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Daniels, Harvey (2002)
Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and
Reading Groups.2nd edition.
Portland, Maine: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Book clubs and literature circles have grown and
changed since the first, 1994 edition of this book. The
author freely admits that the idea he and his colleagues
began in Chicago has become popular nationwide.
Definitely, this is an idea whose time has come, with or
without the help of Oprah Winfrey. Reading teachers and
classroom teachers have been using the group activity of
peer-led reading discussion groups for many years. Harvey
Daniels shares expertise and enthusiasm for his version of
literature circles.
Daniels' teaching method includes "role sheets," which
give students different, changing tasks to begin the
discussions. The role sheets are guidelines to begin the
conversation about the book. Daniels complains about
teachers, or student groups who merely follow the questions
on the role sheets. He presents examples of flexible uses
of the role sheets, which other teachers have used. He
also presents examples of literature circles for different
ages of students. Even first graders can have student led
reading groups. The teacher who proposed this wants her
students to rely on their own reactions to the stories,
rather than have the teacher dominate the discussion. A
different technique is used to prompt responses for
nonfiction books, which are usually for older readers.
The drawback to the popularity of reading circles is
the assessment mania of documenting progress, and grading
everything. Does the amount of time spent in reading
circle discussions pay off in higher test scores? Daniels
is sure that it happens. Students are reading more,
teachers are reading more. The National Council of
Teachers of English has endorsed the reading circles, and
research literature from the mid 1990's has shown that an
increase in 'reading circles,' 'literature discussion
groups,' 'cooperative book discussion groups,' and similar
terms are linked to improving student achievement scores.
This book refers to a video, Looking into Literature
Circles, which I did not see, but the book does stand
on its own. Also, the website, http://www.literat
urecircles.com/is an on-line resource where teachers
can exchange ideas about book clubs, children's work, and
classroom successes and failures. Literature
Circles offers the practicing teacher good practical
advice on how to carry out the technique of book discussion
groups for all ages. It also provides evidence for the
benefits of using this program.
Pages: 256
Price: $22.50
ISBN: 1-57110-333-3
Reviewed by Helga Visscher, University of Alabama
Draper, Sharon M. (2001)
Not Quite Burned Out But Crispy Around the Edges:
Inspiration,
Laughter, and Encouragement for Teachers.
Westport, CT: Heinemann.
Sharon Draper is a seasoned educator and in her book
Not Quite Burned Out, she shares her thirty years of
teaching experience with the reader. She shares her
knowledge, her fellow teachers' experiences, and her heart
as well. She stresses issues that most teachers face and
shares methods of teaching some of her colleagues have
used. By detailing a variety of experiences, she directs
this book at all teachers.
These are stories of triumph, tragedy, and tribulation.
The tragic stories are not designed to deter teachers but
do portray the reality of some classrooms and the community
beyond school. Draper feels that if we see the tragic, we
can enjoy the triumphs even more. She starts and ends the
book with inspirational stories told to help the new
teacher understand what they have embarked on, that they
have a journey with hardships and victories. She reminds
seasoned teachers why they started and why they should stay
in the field of education.
The author conveys that teachers are not alone in
helping students. Parents are important contributors to
the child's development. Her experience sheds light on
what teachers can do to get parents involved and how to
open the school doors to interested parents. She urges
teachers to take initiative and show parents how to embrace
an active role in their child's education.
Draper emphasizes that each teacher needs to know
his/her students. Students bring the outside world into the
classroom and those feelings and emotions will affect the
student's behavior and learning ability. Teaching methods
should be student centered. The book cites cases of how
some teachers adapt their teaching philosophy to
incorporate students' background and environment: "She
decided that the only solution was to teach them by using
their rules not hers, their knowledge base instead of her
own" (p. 12).
One such case involves a ninth-grade English teacher
who, after struggling against the influence of television,
decided to give, " homework assignments that required her
students to watch television intelligently" (p. 17). The
ninth-grade class eventually took responsibility to,
"write, produce and direct their own television show" (p.
17). This and other examples illustrate how teachers can
solve the real problems encountered when trying to meet
state regulated standards and raise the abilities of their
students.
Along with the true stories, Draper adds a couple of
fictional stories for courage and inspiration. Each story
has its own message to the reader. The first story asks
that we keep our eye on the big picture and the second
enlightens us about obstacles that we may encounter. She
has a wonderful way of spinning a tale to emphasize her
point, but she also makes the reading enjoyable without
sounding preachy.
To conclude, Draper weaves inspiration and tragedy
together with ideas and methods to bring new and old
teachers a book that will provoke thought and emotion. She
explores her philosophies and those of her colleagues to
make the reader think about their students, how to teach
them, and how to interact with them everyday. She is a
wonderful storyteller and an inspiration to all teachers
who deeply believe in what they are trying to accomplish.
I strongly recommend that you pick up this book and have a
look for yourself.
Pages: 117
Price: $13.95
ISBN: 0-325-00365-3
Reviewed by Craig Robinson, Point Loma Nazarene University
James, John W., & Friedman, Russell (2002)
When Children Grieve: For Adults to Help Children Deal
with Death, Divorce, Pet Loss,
Moving, and Other Losses.
New York: HarperColli
ns Publishers.
Everyone deals with grief at some point in life.
When Children Grieve by John James and Russell
Friedman is an amazingly helpful book. After the recent
death of a dear friend, I needed help in understanding
grief from a child's perspective. This easy to read book
explains that it's healthy to grieve, and that adults need
to allow children time to heal. "Children need to feel bad
when their hearts are broken." (p. 27) Adults should never
try to fix a child's loss.
Dividing the book into five parts, James and Friedman
critically examine the myths about grief, the recovery
process, completion of the process, self-discovery, and
other losses. Beginning with grief, they say adults should
never say to a child "don't feel bad." (p. 34) If this
simple phrase is expressed, emotional harm could be done to
the youngster.
The authors also say grief should not be replaced. Two
examples of this myth are when adults replace the stolen
bicycle right away to appease the child, and in the
immediate wake of the family dog's death, the parents go
out and get a new puppy to stop the child from mourning the
loss of his beloved canine companion. The authors believe
this mourning period is healthy and natural. "The
emotional attachments children make are essential to happy
lives." (p. 30)
Also, the book explains that grief doesn't just come
from death, but instead can be motivated by divorce, pet
loss, moving, and even a parent's job loss. The books
tells us that grief stems from sudden change in ritualistic
behavior. As adults, it is our role to facilitate the
child's emotions by helping them discover "undelivered
communications," messages that they meant to express before
the loss, but never did.
Philosophically speaking, I agree with the authors'
view that "Time doesn't heal—actions do." (p. 9) Adults
can help stimulate the youngster's healing by initiating
the recovery process. Forgiveness is essential for this to
happen though. Apologies for these undelivered
communications can be made through journal writing and
goodbye letters. However, it is imperative that the adult
lead the way.
This book teaches adults how to reach out to children
and guide them through difficult times. It's a must read
for all educators, administrators, guidance counselors, and
especially parents who want to encourage emotional growth
and mental well being in children. There is no "normal"
formula for dealing with grief, yet this book makes sense.
Pick it up, it's definitely worth owning!
Pages: 256
Price: $13.95
ISBN: 0-06-008429-4
Reviewed by Dana Greene, Point Loma Nazarene University
More Lesson Plans for Substitute Teachers: Classroom-tested
activities
from the National Council of Teachers of English.
(2002)
Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English.
This short book provides 25 lesson plans that a
substitute teacher could
use in middle school or high school English classrooms.
The lesson
plans are divided into five sections: Public Speaking,
Language
Exploration/Vocabulary, Prewriting/Writing, Developing a
Character, and
Poetry. The lessons have been tested in the classroom, and
do not
require expertise on the part of the substitute teacher.
The lesson
topics are interesting and should spark lively classroom
discussions
and/or writing.
The popularity of the first collection of lesson plans
published by NCTE
in 1989 lead to the creation of this new volume. The
lesson plans were
previously published in various issues of Classroom Notes
Plus, a
quarterly publication of NCTE, portions of which are
available on their
website: http://www
.ncte.org/notesplus/index.shtml.
Pages: 40
Price: $15.95
ISBN: 0814132170
Reviewed by Kathy M. Irwin, University of Michigan—
Dearborn
Schofield, Janet Ward & Davidson, Ann Locke (2002).
Bringing the Internet to School: Lessons from an Urban
District.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
For 5 years, from 1993 to 1998, the authors studied an
effort called the Networking for Education Testbed (NET).
This project integrated the use of the Internet into the
classrooms of the "Waterford Public Schools (WPS),a large
urban school system." (p. 4) The authors aim was to
present "a close examination of the human and
organizational processes that shape Internet use and its
consequences in the classroom." (p. 6) The book was
written "for anyone interested in understanding more about
the use of the Internet in schools, including teachers,
administrators, parents and scholars." (p. xii) Their
research method consisted of "intensive qualitative
observation and interviews." (p. 25)
By and large the authors succeed, but they present
their findings in the dry, exacting, boring, polysyllabic
mode of the research paper. Had they chosen to sail a bit
closer to the wind and write in a more vital style, it
might have been easier to learn the lessons they wish to
expose. I feel certain that this early implementation of
the Internet in a public school had to be more interesting
than this account.
The book is organized into nine chapters:
- Introduction
- Building Demand and Support for Internet Use Among
Educators
- School Versus Internet Culture: Implications for
Communication with the Outside World
- How School Culture and Structure Shape Internet
Use
- Achieving Internet Use: Lessons from NET Schools
- Classroom Change Accompanying Internet Use
- Teacher and Student Outcomes Related to Internet
Use
- Achieving Institutionalization
- Conclusion
I suggest reading the Introduction and then skipping to the
Conclusion (especially the section headed: "THE INTERNET'S
IMPACT IS VARIABLE, OFTEN POSITIVE, AND STRONGEST ON
DIMENSIONS OTHER THAN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT"). Save the rest
for times when sleep is difficult or time is plentiful.
Pages: 393
Price: $27.00
ISBN: 0-7879-5686-4
Reviewed by Arie C. Koelewyn
Stead, Tony (2002)
Is That a Fact?: Teaching Nonfiction Writing K-3.
Portland, Maine: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Efforts at instructing young writers have traditionally
focused on fiction forms: narrative, poetry, diaries and
journals. Yet, the writing required of students as they
progress academically is clearly nonfiction. Author Tony
Stead, a literacy consultant and former classroom teacher,
shares his belief that young students are capable, highly
capable in fact, of writing nonfiction. Not to the
exclusion of fiction, Stead notes, but as one component of
a well-rounded writing instruction program.
Stead's book, Is That a Fact?, explores how
teachers can incorporate nonfiction writing into their K-3
curriculum. Divided into two sections, the book first
discusses theory, outlining the need for and reasons
behind nonfiction writing instruction for young students.
Here he also talks about how to help youngsters with
research and gives guidelines on spelling instruction.
Section two tackles the practical, looking at specific
methods, techniques and assignments that have been
successfully used in classrooms. A question and answer
chapter rounds out the volume.
Stead strongly believes that interests motivate young
students and that their interests can form the basis for
their nonfiction writing. Their natural curiosity to know
and learn about the sun, worms, and all sorts of things,
provides a perfect framework for nonfiction writing.
Writing nonfiction introduces students to the concepts of
planning, researching, writing, revising, and publishing,
important writing elements students need throughout their
school career. Introducing these concepts to lower
elementary students at an understandable level is what
Stead's book is all about.
Aimed at classroom teachers, Is That A Fact?, is
a practical, well-written guide for any teacher wanting to
expand the writing curriculum into the arena of nonfiction.
Its charts, graphs, photographs, sample assignments, and
rubrics give teachers the concrete information needed to
implement a nonfiction writing curriculum. The helpful
appendices include a variety of forms and assignments
sheets teachers can reproduce.
Highly Recommended.
Pages: 252
Price: $19.50
ISBN: 1571103317
Reviewed by Stephanie Davis, Spring Arbor University
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