Choice Words

Additional Choice Words Information

In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.

Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool: language. Throughout, Peter Johnston provides examples of apparently ordinary words, phrases, and uses of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in a study by accomplished literacy teachers, the book demonstrates how the things we say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and for who they become as literate people. Through language, children learn how to become strategic thinkers, not merely learning the literacy strategies. In addition, Johnston examines the complex learning that teachers produce in classrooms that is hard to name and thus is not recognized by tests, by policy-makers, by the general public, and often by teachers themselves, yet is vitally important.

This book will be enlightening for any teacher who wishes to be more conscious of the many ways their language helps children acquire literacy skills and view the world, their peers, and themselves in new ways.

What Customers Say About Choice Words:

Choice Words is a powerful book in terms of thinking about how we can both engage and motivate our students through discourse and dialogue. Our students today are reading less and less and often and do not know how to articulate their thoughts and ideas (aside from what they "learned" in the latest movie they saw). Throughout the book Johnston lists statements and questions that help students learn how to articulate their thoughts, which will hopefully lead to future empowerment. The author does not discuss which theories and methodologies are most successful for teaching reading and writing; the focus is on helping children create meaning from what they read, learn to think and articulate their thoughts independently, and become successful participants in a democratic society.

Choice Words was a great read. The book provided applicable real-classroom strategies that could be used in any educational setting. I would especially recommend this book for any new teacher.

I STILL NEED THE BOOK & am waiting for a reply to my email that asks HOW I make a 1/2 - price purchase. I did not recieve the book after a 2-wk wait. I originally gave a poor rating, then revoked it on This Old Firehouses's request & offer for a 1/2-price rate on my next purchase. There are other cys available. Linda Miller

This book came in the condition it described and came before the expected date. Thanks.

This book does a great job of making you really consider the words you use with your students as a teacher. Not only does it give great advice, but it also gives some great tips and examples of how to approach common situations and what to say. Also, the appendices are prety informative as well. Johnston does a great job.