Classroom Strategies for Secondary Reading by W. John HarkerReview by: Robert BruinsmaCanadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l'éducation, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Winter,1987), pp. 238-240Published by: Canadian Society for the Study of EducationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1495010 .

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BOOK REVIEWS / RECENSIONS BOOK REVIEWS / RECENSIONS

criteria and influences operating in the flow of resources to schools and

colleges. This foundation of knowledge is invaluable, given the volatile circumstances in which education must operate. Often, because of a lack of understanding of the decision-making system and the resource parameters, educators find themselves having initiated events and

practices during periods of expansion which introduce inflexibilities and so make conversion difficult when spending must be reduced.

While all factors impinging under these conditions can never be

completely addressed and accounted for, the major ones must be. It is this theme that Chapters 4 and 5 develop. In Chapter 4, the interactions between resource availability and curriculum implementation are consi- dered. Resources are equated with the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) and student-staff ratio (SSR), for, as Dennison claims, "the ratios are ... central in any consideration of resource management and the curriculum" (p. 124). Factors associated with the utilization of the main resource, the teaching staff, are considered in Chapter 5. Although I agree with Dennison that the major resources are teachers and ratios, a more

sophisticated discussion of tangible and nontangible resources is needed.

Focusing discussion only on designated tangible resources skews the bond between resource parameters and educational outcomes.

In part, Dennison addresses this concern in the next chapter where resource management at the institutional level is the focus.

The feature that requires pursuit is the presentation of a global view of resource distribution and commitment yet still with sufficient detail so that the costs of planned activities, the likely needs of any alternative developments, and the affects of changes in circumstances, are projectable.(p. 226)

The final chapter looks at the problem of sustaining educational

development with static or declining resources and considers possible alternative methods of financing, including vouchers, loans, and priva- tization.

Classroom Strategiesfor Secondary Reading (2nd ed.)

edited by W. John Harker

Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1985. 141 pages.

REVIEWED BY ROBERT BRUINSMA, THE KING'S COLLEGE, EDMONTON

Tradition has it that elementary students "learn to read" and secondary students subsequently "read to learn." There is, however, a growing

criteria and influences operating in the flow of resources to schools and

colleges. This foundation of knowledge is invaluable, given the volatile circumstances in which education must operate. Often, because of a lack of understanding of the decision-making system and the resource parameters, educators find themselves having initiated events and

practices during periods of expansion which introduce inflexibilities and so make conversion difficult when spending must be reduced.

While all factors impinging under these conditions can never be

completely addressed and accounted for, the major ones must be. It is this theme that Chapters 4 and 5 develop. In Chapter 4, the interactions between resource availability and curriculum implementation are consi- dered. Resources are equated with the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) and student-staff ratio (SSR), for, as Dennison claims, "the ratios are ... central in any consideration of resource management and the curriculum" (p. 124). Factors associated with the utilization of the main resource, the teaching staff, are considered in Chapter 5. Although I agree with Dennison that the major resources are teachers and ratios, a more

sophisticated discussion of tangible and nontangible resources is needed.

Focusing discussion only on designated tangible resources skews the bond between resource parameters and educational outcomes.

In part, Dennison addresses this concern in the next chapter where resource management at the institutional level is the focus.

The feature that requires pursuit is the presentation of a global view of resource distribution and commitment yet still with sufficient detail so that the costs of planned activities, the likely needs of any alternative developments, and the affects of changes in circumstances, are projectable.(p. 226)

The final chapter looks at the problem of sustaining educational

development with static or declining resources and considers possible alternative methods of financing, including vouchers, loans, and priva- tization.

Classroom Strategiesfor Secondary Reading (2nd ed.)

edited by W. John Harker

Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1985. 141 pages.

REVIEWED BY ROBERT BRUINSMA, THE KING'S COLLEGE, EDMONTON

Tradition has it that elementary students "learn to read" and secondary students subsequently "read to learn." There is, however, a growing

238 238

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BOOK REVIEWS / RECENSIONS

awareness among secondary teachers that they cannot assume that most students possess the skills required to read their textbooks independently. Thus, secondary teachers in a variety of disciplines other than English are becoming interested in developing skills which will enable them to help their students cope with content-centred reading tasks. Classroom Strategiesfor Secondary Reading is a collection of articles aimed at providing content area teachers with some strategies in secondary reading that have been shown to improve comprehension.

The book is divided into five sections: "Assessment," "General Instruc- tional Strategies," "Instructional Materials," "Specific Skills Instruction," and "Program Development." Each section contains from two to five articles, the majority of which are edited selections drawn from the Journal of Reading (also published by the International Reading Associa- tion). Although the editor has attempted to unite the articles by grouping them into these sections and by providing a conceptual overview for each section, the book suffers from an uneveness in the quality and relevance of the articles selected.

In his introduction, the editor explains that "This book is aimed at providing the practising or prospective content area teacher with a sequence of steps through which classroom reading programs in the content areas can be developed" (p. vi). The first step in this sequence is assessment, that is, determining how prepared students are to compre- hend the material they are expected to read. One article in this section is "Four Methods of Diagnosis for Content Area Reading." Each method outlined has its uses, but none is described in sufficient detail to be used without consulting more specific sources from the reference list which concludes the section. This reference list unfortunately does not cite the most recent editions of the books mentioned or the most recent articles available on these topics. Another article in this assessment section deals with an individualized strategy (assessing the richness of retellings) which, while interesting, is not particularly useful for secondary content teachers responsible for far too many students to allow for individual diagnosis.

The section on general instructional strategies begins with an article which details some typical approaches taken in content-area reading instruction. Here again, the summary and suggestive nature of the article whets the appetite, but specifics will have to be gleaned from other sources. In a follow-up article, the editor addresses the question of transfer from training in content area reading skills to actual content area learning. Warnings against isolated skill instruction are appropriate, but, in this 1985 second edition, it is unfortunate that the content reading texts criticized are not more recent than 1978 (some excellent texts have been published since then) and that the article fails to mention the classics in the field. Other articles in this section on readiness for reading and on individualizing reading instruction contain helpful and useful ideas.

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BOOK REVIEWS / RECENSIONS BOOK REVIEWS / RECENSIONS

The section on instructional materials contains a fascinating article by Fry on the development and use of readability formulae (including his own) followed by an article which cautions against the use of readability formulae to the extent that one wonders about the wisdom of including Fry's article. A third article details the use of "manipulative reading materials" for a number of content reading areas and provides, in my judgment, good ideas for reinforcement and evaluation of certain desirable content reading skills, processes which should not be confused with teaching them.

The fourth section of the book, "Specific Skills Instruction," is the strongest of the five largely because the ideas presented are useful and detailed enough to allow practising teachers to use them without having to consult other sources which may prove difficult to find. Articles on vocabulary instruction, a form of study guide known as a "pattern guide," precis writing, skimming skills, and graphical literacy all have potential for informing content area teachers about instructional skills that they will find useful in their teaching.

The last section of the book, "Program Development," consists of articles that emphasize the importance of planning a secondary reading program. The centrality of people rather than materials and gadgets is stressed, and a number of model programs are described. The final article in this section reiterates the central theme of the book that content

reading instruction at the secondary level must be functionally relevant. Overall, Classroom Strategies for Secondary Reading provides a novice in

this area with an overview of the relevant issues and can serve to whet the

appetite for further study and reading. But, by itself, it is too uneven to serve as an integrated and practical introduction to the strategies that are available to secondary teachers to help their students better comprehend their content-related reading.

Inquiring into the Teaching Process: Towards Self-evaluation and Professional Development

by John Haysom

Toronto, ON: OISE Press, 1985. 173 pages.

REVIEWED BY G. PATRICK O'NEILL, BROCK UNIVERSITY

This book adds little, if anything, to the state-of-the-art publications. Comments like "This is not a new insight" (p. 16) and "The phrase is not original" (p. 29) speak for much of the text. Even the "Suggested

The section on instructional materials contains a fascinating article by Fry on the development and use of readability formulae (including his own) followed by an article which cautions against the use of readability formulae to the extent that one wonders about the wisdom of including Fry's article. A third article details the use of "manipulative reading materials" for a number of content reading areas and provides, in my judgment, good ideas for reinforcement and evaluation of certain desirable content reading skills, processes which should not be confused with teaching them.

The fourth section of the book, "Specific Skills Instruction," is the strongest of the five largely because the ideas presented are useful and detailed enough to allow practising teachers to use them without having to consult other sources which may prove difficult to find. Articles on vocabulary instruction, a form of study guide known as a "pattern guide," precis writing, skimming skills, and graphical literacy all have potential for informing content area teachers about instructional skills that they will find useful in their teaching.

The last section of the book, "Program Development," consists of articles that emphasize the importance of planning a secondary reading program. The centrality of people rather than materials and gadgets is stressed, and a number of model programs are described. The final article in this section reiterates the central theme of the book that content

reading instruction at the secondary level must be functionally relevant. Overall, Classroom Strategies for Secondary Reading provides a novice in

this area with an overview of the relevant issues and can serve to whet the

appetite for further study and reading. But, by itself, it is too uneven to serve as an integrated and practical introduction to the strategies that are available to secondary teachers to help their students better comprehend their content-related reading.

Inquiring into the Teaching Process: Towards Self-evaluation and Professional Development

by John Haysom

Toronto, ON: OISE Press, 1985. 173 pages.

REVIEWED BY G. PATRICK O'NEILL, BROCK UNIVERSITY

This book adds little, if anything, to the state-of-the-art publications. Comments like "This is not a new insight" (p. 16) and "The phrase is not original" (p. 29) speak for much of the text. Even the "Suggested

240 240

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