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Florida Reading, Grade 10
by Dana Henricks

Think the Dolphins will make it to the Super Bowl? Maybe. But if you're a Florida teen, right now your goal is to master the knowledge and skills that will be assessed on the Florida Reading test.

Amsco’s Florida Reading, Grade 9 and Florida Reading, Grade 10 will help students review the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for 9th and 10th Grade English Language Arts. Each book includes eight chapters, which correspond to the benchmark skills assessed on the Florida Reading test, as well as a Practice Test modeled on the new test.

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In case you didn't know, the books in our series Integrated Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry (by Ann Gantert) have additional resources available.

Each textbook has:

• an accompanying workbook: Preparing for the Regents Examination: Integrated Algebra 1, Preparing for the Regents Examination: Geometry, and Preparing for the Regents Examination: Algebra 2 and Trigonometry. All our workbooks are written by NY teachers for NY teachers. The authors of the Algebra 2 workbook were both named LI Teacher of the Year (in different years, of course). Each workbook not only covers the NY curriculum completely but can stand on its own as a content resource. The workbooks are another great source of problems. One more fact: the workbooks are updated every year to include the latest NY regents.


• a test bank. Each test bank contains over 1,000 Regents-style questions. No, these are not test generators. What you'll find are a ready-to-print quiz for each section of the textbook. There are also chapter and cumulative review quizzes.


• a teacher's manual on CD. Not only will you find teacher tips in this resource but also extra Hands-On Activities, Enrichment Activities, SAT-type questions, and Chapter Tests.

Amsco has partnered with Texas Instruments (TI) and Jefferson Math Project (JMAP).

• TI's Activities Exchange. Click on Textbook Search to find calculator activities aligned to your Amsco textbook. There are activities for all of TI's calculators, including the new TI-Nspire. Use the textbook code TI: AM (for Amsco).


• JMAP.org. JMAP is a free resource compiled by NY teachers for NY teachers. You can download worksheets and lesson plans aligned to your Amsco textbook. There are even links to videos.

If your school has a math computer lab, you may find the WinPossible Tutorials to be a perfect fit. The tutorials review the basic concepts covered in each section of the textbooks. You'll also find additional practice questions for each section. (Please note that the tutorial for Algebra 2 and Trigonometry is in the works.)

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I decided to look into the wonderful universe of mathematics competitions available for the 6-12 planet. Mathematics competitions have traditionally kept teachers busy during prep periods, when they coach high achievers. It is, after all, mathematics competitions that rank talent in science and mathematics. There are different types of competitions: the kind where talented students participate for fun, trophies, stipends, and scholarships, and the kind used to rank countries and regions--such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.

Which mathematics contests are the best? The answer to this question depends on the objectives of the participants. If the objective is to show off talent, then regional and international competitions are the way to go; if the objective is to compete for the sake of competition, then local and national competitions are the way to go. Other determining factors are time available for preparation and number of interested students. Where to look for competition information? Well, there is always Wikipedia for global competition information. For starters, I found an extensive list of competitions worldwide at List of Mathematics Competitions.

For Fun and Competition

Now in its 31st year, Math Olympiads stands out among mathematics competitions. Held annually in Bellmore, New York, Math Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS), is a program that last year drew 150,000 students representing 6,000 teams. The founder of Math Olympiads, Dr. George Lenchner, had a impressive life as an educator, which may inspire students. Organizing a Math Olympiads team at your school can certainly motivate students to intensify their study of mathematics.

Started in 1959 in Romania, International Mathematics Olympiad is the oldest mathematics competition. This contest focuses on problem solving and sophisticated solutions. The intended audience can range from college professors to high school students to younger, gifted students of mathematics. The competition requires contestants to apply mathematics in an a priori, or deductive, way. For example, try this problem:

In a mathematical competition, in which 6 problems were posed to the participants, every two of these problems were solved by more than 2/5 of the contestants. Moreover, no contestant solved all the 6 problems. Show that there are at least 2 contestants who solved exactly 5 problems each.

The contest has prizes and can motivate students to develop their problem solving skills.

MATH LEAGUE has chapters all over the United States, and was founded by two New York and New Jersey teachers, who were honored by President Reagan with the Excellence in Mathematics Teaching award in 1985. This competition is an excellent venue to engage students on a national competitive level and is designed for fourth- to twelfth-grade students.


For Prizes and Scholarships
MathCounts is a well-known competition with prizes and stipends for winners. Operating under the leadership of the National Society of Professional Engineers, MATHCOUNTS focuses on middle schoolers and sponsors regional competitions to foster math skills and maintain global competitiveness. Past competitions have been televised on ESPN and have been endorsed by the White House. For teachers, there is the Club Program, and for the students, there is the MATHCOUNTS Competition Program. With the private industry partnering with schools and providing resources and coaches, this program is an excellent hybrid model.

On an international level, there is the Mathematical Kangaroo, adopted by about forty countries. Founded by an Australian educator, Peter Joseph O'Halloran, with the Trust Foundation, this competition is aimed at helping the disadvantaged and is currently used from North America to Europe to Asia.


International Comparison Competitions
Now for the competitions that neither reward prizes nor distribute trophies, but have the sole purpose of comparing and ordering countries and regions: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS); Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS); Program for International Student Assessment (PISA); and Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), scheduled to begin in 2011. These contests have taken a greater hold in debates about educational policy and mathematics education. Most of these competitions are used to assess the overall content-specific knowledge of an international pool of participants.

Training
I found that there is plethora of mathematics competitions. Choosing one is a matter of doing the research and defining your goals for your students.

Once you start training for the competition, Amsco can help. Visit our Web site and navigate to Book Information for in-depth information about our mathematics books. For middle-school students, try Reviewing Mathematics: Preparing for the Eighth-Grade Test to develop problem-solving skills. High school students will be challenged by Preparing for Qualifying Exams in Mathematics, Preparing for the SAT Mathematics , and Preparing for the ACT: Mathematics and Science Reasoning, among other titles.

Good luck!

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OUT NOW!

MCAS English Language Arts, Grade 7, Revised Edition

by Dana Henricks and Amy Bunin Kaiman

Hey, kids! We hear the Red Sox are leading in the Wild Card!

But right now your goal is to pass the MCAS.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education developed the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum framework to specify the language arts standards for each grade level. To determine whether students are meeting these standards, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) was developed.

In grade 7, Massachusetts students are tested on the English Language Arts standards that make up the Language and Literature and also the Composition strands. That means 7th graders are tested on both their reading and writing skills.

Amsco’s MCAS English Language Arts, Grade 7, Revised Edition prepares students for the MCAS. The text includes a Diagnostic Test with Checklist, nine chapters of instruction and practice, and two full-length Practice Tests.

Special features include:

• Standard indicators that show which standards are covered in each chapter


• Key Concepts, a study aid that highlights and reinforces important concepts covered in each chapter


• Try It Out opportunities for guided practice (Practice makes perfect!)


• On Your Own opportunities for independent practice (Go ahead, challenge me!)

The star, once again, is MCAS Mac, a cartoon dog who gives student-friendly MCAS hints, multiple-choice and open-response question strategies, and tips on writing an excellent essay for the Composition portion of the Grade 7 MCAS. Oh, and a little bit of attitude. (Way to go, dude!)

Reading selections consist of a high-interest mix of informational and literary texts aimed at Massachusetts middle school students (Stuff that interests 7th graders!). Readings are accompanied by visual texts such as diagrams, graphs, illustrations and photos aimed to prepare students for what they’ll see on the actual test.

This book joins MCAS English Language Arts, Grade 6 and MCAS English Language Arts, Grade 8 to complete Amsco's middle school series for Massachusetts English language arts.

So don’t let the Sox’s recent successes distract you from the MCAS. Whether or not they win the Series, you’ll still have to pass the test!

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The latest edition (2010 Revision) of United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination, by John J. Newman and John M. Schmalbach, will be published tomorrow, August 20. That means the book will be in our warehouses about a week later. This will be good news for the many customers who have already ordered the book, and for whomever was thinking about ordering this title. If you have not ordered it or have not even been thinking about it, read on.

What Is It? To those who have not had the opportunity to become familiar with United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination, here is the scoop: It is designed for a one-semester or one-year United States history course for students preparing to take the AP U.S. History Exam. Teachers can assign the book as the course textbook or as a supplement to a college-level textbook. The book presents the history of the United States from pre-Columbian times to the Obama administration. It follows the curriculum put out by the College Board for this course of study. Some teachers have even assigned the book as summer reading for students enrolled in AP U.S. History for the following fall semester.

What Is New? Let’s see how the 2010 Revision differs from the earlier version of the book.

• A more detailed Table of Contents to highlight the text’s many features.


• New coverage of Bush’s second term.


• Coverage of the 2008 presidential elections.


• Coverage of the first 100 days of the Obama administration.


• Two additional editorial cartoons. (Two laughs to make your day.)


• Two additional multiple-choice questions in the last chapter.


• A new, expanded Index. The Index for the previous revision was concise due to space restrictions. The new Index is longer and more detailed.

The Realities of Updating a Textbook. How up-to-date is United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination? The short answer is that it covers the first 100 days of the Obama administration. You might point out that Obama recently celebrated his second 100 days in office. Well, true. But we cannot update the text to cover that and still be published tomorrow. The book publishing process takes time.

You might also point out that trade publishers (as opposed to textbook publishers) fast-track some of their more time-sensitive books. Yes, they do. But that is expensive. We would not be able to offer United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination for only $17, as we are now doing.

Another reality of Amsco’s publishing process is that we are publishing many new and revised titles every year. In the Social Studies Department alone, six titles are coming out this fall. The editors and production staff have to devote their attention to many books, not just one. We think that we have done a good job with the 2010 Revision of United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. Take a look at it and tell us what you think.

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On July 29, 2009, AMSCO began Integrated Algebra 1 Regents Review classes at Nassau BOCES. The program, which ran through August 14, 2009, was a success. AMSCO classes have proven to be an excellent model for how strong integration of good curricula resources helps students prepare for and pass the Integrated Algebra 1 Regents exam in New York state.

A total of 58 students participated in taking the Integrated Algebra 1 Regents on August 13, 2009, from approximately 8:30 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. Out of 58 students, 21 participated in the AMSCO-sponsored program. Of the 21 students, 18 passed, and the combined class average was about 86%.

The AMSCO-sponsored program was a huge success. With a passing rate of over 80%, students who used the Preparing for the Regents Examination, Integrated Algebra I by Andres and Bernstein in the classroom, and students who used the Integrated Algebra I textbook by Gantert for homework and reference, outperformed students in a similar Regents prep class.

About 24 students registered for the AMSCO-sponsored program. Nassau BOCES conducted the program at West Hempstead High School and split the Regents Review into two periods. This allowed for a student-to-teacher (yours truly) ratio of 13: 1 for the session conducted from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., and a ratio of 11:1 for the session conducted from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Preparing for the Regents Examination Integrated Algebra I by Andres and Bernstein was used for classroom review of topics, and then the matching topic chapters were assigned from Integrated Algebra I by Gantert. This allowed students to focus on topics through a detailed survey of the essential components of the Integrated Algebra 1 Regents exam. Some work was collected – however, no class exam or class grade was issued. On August 14, 2009, only the Integrated Algebra 1 Regents Exam grade was reported to home schools and parents.

Out of the 24 participants in the AMSCO-sponsored program, two were absent on the examination date, and one student was scheduled to take the RCT in lieu of the Algebra 1 Regents; he passed the RCT. So, only 21 students took the Integrated Algebra 1 exam. Out of the 21 students, the two failing grades were 62% and 54%. The 18 passing grades ranged from 65% to 90%.

I am happy to report that the usability of AMSCO publications, including teachers’ supplemental resources, was above average and played a critical role in the high performance of students and their successful experience in the program. One or two students took the course to advance and will probably start Geometry as freshmen; others took it as a way to ensure correct placement. Thanks to AMSCO, all the students who earned a passing score have now officially satisfied their mathematics graduation requirements and can begin the new school year on track.

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Today’s blog is for all of you middle school math teachers and students who survived last week’s New York State exams. I know that all of you worked really hard and did your best.

However, there’s still math to learn before the school year ends, namely the dreaded Post-March Topics. Gasp! Grade 8 teachers, don’t let your copies of Reviewing Mathematics: Preparing for the Eighth-Grade Test get dusty. Get your students ready for Integrated Algebra 1 by going over these starred* post-March sections:

*5.11 Graphing and Solving Inequalities
*9.6 Constructing and Bisecting Angles
*11.5 Slope
*11.6 Slope-Intercept Form of a Linear Equation
*11.7 Graphing Systems of Linear Equations
*11.8 Exploring Nonlinear Functions


That said, it’s Monday and you just conquered your exams. You deserve a few minutes of quality slacking. I recommend this silly video of a guy singing a pseudo-rap song about his kitten, Sparta. (Non-middle school math teachers/students can watch, too.)

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Today's guest blogger is veteran Amsco author Henry I. Christ, whose Preparing for the SAT in Critical Reading and Writing has helped students master the SAT for years.


Applicants who took the SAT 20 years ago, took a test quite different from that of today. My connection with the SAT, or “College Boards,” as the tests were commonly known, began in 1987. This was the date of my first SAT-preparation book. Since then, there have been three later books, copyrighted 1995, 2002, and 2005. Each text prepared students for the test offered at that time. The books provide a survey of the evolution of the SAT. This blog, based on those texts, deals only with the reading and writing tests.

The years since 1987 have seen radical changes, with increasing emphasis on vocabulary and reading. The current test, with the addition of a required writing section, doubles the challenge and provides additional scores for those who take the test.

The changes have not been quixotic. They were based on pretesting, fine tuning, and original research. A comparison of all four tests shows marked changes in content, emphasis, timing, and test strategy.

What was the test like 20 years ago? Of the 85 short-answer questions, 10 were devoted to vocabulary, 25 to antonyms, 20 to analogies, and 30 to reading. What is most surprising is the weight given to antonyms and analogies. Neither appears in the current test. Antonyms were the first to be dropped—in 1995. Analogies held on in 1995 and 2002, but were dropped in the current test.

An official bulletin in 1990 predicted the future. The SAT “will feature longer critical-reading passages with questions based on longer portions of the passages and involving higher critical-reading skills.”

The tests that followed implemented the changes. Reading jumped from 30 to 45 items and remained at that number. Because of the omissions, the overall number of test items decreased, but the reading tests took more time.

What makes the reading test more difficult? Longer passages take more time to read and absorb. Longer paired passages add extra challenges involving comparisons and contrasts. Even the discrete passages, deceptively short and simple, defy quick analysis. The possibilities are endless. Questions may explore the author’s role, attitude, purpose, style, and even diction. Subtleties of figurative language are often tested.

Most dramatic of all changes is the addition of the writing section, with its own tests and scores. Applicants must identify sentence errors, improve sentences and paragraphs, and write an essay based on an excerpt and an assignment.




Preparation for the SAT is hard, but there is often an under-appreciated by-product. The current test covers so many crucial areas of language that a student who does well has abilities to last a lifetime.

Students who own Amsco’s Preparation for the SAT Critical Reading and Writing should keep it as a handbook for life. The SAT should not be a dreaded obstacle in the student’s path, but a refresher course in language.

There are many ways to study for the SAT. None are easy, but all can be productive. The best approach is a long-term investment. The sudden realization that the test date is close can cause panic. Cramming may have some limited value, but the long-term gains are questionable. Preparation for the SAT Critical Reading and Writing may be used as a classroom text over a period of time. Or it may be used independently by a student with enough self-discipline to teach himself or herself. Complete answers and analyses are in back of the book.


To students: keep studying and good luck!

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At the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Convention in San Antonio, English teachers were on the lookout for Pre-AP materials. Amsco to the rescue! Our integrated English language arts series Currents in Literature teaches students the kinds of critical-thinking skills in literature, language, and writing that are essential for success on the AP Literature and Composition and the AP Language and Composition exams.

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The ad says it all:

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I'm in Cologne, in Germany, in a hotel that seems to have been built
inside a giant water tower, and am paying an astonishing amount for
internet access. I don't have flu so far, and have had no travel
disasters.

There's a reading and a signing tomorrow -- details at:

http://www.litcologne.de/va/160307/gaimankoester.php

Dear Neil,Today I wandered into an EMPiK bookstore and picked
up a paper informing about you booksigning in Kraków and Warsaw. (for
wchich I can't wait, by the way.)There was an article about you, and
it said that you're "linked to Poland" because your grandparents came
from Lodz. It that true, or did they completely make it up?I live in
Lodz, so you can pretty much imagine my amazement.Love from,Sylwia
G

My paternal great-grandfather was thrown out of Lodz, where the family
owned a department store, for being the black sheep of the family. I'm
not certain whether my grandfather was born there or born in Belgium
on the way to England. (I do know my grandfather never had a passport,
and was, until he died, considered a "stateless person", which is the
kind of thing I would have put into Mr Punch if I'd known it
then.)

Hey Neil:After some investigative work, I determined that (1) a while
ago, you said that the reason you don't have a LibraryThing account is
that you don't have the time and (2) recently, you have been blogging
about how you are entering your book collection into a database. So I
said to myself, wouldn't it be sweet if Neil were to put his library
on LibraryThing? Because even if he doesn't have time to tag most of
those books, we could still see what he owns. Which would be beyond
sweetness.

That's definitely the plan. Tim offered me a LibraryThing account or two
ages ago, and when everything's on a database I'm looking forward to
importing it to LibraryThing and getting it up there.

This isn't a question, I just thought I'd let you know that on
one of [adult swim]'s commercials last night, in which they bemoaned
the death of Captain America and exclaimed how Stan Lee would never do
something so stupid an attempt to be "deep and meaningful", they
attached a "P.S. Neil Gaiman already has deep and meaningful covered".
Or it said something like that. All right, hope you have a lovely
day!

And they show Futurama. (People have asked if I'm jealous of
Alan Moore for being on The Simpsons, and I'm not. If he were
a head in a jar in Futurama, on the other hand...)


Hi Neil,I read this blog nearly daily and have no idea how I
missed info on "M is for Magic" and "Interworld." What are these
books? Are the stories in "...Magic" found in your other collections
or are they new?And have no clue about "Interworld." Please help out a
longtime fan. Cheers,Greg Trax

Interworld is a novel I wrote with Michael Reaves in about
1998. We wrote it because we had an idea for an animated series, and
we kept explaining it to TV people who got confused, so we wrote a
treatment, which seemed to confuse them even more, so we wrote a novel
-- a sort of transdimensional romp. (First mentioned on this blog at
http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2002/01/handed-in-narrative-draft-of-ramayana.asp.)

You can see the cover up at http://www.jamesjean.com/illustrations/interworld.html

M is for Magic is for school libraries and such. Most of the
stories in it have been collected, although some of them aren't easy
to find (like http://www.neilgaiman.com/exclusive/shortstories/blackbirdstory)
and there's one story that's never been collected ("How to Sell the
Ponti Bridge" from 1984) and a new one, "The Witch's Headstone" that
will appear first in the Dann/ Dozois WIZARDS collection.

...


I now have a corporate website! I've always wanted a corporate
website. When I was a small boy and adults would ask what I'd like for
my birthday I would sigh and say "Can I have a corporate website?" and
they would explain, in that irritating way that adults had, that I
wasn't a corporation and the interwebs had not yet been invented and
frankly they were still reeling from culture shock from the arrival of
transistor radios and what the hell was wrong with a tub of silly
putty and a Whizzer and Chips Annual anyway, and no, I couldn't have a
catapult either, you can put someone's eye out with one of those.

Most of the content isn't there yet, but it's evolving http://www.blankcorporation.com/
for the curious. And it wasn't written by me either, but is just the
sort of thing I wanted it to be.


...

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Bees-How-Keep-Them/dp/0395883245

Hello-- Sue Hubbell's book is a wonderful first book for new
beekeepers -- or for people who think they might want to keep bees.
Sue has a deep empathy for bees and approaches relating to them with
such grace, She therefore often does things differently from the bee
textbooks or procedures of the commercial bee keepers. She
demonstrates a humane and bee-centric approach to beekeeping.

As new beekeepers, Sue's perspective was the most valuable thing we
gleaned from all the books we read on keeping bees. Her love and deep
appreciation for bees left a lasting impression on us and in how we
relate to our bees. And it is a fun read for "arm chair" beekeepers as
well.

Our local bee club (www.pugetsoundbees.org) has
"beginner" bee keeping classes before each meeting. The instructor
looks out at the room with a few beginners amid scores of veteran
beekeepers and dutifully asks "Are there any beginners here tonight?"
and invariably the entire assembly raises their hands.
Good luck -- it is so much fun!

I read the Hubbell book on the plane, and loved it.

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