Contains articles that examine the achievements of sixteen notable Hispanic Americans in a range of fields, including Joan Baez, Sandra Cisneros, Roberto Goizueta, and Jose Feliciano, each with comprehension questions.

Read About the achievements of Hispanic Americans who have changed and influenced history!

Student's writing skills are improving tremendously... Last year's fourth-graders started using the sandwich method mid-year and almost all of them scored in the highest possible category when they took the state's standardized English-language arts test just a few months later. Wells Central Schools, Wells Central is just one of numerous schools that attribute their success to Ardith Davis Cole's Better Answers process. Since 2002, her book Better Answers has offered teachers and school districts a powerful alternative to test-prep workbooks. It presents a dramatically different instructional model that helps students construct thoughtful test responses, but it also prepares them for any task requiring thorough, cogent answers to questions and prompts -- both in and out of school. Now, with students tested more frequently than ever, and with teachers increasingly concerned about incorporating substantive test-taking skills into children's learning, Ardith Cole responds with a new updated and expanded edition of Better Answers. Informed by Ardith's ongoing work in classrooms where students struggle over constructed-response tasks, the new edition makes the Better Answers sandwich even easier to implement. The book has also been significantly reorganized, as well as expanded to include two new chapters, Understanding the Prompt and What to do When. Also included is a resource-packed CD-ROM that contains everything teachers need to support their lessons and is a great tool for staff development: lesson plans for text-based and self-based responses; power point slides, charts, and other visual supports; sets of sample texts with prompts; sample student responses; assessment forms; extensive bibliography of print and online resources. The Better Answers process is easy to grasp and uses a gradual-release instructional process that begins with teacher modeling, invites increasing amounts of student participation, and eventually moves students into independent response writing. The book clearly explains each element of the process and provides helpful activities, authentic classroom vignettes, and tips on how to handle typical stumbling blocks along the way.

Profiles the lives of Hispanics who helped shape the history of the United States.

The author provides a comprehensive discussion of the political, economic, curricular, and instructional issues relevant to workforce education for Latinos with low levels of literacy and formal education. Of particular significance is an examination of recent federal legislation that has impacted Latino adults who are unemployed, displaced, and/or seeking to advance personally and economically. Instructors, as well as administrators and policymakers, will benefit from the succinct yet comprehensive discussion of federal policies, best practices in classroom instruction for bilingual adults, and program assessment and accountability. This study is most timely given the current social and demographic realities of this country as well as the changing economy of the 21st century, and is a powerful voice for Latino adults seeking to better their lives through education.

This two-volume collection of essays addresses the Latino/a experience in present-day America, covering six major areas of importance: education, health, family, children, teens, and violence. The Latino/a presence in this country predates the United States itself, yet this group is often marginalized in the American culture. Many noted experts explore the ideology behind this prejudicial attitude, examining how America views Latinos/as, how Latinos/as view themselves, and what the future of America will look like as this group progresses toward equitable treatment. Through the exploration process, the book reveals the complexity and diversity of this community, tracing the historical trajectories of those whose diverse points of origin could be from almost anywhere, including the Americas, Europe, or other places. Written with contemporary issues at the forefront, this timely collection looks at the resolve of the Latino people and considers their histories, contributions, concerns, and accomplishments. Pointed essays address disparate quality-of-life issues in education, health, and economic stability while depicting individual and group efforts in overcoming barriers to mainstream American society. Each chapter discusses key challenge areas for the Latino American population in everyday life. An engaging "Further Investigations" feature poses questions about most of the essays, leading to critical thinking about the most important topics affecting Latino/as today.