Professional Book Reviews

Reviews
iewss
view

Read to Lead:
k Reevi

Resources That Help Teachers

Book
ook
Boo R

Enhance Literacy Leadership

ionall B
Professional
sion
fessi

Jennifer Turner, Chrystine Hoeltzel, and Jiahang Li

Profes
of

L
iteracy leadership has become the new
buzzword in many schools. Oftentimes,
reading specialists, literacy coaches, staff
development teachers/trainers, and even adminis-
trators are considered literacy leaders. However,
we believe that classroom teachers are the most
critical literacy leaders that work with our chil-
dren. As Roland Barth proclaimed, “All teach-
ers can lead! Most teachers want to lead. And
schools badly need their ideas, invention, energy,
and leadership” (as cited in McAndrew, 2005,
p. 1).
Many classroom teachers may not initially
see themselves as literacy leaders. Planning les-
sons, grading papers, teaching new informa-
tion, and working with reading groups may not
seem to be the stuff of literacy leadership. Yet any
teacher, whether a novice or a 20-year veteran,
can be a literacy leader by (a) exhibiting a pro-
found love and respect for the printed word and
personal professional excellence, (b) organizing
classrooms conducive to reader engagement, and
(c) orchestrating responsive and rigorous instruc-
tion for students (Turner, Applegate, & Apple-
gate, 2009). As university instructors who train
elementary teachers, we believe that teachers
enhance their capacity for literacy leadership by
July 2010
The CAFÉ Book:
Engaging All Students
in Daily Literacy
Assessment and
Instruction
Written by Gail Boushey
and Joan Moser
Stenhouse,
2009, 240 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-57110-728-2
In this era of testing and accountability, data-
driven instruction is crucial for literacy achieve-
ment. But many classroom teachers are
overwhelmed by the massive amount of data they
collect, and they don’t know how to organize it,
analyze it, or use it to make appropriate instruc-
tional decisions. The CAFÉ Book, written by Gail
Boushey and Joan Moser (2009), addresses these
concerns by providing teachers and students with
“a structure for conferring, a language for talk-
ing about reading development, and a system for
tracking growth and fostering student indepen-
dence” (p. 5). CAFÉ is an acronym for Com-
prehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding
vocabulary, and these four elements serve as the
core of the program. In Chapter 1, Boushey and

Moser articulate the research base for the CAFÉ

keeping their own professional knowledge cur- system, emphasizing four key principles: (a) stu-
rent and transforming their pedagogy through dents need “good it” books that they can select
professional reading, relection, and learning
No. 6 ●

independently; (b) small-group instruction should

(McAndrew, 2005). Because classroom teach- be lexible and be determined by students’ reading
ers must “read to lead,” we highlight three pro- goals rather than reading levels; (c) instructional
fessional resources in this column that may be
Vol. 87 ●

fairness requires responsive pedagogy rather than

useful to teachers who are striving to work as lit- equal time; and (d) teachers must orchestrate a
eracy leaders within their own classrooms and combination of whole-group, small–group, and
schools.
Language Arts ●

side-by-side instruction/coaching experiences to

maximize literacy learning.

472

Copyright © 2010 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.
 The CAFÉ Menu Assessment system is built
upon a premise that is simple, yet profound:
assessment is a process that teachers do with stu-
dents rather than to them (Seraini, as cited in
Edwards, Turner, & Mokhtari, 2008). Chapters
2 and 3 provide the nuts-and-bolts of the CAFÉ
assessment system and explore the various tools
for organizing (e.g., the calendar), gathering (e.g.,
the Conferring Notebook), analyzing (e.g., the
Strategy Lesson form), and displaying (e.g., the
CAFÉ Menu bulletin board) assessment data.
These assessment tools yield rich data that is not
only informative for teachers, but also useful for
students, because classroom assessment systems
like CAFÉ “can socialize children into monitoring
and guiding their own literacy learning” (John-
ston, 2005, pp. 684–685).
Students begin to learn about themselves as
readers during individual conferences as they
“read a bit to [the teacher], talk about their read-
ing, and assess their progress toward their goal”
(p. 62). In these brief, but focused, conferences,
teachers and students use the CAFÉ language
for (a) goal setting; (b) coaching, reteaching, and
practicing speciic strategies; and (c) for planning
next steps. By offering snapshots of conferences
with students who represent diversity in home
language (e.g., English Language Learners) and
literacy needs (e.g., student reads luently but has
trouble with comprehension), Boushey and Moser
illustrate how all children can take ownership of
their reading habits, talk speciically about their
reading development, and develop new metacog-
nitive strategies (see Chapters 4 and 5). Students
also actively participate in the CAFÉ assess-
ment system—they write and illustrate the strat-
egy cards, post their names under particular goals
(e.g., comprehension, luency) on the CAFÉ menu
bulletin board, and become “experts” on particu-
lar strategies. Through the CAFÉ Menu system,
students grow into resilient readers who have “the
disposition to articulate their learning processes
and perspectives, including their struggles, in
ways that sustain strategic lexibility and mutual
engagement” (Johnston, 2005, p. 686).
The CAFÉ assessment system is anchored by
whole-group and small-group instruction, and
many classroom teachers may believe that they
have a irm understanding of how these peda-
gogical elements work. However, Boushey and
Moser developed the CAFÉ system to challenge
473
conventional wisdom and to embody what they
Professional Book Reviews
have termed “major shifts” in their own think-
ing about integrating assessment into reading
instruction. In contrast to the long, uninterest-
ing, and stilted whole-group lessons that Boushey
and Moser taught with their basal programs, the
CAFÉ system centers on brief, targeted read-
aloud sessions that (a) present particular reading
strategies, (b) provide opportunities for teaching
and guided practice with these strategies, and (c)
introduce children to high-quality literature (see
more in Chapter 6).
Another critical shift Boushey and Moser dis-
cuss is the move from guided reading groups to
strategy groups in Chapter 7. Unlike guided read-
ing groups, which are determined by students’
reading levels, strategy groups are lexible and
responsive to students’ goals and needs. Dur-
ing group meetings, teachers tailor instruction by
modeling, coaching, and reinforcing strategies,
and use a range of texts (e.g., individual “good it”
books, common texts) for instruction and prac-
tice. To support teachers as they implement these
powerful pedagogical innovations, numerous
resources are provided, including read-aloud book
lists, tips for launching the program and teaching
essential strategies in the irst week, sample strat-
egy lessons for whole-and small-group instruc-
tion, and a CD with reproducible forms.
The CAFÉ book builds classroom teachers’
capacity for literacy leadership. As teachers who
have worked against mandated programs in their
own schools, Boushey and Moser contend that lit-
eracy leaders need more than courage; they must
be constantly engaged in inquiry to learn about
their students. The CAFÉ system promotes “the
habit of taking notes, observing children, and
making teaching decisions based on data” (p. 9).
Because Boushey and Moser characterize the
CAFÉ system as a “work in progress” rather than
a scripted program, teachers are encouraged to
use their professional expertise to adapt the pro-
gram in ways that address their students’ needs
and interests. If teachers need to deepen their pro-
fessional expertise, Boushey and Moser enthu-
siastically recommend that they use technology
to visit the authors’ websites (www.thedaily
cafe.com), read updates about the program,
and blog with teachers using the CAFÉ system
in schools across the country. One of the most
important tasks literacy leaders can do is write
 thoughtfully about good literacy assessment and
Professional Book Reviews
instructional programs, as Boushey and Moser
have so aptly done.
The Book Whisperer:
Awakening the Inner
Reader in Every Child
Written by Donalyn Miller
Jossey-Bass,
2009, 240 pp.,
ISBN 978-0-470-37227-2
As literacy educators
are inundated with new
initiatives to drive state
test scores up, test prep-
aration has become the focal point of classrooms,
and helping students cultivate a love of read-
ing is often lost. In her inspiring book, The Book
Whisperer, Donalyn Miller (2009) calls for lit-
eracy education to encompass authentic reading
in authentic contexts where students have ample
opportunities to read books that interest them.
Miller describes the typical language arts pro-
gram where teachers trust anthologies and novel
units to teach essential language arts skills, and
she seriously questions whether these practices
ever really help develop student-centered reading
communities. Instead, Miller advocates for teach-
ers to act as literacy leaders by challenging the
status quo of a perpetuating cycle where teach-
ers continue to do what has always been done just
because it has always been done. This insightful
book contains thought-provoking ideas about how
to reach students as well as instructional tips and
resources to help teachers instill lifelong reading
habits in students.
The irst few chapters of the book take readers
through Miller’s teaching journey as she recounts
July 2010
her mistakes and documents her knowledge about
student readers and conditions for learning. In her
irst few years of teaching, Miller took great pride
No. 6 ●
in developing extensive novel units with the hope
that she could engage students in the books’ plots
and extend student learning. She did not real-
Vol. 87 ●
ize until it was too late that students rarely con-
nected with these books that were so completely
detached from their interests and lives.
Language Arts ●
Miller categorizes the three types of read-
ers that educators encounter in their classrooms:
developing readers, dormant readers, and under-
ground readers. All three types of readers need
474
different levels of support and experiences with
books, and she provides examples of how she
achieved success connecting to these types of
students. Although the positive effects of inde-
pendent reading are hotly debated since the pub-
lication of the National Reading Panel (2000)
report, Miller contends that independent read-
ing is the crux of any language arts program. She
also evaluates current missed opportunities for
students to independently interact with books,
offering an outline for how to develop a reading
community in one’s classroom. By fostering the
rights of the reader (Pennac, 2006), requiring stu-
dents to read 40 books in a year, eliciting student
choice, and framing instruction around genre,
Miller has helped her students become voluntary
readers while still being able to meet district man-
dates and state standards.
Miller believes that “teachers lose credibil-
ity with students when they ignore the cultural
trends and issues that interest them and instead
design instruction around books that are ‘good
for you’” (p. 85). In addition to the instructional
recommendations listed above, Miller supports
a reader’s journal for each student; this journal
serves several valuable functions: to document
a listing of book genres, to maintain a read-
ing list, to record titles for a book wish list, and
to provide a space for responding to the books
students read. Woven throughout this book are
examples of the importance of teacher modeling
and the need for teachers to be knowledgeable
about books in order to make good recommen-
dations that will help students connect to those
books.
The last few chapters of The Book Whisperer
provide speciic advice for teachers trying to
expand reader book boundaries. Miller believes
that teachers need to develop their own inner
reader in order to effectively inspire students to do
the same. In Chapter 6, Miller exposes common
traditional practices that stile reader motivation,
such as whole-class novels, comprehension tests,
book reports, reading logs, round-robin and pop-
corn reading, and incentive programs. She offers
valuable alternatives that teachers can incorpo-
rate into their classrooms in place of those less
successful practices. Miller explains that “teach-
ers tie so many strings to reading that students
never develop a pleasurable relationship to read-
ing inside or, regrettably, beyond the classroom”
(p. 121). Armed with this information, Miller
devotes the last chapter to parley the importance
of teachers standing up for student readers.
Miller also argues that our education system
needs literacy leaders who are going to advocate
and provide opportunities for independent read-
ing, even though our culture may say it is not
important. She worries that “canned programs
drain every ounce of joy from reading that stu-
dents have or will have in the future” (p. 169).
Donalyn Miller’s message is clear—if developing
lifelong readers is our goal, then connecting stu-
dents through books is essential, and reading ulti-
mately belongs to the students.
Miller concludes this refreshing book by saying
that “students will read if we give them the books,
the time and the encouragement to do so . . . and
that to keep our students reading, we have to let
them” (p. 177). Along with her valuable insight
and advice, Miller provides resource appendi-
ces (such as classroom library ideas and the ulti-
mate library list) and student forms (such as an
end-of-the-year teacher evaluation and student
surveys). These documents and the information
presented in the book enable teachers to plan lit-
eracy instruction with students in mind. Through
thoughtful orchestration, teachers are better able
to design instruction to meet the needs and inter-
ests of their students (Turner, Applegate, & Apple-
gate, 2009). Miller has a lofty goal in mind, and
her book acts as a tool for teachers to create class-
rooms of interested and lifelong readers.
Integrating Literacy
and Technology:
Effective Practice
for Grades K–6
Written by
Susan Watts Taffe and
Carolyn Gwinn
Guilford, 2007, 146 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-59385-452-2
In their book, Susan
Watts Taffe and Caro-
lyn Gwinn (2007) pro-
vide elementary school teachers with theories,
skills, and instructions about how to use tech-
nology effectively in the literacy classroom.
Designed to “describe in detail the decision mak-
ing behind meaningful purpose-driven literacy–
technology integration” (p. x), this book engages
teachers in the process of inquiry and relection.
475
With easy, step-by-step instructions, K–6 teach-
Professional Book Reviews
ers will learn more about the instructional process
of planning, teaching, and assessment in a tech-
nology-rich environment. Moreover, many useful
classroom examples show how the Internet and
reading and writing software further enable teach-
ers to grasp the idea of literacy–technology inte-
gration. By providing explicit directions for key
instructional moves (e.g., teacher modeling, think-
aloud), teachers can help their students to develop
new reading and communication competencies in
a technology-enriched classroom environment.
Chapters 1 and 2 build on the argument made
by New Literacy scholars that “as technology
increasingly becomes an integral part of what
we understand to be literacy, achieving liter-
acy will require a wider range of skills, greater
skill sophistication, and the ability to apply these
skills more quickly than ever” (p. 4). New lit-
eracy allows us to use “Internet and other ICTs
(information and communication technologies) to
identify important questions, locate information,
critically evaluate the usefulness of that infor-
mation, synthesize information to answer those
questions, and then communicate the answers to
others” (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004,
p. 1572), so it is imperative to include these tech-
nological advances in the deinition of literacy
used in schools. Drawing upon this work, Taffe
and Gwinn assert that, given such rapidly chang-
ing technology, teachers should communicate and
collaborate interactively with their colleagues in
order to provide meaningful technology-based
experiences for children in a digital age. They
conclude in Chapter 2 that purposeful literacy–
technology integration requires teachers to “be
willing to explore teaching in ways that may be
new and different” (p. 28). When teachers are lit-
eracy leaders, they are willing to take risks and try
new pedagogical innovations with technology in
order to make literacy instruction more responsive
and rigorous for their students.
Moving from theory to practice, the authors
explore the role of technology in planning,
instruction, and assessment in Chapters 3 through
6. After a thorough discussion about the impact of
technology on the instructional cycle (planning,
teaching, assessment, and relection), the authors
outline a range of concrete activities that teachers
could use with new technologies and in different
instructional contexts. One example is the use of
KidPix, computer software that has the capability
 to present information using text, graphics, and
Professional Book Reviews
voice in a slide show format. They show how this
program can help teachers complement tradi-
tional print literature/books with additional online
information.
The authors go on to describe the many com-
prehension strategies used in digital literacy learn-
ing, such as making inferences, dealing with
graphic information, and evaluating information.
The authors suggest that teachers can use tech-
nology to enhance the comprehension instruc-
tion in their classrooms. They also point out
how to use assessment as a vital component in
literacy–technology integration and cite concrete
case studies as examples throughout the book to
illustrate this kind of integrated instruction. For
instance, using a second-grade teacher’s (John
David) case of linking assessment with literacy–
technology integration, the authors suggest that
portfolio assessment, including both handwritten
and technology-based materials (e.g. video) can
help teachers monitor students’ academic growth
and literacy development.
The last two chapters discuss the importance
of teachers as change agents in the integration and
impact of technology on the professional lives of
teachers. Based on a practical as well as theoreti-
cal explanation of teacher attributes, attitudes, and
actions, the authors argue that “the great poten-
tial and possibilities for student learning afforded
by new technologies can best be realized when
teachers act as agents” (p. 92). Such agency is
a key component of literacy leadership, and can
help teachers to build capacity to work with
technology—an arena that may be very unfamiliar
or uncomfortable for educators in today’s schools.
According to the authors, teachers who act as
change agents should have critical attributes,
July 2010
including self-eficacy, decision-making compe-
tencies, and vision. Teachers who effectively inte-
grate technology into literacy instruction also
No. 6 ●
have a deep understanding of curricular standards,
pedagogical content, and methods, and are aware
that not every new technology will it into teach-
Vol. 87 ●
ing. Moreover, teachers must believe that it is
their responsibility to teach students new litera-
cies. In order to fulill this goal, teachers should
be proactive as they try literacy–technology inte-
Language Arts ●
gration in their classrooms by communicating
and collaborating with students and colleagues,
476
exploring new territories and possibilities, and
facing dificulties and failures in a positive way.
Taffe and Gwinn’s book is extremely help-
ful because it is a well-organized and teacher-
friendly guide for integrating technology into
everyday literacy instruction for elementary stu-
dents. The authors offer simple guidance about
how to effectively integrate technology and lit-
eracy in classroom teaching by providing numer-
ous tools, software, websites, tips, worksheets,
and guides. Further, this book offers tools to
enhance professional development experiences,
such as teacher group meeting sites, online men-
toring and discussion forums, and websites (e.g.,
www.readwritethink.org), which will help teach-
ers to develop their own literacy leadership
around integrating technology and literacy.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
It is truly unfortunate that many school practices
across the United States are unintentionally
destroying students’ desire to read. Now, more
than ever before, we need classroom teachers to
step up and be literacy leaders. We need liter-
acy leaders who are willing to expand their pro-
fessional knowledge and apply that knowledge in
classrooms to enhance student learning. We need
literacy leaders who participate in regular inquiry
and relection, because they want to understand
how their pedagogy impacts students as liter-
ate beings. And, we need literacy leaders who are
motivated to learn about technology and use it not
only in K–8 classrooms, but also to deepen their
own professional competencies and expertise.
The three books reviewed for this column help
literacy leaders to evaluate their current literacy
instructional practices and begin to take risks in
an effort to make positive changes within class-
rooms. While making small changes within their
classrooms, literacy leaders also have an oppor-
tunity to move beyond conventional thinking
and share knowledge with colleagues in order to
expand (sometimes oppositional) views. These
books serve as touchstones and include a num-
ber of relevant resources to assist teachers as
they take up signiicant, yet sometimes unpopu-
lar, instructional ideas and advocate for student-
centered pedagogy, programs, and policy as liter-
acy leaders.
References
Edwards, P. A., Turner, J. D., & Mokhtari, K. (2008). Balanc-
ing assessment of learning and for learning in support of
student literacy achievement. The Reading Teacher, 61,
682–684.
Johnston, P. (2005). Literacy assessment and the future. The
Reading Teacher, 58, 684–686.
Leu, D. J., Jr., Kinzer, C. G., Coiro, J., & Cammack, D. (2004).
Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the
Internet and other information and communication tech-
nologies. In R. R. Ruddell & N. J. Unrauh (Eds.), Theoretical
models and processes of reading (5th ed., pp. 1570–1613).
Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
McAndrew, D.A. (2005). Literacy leadership: Six strate-
gies for peoplework. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Develop-
ment. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teach-
ing children to read: An evidenced-based assessment of the
scientiic research literature on reading and its implications
for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769).
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Ofice.
477
Pennac, D. (2006). The rights of the reader. London: Walker
Professional Book Reviews
Books.
Turner, J. D., Applegate, T., & Applegate, M. (2009). Teach-
ers as literacy leaders. Reading Teacher, 63, 254–256.
Jennifer D. Turner is associate professor of Reading in
the College of Education at the University of Maryland,
College Park. Her teaching and research interests focus
on successful literacy instruction for African American
elementary students, culturally responsive literacy
teacher education, and preparing literacy leaders for
diversity. Chrystine Hoeltzel is a doctoral student in
Reading Education at the University of Maryland, Col-
lege Park. She also works as a Reading Coach for the
Berks County Intermediate Unit in Reading, Pennsyl-
vania. Jiahang Li is a doctoral student in Reading
Education at the University of Maryland, College Park.
His research interests include multicultural literature,
multicultural education, and online reading.
Rebecca Rogers and Martille Elias, both profes-
sors of Literacy Education at the University of Missouri
St. Louis, served as editors for this book review column.