Language Arts: Patterns of Practice

by Gail E. Tompkins

This thoroughly revised, streamlined 7th edition continues to model the integration of the six language arts into the curriculum while providing a seamless presentation of methods grounded in real contemporary classrooms. The new edition deepens its real classroom exploration by integrating new Teacher Prep footage with classroom methods and minilessons in Planning for Instruction features. A new focus on Meeting the Needs of English Learners rounds out the look at addressing the needs of all students.

Genres: Education, Teaching

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Gail E. Tompkins earned her master’s degree and then her doctorate in Reading/Language Arts from Virginia Tech. She began her teaching career at Miami University in Ohio, then transferred to the University of Oklahoma and finally taught at California State University in Fresno. Because of her work with preservice and practicing teachers she received numerous awards for her teaching including the Provost’s Award of Excellence in Teaching at Cal State, Fresno and was inducted into the California Reading Association’s Reading Hall of Fame. She has been writing college textbooks for over 30 years—all focused on anticipating the questions teachers might ask and providing information to make her text users the most effective teachers. Other titles she has written include Language Arts: Patterns of Practice, 9e; Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach, 6e; Literacy for the Early Grades: A Successful Start for PreK-4 Readers and Writers, 3e; Literacy in the Middle Grades, 2e; and, 50 Literacy Strategies, 4e.

Reviews

[Kelani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good points and things to remember for this year. Few good strategies I will use this year in my teaching.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a portion of this book as part of my graduate school coursework. I believe that I had read or heard of Gail Tomkins, most likely because she is a huge proponent of the writers workshop style of teaching. I, too, am a fan of that model. This book expands on that idea and also explores how to teach grammar, spelling, and handwriting; writing across the curriculum; and different genres of modeling. She offers practical advice and real life anecdotes from teachers. It is a handy guide to teaching writing and the other elements of language arts that all educators would find useful.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a valuable resource for language arts teachers at all levels. This book includes learning standards, language arts strands, literature circles and specific how-to's for many language arts activities.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used in my college class. Lots of good information inside this book, along with strategies and ideas for Language Arts classes. Although written for elementary school, these ideas can be used for all levels.

[Haven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this textbook and found several useful tools that I have already implemented in my own classroom.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teacher Resource

This is a great book by Gail Tompkins that has a lot of useful information for the language arts classroom. The idea of literature circles is weaved throughout the book. She first includes the components of a good literature circle approach. These include, reading, responding, creating projects, and sharing. Roles that the students can do during the discussion part of literature circles are also including. Many of the ones she names are ones that I have used before. Chapter 14 of the book shares different ways to plan language arts units…one of them being literature circles. Quite a few pages are dedicated to how to organize literature circles, how to decide on roles, how to use “grand conversations,” and finally, how to assess students. The thing that I have found most helpful to me is the example grading sheet on page 480. It helps students to organize the week’s activities along with grading themselves. They reflect on their work and score how they did with the reading, roles, grand conversations, reading log, group projects, and sharing. Then they are expected to go a step further and write about their work on the back of the paper. I really like this form of self-assessment, especially for my fifth graders!

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be a great resource for language arts teachers at all levels. It provides insight into the set up and organization of your classroom, possible schedules and aspects of language arts that need to be included in instruction.
I found the chapter on Looking Closely at Words particularly helpful. There were many activities that I could use as a 6th grade teacher with my students. There were ways to incorporate word study into other curricular areas as well. Tompkins also has a chapter focusing on different reading and writing instruction patterns. This chapter is very helpful for individuals wanting to see how lit. circles differ from focus units or reading workshop. She gets into details about the time frame needed for each structure and the roles of students in each.
What is also helpful is that there is a list of books and materials at the end of each chapters, so as you read, you can use the suggested books in your classroom, you don't have to try to come up with texts that fullfill the objective they are already listed for you.

[Amanda Salisbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved all the activity ideas that this book gives. The ideas are very helpful for new teachers or those who are looking for new ideas . I also love all the different books mentioned in the text and how the lists are coded for early, middle, and upper grades!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of good suggestions and strategies for how to teach language arts throughout the younger grade levels. It gets repetitive and dry at times, but that's pretty typical for textbooks.

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has a lot of good practical information for teachers to be!

[Nabeel Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

it seem so charming book