Terrific Model to Follow
5
By DavidCarp
The other reviewers point out the many reasons why this book can be so helpful for our students. I want to point out what a great model the book is for educators to use in their own iBook creation efforts. As teachers we so often struggle with textbooks provided by publishers that are not individualized for the specific topical and learning needs of our students. Peter demonstrates through his use of primary source materials, media and guiding questions that we, too, can be authors. Peter's excellent design and formatting techniques also provide nice guidelines for teacher publishers to follow.
Great resource
5
By Brian Hurd
This is an impressive work that I am looking forward to using when I teach the Second World War. The choice of images and the thoughtful way teachers and students are guided through interfacing with the content will no doubt make it an effective teaching tool. Well done Mr. Pappas.
Tools for Thinkers
5
By SuzieBoss
With this engaging ebook, Peter Pappas demonstrates the power of primary source material to transport us to another time. He is deliberate, too, about connecting the past to more recent events that students have witnessed. Throughout, he encourages critical thinking with questions that challenge students to make their own meaning. Great resource for the social studies classroom and ideal launching pad for projects that put students in the role of historian (or filmmaker, graphic artist, propagandist, curator, etc.).
Tools for Thinkers
5
By Suzie Boss
With this engaging ebook, Peter Pappas demonstrates the power of primary source material to transport us to another time. He is deliberate, too, about connecting the past to more recent events that students have witnessed. Throughout, he encourages critical thinking with questions that challenge students to make their own meaning. Great resource for the social studies classroom, and ideal launching pad for projects that put students in the role of historian (or filmmaker, graphic artist, propagandist, curator, etc.).
Quintessential Example of Student Engagement
5
By Greg Wim
It’s evident that Pappas meticulously searched through countless primary sources to create this highly engaging reader. The combination of audio, visual, photographic, and text based sources will push students to interact with documents on multiple levels. The sources, however, are greatly enhanced by the relevant and thematic questions that accompany them. This iBook is a fantastic example of the direction other authors and publishers should take in promoting historical thinking skills over content driven instruction.
Thoughtful Engagement
5
By Duncan Tremble
Why We Fight combines several important components required of materials for today's students. The format and organization allow for independent, small group or large group instruction. This versatility is essential with the diversity of available instructional settings; even within public school domain, students are configured into traditional classrooms, tutorials, and on-line classrooms. The material also fosters learning behaviors explicit in the CCR standards of Common Core, such as: building strong content knowledge, comprehending as well as critiquing, valuing evidence, understanding multiple perspectives, reading closely and analytically. Analyzing and writing persuasive text is a major focus of the Common Core Standards. But, most important to me, is the level of engagement possible for any of the individual students found in the classroom. Why We Fight uses technology and digital media strategically and capably. My thirteen-year-old nephew spent last year attending an on-line charter school after a eight year career in traditional classrooms. He enjoyed those lessons because they combined text and digital media. Why We Fight, of much higher quality in organization, selection and presentation of content and use of probing questions was an absolute delight for him. He is eagerly awaiting the next book. That is thoughtful engagement; not an easy result to achieve.
Great Historical Resource
5
By actionheropdx
Peter uses a lot of primary sources in his book and it really helps the reader get a sense of current events of the time. I also appreciated all the guiding questions in each section. I plan to share this resource with teachers in my school district. Nice work!
Brings iBooks To A New Level
5
By Captjon007
Peter has done an amazing job with this book. Wow. Students and adults will love the amazing images, videos and interactive features. Peter has raised the bar for books to come. This book is top notch and one of the best I've seen in the bookstore. Keep up the great work. I can't wait to share this book with everyone I know.
Top-notch historical inquiry
5
By MaZaKa!
Through his blog and workshops, Peter Pappas has inspired teachers like me to engage with young people in primary source-based historical inquiry. Here, he has thoughtfully selected and arranged a set of multi-media sources and thoughtful original narrative around provocative questions. This leaves me excited for the future of iBooks in the history classroom.
Fantastic Compilation, Probing Questions
5
By mjg7328
This excellent interactive book is filled with incredible primary sources from the World War II era. From photographs to audio interviews to government-sponsored short films, readers will interact with the material in ways that will help them get a deeper understanding of the influence of media on the public's perception of the war. What I love most about this book are the insightful probing questions in each section - without leading the reader to a particular conclusion, the questions push hard to uncover truths about the American experience few of us consider. This would be a great book to use in middle or high school history courses.
