Books and Stories
From LiteracyTentWiki
Marva Collins' Way
This is about teaching younger students, but the approach and dialogue always improve my mindset.
Follow My Leader
by James Garfield"Eleven-year-old Jimmy Carter doesn't know what to do with himself when he is blinded by a firecracker in a freak accident. The usually energetic boy, who loved playing baseball, and going camping is quickly taken out of commission, and left to live the rest of his life in the dark. All alone. But that notion is quickly swept out of Jimmy's head when he begins working with Miss Thompson, a therapist who opens up a whole new world for Jimmy, one where he can walk by using a cane, and read by using the method of braille. But when Jimmy is given the chance to have his very own guide dog, he's ecstatic. He quickly packs up his belongings, and heads to the School for the Blind where he will learn to get around without his cane, cut food by himself, and, best of all, get his very own guide dog! But getting used to working with Leader - his dog - isn't as easy as Jimmy originally thought it would be. In fact, sometimes it can even be a bit complicated at times. But Jimmy knows that if he wants to make it in this cruel world he'll have to try as hard as he can to make things work with his eyes, Leader." http://www.amazon.com/Follow-Leader-James-B-Garfield/dp/0140364854
Reading Don't Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men
by Michael Smith and Jeffrey Wilhelm (Heinemann Pub)Describes "why boys reject much of school literacy and how progressive curricula and instruction might help them engage with literacy and all learning in more productive ways."
Thinking Points
by George LakoffThe Fred Factor
by Mark SanbornThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
by Mark HaddonSix Million Paper Clips
by Peter W. Schroeder and Dagmar Schroeder-Hildebrand http://www.marionschools.org/holocaust/sixmillion.htmTeach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56
by Rafe Esquith http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780670038152
The Night is Dark and I am Far Away from Home
"This book, by Jonathan Kozol, published in 1975 has been out of print for some time but you can sometimes find used copies. It is one of his best." Art Ellison, Policy Committee Chair, National Council of State Directors of Adult EducationA People’s History of the United States
by Howard Zinn. (Any edition) "This is a basic text for all of us who work with adults." Art Ellison, Policy Committee Chair, National Council of State Directors of Adult EducationPolitics in America
and theAlmanac of American Politics
(Each is published every two years). Each of these books contains the information that we all need as adult educators to understand the political system and how we can involve our students in the decision making processes that have a major impact on their lives. Art Ellison, Policy Committee Chair, National Council of State Directors of Adult EducationEducating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year
"I loved this book by Esme Codell. It reminded me why I became a teacher." Carol McDonnell, CCBCWalking With The Wind
by John Lewis. "Not only does this book chronicle an important period in American History, the civil rights movement, but the major themes are change and respect. The book itself might be a little long to use with most students, but the 3 page prologue describes the metaphor for the title:"Children holding hands, walking with the wind. That is America to me – not just the movement for civil rights but the endless struggle to respond with decency, dignity and a sense of brotherhood to all the challenges that face us as a nation, as a whole.This could serve as an introduction to goal setting and discussion of ethics and choice for higher level students. It could also be a prompt for students writing their own stories or an introduction to persuasive writing." Susan Kidd, State Board for Community & Technical Colleges - ABE
Language Lessons: Stories for Teaching and Learning English
by Ruth Spack and Vivian Zamel, "Many of the stories are written by authors who themselves were language teachers and/or language learners and are really beautiful stories. Because the authors of the volume are teacher educators, they have included questions for reflection and analysis at the end of each story." Kimberly Johnson,ATLAS/Hamline UniversityThe Rather Baffling Case of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N
This story, by Leo Rosten, "generated an amazing discussion about what it means to be successful as a language learner and really prompted a close look at our assumptions as teachers. I've loved including some literature in our PD and teachers have really enjoyed these." Kimberly Johnson, ATLAS/Hamline UniversityThe Hunger of Memory
by Richard RodriguezLives on the Boundary and The Mind at Work
Two books by Mike Rose. "[These] really have helped me better understand where my students are coming from, from socio-economic and educational standpoints." Kristi ReyesA Lesson Before Dying
by Ernest Gaines. Suggested by Donna Vanderhoff, a teacher and curriculum developer in Arlington, VA as "an inspirational book for teachers because of the way it highlights literacy issues." Heide WrigleyThe Reader (der Leser)
by Bernhard Schlink. "Not really inspirational in the conventional sense but a book that did take my breath away.... Among many things, it addresses the limited options that non-readers have and the strategies they use to connect with books. It also deals with the notion of “but I was only following orders” (the main character is a woman who worked as a Nazi prison guard). It was also a movie with Kate Winglet and Ralph Fiennes." Heide WrigleyOther People's Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy
Victoria Purcell Gates (1997)Harvard University Press."Other People's Words presnts a case study of an Appalachian family (Jenny and her son Donny) who are illiterate. Jenny and her husband don't know how to read or write and consequently their children don't either. But Jenny sees the importance of Donny's learning and seeks out Gate's help to learn to read. What we discover is that the family is not just illiterate; rather they live in a world where the written word has no meaning: they don't know how to read because they don't know what the written word is for (an example of this is when Jenny receives a postcard from Gates and throws it away without turning it over, unaware that there would be a message for her on the other side.) What is inspiring is to see the power of a passionate literacy teacher and a student who really wants to learn." Federico Salas-Isnardi
The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life
Parker Palmer (1998) Jossey-Bass "The Courage presents the challenges of being a teacher; Palmer says of his book, "This book is for teachers who have good days and bad — and whose bad days bring the suffering that comes only from something one loves. It is for teachers who refuse to harden their hearts, because they love learners, learning, and the teaching life." The book talks about teaching but not what we teach, how, or why. It talks about who does the teaching. Who are we as full persons in front of our classrooms. I found it moving, spiritual, inspirational. And I think all teachers will identify with Palmer's bad days and all will remember a student from "hell" whom Palmer seeks to understand.""In terms of professional development, both books are perfect for discussion groups/study circles. In the case of the first one, I would start by asking teachers to consider their own notions about literacy (for example, my own limited view of illiteracy was expanded when I learned that there are people who don't know how to read because they don't understand the purpose of reading; it's not part of their paradigm.) Once teachers have challenged their own biases about illiteracy (for example, the fact that white urban children in Appalachia rank the lowest in literacy of any other group) then they can start to talk about identifying successful strategies and analyze the intervention that Gates used with Jenny."
"Courage is a book that invites in-depth reflection about our teaching practices. A teacher's study circle could work with Palmer on teaching "beyond technique" identifying ways to be present as a whole person in the classroom, concerned about learners as people, beyond our focus on content. Anyhow, however one organizes a PD event around these two books I found them both inspiring and difficult to put down."
Federico Salas-Isnardi
