Language Arts: Patterns of Practice Paperback - 2012

Gail Tompkins I m a teacher, first and foremost. I began my career as a first-grade teacher in Virginia in the 1970s. I remember one first grader who cried as the first day of school was ending. When I tried to comfort him, he sobbed accusingly, I came to first grade to learn to read and write and you forgot to teach me. The next day, I taught that child and his classmates to read and write! We made a small patterned book about one of the stuffed animals in the classroom. I wrote some of the words and the students supplied the others, and I duplicated copies of the book for each child. We practiced reading it until everyone memorized our little book. The children proudly took their books home to read to their parents. I ve never forgotten that child s comment and what it taught me: Teachers must understand their students and meet their expectations. My first few years of teaching left me with more questions than answers, and I wanted to become a more effective teacher so I started taking graduate courses. In time I earned a master s degree and then a doctorate in Reading/Language Arts, both from Virginia Tech. Through my graduate studies, I learned a lot of answers, but more importantly, I learned to keep on asking questions. Then I began teaching at the university level. First I taught at Miami University in Ohio, then at the University of Oklahoma, and finally at California State University, Fresno. I ve taught preservice teachers and practicing teachers working on master s degrees, and I ve directed doctoral dissertations. I ve received awards for my teaching, including the Provost s Award for Excellence in Teaching at California State University, Fresno, and I was inducted into the California Reading Association s Reading Hall of Fame. Throughout the years, my students have taught me as much as I taught them. I m grateful to all of them for what I ve learned. I ve been writing college textbooks for more than 20 years, and I think of the books I write as teaching, too. I ll be teaching you as you read this text. As I write a book, I try to anticipate the questions you might ask and provide that information. I also include students samples so you can see concepts that I m explaining, and I include lists of trade books that you can refer to as you work with students. "