The Book Club Connection: Literacy Learning and Classroom Talk (Language and Literacy Series) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807736147 ISBN 13: 9780807736142

Publisher: Teachers College Press, 1997

Synopsis

This is a comprehensive text about the beliefs, issues, and practices at the forefront of literacy education–language, ethnic, and academic diversity; authentic assessment; social construction of meaning and knowledge–explored through the lens of a cohesive instructional design, the Book Club Program. As such, it provides a well-researched pedagogical model. Commentaries by eminent literacy scholars outside the project provide an expanded perspective on the many issues raised by the chapter authors. The resulting multiplicity of voices–including those of students (the authors of Chapter 10) who were fifth-grade participants in the Book Club program–is a unique feature of this long-awaited volume.

Section I: The Book Club Program Foundations and Components • Theoretical and Research Foundations • Classrooms as Communities • Reading in the Book Club Program • When Readers Write • Contexts for Students to Lead Their Own Discussions • Section II: Extending Research on the Book Club Program • Talk About Text Among Special Education Students • Second-Language Learners in Mainstream Classrooms • The Cross-Aged Literacy Program • Assessment Research • Students Speak: Book Club from Our Perspective • Section III: Teacher-Researchers in the Book Club Program • Reflective Teaching for Continuing Development • Extensions to Early Elementary Classrooms • They Can Do It Too!: Book Club with First and Second Graders • The Content-Area Connection • A Portfolio Approach to Assessment

The commentaries are written by: Gordon Wells • Carol Sue Englert • Robert Rueda • Donna E. Alvermann • Elfrieda H. Hiebert • P. David Pearson • Dorothy Strickland • Lee Galda • Barbara M. Taylor • Karen K. Wixson • Kathryn H. Au

About this title

Book Description

"In this book, we hear the voices of teachers, the voices of researchers, and the voices of students as they experience the joy of Book Club. When teachers and students become involved, Book Club changes the context of classrooms. Students begin to see themselves as active contributors to a learning environment and change that environment in the process."
—From the Foreword by
Bernice E. Cullinan
, New York University

About the Author

Susan I. McMahon, PhD, is a professor of reading and language in the Curriculum and Instruction Program at National-Louis University, where she teaches master's- and doctoral-level students. She began her professional career as an English teacher and taught at both the middle and high school levels in rural, urban, and suburban settings for 16 years. After completing her PhD in literacy development with an emphasis in reading, Susan accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she taught for 7 years. Her research interests focus on classroom-based assessment of students' comprehension. She has spent several years working with districts to develop assessment tools that inform instruction. Her publications include "The Book Club Connection: Literacy Learning and Classroom Talk"and several book chapters and journal publications, including "Fifth Graders Helping Peers Discuss Texts in Student-Led Groups, "which won the Harold E. Mitzel Award for Meritorious Contribution to Educational Practice through Research. Susan continues to work with elementary school teachers to improve their literacy instruction and assessment.
Jacqueline Wells, MS, earned her BA in elementary education from the University of Iowa and her MS in reading curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1998, the International Reading Association (IRA) awarded her a Teacher as Researcher Grant. She was also a presenter at annual conventions of the IRA on topics such as student discourse, Book Club, and integrated curriculum. Jacqueline has 16 years of teaching experience at the elementary level and is currently a fifth-grade teacher in the small, suburban community ofWaunakee, Wisconsin. In her current school district, she serves as building coordinator in communication arts, member of the contract negotiations team, and mentor to new teachers. In 2005, her peers elected her Teacher of the Year.

Edition details

• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807736147
• ISBN 13: 9780807736142
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: McMahon Susan I., Raphael Taffy E.