Assn./Childhood Education Int.

Focus on literacy; effective content teachers for the middle grades.

Lacina (middle/secondary education, Texas Christian University) and Watson (language and literacy, Texas Technical University) provide examples of exemplary, child-centered teaching practices for content area literacy, which they define as the ability to read, write, and communicate effectively within each content area. An introductory chapter describes characteristics of effective middle grade teachers and looks at the standards for effective teaching from the ACEI and the National Middle School Association. In the rest of the book, each chapter showcases the classroom methods of one outstanding content area teacher working with ages 10-15. Chapters are organized based on discipline, type of classroom, strategies for all classrooms, and professional development resources. A final chapter profiles research-based content literacy techniques that teachers in the book use. Each profile contains notes on research base, a brief description, step-by-step instructions for using the technique in the classroom, books and web sites to consult for examples of classroom use, and references. The book lacks a subject index. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)