Writing
Writing Exposition - A Program for Expositiory Writing

Many homeschooling families are familiar with the National Writing Instituteís Writing Strands programs. They may even be familiar with the author David Marks and his easy-going manner. But they may not know about one of his newer books on the market. Writing Exposition - A Program for Expositiory Writing will be a hit with the high school and college crowd once the word gets around. How can I be so sure? I have been using this text successfully as I tutor students who are trying to learn or correct problems in their expositional writing. The students appreciate its straightforward style. Parents, you have been asking me for years for a book that explains logically this important writing technique. It has arrived! Not only will you be impressed with the practical approach to expository writing in the first 50 pages, but you will like Marks&Mac226; extra 76 pages in the appendix which show actual examples of all that he talked about in the first 50 pages. This book will be used as a textbook first and then as a resource guide.
To order, call HEFS at: 207-657-2800

Foreign Languages

Calliope Books: Foreign Language Materials
Donna Futuras has made teaching a foreign language to your child less formidable with her practical secondary school curriculum guides for Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Russian. These guides simplify the planning process for junior high and/or high school programs that cover all the bases from vocabulary to grammar to writing to speaking to reading. When she developed these guides, the motive was to prepare students for college-prep foreign language tests, such as the CLEP.
If you are unsure of which materials to use, you can call for assistance and receive professional recommendations about the best materials to use based upon your studentís needs. Futuras told me, ìFor some students, some things will work better than others. The teacher has to know the student.î Prices are reasonable for the texts, tapes, and books. For example, the cost for the complete Level 1: Spanish is about $85 which is reasonable for this eighteen to twenty-four month program.
If you are researching your family heritage, you may want to study the mother tongue. Calliope probably has the materials for you. If they donít, they will track them down through their overseas sources. Not only does this company carry tapes and workbooks, it also stocks books for all levels and ages. Parents are able to find many books of interest to encourage everyone to learn. Albanian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Panjabi, Serbo-Croat, Slovene, Somali, Thai, Ukranian, Urdu, and Welsh are just some of the languages that are available now. Surely one of these is of interest to your student!
Contact Donna at Calliope Books: 610-381-2587

REFERENCE BOOKS
Two books that I have recently become acquainted with are The Young Readerís Companion (1993) by Gorton Carruth and Our Family, Our Friends, Our World (1992) by Lyn Miller-Lachman. Both of these books would make wonderful additions to your family bookshelf. Wouldnít it be nice to be able to look for just the right book in the comfort of your own home when you have time and when you can refer back to your many notes on a subject? Once you know which books you would like to read, call your local librarian to find out if the books are available or can be borrowed through the lending library process.
The Young Readerís Companion is recommended for ages 10 through high school. Yes, it is for adults and children to use! The big book has more than 2,000 entries ranging from short biographies of authors to book summaries to suggestions of books with the same theme to literary themes and devices.
I use Our Family, Our Friends, Our World often as I help families design their curriculum, especially if they are planning trips to other countries or are embarking on a unit study ëtrip at homeí. This book is designed to be used with elementary through high school age students. Multicultural fiction and nonfiction are listed in the more than 700 pages. One facet that I appreciate is that the reviewers are free to discuss what they see as good points and bad points in the books. Eighteen geographical areas are highlighted in this comprehensive volume, including four chapters on different cultures in the United States (such as Asian Americans&Mac226; works). If you prefer to order a book from the publisher, just look in the Directory of Publishers. Want to read more books by the same author? Look in the Author Index. This book has it all.
R.R. Bowker is the publisher for these two books, reasonably priced at about $45 each. Recommend them to your librarian, too! Back to Home Education & Family Service