Patricia A. Gourley-Biggs

ENG 608

July 9, 2003

biggsReport4

Graves, D. (1990). Discover your own literacy. Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH.

The author has written this book, one of a five volume series called The Reading/Writing Teacher’s Companion, to encourage exploration in writing, reading, listening, and learning. (Graves, 1990) This book in the series seeks to enable the writer to explore the "richness of reading and writing for you and for children in ways that unite the two processes in meaningful and productive ways." The book places emphasis on "Actions" which are personal explorations into one’s growth and discovery in the classroom written by teachers who include literacy explorations with their students (Graves, 1990). Then the book invites the reader to implement the teacher’s practices in their own reading, writing and composing. Graves (1990) believes that "so much of learning is experimental" that the book highlights experiments for personal growth and discovery in the classroom to enable the teacher to develop a knowledgeable classroom.

The last five chapters in the book discuss the "Actions" that are recommended for the teacher to implement in teaching reading and writing literacy. Each chapter has ordered "Actions" to slowly and progressively develop teacher awareness of each student’s independent growth in some facet of literacy (Graves, 1990). Learning must take place within an educated community a view taken by the author that includes the concept of reading and writing as "social acts" in which children and teachers share together books and authors for enjoyment mingled with their individual compositions in a variety of genres (Graves, 1990). The classroom is stressed as a group and individual responsibility in the development of learning within an educated community.

This book is excellent for teachers who are interested in tapping into self-expression in the writing experience with their students. The book takes the teacher carefully and gradually through a series of steps or actions that include the teacher participating with the students in experimental writing. The result of teacher and student collaboration in reading and writing is a wonderful improvement in self-confidence in reading and writing skills (Graves, 1990). It is imperative that the teacher actively participate with the students in the reading and writing exploration to develop the social rapport necessary for sharing in the composing of written works in the literate classroom community. This book enables the teacher to collaborate with students in the development of rich writing sessions that increase the teacher’s literacy as well as the student’s within the framework of meaningful learning experiences (Graves, 1990). I would recommend this book to any teacher who desires to improve their own reading and writing as well as their student’s.