风飘过推荐二 (2013-05-30 10:19:37)

在列书单之前，想先说一写题外话。辅导孩子写作一般说来是中国孩子家长的弱项。但是写作这东西，功夫在诗外。（这里的前辈对这点已有高论)。这诗外的功夫，有些是我们可以帮助孩子练就的。

美国学校里比较流行的评估学生写作好坏的评判标准是6+1Trait-based Model。这所谓的6+1是指：Idea (写什么， topic），Organization (文章结构，逻辑性), Voice (个人的风格), Word Choice (选词), Sentence Fluency (句子的流畅性，韵律感), Conventions (语法，拼写，标点符号的正确使用），最后这个1是Presentation (包装)。

在这6个标准里，Conventions, Organization机械成分很多，属于基本功。很多学校里写作课开始时基本上就是语法课的沿伸。Idea，无论命题还是自选，一但有了topic，主要是要做到不跑题。这个在一定程度上也是技巧性问题。Voice是一个很难拿捏的东西。可是一篇文章有没有个人风格，读者却可以一目了然。Word Choice，选词洗练，精确，鲜活，既传达表面意思又传递connotations. Sentence Fluency，文章要“悦耳”。这后三项构成了所谓的文采，它们不是一朝一夕可以达到的。有人干脆认为，有没有文采是天生的，a gifted writer is born not made。文采的境界有高有低，这高境界要一生孜孜不倦的追求 ，得到得不到都难说。低境界还是可求的，因为斟词琢句很多时候也不过是技巧性问题。

学校里写作要求不外乎 Non-fiction writing (包括 descriptive, imaginative, expositive, persuasive, 和 research report ), 和 Creative writing (Story, poetry，etc.)。任何写作形式，虽然不能说都有八股的成分，但都有一定的定式可循，否则不会有像 Score 或 Sylvan 这样的标准化的写作培训课程。（京虎子哥是不是可以谈谈Score里怎么练的？）。要提高写作能力，基本功训练（语法，标点，拼写，造句，段落结构，整个文章结构，控制题目）固然很重要，美国学校很重视这方面的训练，但常有过犹不及之嫌。秋水姐曾给大家上过一课五段essay的写法，却引来了杨小牛兄弟的异议。秋水姐的回答是《老人与海》过不了高考关。他们之间的这段小插曲恰恰折射了美国教师们之间也存在的争异与疑惑：在应试考试的大环境下，写作应该怎么教？标准考试需要统一的衡量尺度，统一的尺度必然限制学生可以发挥的范围，其结果是走套路反而可以拿高分。现如今分数是性命攸关的大事，很多教师和学校就无可奈何地走进了这个怪圈。那些教学生Write like a writer的写作书（我下面会提到）反而在 Home-school parents里很流行。



走套路的弊端谁都可以说上一大堆，但任何事情都是一分为二的。有些写作类型（genre）那就是套路，比如Research report,  只不过套路在这儿被称作规范而已。可是要做到立意新颖，逻辑清晰，推理严密，这些都是诗外的功夫。再比如文章的Organization patterns, 无外乎 chronological, sequential, spatial, cause and effect, compare-contrast (block or point-by-point), problem-solution, definition-example等等, 每一种pattern有其相应的连接词（transitional words）, 不同的pattern又有各自适用的写作类型。即使文采范畴内的Sentence Fluency 和Word Choice 这两点，也有最佳句长，长短句间插，用词考虑 rhyming 和alliteration这样一些技巧手法。这些都是套路，也是基本功，更是标准考试衡量的重要尺度。

再者，孩子刚开始学写作的时候，“所见无非全牛”，不知从何下手，套路可以起到脚手架的作用。基本功的训练，怎么也得走过见树不见林，见不到全牛这个阶段。就是怕最后本末倒置，弄的兴趣全无，或写出一篇篇党八股。说句心里话，党八股写好了也是功夫，在中小学阶段，能将套路掌握好已经相当不易。但语言的目的是做与人交流，传播知识，或说服别人的工具。还是希望孩子能有后劲，能够做到驾驭套路而不被其所驾驭，能升华到游刃有余的境界。

大道理好说，可是在如何辅导孩子写作这个具体问题上，我们往往会感到心有余而力不足。数理化有标准答案可对，科史哲有理论可循，文章这东西，是好是坏本来就是见仁见智很主观的。即使拿着6+1这种客观化的衡量标准，对咱们这些非母语的家长来说，一篇文章写得好不好，不好了该怎么改，心里不是很有底的，多数时候会感到无能为力。这又回到了开篇所说的：功夫在诗外。具体到写一篇文章，我们可能帮不了什么大忙。但练就一些诗外的功夫，做父母的还是大有用武之地的。

文法

文法是Convention要衡量的内容。正确的grammar & usage, spelling和punctuation是读者对一篇作文的第一印象。有些经验不足的老师判作文就只停留在这个标准，或者过于强调它。学习文法要记许多条条框框，过于强调会使孩子对写作失去兴趣，尤其是对低年级的孩子。前面提到不少学校的写作课就是语法课的延伸，6+1 trait-based 的写作理论不赞成这种以文法为出发点的教法，而是鼓励低年级孩子从小就多写，文法是否完全合乎规范是次要的。

正规的文法训练一般从3年级开始（标点符号，大小写从1年级起就有），这时就要开始强调文法。但正确的方法不是在写的时候过多重视文法，而是从小教孩子Proof-reading 或editing的方法，包括使用正规的editor’s marks。把学过的各种文法规则（rules）列张表，所有自己写的东西按照规则自己edit。久而久之，这些规则就会慢慢地融入到写作中去。另一方面，语言是不断变化的，什么是可接受的什么是不可接受的用法规则，随着社会和科技的发展也在不断变化，所以应当尽早教会孩子使用各种工具书（Dictionary, Thesaurus, Style Menu 等等）。

Hi 风飘过,
Thanks for your good article. I checked the www.writingstrands. There are
following books for Grade 6 in Write Source 2000 series. I am not sure which one
is good for using at home.

1. Write Source 2000 Handbook Softcover
[风] 写作手册学生版，工具书 (an excellent all-in-one English reference)，适合6-8年级。一定要买。
2.  Write Source 2000 Language Program Grade 6
[风] 是针对上面那本工具书(Write Source 2000) 的一套教师辅助用书。包括一本Program Guide, 一本精装版的Write Source 2000, 一本SkillBook Teacher's Edition, 和下面这本。
3. Write Source 2000 Teacher's Guide (to the Handbook)
[风] Write Source 2000 写作手册的教师用书。建议买。
4. Daily Language Workouts Grade 6

[风] 每天几分钟的 activities focus on mechanics, word usage, grammar, and sentence combining , 可要可不要，您自己决定。

5.  Write Source 2000 SkillsBook Grade 6
[风] Editing and proofreading activities, 可要可不要，您自己决定。
6.  Write Source 2000 SkillsBook Teacher's Edition Grade 6
[风] 教师用书，SkillBook + Skillbook的答案。
7. Write Source 2000 Punctuation Pocket Folder (Grades 6 - 8)
[风] 就是一页纸，上面列着标点符号的用法。
还建议买的是 Write Source Student Book Softcover Grade 6。It is keyed to the handbook, but is grade-level specific.



Spelling Power (SP) 的特点：

1.      Word lists are based on research done after 1979 of the most frequently used and misspelled words. Two lists are provided, with 5,000 and 12,000, respectively. Word list used in most other programs are based on lists created in 1915 or 1947. The extensive word list that takes you all the way up through high school is the strongest feature of this book.

2.      Program is based on phonics and spelling rules, not phonics alone.  The rules are written in small print at the head of each lists,

3.      There are 11 levels (A to K), Levels A-F are elementary; levels E-J are high school; levels I-L are college/business level.  Review is build into the program using a “spiral” approach (repeated and spaced review with each level).

4.      There is a complete instruction on how to implement SP. In addition, there are directions for over 100 games and activities addressing different learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile).

5.      It takes 15 minutes a day. First five minutes, test the list, write down only the misspelled words; second five minutes, work on the misspelled words using the ten steps method outlined in the instruction; the last five minutes are spent in an activity.

SP有两个需要考虑的方面：

1．在第一个五分钟 test the list 时，需要家长念list里的词。

2．SP 对家长的参与要求较高。不像workbook，孩子做完后 check 一下就行了。

如果更偏向于workbook，那我推荐 Modern Curriculum Press’s Spelling Workout。共八个Levels， 适用于1-8年级。如果一年级开始用，争取五六年级把全套做完，然后可以开始 vocabulary 学习。一二年级的可能用不着Teacher’s book。

http://plgcatalog.pearson.com/program_multiple.cfm?site_id=12&discipline_id=804&subarea_id=917&program_id=836




数学科普读物
来源：清谈天地 www.talkskyland.com

Zero  The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife


e: The Story of a Number by Eli Maor



An Imaginary Tale: The Story of i [the square root of minus one] by Paul Nahin 作者是理工科教授，看这本书要有些数学知识。



The Golden Ratio The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number by  Mario Livio



A History of Pi by Petr Beckmann



To Infinity and Beyond by Eli Maor





我一向反对用大量做练习题这种方法提高阅读理解。我认为阅读理归根截底是词汇量大小，背景知识宽窄的问题， 大量阅读是苍桑正道。

    但不是说随便什么书，或随孩子兴趣读，家长需要引导。首先，要选择高质量的读物，这方面做起来相对容易些。 其次，不能在阅读方面偏食，要读的广，读的杂，这方面做好了要花些工夫。下面是我列出的阅读应包括的几大方面：（我也不是专家啊，分类不完全合乎标准，欢迎大家补充指正）


Fiction – 包括 novels，fantasy (including sci-fi), historical fiction，mystery, short story
Biography/ autobiography
Art books, art history books
Math, science 科普读物
History
Play
Speech
Essay
Letter
Fables, Myths, Legends
Folk and Fairy tales
Poetry – epics, ballads, verse,  .......
Magazines, Periodicals
Informational （How to books, 。。。。。。）
Functional reading (菜谱，分类广告，操作手册，。。。。。)










如果可以从头来，在孩子5、6年级时就读几本有关大学录取的书，了解大学录取内幕、操作程序，做到心中有数，定下育藤方针。
如果可以从头来，在孩子6、7年级时就上HPYS 和 collegeboard.com 去逛逛，明了藤校对申请人各方面的要求，制定育藤计划。

如果可以从头来，在孩子7、8年级时就仔细阅读孩子将上的高中的“Program of Study”，弄清毕业要求和课程安排，对照藤校的条件，草拟高中选课方案。

如果可以从头来，在孩子上8、9年级时就上藤校网站，认真研究大学申请表（包括教师推荐信和School Report Form ），摸清自己、学校和老师将在表上填写什麽，完善高中选课及课外活动计划。

如果可以从头来，在孩子上9年级时就上collegeboard.com 查看SAT II 各科要求，结合学校所受之课的进程，决定考哪几门，何时考。还要列表记录孩子所得各种奖励及课外活动情况。

如果可以从头来，在孩子上10年级时就到孩子有可能报考的各大学网站查清对SAT II的要求，必考还是建议考，2门还是3门，那几门，Math level I还是level II（有些专业要求Math level II，另外，加州大学不承认Math level I），列表存档备用。

大公立高中的升学顾问所知所为皆有限，私人升学顾问酬资不菲（某一顾问8年级时开始请她，4万刀；11年级后，2.4万；4天camp，写好essay，分析选择报考学校，9500)，孩子上大公校且阮囊羞涩的就自己多读几本书花点工夫做点研究，省下这笔钱游玩去也。



国内小学数学教材免费下载

http://www.edu-first.com/old/shuxue/dagang1.htm

电子教材
       人民教育出版社 （人教版）http://www.pep.com.cn/f-xs/index.htm

       北师大版 http://gbjc.bnup.com.cn/xxsx/                  Click左边“教学资源”底下各个学期教材里的“图片资源”。

       江苏教育出版社（苏教版）http://www.xxsx.cn/bigclass.asp?BigClassID=1

Useful websites:

     小学数学教学网 http://www.xxsx.cn/mainmenu.asp

    小学数学专用网  http://www.shuxueweb.com/

    小学数学奥林匹克大全 http://www.aoshu.cn/Default.htm




发贴心情 滴水看世界,小物识乾坤 -- 杂书单

1.  Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky

2.  Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

3.  Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner
4.  The Potat How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World by Larry Zuckerman
 5.  The True History of Chocolate, Second Edition by Sophie D. Coe
6.  The Story of Corn by Betty Fussell
7.  A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
8.  Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History by Sidney W. Mintz
9.  Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese
10.  Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber by Stephen Yafa
11.  Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind by Henry Hobhouse
12.  Citrus: A History by Pierre Laszlo
13.  Blue: The History of a Color. by Michel Pastoureau
14.  A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield
15.  Beans: A History by Ken Albala
16.  The Toothpick: Technology and Culture by Henry Petroski
17.  The Book on the Bookshelf by Henry Petroski
18.  Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce by Douglas Starr
19.  Chinese Silk: A Cultural History by Shelagh Vainker
20.  Tea: The Drink That Changed the World by Laura C. Martin
21.  Coffee: A Dark History by Antony Wild
22.  Zipper: An Exploration in Novelty (Reprint) by Robert D. Friedel
23.  Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History by H.E. Jacob
24.  The Mirror: A History by Sabine Melchoir-Bonnet
25. One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw by Witold Rybczynski
26. The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance by Henry Petroski
27. Cosmopolitan: A Bartender's Life by Toby Cecchini
28. Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors by Lizzie Collingham
29. The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky
30. Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World  by Dan Koeppel




美国地理阅读书目 （A list of literature for United States Geography）

Alabama:
A Picture Book of Rosa Parks - Adler
From Plant to Blue Jeans - Hommedieu (re: cotton)
Life on a Plantation - Kalman
Plantations - Stone
Eli Whitney - Alter

Alaska:
Mama Do You Love Me?
A Child's Alaska
Mush!
Circle of Thanks
Akiak
Arizona:
Tuesday in Arizona
Cottonwood Trees - Prevost
Squirrel's Song - Wolkstein
Is My Friend at Home? Bierhorst
Arkansas:
Come Go With Me: Old Time Stories From the Southern Mountains - Thomas (re: Oachita Mountains)
California:

How Far Felipe?
Smoky Night
Condor's Egg
Striking it Rich

Nine for California

Colorado

Fat Chance Claude
Stones, Bones and Petroglyphs - Goodman
Native Americans and Mesa Verde - Martell
Connecticut:
Solomon Grundy
Warm as Wool (or Ohio?)
Delaware:
The Legend of the Cranberry
The Light in the Forest (books on tape)
Standing in the Light (video)
Florida:
Elizabeth and Larry and Ed
A Visit to Grandma's
St. Augustine (video)
A Kid's Guide to Florida
The Great Pig Search
Freddy Goes to Florida
All Dressed up and Nowhere to Go
My Family Vacation
The Worst Goes South
Beezy
Georgia:
Georgia Music
Peach and Blue - Kilborne
A Confederate Girl - Steele
Mama and Me and the Model T
Hawaii:
The Last Princess: Ka'Iulani - Guzzetti
Haleakalala National Park - Radlander
Hawaii in Words and Pictures - Fradin
The Last Hawaiian Queen - Stanley
The Island Below the Star
Dear Katie, the Volcano is a Girl - George
Punia and the King of Sharks
Luka's Quilt
Idaho
Mailing May
Wolf: Return of a Legend (video re: Sawtooth Mountains)
One Potato - Porter
Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes - Shiefman
More Potatoes - Belsam
Potato - Watts
The Enormous Potato - Davis
Potat A Tale From the Great Depression - Leid
Illinois:
The Journey
Joshua's Westward Journal
Indiana:
The Floating House
Story of Johnny Appleseed - Aliki
True Tale of Johnny Appleseed - Hodges
Johnny Appleseed: A Tall Tale - Steven Kellogg
Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend - Will Moses
A Place Called Freedom
Iowa:
Eve and Smithy
Story of Paul Bunyan - Emberly

Kansas:
Wagon Wheels
The Loudest, Fastest, Best Drummer in Kansas
Climbing Kansas Mountains
The Van Gogh Cafe

Kentucky:
Your Best Friend, Kate
Daniel Boone
Just in Time for Christmas
Kentucky Troll: Mysteries Underground (nat. geo. video on Mammoth Cave, et al)

'B' is for Bluegrass
Kentucky in Words and Pictures

Louisiana:

Why Lapin's Ears are Long
All the "Clovis Crawfish" books
Mimi and Jean Paul's Cajun Mardi Gras
Cajun Through and Through
Feydra Leroux: A Cajun Tall-Tale

Maine:
Blueberries for Sal
One Morning in Maine
Miss Rumphius

Grandpappy
Grandmother Bryant's Pocket
Time of Wonder

Maryland:
Molly Bannaky

Massachusetts:

Make Way for Ducklings
Cranberry Thanksgiving
She's Wearing a Dead Bird on her Head
A Picture Book of Paul Revere
Plimoth Plantation (video)
Across the Wide, Dark Sea
Paul Revere's Midnight Ride
Which Way to the Revolution
Letting Swift River Go

Michigan:
Paul Bunyan: How a Terrible Timber Fellar Became a Legend - Rogers
Paul Bunyan Fights the Monster Plants - Blassingame
The Christmas Tree Ship
The Log Cabin Church
Mrs. Mack

Minnesota:
Follow the Stars: A Native American Woodlands Tale - Rodanas
Legend of the Lady Slipper - Lunge-Larsen
Sacred Harvest: Wild Rice - Reggiunti

Mississippi:
Freedom School, Yes!
Oh Lord, I Wish I was a Buzzard
Grandaddy's Gift
Little Toot on the Mississippi

Missouri:
Mark Twain and Huck Finn - Ross
River Boy: The Story of Mark Twain - Anderson
Mark Twain and the Queens of the Mississippi - Harness
Mark Twain? What Kind of Name is That? Quackenbush (what kind of name is *that*?)
Tom Sawyer, Danger in the Graveyard - Richardson
Tom Sawyer Gives up the Brush (video - 30 minutes)
Wagons West!
Fiddlin' Sam Dengler
There Goes Lowell's Party - Hershenhorn

Montana:
Once We Had a Horse

Nebraska:
Dandelions
The Huckabuck Family


Nevada:
Tulip Sees America (covers several states)
Any books on desert life, particularly the Mojave, would work for studying this state.
Books on red rock canyonlands would also work.


New Hampshire:
Ox Cart Man (or is this Vermont?)
Lucy's Summer
Sara Whitcher's Story

New Jersey:
The Colony of New Jersey
The 18 Penny Goose

New Mexico
Josephina books
Spanish and Colonial Santa Fe (video)
Carlos and the Cornfield
Cowboy's Roundup on an American Ranch
Los Posadas: An Hispanic Christmas Celebration
Grandmother's Adobe House

New York:
My New York
How Pizza
Came to Queens
Anna, Grandpa and the Big Storm
The Inside-Outside Book of New York City
Liberty
The Story of the Statue of Liberty
Joe and the Skyscraper
Under New York


North Carolina:
Back Home
My Great Aunt Arizona
Mountain Boy
The Colony of North Carolina
The Jack Tales
Grandfather's Land: We are Mountain People - Fitch

North Dakota:
River Friendly, River Wild - Kurtz
Thrashin' Time: Harvest Days in the Dakotas

Ohio
Aurora Means Dawn
Lentil
(Warm as Wool may fit better here than previously stated state)
Flatboats on the Ohi Westward Bound

Oklahoma:

I Have Heard of a Land
Angels in the Dust
They Came From
the Bronx: How the Buffalo Were Saved

Oregon:
Oregon's Journey
Long Ago in Oregon
Roughing it on the Oregon Trail


Pennsylvania:
Just Plain Fancy
A Humble Life:
Plain Poems
The Folks in the Valley
The Egg Tree
The Colony of Pennsylvania
Pioneer Church
Bewildered for Three Days
Punxatawney Phil

Rhode Island:
Finding Providence: The Story of Roger Williams
The Colony of Rhode Island
Loud and Crowing (Rhode Island Red roosters)
Roger Williams and Rhode Island (video)

South Carolina:
Carolina Shout!
The Colony of South Carolina

South Dakota:
Mount Rushmore (two titles)
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox - Bleeter


Tennessee:
Swamp Angel
Davy Crockett (Rabbit Ears, w/ tape)
Luck with Potatoes (do they grow these in Tennessee?)


Texas:
Legend of the Bluebonnet
Beats Me, Claude
Armadillo Rodeo
Bluebonnet at Dinosaur Valley State Park
Bubba the Cowboy Prince
Susanna of the Alamo
The Inside-Outside Book of Texas
Armadillo from Amarillo
The West Texas Chili Monster
Jalepeno Hal
The Cowboy and the Black-eyed Pea
Fish Fry
Freedom's Gifts: A Juneteenth Story
Ganzy Remembers
Prairie Christmas
A Cowboy Named Ernestine


Utah:
Salt Lake City - Doubleday
Grandfather's Gold Watch

Vermont:
Least of All
The Wonderful Hay Tumble
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf
Snowflake Bentley


Virginia:
The Relatives Came
When the Whipoorwill Calls
One Christmas Dawn
Appalachia: Voices of Sleeping Birds
The Blue Hill Meadows
Night in the Country
This Year's Garden

Washington:
Island Time
A Horse's Tale

West Virginia:
When I was Young in the Mountains
In November
But I'll be Back Again
Scarecrow
Silver Packages
Waiting to Waltz


Wisconsin:
Giant Ball of String
Dance at Grandpa's
Christmas in the Big Woods
Winter Days in the Big Woods
The Deer in the Wood
Going to Town
Summertime in the Big Woods

Wyoming:
Tonweya and the Eagles - YellowRobe
Lakota Hoop Dancer - LeftHandBull
Iktomi and the Buzzard - Goble
Jack Creek Cowboy

Washington, D.C.:

Capitol: Washington, D.C. From A to Z
The White House
The Wall
Inside-Outside Book of Washington, D.C.


Puerto Ric
The Outside Dog
Take a Trip to Puerto Rico
Sergio and the Hurricane
Abuelita's Paradise


Virgin Islands:
The Day the Hurricane Happened
Izzard

Pacific Territories:
U.S. Territories and Possessions
Pacific Islands