26 September 2011 - Amazon review

"Teach with Calvin and Hobbes? Sure! Why not!
By L. Jobe (REAL NAME)

"My daughter is a little younger than the age this book is intended for, but she is very much a Calvin and Hobbes fan so I thought I'd give it a try anyway. Her school psychologist told me that Calvin and Hobbes could be used to teach several things which led to a google search and then an Amazon search, where I found this book.

"Now, this book had a shocking price tag and not in my budget so like any mom with a plan, I got it from the library (there are not that many libraries that have it, but a few do- I've been frightened the entire time I've had it that I would damage it and end up with a 1k library bill). However, I've had so much fun playing around with it in the month and a half I've had it!

"Now, enough of my rambling and on to the book. The book is intended for grades 4-8 in the regular classroom or lower elementary for gifted programs. The book is fairly short, and comes in at under 200 pages, but the entire book is packed with no filler. The book has five units with six sections each. Each unit starts with a Calvin and Hobbes strip.

"The first section of each unit after the strip is presented is Vocabulary. Some vocabulary sections contain colloquial terms and figurative language, while others deal with more traditional vocabulary words. There are 3-4 activities in this section.

"The second section of each unit is Comprehension. The comprehension section is pretty traditional and asks questions relating to the strip. This also has a few sections.

"The third section of each unit is Behavior. Starting with the third section of each unit, the text starts to diverge from traditional texts. As anyone who has read a Calvin and Hobbes strip knows, Calvin isn't exactly the model of perfect behavior. The author tries to get students to think about why Calvin approaches situations the way he does and foster discussion over choice.

"The fourth section of each unit is Humor. These sections deal with themes such as language, sarcasm, slap-stick, stand-up, and teasing. These activities relate extremely well with the Behavior section and I can see why this follows it.

"The fifth section is Suggested Activities. These are varied and have a ton of items to work with. They are extensions of the topic that unit's strip talks about. For example, one strip's unit is about bug collections and one of the suggested activities has to do with finding out more information about insects. The great thing about this section is that there are two or three main suggested activities in each section that are spelled out for you. However, the author also gives a list of other activities. These activities range from small to large. In the bug collection unit, she gives suggestions as small as surveying and graphing everyone's favorite and least favorite insects to suggestions as large as making your own insect collection or reading James and the Giant Peach. Each unit is similarly full of suggestions.

"The sixth and final section of each unit is Creative Writing. Since I talked so much about the bug collection unit in the last section, I will just give examples from that same unit for the type of Creative Writing assignments the book has. In the bug collection unit, the students get to write poetry. They write a cinquain and a haiku. Next they write about a time they forgot to complete and assignment or chore and the feelings they had. They also write a journal about Bug Collection day from the viewpoint of one of the people in the story. Last, they summarize the strip. The writing assignments in each unit are different, but there are several in each unit and they are similarly varied. Like in the Suggested Activities section, the author gives more creative writing suggestions in a list.

"It's a fun book and if you are able to get your hands on it, it's got a ton of teaching suggestions."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878849158/103-7148076-9324618?v=glance&n=283155

22 March 2010 - The Homeschooler's Notebook

"My eldest son had difficulty with reading and we were convinced he would never read.... I discovered that there is a book called Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes.... It's lovely for vocabulary and comprehension. Calvin definitely has some personality quirks that I don't want imitated but... he also has some creative qualities that I want my children to embrace.... For reluctant readers it can increase vocabulary and make things interesting enough to guide the reader to bigger and better things."

http://www.familyclassroom.net/Articles20101/20100322.html

15 April 2009 - Amazon comment

"Teresa Suslik says:

"I too own this rare collectors dream. It took me 6 years to get it. I carefully opened the pages and found it to be truly worthy of Mr. Watterson's seal of approval. Each lesson is witty and hilariously written while concisely effective.... it's a collectors bargain considering the books immense positive investment growth rate."

http://www.amazon.com/review/R4RZN64OVTPUR/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1878849158&nodeID=283155#wasThisHelpful

6 October 2006 - How To Reach and Teach All Children in the Inclusive Classroom, 2nd Edition

"We highly recommend a wonderful book, Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes (1993), by Mary Santella-Johnson and Linda Holmen. The authors use some humorous Calvin and Hobbes comic strips to motivate upper-grade and middle school students while teaching a variety of skills: vocabulary, comprehension, figurative language, and problem solving. Reading and writing skills are the main focus."

How To Reach and Teach All Children in the Inclusive Classroom: Practical Strategies, Lessons, and Activities, 2nd Edition. Sandra F. Rief and Julie A. Heimburge. Jossey-Bass. 2006. ISBN 978-0787981549. Page 210.

26 January 2005 - Calvin and Hobbes' Magical World

"This is Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes by Linda Holmen and Mary Santella-Johnson. It is a children's language textbook that was developed and written by a speech pathologist and a learning disabilities educator. In the book, Calvin and Hobbes comic strips are utilized in a classic Dick and Jane style to teach vocabulary, comprehension, critical thinking, deductive reasoning, and the form and function of humor...."

http://home3.inet.tele.dk/stadil/calvin.htm

http://home3.inet.tele.dk/stadil/teaching.htm

http://web.archive.org/web/20070704192324/http://home3.inet.tele.dk/stadil/teaching.htm

31 May 2004 - Amazon review

"For a few lucky educators and students in the Midwestern United States in the mid-1990s, this must have been a useful and fun book. Published in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1993 under a limited official license from Universal Press Syndicate, it is a children's school textbook written around Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. The strips contained in the book comprise famous Calvin and Hobbes story arcs..."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878849158/103-7148076-9324618?v=glance&n=283155

1 March 1998 - NEA Today review

"This lighthearted curriculum is geared to kids in grades 4-8 and teaches vocabulary, reading comprehension, language skills, creative thinking and writing, problem-solving skills, social skills, and cooperative learning."

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3617/is_199803/ai_n8807689

18 October 1996 - How To Reach & Teach All Students in the Inclusive Classroom

"There is a wonderful book called Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes by Mary Santella-Johnson and Linda Holmen that we highly recommend. The authors use very humorous Calvin and Hobbes comic strips to motivate upper-grade students while teaching a variety of skills: vocabulary, comprehension, figurative language, and problem solving."

How To Reach & Teach All Students in the Inclusive Classroom: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Lessons and Activities for Teaching Students with Diverse Learning Needs. Sandra F. Rief and Julie A. Heimburge. Jossey-Bass. 1996. ISBN 978-0876283998. Page 268.