The con artists in this book pursued a variety of ambitions-making money, winning wars, mocking authority, finding fame, trading an ordinary life for a glamorous one-but they all chose the lowest, fastest road to get there. Every hoax is a curtain, and behind it is a deceiver operating levers and smoke machines to make us see what is not there and miss what is. As P.T. Barnum knew, you can short-circuit critical thinking in any century by telling people what they want to hear. Most scams operate on a personal scale, but some have shaped the balance of world power, inspired explorers to sail uncharted seas, derailed scientific progress, or caused terrible massacres. A HISTORY OF AMBITION IN 50 HOAXES guides us through a rogue's gallery of hustlers, liars, swindlers, imposters, scammers, pretenders, and cheats. In Gale Eaton's wide-ranging synthesis, the history of deception is a colorful tour, with surprising insights behind every curtain. Fountas & Pinnell Level Z+

It's a powerful concept, exploring the routines and rituals of a child's first year in diverse cultures and traditions and introducing readers to babies from tiny Luke, who is spending his first days of life in an incubator, to Kasa, who is being introduced to the sunrise by her grandmother. Nontraditional families-biracial, adoptive, and single-parent-are included. The ways in which babies are welcomed into the world are wonderfully varied yet strikingly kindred. Welcoming Babies is equally appropriate as a gift to new parents or grandparents and a read-aloud for babies. Lexile Level 990; F&P Level O

The New Social Studies refers to a flurry of academic and commercial activity during the 1960s and 1970s that resulted in the mass development and dissemination of revolutionary classroom materials and teacher resources. In science as well as social studies, a spirit of "inquiry-based teaching" filled the air during this time, resulting in the development of curricula that were both pedagogically innovative and intellectually rigorous. Constructivism and the New Social Studies contains a collection of classic lessons from some of the most successful projects of the era, providing a resource of exceptional ideas and materials that have stood the test of time. These revealing artifacts are presented with commentaries from some of the original directors of major projects, including Edwin Fenton, Barry Beyer, and Suzanne Helburn. In addition to American and World History, groundbreaking lessons are represented in Economics, Government, Sociology, and Geography, including the Public Issues Series (Fred Newann), The Amherst History Project (Richard Brown and Geoffrey Scheurman) and Teaching American History: The Quest for Relevancy (Allan Kownslar, Gerald Ponder, and Geneva Gay), and Man: A Course of Study (Peter Dow). With a Foreword by Jerome Bruner, the volume not only provides a resource of exceptional curriculum ideas and actual materials, it also builds a lucid bridge between the theoretical ideas of constructivism and the pedagogical principles of inquiry learning. With over 50 years of expertise from curriculum history and social studies pedagogy, the editors make the case that "guided inquiry" as presented in these projects was constructivist by design, offering a range of instructional methods that begin with questions rather than answers and considers progress in terms of the development of analytical skills and experimental habits of mind rather than the mere acquisition of knowledge. Projects developed during the New Social Studies serve as both an interesting historical archive of powerful curricular innovations as well as a treasure trove of actual lessons and materials still useful in social studies classrooms striving to become more constructivist. The lessons and other materials we chose should be relevant if you are an historian, researcher, theorist, or teacher of any subject, but it will be especially significant if you are interested in the nature of social, civic, or historical literacy in America, including how to teach for authentic achievement in those areas.

Racial Stigma on the Hollywood Screen from WWII to the Present charts how the dominant white and black binary of American racial discourse influences Hollywood s representation of the Asian. The Orientalist buddy film draws a scenario in which two buddies, one white and one black, transcend an initial hatred for one another by joining forces against a foreign Asian menace. Alongside an analysis of multiple genres of film, Brian Locke argues that this triangulated rendering of race ameliorates the longstanding historical contradiction between U.S. democratic ideals and white America s persistent domination over blacks.

The #1 "New York Times" bestselling picture-book biography of President Barack Obama is now in paperback.
Ever since Barack Obama was young, Hope has lived inside him. From the beaches of Hawaii to the streets of Chicago, from the jungles of Indonesia to the plains of Kenya, he has held on to Hope. Even as a boy, Barack knew he wasn't quite like anybody else, but through his journeys he found the ability to listen to Hope and become what he was meant to be: a bridge to bring people together.
This is the moving story of our 44th President, told by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Bryan Collier, both winners of the Coretta Scott King Award. Barack Obama has motivated Americans to believe with him, to believe that every one of us has the power to change ourselves and change our world.

The Media Teacher s Handbook is an indispensible guide for all teachers, both specialist and non-specialist, delivering Media Studies and media education in secondary schools and colleges.

It is the first text to draw together the three key elements of secondary sector teaching in relation to media study - the theoretical, the practical and the professional - in order to support media teachers throughout their careers:

• Section One: Contexts explores the history of, rationale for, and justification of studying the media from 1900 to the present day, and considers the tensions implicit in the subject caused by opposing views of culture.
• Section Two: Curriculum comprises seven chapters that focus on studying the media from Key Stages 3 and 4 in English, through GCSE and A Level Media Studies. It also explores approaches to teaching the Creative and Media Diploma, media and citizenship, and practical media production.
• Section Three: Career Development is designed to support those establishing and leading Media Studies departments and those who are charged with the initial preparation and professional development of teachers.

Written by experts involved in the teaching, training and examination of Media Studies, this one-stop resource is packed with illustrative case studies and exemplar schemes of work which can be easily adapted for your own needs. Suggested Reading and Recommended Resources sections at the end of each chapter list additional books, films, DVDs, groups, agencies, organisations, contact details, websites and other materials which will support your teaching even further.

The Media Teacher s Handbook is an essential guide to the theory, pedagogy, and practice of media education that will enable you to teach your subject expertly and with confidence.