Constructing Meaning: Teaching the Language Arts K-8 [Paperback]

by Joyce Bainbridge, Rachel Heydon

Children develop their language abilities through meaningful interactions with people at story time, at meal times, during chores, while playing, and while at school. In the classroom, the teacher serves as a language model, providing opportunities for talking about ideas and demonstrating literacy. Constructing Teaching the Language Arts K-8, Fifth Edition is founded in a commitment to helping educators expand learners’ communication and identity options through multiliteracies, curriculum and pedagogies. Tailored for Canadian contexts, the book focuses on how multiple modes and media may be taught, learned, and valued by diverse student populations in ways that foster the critically reflective discernment of professional educators. Capitalizing on a strong Canadian research base complemented by international scholars, Constructing Meaning offers detailed understandings and illustrations of learners’ reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and representing practices, grade-appropriate book lists, illustrations of teaching/learning in action, and wisdom from practicing educators.

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2012

Reviews

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the outset, I was really looking forward to making use of this textbook to teach teacher candidates the day-to-day alchemy they can expect when trying to get elementary students to make sense of words and perhaps write a few of their own. There were many of my literacy education superstars, like Lev Vygotsky and Louise Rosenblatt, mentioned throughout the book along with an emphasis on multiliteracies. More kudos can be clumped together for the Can-con of both interviewed teachers and literature from sea to shining sea. Very refreshing to have nstructional material that leaves out the "No Child" discourse. However, what really did me in was the length of each chapter: no matter how mapped out they were, each was crammed full of lists upon lists, sample templates and too-specific resources that I was overwhelmed. And no surprise that I might be the only one in my department, among the teacher candidates and possibly even the instructors, who read my way through from cover to cover! Does this make me the social constructivist superhero for Language and Literacy Education? I am feeling a little like how Deadpool looks - yikes!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's highly theoretical and a bit dry, but it explains concepts very thoroughly.