The Student Prints [Spiral-bound]

Ina Hillebrandt (Author, Editor)

Book Description

"Pawprints -- The Student Prints" is the innovative, fun and easy to use curriculum guide for building students' literacy and life science skills. "The Student Prints" ties love of animals to exercises that help educators inspire students to want to read, write creatively, and practice kindness to animals, each other and the planet. The guide is a companion to the author's book "Pawprints," the book of close encounters of the furry kind that reached Amazon.com's Top Seller list..

The book contains 11 lesson plans, with extensions for up to one year, and is the guide for the author's program, Pawprints Literacy Plus (TM). The program has been used with more than one thousand youngsters in different cities in the U.S. and abroad.

Appropriate for grades 1-8, adaptable to grade 12, Adult Education and perfect for ESL (the stories used appeal to adults as well as youngsters).

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dear Ina: I just wanted to say again how much I've enjoyed working with you. 'Pawprints' is such a great book--both a wonderful red and an effective teaching tool. When the stories were read aloud in our Educators' Workshop, I felt a warming in the room. The participants really seemed to make the connection. Thanks for all that you do. --Hans Cole, Deputy Director, Roots & Shoots, Jane Goodall Institute

These stories were very good for my 11th grade ESL class. The vocabulary was not too difficult for them, yet there were words they benefited from learning. --Elizabeth Dow, HS Teacher, Northridge, CA

'Pawprints' is delightful! There's nothing like it. The stories are personal. They really stimulate kids to write. These days we just aren't teaching pure science. We are all responsible for reinforcing reading and writing skills as much as possible. Using 'Pawprints' involves observing the behavior of living things, plus reflecting, reading and writing. It has it all. It's a wonderful idea, all around. --Ginger Krell, 7th grade science teacher, Lone Hill Middle School, San Dimas, CA

From the Publisher

Publishers Comments

We at Pawpress are very proud of the students' achievements that parents, educators and other child care professionals have been reporting in using our curriculum guide, "The Student Prints," and "Pawprints." Students have been "falling in love with reading," "learning to observe animals and nature," "learning how important it is to be kind to animals, and each other."

The book and program have found their niche among teachers and parents of children from first grade through middle school primarily. High school teachers have also reported that the stories intrigue their students, and that the vocabulary is just as useful at the upper grade levels as it is for children in lower grades.

Parents in Hispanic families, where children speak both English and Spanish, report that the book and exercises are "Perfect! My daughter is reading more, and she learned how to write a story. She didn't know how before. She has to learn the language of this country if she wants to succeed here. And the stories of animals are perfect. Children always want to know what happens next with animals."

We have also formed a nonprofit arm, The Pawprints Literacy Plus Foundation, in order to be able to bring the program to areas in which funding is scarce but interest in boosting reading and other aspects of literacy is high. You can help us help with tax-deductible donations!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 86 pages
• Publisher: Pawpress (September 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880882035
• ISBN-13: 978-1880882030
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

More About the Author

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ina and her late brother Conrad, former jazz critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Swing Journal of Japan, spent half their kidhood; living in Los Angeles after their parents' divorce. Bi-coastal living wasn't half bad, they decided; Burma Shave signs on Route 66 alone were a treat. At age 21, Ina graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (an anthropology major), and then ran away from both sets of parents to attend graduate school in New Orleans, at Tulane. She married in the French Quarter, and soon moved to Manhattan with husband Barry, a lawyer, and Rapscallion P. Cat. At J. Walter Thompson in New York City, Hillebrandt became a qualitative researcher. Later she became an independent strategic planning consultant to companies including Citicorp, VISA SEARS, IBM and CBS, and non-profits such as The Rockefeller Foundation.

Her life work has evolved so that today she is an author, motivational and writing coach, and publisher. And, she is very excited that her class's talents have led to a new path...video. Look for a new series with warm and very funny moments, to appear online in the coming months.

Before recent developments, Ina had several epiphanies. Divorced for several years, she moved with daughter Nicole, two cats and Handsome, The World's Best Dog, back to California. In Carmel, she turned her attention full time to writing. But writing can be lonely, and she missed working with groups of people. Thus began her Un-Workshops (TM)-- a series of interactive seminars based on Ina's work and life experience. Comic Release (TM) and Idea Magic (TM) are two of her most popular offerings; they help 2-legged creatures de-stress, and add humor, creativity and harmony to their professional and personal lives. Since returning to the West Coast, Ina has written, edited and contributed to a number of books, journals and newsletters, and has created a literacy program for youngsters and seniors, Pawprints Literacy Plus (TM). Some examples of books she wrote include: Amazon. com bestseller "Pawprints"; "How to Write Your Memoirs...Fun Prompts that Make Writing --and Reading -- Your Life Stories A Pleasure"; "The Student Prints...Educators' Guide to Pawprints Literacy Plus'"; "Diving Boards: Jump-Starts for Stories -- OR -- If You See a Man Alone on the Beach, It Means His Wife is Upstairs Throwing up in the Room." She is editor/publisher of the Amazon.com bestseller "Stories From The Heart, Vol. 2" (Collections from her students, 4th vol. pending).

Helping her prepare for her current roles as video performer and producer, Ina has also performed a variety of roles in creating audio and video programs: associate producer on the Jaco Pastorius NPR special hosted by Branford Marsalis, script doctor for a Kansas City Jazz live TV special co-hosted by Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover, and photo archivist for a live and videotaped series on Ethnic Arts, featuring the Chuck Davis Dance Group, produced by the Foundation for Urban Cultural Development, underwritten by the New York Department of Education, writer/producer/on camera person for variety of industrial clients. She has been interviewed by The New York Times and other journals, and has appeared live and on tape on radio and television.

A biographee in Who's Who, Ina speaks a bit of French, loves to dance, hike, ride horses, sail, laugh, cook and travel. Her foundation works with many animal rights groups such as the Jane Goodall Institute. She's proud of daughter Nicole, who is a talented actress, avid traveler, newly practicing gourmet cook, and a good person. Ina currently lives in Brentwood with her two cats -- Tamba and Pixelle -- and their friends who drop in for dinner on occasion; personally she prefers it when they are not on the menu.