Infotext: Reading and Learning, Second Edition (The Pippin Teacher's Library): Reading and Learning / Edition 2

by karen M. Feathers, Dyanne Rivers

Overview

When students encounter difficulties while reading textbooks, their first instinct is often to blame themselves - and their lack of reading proficiency. But the problems often have nothing to do with them.

In this revised and expanded edition of her classic Infotext: Reading and Learning, Karen Feathers explains why infotexts - the textbooks, manuals, magazines, Web sites, and so on that we read for information - often present problems, even for proficient readers. By drawing on both traditional and current research into reading and reading behavior, she then goes on to demonstrate how teachers of content subjects can help students, including English language learners, overcome these problems and learn more effectively. Her practical, classroom-tested suggestions help teachers focus on content and manage curriculum demands, while encouraging students to take control of their own learning by expanding their repertoire of reading strategies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780887510762
Publisher:	Pippin Publishing
Publication date:	04/19/2004
Series:	Pippin Teacher's Library Series , #24
Edition description:	Revised and Expanded Edition
Pages:	162
Product dimensions:	5.95(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Dr. Karen M. Feathers is known internationally for her work in content reading, comprehension, and staff development. She is coordinator of the Reading, Language and Literature Program in the Division of Teacher Education at Wayne State University in Detroit, and has also served on the Michigan State Content Literacy Committee, as well as the Committee on Reading/Language in Secondary Schools and the Second Language Literacy and Learning Commission of the International Reading Association. Her extensive experience with teachers in the widely diverse classrooms of the urban area in which she works form the basis of this book.

Table of Contents

	Preface	7
	Why Teach Content Reading?	9
	Why Teach Content Reading?	10
	Why Teach Reading in Content Classes?	19
	Summary	19
	The Basis of Content Reading	21
	Is All Reading the Same?	21
	What Factors Affect Reading?	23
	How Do We Read?	26
	What Do Good Readers Do?	32
	What Do We Know about Learning That Can Help Us?	32
	Summary	40
	Evaluating Students and Texts	41
	Differences between Narrative and Expository Texts	41
	Evaluating Texts Using Readability Formulas	44
	Evaluating Texts for Instructional Planning	45
	Evaluating Reading through a Content Informal Reading Inventory	53
	Alternative Ways of Evaluating Student's Ability to Read Content Texts	55
	Summary	56
	Understanding Vocabulary	57
	Should Vocabulary Be Taught Formally?	58
	Learning Vocabulary: Terms and Concepts	59
	Learning Vocabulary: Many Concepts, One Label	63
	The Importance of Learning Vocabulary in Context	64
	Helping Students Develop Independent Strategies	65
	Helping Students Deal with Unfamiliar Vocabulary	72
	Summary	76
	Making Connections	79
	Finding Out What Students Know	80
	Helping Students Make Connections	82
	Summary	92
	Focusing on Meaning	95
	Helping Students Monitor Understanding	95
	Helping Students Develop Metacognitive Awareness	97
	Encouraging Active Reading	102
	Identifying Important Information	107
	Summary	113
	Organizing Information--New Perspectives	115
	Charts	116
	Semantic Maps	121
	Summaries	131
	Summary	135
	The Importance of Reflective Writing	137
	Journals and Learning Logs	138
	Letters and E-Mail Messages	141
	Poetry	143
	Recycled Stories	150
	Summary	156
	Bibliography	157
	Professional References	157
	Infotext References	161