"Beowulf" is justly regarded as a cornerstone of English literature, but those of us who do not read Anglo-Saxon must approach it through a translation. Certainly there is no shortage of translations; I have at least a dozen sitting on my bookshelf. However, I would eliminate half of them as adequate vehicles for really appreciating this grand poem because they are prose versions. While they may accurately convey the literal sense of the Old English words and provide a readily understood storyline, prose can never adequately render the poetic essence of the original.

If words are power, then according to Peter Johnston’s Choice Words, teachers’ words are a super power. Using a variety of interspersed narratives from various classrooms, narratives that include student-teacher dialogue, Johnston shows how the words that teachers use express a variety of both conscious and subconscious opinions of students. And, as I think everyone agrees, what teachers think about their students has significant implications on the opportunities and achievements of those students. But Johnston does not stop there. While Johnston includes what he would call both positive and negative interactions, he does not judge the teacher as being bad solely on the basis of the interaction. The teacher may not realize the hidden suggestions his or her words possess; similarly the teacher whose dialogue is "good" may not be expressly trying to suggest something positive to the students. Some teachers are just naturals when it comes to this.

This Student Activity Book is designed to be used with the "Guidebook for Parents and Teachers" of the same series. The Level 3 activity book consists of worksheets intended to help children discover and practice the most important patterns and principles that govern English spelling and writing. It includes short and long vowels, punctuation, various consonants and consonant blends, syllables, homophones, dictionary skills, diphthongs, common suffixes, common content area words, simple grammar, writing paragraphs, and words often misspelled. The activity book is divided into 30 sections, each consisting of a week's worth of activities.

This book invites teachers and students to taste and hear and move to the music of words, words in isolation and in interesting juxtapositions, and urges them to bring their own life experience to language, showing in turn how language can help them know that experience more fully.

Watch Your Words: The Rowman & Littlefield Language-Skills Handbook for Journalists

Journalists trad in words. Using language accurately, clearly, and consistently is part of their job--and this skill is equally important for writers and editors. Watch Your Words is designed as a handbook for quick and accessible classroom and newsroom use. Consistent with The Associated Press Stylebook, it establishes a baseline for language-skills knowledge in the areas of punctuation, grammar and usages as well as AP style. Self-tests, answer keys, and sections on spelling and copy-editing symbols also are included.