Publisher's Information
Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop
By
Ellin Oliver Keene,
Cornerstone Project,
University of Pennsylvania
and
Susan Zimmermann
Foreword by Donald H. Graves
ISBN: 0-435-07237-4
Go to this link
at the Heinemann Publishers website for more information about the book.
Here's a bit of background from the publisher:
How do students become thoughtful, independent readers who comprehend text at a deep level?
To find the answers, authors Keene and Zimmermann embarked on a journey into the thought processes of proficient readers--a journey through poems and essays, classrooms and workshops, humor and reflection. Mosaic of Thought chronicles that journey, which ultimately led the authors to elaborate on eight cognitive processes identified in comprehension research and used by successful readers. These serve as models for the strategies offered in this book- strategies intended to help children become more flexible, adaptive, independent, and engaged readers.
Mosaic proposes a new instructional paradigm focused on in-depth, explicit instruction in the strategies used by proficient readers. The authors take us beyond the traditional classroom into the literature based, workshop-oriented classrooms. Through vivid portraits of these remarkable environments (all participants in the Denver-based Reading Project of the Public Education & Business Coalition), we see how explicit instruction looks in dynamic, literature-rich readers' workshops. As the students connect to background knowledge, create sensory images, ask questions, draw inferences, determine what's important, synthesize ideas, and solve problems at the word and text level, they are able to construct a rich mosaic of meaning.
Straightforward and jargon-free, Mosaic of Thought has relevance to all literature-based classrooms, regardless of level. It offers practical tools for inservice teachers, as well as essential methods instruction for preservice teachers at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Indeed, anyone interested in literacy will benefit from the authors' challenge to rediscover the thought processes that inform our own comprehension.
A few listservers' comments:
"Our school in Long Beach, CA, has been using Mosaic as the basis for
school wide professional development in reading and our "looking at
student work" piece for the last several years. We have read through
it many times and in many ways always looking for different things. It has
given us a rich treasure chest full of ideas on which to leapfrog."
-- Juli Kendall
In my opinion, I think Mosaic would be helpful to all teachers in every
subject. Since (theoretically at least!) students are supposed to be reading
and writing in every course they take, every teacher is a
teacher of reading--and writing! When students aren't acquiring the information
we need them to from a piece of text, teachers need to be able to identify
what's going wrong in their comprehension and work with students on specific
strategies to fix it.
Mosaic is a great read--very real, reflective, and informative.
-- Ellen Berg
I just purchased Mosaic of Thought for all my content area teachers. Our
state test requires students to explain their answers (even in math) in
paragraph form. My math teachers now are doing a "problem of the Day"
in which students have to express thier answer four ways, numbers, words,
pictures, graphs. I'm am really impressed with their work. Students are
completing fewer problems, but they really understand concepts--and they
are working harder and smarter. This change came about through a discussion
of reflective practice and teaching for understanding.
-- Mary Anne
I was able to start a study group around Mosaic of Thought just by offering
the book and some light snacks to those who wanted to volunteer. We met
about every other week. I led off on the discussion or another volunteer
teacher. The truth is that the discussions happened everywhere. People who
hadn't volunteered for the group, begged for it. And I gave them copies
too. People learn in different ways, have different time constraints etc.
I find that offering choice is powerful.
-- Naomi Smith
A comment from the co-author:
Lots of middle school teachers have been interested and have done amazing
things with comprehension strategy instruction. I now have lots more middle
school examples and stories but at the time Mosaic came out, I hadn't done
a lot in middle school. I would be honored to join you for one of your discussions
and add comments etc. where I think I might have something to add, though
you all are the best at really knowing your kids and the applications in
your own rooms. I'm very excited about your discussion and hope it turns
out to be very useful.
-- Ellin Keene