With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson--the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent--brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.

Who would have thought that a book about English would be so entertaining? Certainly not this grammar-allergic reviewer, but The Mother Tongue pulls it off admirably. Bill Bryson--a zealot--is the right man for the job. Who else could rhapsodize about "the colorless murmur of the schwa" with a straight face? It is his unflagging enthusiasm, seeping from between every sentence, that carries the book.

Bryson displays an encyclopedic knowledge of his topic, and this inevitably encourages a light tone; the more you know about a subject, the more absurd it becomes. No jokes are necessary, the facts do well enough by themselves, and Bryson supplies tens per page. As well as tossing off gems of fractured English (from a Japanese eraser: "This product will self-destruct in Mother Earth."), Bryson frequently takes time to compare the idiosyncratic tongue with other languages. Not only does this give a laugh (one word: Welsh), and always shed considerable light, it also makes the reader feel fortunate to speak English.

The Mother Tongue
The Mother Tongue
4.0 (134 ratings)
4.0 / 5.0 (134 ratings)
$7.49

Discrete Mathematics with Applications by Susanna S. Epp (Paperback - Student; Solution Manual)

Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally (7th Edition) "It is fun to figure out the puzzle of how children go about making sense of mathematics and then how to help teachers help kids." John A. Van de Walle, Late of Virginia Commonwealth University This is the philosophy behind Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally. John A. Van de Walle wrote this book to help students understand mathematics and become confident in their ability to teach the subject to children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Although he could not have foreseen the changes in mathematics teaching over the last three decades, he was at the forefront of the movement towards a constructivist view of teaching, or teaching developmentally. Constructivism says that children construct their own knowledge. They are not blank slates waiting to absorb whatever the teacher tells them. Teachers must understand both mathematics itself and how students learn mathematics in order to teach it effectively. Learning through problem solving is another major theme of this book. Students solve problems not just to apply mathematics, but also to learn new mathematics.Effective problems will take into account where students are, the problematic or engaging aspect of the problem must be due to the mathematics that the students are to learn and not be diluted by non-mathematical activities such as cutting or pasting, and the problem must require justifications and explanations for answers and methods. Learning then becomes an outcome of the problem solving process. The book also addresses in more detail than any other book on the market the effect that the trends of standards-based education, increased pressure to test, and increased teacher accountability have had on teaching mathematics. He addresses the 2000 NCTM Standards in depth, in Chapter 1 on Teaching Mathematics in the Era of the NCTM Standards, through the NCTM icon that appears in the margins throughout the text, and in two appendices in the back of the book. Chapter 5 on Building Assessment into Instruction has also been heavily revised to focus on increased testing pressure, creating more explicit links between objectives and assessment, and including assessments for students with special needs.Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally is a book for doing math today--for both students who want to become teachers, and the students they will eventually teach. New To This Edition: NEW! Revises Chapter 5 on assessment--Discusses increased testing pressure and accountability, adds more information on equitable assessments, creates more explicit links between objectives and assessment, and includes assessments for students with special needs. NEW! Updates the Literature Connections feature to remove all out of print children's literature and include more non-fiction, poetry, and other types of readings. NEW! Weaves the Focal Points throughout the chapters as well as links them with the Big Ideas feature--Focal Points have also been added to the Appendix. NEW! Includes expanded coverage of working with diverse learners. NEW! Gives greater emphasis on dealing with math anxiety.

Introductory Algebra for College Students by Robert Blitzer (PACKAGE - Prentice Hall)

MyMathLab: Student Stand Alone Access Kit This access kit will provide you with a code to get into MyMathLab, a personalized interactive learning environment, where you can learn mathematics and statistics at your own pace and measure your progress. MyMathLab includes:

 

Interactive tutorial exercises: MyMathLab's homework and practice exercises are correlated to the exercises in the relevant textbook, and they regenerate algorithmically to give you unlimited opportunity for practice and mastery. Most exercises are free-response and provide an intuitive math symbol palette for entering math notation. Exercises include guided solutions, sample problems, and learning aids for extra help at point-of-use, and they offer helpful feedback when students enter incorrect answers.

Introduction to the Practice of Statistics w/CD-ROM

The new Sixth Edition brings the acclaimed IPS approach to a new generation, with a number of enhancements in the text and with breakthrough media tools for instructors and students. It demonstrates how statistical techniques are used to solve real-world problems, combining real data and applications with innovative pedagogy, both in the text and via electronic media.

New Format Options
Introduction to the Practice of Statistics, Sixth Edition is available as:
• A core book containing the first 13 chapters in hardcover (1-4292-1622-0) or paperback (1-4292-1621-2).  Companion chapters 14-17 are available on the book’s CD and web site.  
• Extended Version (hardcover; includes chapters 1-15): 1-4292-1623-9

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