The Reading Teacher articles from December 2000

The Reading Teacher archives from December 2000

Guidelines for implementing a graphic organizer.
December 1, 2000... This article suggests attributes for effective graphic organizer implementation accompanied by a sample classroom prereading dialogue. In 1985, the National Academy of Education's Commission on Education and Public Policy, along with the...

Speak the speech, I pray you! Preparing to read aloud dramatically.
December 1, 2000... Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc'd it to you, trippingly on the tongue, but if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act III, Scene 3. * So Hamlet...

Word detectives.
December 1, 2000... * Effective, exciting vocabulary strategies are important in today's classrooms. Teachers have a lot of challenges, especially when it comes to increasing their students' abilities to read and comprehend text. The knowledge and strategies...

Children's books as models to teach writing skills.
December 1, 2000... * A walk through elementary classrooms today often reveals students immersed in literature. Books in baskets, books on shelves, books in centers, and books in the hands of teachers and children reflect a model literacy environment. We believe...

Better book buddies.
December 1, 2000... * Buddy reading, or "book buddies," is an activity designed to increase emergent or less able readers' literacy. Usually it involves pairing underachieving readers with older, more advanced students. Book buddies can also be formed between...

Spelling exceptions: Problems or possibilities?
December 1, 2000... Teachers who understand the patterns and complexities of English spelling can stimulate their students' interest in and mastery of printed language. As Mrs. Beckner (all names are pseudonyms) circulated around the room during writing...

Teaching and Learning About Cultural Diversity.
December 1, 2000... A dose of empathy Item: A 15-month-old boy named Michael responds to the crying of his friend Paul by offering him his own teddy bear. When Paul continues to cry, Michael brings Paul's security blanket to him (Goleman, 1995, p. 98). ...

Three paradigms of assessment: Measurement, procedure, and inquiry.
December 1, 2000... When assessment becomes a process of inquiry, teachers can use it to make informed decisions. Different assessment frameworks have different intended audiences, are used for different purposes and use different procedures to collect...

Assessment Is Instruction: Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Phonics for ALL Learners.
December 1, 2000... Susan Mandel Glazer. 1998. Christopher-Gordon Publishers (1502 Providence Highway, Suite 12, Norwood, MA 02062-4643, USA). ISBN 0-926842-77-3. Softcover. 368 pp. US$38.95. Susan Glazer asserts that the changing nature of instruction for...

Classroom Based Assessment.
December 1, 2000... Bonnie Campbell Hill, Cynthia Ruptic, and Lisa Norwick. 1998. Christopher Gordon Publishers (1502 Providence Highway, Suite 12, Norwood, MA 02062-4643, USA). ISBN 0-92684284-6. Softcover. 343 pp. US$48.95. Don't be intimidated by the...

When Learners Evaluate.
December 1, 2000... Jane Hansen. 1998. Heinemann (361 Hanover Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801, USA). ISBN 0-325-00094-8. Softcover. 170 pp. US$16.00. "What have you learned about yourself through putting your portfolio together?," a researcher asked a...

Student Generated Rubrics: An Assessment Model to Help All Students Succeed.
December 1, 2000... Larry Ainsworth and Jan Christinson. 1998. Dale Seymour Publications (PO Box 10888, Palo Alto, CA 94303-0879, USA). ISBN 1-57232-921-1. Softcover. 109 pp. US$15.95. Teachers looking for ways to involve their students more in their own...

A Teacher's Guide to Standardized Reading Tests: Knowledge is Power.
December 1, 2000... Lucy Calkins, Kate Montgomery, Donna Santman with Beverly Falk. 1998. Heinemann (361 Hanover Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801, USA). Softcover. 199 pp. US$17.50. Knowledge is power. This adage guided Lucy Calkins and her colleagues as they...

Professional Portfolio Models: Applications in Education.
December 1, 2000... Maureen McLaughlin, Mary Ellen Vogt, Joanne Anderson, Judy DuMez, Marian Peter, and Alyce Hunter. 1998. Christopher-Gordon Publishers (1502 Providence Highway, Suite 12, Norwood, MA 02062-4643, USA). ISBN 0-926842-74-9. Softcover. 211 pp....

Finding our own way: Critical reflections on the literacy development of two Reading Recovery children.
December 1, 2000... Teachers must constantly adjust tasks and texts so that children's knowledge and their willingness to apply it develop in balanced ways. Although many children learn to read with almost any instructional approach, others falter when...

Turning learning theory into classroom instruction: A minicase study.
December 1, 2000... * Teachers the world over are eminently practical beings. There is a strong practicality ethic embedded within their psyches. Those of us interested in designing and teaching professional development courses will have experienced just how...

2000 Caldecott Medal winner: A conversation with Simms Taback.
December 1, 2000... Vibrant rich colors, playful details, and skillfully placed die cuts contribute to the book's raucous merriment that takes this Yiddish folk song beyond the simple words. Barbara Kiefer, Chair of the 2000 Caldecott Award Selection...

2000 Newbery Medal winner: A conversation with Christopher Paul Curtis.
December 1, 2000... This heartfelt novel resonates with both zest and tenderness as it entertains questions about racism, belonging, love, and hope. Bud's fast-paced first-person account moves with the rhythms of jazz and celebrates life, family, and a child's...

2001: A reading odyssey.
December 1, 2000... And so I told them about the waves calling me and the rolling sea and the open sky, and when I finished, they pretty much yawned and said, "What-ev-er" and "You could die out there," and "If you don't come back, can I have that red jacket of...