Kathleen Gripman is an English as Second Language (ESL) professional, cross-cultural specialist and business owner who directs educational programs in the ethnically diverse metro-Detroit area. She is known for a unique teaching approach that combines language learning with cultural lessons using a personalized instructional model. She cares about her students' overall success and strives to create positive international experiences for both internationals coming to the United States and for U.S. personnel moving to other countries for business or school. That broad-based approach led her to develop American History Made Easy to fill a gap she found in most programs teaching ESL students the essentials of America's story. Her awareness of cross-cultural challenges originates from personal experience of living for five years in various European countries.
American History Made Easy: For ESL Learners
Paperback
(New Edition)
- ISBN-13: 9781942011811
- Publisher: David Crumm Media, Llc
- Publication date: 08/28/2014
- Edition description: New Edition
- Pages: 248
- Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)
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As an educator with many years of experience in directing English as a Second Language (ESL) and cross-cultural programs, Kathleen Gripman spotted a troubling gap in the educational preparation of many students. Learning the essentials of American history is a critical educational milestone, but most overviews of America’s story are designed for reading levels beyond the ability of most English Language Learners.
Gripman decided to fill that gap with the richly illustrated and fun-to-read book American History Made Easy. The book begins with the meeting of European and native cultures in what is now the U.S. after the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The story continues through the American Revolution, the expansion of the nation in the 1800s, the Civil War and key events in America’s most recent century of challenges and triumphs. To make students’ studying easier, the book also includes lots of supplemental materials, among them: study questions, the text of the U.S. Constitution, a list of American authors and recommended reading, a glossary and an index.
Gripman had the perfect qualifications to meet this challenge as a successful business owner supervising ESL educators in southeast Michigan—and as a developer of some of the literacy-training materials used in her programs. Gripman also had lived overseas, including five years of service in Europe with the U.S. Navy.
She designed her overview of American history for the millions of English Language Learners (ELL), including English as a Second Language students, who are studying each year across the United States. The book can be used either in a classroom or for self-study. Between these covers, Gripman narrates the essential chapters of American history, written at an intermediate reading level and accompanied by original black-and-white sketches and charts to deepen reader recall. In selecting the chapters to include, she drew on the questions frequently asked on exams and certification tests that immigrants commonly encounter, making the book a practical way to prepare for testing.
Most importantly, Gripman decided not to distill America’s story into a series of dry facts to be memorized. Writing in an engaging narrative style, her book also is ideal for any reader who wants an overview of the essentials of American history
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