Language Arts : Patterns of Practice

by Tompkins, Gail E.

• ISBN13: 9780131177352
• ISBN10: 0131177354
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

For courses in Language Arts Methods for the Elementary School. With a powerful new CD-ROM, this sixth edition of the number one language arts text on the market offers comprehensive treatment of four classic instructional approaches to integrating all six research-identified language arts into school curricula. Calling approaches patterns of practice, the author adroitly combines them into a seamless presentation that will show prospective teachers how to foster and encourage language arts learning by students of all backgrounds, abilities, and interests. Thorough discussions are bolstered by specific coverage of strategies and skills; and, all are enriched by real classroom vignettes, authentic student artifacts, and the insight culled from the author's many years of experience.

Table of Contents

Learning and the Language Arts

Teaching and Assessing Language Arts

The Reading and Writing Process

Emerging Into Literacy

Looking Closely at Words

Personal Writing

Listening to Learn

Sustaining Talk in the Classroom

Reading and Writing Stories

Reading and Writing Information

Reading and Writing Poetry

Learning to Spell Conventionally

Learning about Grammar and Usage

Developing Legible Handwriting

Putting It All Together

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Current research identifies six language arts: reading, writing, listening, talking, viewing, and visually representing. Most textbooks cover only four.Language Arts: Patterns of Practice not only introduces the six language arts but also models their integration into the curriculum.Helping children and adolescents master all six language competencies and learn to communicate effectively in our culturally diverse, technologically changing society can seem like an overwhelming task for a new or even an experienced teacher. This text will help you fully understand how best to teach these language arts in kindergarten through eighth grade. These six language arts can be meaningfully integrated into the curriculum through four instructional approaches, orpatterns of practice.This text intricately weaves the teaching of the six language arts through four instructional approaches and, just like creating a quilt, you learn how to put the pieces together to form a complete whole. PATTERNS OF PRACTICE Encouraging you as a teacher to actively engage your students in personally meaningful, functional activities,Language Arts: Patterns of Practicehighlights the four well-respected instructional approaches best suited to integrating the six language arts. These are: Literature focus units--students read and study a high-quality children's book together as a class. Literature circles--students choose, read, and respond to a book in small groups. Reading and writing workshops--students work independently to read self-selected books and use the, writing process to independently write books and other compositions. Theme cycles--students use an integrated approach to engage in a content area study, such as a unit for social studies or science topics. Throughout the chapters, the text illustrates how to use patterns of prac- Establish a community of learners Engage students in "real" children's literature Teach children the language arts strategies and skills that enable them to learn to communicate effectively Integrate the six language arts skills into classroom instruction by threading them through this entire text with discussions, examples, and specific features New!Chapter opening vignettesbegin new chapter discussions by describing how classroom teachers use one of the instructional approaches to develop students' language arts competencies associated specifically with the new chapter's content. These intimate looks at classrooms model masterful language arts teaching while offering a contextual understanding of how patterns of instructional practice actually work in real classrooms. Colorful insertsin Chapter 2 provide detailed classroom examples of teachers in action, identifying procedures and processes for using each instructional approach. These colorful classroom glimpses illustrate how motivating and engaging each approach can be for students learning language arts. Language Arts: Patterns of Practicealso provides teachers with a seamless presentation of practical methods for developing and assessing specific strategies and skills. Piecing a Lesson Togethershows how to teach strategies and skills with detailed descriptions. These features list lesson topics to help teachers plan meaningfulminilessons,illustrating fully realized minilessons, to demonstrate how classroom teachers follow certain sequences to teach skills. Additional minilessons accompany chapter modules on the text's Companion Website. Weaning Assessment Into Practicefeatures take readers into the classroom to witness the regular integration of assessment in masterful language arts teaching. Here are authentic artifacts and guidelines for assessing students' language arts