Working in the Reggio Way: A Beginner's Guide for American Teachers [Paperback]

Julianne P. Wurm (Author), Celia Genishi (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Working in the Reggio Way helps teachers of young children bring the innovative practices of the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, to American classrooms. Written by an educator who observed and worked in the world-famous schools, this groundbreaking resource presents the key tools that will allow American teachers to transform their classrooms, including these:

Organization of time and space
Documentation of children’s work
Observation and questioning
Attention to children’s environments

This workbook also contains interactive activities for individual or group reflection.

Julianne Wurm works as an instructional reform facilitator in the San Francisco Unified School District. She lives in San Francisco, California.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Julianne Wurm works as an instructional reform facilitator in the San Francisco Unified School District. She has taught in inner city schools in Houston, Los Angeles and New York City and worked in preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Redleaf Press (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929610645
• ISBN-13: 978-1929610648
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disapointment, July 7, 2008

By 

Emily Holzknecht "namegoeshere" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Working in the Reggio Way: A Beginner's Guide for American Teachers (Paperback)

As someone who has been to visit the schools in Reggio Emilia and has studied the Reggio Approach with a large group of co-learners, I have to say that I find this book very disappointing in its ability to explain the municipal infant/toddler and preprimary schools of Reggio Emilia in a way that remains true to what they are. Granted, the task of explaining is very difficult given the huge and fundamental differences between the Reggio Emilia schools and the early childhood programs in the United States. Even so, there are much better resources for those interested in learning about and applying ideas from Reggio Emilia. Try "The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach Advanced Reflections, Second Edition" or "Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners." These two books remain true to what Reggio is. They, in a sense, translate ideas from Italian into English instead of translating ideas from Reggio into American, which is the mistake made by the authors of "Working in the Reggio Way." While the two recommendations I have given are considerably more expensive than "Working in the Reggio Way" and considerably more challenging to read, the money you pay for the book and the time and effort that you and your co-learners put into understanding Reggio represents an intelligent and lucrative investment that will pay off greatly for you. There is no shortcut to Reggio. Any book that claims to be for beginners or to be easy or is offered cheaply should be approached with great caution, and will most likely lead the reader through familiar American paths of early childhood rather than truly transporting her across the seas to the Reggio Emilia experience.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource-, June 19, 2006

By 

Melody Angles - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Working in the Reggio Way: A Beginner's Guide for American Teachers (Paperback)

I bought this book after it was recommended in a professional mentor group as a great resource for making authentic changes in individual settings. I found the book to be engaging and easy to read. The suggestions are very practical and respect the individuality of each school site that may use the book. I found the book to be completely process oriented and made me much more aware of the history and thinking in Reggio than other sources I had consulted before. I love that is it a first person account and not based on distant research but original research. I would recommend this book for anyone looking to begin the process of change in their school.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ECE thumbs up!, June 27, 2005

By 

Sylvia E. Frinak "children first" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Working in the Reggio Way: A Beginner's Guide for American Teachers (Paperback)

I have had the pleasure and opportunity to have had Ms. Wurm work as my program's consultant this year. Reading "Working in the Reggio Way A Beginners Guide for Teachers" really brings all of the theory and practice that Julie Lives, Walks and Breathes! I found this book to be "People Friendly" and a hard one to put down! This book really empowers ECE teachers in creating our own "Reggio Way" here in the states. It's also a book which reminds us to place children first.