Texts in Elementary Classrooms, The

Journal of Literacy Research, 2006 by Morgan, Denise N

The Texts in Elementary Classrooms

James V. Hoffman and Diane L. Schallert (Eds.), The Texts in Elementary Classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 2004. 264 pages. $29.95 paperback.

The Texts in Elementary Classrooms spotlights the essential role texts play in children's literacy development. Although the teacher plays the central role in what and how students learn, appropriate text selection aids teachers in their support of children's growth as readers. In this book, sponsored by the Center for Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA), editors Hoffman and Schallen have assembled 12 chapters that provide readers with a careful way to examine texts chosen and created to support students' literacy growth.

This comprehensive book is organized into four parts. Part 1 addresses aspects of the reading process and how particular text features can support these processes. Each chapter in Part 2 addresses a specific type of text commonly available in classrooms. The authors provide in-depth examinations of a particular text type, highlighting special features and providing guidance on how to evaluate and select texts for appropriate instruction. Part 3 focuses on book selection for English Language Learners and issues pertaining to the inclusion of texts. In Part 4, a tool for examining the quality and richness of texts and a process for examining how teachers and students use texts are described.

Comprehension, word identification, fluency, and motivation are the four major topics discussed in Part 1, "Reading Processes and Text Features." Each chapter provides a means to examine text for supportive elements that aid in children's development of that particular aspect of the reading process. Teachers must consider many factors when selecting text for young children who are learning to read. In chapter 1, Purcell-Gates and Duke examine texts at the word, sentence, discourse (text beyond the sentence), and illustration levels to illuminate supportive elements of each. Text characteristics of each unit are discussed, along with how they vary within text. The authors first examine each unit separately, then provide an examination of how these dimensions work as a whole. Reading is then examined as a meaning-making process; the authors provide examples of how carefully selected text supports students' learning a particular concept.

In chapter 2, Cunningham, Koppenhaver, Erickson, and Spadorcia address word identification instruction (translating both familiar and unfamiliar words into sounds) and the kinds of texts that support students' learning. Interesting and meaningful texts allow children to better apply and strengthen their word identification learning ability. Selecting appropriate books motivates students to apply what has been systematically taught while they read good books.

In the third chapter, Stahl and Dougherty-Stahl address "how text informs the development of fluency" (p. 39). The authors focus on the automatic word recognition aspect of fluency and examine how different text factors, such as predictability and introduction of vocabulary, support readers' development of automatic word recognition. Selecting connected text at appropriate difficulty levels allows students to apply what they have learned about word identification to their own reading.

Paris and Carpenter address children's motivation to read in chapter 4. Initially, they discuss why some children become reluctant readers, offering a situated view of motivation by examining the reader, text, home, and classroom environment, and the interaction among these factors in the development of children's motivation to read. Next, they elaborate on creating engaging activities to foster and to increase students' motivation for reading, providing six features, all beginning with the letter C (constructing personal meaning with choice, challenge, control, collaboration and positive consequences for self-efficacy), to guide teachers when making instructional decisions.

The chapters in Part 2 highlight different kinds of classroom texts required to provide important learning and reading opportunities. When dealing with any kind of text-purchased, electronic, or created-teachers must be able to identify and analyze those text features that support or hinder children's literacy development. Finding books that support student learning can be a daunting task given the plethora of children's books available. Teachers need a variety of texts to accomplish different instructional goals with students.

In chapter 5, Keehn, Martinez, and Teale provide guidance for recognizing, analyzing, and selecting books that support students' literacy development during reading aloud, independent reading, and reading/writing instruction. In the sections on selecting texts for independent reading and reading/writing instruction, the kinds of books that specifically support the literacy development of emergent, early, and developing readers are addressed.

The focus of chapter 6 is on leveled text, defined by Hoffman, Roser, and Sailors as "texts written and designed with the goal of fostering early reading development" (p. 113). The authors begin with a brief historical overview of the progression of reading materials from the hornbook to the current use of leveled texts as instructional materials. The authors propose a three-principle view of leveling texts (engagement, accessibility, and instructional design) as aspects of text teachers should consider when selecting leveled text for young children. The authors include a true-false test that addresses current issues about text use and selection for beginning readers.