Nurturing Informed Thinking: Reading, Talking, and Writing Across Content-Area Sources

by Sunday Cummins

In today's world, the importance of teaching students to analyze different sources on a particular topic has never been greater. Students need to be able to connect ideas, weigh viewpoints, and balance differing perspectives. "We want students to ask questions and then actively seek out answers by reading, listening to, or viewing multiple sources -articles, books, videos, photos, infographics, and more," literacy consultant and author Sunday Cummins explains. "We want them to think across those sources and be able to articulate for themselves as well as for others what they've learned-orally and in writing." Nurturing Informed Thinking provides support for teachers as they plan for and manage teaching with multiple sources on a regular basis. Sunday's practical framework includes strategies "The value of this endeavor becomes clear when you see your students' eyes light up as they examine a second, third, and fourth source on a topic," Sunday writes. "As a result of reading across sources, students understand the world around them better. More importantly, they have a sense of how they can continue to learn. This is what we want for students-strong identities as strategic readers, writers, and thinkers."

176 pages, Paperback

Published February 26, 2018

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so useful, inspiring and clear. I am excited to share it with all the literacy and content teachers at my school and to use the well crafted lessons in my classroom.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunday Cummins is one of my favorite academic authors to read and learn about teaching Reading and Writing in the classroom. I've read her two previous books and they were great - this one tops them! After finishing this book, I am now armed with numerous varied ways to incorporate the use of multiple text/sources and - best of all - in this book, she walked me through how to use the varied instructional moves. I can't wait to use these ideas when I'm back in school beginning in August!

[Beth Herrig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a “must have” resource for novice and veterans teachers alike! This book is full of real examples, lessons and strategies teachers can use when teaching students about how to read multiple non-fiction texts and resources and then how to analyze them so to deepen their understanding about relevant topics. I can’t wait to get started!

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-have for middle grades and middle school teachers. It will revolutionized your content instruction. You can never go back to standard textbook teaching after reading it. There are beautiful examples of kids' work, models of anchor charts, and ready-to-go lessons. It is going to be required reading for all literacy courses that I teach.