Literacy in the Early Grades: A Successful Start for PreK-4 Readers and Writers (3rd Edition) - Softcover

Tompkins, Gail E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0137027877 ISBN 13: 9780137027873

Publisher: Pearson, 2010

Synopsis

The third edition of Literacy in the Early Grades: A Successful Start for PreK-4 Readers and Writers   is the book that helps you get every student off to a successful start in literacy. Gail Tompkins, the leader in the field of literacy education, focuses her attention exclusively on the needs of students in PreKindergarten through Grade 4, and on the teachers who will prepare them for reading and writing success. With unsurpassed classroom application in the form of authentic classroom vignettes, student work samples, minilessons, assessment tools, video case studies, and the Compendium of Instructional Procedures, the third edition continues to cover the information new and experienced teachers need to know to teach literacy effectively, and follows this information with the specific strategies to use in the classroom to develop successful readers and writers in the primary grades.

 

NEW FEATURES:

• NEW! Reality Check: Time Management sections in chapters help you manage your time to better prepare primary grades students for literacy learning.
• NEW! Nurturing English Learner sections in chapters focus on ways to scaffold students who are learning to read and write at the same time they’re learning to speak English.
• NEW! If Children Struggle features help you determine what to do after assessments to help primary grades students who continue to struggle with reading and writing.  
• NEW! PreK Practices notes throughout chapters draw your attention to the particular needs of preschoolers. These notes point to the most appropriate strategies and adaptations to meet the needs of the youngest literacy learners.

About this title

About the Author:

Gail Tompkins   I’m a teacher, first and foremost.  I began my career as a first-grade teacher in Virginia in the 1970s.  I remember one first grader who cried as the first day of school was ending.  When I tried to comfort him, he sobbed accusingly, “I came to first grade to learn to read and write and you forgot to teach me.”  The next day, I taught that child and his classmates to read and write! We made a small patterned book about one of the stuffed animals in the classroom.  I wrote some of the words and the students supplied the others, and I duplicated copies of the book for each child.  We practiced reading it until everyone memorized our little book.  The children proudly took their books home to read to their parents. I’ve never forgotten that child’s comment and what it taught me:  Teachers must understand their students and meet their expectations.

            My first few years of teaching left me with more questions than answers, and I wanted to become a more effective teacher so I started taking graduate courses.  In time I earned a master’s degree and then a doctorate in Reading/Language Arts, both from Virginia Tech.  Through my graduate studies, I learned a lot of answers, but more importantly, I learned to keep on asking questions.

            Then I began teaching at the university level.  First I taught at Miami University in Ohio, then at the University of Oklahoma, and finally at California State University, Fresno. I’ve taught preservice teachers and practicing teachers working on master’s degrees, and I’ve directed doctoral dissertations. I’ve received awards for my teaching, including the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at California State University, Fresno, and I was inducted into the California Reading Association’s Reading Hall of Fame. Throughout the years, my students have taught me as much as I taught them.  I’m grateful to all of them for what I’ve learned.

            I’ve been writing college textbooks for more than 20 years, and I think of the books I write as teaching, too.  I’ll be teaching you as you read this text.  As I write a book, I try to anticipate the questions you might ask and provide that information.

Review:

The author did an exceptional job of presenting an abundance of ideas and examples. The Compendium of Instructional Procedures is a true strength.

Stacey A. Dudley, Bowling Green State University

 

The author is a well respected reading scholar. She is well known in California and throughout the country. Her text does indeed take you into the classroom and provides teacher-friendly support, particularly for beginning teachers.

Porfirio Loeza, California State University, Sacramento

 

My overall impression of this text is very positive. It is current, thorough, helpful, and teacher/student-friendly. The graphic representation is elegant and powerful. I like Preventing Reading and Writing Difficulties and Nurting English Learners features.

Bonnie Armbruster, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

About this edition

• Publisher: Pearson
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0137027877
• ISBN 13: 9780137027873
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 416