Sprawling Piedmont cities, ghost towns on the plains, earth-toned placitas set against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, mining camps transformed into ski resorts--these are some of the diverse regions in Colorado explored in this fascinating book. Historical geographer William Wyckoff traces the evolution of the state during its formative years from 1860 to 1940, chronicling its changing cultural landscapes, social communities, and connections to a larger America and showing that Colorado has exemplified the unfolding of a complex western environment. Wyckoff discusses how nature, capitalism, a growing federal political presence, and national cultural influences came together to produce a new human geography in Colorado. He explains the ways in which the state's distinctive settlement geographies each took on a special character that persists to the present. He leads the reader through the transformation of the state from wilderness to a distinct region capable of accommodating the diverse needs of ranchers, miners, merchants, farmers, and city dwellers. And he describes how a state created out of cartographic necessity has been given uniqueness and meaning by the people who live there.

This elementary reader is the wonderful, true story behind the making of The Carousel of Happiness in Nederland, Colorado. A beautiful meditation kept Scott Harrison hopeful as a young soldier in Vietnam. He then spends the next 25 years working toward peaceful resolution through Amnesty International with wife Ellen, while carving wooden carousel pieces in the evenings. Enjoy this story and the illustrations by Colorado kids! 100% of the book profit goes toward Art supplies for Colorado teachers.

"In gathering the information needed to write this book, the authors came to appreciate several themes. First, the Colorado Constitution and case law offer a novel and refreshing perspectives on the history of the state. Most major social movements, crises, embarrassments and celebrations ended up in state courts, with a constitutional argument by at least one major participant. The courts' role was often decisive and occasionally miscast in traditional histories. Second, over long stretches of time the Colorado Supreme Court's performance was less than exemplary. The original three-judge court in the 1880s launched the judicial branch very well, and the modern court is professional and conscientious. During many other periods, the court was blatantly partisan and at times, well, just zany. The court's relationship to the legislature vacillated from too little deference, such as the court's pro-business and anti-labor stance during the 1890-1920 period or the court's strange interference with relief for the poor during the Depression, to too much deference, such as the court's blessing after 1905 of numerous taxing and debt schemes pushed by the legislature to subsidize a variety of private industries. The framers' rules for the structure and processes of government, however, have held up and continue to serve. Since the 1850s this beautiful spot of geography has been witness to a turbulent, tumultuous, occasionally violent boom-and-bust style of human society that continues. For residents it has been and is life in high, unpredictable winds"--

A catastrophic depression engulfed Colorado in 1893. The government's decision to adopt the gold standard and stop buying silver hit the mining industry like a cave-in. Unemployment reached 90 percent in Leadville, a city built on silver. Strikes by union miners in Cripple Creek and Leadville led to destruction and death. Political parties split along battle lines of gold versus silver. By 1898, the country had begun to recover, but silver mining was never the same. Using firsthand commentary and more than one hundred historic photographs, John Steinle skillfully commemorates the story of Coloradans trapped in the unprecedented social, economic and political conflict of America's first great depression.

How does the home culture of Latino immigrant students differ from the "mainstream" culture of U.S. schools? Why is it important for teachers to understand the differences? How can educators take advantage of students' cultural traits to improve classroom management, student performance, and school-parent relations? Carrie Rothstein-Fisch and Elise Trumbull answer these and many other questions by drawing on the experience and collective wisdom of teachers in the Bridging Cultures Project, a five-year action research study of elementary classrooms with high percentages of immigrant students. The authors present a simple framework for understanding cultural differences, comparing the "individualistic" culture that prevails in American education with the "collectivistic" culture that characterizes most of the world's population, including many of the Latino immigrant students in U.S. classrooms. At the heart of the book are teacher-developed strategies that capitalize on the cultural values that these students and their families offer, such as an emphasis on helping, sharing, and the success of the group. The strategies cover a wide spectrum of issues and concerns, including * Communication with families * Open house and parent-teacher conferences *Homework *Attendance * Learning in the content areas * Motivation and rewards * Classroom rules * Assessment and grading Managing Diverse Classrooms: How to Build on Students' Cultural Strengths presents both the research foundation and the practical perspectives of seasoned teachers whose classroom-tested approaches have produced positive results. With this valuable guide in hand, readers will have the insights and strategies they need to turn educational challenges into educational opportunities.