New books
Akhavan, N. 2006. Help! My Kids Don't All Speak English: How to Set Up a Language Workshop in Your Linguistically Diverse Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 224 pp. ISBN 0-325-00798-5. $25.
In the language workshop, children acquire language through participation in meaningful discussions about a shared topic. This approach benefits students for whom English is a primary language as well as those learning English as a second language. During the workshop the children get sustained opportunities to develop communicative competence and to think critically by analyzing, comparing, and evaluating ideas about their ongoing curriculum investigations and related literature. The two-pronged approach helps children become part of the literate community in the classroom and learn language conventions and skills.
Children learning English as a second language develop their ideas and speaking skills in their home language first by working with peers who speak their language. This prepares them for sharing with the whole class through the help of visuals and other teacher supports. Akhavan details how to implement the language workshop approach and offers specific strategies for scaffolding. For example, in the chapter on vocabulary development, the author recommends focusing on word concepts, not words; instead of turning to the dictionary, teachers help children relate the word to their own experiences and ideas. A short section describes second-language acquisition.
Gentry, J.R. 2006. Breaking the Code: The New Science of Beginning Reading and Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 192 pp. ISBN 0-325-00922-8. $22.
As a K-3 blueprint for teaching writing, spelling, and reading, this book details what should be expected at each level of literacy development and the teaching techniques necessary to progress to the next level. Gentry's model is based on a new understanding of the reading process, produced partly by brain imagery studies that track what's going on inside the brain during reading at the same time teachers observe what is going on outside the brain. The new perceptions highlight the connection between writing and reading and the importance of teaching writing in kindergarten to ensure reading success.
Gentry explains that while the four reading components-meaning, spelling, sounds, and context-work in concert with each other to help the child construct meaning from print, spelling knowledge may come first, in fact, may be critical to beginning readers and writers. The model guides teachers through four phases of reading and writing and spelling development, including assessment, intervention techniques for children with reading disabilities, and a plan for setting up a kindergarten writing program.
Jones, E., & R.M. Cooper. 2006. Playing to Get Smart. New York: Teachers College Press. 125 pp. ISBN 0-8077-4616-9. $19.95
Jones and Cooper examine assumptions they hold about what it means to be smart and what kind of environments and experiences children need to get smart. They discuss the need for complexity in children's lives, intrinsic motivation, democracy, and the process of becoming bicultural. To provoke critical thinking, the authors invite readers to critique their assumptions and reflect on their own theories about children and teaching.
Vignettes from early childhood educational settings show the world through the eyes and minds of young children. Teachers and children join the authors in dialogue about patterns of development, professional development strategies, and creative teaching techniques and good practice. Well-chosen quotes from a rich interdisciplinary literature (some predictable, like John Dewey; others unexpected, like Winston Churchill) challenge us to examine teaching and learning and play from new perspectives. Although serious in content, the book is playful in spirit, sprinkled with the delightful, unpredictable humor of young children.
Wittmer, D.S., & S.H. Petersen. 2006. Infant and Toddler Development and Responsive Program Planning:
A Relationship-Based Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 431 pp. ISBN 0-13-099241-0. $60.
Infants and toddlers exist within a network of dyads-mother-child, father-child, mother-father, grandmother-mother, infant/toddler-teacher, toddler-toddler, and many more. Drawing examples from families and early education settings, Wittmer and Petersen demonstrate how these relationships are the organizing force of development in the first three years of life.
The book is a comprehensive examination of children's development but also includes practical strategies to help infant/toddler teachers use responsive interactions tied to developmental trends. A range of topics is addressed, such as whether learning a second language in the first two years is harmful or beneficial to language development; how to plan a curriculum process of respecting, reflecting, and relating; and how to handle challenging behavior like biting.
Designed as a text for students in professional preparation programs and including many tools for teacher educators, the book is also a valuable guide for center-based or family child care programs.
Titles are selected from the many new books received by NAEYC. Educator Gail Perry writes the annotations. The books are available from the publishers listed, your local bookstore, or online retailers.
Copyright © 2006 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See Permissions and Reprints online at http://www.journal.naeyc.org/about/permissions.asp.
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