Tuesday Trivia

1. Which American writer worked as an entertainer aboard a Swedish ocean liner cruising the Caribbean before being drafted to serve in World War II?
2. To whom did Helen Keller dedicate her autobiography, The Story of My Life?
3. What name did Oscar Wilde use during the last three years of his life in France?
4. Who was the first writer to incorporate himself?
5. Which American poet was a West Point cadet and was forced to leave after failing arithmetic and grammar after approximately two weeks?

Last Week's Answers



What book was Mark David Chapman carrying with him when he killed John Lennon on December 8, 1980?


J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.




Which French author wrote two fantastic space odysseys--one to the moon and one to the sun -- more than 200 years before Jules Verne?


Cyrano de Bergerac.



To what kind of tree was Betty Smith referring in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn?



An ailanthus.



Inventor of the polygraph, William Moulton Marston, also created which famous comic book heroine?



Wonder Woman.





What observation did Dylan Thomas make about writer T.S. Eliot's name?



Backward, except for one misplaced letter, it spells toilets.

What books do you love to teach and why?

by Jason Scott

This morning I decided to do a quick, very unscientific survey of the blogosphere and see what books teachers are saying they loved to teach.

Jen Forbus, commenting at whimpulsive.net, and probably speaking on behalf of a huge number of English Teachers, picked a chestnut:

"When I was teaching, my favorite book to teach was To Kill a Mockingbird, and one of the projects I did with my students was have them creating setting maps of Maycomb. The students loved it and really got into. I think visuals help a lot in making the fictional world real."

When interviewed for his school paper's blog, Scarsdale High’s Assistant Principal, Fred Goldberg gave one that he liked teaching, one he liked reading, and one he thought everyone should read.

PH: What is your favorite book to read and to teach?

FG: Well, my favorite book to teach is Hamlet and my favorite book is probably Catch-22. I think every high school student should read The Grapes of Wrath because it is the great American novel.

(I’m not sure what that says about what Mr. Goldberg thinks about teaching the works of Mr. Steinbeck (?) )

Sharon Roth, interviewed on her school’s blog, Ecliptic Times, could not narrow it down to just one work.

PH: What is your favorite book to teach? Why?

SR: Hmmm ... that's a tough one. Can I name my favorite unit?

PH: Go ahead.

SR: My favorite unit to teach is the Shakespeare unit because there is just so much material. Videos, the history of the time, the plays to read ... the plays in particular are fun, because not only are they great stories, but their themes still resonate with society today. Shakespeare understood people, and people do not change.

One of my own English Teachers and now my colleague here at Prestwick House, Doug Grudzina, said that he liked teaching two books:

I always looked forward to teaching The Time Machine and Brave New World. Both are ‘futuristic’ books that are really social commentaries about the time period when the writer was writing.

He admitted to me that sneaking the literary medicine disguised as sci-fi past his students was a large part of the appeal.

Finally, here is a tricky one from “Rebekah” writing at The Masks Blog:

My favorite book to teach is Mein Kampf. Talk about a hot-button book! Just showing the cover gets a reaction from students. As soon as they notice it’s by Adolf Hitler, the questions come out. What kind of class is this? Am I some kind of crypto-Nazi? Do their parents know they’re reading this? Should their parents know they’re reading this?

I give them a section to read, a passage usually titled “On Nation and Race.” And I challenge the students to find the flaws in the author’s reasoning, if they can.
They do, of course. It’s not hard. Mein Kampf is literally a textbook example of fallacious logic.

As I said, this was a completely unscientific survey of the field, but I think it still attests to an enormous amount of creativity and diversity in the teaching of the world’s best literature. What strikes me is the way teachers who love book and love the books they teach have the best chance of really reaching their students.

I’m a firm believer in that notion that there is a book out there for everyone. What I mean is, there is a book that can turn even the most ardent non-reader into an avid reader. Finding that book for that non-reader has got to be one of the most important jobs an English teacher has. (And actually succeeding has got to be one of the greatest satisfactions!)

So which book (or books) is it for you? Which novels or plays seem to really grab the aloof and disinterested students and flip on the lights?

What books do you love to teach?

Local School Gets Thrilling New Technology…Now What?

by Jason Scott

“Local School gets (Insert New Technology of the Moment)” is the kind of story that local papers love. I just Googled the phrase “Local School Gets New Technology” and got 194,000,000 hits. Even in this tough economy, new classroom technology stories are everywhere.


Here in Delaware, we just read about St. Elizabeth’s High School’s a new iPad lab, and this school in Knoxville, Tennessee, is requiring all enrolled students to have an iPad beginning next year. For the record, Webb School of Knoxville is a $12,700 a year private school so purchasing an iPad is probably not an unrealistic expectation. Parents also have the option of leasing the iPad from the school for $20 per month. Education Market Research projects that spending on school technology will increase by an average of 6% this year, so these stories may be even more common in 2011.


For the most part, these types of stories all seem pretty similar: a) New Technology coming to School X. b) Students and teachers are excited by new technology c) Discussion of how the thrilling new technology enhances our future competiveness with other countries.


What the stories leave out, and something I’d be curious to read about is the 24-month follow-up. What happened after the initial thrill of the new technology wore off? Did the teachers get fully trained on how to make the most out of the technology? Did the exciting new technology of the moment fit into and work with the students’ daily routines? Or did the technology that everyone was so excited about last year quietly get stored away in the back closet only to be trucked out for PR purposes.


I don’t mean to sound like a skeptical old codger because I think some of the classroom technology rolled out—even in the past year—is amazing. Prestwick House released its first IPad App this year.


I am as excited about the possibilities of the new technology as anybody. I’d simply appreciate reading the follow-up stories about classroom technology: Stories that take us beyond the initial opening day anticipation and thrill of beginning a new adventure. Stories written, perhaps, from the teacher’s perspective, not the district superintendent’s.


What are your experiences? Have you been trained on new technology in your school?

The Cranky Language Lady: Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups

The Cranky Language Lady: Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups comes from CrankyLanguageLady.com. To find out more about the Cranky Language Lady, view sample pages from her new book, peruse her blog, or visit the website.

Grammar Quiz #10—Dependent Clauses and Good Drivers

This week’s quiz contains only one error, but it occurs more than once. Can you find it?

Because he’s never had an accident, Doug insists that he is a great driver. His wife insists that he’s never had an accident, because he’s just plain lucky. His children insist that he’s never had an accident, because people see him coming and drive like crazy to get out of his way.

View a possible correction.

Tuesday Trivia

1. What book was Mark David Chapman carrying with him when he killed John Lennon on December 8, 1980?
2. Which French author wrote two fantastic space odysseys (one to the moon and the other to the sun) more than 200 years before Verne?
3. To which kind of tree was Betty Smith referring in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn?
4. Inventor of the polygraph, William Moulton Marston, also created which famous comic book heroine?
5. What observation did Dylan Thomas make about writer T.S. Eliot's name?

Last Week's Answers


Which British playwright often wrote scathing reviews of his own plays under the pseudonym Edna Welthorpe?

Joe Orton

Which famous author was both born and died on a Halley’s Comet year?

Mark Twain 1835 - 1910


Son and grandson of London vintners, which author’s last name derives from French for shoemaker?

Chaucer


Poe borrowed the meter of which British poet’s “Lady Geraldine's Courtship” for his famous “The Raven?”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning


What do Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, Helen Keller, Jack London, Vladimir Lenin, and H. G. Wells all have in common?

All wrote books that were later burned by the Nazis.

Leading Educational Publisher Launches Best-Selling Products on Kindle, iPad, and Over 20 Other eBook Readers

This week, Prestwick House will add 25 new eBooks including their best-selling Vocabulary Power Plus for the New SAT books in ePub and Mobi format for devices like eBook readers, iPhones, iPads, Android phones, and the Amazon Kindle. These titles are now available via Entourage, iTunes, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.




With ebooks becoming increasingly more common in classrooms, it’s not surprising that they are one of the fastest growing product categories in educational publishing worldwide. Ebook readers like the Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader are now equipped with the ability to take in-book notes, look up words in an online dictionary, and view web content with new web browser capabilities — making them extremely useful tools in the educational arena.




The Association of American Publishers projects that “eBooks [will] make up $6 billion of a $20 billion annual book market by 2012, and this year Amazon.com reported selling more in eBooks than in hard covers.” Last month alone, ebook sales have shown a 172.4% growth over 2009, while hardcover sales have declined nearly 24%.




“For the classroom, there are some obvious benefits to downloading one of our e-books immediately and avoiding shipping costs,” says Prestwick House Brand Manager, Jerry Clark. “Teachers will be able to create in-book notes for specific classes, display them on overheads or Smartboards, and have students look up background information directly from the web as they read.”



“Ebook readers are also useful for helping teachers stay organized because they allow them to have their entire library available for easy reference in class — digital files, a compilation of various class syllabi, pertinent online articles, blogs, course packets, and teacher’s editions of student textbooks.”




The new Prestwick House titles that are now available include the entire Vocabulary Power Plus for the New SAT and Vocabulary from Latin and Greek Roots series, the Three Simple Truths and Six Essential Traits for Powerful Writing series, the Practice Makes Perfect: Preparation for the State Reading Assessment series, and a variety of writing and grammar texts including Rhetorical Devices, Grammar for Writing, Writing an A+ Research Paper, Techniques of Propaganda, and Rhetoric, Logic, & Argumentation.




In addition to the series’ debut in the ebook arena, Vocabulary Power Plus for the New SAT has also recently become an iPhone application. The Vocabulary Power Plus iPhone App boasts over 6,600 unique quiz questions covering 1,800 frequently used SAT vocabulary words.




The application is available for free download via the Apple iTunes store and allows students to try out fun, interactive games reinforcing important skills that will help them obtain a higher score on the SAT. To download your free trial of the Prestwick House Vocabulary Power Plus for the New SAT application, visit the iTunes store and search “Vocabulary Power Plus” today.

Prestwick House Paperback Discount Center Offers Exclusive Volume Discounts for Schools and Teachers

This week, Prestwick House will open the doors on a new division of their company, the Prestwick House Paperback Discount Center, which will offer volume discounts for schools on thousands of paperbacks in their January 2011 catalogue and at PrestwickHouse.com.

The 2011 catalogue will include over 50 pages of paperbacks filled with over 1,200 titles and discounts ranging from 25%-35%. Teachers will enjoy a discount of 25% off titles, even when they purchase just one copy. On orders with a retail value of over $500, the discount jumps to 30%. Orders with a retail value over $2,500 will receive a discount of 35%.

“With our new discounts, we’re hoping that schools and teachers will be able to do more with their limited budgets such as expanding classroom libraries, allowing teachers to add to their curriculum, or even purchase individual copies of books for each and every student,” says Prestwick House General Manager, Keith Bergstrom.

In addition to volume discounts on paperbacks, Prestwick House has also introduced a 35% discount on class set bundles. In each bundle, teachers receive 30 student books along with their choice of one of Prestwick House’s popular teaching guides, including Teaching Units, AP Teaching Units, Activity Packs, Multiple Critical Perspectives guides, or even the new Levels of Understanding guides that help students critically evaluate literature using Bloom’s learning domains.

In addition to new discounts on all mass-market paperback editions and 35% off class sets, Prestwick House also offers a 50% Educator’s Discount on their Literary Touchstone Classic line of unabridged classic works. These popular titles boast unique cover art, reading pointers, and vocabulary, which makes them the perfect edition for high school students.

“Our Literary Touchstone editions are designed by former teachers with the needs of teachers and students in mind,” says Prestwick House Senior Editor, Paul Moliken. “Having collectively worked for dozens of years in schools across the country, our writers have all struggled to stretch budgets and deal with the deficiencies of cheaply made paperbacks. It only makes sense for us to create high-quality editions at prices that teachers can easily afford.”


The variety of paperback books available and new discounts puts Prestwick House Discount Paperback Wholesalers in a position to become the premier source of paperback books for students in grades 4-12. While the discounts speak for themselves, Prestwick House is also known in the school community for their high quality customer service.


“We are proud to report that customer satisfaction surveys over the past two years show that over 98% of teachers and schools that have purchased from us have reported that they find our representatives both friendly and efficient,” says Prestwick House CEO, Jason Scott. “Thanks to our customer service department along with our efficient warehouse staff, we are able to help teachers find the perfect product to enhance their curriculum, and get it to them quickly at a price that they can afford.”


To speak with customer service or to receive a copy of the new 2011 catalogue, call (800)-932-4593 or visit www.prestwickhouse.com today.

The Cranky Language Lady: Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups

The Cranky Language Lady: Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups comes from CrankyLanguageLady.com. To find out more about the Cranky Language Lady, view sample pages from her new book, peruse her blog, or visit the website.

Grammar Quiz #9—Bridezilla Challenge

There are ten errors in the conversation below. Can you find them all? Give yourself 10 points of each correct answer.

“It’s my day,” Brianna said. “I want the best man too shave his mustache. I want the made of honor to loose 15 pounds. I want lobster served at the reception. I want daddy to pay for me and my attendants to arrive by helicopter.”

“Your being unreasonable,” said her mother.

“But it’s my day!” Brianna cried.

“Perhaps you’re confusing “bride” with “princess,” commented her father. “And perhaps you're confusing my bank account with Brad Pitts or George Clooneys.”

View corrections here.

Tuesday Trivia

1. Which British playwright often wrote scathing reviews of his own plays under the pseudonym Edna Welthorpe?
2. Which famous author was both born and died on a Halley’s Comet year?
3. Son and grandson of London vintners, which author’s last name derives from French for shoemaker?
4. Poe borrowed the meter of which British poet’s “Lady Geraldine's Courtship” for his famous “The Raven?”
5. What do Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, Helen Keller, Jack London, Vladimir Lenin, and H. G. Wells all have in common?

Last Week's Answers

Which author tried to purchase the Minnesota Vikings in 1996, but was unable to do so because of expensive legal fees associated with his pending divorce?

Tom Clancy


Which author graduated college at 15 and enrolled at the Parsons School of Design to fulfill her dream of working in fashion?

Danielle Steel


Which author did most of his writing on looseleaf paper in a shed behind his house — a building that he now rents to illustrator Ted Dewan on the condition that if he no longer used it, that is would be passed on to other writers?

Phillip Pullman


What is the name of the band that includes famous authors such as Dave Barry, Amy Tan, and Steven King?

The Rock Bottom Remainders


Which author underwent hair transplant surgery, because he "was tired of looking like G. Gordon Liddy."

Dean Koontz


Image copyright 2011 www.rockbottomremainders.com

Martin Luther King Day Service Project: Wisteria Eradication at Cedar Swamp

Although one of our more interesting community service projects, today's visit to Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area near Dover, DE proved to be both fun and rewarding. This morning, Prestwick House generously sent several volunteers from its ranks to aid DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife in removing an invasive growth of wisteria from the reserve.

According to a recent local press release, "In October, volunteers began removal of a large colony of Japanese wisteria vines, an invasive vine that out-competes native plants, girdles trees and blankets native wildlife habitat. Two days are scheduled in January to continue this project. The second day, Monday, Jan. 17, coincides with Martin Luther King Day, which is designated as a day of community service to honor the contributions of Dr. King."

Orange Rhymes With...?

According to Thesaurus.com, the age old rumor that there are no words that rhyme with the words "orange" and "silver" is simply not true.

"The rumor that "orange" rhymes with no other word is incorrect. Orange rhymes with Blorenge (a mountain in Wales) and sporange (a sac where spores are made). "Silver" has the same rumor going for it, but it actually rhymes with Wilver (a nickname) and chilver (a ewe lamb)."

Well then, how about the word purple? Well, according to Wikipedia, "Robert Burns rhymes purple with 'curple' in his Epistle to Mrs. Scott. Burns is, as far as we can tell, the only writer to have used the word. A curple refers to 1) the small of the waist before the flare of the hips 2) a derriere, rump or behind or 3) the part of a saddle that passes under the rear end of the horse - often called a 'crapper'."

Introducing a New Way to Save On Paperbacks: The Prestwick House Paperback Discount Center!

Thanks to brand new volume discounts on Paperbacks, you can now save up to 35% on our amazing stock of over 1,000 books every day! Expand your classroom library, bulk up your curriculum with discounted teaching guide class sets, or even buy individual copies for each student — all at a fraction of the cost!

All eligible Paperbacks are listed on PrestwickHouse.com at 25% off — even if you buy just one! Volume discounts of 30% on orders with a retail value over $500 and 35% off orders with a retail value over $2,500 will be automatically deducted at checkout.



And if you’re looking for the best discount around, our unabridged Literary Touchstone Classic editions are still 50% every day with no minimum order size!

What are Teacher Reviewers Saying about Logical Fallacies PowerPoint Presentation?

Recently, we received feedback on the Logical Fallacies Powerpoint presentation from teachers on the Prestwick House National Curriculum Advisory Board. Read quotations from teachers below, check out FAQs, or find out more at PrestwickHouse.com!

The explanations are clear, and it contains good lecture material for class discussion. It may help students to see the material as the teacher explains/discusses instead of just reading out of the text.

- Rhonda Phillips

The table of contents makes this presentation very user friendly.

I wish I had had a product like this when I was teaching argumentation and debate. Not only is this product informative, the examples are plentiful and relevant.

The additional practices as a companion piece make this a "ready to teach" presentation. You have minimized the preparation time needed to teach this challenging topic.

- Marsha Fortune

These concepts are some of the most difficult to teach to high school students. This tool presents these abstract concepts with clear and easily understood examples. The practice exercises reinforce the concepts and will reduce planning time for the teacher.

- Sara Zeek

Beautifully designed and includes clear, well-defined examples of logical fallacies.
As the Lead AP Language teacher in my school district, I would definitely forward this resource to my colleagues.

- Shekema Silveri

The Cranky Language Lady: Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups

The Cranky Language Lady: Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups comes from CrankyLanguageLady.com. To find out more about the Cranky Language Lady, view sample pages from her new book, peruse her blog, or visit the website.

Grammar Quiz #8—Word choice and indulgent parents

Correct the following:

“I’m sorry,” said Patricia, “but my husband and I definately won’t be paying for the damage to your living room. We feel badly about what little Jeremy did, but no reasonable adult would ever own a white sofa and lamps that are breakable.”

View a possible correction.

FAQs for the Logical Fallacies PowerPoint Presentation

Visually engage your students with this clear-cut, easily adaptable presentation outlining 13 of the most common logical fallacies.

The Logical Fallacies PowerPoint presentation can be used on its own to increase understanding of informational texts, or as a supplement to Rhetoric, Logic, & Argumentation to facilitate review and discussion of readings.




What is the intended audience for this product?


11th- and 12th-grade AP or advanced college-prep classes


What are some of the uses and benefits of this product?

• Prepares students for the AP Language exam
• Fulfills various state and common core standards
• Teaches critical thinking, persuasion/argumentation, debate,analysis of informational texts, writing
• Presents complex information in relatively simple terms

What are the benefits of buying the PowerPoint if you already
have the book?

• Facilitates review and discussion of readings.
• Can be used to quiz or test students.
• Language is somewhat simpler and more concise than that in the book.
• More engaging than reading a textbook (helpful for reluctant readers).
• Focuses on some of the “easier” topics of the book.

What are the benefits of buying the book if you already have the PowerPoint?

The book is a bit more thorough in its coverage of the 13 fallacies. The first half of the book is not covered in the PowerPoint.This includes discussions of the following topics:the concept of rhetoric:

• The three rhetorical appeals
• Cognitive biases
• The concept of logic
• Differences between deductive and inductive logic
• Techniques for evaluating deductive a inductive logic
• A brief introduction to deductive (aka, “formal”) fallacies (the PowerPoint discusses only “informal” fallacies)

The Cranky Language Lady: Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups

To start off the New Year right, Prestwick House will be syndicating the weekly Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups from the lovely folks at CrankyLanguageLady.com. Don't let the "cranky" in their title scare you away. With a sense of humor, clarity, and only occasional crankiness, Cranky Language Lady is a great source for tips and products for writers, would-be writers, and those who simply need a little help with writing.

To find out more about the Cranky Language Lady, view sample pages from her new book, peruse her blog, or visit www.CrankyLanguageLady.com.

Wednesday Grammar Quiz for Grownups

Correct the following:

Erin literally died of embarrassment when she tripped and fell during the talent portion of the beauty contest. LaVerne on the other hand was literally turning cartwheels when she one the evening gown competition, and Julianna was literally bursting with pride when she one the swim suit competition.

See a possible correction and explanation.



Correct the following:

For my first dinner party, I’m going to serve: prime rib, baked potatos with sour cream, creamed asparagus, and hot fudge sundays with whip creme,” Elaina wrote to her mother in an e-mail message.

See a possible correction and explanation.

Tuesday Trivia

1. Which author tried to purchase the Minnesota Vikings in 1996, but was unable to do so because of expensive legal fees associated with his pending divorce?
2. Which author graduated college at 15 years old and enrolled at the Parsons School of Design to fulfill her dream of working in fashion?
3. Which author did most of his writing on loose leaf paper in a shed behind his house — a building that he now rents to illustrator Ted Dewan on the condition that if Dewan no longer uses it, it will be passed on to other writers?
4. What is the name of the band that includes famous authors such as Dave Barry, Amy Tan, and Steven King?
5. Which author underwent hair transplant surgery, because he "was tired of looking like G. Gordon Liddy?"

Last Week's Answers



Why does the main library at Indiana University sink over an inch each year?


The main library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.


What are the names of the two stone lions outside of the New York Public Library?


The names of the two stone lions in front of the New York Public Library are Patience and Fortitude. They were named by then-mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.


Who is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal category?


Isaac Asimov


Of what group were W.B. Yeats, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and C.G. Jung all members?


The Society for Psychical Research


Manuscripts of which Fort Pierce author were almost burned as trash?



While checking out reports of an illegal trash fire, Deputy Sheriff Pat Duvall discovered that the manuscripts of the late Zora Neale Hurston were being burned as trash. He quickly saved the singed documents which were recently the subject of an international panel at the University of Central Florida, “Exploring the global legacy of Zora Neale Hurston: Interdisciplinary perspectives on the research and writing of the anthropologist, folklorist and novelist.”