The Silent Language

Book Description

Leading anthropologist Hall analyzes the many aspects of non-verbal communication and considers the concepts of space and time as tools for transmission of messages. His stimulating work is of interest to both the intelligent general reader and the sophisticated social scientist.

Customer Reviews:

USEFUL ANALYSIS OF CULTURE.......2005-08-21

Mr. Hall expounds a couple of key thesis. First, culture is not just the medium of communication. It is a method of communication all on its own. Second, if one "maps" cultural characteristics in ten "primary messaging systems", one can gain insight into the formal, informal, and technical aspects of that culture. Those ten primary messaging systems are: (1) Interaction, (2) association, (3) subsistence, (4) bisexuality, (5) territoriality, (6) temporality, (7) learning, (8) play, (9) defense, and (10) exploitation.

This book is indeed somewhat dated, but one can certainly see that the use of this monograph is that it provides a systematic way of analyzing culture. This can be useful when traveling or working abroad. Likewise, one could use these templates to improve ones understanding of his own culture. It is this latter purpose that makes this book relevant today.

The Silent Language is short enough to be easily read. However, for the sake of brevity, it sacrifices a more systemic or detailed analysis. As such, the author resorts to a limited amount of anecdotal information to support his framework. Anecdotal information is useful, but some more statistical analysis might be worthwhile. Indeed, one could argue that defining each primary messaging system as a collection of "sets", it would be possible to apply set theory from mathematics to anthropology.

While I have trouble believing that culture is a form of communication vice a medium of communication, I will probably use Mr. Hall's framework to analyze the "culture" each job and workplace that I deal with in the future. Likewise, I think anyone who works in management or leadership jobs would find this book useful.

Old as the hills, and language has moved on.......2004-08-05

Recently I was in Japan, and I had some food with me, and I went to shake the hand of my hosts, and in doing so, put down the food on a convenient shelf, and instead of shaking my hand, the host turned away, and ran out of the room in a dignified way. I had read SILENT LANGUAGE by Twitchell Hall, and it definitely did not cover this faux pas. My translator, a young Russian woman, informed me that it is not polite in Japan is leave food observable in plain view. It would be like going to a business meeting in a US boardroom with your zipper undone and your genitals left visible as a result. Whether or not this is actually the case, I don't know, but again this subject was not treated in Twitchell Hall's book.

On the back of my edition of SILENT LANGUAGE it says that this is the book used in Kennedy's NEW FRONTIER to fight the image of the Ugly American then prevalent at the dawn of international mass tourism and the coming transnational age. Well, time has moved on and I believe that Twitchy's masterpiece has seen better days. They could do with far more ways to save embarrassment. Otherwise it's red faces all around and that sinking feeling of having done something wrong, and you don't even know what it is you've done! Also, I agree, there might be one for people coming to the USA for the first time, perhaps a book of photos showing different people's body language.

Out of date.......2004-02-24

This book may have been important in the 1950's, but it's rather quaint and dated now. It contains many interesting anecdotes about the differences between cultures, but very little of it is systematic or scientific. The idea that other cultures are not like us and that their communication systems are different as a result is not very revolutionary at a time when one can read the blogs of Iranian students on a daily basis.

The book lacks rigor. In the third chapter, for example, the author introduces us to a formal concept of "Primary Message Systems" (such as "learning", "play", "territorality", etc), but the concepts aren't carried forward into the rest of the book and the reader is left hanging. Besides, one has to be pretty suspicious of such concepts when it turns out that there are exactly ten - not nine or eleven - of these primary message systems.

Many of the anecdotes are interesting and illustrative, but they're mostly limited to the cultures that Hall has experience with; which turns out to be Americans, the Hopis, middle eastern Arabs, the Japanese and one or two others. It would be more interesting to see examples drawn from all over the world. Better would be a systematic comparison of, say, the concept of being on time for a meeting covering a dozen or more cultures. Instead we get only anecdotes about the fact that Arabs and Latin Americans don't find it rude to be an hour late for a meeting while being an hour late infuriates Americans. What about Russians? What about Japanese?

The book is dated and this shows one of its biggest flaws. It's hard to read about the American male greeting ritual of pounding each other on the back and exchanging cigars or the American female desire for dominance within her kitchen with a straight face these days. The very fact that culture is transient and changes over time is hardly addressed in the book, but it's one of the most obvious points the 21st century reader takes away from the book.

Lastly, Hall tries to keep value judgements out of his comparisons, but fails at the task. Over and again he slips and lets us see his disregard for American culture. Americans are too conscious of time compared to more laid-back cultures. Americans are too strict in their concept of personal space. And so on. Whenever he slips and lets his opinions show, he invariably finds American culture lacking, no matter what it is being compared to.

This book is an interesting trip into the mind of a 1950's academic, but it's not very informative on modern culture or modern thought about culture.

Another winner from Hall, but maybe not his best.......2001-03-12

If you only read one Edward Hall book, I think that "Beyond Culture" is a better read, and more lucid. Although the two texts overlap somewhat, there are many concepts in this book that do not appear in the other (the idea of "High Context" vs "Low Context" cultures is only hinted at in this text).

The basic concept of "Silent Language" is that much of our communication is non-verbal, but that it consistently follows cultural and linguistic patterns, just as spoken and written communication does. The major difference in non-verbal communication is that it is mostly subconscious.

The book revolves around the idea that all cultural conventions can be classified as either formal, informal, or technical. Although he spends an entire chapter introducing this concept, I personally found the distinctions a bit confusing, although I do believe that the author has an important insight.

One of my favorite concepts was the idea of 'spacial accent,' which describes the size of and culturally-specific behaviors associated with that invisible zone we all carry around with us. This concept helps explain why Europeans (outside of the British) generally don't queue, and why this so aggravates Americans (and presumably Brits). The concept of 'order' also helps explain different behaviors in forming lines (American belief in 'first come, first serve, is culturally relative). Besides speaking about space, he also discusses the cultural aspects of time, which he also describes in terms of an 'accent'. (He deals with both space and time more fully in two of his other books.)

Hall makes quite a number of connections between cultural behavior, these three types of cultural convention, and specific forms of expression. Examples include: --Why scientists are terrible writers (one of several digressions away from non-verbal communications) --A very believable explanation of why art is art --Why long-range planning is rare in America

--A concept of sacred place that anticipates the recent idea that men retreat to personal 'caves'

All in all, I found this an enjoyable and enlightening book. I wish that it could have been more clear in spots, and I think it is fair to say that some of his ideas are more fully worked out in some of his other books. My only real complaint is about the quality of Anchor's reproduction, which uses a cheap paper that cannot withstand normal highlighters at all (try the wax Textliners from Faber-Castell).

a critique of the silent language.......1999-11-27

The Silent Language was indeed an excellent book on the cultural influences on communication. Its definition of culture in the contexts of time and space were insightful. The most interesting thing was the breakdown of culture as communication into three categories. This is truly a breakthrough in defining theory for anthropology and related social sciences.

However, the book was limited in its focus, given that this phenomenon does not apply to North Americans only, but to anyone wishing to travel to a foreign country, whether on business, or recreation. One could say that in order to understand it, we may substitute our own experiences into those given by the author.

But culture can only be understood in social, economical, historical and political contexts. It is these contexts that shape or influence our perception, and the way we relate to others. Therefore, if Hall seeks to appeal to the intelligent , culturally diverse, non-technical audience, he should make the book more culturally relevant. In doing so, however, he must avoid generalisations that may make the text too simplistic and lose its focus.

Book Description

Research shows that early instruction in phonics is the first step to reading success. Well, here “e” comes! This Step 2 Phonics Reader uses rhyme and visual clues to illustrate the important concept of the “silent e”—personified here in our main character!
Anna Jane Hays is a former editorial director and child development specialist for The Children’s Television Workshop. She lives in Santa Fe, NM.

Customer Reviews:

Good for Beginers.......2006-03-03

This is a nice book to start learning to read and the trick of reading. cute story line too.

Silent Messages: Implicit Communication of Emotions and Attitudes

Average customer rating:

Silent Messages: Implicit Communication of Emotions and Attitudes
Albert Mehrabian
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Linguistics | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Cognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0534009107

Are They Really Reading?: Expanding Ssr in the Middle Grades

Average customer rating:

This stuff WORKS!

Are They Really Reading?: Expanding Ssr in the Middle Grades
Jodi Crum Marshall
Manufacturer: Stenhouse Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Literacy | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Professional Development | Education | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Arts & Photography | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Reference | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1571103376

Customer Reviews:

This stuff WORKS!.......2003-06-12

I purchased this book a couple of months ago and immediately put it to use in my 8th grade Language Arts classroom. The change in attitude for both my students and myself was AMAZING. Students who "pretended" to read before suddenly began actually reading "for real". As a result, their vocabularies improved, test scores went up, and some of them developed a passion for reading (and writing) which wasn't there before. Not only did my students begin enjoying books, I enjoyed teaching from these same books.

One important tip: Always, always, always read the books you assign your kids ahead of time. Read them not just for content for "the test", but find books that are funny and relevant to THEM.

Book Description

It comes as no surprise that the students who read often are the students who read well. How, then, can we get the rest of our students reading? Is it enough to set aside in-class time for sustained silent reading? Or should we set up a more structured programone that ensures all of our students are engaged in their reading and that they do so on a regular basis for the pleasure of it?

Janice Pilgreen knows from hard-won experience that it takes a lot of time, effort, and know-how to put an effective sustained silent reading program into practice. In The SSR Handbook, shes done most of the work for you, not only providing an overview of the underlying research, but also reviewing eight essential factors that ensure a programs success. Pilgreen explicitly identifies these factors, then explains in detail how to incorporate them into your own program. The book also features lots of resources to help you implement your program, including support organizations, book clubs, classroom magazine subscription titles/addresses, favorite young adult series books within various genres, comic book titles, lower-level reading books for adolescents, and publishing company names, addresses, and phone numbers. Best of all, there are reproducible student and parent inventories, reading records, and other forms to assist you with the process.

Readers will come away from this book with an understanding of what SSR is, why its important, and how to implement it in their own schools and classrooms. Just as important, they will be motivated and energized enough to want to develop new programs or modify existing programs right away.

Customer Reviews:

This is THE Guide.......2004-01-11

The SSR Handbook, is a compilation and description of 8 guidelines for conducting an effective Sustained Silent Reading Program. If your school is considering implementing or altering your existing SSR program, don't consider doing it without this guide, if you are using an SSR program in your class buy this book.

The suggestions and guidelines that are included are common sense based, but it is a common sense that makes you want to say, "Why didn't I think of that?". Success does have a formula and based on the common sense nature of this book, this is the formula.

An Indispensable Resource.......2000-12-19

For anyone involved in the teaching of reading, this book gives you the information needed to help students become confident readers. I followed these guidelines in my classroom and I am ecstatic at the results. My students attitudes towards reading have improved as well as their comprehension, writing, and spelling, just like Pilgreen stated it would. I recommend this book and method to all.

An Indispensable Resource........2000-12-19

For anyone involved in the teaching of reading, this book gives you the information you need to help students become confident readers. I followed these guidelines in my classroom and I am ecstatic at the results. My students attitudes towards reading have improved as well as their comprehension, writing, and spelling, just like Pilgreen stated it would. I recommend this book and method to all.

SSR with Intervention: A School Library Action Research Project

Average customer rating:

ALL Teachers SHOULD Read This!

SSR with Intervention: A School Library Action Research Project
Leslie B. Preddy
Manufacturer: Libraries Unlimited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Reading | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1591584604

Book Description

Library Media Specialist Leslie Preddy and her colleagues show how the school library media specialist and the classroom teacher can be a winning team, working together to solve an instructional problem and raise reading scores to reach Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). They offer a Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) with Intervention program complete with the action research, tools, and the knowledge necessary to successfully implement the program in any classroom. The book begins with a review of the literature on SSR. The greatest portion of the text shares the action research experience and explains how to easily implement the simple, yet successful, reading program. Illustrations, student samples, forms, lists of writing and response prompts, and an index are all included.

Customer Reviews:

ALL Teachers SHOULD Read This!.......2007-08-12

High school students and reading? Frequently too many other activities take our students away from the unabashed pleasure of reading for FUN. Leslie B. Preddy has found a way for all teachers...not just English, to bring the joy of reading back to kids.
Ms. Preddy begins with the foundations...the "why" (if you will) of how this project came about. She then continues with practical and USABLE ideas for the classroom.
I "slowed" down in requiring my students to "read for enjoyment," because so many other lessons SEEMED more necessary for those all-important high-stakes tests. NOT ANY MORE! These lessons WILL help all students achieve.
Ms. Preddy will remind why you became a teacher in the first place...for the great joy of seeing a child "get it."
This book should be required reading in colleges and in faculty study groups!

Average customer rating:

A hapless farce about fantasy and failure
Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation

Silent Extras: A Novel
Arnon Grunberg
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

German | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0312204779

Book Description

Three hapless friends - nervous Ewald, impetuous Broccoli, seductive Elvira - are down on their luck, slightly unhinged, and determined to make it in bohemian Amsterdam.Together, they hatch a daring and foolish string of plots and schemes in order to make some impact on a world that could largely care less.They want to become famous actors, artists, con-men and thieves, but most of all, the three want recognition of their lives; to dent the world and have the world finally take notice.SILENT EXTRAS is an exuberant meditation on youth, waste, and the unstoppable power of comedy and farce.The novel is less a story of young people looking for meaning than it is a story of the young looking to undermine meaning.When the world makes no sense, all one can do is play along.

Customer Reviews:

A hapless farce about fantasy and failure.......2002-03-18

Nineteen year old Ewald Krieg and his two friends, Elivra Lopez and Michaël "Broccoli" Eckstein have a keen desire to make it big in the movie business. Ewald has just been rejected by yet another acting school when he meets Broccoli who is in the process of holding a tirade against the same school, for he too has received the boot. Broccoli right off takes command of Ewald and the situation and says "so now we're going to drink fish soup."

Broccoli is the self proclaimed Chairman for the "Association for Geniuses" having been pronounced a wunderkind at the age of six while playing the violin in the family living room. As further proof, he says that at the age of twelve he "was already an accomplished plumber," having to deal with his father's unusually large [stool] especially whenever company was expected. Although exceedingly creative and of apparent intellect, Broccoli's true genius is in his influence over Ewald and Elvira. He leads his two friends around Amsterdam, sharing his version of what will work to get them worldwide recognition. As Ewald explains, "Back then if people had told me 'He's the son of God,' I would have taken a good look at him and thought: Yeah, now that you mention it."

Broccoli has the run of his parents large home on Bernard Zweerskade, while his seemingly well-to-do parents are off in Switzerland. The family's housekeeper, Mrs. Meerschwam, and family friend, Berk, are the caretakers. Additionally, Broccoli has several charge cards at his disposal which helps out as the Association members meander throughout Amsterdam and beyond.

In return, Ewald and Elvira do Broccoli's bidding on his schemes to make it in the Hollywood Film business. Broccoli is positive that it just takes the right chance exposure, that no matter how insignificant the part, like the role of a "pimply kid" thrown down the stairs by a whore, there's a chance. Before meeting Broccoli, Elvira actually was the lead actress in a movie, albeit it was more out of chance than desire. It was only a partially completed movie since Galani, the Argentine furrier-turned-movie-producer, ran out of interest in the endeavor and funds before its completion. Impressed by this obscure debut, Broccoli declares that Elvira Lopez will be a "femme fatale" like no other and has her rehearse Macbeth so that all the world will see her talent.

Elvira is not as young as Ewald and Broccoli But at 28, she easily seduces all men that come into her company. Elvira is more or less Broccoli's girlfriend; yet Ewald, our narrator, is fascinated with her. When Broccoli is not around, Elvira and Ewald share stories and laughter so hearty it causes him to drool all over her. Elvira is a mystery that Ewald is constantly working on unraveling.

Then one evening Broccoli's credit card is rejected and in due time his parents show up to close the house. It is during one hilarious but heartbreaking drunken dinner scene that Mr. Eckstein tells Broccoli that he's now has to find a place to live.

Silent Extras is a hapless farce about fantasy and failure. Ewald, as narrator, begins this tale with "I am the moneygrubber, dealer in tenements." In other words, this Dutch man tells us he's come to America to become a real estate agent. During my first read, I was put off by this opening line, but finishing the novel and rereading the prologue, I realize that Ewald makes a conscious effort not to mince words about his goals. In fact he's being very careful about all fantasy and daily recites his top three fantasies that must NOT become reality for "As long as you're alive, you have to stay on your toes, because before you know it another fantasy could come true, and that might be the very one that turns fatal." It was only six years earlier that Ewald was caught up in the fantasy world of theater, further enhanced by Broccoli's delusional goals, Elvira's seductive stories and the Ecksteins fraudulent lifestyle.

In the movies, silent extras are those actors that have no speaking role but a play a pivotal part in the movie. An example of a silent extra is the bum in the alley who points which way the assailant ran. The novel Silent Extras is pure genius at pointing us towards the absurdity of ambition. But unlike the movie, these characters are ones that will be remembered for some time to come.

Lost in Translation.......2002-02-06

Although apparently a literary whiz-kid in his native Netherlands, Grunberg's charms definitely lose something in either the translation to English or in being read by non-natives. This, the second of his novels to appear in the US (preceded by Blue Mondays), is a choppy, meandering, tedious amble around Amsterdam with three awfully annoying and enigmatic characters. The narrator, Ewald, is a weedy teenager who follows his wildly exuberant and impetuous trust-fund friend around like a puppy dog. The hapless slacker duo are soon joined by an apparently alluring Argentine actress. Their adventures are meant to be farcical, but fall flat, as do the many eccentric supporting characters introduced along the way. I read this book because I wanted to read a Dutch novel, and it had gotten a stellar review in Publisher's Weekly. I place it alongside two other translated novels that were completely overhyped and are to be avoided, Benjamin Lebert's Crazy and Enrico Brizzi's Jack Fruciante Has Left the Band.

Lost in Translation.......2002-02-06

ALTHOUGH APPARENTLY A literary whiz-kid in his native Netherlands, Grunberg's charms definitely lose something in either the translation to English or in being read by non-natives. This, the second of his novels to appear in the US (preceded by Blue Mondays), is a choppy, meandering, tedious amble around Amsterdam with three awfully annoying and enigmatic characters. The narrator, Ewald, is a weedy teenager who follows his wildly exuberant and impetuous trust-fund friend around like a puppy dog. The hapless slacker duo are soon joined by an apparently alluring Argentine actress. Their adventures are meant to be farcical, but fall flat, as do the many eccentric supporting characters introduced along the way. I read this book because I wanted to read a Dutch novel, and it had gotten a stellar review in Publisher's Weekly. I place it alongside two other translated novels that were completely overhyped and are to be avoided, Benjamin Lebert's Crazy and Enrico Brizzi's Jack Fruciante Has Left the Band.

And No Birds Sing: Rhetorical Analyses of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

Average customer rating:

And No Birds Sing: Rhetorical Analyses of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

Manufacturer: Southern Illinois University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Rhetoric | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Environmentalism | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0809322196

Book Description

Craig Waddell presents essays investigating Rachel Carson’s influential 1962 book, Silent Spring. In his foreword, Paul Brooks, Carson’s editor at Houghton Mifflin, describes the process that resulted in Silent Spring. In an afterword, Linda Lear, Carson’s recent biographer, recalls the end of Carson’s life and outlines the attention that Carson’s book and Carson herself received from scholars and biographers, attention that focused so minutely on her life that it detracted from a focus on her work. The foreword by Brooks and the afterword by Lear frame this exploration within the context of Carson’s life and work.

Contributors are Edward P. J. Corbett, Carol B, Gartner, Cheryll Glotfelty, Randy Harris, M. Jimmie Killingsworth, Linda Lear, Ralph H. Lutts, Christine Oravec, Jacqueline S. Palmer, Markus J. Peterson, Tarla Rai Peterson, and Craig Waddell. Together, these essays explore Silent Spring’s effectiveness in conveying its disturbing message and the rhetorical strategies that helped create its wide influence.

A Silent Minority: Deaf Education in Spain, 1550-1835

Average customer rating:

A Silent Minority: Deaf Education in Spain, 1550-1835
Susan Plann
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Linguistics | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Grammar, Gesture, and Meaning in American Sign Language

ASIN: 0520204719

Book Description

This timely, important, and frequently dramatic story takes place in Spain, for the simple reason that Spain is where language was first systematically taught to the deaf. Instruction is thought to have begun in the mid-sixteenth century in Spanish monastic communities, where the monks under vows of silence employed a well-established system of signed communications. Early in the 1600s, deaf education entered the domain of private tutors, laymen with no use for manual signs who advocated oral instruction for their pupils. Deaf children were taught to speak and lip-read, and this form of deaf education, which has been the subject of controversy ever since, spread from Spain throughout the world.
Plann shows how changing conceptions of deafness and language constantly influenced deaf instruction. Nineteenth-century advances brought new opportunities for deaf students, but at the end of what she calls the preprofessional era of deaf education, deaf people were disempowered because they were barred from the teaching profession. The Spanish deaf community to this day shows the effects of the exclusion of deaf teachers for the deaf.
The questions raised by Plann's narrative extend well beyond the history of deaf education in Spain: they apply to other minority communities and deaf cultures around the world. At issue are the place of minority communities within the larger society and, ultimately, our tolerance for human diversity and cultural pluralism.

Building Student Literacy Through Sustained Silent Reading

Average customer rating:

Creating Lifelong Readers
Derivative
Highly recommended for K-12 classroom teachers and special education reading skills instructors

Building Student Literacy Through Sustained Silent Reading
Steve Gardiner
Manufacturer: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Literacy | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Reading | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Literacy | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1416602267

Book Description

Building Student Literacy Through Sustained Silent Reading offers a practical solution for teachers who want to improve students' reading ability: Let students choose what they read and give them the time to read it.

For 27 years, teacher Steve Gardiner has used the sustained silent reading (SSR) program in his English classes to help students of all abilities and backgrounds improve their literacy. With lively anecdotes and refreshing candor, Gardiner shares his experiences--the obstacles he faced and the successes he achieved--to show how reading 15 minutes each class period can help students discover their own abilities and develop enduring reading habits.

Gardiner also explores research both for and against SSR as well as reactions from other teachers, students, and administrators to examine the program's effect on literacy--from reading proficiency to vocabulary and spelling skills, from content comprehension to writing. He demonstrates how teachers can adapt SSR for their classes' unique needs without interfering with mandated curriculum or lesson plans.

In an environment where reading is an essential part of all subjects, Building Student Literacy Through Sustained Silent Reading shows how a simple and inexpensive program can not only help students achieve greater success in school, but give them a precious, lifelong gift—the joy of reading.

Download Description

Building Student Literacy Through Sustained Silent Reading offers a powerful solution for teachers who want to improve their students' reading ability: Let students choose what they read and give them the time to read it. For 27 years, high school teacher Steve Gardiner has used the sustained silent reading (SSR) program in his English classes to help students of all abilities and backgrounds improve their literacy. Gardiner writes with refreshing candor about his own experiences developing a sustained silent reading program. He demonstrates convincingly that giving students 15 minutes of uninterrupted reading time each day can help them discover their own abilities and develop enduring reading habits. Gardiner also explores SSR's effect on the various dimensions of literacy-reading and writing proficiency, vocabulary and spelling skills, and content comprehension-by summarizing current research and sharing feedback from teachers, students, and administrators. Finally, he demonstrates how teachers can adapt SSR for their classes' unique needs without interfering with mandated curriculum or lesson plans. In an environment where reading is an essential part of all subjects, Building Student Literacy Through Sustained Silent Reading shows how a simple and inexpensive program can not only help students achieve greater success in school, but give them a valuable gift: the joy of reading.

Customer Reviews:

Creating Lifelong Readers.......2007-03-25

I am a teacher in a juvenile detention center. Many of my teens come to my class never having read an entire chapter book in their lives. Sustained Silent Reading is an integral part of our school day and is carried over into the time the students are in their cells. They have nothing to do but read when they are locked down. By hooking them during class by having a huge classroom library and then helping them choose books they can not only be successful with, but enjoy, we are creating readers! Sustained Silent Reading was put down as a waste of time in the 90's. We teachers who have been teaching for decades know that time immersed in reading is never a waste of time. One of the most important ways to improve reading, once a child can decode, is to have them read, read, and read some more. Then we talk and share about what we read. If I had a nickel for every time one of my students said, "Hey, can I have that book next?" I would be a rich woman--a rich teacher, what a novel idea! This book will help other teachers make their case with administrators for the importance of SSR in every classroom.

Derivative.......2006-11-03

As a practicing English teacher, I believe strongly in the value of SSR. I read this book hoping to hear new research supporting SSR, or at least innovative methods for its implementation. That said, Mr. Gardiner's book is a disappointment. If a teacher is starting completely from scratch with SSR, this book might be worth a read. I didn't find much information that I hadn't already come across in books by Atwell, Krashen, or Pilgreen. In our district, ASCD books are well received by administrators, and if this holds true around the country, perhaps this text will extend SSR into more classrooms.

Highly recommended for K-12 classroom teachers and special education reading skills instructors.......2006-02-09

Building Student Literacy Through Sustained Silent Reading by English and journalism teacher Steve Gardiner is a guide to improving students' reading ability through a process based on a simple key idea: let students choose what they read and give them time to read it. Giving students 15 minutes of uninterrupted reading time each day can help them discovery their own abilities and passion for reading. Gardner gives an account of his personal experiences with the Sustained Silent Reading program, exploring SSR's effects on various dimensions of literacy including reading and writing proficiency, vocabulary, spelling skills, and content comprehension. Summaries of current research, shared feedback with fellow teachers, and suggestions for adapting SSR to the unique needs of different classes round out this valuable addition to educators' reference shelves. Highly recommended for K-12 classroom teachers and special education reading skills instructors.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books