On the Revolution of Reading: The Selected Writings of Kenneth S. Goodman

Like all visionaries, Ken Goodman has had ideas that are truly different, wholly new, and completely unforeseen. And like the work of any "heretic," his model of the reading process has met with its share of controversy. In 1967, he spawned a revolution with his article "Reading: A Psycholinguistic Guessing Game." Disputing the view of reading as sequential word recognition, Goodman argued for the understanding of reading as a process of constructing meaning, of making sense of print. Since then, he has continued to publish extensively on the reading process, sharing his insights with teachers who could apply them to their classroom practices. Now, for the first time, the best of Goodman's provocative writings are available in one convenient volume.

Alan Flurkey and Jingguo Xu assembled pieces that were originally published in journals or as chapters of books. The editors based their selections on their appeal to classroom teachers, reading specialists, administrators, researchers, and all who wish to support the development of young readers. Separate sections of their book cover each key aspect of Goodman's model of the reading process:

• the theoretical model
• miscue analysis
• text analysis
• reading as language
• literacy development
• teaching and curriculum.

Goodman's peers have come to value his reading-as-meaning model and to recognize its importance in the history of reading research and education. Now readers of this book can appreciate it, too―and use it to know how students make sense as they read.

Alan D. Flurkey is Assistant Professor of Literacy Studies and Director of the Reading/Writing Learning Clinic at Hofstra University. He earned his Ph.D. in Reading from the University of Arizona.

Jingguo Xu has taught reading in English at the university level in Shanghai. China. He has pursued graduate studies in the United Kingdom and the United States. He earned his Ph.D. in Language, Reading, and Culture from the University of Arizona.