There is so much to be thankful for this year. In the times of economic hardship, particularly in this state, I am so so thankful to have a wonderful job that has kept me close to my wonderful family and wonderful boyfriend. While I am still itching to get to a new city, I am patiently awaiting his completion of grad school, and in the meantime am slightly spreading my wings and dabbling in my first year of teaching.
I really really needed Thanksgiving break. I returned this morning (early!), feeling rejuvinated and enthusiastic. The last few weeks have really bogged me down, and I know my students felt it. I needed the time away to clear my head and just BREATHE for a while. It's been a non-stop marathon, and I didn't know how to slow down. Now there are only 13 more school days until our next break, and I am totally revved and ready to go!
... except for some reason I can't get myself organized and on track tonight. I've been fiddling around, surfing the web and trying to find a new 9th grade textbook that I would like to use for next year.
Currently, our text is TERRIBLE. I hate it. The kids hate it. It's too wordy, hard to follow, no pictures, and honestly doesn't even say all that much. Some of my colleagues are convinced that there are no good textbooks out there that are the middle road. Apparently when it comes to 9th grade, the texts are either too difficult or too easy. But I will find one! I think I already have.
I LOVE
this book. I have the larger volume with both ancient and modern world history combined into one text, thanks to
M's generosity. I use it to supplement my horrible textbook all the time, and I am in love. It has great information that is detailed without getting unecessarily in depth; it has a variety of text features for the students to analyze (pictures, graphs, primary source excerpts, timelines, etc), and it is organized in an easy to follow way. This is my pick for 2008-2009. Will my colleagues go for it?? Stay tuned...
