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Peer Review

Teachers as Readers

Reviewed:

Jan 31, 2011 by Teacher Education
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 3.8 stars
Content Quality: 3.5 stars
Effectiveness: 4.0 stars
Ease of Use: 4.0 stars
Overview:

A compilation for teachers of all grade levels who participated in a Teachers as Readers seminar. This and other free texts are available in MERLOT at no charge to users. According to the text: " The contributors to Teachers as Readers: Perspectives on the Importance of Reading in Teachers’ Classrooms and Lives—themselves teachers and teacher educators—explore the positive educational outcomes that are possible for students when teachers share with them what, how, and why they read for pleasure. The book presents 18 essays on a wide variety of classroom approaches for different grade levels that successfully involve teachers and students in enjoyable and instructive reading activities. Teachers as Readers culminates in the presentation of 13 stances that the contributors recommend for educators to enhance their teaching effectiveness, regardless of the subject they teach. The stances address, among many other issues, the need for teachers to inform students of the new vocabulary they learn through reading, share with students how they choose their personal reading materials, and reveal to students the questions they have when they read. The narratives in Teachers as Readers offer readers a view into the teachers’ lives as they come to better understand their own reading habits and into their classrooms as they impart their reading practices to their students. These authors hope the increased excitement about and interest in reading that they have discovered with their students inspires other teachers to adopt similar practices in their own classrooms and lives."
Type of Material:

Textbook (published by IRA, but available as a free download from the University of Georgia, Athens).
Recommended Uses:

This might be appropriate for a reading methods course or for in-service teachers' professional development, university instructors' professional development, some basic reading ideas for everyone. It is important for readers to read the first four pages of the text in order to ascertain the purpose and goals of the publication.
Technical Requirements:

Ability to read .pdf.
Identify Major Learning Goals:

To encourage teachers to be readers and share their reading with their students To inspire instructors To provide professional development for teachers of reading To address alternative ways for approaching reading in the classroom
Target Student Population:

K-12 teachers; preservice teachers; students in reading methods courses, university professors
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Having an interest in developing a love of reading in our students

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

There is enough diversity in content and quality so that someone could pick and choose chapters appropriate to their situation. Some of the chapters are very strong and chronicle changes teachers have made in their classrooms. The text offers a variety of perspectives.
Concerns:

There is an unevenness in writing quality and usefulness of the material. Usually in an edited book, the first chapter maps our the book--this book does not specifically do that.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

The text can inspire both instructors and students. Some chapters provide results of implementation of change. The book challenges teachers of reading to think about what they're doing and to consider making changes that may go against standard operating procedures in the classroom. Some chapters are very reflective, making connections with past experiences.
Concerns:

Not all contributors provided the results of their implementation of change.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

The text can be emailed to "yourkindle"@free.kindle.com, put Convert in the subject of the email and it will be transferred to the Kindle proprietary format as long as you use wireless and not 3G.
Concerns:

The .pdf was not hyperlinked, so finding individuals chapters is difficult.
Other Issues and Comments:

It would be helpful to have explanatory chapter or introduction that outlines the sequencing and grouping of chapters. We applaud the Creative Commons license.
Creative Commons:
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