Customer Reviews

Reading Reminders: Tools, Tips, and Techniques

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2 star:		(1)
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As a 26 year veteran of the high school English classroom, I am thrilled with Jim Burke's latest book, Reading Reminders. It has come at a perfect time as well since, like many schools in our state, we have adopted a reading goal as part of our school improvement plan. Not one of the teachers in my department has a reading endorsement or any idea of how to teach reading. So this book has been incredibly helpful to us all (as well as to colleagues in other departments). It is so practical, so well-researched and thought out! It also reminds me of some of the best practice I engaged in when I started teaching but have somehow forgotten over the years. I also appreciate how easy it is to use - you can start implementing the strategies immediately although I think it is most effective to read it through beforehand to appreciate how beautifully it aligns with what is overall best practice in teaching English. Having done a great deal of research lately on this subject, I have not found any materials to equal this book.

(I also give his English Teacher's Companion to all of our new English teachers. They invariably rave about it.)

The books description "Do you have a minute? That's how quickly this book will help you improve your students' reading skills. Designed to be read on the run and make every minute count in your classroom, Reading Reminders features Jim Burke's one hundred best techniques for teaching reading, complete with tools and tips on how to implement them. " is a start.

What this book does is teach the facilitator be they public, private or even homeschooling how to get a students attention as well as how to inspire the student to do more than simply read words. I especially like his recommendation on silent reading and how to orally share what one has read and what the author has attempted to convey. This is really important since many students see reading as a chore and end up buying abbreviated books that skim the book and little else. I believe the book can be a valuable tool for parents as well, and that the student whose teacher has read this book, will become a student who also reads quality books for pleasure.

Without a doubt, this book (and anything else by Mr. Burke) is a must have for any teacher of Reading or English. How Mr. Burke finds the time to put together such wonderful resources is beyond this mere mortal of an English teacher, but I would be lost without Reading Reminders. I literally put some of the strategies to work the day after I bought the book. Several of my collegues rushed out and bought it after seeing the results I was getting. If you have struggling readers, this book will breathe new life into them--and you!

Jim Burke's new book is real winner! It's full of practical, hands-on ideas that are ready for classroom use. I'm recommending this book to all of my colleagues.

Burke's done it again. . . . He's handed teachers a book that not only inspires but enlightens. English/language arts teachers for all grades will want this book. . . . I have only one wish for this book--I wish I had been the one to write it. --Kylene Beers, Editor, Into Focus: Understanding and Creating Middle School Readers

Jim Burke has succeeded in crafting an immensely engaging and considerate resource for teachers who are committed to demystifying reading in their fields of study for young, developing learners. I am thrilled to find this wealth of research-based and classroom-tested interdisciplinary strategies, compilied by a dynamic and experienced literacy mentor for fellow classroom teachers. --Kate Kinsella, Reading Specialist and professor at San Francisco State University

Today's language arts classrooms wouldn't look the same without the influence of Jim Burke. In Reading Reminders, Burke is able to offer us a concise, easy-to-use book full of strategies and methods that can be used every day. Best of all, the book's table of contents and index are user-friendly, making this an on-the-desk reference. Each page is one "reminder"--a tip on how to complete a task to ensure student success. The next time you're preparing a lesson, a simple thumbing through these ideas will give you several tricks that can be used to spice up your instruction. Highly recommended!!

I've been using Reading Reminders all summer to plan my sophomore reading class strategies next year. I love the organization of this book. Links to related sections are easy to find. Burke gives wonderful examples of so many worthwhile lesson ideas, like dense questioning, making connections, and repeated reading. There are dozens more. I can hardly wait to give my students the reading survey and to run off all the graphic organizers in the appendix!

As a 16-year teacher, I am often disapointed by workshops on reading that are really aimed at the elementary grades and "retrofitted" for high schoolers. This book is a high school teacher's dream.

I found that this book is a general introduction to what a reading teacher does. It is very inclusive, but since I already had the general background, I didn't find that suggestions like, discuss a character's motivation, to be particularly helpful. I was looking for a springboard to lesson plans. I would rather have had a skinny book with just a few specific workable ideas I could have brought into my classroom. In other words, this book covers a lot of ground, but without much depth. I am giving it two stars because I think it would be helpful for a college student who may need to demonstrate knowledge of general teaching techniques.

100 Tools, Tips & Techniques for teaching reading. Certainly some tips will be familiar to experienced reading teachers, but there are many new, great ideas, and the format of the book allows for user notes in the margin. The book is excellently indexed, allowing for quick use as a reference book.

I especially appreciated the 68 page appendix, with reproducible graphic organizers, student surveys, reading standards lists, parent letters, etc. This book is a must-have manual!