Illuminating Texts: How to Teach Students to Read the World (Paperback)

~ (Author) "My elementary school class huddled in the dark, all our heads angled up toward the small square of light that promised a glimpse into the..." (more)
Key Phrases: classroom connection, visual intelligence, standardized reading tests, New York, Jim Burke, Reading Images (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

Product Description

This book 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.

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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.com Sales Rank: #161,042 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 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

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.