guide makes it easy to find good reading material to use in your classroom, at the library, or at home. In addition to suggestions for presenting books to students in irresistible ways, hundreds of ready-to-use booktalks and a wealth of tips on booktalking make this title an invaluable and versatile resource. Even an outline for a booktalk program and a bibliography for collection development purposes are included. Educators can search thematically to find books that correlate precisely with their curriculum requirements, and parents have an convenient tool to select just the right books for their children. While perfect for booktalk programs, librarians and school media specialists will also find this to be a valuable collection..
Price: $16.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Research indicates boys are interested in reading nonfiction materials, yet most children's librarians prefer to booktalk fiction. Offering citations for more than 1,100 books, Gotcha for Guys! deals specifically with books to pique the interest of middle grade boys. A series of booktalks are grouped within chapters with like titles such as: "Creepy-Crawly Creatures," "Disasters and Unsolved Mysteries," "Action and Innovation," and "All Things Gross." Complete booktalks are presented in a beginning section of chapters 1-9. A second section in each of these chapters contains short annotations and talks for other books of interest, and a third section offers lists of well-reviewed titles to consider for boys. The book is enhanced with book cover art and reproducible lists for teachers and librarians..
Price: $34.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]