English Language Civics Education

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Barron's How to Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship Test, 5th Ed. Alesi, Gladys E. (2000). Written in simple English, this book is a guide for learners wanting to become United States citizens via the naturalization process. Guides the learner through the steps to U.S. Citizenship with its: groundwork in reading, speaking, and writing in English; extensive reviews of U.S. History and Government topics; up-to-date examples of the forms that must be filed; step-by-step guide to the citizenship application process; and an up-to-date summary of the rights of legal aliens. Progress tests are positioned throughout the book.

Citizenship for You: A Beginning Workbook for ESL Learners. Raphael, Kelly (2000). This workbook presents vocabulary and concepts using simple illustrations and a variety of oral and print exercises. It introduces the basic material needed to pass the U.S. citizenship test, while providing activities that strengthen listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The audiocassette provides the 100 possible questions on the INS test. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Getting to Know the United States: Our Constitution, Our Government. Field, Robert J. (1998). Text is written at fourth grade level and with controlled vocabulary for high beginner to intermediate English language levels. Case study approach emphasizes cause and effect to place the Constitution in a historical perspective (while simplifying its "18th century legalese") and describes how the American government works. Loan set includes Teacher's Guide with suggestions to develop vocabulary, critical thinking, a better "time sense," and map skills. Loan item for Texas Educators ONLY.

The History of the United States: Volumes 1 and 2 and Teacher's Guide. Field, Robert J. (1997). Comprehensive overview of America's development is written for junior high through adult education ages and high beginner to intermediate English language levels. Each student book integrates language arts into a content base, offering end-of-chapter comprehension questions and written exercises to reinforce what is learned. Teacher's Guide suggests activities such as map-making, role-playing, and critical thinking. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Immigrants & Refugees: Create Your New Life in America, 2nd Revised Edition. Mikatavage, Raimonda (1998).Reference/self-help book discusses how to: make better decisions; establish friendships; deal with emergencies, accidents, and scams; look for work effectively; overcome language difficulties; apply to colleges; buy a car, insurance, or a home; fit in and understand Americans; learn about money, investments, taxes, and Social Security; build a credit history; obtain a credit card; cope with depression and other health conditions; and create a satisfying new life.

Kaplan U. S. History and Government Essential Review. Kaplan, Inc. (2001). CD-ROM for Windows/Mac is designed to reinforce classroom lessons regarding U. S. History and Government. Core Curriculum review allows the learner to enrich his or her studies of important theories and facts and to test knowledge using hundreds of topic quizzes. "Maximize Learning Potential" feature allows for tracking of individual progress. "Streamline the Paper Writing Process" feature offers tips, software aids, and clip art. "Take a Break" feature offers engaging games, crossword puzzles that reinforce core material, and word searches that strengthen vocabulary development. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

ON COMMON GROUND SERIES. Mendoza, Roseanne, Ed. (1999). For use in advanced ESL, GED, or citizenship instruction, the fifteen half-hour videos in this series offer viewers an opportunity for the consideration of civics concepts through meaningful discussion and debate. The dramas involve a diverse group of characters and reflect the real-life choices citizens face as they strive to maintain a civil society. "Turning Points" segment of each episode focuses on a sequence of events or a pivotal situation in the history of the U.S. and the evolution of our constitutional democracy. This series was designed to support the national standards for civics and government developed by the Center for Civic Education and key history standards developed by the U.S. History Curriculum Task Force. Includes Worktexts and Teacher's Resource Book. Each episode is correlated with a chapter in the multi-level Worktexts that focuses on specific themes, concepts and vocabulary. In addition, the Teacher's Resource Book supports teaching with the series in a classroom or at a distance. Loan items described below are available for Texas Educators only.

• Episode 1: Domino Effect. City Hall comes under siege when an unemployed worker blames the government for his legal and financial difficulties and takes revenge. THEMES: Why government is necessary; the purpose it serves. TURNING POINTS: Events leading to the war for independence.
• Episode 2: Like Taking Candy From a Baby. Law enforcement and city personnel attempt to infiltrate a telemarketing boiler room scam that preys on elderly immigrants. THEMES: The U.S. Constitution as the basis for the rule of law. TURNING POINTS: The colonists set about to form a "more perfect Union" based on the rule of law - the Constitution.
• Episode 3: For the Greater Good. The city is polarized when a proposed highway project threatens homes in the Latino section of the city. THEMES: Individual rights versus the public or common good. TURNING POINTS: Why the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, were added to the Constitution.
• Episode 4: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. When compliance with federal law threatens the city with financial disaster, the city comes into direct conflict with the disabled community and the judicial branch of the federal government. THEMES: Separation of powers among the three branches of government, checks and balances. TURNING POINTS: Constitutional principles that guard against the abuse of power by government officials.
• Episode 5: Collision Course I. When an avowed anti-immigrant extremist plans to speak at a rally, the city grapples with difficult freedom-of-speech issues. THEMES: Freedom of expression and immigration. TURNING POINTS: Reasons for immigration; patterns of immigration.
• Episode 6: Collision Course II. A law firm headed by two immigrants is divided over representing someone who espouses anti-immigrant sentiments. THEMES: Freedom of speech; equal protection under the law. TURNING POINTS: A test case for the First Amendment: Does it really protect the expression of ideas we don't like?
• Episode 7: A Delicate Balance. An investigative reporter has information that could convict a rapist, but only if the reporter divulges the source of the information. THEMES: Freedom of the press. TURNING POINTS: The significance of freedom of the press: its role, importance and limits in a representative democracy.
  [Note: The Episodes below are also available from the Clearinghouse.]
• Episode 8: Rules of the Game
• Episode 9: Sticks and Stones I
• Episode 10: Sticks and Stones II
• Episode 11: A House Divided
• Episode 12: Fall From Grace I
• Episode 13: Fall From Grace II
• Episode 14: Skin Deep
• Episode 15: Hidden Agenda

Pass the U.S. Citizenship Exam. Masi, Mary (1999). Student workbook prepares learners to answer questions about U.S. history and government while working on their English language skills. Includes all 100 official INS History and Civics questions and answers, a sample naturalization form N-400, lessons for exam preparation, and practice in essential English vocabulary, with vocabulary in Spanish as well.

Voices of Freedom: English and Civics for the U.S. Citizenship Exam, Second Ed. Bliss, Bill with Molinsky, Steven J. (1994). Content-based citizenship text offers beginning-level learners of English comprehensive preparation for the INS interview and English/Civics exam, and features activities to promote students' participation in the political process. The text covers the government and history curriculum in a simple, easy-to-read format for secondary and adult ESL students. Enrichment activities include interview dialogues, civic participation activities such as letter writing and meeting with public officials, civics simulations such as a Supreme Court decision-making roleplay, and debate topics.

The Way to U.S. Citizenship, New Revised Ed. Hirschy, Margaret W. and Hirschy, Patricia L. (1999). This basic workbook on U.S. history and government was designed specifically for teaching beginning and intermediate ESL learners. It integrates two areas: language and content, in order to prepare learners for INS citizenship tests. Learners can use the book to work individually, in pairs, and in groups to exchange meaningful content information by means of dialogue.

The Cartoon Guide to the Environment. Gonick, Larry and Outwater, Alice (1996). Easy-to-read text uses irreverent humor and numerous cartoon illustrations to cover the main topics of environmental science: chemical cycles, life communities, food Webs, agriculture, human population growth, sources of energy and raw materials, waste disposal and recycling, cities, pollution, deforestation, ozone depletion, and global warming.

Ecological Education in Action: On Weaving Education, Culture, and the Environment. Smith, Gregory A. & Williams, Dilafruz R., Editors (1999). The editors began their journey in creating this text based upon their common belief that human beings are embedded within the natural system of our world. The selected title is an effort to distinguish the efforts described in this book from more common forms of environmental education. The chapters, which various educators contribute, demonstrate how education can reshape the thinking of all learners - children, teens, and adults - to affirm the value of sufficiency, mutual support, and community.

Full Circle: With Garbology Teacher's Guide. Environmental Media Corporation. (1991). Designed for grades 6 through adults, this 30-minute video combines fiction and documentary in the story of a high school television production class that visits landfills and wastewater management plants and conducts interviews with scientists, waste managers, environmentalists, teachers, and government officials. In the process, the students learn to "reduce, reduce, and recycle." Accompanying Teacher's Guide, "Garbology," suggests ways to integrate the study of waste management into instruction in science, language arts, mathematics, and social studies. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Green Means 1 and 2: Finally, Some Good News About the Environment. KQED San Francisco (1994). Hosted by NPR's Susan Stamberg, this 60-minute video includes 32 short stories about ordinary people whose lifestyles and activities are making positive contributions to the environment. For use in any learning environment, the programs illustrate problem solving and creativity. Segments include: The Green Cowboy, The Green Architecture of Greg Franta, Neighborhood Cleanup, Barnyard Biodiversity, Less is More, Tackling Texas Toxics, and more. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Green Means 3: Finally, Some Good News About the Environment. KQED San Francisco (1994). 72-minute video includes 16 short stories about ordinary people whose lifestyles and activities are making positive contributions to the environment. For use in any learning environment, the programs illustrate problem solving and creativity. Segments include: Straw Bale Houses, Organic Gardening, Golf Courses Go Organic, Ranchers' Co-existence With Wolves, How Green is Your Lawn? and more. Loan for Texas Educators ONLY.

In Accord With Nature: Helping Students Form an Environmental Ethic Using Outdoor Experience and Reflection. Knapp, Clifford E. (1999). The author demonstrates how educators can help middle-school and older learners to understand and define their relationship to nature and learn the importance of protecting the environment. Knapp maps out alternative teaching strategies and structured activities that will connect students with both the natural and "built" worlds. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Learning From Experience: Ecology of an Island. Brittain, Mary Ann (1991). One summer, a group of teachers from across North Carolina gathered to explore the ecology of the state's barrier islands and to learn about experiential education - understanding by doing and reflecting. Learn how to bring experiential education into your classroom or backyard by using this 60-minute video and accompanying Learning Manual, designed for grades 6 through adults. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Science, Nonscience, and Nonsense: Approaching Environmental Literacy. Zimmerman, Michael (1995). As the role of science and technology in everyday life grows more pervasive and complex, it has become ever more difficult for scientific novices to make informed judgments. This book, not loaded with scientific jargon, takes on a wide range of falsifiers, disinformation specialists, and charlatans to provide readers with the scientific background necessary to evaluate environmental and other current issues that increasingly may be a matter of life and death.

The Adult Years: Mastering the Art of Self-Renewal, Revised Edition. Hudson, Frederic M. (1999). The author looks at adulthood as an opportunity for continual revitalization, reorientation, and positive change. Hudson reflects on the extraordinary challenges adults face in today's fast-paced, ever-changing society. Topics include life chapters, life transitions, the adult life cycle, the qualities of "self-renewing persons," and the new profession of adult mentors and coaches. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Leaders Helping Leaders: A Practical Guide to Administrative Mentoring, Second Ed. Daresh, John C. (2001). Book offers a three-phase model of a mentoring program that pairs experienced educational administrators with new and often struggling colleagues. The three phases of the model - planning, implementing, and assessing - serve as the three units of this guide. Special focus on promoting more diverse and multicultural schools and updated scenarios responding to critical concerns for today's administrators are special features of this second edition. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners, Second Edition of Effective Teaching and Mentoring. Daloz, Laurent A. (1999). Revised and updated from the 1986 edition, Daloz explores mentoring and its power to transform learning for adults. Filled with inspiring vignettes, this book includes three sections: Adult Learning as Development; Learning as a Transformative Journey; and Fostering Adult Learning. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY .

The Mentor's Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships. Zachary, Lois J. (2000). Zachary explores the critical process of mentoring and presents tools for facilitating the experience from beginning to end, basing her suggestions on Laurent A. Daloz's concept that mentoring is a learning journey in which the mentor and mentee serve as companions along the way. By using the hands-on work-sheets and exercises, a mentor will learn how to: assess her or his readiness to become a mentor, establish the mentor-mentee relationship, set appropriate goals, monitor progress and achievement, avoid common pitfalls, and bring the relationship to a natural conclusion.

Mentoring: New Strategies and Challenges. Galbraith, Michael and Cohen, Norman H., Editors. (1995). Number 66 in the New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education series. This book covers a variety of issues on mentoring. Some of these issues are: clarifying and describing the different mentoring processes; how to apply mentoring in adult education; and challenges that occur in mentoring. Loan item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Teacher to Teacher: A Guidebook for Effective Mentoring. Fraser, Jane (1998). Fraser describes how mentoring is a growth experience for both the mentor and the protégé. Book includes suggestions concerning: how to establish a mentor-protégé relationship; techniques for helping beginning teachers with classroom management techniques; and the importance of protégé learning and reflection. The author also introduces a new growth model: peer coaching.

Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Tenth Anniversary Edition. Gardner, Howard (1993). Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has been applied in numerous classrooms and school districts since "Frames of Mind" was first published in 1983. He challenges the widely held notion that intelligence is a single general capacity possessed by every individual to a greater or lesser extent. Amassing a wealth of evidence, Gardner posits the existence of a number of multiple intelligences that ultimately yield a unique cognitive profile for each person. This tenth anniversary edition features a new introduction that explores the theory's development between 1983 and 1993.

Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. Gardner, Howard (1999). In this follow up to "Frames of Mind," Gardner offers a report on how the theory of multiple intelligences is changing our understanding of education and human development. The author addresses such questions as: Are there additional intelligences? Is there a moral intelligence? He also discusses myths, realities, issues, and questions that have arisen around the theory of multiple intelligences.

Multiple Intelligences: The Complete MI Book. Kagan, Dr. Spencer and Kagan, Miguel (1998). This resource book helps teachers at all levels to explore and engage the multiple intelligences, including: detailed explorations of each intelligence; brain-based evaluation of MI theory; MI resources including Internet links; MI strategies for lesson planning; the seven elements of "authentic MI assessment"; assessment forms and reproducibles; and how to match, stretch, and celebrate students' multiple intelligences. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Multiple Intelligences in Practice: Teacher Research Reports from the Adult Multiple Intelligences Study. Kallenbach, Silja and Viens, Julie, Eds. (November 2000). The guiding research question of NCSALL's Adult Multiple Intelligences study is: "How can Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory support instruction and assessment in Adult Basic Education (ABE), Adult Secondary Education (ASE) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)?" This publication presents the research stories of nine teachers participating in the study, and provides readers with information about carrying out teacher research and about multiple intelligences.

Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, Second Ed. Armstrong, Thomas (2000). Armstrong intends this book as a practical guide for educators working to incorporate research on multiple intelligences into classroom practice. He includes information on the "eighth intelligence" (the naturalist) and a possible "ninth intelligence" (the existential). Resources throughout the text help educators at all levels apply MI theory to curriculum development, lesson planning, assessment, special education, cognitive skills, educational technology, career development, educational policy, and more.

Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn.Wlodkowski, Raymond J. (1985). Details 68 practical, motivational strategies for use in colleges and universities, adult and continuing education programs, and business and industry. Shows how these strategies and techniques meet adult needs, develop self-confidence in learning ability, increase emotional commitment and responsiveness, and encourage group cohesion.

Impact: A Handbook of Creative Teaching Methods for Adult Education. Glustrom, Dr. Merrill et al. (1991). Provides concepts and techniques to help teachers develop the most useful teaching practices. Presents general ideas, theories, and models in terms of teaching. Deals with planning for instruction and ways to make teaching more student centered and facilitative. Covers values, motivation, retention, and issues of responsibility and self-evaluation.

The Learner-Centered Classroom and School: Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation and Achievement. McCombs, Barbara L. and Whisler, Jo Sue (1997). The authors show how both educators and administrators can create classrooms and schools that foster student motivation, learning, and achievement by focusing on the learner. By respecting learners, trusting them to be responsible for their own learning, and designing practices sensitive to individual needs, abilities, and interests, a learner-centered perspective can help students meet high standards. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY

Recruitment and Retention in Adult Education Programs: Some Suggestions to Light the Way.Thistlethwaite, Linda L. (2001). Teachers and administrators from several Illinois adult education programs contributed to this manual. The book covers typical reasons that adult learners drop out or fail to complete programs, and suggests intake procedures to identify those most at risk of dropping out, including goal setting. The contributors then offer 200 ideas for recruitment and retention, including user-friendly strategies, responsive strategies, empowering strategies, and more.

Student Retention: Creating Student Success. Tracy-Mumford, Fran (1994). This book identifies the problems concerning student attrition in adult learning programs and relates them to the importance of the following resolving themes: 1) The importance of supporting students, and 2) The ability of programs to facilitate student success. The literature suggests that a significant portion of students can be prevented from dropping out even when the precipitating conditions extend beyond the learning environment to personal problems.

Understanding and Overcoming Resistance to Adult Literacy Education. Quigley, B. Allan (1992). Report is divided into three studies. The first, Analyzing Resistance to Literacy Education: A Theoretical Framework, develops a theory of resistance to literacy and the implications of this theory. The second section, Reasons for Resistance, Recommendations for New Delivery Models, and Instructional Strategies for the Future, discusses the goals and objectives, past experiences in school, the decision to quit, the types of resisters, and suggestions for improvement. The last section, Improving Retention in Adult Basic Education and Recommended Strategies for Effective Instructional and Counseling Interventions, lays out design and method for improving retention. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY

What Makes Workers Learn: The Role of Incentives in Workplace Education and Training. Hirsch, Donald and Wagner, Daniel (1993). Describing an in-depth study on workplace literacy and education, the emphasis of this book is "what makes adults participate in education and training, particularly in relation to work." The book is divided into six sections: Financial Incentives; Legal Incentives; Work Organization Incentives; Incentives and Learning Methods; Literacy and Basic Skills; and Comparing Industrialized and Developing Nations.