Subsequent chapters focus on the Mother Goose heritage of nursery
rhymes and how they can be adapted for further patterning of words, and
imagery; turning poems into pictures. A particularly intriguing idea is
that of having students create their own anthologies of poetry. One
example suggests collecting old rhymes about women. The authors
advocate using the anthology to foster discussion of women’s roles in
society from an historical perspective. Later chapters focus on voice,
performance, poetic documentary and metaphor. Brief biographies are
featured at the end of each chapter and include such noted authors as:
Jack Prelutsky, Diane Dawber, Dennis Lee, James Berry, Michael Rosen,
Nammi Shihaab Nye, Joseph Bruchac and Arnold Adoff. Lists of books of
poetry are included as well as a bibliography of professional reading.
Although this book does not answer the question “What is poetry,” it
does direct the reader to many places one can look to find poems and
offers suggestions for integrating poetry across the curriculum. This
slender volume would be a useful classroom resource particularly for the
beginning preK-12 teacher
Pages: 112
Price: $18.00
ISBN: 1-22138-161-3
Reviewed by Adelaide Phelps, MLIS, Director of the Educational Resources
Lab at Oakland University.
Brophy, Jere (2004)
Motivating Students to Learn. Second edition.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
I am writing this review on the first day of school in my community
for everyone -- preschool students through graduate students. Although
there are bound to be some jaded folks (students and faculty alike) who
dread the first day of school, most of us from the newest to the most
experienced look forward to the new year with at least a modicum of
anticipation and positive motivation.
In the second edition of his book, Motivating Students to Learn
, Jere Brophy addresses many topics that educators have considered
probably since before Socrates and other topics that educators may never
have considered. Many of his ideas are research based and described in
such a way that educators may be able to formulate more succinctly their
own unique philosophies of and principles for motivating students.
Brophy begins the discussion by defining student motivation. Students
are motivated when they believe that they are able to succeed at a given
task and when they understand and value the outcome of the task.
Teachers, therefore, need to emphasize the reasons for their lessons and
to convince students that they can be successful. Students who do not
value the activity and/or do not believe that they will be successful,
may be expected to adopt a variety of maladaptive strategies in the
classroom.
Brophy encourages teachers to establish learning communities in
their classrooms by making students feel comfortable, cared about, and
empowered. Learning should be emphasized but within a supportive
climate. In order for optimal learning to occur, students must feel
safe and secure whether asking for clarification, venturing opinions, or
seeking assistance. Brophy also urges educators to make their classrooms
physically attractive to the extent possible. As someone who teaches in
windowless and concrete classrooms, I wholeheartedly appreciate this
perspective but wonder about its feasibility.
Brophy’s positive approach to learning and motivation comes through
in every chapter. His overarching principle in the book is that all
students can be motivated to be successful in all subjects using a
variety of techniques. He addresses the need to focus on achieving
success rather than avoiding failure. When students are successful,
that success should be attributed to their ability and effort. Any
failures should be attributed to a lack of relevant information and/or
effort but not to a lack of ability. Again, he ties this back to the
idea that students must believe that they can be successful.
What kind of feedback motivates students? Brophy encourages
teachers to provide informative feedback. It is less helpful to tell
students simply how well or poorly they did. Instead, students should
be told what they did particularly well as well as what they need to do
to improve. Strengths as well as weaknesses should be discussed. It is
also helpful to stress the connection between effort and outcome. All
of us like to hear that our efforts are appreciated as well as useful in
achieving our goals.
In addition to general guidelines for motivating students there are
also some gems in the book that readers will want to copy and perhaps
share with colleagues. For example, there is a list of strategies for
test administration on page 81 (i.e., let students know about tests well
in advance, avoid time pressures, avoid behavior during testing that may
appear threatening) that I plan to copy and leave in our faculty lounge.
Brophy devotes three chapters to addressing the extrinsic versus
intrinsic rewards debate of education. He offers suggestions about
making the curriculum more intrinsically rewarding to students by
focusing on student autonomy and competence, emphasizing relevance of
subjects, and providing opportunities for project-based learning. On
the other hand, he notes that extrinsic incentives can be effective at
times although he cautions educators not to become too dependent on such
rewards as they may undermine learning in the long run. Brophy notes
that fostering students’ motivation to learn may be more realistic than
finding ways to make every subject intrinsically motivating. He defines
motivation to learn as “a student’s tendency to find academic activities
meaningful and worthwhile and to try to get the intended learning
benefits from them” (p. 249).
An additional useful wealth of information is chapters dealing with
motivating discouraged, uninterested, and alienated students to learn.
These chapters may be unusually helpful for discouraged teachers
struggling with such students on a daily basis.
Overall, the book is recommended for teachers at all levels of
experience and at all levels of the educational ladder.
Pages: 418
Price: $45.00
ISBN: 0-8058-4772-3
Reviewed by Paula S. Wise, Professor, Department of Psychology, Western
Illinois University
Daniels, Harvey & Zemelman, Steven (2004)
Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-Area Reading.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman readily state, "Our job is not
so much to generate brand-new ideas as it is to spread rare but
promising practices to a wider audience" (p. ix). Indeed, from the
absolute dearth of adolescent literacy titles some ten years ago, there
are so many publications in recent years that the average, or even
above-average, teacher cannot possibly read all of them. These authors
not only seem to have read all of them, but are presenting the best of
the best for our benefit.
Daniels and Zemelman explain that teens shouldn't be "getting ready"
to be life-long learners, but should be acting that life right now (p.
2). They show how teachers at Best Practice High School in Chicago
employ a variety of nonfiction across academic lines. Faculty there
teach specific "thinking strategies" to assist kids unpacking nonfiction
of all kinds (p. 3). These strategies and specific tools to use them
are not all that astounding, but reminders of what works well.
The authors assert that "making reading a more meaningful, more
effective and long-lasting learning experience is something that we
teachers can start tackling today, in our very own classrooms" (p. 13).
WHAT is read seems of primary concern. Teachers are cautioned that
making choices about what we ask our students to read is critical. The
authors give lists of specific books, magazines, journals and websites
that entice learners to reach beyond the absolutely minimum in reading.
They go to some length to show how "Reading for Real" (a chapter
heading) matters to today's adolescents.
Each chapter highlights specific subject areas and makes very
specific suggestions for reading selections and activities to energize
the act of reading. Innovative ideas for looking beyond textbooks are
succinctly presented, but the book also presents methods for a
profitable use of any text.
We are reminded of what good readers do as they read: visualize,
connect, question, infer, evaluate, analyze, recall and self-monitor (p.
24). Multiple strategies show readers how to encourage kids to use
these skills and make the connections essential for understanding and
learning.
The authors recommend classroom libraries in all subject areas.
Books lined up on shelves in English/Language Arts classrooms alone do
not get the message out that reading is not only useful, but can also be
enjoyable. Lists of high-interest titles and authors, as well as ways to
build classroom libraries are very helpful.
"Notes" at the end of each chapter present sources for the teacher
who would like to delve further into any of the tools and strategies
presented. Chapter Five's (in fact every chapter includes hands-on
reading energizers) extensive discussion/presentation of activities to
use tomorrow satisfies those of us with immediate gratification needs.
I personally intend to weedle my administrators into buying multiple
copies of this book for members of our new group of teachers who address
the needs of the "average" and below students at our high school. Not
that this is the point of the book; it is not a sourcebook for remedial
instruction. It is a book that offers specific and concrete ways of
energizing learning in all of the subject areas.
Pages: 288
Price: $25.00
ISBN: 0-325-00595-8
Reviewed by Charlene Roberts Koenig, English Department Chair, Teacher
of college prep and reluctant juniors, Shasta High School, Redding, CA
England, Crystal M. (2004)
Uphill Both Ways: Helping Students Who Struggle in School.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
England is an educator who has worked as both a teacher and an
administrator, with students who have been labeled “at risk”. She
argues that such labels create sets of expectations that may have no
basis in reality but nonetheless affect how these students are treated
by their schools, families, and society.
England addresses the real life reasons behind students’ lack of
academic success. High risk home conditions, the emphasis on test
scores to determine school effectiveness, and the physical and material
inadequacies of many schools all contribute to this lack of success.
England effectively uses short biographical sketches of students to
illustrate the many factors that result in students’ behavior.
England identifies strategies for creating a safe learning climate
in the classroom. She believes “Creating a positive classroom climate is
the most important role that any teacher has” (p. 21). She initially
identifies three aspects or “C’s” of climate; Communication, Courage,
and Curriculum; briefly exploring each using anecdotes and practical
advice.
England devotes a whole chapter to classroom management which she
identifies as the fourth “C” of climate. She encourages teachers to
perceive the classroom as a fluid environment where the needs of
students may change daily but an overall structure is necessary. Among
the elements she discusses: classroom practices which should be
strengthened through relevant reinforcement, character education, and
learning.
England focuses on teaching students about purpose and organization.
Strategies such as staging allow the students to take smaller steps
towards larger goals. Short teaching strategies for organizational
skills are also included. England discusses how “alphabet kids”, those
who have been labeled gifted and talented, special education, ADHD, face
an unwelcoming, unchallenging, and inflexible school environment. The
challenge is to create an environment where their differences are
celebrated rather than denigrated.
England identifies four main categories of required changes. These
are “practical, academic, social, and multisystemic” (p. 87). England
notes that schools tend to focus on students’ just-in-time needs because
of funding inadequacies. Therefore a holistic approach towards dealing
with students’ external needs is unlikely. She argues that student
engagement is crucial and that “authentic” learning is crucial for
engagement of at risk students. She identifies constructivist
classrooms, Thinking CAPs, and Positive Peer Group (PPG) training
programs as potential solutions to meeting this need for “authentic”
learning.
Uphill Both Ways is an excellent introduction to the
concerns of an experienced advocate for at risk students. England set
out to be “both pragmatic and thought provoking” with this work and she
succeeded. However, at a slim 118 pages each section can only provide a
superficial treatment of her concerns. A longer work would have allowed
for more exploration of the teaching tools and strategies. The book
would have been a more effective tool if she had included more
information about the wealth of resources and programs mentioned
throughout in a lengthier bibliography. Uphill Both Ways is a
brief but effective general introduction to the issues involved in
teaching “alphabet kids”. Recommended for general audiences and new
teachers of at risk students.
Pages: 118
Price: $14.00
ISBN: 0325005559
Reviewed by Laura Koltutsky, University of Houston
Fay, Kathleen & Whaley, Suzanne (2004)
Becoming One Community: Reading & Writing with English Language
Learners.
Portland, Maine: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Becoming One Community is based on the experiences of two
language arts specialists teaching third to fifth graders at Bailey’s
Elementary School for the Arts and Science in Fairfax County, Virginia.
The goal of the book is to “share effective techniques for teaching
English language learners” (p.12). This is an important goal. “In the
last decade the number of English Language Learners has more than
doubled. In 1989-1990, 2.1 million students in grades K-12 were
identified as limited English proficient; the number of LEP students for
the academic year 1999-2000 was 4.4 million. This represents a 105% rise
during a period in which the overall increase in students was only 24.2
percent” (Freeman & Freeman, 2003, p. 34).
The assessment of ELL/LEP students is included in the No Child Left
Behind Act (2001) that mandates all students must pass educational
assessment standards by the year 2014. Experts believe that ELL
students pose a serious challenge to this mandate. “State tests show
that ELL students’ school performance is far below that of other
students, oftentimes 20 to 30 percentage points, and usually shows
little improvement across many years” (Abedi, 2004).
Bailey’s is an extreme example of the problem facing schools
nationwide. The school has an unusually high number of low-income ELL
learners. Bailey’s qualifies for a school-wide Title 1 designation with
approximately 80 % of the school receiving free or reduced lunches.
Seventy eight percent of the students speak a language other than
English. The largest language group is Spanish, but over twenty
languages are represented (p.3).
The main strength of Becoming One Community is that it
provides memorable anecdotes of ELL students interacting in a safe and
respectful learning environment. The section called “Your Name is
Important” (p. 24) illustrates the importance of using a child’s real
name instead of assigning an American name. A secondary strength is that
the book provides examples of incorporating learning through non-print
sources. The section “Drama in the Classroom” (p. 114) gives concrete
examples of how to create a tableau for social studies.
The major weakness of the book is that it does not successfully
address the question of how to help ELL students progress from speaking
English to reading and writing effectively in English.
Jim Cummins (2003) identifies three stages of ELL development:
conversation fluency, discrete language skills, and academic language
proficiency. In order to learn content from textbooks, ELL students must
reach the stage of academic language proficiency for their grade level.
The book does not provide strategies that can be shown to be effective
in assisting ELL students through this process.
The authors gloss over second language acquisition issues in reading
by stating, “Thankfully, English language learners already know from
their first language that verbal communication should make sense, and
they understand how the structure of their first language works. They
draw upon both types of knowledge to help them understand what makes
sense and sounds structurally correct in English” (p. 72). Exactly how
this implicit structural knowledge of the child’s first language
combines with verbal problem solving to assist in learning to read
English is not explained.
Although this book is well intentioned and contains many examples of
how to make classrooms safe and respectful, I cannot recommend it for
teachers wanting to learn how to teach ELL students more effectively.
References
Abedi, J. & Dietal, R. (2004). “Challenges in the No
Child Left Behind Act for English language learners.” Accessed August
19, 2004 from http://cr
esst.org/products/newsletters/policybrief7.pdf.
Cummins, J. (2003). “Reading and the bilingual
student: fact and friction. “ In G.G. Garcia (Ed) English learners:
reaching the highest level of English literacy. Newark, Delaware:
International Reading Association. Pp.2-33.
Freeman, D, and Freeman, Y. (2003). “Teaching English
learners to read: learning or acquisition.” In G.G. Garcia (Ed)
English learners: reaching the highest level of English literacy.
Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Pp.34-54.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107-110.
Accessed August 6, 2004 from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html.
Pages: 224
Price: $18.50
ISBN: 1-57110-368-6
Reviewed by Cynthia Crosser, Social Science and Humanities Reference
Librarian/Education and Psychology Bibliographer, University of Maine.
In addition to her M.S. in Library Studies from Florida State
University, she has an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of
Florida with a specialization in language acquisition.
Fisher, Ros; Brooks, Greg & Lewis, Maureen (2002)
Raising Standards in Literacy.
New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Raising Standards in Literacy is the third book in the series
Language and Literacy in Action. The editors’ goal is to bring
different research findings about literacy theory and practice to
everyday classroom teachers.
The book is a compilation of chapters that are based on
presentations by different well know scholars in the field of literacy
research. Research is included from the United Kingdom, United States
and Australia, giving an international view of literacy that is thought
provoking.
There are three major sections in the book:
- Research into the teaching of literacy. (six
chapters)
- What counts as evidence? (four chapters)
- Developing teacher practice. (six chapters)
“Research into the teaching of literacy” contains information on the
different roles research can play in teaching literacy and reviews of
literacy research. It is important to note that all the chapters in this
section except the last are written by scholars practicing in the United
Kingdom, therefore the research tends to focus on issues related to the
United Kingdom such as the National Literacy Strategy. (In fact several
chapters throughout the book focus on the National Literacy Strategy,
offering both overview and critical analysis. Readers interested in
gaining a better understanding of the Strategy might find this book
offers a helpful analysis.) While this section contains information that
has a broad appeal, it does not present an extensive focus.
Other topics addressed in the first section include: comprehension
development; developing written composition; what effective teachers of
literacy know; believe and do; and family involvement in literacy. The
family literacy chapter is particularly strong. It begins by listing
three basic assumptions about parental involvement in reading:
activities practiced with the student should be based on the activities
done at school; that the parent reading to the child is the most
beneficial practice to the child; and only the parent should be involved
in the home literacy of the child, not other members of the family. The
authors do a good job in citing examples that rebuke these assumptions.
Seven Bangladeshi British families and six monolingual families were
observed. The study found that the Bangladeshi students benefited from
older sibling involvement. They also tended to have formalized literacy
instruction outside of the family or school because they were required
to attend Arabic lessons five nights of the week. There are excellent
records of the interactions that were recorded, so the reader can see
what transpired.
The only U.S focused chapter, written by James V. Hoffman from the
University of Texas, offers an historical overview of the words used in
basal readers. He finds that both the quantity and position of words in
the readers has varied over time. He also discusses the textbook
adoption process in California and Texas in depth.
“What counts as evidence” is all about assessment. Anybody who
teaches in the United States knows how important assessment is, from
elementary school through higher education. This section contains
information on different concepts in assessment, from understanding
national standards to test validity. In her chapter on reading
instruction, Victoria Purcell-Gates argues convincingly that the “simple
view” of reading is flawed. Rather than a process consisting of two
parts: decoding and comprehension, research shows that the reading
process is very complex. To be effective, teachers and researchers must
take into account all the complexities of the reading process.
“Trying to count the evidence”, by Greg Brooks starts off by stating
that North America and Britain have two very different definitions of
the term standards. In this chapter, standards are defined as “levels
of attainment” (p. 136). The author offers two conclusions: levels of
attainment in reading among school pupils appear to have remained very
stable, and the proportion of adults with poor literacy skills has also
been fairly stable (p. 137). Despite this stability, the author also
focuses on intervention practices that have been shown to raise levels
of attainment.
“Developing teacher practice” gives a glimpse into the different
ways literacy standards are being addressed and raised in the United
Kingdom, United States and Australia. Of the six chapters in this
section three are devoted to the literacy block or literacy hour, with
effective advocates both pro and con. Literacy hour is a key component
of the British National Literacy Strategy, the literacy block is part of
the curriculum in Australia. The final chapter in the section,
“Globalisation, literacy, curriculum practice”, argues that these
programs are too simplistic because they do not take into account the
economical and cultural issues facing some families and schools.
The chapter “Textbooks and model programmes: Reading reform in the
United States”, discusses the United States' efforts in regard to
raising literacy standards. The United States has started to reform
reading not at the national level, but at the state level by reviewing
their textbooks. Author Elfrieda H. Hiebert finds this problematic
because state governments have great influence on sales conscious
textbook publishers; especially larger states like California and Texas.
According to the author none of the changes are based on research.
The issue of literacy does not exist in a vacuum; it is a very real
issue that many countries are struggling with. This book offers a
global focus on what in reality is a global issue. The contributing
authors bring a wide variety of backgrounds, opinions and research to
their respective chapters. The book can be read as a whole or as
individual chapters that are of interest. One of the books goals was to
bring different research findings about literacy theory and practice to
the every day classroom teacher. While the book does this, it is not a
practical hands-on guide for integrating literacy theory into a
teacher’s curriculum.
Pages: 255
Price: $38.95
ISBN: 0415263514
Reviewed by Vanessa J Earp, Instructor and Education Materials Center
Librarian at Texas A&M University - Kingsville. Her interests include
vocabulary development and information seeking behavior.
Goodwyn, Andrew (2004)
English Teaching And The Moving Image.
London: RoutledgeFalmer.
I found Andrew Goodwyn’s recent book, English Teaching And The
Moving Image, to be a particularly timely and engaging summer read.
I recently finished teaching twenty gifted elementary children digital
filmmaking techniques using classic myths and stories. As I read
Goodwyn’s book, my excitement about the children’s success as film crew
members on eight different movies was both echoed and affirmed. I found
myself nodding in agreement with a number of ideas that were already
familiar and scribbling notes about new ideas for my own teaching and
research. Goodwyn does an excellent job of bringing theory and practice
on media education and English teaching together for experienced and
beginning teachers alike. He skillfully weaves a range of practical
classroom ideas and guidelines for assessment together with recent
research findings on the use of media and technology in a format that
will be helpful for teachers who want to make the most of film in
English.
Goodwyn provides a sound rationale for putting the moving image into
the center of English teaching in the first chapter. He analyzes
relevant literature, reviews the philosophy of English and English
teachers, reflects on the culture of young people and comments on the
converging fields of technology. An initial stumbling block in reading
this book, was the use of curriculum excerpts, acronyms and terminology
that may be readily familiar to teachers in the UK. These examples may
require some interpretation by teachers in other countries to match the
chapter references to curricular requirements in local school systems.
Goodwyn's discussion is engaging and accessible and makes good use of
research to support the argument that film has a valuable role to play
in the English classroom.
Goodwyn explores whether the 21st century child is different from
previous generations, and concludes that difference centers on notions
of identity and notions that children are more culturally resourceful in
a multimedia age. He argues for necessary changes to the subject of
English and also recognizes that these changes can serve to liberate
English teachers and enable them to return to the creative and
imaginative paradigms of progressive English teaching. Goodwyn also
focuses on the issue of identity formation of young people in the
digital age, and brings in their perspectives and those of current
teachers to illustrate how exciting and meaningful moving image work can
be.
Goodwyn examines the place of visual adaptations in the classroom,
some issues to do with the nature of adaptation, and offers a new
conceptual position on adaptation. He offers a number of practical
classroom ideas that should appeal to teachers. He argues that English
teachers should teach the concept of adaptations and move away from the
essentially literary approach that renders adaptation as a useful but
problematic teaching aid for the ‘superior’ original text. “In schools,
at present, English teachers are faced with a dilemma: teaching either
nineteenth-century or twenty-first-century literacy. In the new model,
literature will continue to play a crucial part but not the crucial
part. For many of our future pupils, the greatest textual experiences
will come from a whole range of media. Books will play their significant
part. Pupils’ initial contact with many long-lived and well-loved
stories will come through an adapted form. Though this is not a problem,
it challenges us to continue to make our transition” (p. 27). Goodwyn
advocates teachers using their well-established literary and historical
knowledge to enhance the developing textual understanding of students
through active inquiry into film adaptations and interpretations of
classic and contemporary stories. I found myself spending a great deal
of time at two websites that Goodwyn identifies as useful: Film
Education, http://www.filmeducation.org/,
and The British Film Institute, http://www.bfi.org.uk/index.html
.
Goodwyn focuses on the use of film in the classroom and students
using film language to express their creativity. The author provides
useful and relevant technical information on educating about film and
cites several comprehensive resources on this topic. Each aspect of film
is discussed and then illustrated with an example of classroom
application. An appealing classroom idea developed by the author is the
extensive, three-way analysis of the opening scenes of Danny, The
Champion of the World, a film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel by Gavin
Millar. Goodwyn provides a detailed description of a school project in
which students examine the use of text, the use of sound, and the use of
shots in the film’s opening scenes. This is a very good classroom
example with excellent detail on what can be studied and which
discussion questions might lead students’ inquiry.
In a chapter entitled, "Making The Most Of Television," Goodwyn
examines how to incorporate serious study of this ubiquitous but most
neglected aspect of the moving image, in the English classroom. Goodwyn
advocates taking a critical approach to analyzing content, culture,
narrative and camera work using common television formats like the news,
soap operas and documentary. Teachers will find many practical examples
and key inquiry questions to guide student work and assessment in this
chapter.
Goodwyn reviews the place and value of practical moving image work
in English and strongly endorses both its importance and its
feasibility. This was my favorite part in the whole book given my recent
experience with elementary students and filmmaking. He provides a good
overview of three major stages of filmmaking, from pre-production to
production to post-production, and offers good ideas for translating
this work into classroom projects. While a more comprehensive treatment
of the filmmaking process from beginning to end can be found elsewhere
(Theodosakis, 2001), Goodwyn provides a useful starting point for
teachers who would like to design filmmaking projects for students.
Goodwyn draws upon classroom based action research to support claims
about the effectiveness of filmmaking with students of all abilities.
This discussion is likely to be very popular with teachers because of
the many ideas and classroom examples as well as references to
additional sources of information about the filmmaking process.
In a chapter entitled, “New Technologies and the Moving Audience,”
Goodwyn explores the role of the internet and digital games as
multimodal texts in the English classroom. He poses relevant questions
for inquiry, such as should schooling try to engage with the internet in
a much more challenging way and demand that pupils develop forms of
cyber expertise? And, do games have a place as learning devices, or as
texts for analysis and critique? While there are fewer classroom
examples and ideas for assessment offered in this chapter than in other
chapters, Goodwyn does provide a comprehensive analysis of the emergent
concept of multiliteracies along with recent literature that expands
this idea.
This book should become part of every English teachers’ professional
library. Goodwyn's straightforward and respectful approach to teaching
about the moving image succeeds in adding to the store of ideas that
teachers can draw upon to develop their own teaching. Both experienced
and novice teachers from different subject areas will find the ideas for
classroom application and the assessment of student projects to be
helpful in rethinking their practice.
Pages: 174
Price: $124.95(hardcover) $31.95(paperback)
ISBN: 0415306604(hardcover) 0-415-30661-2(paperback)
Reviewed by Michele Jacobsen, University of Calgary. Michele Jacobsen
teaches student teachers in the Master of Teaching Program and graduate
students in the Graduate Division of Educational Research in the Faculty
of Education at the University of Calgary. She is the specialization
coordinator of a growing educational technology program that serves over
175 graduate students.
Greenwood, Scott C. (2004)
Words Count: Effective Vocabulary Instruction in Action.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Vocabulary plays a central role in both oral and written
communication, and has also been shown to be the strongest predictor of
reading comprehension in both first and second language. However, as the
author rightly points out, how to teach this important aspect of
language and communication effectively has remained problematic. This
book presents an array of vocabulary teaching and learning strategies
that teachers can use in their classrooms. What is unique about the book
is that it presents each of the techniques with concert examples and
connects them to oral and written language, curriculum, and literature.
The book also includes a number of classroom vignettes, samples of
students’ work, and extensive appendices. In addition, the book
addresses the issue of vocabulary assessment and provides both formal
and informal assessment techniques that teachers can use to measure and
keep track of their students’ vocabulary knowledge.
The book begins by denouncing the traditional methods of vocabulary
instruction that are based on memorization, looking up definitions in
dictionaries, and constructing single sentences with words. The author
argues that even the strategies that involve the use of context to
figure out word meanings, although promising, have “traditionally been
misused” (p. 4). The writer associates this problem to the complexity of
using context for word learning and believes that students need to be
instructed as to how to use context clues effectively.
Next Greenwood discusses the principles underlying sound vocabulary
instruction. Using Tomlinson’s continuum of student independence, the
author describes the ultimate goal of vocabulary instruction as one of
moving towards learners’ independence. He offers several guidelines for
planning a successful vocabulary learning curriculum, some of which
include creating “word-aware” classrooms, providing time for reading,
creating motivation, modeling good vocabulary learning, and making word
learning long-term.
In the next seven chapters, the book provides a wide range of
techniques and strategies for teaching vocabulary in the classroom.
These strategies, according to the author, not only make the learning of
vocabulary enjoyable but also make the learners actively involved in the
learning process. Each chapter organizes the strategies around a
particular theme.
“Vocabulary and Oral Language,” provides a number of vocabulary
teaching strategies that are connected to the development of spoken
language. The author argues that oral language instruction has been
treated as secondary and has received less attention than literacy
instruction in most classrooms. Thus, teachers should incorporate
activities that promote oral language skills. Some of the strategies
suggested are storytelling, conversing, interviewing, debates, and
information sharing activities such as speeches and reports. “Teaching
Vocabulary in Connection with Literature,” presents a number of
literature-based vocabulary teaching techniques, such as guessing word
meaning from context, different kinds of graphic organizers, word maps
and narrative reading strategies. “Teaching Vocabulary in Connection
with Curriculum,” presents strategies that could be used to refine and
consolidate word knowledge learned in curriculum subjects such as
semantic feature analysis, word analogies, context puzzles, and
vocabulary notebooks.
Greenwood also covers vocabulary teaching strategies that could be
used in connection with writing. The author argues that “A strong
vocabulary is one of the writer’s tools for getting rich thought onto
paper” (p. 72). Some of the strategies presented are those related to
the use of thesaurus, revisions, and word choice; structure and word-
analysis strategies such as those related to affixes, roots, and word
etymology; the effective use of dictionaries; and playful use of
vocabulary such as puns, word play, idioms, word games, puzzles and
riddles.
The last chapter addresses the issue of vocabulary assessment and
considers tools that teachers can use to assess vocabulary in their
classrooms, ranging from more informal teacher-made and self-assessment
tests to more formal specialized and standardized tests.
The book ends with 40 pages of appendices, which include lists of
vocabulary websites, homophones, homographs, synonyms, antonyms,
confusing words, proverbs and other vocabulary learning activities, all
of which could be used as valuable resources in teaching vocabulary.
Although many of the strategies and techniques presented in the book
may not be completely unfamiliar to many teachers, the author has
managed successfully to bring them all together in a very user-friendly
and easy to read book. The book will be of interest to all
schoolteachers who wish to increase their repertoire of vocabulary
teaching strategies in their classrooms. Although the writer may seem to
have intended the book for teachers teaching L1 elementary age students,
the book will be a valuable resource for second and foreign language
teachers teaching children as well as adult L2 learners. I also
recommend the book to teacher educators and those who teach methodology
courses on teaching vocabulary in first and second language classrooms.
My only reservation is that although the book addresses some of the
principles underlying effective vocabulary instruction, it would have
been very helpful to have some theoretical discussion of what cognitive
or social processes are involved in the acquisition of vocabulary.
Moreover, although the writer has attempted to organize strategies in
connection with language skills, literature, and curriculum, and
although some of the techniques presented in each section are closely
linked to the area intended, sometimes the link is not very strong and
the procedures presented are not area-specific. Hence they could be
equally used in other areas as well. Altogether, the book is an
excellent practical resource useful for all teachers.
Pages: 202
Price: Out of Print
ISBN: 0-325-00648-2
Reviewed by Hossein Nassaji, Department of Linguistics, University of
Victoria
Harpur, John, Lawlor, Maria, & Fitzgerald, Michael (2004)
Succeeding in College with Asperger Syndrome: A Student Guide.
London: Jessica Kingsley.
Classification of children with autism has been on the rise for the
past few decades. The increased number of individuals in the population
has created an awareness of the vastly different characteristics present
in those classified. One of the early researchers to study these
differences and was Hans Asperger. An Austrian, medical doctor,
Asperger became interested in “autistic psycopathy”, specifically, high
functioning children with social skills difficulties. He began to
publish his findings in 1944 but his work was not as well known as that
of Leo Kanner, Johns Hopkins Univerisity, who began publishing his work
on Pedricatric Autsim as early as 1933 and is often credited with the
identification of the sydrome, since Asperger did not travel and only
published his work in German.
The hallmark characteristic of this syndrome is social and
communication skills deficits. Individuals with Asperger syndrome
typically possess normal language development and cognitive skills.
However, they often exhibit difficulties interpreting pragmatic language
situations and in the use and understanding of nonverbal body language.
Often they do not make eye contact and have difficulty making friends or
engaging in conversations. Individuals are prone to fixations on
specific topics and have vast information on this subject. They speak
of it continually and at inappropriate times further exacerbating their
difficulties with maintaining relationships. They may also possess
perseverative behaviors such as repetitive hand motions or foot tapping
and are significantly distracted by changes in routines.
While many people with Asperger syndrome are not diagnosed as
children, those who are, benefit greatly from the establishment of
routines and schedules for daily activities in school. Consistent
reinforcement of appropriate behaviors is also important. As are
support groups to help the students identify their difficulties in
dealing with social interactions and communication in order to develop
strategies to make those situations more effective.
This text presents a very detailed guide for students to use as a
resource while they attend college. The chapters are complete and cover
topics that are useful and of interest to all young adults as they
transition from the safety of their supportive home and school
environment to the unfamiliar independence and responsibilities that are
the expectations for a successful college life. Chapters cover,
Preparing for College, the College Environment, Academic Life, Student
Support Services, Communication, Interacting with the Opposite Sex,
Managing Anxiety and Stress and even provide an inductive examination of
famous individuals who have made historical contributions and who
possessed Asperger like behaviors. The chapters are each about 20-30
pages in length and are admittedly redundant in places.
The second chapter of the book acts as an advance organizer for the
text and provides short summaries of what to find in the succeeding
chapters. Crucial to the efficient use of the text is the understanding
of what the authors refer to as “the Foreknowledge Principle” (p. 35).
First presented here, the authors frequently make reference to the
importance of prior planning and developing advance knowledge of
upcoming situations. They stress the need for the student with AS to do
as much pre-organizing and pre-learning as possible. For example, it is
recommended that the student develop a sense of the campus before
classes start and that they learn the rules for use of such places as
the library and other student services before they need them. In
providing these suggestions the authors also regularly point out that
all college students benefit from such strategies but that students with
AS who often demonstrate weaknesses in organizational skills, become
distractible and loose focus on follow through or task completion are
most likely to benefit from the “Foreknowledge Principle.”
The authors emphasize the importance of taking time for
relationships to be successful; to plan out what you will say and how
you will say it when this is possible and to think about communication
and the effect of your words and comments on others. As problem
situations are discussed and suggestions provided, the authors often
include grey shaded text that functions as case examples, presented in
a, this is a good/ bad way or do/don’t conduct yourself in such a way
scenario. These cases would be particularly useful for group
discussions in order to help students with AS identify problems and how
to deal with them in their own life experiences.
On numerous occasions mention is also made of the need for students
with AS to identify and learn to deal with stress. While this theme is
a thread throughout the text, chapter eight presents a very nicely
detailed summary of different types of stress and stress related
disorders. The authors clearly describe stress related syndromes and
provide useful suggestions for learning to manage stress and anxiety
syndromes.
The text is clearly organized for the student user and seems to be
written for a student to use on his/her own as needed for reference.
The irony here is that a lack of organization is one of the common
behavioral characteristics attributed to Asperger syndrome. In the
words of the authors “One of the biggest challenges facing students with
AS is staying focused, ‘staying on task” (p. 96). Further, they note
that a student in a given case, “…could clearly identify the beginning
and the end of his projects, but had great difficulty completing them”
(p. 97). This leaves me to question whether students with AS would
remember to use the text when they need to refer to it. Another
observation related to the organization of the text, the pages are often
uninterrupted paragraphs of continuous text. Yet important information
is provided in the form of suggestions and could easily be presented in
bullets or numbered statements, thereby decreasing the monotony in the
page presentation. Such a structure might also alert the reader to the
author’s perceived importance of the advice provided.
Students from the United States may be unfamiliar with some of the
British spellings, favourite, programme, practise etc and the jargon,
jumper means sweater to British speakers of English but is an article of
women’s clothing to Americans. Another example of these differences is
that a tutor in the United States is often a peer employed in a learning
center to provide study support to students who need extra help
understanding class materials, but in the text tutor refers to a
lecturer or what we think of as a faculty member in the United States.
For students who may be distractible and who attend best to regular
routines such word choice may detract from the important messages being
presented.
A problematic reference is given in chapter six. In dealing with
the importance of clear and engaging communication skills the authors
include a section entitled “The Game of Pool” (p. 145). Here they
state, “One of our strongest recommendations in learning to initiate and
maintain conversation is that you learn to play pool”(p.145). It is
quite possible that some of the students, with whom the authors have
worked, have experienced success in communication situations while
engaging in a game of pool. However, such a statement is not supported
in field specific literature and should be presented as a suggestion
related to the authors opinions and experience not as a factual piece of
important information.
Another concern for American Students with AS and their use of this
text is the apparent access to services for students with AS on college
and university campuses in Great Britain. The authors consistently
suggest that the student seek the support of student services and to
meet regularly with a counselor and or therapist to work through the
difficulties that they encounter. While access to such services would
be ideal it is more likely not readily available on typical college
campuses. Student Support services are present on all state and
federally funded colleges and university campuses and most private
institutions, but they probably are not equipped to provide daily or
weekly counseling to students. In informal discussion with student
support service providers in my area, I found very little awareness of
the needs of students with AS and no ability to provide comprehensive
therapeutic services.
In summary this text has much to offer in terms of useful
information for post secondary students with Aspergers Syndrome but it
should shared with caution as sections may become confusing and
frustrating for use in the United States because of the differing levels
of service available and the issues related to word choice.
References
Enersen, O.D. (2001). Asperger’s Syndrome. Retrieved September 15, 2004
from Who Named It, http://www.whonamedit
.com/synd.cfm/279.html
Vaughn, S., Bos, C.S., & Schumm, J.S. (2003). Teaching exceptional,
diverse, and at-risk students in the general education classroom.
Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Pages: 272
Price: $21.95
ISBN: 1 84310 166 1
Reviewed by Caron Mellblom-Nishioka, Ed.D., C.C.C., California State
University, Dominguez Hills, Carson California
Jago, Carol (2004)
Classics in the Classroom: Designing Accessible Literature
Lessons.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Classroom teachers, ever on the prowl for resources to help them
build successful lesson plans and teaching strategies, may learn quickly
to warily approach books with appealing titles because often they fail
to deliver or only meet a need that is not theirs. Jago’s Classics in
the Classroom: Designing Accessible Literature Lessons not only
delivers on its promise but also takes the teacher on a refreshing
journey of success that can inspire teaching on several levels.
Jago’s experiences as a teacher of students, a mentor of newer
teachers, and a researcher equip her to demonstrate both specific
techniques and broad but proven principles that can succeed with even
resistant students. Students have their own great expectations of
literature, as she points out, and that is to not understand it and to
declare it boring. Often teachers opt for less challenging selections to
make teaching easier. But even with these easier selections the
students, who have been trained well, know that if they remain quiet
long enough, the teacher will eventually stop asking questions and just
explain what something means; the teacher then provides handouts with
information that enables them to prepare for tests that skim only
surface issues. In Jago’s own words, her purpose is to “make a case for
the importance of teaching powerful literature and offer methods for
teaching novels, plays, and poems that are not ‘easy reads.’ Simply
assigning books is not enough; teachers need to have an instructional
plan that makes difficult texts accessible to students” (p. xii).
In the first chapter, the author gives “Seven Guiding Principles for
Literature Teachers” and sets the tone for the rest of the book. Her
first person style, by the way, is engaging and leads the reader through
point-by-point and chapter-by-chapter. When you’ve finished, though, you
don’t feel as though you’ve been merely entertained or that you’ve
skipped through a garden of familiar and common themes. She justifies
each point with research and her own classroom experiences, often also
linking a teaching purpose with a state standard (with examples reaching
eastward from her own California) that remind us that it can be done
meaningfully. For every “whine” and “why?” that students (and sometimes
teachers) might offer, she provides the “why nots” and suggestions for
ways to adapt her example. That adaptation is one of the reasons this
book can be a valuable resource, especially for less experienced
teachers; as she points out often, what works one year with one group of
students in a particular situation may not work so well the next time.
Her lesson planning, as she describes it, seems solid, yet it is fluid
and subject to revision according to the challenges each year’s groups
of students present. And so she cautions frequently to take her
suggestions not as absolute methods but as basic structures subject to
revision.
Each principle represents a challenge, but these experiences she
calls “education” and are the reason we who are teachers love what we
do. The principles she discusses are:
- Students must read.
- Don’t confuse reading for pleasure with the study of literature.
- Don’t simple assign difficult books; teach them.
- Reading literature requires language study and builds vocabulary.
- Reading literature builds background knowledge.
- Reading literature educates students’ imaginations.
- Metaphorical thinking is a life skill.
The next four chapters address the teaching of literature through
those principles, beginning with “All About Words.” Here Jago shows the
vocabulary bookmark she gives students to create as they read; she then
describes some of the techniques she uses that help students learn those
specific terms and that also develop life-long skills for acquiring
rather than avoiding new vocabulary. “The key learning” she tries to
achieve is that “learning new words is a natural act” (p. 27). By using
these student-generated vocabulary lists she helps students “buy into” a
work such as Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” as they experience
the mood, play around with alternate and less successful word choices,
and appreciate the poet’s deliberate diction. She also gives advice on
choosing which words to teach and giving effective vocabulary
instruction.
Although candid and instructive throughout the book on the realities
of school systems and the individual integrity of teachers, Jago does
not waste time with blaming or get sidetracked with political issues.
Instead, she just makes a clear and direct case for what should be and
then shows how she goes about it. In “Choosing Which Books to Teach,” it
is clear that she requires a lot from her students and, she says,
generally she gets it. She then takes the reader through some discussion
of why students should be reading the classics – and why they should and
could be reading up to twice as much as teachers often assign them to
read. As an example, she then takes the reader through the decision for
teaching Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, including topics such as
the suitability of Shelley’s language, human dilemma, and universal
themes.
The chapters on “How Stories Work” and “How Poems Work” provide
reviews of essential elements for teaching and methods for connecting
those elements with students in ways that can draw them into the
literature rather than drive them away. Jago also provides two
appendices, “Recommended Classic Texts,” broken down by grade levels,
and “Classic Bestsellers,” to guide teachers in finding appropriate
materials to present to students.
The reader is invited to look over Jago’s shoulder and hear her
thoughts through an example of her lesson design for Homer’s
Odyssey. The design is detailed and rich with meaningful and
useful techniques that can easily be adapted by other teachers. She
extends the discussion with insights into not only how to get the
attention of students in the classroom but how to help them consciously
recognize the life-long value of studying literature.
If there is any criticism of this text, it is in the occasional
personal side trips Jago takes, especially a lengthy one at the
beginning of chapter 6. However, these excursions turn out to be
purposeful. It is through these comments that the reader meets the
author, not as an “expert,” mechanical educator, but as a teacher who
loves and understands the artistry as well as the science of teaching.
In chapter 6, she discusses, among other things, “Lesson Study in
Japan,” to explain the technique of study groups that draws teachers
together to help one another become better teachers. She uses that
introduction as if she needs a justification for giving over 40 pages of
discussion of her lesson design for Homer’s Odyssey. With this
interest in teacher development, including her desire to see more
experienced teachers becoming involved in mentoring newer teachers one
can hope that her next book will not be about teaching high school
students but will instead address an equally important topic – teachers
teaching teachers.
Pages: 180
Price: $20.00
ISBN: 0-325-00590-7
Reviewed by Terry Anne Lawrence, formerly Assistant Professor of
Communications, Bethel College, Mishawaka, Ind.. currently Ph.D.
candidate in Curriculum and Instruction, Andrews University, Berrien
Springs, Mich. Areas of interest: how students learn, teacher training
and mentoring.
Lattimer, Heather (2003)
Thinking through Genre: Units of Study in Reading and Writing
Workshops 4-12.
Portland, Maine: Stenhouse
Publishers.
In Thinking Through Genre: Units of Study in Reading and Writing
Workshops 4-12, Lattimer provides an exceptionally rich resource for
teachers of English and language arts in teaching reading comprehension,
text analysis, and writing applications. Using an accessible and
conversational writing style, the author reveals how she came to
recognize the need to build a different structure into her reading and
writing workshop-based classroom, where students previously had
individual discretion in the selection of reading materials and writing
tasks.
With students reading different material and writing in different
formats, there were limits to Lattimer’s effectiveness in meeting
students’ instructional needs. At the same time, she was unwilling to
abandon the principles of a student-centered workshop that give
authenticity to the learning work of students – time, ownership,
response, and community. Lattimer’s decision to include genre-based
workshops in her classroom literacy program allowed her to “better
manage the focus and depth of instruction in reading and writing” (p. 6)
that her students required to expand their knowledge and skill base
beyond the comfort of self-selected genres, while retaining the
engagement between student-author and text that are essential to
learning.
The choice of genre as the organizing framework for the units of
study is deliberate. Lattimer details how teaching through genre allows
students to explore a variety of text forms that provide coherent and
specific cueing systems, to immerse themselves in the traditions of
craft and the habits of mind inherent to the genre. According to
Lattimer, a genre study requires students to inquire into questions of
both process and structure: What makes the genre unique? How do
successful readers approach and interact with the text in this genre?
What types of language and author craft are used in this genre?
After sharing with the reader her decision to select genre studies
for her literacy workshops in Chapter 1, Lattimer uses the next six
chapters to introduce and explore a unit of study around each of the
selected genre: memoir, feature article, editorial, short story, fairy
tale, and response to literature. Lattimer reminds the reader that this
list is neither complete nor prescriptive, and entertains a discussion
on the criteria to be considered when determining which genre to select
for units of study. These explicit and comprehensive explanations of her
decision-making processes are one of the strengths of Thinking
Through Genre and occur throughout the text. Lattimer engages the
reader with her ‘think-aloud’ strategy, and at the same time, offers no
easy-to-follow recipes for success.
Lattimer addresses her educator audience as respected professional
peers and avoids the easy platitudes and prescriptions too often found
in books written for K-12 teachers. Lattimer recognizes that teaching
is a demanding craft, and that effective teaching can take as many forms
as there are teachers. She clearly favors collaboration and each of the
units of study she describes in the book is taught in cooperation with
another teacher, in that teacher’s classroom. This approach may be
attributable to her role as a peer coach and staff developer, yet
Lattimer demonstrates how discussion of texts with her teacher
colleagues and the joint planning of the units of study lead to new
understandings for her as a reader and as a teacher.
Each of the six genre-specific chapters follows a similar format. An
excerpt of text written in the targeted genre opens the chapter, with
authors ranging from Annie Dillard (memoir) to Tobias Wolff (response to
literature). Lattimer follows the opening selection with her own
analysis and commentary on the genre from the perspectives of language
scholar, citizen, and teacher, including the appropriateness of the
selected genre unit for the particular group of students involved in two
sections titled “Thinking through the Genre” and “Envisioning the Unit”.
With that contextual foundation established, Lattimer begins with a
description of the reading workshop component for the genre study.
The reading workshop component within each unit of study includes a
strand focusing on reading comprehension strategies and a strand
focusing on accountable talk, appropriate to the particular text
structure of the genre and the developmental needs of the students. For
each genre unit, Lattimer provides a one-page summary graphic of the
entire reading workshop plan, outlining the week-by-week goals of the
workshop, pairing the reading comprehension study activities with the
accountable talk activities. She then continues with selected sample
lessons, typically one from each of the five or six weeks included in
the reading workshop. These sample lessons are written as narrative,
described in enough detail to allow the reader to reside in the
classroom with Lattimer and her co-teacher as they select reading
materials and plan instruction, teach, respond to students, adjust,
struggle, and ultimately lead their students to a deep understanding of
the genre under study.
The heart of this book is these sample lessons. Although the sample
lessons are short in length (2-4 pages), they are filled with
creativity, sensitivity, authenticity, and teaching wisdom. The
challenges presented by students in learning to deconstruct text and the
innovative teacher moves in response to those challenges will resonate
with classroom teachers who will recognize those students as their own,
ranging from fifth-and sixth-grade students identified as high-achieving
to tenth-grade students who were grouped into a ‘significantly below
grade level’ reading class.
The writing workshop component of the genre under study follows the
reading workshop. Lattimer believes the “initial focus on reading is
necessary to allow students time to become acquainted with the genre.
Before they can even begin to think about writing, they need to feel
truly comfortable with the genre as readers…its purpose and its
possibilities” (p.15). Nevertheless, she is equally convinced that
students will not inhabit the genre until they have the experience as
authors in the genre as well. Lattimer’s description of the writing
workshop component follows a similar structure to the reading workshop
with two distinct strands: text structure study and writing process
study. The graphic overview followed by detailed sample lessons
provides a week-by-week progression through the writing workshop
component of the unit.
The capstone of each chapter is the section on “Evaluating Student
Progress” which includes samples of student writing. Lattimer also
includes suggested texts to use with students that she has found age and
theme appropriate and easily available. The professional writing
commencing each chapter and the student writing closing it are
satisfying brackets to the journey experienced by Lattimer, her co-
teachers, and their students through their units of study. As readers,
we are fortunate to be allowed to accompany them on the voyage.
Pages: 290
Price: $22.50
ISBN: 1-57110-352-X
Reviewed by Jane E. Robb, Director, Teacher Preparation Program, Touro
University College of Education
Mallett, Margaret (2003)
Early Years Non-Fiction: A Guide to Helping Young Researchers Use
Information Texts.
London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Margaret Mallett does a thorough job of explaining the many aspects
of non-fiction for lower elementary research in her book, Early Years
Non-Fiction: A Guide to Helping Young Researchers Use Information
Texts. Connecting to a child’s prior knowledge is a strong theme
throughout. Her goal is to instruct early year teachers on how to
introduce very young children to informational texts. Mallett focuses
on three aspects of non-fiction learning to accomplish this: how
children’s thinking and learning develops; the importance of the range
and quality of selected texts; the need to create meaningful contexts
for non-fiction reading and writing. The prior knowledge that every
young child brings to the learning environment provides the connecting
threads for these three components. Mallett’s perspective capitalizes
on this fact and weaves its implications throughout her work, first by
discussing the link between home and school and later by making a more
global connection through children that have English as their second
language. Each brings her/his own unique experiences to the non-fiction
tapestry.
Once the connection to prior learning is made, Mallett suggests
introducing a related new experience. Possibilities include but are not
limited to speakers, fieldtrips or videos. Helping children organize
questions, share information in a group setting and learn search
strategies works to broaden the scope of the early researcher.
Summarizing, rewriting and reflection time are also seen as important
components with assessment as an ongoing activity. Cullinan and Galda
(2002) offer support in their textbook, Literature and the Child:
Learning is more than the laying on of discrete areas of
information; it requires an active response from students, an
interpretation or reconstruction of new information in relation to what
they already know. Instead of teaching a body of facts for students to
memorize, our goal is to help students learn to think critically (p.
264).
Chapter by chapter, Mallett guides the teacher through the process
first by introducing important authors of concept books and wordless
picture books, interspersing case studies to reinforce method. Some of
the earliest learning case studies seem a bit contrived but those that
come from the classroom offer insight that American teachers will find
valuable even though the work is written from a U.K. perspective.
Mallet discusses criteria for choosing non-fiction wordless and simple-
text books in some detail. She identifies early learning goals specific
to a child’s experience of non-fiction and discusses role-play as it
relates to early writing. The author offers activities for achieving
these goals and stresses the important role of teachers in planning the
learning environment conducive to a successful program.
Mallet is cognizant of the need to include an electronic component,
acknowledging that children today are raised on visual stimulation. She
proposes electronic portfolio development as a means of integrating
technology with an assessment component. In chapter 10 she discusses in
great detail the role of technology in helping young learners become
researchers. Like Barton and Booth (2004), Mallet sees computers as a
means of encouraging cooperation and teamwork as well as initiating
discussion. She is careful to emphasize the importance of evaluating
all electronic components from simple word processing to the use of CD
ROMs and the Internet but stresses their crucial role in developing
visual literacy. She offers a list of CDs to review and a few websites.
Mallet discusses various genres of non-fiction books and
successfully connects them to every day activities such as shopping,
playing, visiting the doctor or going to school. She offers a limited
list of narrative non fiction in each of the following genres: life
cycles, journeys, instructions and information stories and divides non
narrative fiction into three additional categories; question books,
information picture books and fact books. She carefully explains the
differences between narrative and non-narrative and elaborates on the
uses of each.
Early Years Non-Fiction, successfully instructs early year
teachers in the art of teaching the use of informational texts to very
young children. Her theme is universal and not only cuts across the
curriculum but across the globe as well. Her enthusiasm for the topic
is contagious. The appendix and index alone are worth the price of the
book. This is a book that belongs in the hands of every preK-6 teacher.
References
Barton, Bob & Booth, David (2004) Poetry goes to school: From Mother
Goose to Shel Silverstein. Ontario: Pembroke.
Galda, Lee & Cullinan, Bernice E. (2002)
Cullinan and Galda's literature and the child. Fifth edition.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Pages: 190
Price: $124.95 (hardcover) $32.95(paper)
ISBN: 0415321395(hardcover) 0-415-25337-3(paper)
Reviewed by Adelaide Phelps, MLIS, Director of the Educational Resources
Lab at Oakland University.
Muschla, Gary Robert (2004)
The Writing Teacher’s Book of Lists: With Ready-to-Use Activities
and Worksheets. Second Edition.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass.
For the new teacher needing some practical exercises, The Writing
Teacher’s Book of Lists is a useful how-to manual that provides
checklists and sample exercises. Author Gary Muschla is a teacher
himself and has put together, in an easy-to-photocopy book format, what
appears to be lesson plans and checklists he has collected or written
during his career.
Many of the lists are fine tools to help a budding teacher or
writer. Some of the best include “Guidelines for Finding Ideas for
Writing” and “100 Writing Cues”. Both of these lists stimulate
imagination. Others that score high for guidance in writing mechanics
and publishing include: “Guidelines for Writing a Query Letter”,
“Manuscript Preparation”, “Markets for the Writing of Students”, and
“Web Sites for Student Writers.”
A few of the lists, however, shortchange teachers and writers of
valuable information. For example, “Bibliography Format” provides
reference citations without any identification as to what bibliographic
style they follow, i.e., APA, MLA or Turabian. There is also no mention
of web-based or print resources that would help writers and teachers
learn to cite correctly and according to academic and publishers’
specifications.
The Writing Teacher’s Book of Lists’ major drawback lies in
its lack of organization. As a librarian, I look for excellent
organization in deciding whether a book will be a good reference
resource. The Book of Lists’ appears thrown together, more like a
random piling system, rather than an organized filing system. Access to
topics and individual lists is difficult and strained. First of all,
there is no index. Second, the table of contents starts out organizing
lists about grammar and word usage, then trails off into bundles of
loosely related “rules”, “checklists”, “activities”, and poorly clumped
“special lists”. The Special Lists for Teachers and Special Lists for
Students contain some of the best material the book offers. However,
the lists receive no highlighting through topical organization or
indexing. An entire re-organization would improve the collection. For
example, regrouping the lists would help so that the “Proofreading
Checklist” would link closely with the “Editor’s Proofreading Marks”, or
“Bibliography Format” with “Formats for Citing Electronic Sources.”
Muschla’s various word lists and activities for nonfiction and
fiction writing, i.e., for health, environment, politics, adventure,
romance, folklore, mythology, etc. are some of the better lists, because
they integrate a worksheet that prepares the student for writing in a
particular genre. Muschla states one of his goals is “to provide
meaningful activities that will help students develop an understanding
of the writing process.” The Word Lists provide a meaningful context.
While these word lists and activities are helpful, he would have
accomplished his goal even more effectively had he more creatively
organized more complete study-practice units. Such units would better
integrate his lists. They might take both teachers and writers beyond
the point of inspired idea, to familiarity with genres and vocabularies,
through the mechanics of well-crafted writing, and finally to learning
how to successfully publish their work.
On the whole, Muschla’s The Writing Teacher’s Book of Lists
is a practical and useful resource that would be an asset to a budding
teacher’s or writing student’s library
Pages: 341
Price: $29.95
ISBN: 0-7879-7080-8
Reviewed by Jill L. Woolums, M.L.I.S, a librarian at the Education
Psychology Library, University of California, Berkeley. She has taught
college level research and writing classes, has authored several
nonfiction articles, and possesses a master’s degree in English from
Mills College.
Thompson, Gail L. (2004)
Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know But Are Afraid to Ask
About African American Students.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass/Wiley.
Although the main title is fairly innocuous, Gail Thompson's
provocative subtitle will undoubtedly raise a few eyebrows. What
Teachers Need to Know But Are Afraid to Ask About African American
Students pretty much goes right to the heart of this no-nonsense
book that offers guidelines for teachers who want to provide meaningful
and successful educational experiences for their African American
students.
An associate professor in the School of Educational Studies at the
Claremont Graduate University, Thompson addresses such culturally
sensitive and controversial issues as should African American students
be forced to speak Standard English in class over Ebonics or should
teachers permit their African American students to use the "N" word in
class?
According to the author, this book is needed for two primary
reasons.
The most obvious is that the achievement gap between blacks and whites
continues to exist. Secondly, a high percentage of teachers are under-
prepared to work effectively with students of color. Because of this,
when a cultural mismatch between teachers and African American students
exists, there are often negative consequences.
"This book is a description of how educators can face challenging
issues that could empower them," (p. 9) writes Thompson. She continues
that the book will provide an opportunity for prospective, and current
teachers and other educators to examine their own beliefs, attitudes,
and relations with African American students.
In reference to the incidents and personal experiences she shares
throughout the volume, Thompson concedes that they could be interpreted
differently by others. But, she explains, they offer "a candid view
through 'ebony eyes' (my own and those of other African Americans who
are mentioned in this book) of the bittersweet lessons that teacher
training and my own teaching experiences have taught me about race
relations in America" (p. 9).
As she tackles some thorny issues many teachers would prefer not to
talk about, Thompson hopes to perhaps make everyone's life in the
classroom a little less traumatic. A suggested three-part, long-term
development plan for educators who wish to continue their professional
growth related to African American students should help them deal with
racial and culturally sensitive issues.
Pages: 328
Price: $24.95
ISBN: 0-7879-7061-1
Reviewed by Robert F. Walch, Retired educator, Monterey, California
Tovani, Cris (2004)
Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?: Content, Comprehension, Grades
6-12.
Portland, Maine: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Cris Tovani's Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? gives the
initial impression that its focus is to give teachers who typically
don't teach reading the tools to incorporate reading into their
instruction. Underlying this purpose is a premise that by engaging
students in reading, teachers can bring students into a more
participatory role in their own learning.
Instead of just offering a collection of strategies and solutions,
Tovani often demonstrates uses of techniques by tracing her own thinking
processes as she, the teacher, struggled to address real-life scenarios
in her classes. In doing this, she models very doable approaches to
teaching where the teacher can share some of the burden of thinking with
students. One of the later chapters on group work is especially
successful as Tovani illustrates how students can help establish norms
for effective group work.
It's probably not a coincidence that many of the chapter titles
contain questions ("Why am I Reading This?" "What Do I Do With All These
Sticky Notes?" "Did I Miss Anything?"). Teaching students how to
question is the common thread throughout each section, and Tovani
consistently shows its effectiveness. She utilizes a variety of
techniques that encourage students to become involved with their text.
She also stresses the importance of accessible text, either by not
selecting unapproachable works in the first place or by using
supplemental readings, such as a related newspaper article, to help
students find meaning in difficult works.
All in all, Tovani has written a nicely approachable book that
practices what she preaches. Supplemental information is provided as
side notes within chapters, scenarios are written to prompt questions in
the reader's mind and chapters end with a selection of teaching points
for emphasis. Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? isn't just
about teaching students, but about teaching ourselves.
Pages: 138
Price: $19.50
ISBN: 1571103767
Reviewed by Melissa Cast, University of Nebraska at Omaha
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