About the Book
Recent school reform efforts have emphasized the need for higher literacy standards in schools across the country. Offering practical guidance for literacy educators, curriculum development specialists, and other education professionals and policy makers, this volume considers how we can most effectively improve the quality and content of reading and writing instruction. Leading researchers and practitioners address the eight principles of best practice, providing the most current information on how to enhance students' ability to construct meaning from text independently, draw upon texts to build conceptual understanding, effectively communicate ideas orally and in writing, and develop an intrinsic desire to read and write. This timely book blends state-of-the-art theory and research with workable suggestions based on extensive hands-on experience in the field.
About the Author :
Linda B. Gambrell, College of Education, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD.
Review :
"Bringing together some of the best thinkers in the field, this thought-provoking volume adds real depth to our understanding of both 'best practice' and 'balance.' The topics chosen are important and each chapter invites discussion and response. The in-depth classroom examples are particularly rich illustrations of what good literacy instruction looks like across varied activities and with a variety of students. A valuable contribution!" --Donna M. Ogle, EdD, National-Louis University, Evanston, IL "This book will be an excellent text for college methods classes and a wonderful reference for school district administrators, teachers and teacher educators, and language arts coordinators. First, the contributing authors represent the finest minds in literacy education today, and they review major issues in literacy instruction with a wonderful balance between theory and practice. Second, the topics covered are timely. In an era of political rhetoric and mandates, this volume provides teachers and administrators with the research and practical ideas they need to guide and defend their decision-making process." --Carol M. Santa, PhD, Coordinator of Language Arts, Kalispell Public Schools, Kalispell, Montana
"This book goes a long way in identifying state-of-the-art instructional practices for literacy educators. Contributing authors, informed and respected literacy scholars, provide in-depth treatment of many of the critical issues facing teachers of reading. The voices of real teachers add texture, depth, and credibility to the various chapters. Building a bridge between the theoretical and the practical--between what research has to say and what teachers have to do--this is an important and much-needed addition to the field." --Timothy Rasinski, PhD, Professor of Education, Kent State University
"As you glance expectantly down the list of over thirty talented scholars who contributed to this book, you realize that something out of the ordinary is being offered by the professional literature. A first reading of the book fulfills your expectations, and affirms that the authors provided not only the best practices for literacy instruction, but also the best the field has to offer for direction and passage into the new millennium. The major purpose of Best Practices in Literacy Instruction is to awaken teachers, language arts coordinators, administrators and literacy specialists to the need for a consensus on literacy instruction and to provide the content of this consensus. The proposed consensus is delivered through eight common ground themes based on research-based best practices, presenting refreshing, new perspectives which reconceptualize ongoing literacy debates....Although the eight principles reflecting common ground themes are not new to us, the editors and contributors of are to be commended for their efforts....Rather than intimidating their audience, the authors have fostered a true sense of community between the characters in the book and its readers. The greatest strength which emerges in Best Practices in Literacy Instruction is the manner in which the main character, the teacher is portrayed. Throughout the book, exemplary teachers are portrayed as individuals who are flexible decision-makers, and as artists who fashion their own literacy environments to support unique classroom literacy....an obvious choice for veteran teachers who wish to read the professional literature, and for educators who aspire to providequality professional development experiences."-- Currents in Literacy
"This book would be most appropriate for middle school teachers, reading supervisors, and other administrators who have literacy development as a focus in their jobs. These individuals would find ideas that they could immediately implement in their classrooms....Superintendents, curriculum directors, and others who are often asked questions about how literacy is taught would find a use for this book. One of the best things this book does is to provide the latest research about best practice in concise form. Furthermore, each of the chapters can be read independently of the others, so each chapter provides a quick source of accurate and relevant information for a busy administrator. The chapters are also authored by recognized experts in the topic of the chapter. For college professors, the book could be used as a text or as a supplemental reading....I...recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the field of literacy." -- American Secondary Education
"As you glance expectantly down the list of over thirty talented scholars who contributed to this book, you realize that something out of the ordinary is being offered by the professional literature. A first reading of the book fulfills your expectations, and affirms that the authors provided not only the best practices for literacy instruction, but also the best the field has to offer for direction and passage into the new millennium. The major purpose of "Best Practices in Literacy Instruction" is to awaken teachers, language arts coordinators, administrators and literacy specialists to the need for a consensus on literacy instruction and to provide the content of this consensus. The proposed consensus is delivered through eight common ground themes based on research-based best practices, presenting refreshing, new perspectives which reconceptualize ongoing literacy debates....Although the eight principles reflecting common ground themes are not new to us, the editors and contributors of are to be commended for their efforts....Rather than intimidating their audience, the authors have fostered a true sense of community between the characters in the book and its readers. The greatest strength which emerges in "Best Practices in Literacy Instruction" is the manner in which the main character, the teacher is portrayed. Throughout the book, exemplary teachers are portrayed as individuals who are flexible decision-makers, and as artists who fashion their own literacy environments to support unique classroom literacy....an obvious choice for veteran teachers who wish to read the professional literature, and for educators who aspire to provide quality professional developmentexperiences."--"Currents in Literacy"
"This book would be most appropriate for middle school teachers, reading supervisors, and other administrators who have literacy development as a focus in their jobs. These individuals would find ideas that they could immediately implement in their classrooms....Superintendents, curriculum directors, and others who are often asked questions about how literacy is taught would find a use for this book. One of the best things this book does is to provide the latest research about best practice in concise form. Furthermore, each of the chapters can be read independently of the others, so each chapter provides a quick source of accurate and relevant information for a busy administrator. The chapters are also authored by recognized experts in the topic of the chapter. For college professors, the book could be used as a text or as a supplemental reading....I...recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the field of literacy." --"American Secondary Education"
