Reading Instruction Books

I got this book at a seminar on differentiating instruction and am glad that I did. It has ideas and activities for grades 4-12. I was able to read it quickly, due to its quick-access format. Included are 87 pages of great ideas on grouping, adapting textbooks, prereading, during reading modifications, and after-reading activities. Following this section are 38 pages of reproducibles. I plan to use strategies from this book immediately in my middle school classes. This is a great resource if you want to "teach the student, not the textbook."

The collaborative work of elementary school classroom teacher Bev Wirt, elementary school reading specialist Carolyn Domaleski Bryan, and elementary school reading specialist Kathleen Davies Wesley, "Discovering What Works For Struggling Readers: Journeys of Exploration with Primary-grade Students" focuses upon the five teaching principles found to be consistently effective with elementary school students having difficulty in acquiring basic reading skills. The use of anecdotal vignettes and excerpts of student dialogue help to illustrate the application of these principles. Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Discovering What Works For Struggling Readers" will prove to be invaluable, practical, and applicable reading for anyone charged with the responsibility of helping children learn how to read with skill and enthusiasm.

As a reading tutor, I have struggled with how I should teach children with reading difficulties. Where theoretical issues are concerned, I found myself vacillating between whole language and phonics, being easily swayed by the eloquent proponents of either approach. In search of an end to my perpetual confusion, I grabbed hold of this eminent copy. The first few essays changed my outlook forever; I will never look at beginning literacy the same way again. It's somewhat surreal when you have an article by Goodman and another by Stanovich back to back, both addressing the same issue from different vantage points. Shannon's essay brought a new perspective to my knowledge on literacy. Certainly a mind-opener for me.

This book is a collection of texts from time periods and genres similar to the gospels of the new testament. While some of the texts consist of things that "didn't make it into the Bible" so to speak, others are texts of a different sort, more tangentially related (i.e. less related to Christianity).

There is not much discussion: this book is pretty much just the texts. Each text has a brief introductory paragraph which is quite useful for understanding its role, but these introductions are very helpful.

I think this book would be an excellent read for anyone who is seriously studying the gospels. It is also be interesting to study these texts from a religious perspective. Some, such as the infancy gospel of Thomas, present a picture of Jesus which is provocative and even outrageous, and which many people, such as myself, would have strong disagreements with. However, they're still interesting to read. My favorite text in the collection is the (coptic) gospel of Thomas, which seems almost like a blend of some Buddhist ideas with Christianity.

At the very least, this book provides some interesting and provocative reading material to anyone interested in the gospels, for any reason.

A great book for both parents and teachers to make learning to read fun and exciting. Many recipes for games and manipulatives to lend the experience of discovery to what otherwise is often boring drill and practice. Particularly good for children with AD/HD and others who like active learning. I only hope that more people buy the book so it doesn't go out of print.

This book is wonderful! The author is exceedingly bright, and writes in a jocular, engaging style, which nevertheless packs a data-rich punch. Plus, she makes very astute connections between her subject, the birth of British (and to a lesser extent, European) Children's Literature, with larger cultural movements: Classicism, Romanticism, responses to both the Industrial and the French Revolutions, class-struggle, colonialism, religious moralizing, gender roles, theories and practices of pedagogy, moivements for literacy, etc. -- and never gratuitously nor dogmatically.

This is a wonderful book, and anyone the least bit interested in Children's Literature -- past, present or future -- will derive *immense* enjoyment and education from it. Plus, it is lavishly illustrated with rare reproductions from the original books, and these are just not to be missed!

This is a book for those who question literature teaching the way it has been done so far, and wish it was different. Langer's "envisionment-building" approach considers text interpretations as constant and never-ending processes, always collectively created and in transformation. The literature classroom is therefore an opportunity to share and re-build our interpretive procedures, to review and recreate our sense-making processes. The literary is seen as a way to produce meanings that is present in the everyday process of understanding, and not only when in contact with literary texts. She suggests classroom procedures and gives examples from her own teaching experience to illustrate her views; her writing-style is clear and straightforward, filled with passion for teaching and literature alike. I strongly recommend this book as one of the very few to describe teaching/learning approaches to literature from a theoretical basis without theoretical boredom.

It is wonderful that teachers who have years of experience like Teresa Cornell, finally share what their knowledge in books like Follow-the-Directions Art Activities. What a great resource! Buy this book!

The life of Frida Kahlo, one of the world's greatest women artists, is excellently portrayed in this book. Rauda Jamis manages to give us a unique insight of the pain, anguish and passion that fill the world of Frida. From her birth to her death, the book captures us and invites us to travel with Frida, as we identify ourselves more and more as we read, with this fascinating woman.

Great book: I stumbled upon this book while searching for another (actually planned on ordering only Strategies that Work by Harvey). This book has been a wonderful resource. I work with K-6 students, many with vocabulary deficits, and the strategies in this book have been wonderful. It does a great job of describing strategies, offering visual cue cards, and providing introductory activities for each strategy. There is also a strong focus on self-monitoring- the self-monitoring strategies are great, too. The vocabulary strategies described include: using memory/background knowledge/seen or heard word before, using root word as clue, context clues, and substitute a synonym for self-checking. This book is well-written, well-organized, and offers new insights/more depth into word learning strategies. I was able to immediately apply knowledge from this book into activities with students. Awesome book for the price. I buy books on vocabulary instuction and comprehension quite a bit, and this is one of the best!