Making the Match: The Right Book for the Right Reader at the Right Time, Grades 4-12 / Edition 1

by Teri Lesesne

Overview

What do adolescents care about? Chatting on-line with friends, movies, their favorite bands . . . but many are also avid readers. What motivates some of these "typical teens" to become lifelong readers and others to slide by with the minimum amount of assigned reading? Teri Lesesne says the key is finding the books that get them hooked in the first place.

In Making the Match she focuses on three distinct areas that will assist teachers and librarians in steering students to the literature they love:Knowing the readers: discussion of important theories in the development of adolescents (mentally, physically, morally, socially) and how that information helps educators to reach these kids with books. This background information is brought home through the book's “snapshots” which profile many of the adolescents the author has worked with. Knowing the books: examination of the various forms, formats, and genres that YA literature has to offer, as well as what special challenges educators face when selecting quality nonfiction or realistic fiction, and the role picture books can play in this process.Knowing the strategies: an overview of concrete ideas for motivating students to read as well as follow-up activities for post-reading assessment. Strategies discussed include reading aloud, booktalking, alternatives to traditional book reports, and literature circles.

A delightful feature of the book that will help inspire teachers and students alike—as well as underscore the concepts contained in the text—is a series of vignettes by popular, award-winning YA authors that offer glimpses into their own feelings and memories of books and reading. Authors include: Sharon Creech, Jack Gantos, Chris Crutcher, Mel Glenn, Paul Janeczko, and others.

The book concludes with an invaluable set of appendices providing an FAQ on YA literature, bibliographies of professional materials, books by the vignette authors, and over twenty booklists with hundreds of books organized by genre or topic, all with suggested grade levels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571103819
Publisher:	Stenhouse Publishers
Publication date:	01/01/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	7.37(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.75(d)
Age Range:	9 - 17 Years

About the Author

There was never any doubt in Teri Lesesne's mind that she would one day become a teacher. "It is the only thing I ever considered becoming," she says. She loves to see kids' faces light up as they learn. "Kids of all ages are so responsive, so engaged in what they are doing, and it is wonderful to see the wheels turning."

Teri was born in Pittsburgh, but lived in Texas all of her adult life. She spent fifteen years as a middle school teacher and has been a university professor for the last fifteen years. She is currently teaching in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University. She is also a presenter and consultant for schools and districts across the country.

During her presentations, she learns just as much from her audience as her audience does from her. "I try to make it [professional development] as painless as possible. I spent fifteen years listening to others do professional development and I learned from all the presenters what and what not to do. I tend to be fairly informal and rather flippant. I tell jokes and stories about myself and my experiences to illustrate points I am trying to make."

Teri is the author of Making the Match and Naked Reading. "The first book had a different process from the second one. Who knows what my approach might be next?"

Reading Aloud: A Worthwhile Investment? 

Copyright 2006 by the National Council of Teachers of English.  Reprinted with permission.