The value of small-group instruction cannot be emphasized enough, but many teachers have found it difficult to manage, especially when class sizes remain large. Here is practical, theoretically-sound guidance for language arts teachers from pre-K through grade 5 who want help setting up literacy-rich classrooms that support guided reading or other small-group teaching.
This new edition of The Literacy Center provides meaningful activities that extend small-group instruction in both comprehension and word study. Like the popular first edition, this updated handbook is teacher friendly. Clear suggestions for each center, together with charts, diagrams, black-line masters and photographs, help implement a real work place for young learners. Supported by Dr. Morrow's extensive research in motivation theory and exemplary instruction, here are sound ideas that engage students collaboratively and independently. You can spend time teaching small groups of students, attending to their individual needs, all the while knowing the rest of your class will be independently engaged in real learning.
The book is divided into two distinct parts. The first section gives the research background and rationale for using literacy centers. It provides the tools for thoughtful design and use of centers along with helpful hints on how best to motivate students. The second section provides activities for modeling literature to interest children in reading in social collaborative settings. These activities are designed to foster the development of comprehension skills and strategies through the use of children's literature. The book gives equal time to the development of word study skills, such as phonemic awareness and phonics, with manipulative materials to ensure fluent reading.
Included are:smart suggestions for introducing centers;management ideas;black-line masters;ways to foster student collaboration and cooperation;ways to assess students' center work and suggestions for promoting student accountability;a completely new section on word study, phonics and phonemic awareness;practical and effective suggestions for family involvement.
The Literacy Center can help you develop your students' enthusiasm for reading and writing. It is perfect for introducing pre-service teachers to classrooms that are literacy-rich and purposeful, as well as for continuing staff development for classroom teachers who are seeking better ways to engage students in reading and writing.
Lesley Mandel Morrow is a Professor of Literacy at Rutgers University's Graduate School of Education where she is Chair of the Department of Learning and Teaching. She began her career as a classroom teacher, then became a reading specialist and later received her Ph.D. from Fordham University in New York City. Her area of research deals with early literacy development, and the organization and management of Language Arts Programs. Her research is carried out with children and families from diverse backgrounds.
Dr. Morrow has more than 250 publications that appear as journal articles, book chapters, monographs and books. She received Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service Awards from Rutgers University. She was the recipient of the International Reading Association's Outstanding Teacher Educator of Reading Award and Fordham University's Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement. In addition Dr. Morrow has received numerous grants for research from the federal government and has served as a principal research investigator for the Center of English Language Arts, National Reading Research Center, Center for Early Reading Achievement and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Lab. She was an elected member of the Board of Directors of International Reading Association (IRA), an organization of 90,000 educators in 100 countries, and served as President of the organization in 2003-2004. She was elected into the Reading Hall of Fame in 2006.
"I have to admit that when I went to college, you became a teacher or a nurse. Teaching appealed to me more. I love teaching. I love the joy of those who learn, I love the children who still write to me as adults. I love my college students who keep in touch after they have become teachers to tell me how much they appreciate what they learned. I love it when people I don't know write to me to tell me they read my work and were inspired by it. I love it when college students from other universities ask me for interviews and opinions and do reports on my work."
