Better Books! Better Readers! [Paperback]

Linda Hart-Hewins (Author), Jan Wells (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1571103058 | ISBN-13: 978-1571103055 | Publication Date: January 1, 1999

This comprehensive resource shows you how to develop a classroom where reading time is more popular than recess. Based on the authors' belief that using real books and real writing experiences help children not only become literate but also lovers of reading, Better Books! Better Readers! offers practical guidelines for creating classrooms that foster language learning.

Organized around three evolving categories—Beginning Readers and Writers, Developing Readers and Writers, and Fluent Independent Readers and Writers—Better Books! Better Readers! suggests detailed ideas for:

• choosing and leveling books;
• selecting specific books to meet the needs of children;
• creating reading and writing activities;
• organizing time and space in the classroom.

An extensive bibliography featuring the best and newest children's books will make leveling easier than ever for teachers. Better Books! Better Readers! is an invaluable guide that no teacher with an interest in children and reading will want to be without.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This comprehensive resource shows you how to develop a classroom where reading time is more popular than recess. Based on the authors' belief that using real books and real writing experiences help children not only become literate but also lovers of reading, Better Books! Better Readers! offers practical guidelines for creating classrooms that foster language learning.

Organized around three evolving categories - Beginning Readers and Writers, Developing Readers and Writers, and Fluent Independent Readers and Writers - Better Books! Better Readers! suggests detailed ideas for
* choosing and leveling books;
* selecting specific books to meet the needs of children;
* creating reading and writing activities;
* organizing time and space in the classroom.

An extensive bibliography featuring the best and newest children's books will make leveling easier than ever for teachers. Better Books! Better Readers! is an invaluable guide that no teacher with an interest in children and reading will want to be without.

About the Author

Children's books are an important part of the professional lives of Linda Hart-Hewins and Jan Wells. Linda Hart-Hewins has worked with young children in the Toronto school system for the past thirty years as a language arts consultant, teacher and principal. Jan Wells has explored how children learn as a classroom teacher, language arts consultant and university faculty associate for more than twenty years in the U.K., Ontario and most recently, British Columbia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571103058
• ISBN-13: 978-1571103055
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,538,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Innovative Reading Program, May 28, 2000

By 

Sally Hamlin (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Better Books! Better Readers! (Paperback)

As a second grade teacher, I am a firm believer that "practice makes perfect," especially when it comes to reading. The only way children will become better readers is if they read, and the only way they will read is if it is enjoyable to them. Linda Hart-Hewins and Jan Wells have developed a reading program that makes reading fun by using only trade books for the K - 2 classroom. They do an excellent job of describing the stages that young readers go through in their quest to learn to read, including checklists of the characteristics of the beginning, developing, and fluent reader and writer. They outline the program and the organization of the classroom. They do a lot of small group and individual work with the children in their classrooms which is really the way to determine what students are learning. They suggest many activities to use in learning centers while the teacher is working with groups or individuals. A long bibliography of suggested books is included at the end of the book. If you are looking for a reading program that is new and different, and you are able to acquire the books and resources to support the program and learning centers, then this is the program for you. Personally, though, I would find it difficult to throw out all my desks to replace them with learning centers. It would also take quite a bit of funding to collect all the books that would be needed to support the program in the primary classroom. It sounds like a great program in theory, but I feel that implementation might be difficult.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Master's students, August 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Better Books! Better Readers!: How to Choose, Use and Level Books for Children in the Primary Grades (Paperback)

This book is used at the University of Arizona for teaching teachers in their Masters program on reading to learn about children and literature. I recommend highly. Learn tricks of the trade and improve your teaching skills.