The Smart Aleck S Guide To American History

Do you know America? No, I mean, do you REALLY know America? Would you recognize John Adams in a lineup? Can you identify any presidents between Lincoln and Roosevelt? Hmmm. I thought so. Well, you really need this book. Not only will it improve your sorry historical knowledge, it will crack you up, and give you material to throw your teachers off-balance for entire class periods. Identify their lies! Point out their half-truths! And possibly, just possibly, gain some extra credit for yourself.

Booktalking Nonfiction: 200 Surefire Winners for Middle and High School Readers will provide an introduction to selecting and writing booktalks for nonfiction books with a focus on unique informational texts and biographies and autobiographies. The Common Core Standards Initiative, which most states have adopted, requires that 70% of the materials students read be from the category of informational texts it is especially important to focus on nonfiction when sharing books with students. Bromann-Bender provides everything you need to do just that.

Living in the post-human era when the undead are part of everyday life, high schooler Alley breaks her no-dating rule when Doug catches her eye, but classmate Will demands to turn her into a vampire and her zombie boyfriend may be unable to stop him.

A dynamic and hilarious new hero for early middle-grade. Andrew "Danger" North is no ordinary third-grader. He, his brother, Jack, and his father are spies. That is what Jack has always told him, and everything Andrew has learned from his dad’s favorite spy movies tells him it must be true. When Andrew comes across his brother’s graphing calculator, he’s sure it’s a communication device that will put him in touch with the secret spy headquarters. But instead of punching in a greeting to the spy society, Andrew accidentally punches in a code that might blow up the world! And if that isn’t bad enough, his math teacher then confiscates the top secret communication device and takes it to the mysterious Storage Room B. Now Andrew is on a spy mission to find his brother’s communicator and save the world from mass destruction. Will he be able to save the world?

A lighthearted primer for young history enthusiasts shares tips for bolstering one's knowledge base while clarifying common historical misconceptions routinely taught in classrooms.

Fourteen-year-old Jennifer sets the record straight after a best-selling book, ostensibly written about her, declares that her life was improved by her fairy godparent, who is actually a creepy, unkempt drunk with greasy hair.

Here's help in selecting current, nonfiction books that will get boys excited about reading. Enticing boys to read is still a hot topic. With chapters like "Disasters and Mysteries," "Gross and Disgusting," "Machines and the Military," and "Prehistoric Creatures," Gotcha Again for Guys!: More Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited about Reading is a treasure trove of recent nonfiction books that will interest boys in grades 3-8. This sixth entry in Baxter and Kochel's Gotcha series covers books published between 2007 and 2009, with a few oldies-but-goodies also included. The book is organized into 12 thematic chapters, each of which offers booktalks for a select number of titles, followed by a list of other high-interest, well-reviewed titles that correspond with the chapter's topic. Features new to this volume include numerous booklists to be copied and saved, as well as profiles of new and innovative nonfiction authors writing for this age group. In addition, the book features interviews with seven male authors of nonfiction books for boys.

A lively, concise guide to the events and ideas that have shaped America over the centuries. No nation in modern history has had a more powerful sense of its own distinctiveness than the United States. Yet few Americans understand the immensely varied sources of that sense and the fascinating debates that have always swirled around our attempts to define “America” with greater precision. All too many have come to regard the study of their national history as tedious, just as they fail to embrace the past as something in which they must be consciously grounded. In this introduction to the study of American history, Wilfred M. McClay invites us to experience the perennial freshness and vitality of this great subject as he explores some of the enduring commitments and persistent tensions that have made America what it is.