Flik tries out several inventions before creating one that is really useful.

′Douglas Newton′s Teaching Design and Technology gives encouragement to creativity in younger pupils. Aimed at ages 3-11, it contains a variety of suggestions for activities providing more than just a collection of ideas, there are many suggestions that might help children plan and work towards quality products′ - The Times Educational Supplement ′An excellent book which is both thought-provoking and extremely practical. The philosophy and history behind D&T is enlightening and very entertaining, whilst the numerous ideas for practical activities make it a ′pick up and use′ book. Unusually, it provides a wide range of activities for children as young as 3 up to 11 years of age, and detailed lesson plans demonstrate how they can be presented in class. The problem-solving approach taken by this book supports views on ′best practice′ as described in the government publication ′Excellence and Enjoyment′. As the focus in education is on developing a more creative curriculum, this book is a must for both experienced teachers and students alike′ - Linda Johnston, Head at Sedgefield Hardwick Primary ′This book is packed full of sound advice and good ideas interlaced with the essence of what Design and Technology in primary schools should be′ - David Jinks, Jerwood Laureate ′A very practical book, which focuses on sound advice from an expert in D&T education... Here you will find a wealth of ideas for putting into practice. What shines through is the depth of experience that Newton brings to the work... This is an invaluable resource for any primary school and deserves to be widely read. I have no doubt that teachers will rate it highly′ - Primary Science Review ′This very readable book gives a wealth of simple interesting examples of technological development that will be appreciated by children throughout the primary school... Very practical general teaching advice is given throughout... a valuable resource for trainees and teachers who lack experience in this subject′ - Journal of Education for Teaching Training to teach Design and Technology? Need ideas for your lessons? Want to refresh your D&T teaching? Professor Douglas Newton′s succinct guide to teaching design and technology uses ideas that have been road-tested and developed over his many years of teaching and of training student teachers and practitioners. Assuming no prior knowledge, this straightforward book will quickly help you teach D&T in the primary school and D&T-related activities in the very early years. It gives you ready-made lesson plans and banks of teaching ideas for immediate use in your classroom. Written for the busy trainee and teacher, this practical book features: - A clear account of the nature of D&T and what is expected of you. - Time-saving, photocopiable worksheets to help children grasp problems, develop ideas and plan. - Lots of activities for the children, some set out in step-by-step detail. - Advice on helping children make progress and on assessing their work. - Looking ahead: some guidance for the aspiring teacher on preparing for curriculum leadership. - Helpful chapter summaries.

For the parents, families, and friends of the 1 in 250 autistic children born annually in the United States, George and Sam provides a unique look into the life of the autistic child. Charlotte Moore has three children, George, Sam, and Jake. George and Sam are autistic. George and Sam takes the reader from the births of each of the two boys, along the painstaking path to diagnosis, interventions, schooling and more. She writes powerfully about her family and her sons, and allows readers to see the boys behind the label of autism. Their often puzzling behavior, unusual food aversions, and the different ways that autism effects George and Sam lend deeper insight into this confounding disorder. George and Sam emerge from her narrative as distinct, wonderful, and at times frustrating children who both are autistic through and through. Moore does not feel the need to search for cause or cure, but simply to find the best ways to help her sons. She conveys to readers what autism is and isn't, what therapies have worked and what hasn't been effective, and paints a moving, memorable portrait life with her boys. Charlotte Moore is a writer and journalist who lives in Sussex, England with her three sons. She is the author of four novels and three children's book. For two years she wrote a highly acclaimed column in the Guardian called "Mind the Gap" about life with George and Sam. She is a contributor to many publications.

Charlotte Moore has three children: the two oldest, George and Sam, are autistic; the youngest Jake is not. In this extraordinary book, which combines personal memoir with the most recent known information on this most fascinating and elusive of conditions, she describes the circumstances of their birth, behaviour, diagnosis, treatment - and brilliantly conveys what daily life is like for a family with autism. It's an invaluable book for anyone with an interest in childhood and child development.

Since Toy Story, its first feature in 1995, Pixar Animation Studios has produced a string of commercial and critical successes including Monsters, Inc.; WALL-E; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; Cars; and Up. In nearly all of these films, male characters are prominently featured, usually as protagonists. Despite obvious surface differences, these figures often follow similar narratives toward domestic fulfillment and civic engagement. However, these characters are also hypermasculine types whose paths lead to postmodern social roles more revelatory of the current “crisis” that sociologists and others have noted in boy culture. In Pixar’s Boy Stories: Masculinity in a Postmodern Age, Shannon R. Wooden and Ken Gillam examine how boys become men and how men measure up in films produced by the animation giant. Offering counterintuitive readings of boy culture, this book describes how the films quietly but forcefully reiterate traditional masculine norms in terms of what they praise and what they condemn. Whether toys or ants, monsters or cars, Pixar’s males succeed or fail according to the “boy code,” the relentlessly policed gender standards rampant in American boyhood. Structured thematically around major issues in contemporary boy culture, the book discusses conformity, hypermasculinity, socialhierarchies, disability, bullying, and an implicit critique of postmodern parenting. Unprecedented in its focus on Pixar and boys in its films, this book offers a valuable perspective to current conversations about gender and cinema. Providing a critical discourse about masculine roles in animated features, Pixar’s Boy Stories will be of interest to scholars of film, media, and gender studies and to parents.

Thoroughly revised and updated for 2005! Includes a new chapter on the best special edition DVDs and a new chapter on finding hidden easter egg features.