Illuminating Texts: How to Teach Students to Read the World [Paperback]

Jim Burke (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0867094974 | ISBN-13: 978-0867094978 | Publication Date: September 4, 2001

Today's students face such a barrage of competing texts in so many different forms and media that it's almost impossible to know what to trust and where to turn anymore. So it's now up to teachers to help students determine not only what should be read, but how it should be read.

Illuminating Texts, Jim Burke's most ambitious book yet, addresses this issue. It explores the powerful idea of "textual intelligence," offers both practical and theoretical information on teaching and reading, and explains how to incorporate the newest ideas and techniques into actual classroom practice. Jim also presents an important argument for teaching what students will need to know, and be able to do, in the future - one of our primary responsibilities as educators.

Each chapter has a clear focus - e.g., Reading the Internet, Reading Textbooks, Reading Literature, Reading Images - and all follow a similar format, including background information and rationale, standards connections, questions to ask, classroom connections, elements of the text, and additional resources. You can turn to the book for a five-minute read and find some questions to use in your next period. Or you can read an entire chapter, to help you clarify your thinking.

Illuminating Texts' accompanying website - www.englishcompanion.com/illuminating - continues and complements the book by providing additional resources, all of which are frequently updated.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is a book from the keyboard of an experienced teacher who knows what works with students.”–Teachers College Record

About the Author

Jim Burke is the author of the Heinemann title What's the Big Idea? The question he's always tried to answer is "How can we teach our students better?" He began this search in his own classroom at Burlingame High School in California, where he still teaches. He shares his experiences there in bestselling professional titles with Heinemann such as The English Teacher's Companion; Reading Reminders; and Writing Reminders as well as through Heinemann Professional Development Services. Looking to his peers for still more answers, he founded the English Companion Ning, described by Education Week as "the world's largest English department." Jim continues to find and support best practices in many other ways, including serving on national commissions related to adolescent literacy and standards, such as the Advanced Placement English Literature and Language Course and Exam Review Commission with the College Board, and by being a senior author on the Holt McDougal Harcourt Literature series. Jim has received numerous awards, including the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award, the NCTE Conference on English Leadership Award, and the California Reading Association Hall of Fame Award. He served on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Committee on Adolescence and Young Adulthood English Language Arts Standards and recently worked with ACT on their high school English Language Arts standards. In 2007, he participated in the national Adolescent Literacy Coalition roundtable and worked with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Visit his website (www.englishcompanion.com) for more information.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann (September 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0867094974
• ISBN-13: 978-0867094978
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable Book, May 9, 2005

By 

Hill Happy (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illuminating Texts: How to Teach Students to Read the World (Paperback)

As a college student interested in becoming a teacher, I have found this book to be extremely valuable. Using clear and concise language, the book addresses the issues of how we can tell that a text can be trusted and how a student can learn to read such a text. Having not yet entered into the educational field, I feel like this book has a valuable wealth of information that I can be taught from before I teach, when I am learning to teach and while I am teaching.

The book is divided up into easy to read chapters with important ideas, terms or, questions accented by bullet points. The different chapters examine how to read important topics such as literature, textbooks and tests. My personal favorite is the chapter "Reading the Internet" which discusses the many facets of this resource. Online searches are a main source of information for students today. The book identifies and defines important aspects of this such as the types of texts and web sites that can be found. In addition, the author suggests questions that a teacher can ask a student to help them determine the quality of the site they are searching.

The author provides an immense amount of very useful information on reading texts. Whether it is about teaching students how to read online texts, learning what questions to ask or making connections to what is read, this book is invaluable. I am confident it will be part of my educational career.