Customer Reviews

Reading Essentials: The Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Read this book only if you have the courage to look at your teaching and say, "I can do better." I can do better and I am! This book liberated me! She doesn't tell you to throw out everything you know and embrace the newest methods, step by step. She tells you to study the literature and adapt it to your classroom! How much better can that be! I teach resource and right now, my kids are on fire. They have actually turned down a classroom reward party to stay in my room and read! I told them I didn't want them to miss the party. They looked at each other and asked, "Do we have to go?" I said they didn't and they dove into the books. Every few pages has a teaching tip to help you as you implement the strategies and ideas in the book. You have GOT to read this book and make some changes. Grow as a professional and it will change your life and the lives of your students.

I teach 5th grade, and the teachers on our grade level enjoy being involved in a book club. This year, we've selected Reading Essentials as our book of discussion. The book is easy to read and full of ideas to make reading effective in your classroom. If we only had enough time to implement the many wonderful ideas, we'd be in great shape.

...along with Frank Smith (READING WITHOUT NONESENSE), Brian Cambourne (READ AND RETELL), Ralph Fletcher (A WRITER'S NOTEBOOK), and James Gee (SOCIAL LINGUISTICS AND LITERACIES).

This one represents the most "classroom friendly" of the bunch which might (in some eyes) put it a slight step ahead of the other heavyweights mentioned above.

Each subheading alone gives a lesson about how to teach reading/literacy in a classroom (especially an early childhood one). Punctuated by pictures within short chapters, Routman allows the reader to absorb each chapter as a separate entity (similarly to James Gee's and Sonia Nieto's books).

I would highly recommend this book for early childhood literacy experts (and everybody else) because it offers many guidelines (especially Chapter 8) on how best to instill the basic skeleton for emergent literacy.

Bravo, Regie.

This book is a 'must-have' for any primary grade teacher. It is a practical plan for teaching the basics of reading. Routman has taken reading instruction to a new level and it is clear she truly understands reading and the needs of the youngest readers. A great book and an easy read!

This is unquestionably the best "how-to" book on teaching reading that I have come across. It is written from the standpoint of a classroom teacher, but there are plenty of essential ideas for homeschoolers, too. One way or another it covers every (as far as I can see) important point, and I agree with most of them. The best chapter is #8, Teaching Comprehension, where the first sidebar says "Teach Comprehension Right from the Start." Cool!

Routman moves most of the academic material to the end of the book, where there are many endnotes with references to research articles and a hefty index.

So what's not to like? The text is more of a collection of ideas and tips rather than an evolving education in teaching literacy (which I would love to see Routman take on). The many entry points to the text material (sidebars, bullet points, "Try it, Apply it" tabs, chapter heads, and subheadings) prevented me from finding a continuous, developing thread of instruction. The book is, as it sets out to be, a tune-up guide for trained teachers who are already dealing with classrooms of students. There is too little step-by-step guidance for homeschoolers who are new to teaching literacy. This is especially apparent in dealing with very early readers, where specific training, commercial materials lists, and informal assessments would be welcome (Routman seems to say that such would be infeasible). I missed recommended reading lists that might specifically tie in with coaching in the text, and striking the best balance of phonics to reading is brought out, but left up to the intuition of the teacher.

The thrust of most of the book is about 5th grade difficulties, but it seems to me that a solid K-3 program would head off most of those problems. I found K-3 to be the weakest component of the book.

Routman acknowledges the many demands on classroom teachers for their time and compassion, but I think she is unrealistic about what is achievable in a classroom-based school setting. Interestingly, though she never mentions homeschooling, her prescriptives are precisely what motivates homeschoolers (this one, at least) and homeschooling is a very sensible response to many of the ills she addresses.

Finally, I had the nagging feeling that the book could have benefited from being substantially shorter. Whatever shortcomings Reading Essentials may have for homeschoolers, it's still the best resource available, and it IS essential.

As a teacher in training I find this book very encouraging and enlightening. It gives me great ideas and insights into how I can best prepare for my upcoming career. I am really happy my teacher recommended it, it's a keeper!

I have read many authors dedicated to improving classroom reading instruction, but this one may be the most amazing of all. I had completely changed my third grade classroom reading instruction to a reading workshop fouded on the principles of student choice and ongoing assessment. Regie Routman provides not only validation for my methods and classroom management, but more information and research to support my assertions. If you question any part of your reading program, this is the book to read. It is clear, concise, and written in a conversational style that leaves the reader fully satisfied.

I love how Regie Routman balances passion with dedication and inspires enthusiasm for even the most mundane routines. She understands that a happy teacher is a good teacher, and is one of the few who encourages educators to have a personal life and share important parts of themselves with students. "Reading Essentials" is not just a practical guide to literacy education: it's a call for teachers to fall in love with reading and inspire the same passion in their students. The children I've taught have learned to become authentic, purposeful, and enthusiastic readers in large part because of Regie Routman's ideas and strategies.

I found this book to be full of ideas for the classroom. It is geared toward K-5. I teach first grade and found many great ideas for my grade level. Lots of good researched information on guided reading. I plan on purchasing Writing Essentials next.

I am getting my Master of Arts in Teaching and this book was recommended by my professor. It is amazing for anyone either looking into teaching or someone that's already been a teacher for years. Routman is down to earth about her methods. She gives you the comfort that is often times needed as a teacher.