Subjects Matter, Second Edition: Exceeding Standards Through Powerful Content-Area Reading

by Steven Zemelman, Steven Zemelman

"To help every kid fall in love with at least one field of knowledge, our students must encounter our fields' most galvanizing, tantalizing, and pivotal documents. This book is about making those encounters as compelling as we can make them." -Harvey "Smokey" Daniels and Steven Zemelman

We are specialists to the bone-in science, math, social studies, art, music, business, and foreign language. But now, the Common Core and state standards require us to help our students better understand the distinctive texts in our subject areas. "Nobody's making us into reading teachers," write Smokey Daniels and Steve Zemelman, "but we must become teachers of disciplinary thinking through our students' reading."

If this shift sounds like a tough one, Subjects Matter, Second Edition is your solution. Smokey and Steve, two of America's most popular educators, share exactly what you need to help students read your nonfiction content closely and strategically: 27 proven teaching strategies that help meet-and exceed-the standards how-to suggestions for engaging kids with content through wide, real-world reading a lively look at using "boring" textbooks motivating instruction that's powered by student collaboration specifics for helping struggling readers succeed.

Subjects Matter, Second Edition enables deep, thoughtful learning for your students, while keeping the irreverent, inspiring heart that's made the first edition indispensable. You'll discover fresh and re-energized lessons, completely updated research, and vibrant vignettes from new colleagues and old friends who have as much passion for their subjects as you do.

"We'll be using methods particular to our fields as well as engaging reading materials that help students understand and remember our content better," write Smokey and Steve. "We can realize that vision of the light going on in kids' heads and maybe fill them with enthusiasm about the amazing subject matter that we have to offer. Sound good? Let's get to work." Read a sample chapter from Subjects Matter, Second Edition.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, School

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2014

Reviews

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 - Great lesson plan ideas!

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

For once, the theoretical chapters were better than the practical. You m sick of all the recycled and basic strategies presented as something new and interesting in these books!

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class and I did not really like it very much. I found a LOT of the content of this book were things that I had already figured out myself or had already definitely learned in another class. In the beginning the authors waffle a little bit about whether or not the country's reading literacy needs to be improved, based on national testing data. I found their arguments flawed and contradictory.

There were moments of usefulness in this book. Despite their non-commital argument about whether or not we are "failing" at reading, they did stress how reading needs to be a much bigger part of the non-English/Social Sciences curricula. I whole-heartedly agree with this and believe that other disciplines, such as math and science need to dedicate some time to this. One of the books I read for high school geometry was The Copernican Revolution by Thomas Kuhn, which turns out to be quite a standard text in certain academic circles. It is one of the things I remember best about that class, along with the project I did to accompany my reading.

The middle of the book offers some good ideas, so it was not a total waste, but overall I think a better book could have been chosen for a reading diagnostic course.

[Mihaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book became more valuable to me to the end. Chapter 8 and 10 specifically have provided me with a number of strategies, such as having students engage in workshops or inquiries, that I believe I can successfully integrate in my own classroom. I like these two strategies because they focus on making the classroom a more active learning community and give students valuable experience in what's like to be responsible, independent thinkers and learners.

[Katie Laugen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read! The book is set up where you can choose the chapter that meets your need right now, and each chapter is about 20 pages, with the exception of possibly the most valuable chapter, 5. It provides a list of reading strategies in a format that is quick to scan to meet the needs of to teach a new skill, review with struggling students or to reinforce a skill in your class.

[Jennifer Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incredibly informative, especially for teachers who are just starting out or who have a class with a wide variety of reading comprehension skills and attitudes. There’s a lot of information crammed into this book so it’s definitely not something I could have read or could re-read in one sitting and still get the same impact.

[Jade Viges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This book has a great thesis, backed by plentiful and various research, about the needs for change in reading instruction, but it does not stop there. It is also chocked full of reading strategies, explained in detail, and additional resources to use. I found all the information to be helpful and will definitely be referring to it for years to come.

[MaryEllen Elizabeth Hart]

Great Content Area Literacy Ideas! Perfect Score. Loved it. Highlighted on every page. Notes on every page. Implemented strategy.

[Ruthie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

very well explained material and resources that can be used in the classroom.

[Neil Hepworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dry and uninspiring with outdated, dull strategies. The few items in here that are worth looking at have been written about in much better ways by other writers. Hard pass on this one.

[Chloe Merriman · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fistful of really strong ideas but otherwise not as groundbreaking as i would have liked

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful ideas focused on content reading and reading strategies for students. I read this as part of a graduate class I'm taking. I'd recommend this to any teacher who would like to learn new strategies to help students interact with texts.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has some great ideas for activities and assignments in it, but the actual chapters were a bit repetitive.