This comprehensive text presents a core of research-based approaches to engaging, effective literacy instruction in the middle grades. Methods and materials are described to foster reading skills, content mastery, and writing in different formats and for different purposes. The authors emphasize the need to tailor instruction to the needs, strengths, skill levels, and interests of diverse students. They offer recommendations for reading lists that incorporate critically acclaimed fiction and nonfiction, popular series books, and other student-friendly materials. Special features include case studies, examples of teaching and assessment activities, and commentary from middle-school teachers and students. Appendices contain reproducible forms and lists of recommended reading materials and resources.

A rising median age at which PhD's receive their first research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is among the factors forcing academic biomedical researchers to spend longer periods of time before they can set their own research directions and establish there independence. The fear that promising prospective scientists will choose other career paths has raised concerns about the future of biomedical research in the United States. At the request of NIH, the National Academies conducted a study on ways to address these issues. The report recommends that NIH make fostering independence of biomedical researchers an agencywide goal, and that it take steps to provide postdocs and early-career investigators with more financial support for their own research, improve postdoc mentoring and establish programs for new investigators and staff scientists among other mechanisms.

Brenda Batts, Behavior Consultant, a much sought after speaker in the area of special needs, and mother of Alex, a son with Autism. Brenda shares her proven behavior management and potty training techniques, through her book, Road to Independence. She has compiled over 16 years experience in the rearing of her son and through behavior training for thousands of special needs clients (Autism, PDD, Asperbergers, ADHD, Down Syndrome, Fragile X, etc.). Brenda relates to you as parent and professional of those special children as she takes you down a path, well-traveled, that is filled with innovative tips and suggestions along the way. The central focus of this writing is to help you empower your child to become more independent. What has emerged from her vigilance to develop effective interventions for Alex is a battery of innovative behavior skills training that she shares with you. Brenda has been very successful in helping resolve very difficult children that were previously considered unreachable, and in some cases, un-teachable. When asked how she knows what to do to help children with severe and highly usual conditions, she simply replies that "the idea just came to me." Perhaps another explanation is that these ideas are messages from God. Follow her along this journey and you be the judge.

People throughout the world have creative minds with unlimited potential for change. The Road to Independence: Emancipatory Pedagogy offers ways to empower people through education so that we can live and prosper together in a sustainable world. The emancipatory pedagogy of innovation and entrepreneurial education is presented as a road to independence: as a way to enable everyone to reach their inherent potential. This book presents case studies, stories, and research findings from innovation and entrepreneurial education that illuminate the real lives and work of teachers and students from different cultures. “Over 40 years of direct experience informs this text. You will find innovative things to think about from the authors, and come to understand how they are able to develop such innovative thinking in their learners. Educational forms such as these are much needed as we move from learning about how things work as observers, towards learning to be able to do things for ourselves. Importantly, all too often the term ‘joining the dots’ references looking backwards and understanding the past, but this book is all about the future; it proactively responds to what are becoming known as ‘entrepreneurial 21st Century skills, so start connecting them now.” – Andy Penaluna, Director, International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurial Development “This fascinating, inspiring, and insightful book on how to actualize and develop an innovation potential of every child is a must-read for teachers, parents, and researchers alike. Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir and Rósa Gunnarsdóttir began an innovation revolution by introducing Innovation and Entrepreneurial Education in Icelandic schools. What the whole world needs today is to maximize revolutionary innovation in all fields of human endeavour and The Road to Independence provides a myriad of incredibly useful approaches to nurture that innovation.” – Larisa V. Shavinina, Editor of The Routledge International Handbook of Innovation Education

"In the dark, bewildering, trap-infested jungle of misinformation and opaque riddles that is the world of investment, JL Collins is the fatherly wizard on the side of the path, offering a simple map, warm words of encouragement and the tools to forge your way through with confidence. You'll never find a wiser advisor with a bigger heart." -- Malachi Rempen: Filmmaker, cartoonist, author and self-described ruffian This book grew out of a series of letters to my daughter concerning various things-mostly about money and investing-she was not yet quite ready to hear. Since money is the single most powerful tool we have for navigating this complex world we've created, understanding it is critical. "But Dad," she once said, "I know money is important. I just don't want to spend my life thinking about it." This was eye-opening. I love this stuff. But most people have better things to do with their precious time. Bridges to build, diseases to cure, treaties to negotiate, mountains to climb, technologies to create, children to teach, businesses to run. Unfortunately, benign neglect of things financial leaves you open to the charlatans of the financial world. The people who make investing endlessly complex, because if it can be made complex it becomes more profitable for them, more expensive for us, and we are forced into their waiting arms. Here's an important truth: Complex investments exist only to profit those who create and sell them. Not only are they more costly to the investor, they are less effective. The simple approach I created for her and present now to you, is not only easy to understand and implement, it is more powerful than any other. Together we'll explore: Debt: Why you must avoid it and what to do if you have it. The importance of having F-you Money. How to think about money, and the unique way understanding this is key to building your wealth. Where traditional investing advice goes wrong and what actually works. What the stock market really is and how it really works. Why the stock market always goes up and why most people still lose money investing in it. How to invest in a raging bull, or bear, market. Specific investments to implement these strategies. The Wealth Building and Wealth Preservation phases of your investing life and why they are not always tied to your age. How your asset allocation is tied to those phases and how to choose it. How to simplify the sometimes confusing world of 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA and Roth accounts. TRFs (Target Retirement Funds), HSAs (Health Savings Accounts) and RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions). What investment firm to use and why the one I recommend is so far superior to the competition. Why you should be very cautious when engaging an investment advisor and whether you need to at all. Why and how you can be conned, and how to avoid becoming prey. Why I don't recommend dollar cost averaging. What financial independence looks like and how to have your money support you. What the 4% rule is and how to use it to safely spend your wealth. The truth behind Social Security. A Case Study on how this all can be implemented in real life. Enjoy the read, and the journey!

This book tells the story of Kosovo's independence, from earlier periods of bloodshed to its final status as a state in 2008.