BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS AND PROCEDURES

During the semester, you and a set of classmates totalling no more than 4 students per group will meet to discuss three books. You may select them from the Menu of Readings for Book Clubs. The total number of pages in the books you select must exceed 700 pages. These discussions will allow you to talk about the issues in the books in relation to your experiences as a tutor. This page includes information about the following topics:

Ideas for Running Successful Book Clubs
Book Club Links
Menu of Readings for Book Clubs
Links and Additional Reading Lists  

Ideas for Running Successful Book Clubs

The reading of books for the class will take place in book clubs--small groups of readers who meet regularly to discuss books on their own terms and according to their own processes and preferences. From the Menu of Readings for Book Clubs below, you and your book club partners will select three books to read over the course of the semester. You will have an opportunity to preview the entire set of books before making your selections. It is perfectly fine for more than one group to read the same book.

I strongly recommend that you choose books that are relevant to your tutoring situation. If a particular race or cultural group is represented at your tutoring site, you might benefit from reading about that group to enhance your understanding of your experiences this semester.

Once you have selected your three books, work out a schedule for discussing them. Roughly speaking, you should pick one book for August/September, one for October, and one for November/December. The general process for each book will be to have small group discussions for 2-3 sessions, and then to make a presentation to the whole group in a separate session on what you have learned through your reading and discussion in conjunction with your tutoring. Consult the Class and Site Visit Schedule to see the schedule I have set up for your discussions and presentations.

Your book club should include people with whom you share interests. You do not need to be tutoring at the same site but should have some common ground for your discussion based on your tutoring experiences. And so, people might cluster together based on their shared interest in middle school students, in Latino/a culture, in working class students, or other characteristics. I expect your Book Club discussions to be wide-ranging and provocative, while of course staying on topic for the most part. Ultimately, for your Course Project you will need to synthesize ideas from your reading with insights on your tutoring experiences, so the book club discussions should provide the immediate benefit of helping you to make sense of your experience and the long-range benefit of helping you to prepare for your Course Project. Some book clubs have no rules, while others are highly structured. You should select a format that works well for your configuration of readers. The Book Club Links below provide a number of ideas on how to structure your discussions. However you structure your meetings, however, you should choose a procedure that gets you quickly into the ideas from the readings and uses them to gain insight into your tutoring experiences.

Book Club Links

Book Clubs: A comprehensive guide to discount book clubs and reading groups.
The Literature Network: Book Club Procedures
Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups By Harvey Daniels
Literature Discussion Groups: Guidelines for Moderators: A Book Club Approach
Giving Readers a Voice: Book Discussion Groups
Ten Tips for Starting and Running a Successful Book Club
Reading Group Center
Book Browse
BookSpace Book Clubs

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Menu of Readings for Book Clubs

The following books concern issues of culture that have an impact on students' learning in school. Select any three from this list for your book club discussions.

Adger, C. T., Christian, D., & Taylor, O. (Eds.) (1999). Making the connection: Language and academic achievement among African American students. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Alba, R. D., & Nee, V. (2003). Remaking the American mainstream: Assimilation and contemporary immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Amato, P. R., & Booth, A. (1997). A generation at risk: Growing up in an era of family upheaval. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Anyon, J. (1997). Ghetto schooling: A political economy of urban educational reform. New York: Teachers College Press. Published review
Artiles, A. J., & Ortiz, A. (Eds). (2002). English Language Learners with special needs: Identification, placement, and instruction. Washington D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Au, K. H. (1993). Literacy instruction in multicultural settings. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
Au, Kathryn Hu-Pei (2006). Multicultural issues and literacy achievement. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Published review
Baker, C. (1993). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Bristol, PA: Multilingual Matters Limited.
Ball, A. F., & Lardner, T. (2005). African American literacies unleashed: Vernacular English and the composition classroom. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
Ballenger, C. (1999). Teaching other people's children: Literacy and learning in a bilingual classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.
Banks, J.A. (2001). Cultural diversity and education: Foundations, curriculum, and teaching. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Baugh, J. (1999). Out of the mouths of slaves: African-American language and educational malpractice. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Baugh, J. (2000). Beyond Ebonics: Linguistic pride and racial prejudice. New York: Oxford University Press. Published review Published review Student review

Brown, R. N. (2009). Black girlhood celebration: Toward a hip-hop feminist pedagogy. NY: Peter Lang Publishing. Published review
Campbell, K. E. (2005). Gettin' our groove on: Rhetoric, language, and literacy for the hip hop generation. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Crawford, J. (1989). Bilingual education: History politics theory and practice. Los Angeles: Bilingual Educational Services.
Darling-Hammond, L., Ancess, J., & Falk, B. (1995). Authentic assessment in action: Studies of schools and students at work. New York: Teachers College Press.
Delpit, L. (1995). Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: New Press.
Delpit, L., & Dowdy, J. K. (Eds.). (2002).The skin that we speak: Thoughts on language and culture in the classroom. New York: The New Press. Published review
Diller, J.V., & Moule, J. (2005). Cultural competence: A primer for educators. Belmont, CA: Thomas/Wadsworth.
Eckert, P. (1989). Jocks & burnouts: Social categories and identity in high school. New York: Teachers College Press.

Faltis, C. J., & Wolfe, P. M. (1999). So much to say: Adolescents, bilingualism, and ESL in the secondary school. New York: Teachers College Press. Student review
Fine, M. (1991). Framing dropouts: Notes on the politics of an urban high school. Albany: SUNY Press.
Fine, M., & Weis, L. (1998). The unknown city: Lives of poor and working class young adults. Boston: Beacon Press.
Fine, M., Weis, L., Pruitt, L. & Burns, A. (2004). Off white: Essays on race, power and resistance. New York: Routledge.

Flores-Gonzalez, N. (2002). School kids/street kids: Identity development in Latino students. New York: Teachers College Press. Published review
Gándara, P. C. (1995). Over the ivy walls: The educational mobility of low-income Chicanos. Albany: SUNY Press.
Gandara, P., & Contreras, F. (2009). The Latino education crisis: The consequences of failed social policies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Published review
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

Gibson, M.A., Gandara, P.C., & Koyama, J.P. (2004). School connections: U.S. Mexican youth, peers, and school achievement. New York: Teachers College Press.
Gonzalez, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (Eds.) (2005). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. New York: Routledge.
Hale, J. E. (2001). Learning while black. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Harklau, L., Losey, K. M., & Siegal, M. (1999). Generation 1.5 meets college composition. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Harris, J. L., Kamhi, A. G., & Pollock, K. E. (Eds.) (2001). Literacy in African American communities. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hernandez, H. 2001. Multicultural education: A teacher's guide to linking context, process, and content. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Hill, M. L. (2009). Beats, rhymes, and classroom life: Hip-hop pedagogy and the politics of identity. New York: Teachers College Press.
Hill, M. L., & Vasudevan, L. (Editors). Media, learning, and sites of possibility. New York: Peter Lang. Student review
Hollins, E.R. (1996). Culture in school learning: Revealing the deep meaning. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hull, G., & Schultz, K. (2002). School's out!: Bridging out-of-school literacies with classroom practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Irvine, J.J. (2003). Educating teachers for diversity: Seeing with a cultural eye. New York: Teachers College Press. Published review Published review
Irvine, J., & Armento, B. 2001. Culturally responsive teaching: Lesson planning for elementary and middle grades. New York: McGraw Hill.

Jones, T. G., & Fuller, M. L. (2003). Teaching Hispanic children. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
King, J. E., Hollins, E. R., & Hayman, W. C. (Eds.) (1997). Preparing teachers for cultural diversity. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kohl, H. R. (1994). "I won't learn from you": And other thoughts on creative maladjustment. New York: New Press.
Kozol, J. (1992). Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools. New York: Harper Perennial.
Kozol, J. (1995). Amazing grace: The lives of children and the conscience of a nation. New York: HarperPerennial. Published review Published review
Kozol, J. (2006). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America. New York: Three Rivers Press. Published review Published review
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Published review
Lanehart, S. (2002). Sista speak! Black women kinfolk talk about language and literacy. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Published review
LeCompte, M. D., & Dworkin, A. G. (1991). Giving up on school: Student dropouts and teacher burnouts. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin.
Lee, C. D. (1993). Signifying as a scaffold for literary interpretation: The pedagogical implications of an African American discourse genre. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Lee, V. E., & Burkam, D. T. (2002). Inequality at the starting gate: Social background differences in achievement as children begin school. Ann Arbor, MI: Economic Policy Institute.
Lin, Ann Chih & Harris, David R. (2008). The colors of poverty: Why racial and ethnic disparities exist. NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Published review
López, N. (2003). Hopeful girls, troubled boys: Race and gender disparity in urban education. New York: Rutledge.
Lucas, S. R. (1999). Tracking inequality: Stratification and mobility in American high schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
Mahiri, J.(1998). Shooting for excellence: African American and youth culture in new century schools. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Menken, K. (2008). English learners left behind: Standardized testing as language policy. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Published review
Morgan, M. (2002). Language, discourse and power in African American culture. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Morrell, E. (2007). Critical literacy and urban youth: Pedagogies of access, dissent, and liberation. New York: Routledge.
Nieto, S. (1999). Affirming diversity (3rd ed.). New York: Longman Press.
Nieto, S. 1999. The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities. New York: Teachers College Press.
Published review Published review
Noguera, P. (2003). City schools and the American Dream: Reclaiming the promise of public education. New York: Teachers College Press. Published review Published review Published review
Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Student review
Oakes, Jeannie & Saunders, Marisa. (2008). Beyond tracking: Multiple pathways to college, career, and civic participation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Published review
Obidah, J. & Teel, K. 2001. Because of the kids: Facing racial and cultural differences in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Olsen, L. (1997). Made in America: Immigrant students in our public schools. New York: New Press. Published review
Orellana, M. F. (2009). Translating childhoods: Immigrant youth, language, and culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Pedraza, P., & Rivera, M. (Eds.) (2005). Latino education: An agenda for community action research. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Perry, T., & Delpit, L. (Eds.). (1998). The real Ebonics debate: Power, language, and the education of African-American children. Boston: Beacon Press.
Perry, T., Steele, C., & Hilliard, A. (Eds.). (2003). Young, gifted, and black: Promoting high achievement among African-American students. Boston: Beacon Press.

Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2001). Legacies: The story of the immigrant second generation. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Portes, P. R. (2005). Dismantling educational inequality: A cultural-historical approach to closing the achievement gap. New York: Peter Lang.
Ream, R. K. (2004). Uprooting children: Mobility, social capital, and Mexican-American underachievement. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing.
Richardson, E. (2003). African American literacies. New York: Routledge. Published review
Roediger, D. R. (2005). Working towards Whiteness: How America's immigrants became White. New York: Basic Books. Published review
Romo, H., & Falbo, T. (1996). Latino high school graduation: Defying the odds. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Rong, Z. L., & Preissle, J. (1998). Educating immigrant students: What we need to know to meet the challenges. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Rosenbaum, J. E. (2001). Beyond college for all: Career paths for the forgotten half. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Rumbaut, R. G., & Portes, A. (2001). Ethnicities: Children of immigrants in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Sacks, P. 2007. Tearing down the gates: Confronting the class divide in American education. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Student review
Schofield, J. W. (1989). Black and White in School: Trust, tension, or tolerance? New York: Teachers College Press.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000). Linguistic genocide in education--or worldwide diversity and human rights? Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Published review
Smitherman, G. (2000). Talkin that talk: Language, culture, and education in African America. New York: Routledge.

Solomon, R. P. (1992). Black resistance in high school: Forging a separatist culture. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Spurlin, W. J. (Ed.) (2000). Lesbian and gay studies and the teaching of English: Positions, pedagogies, and cultural politics. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Stephen, W. (1999). Reducing prejudice and stereotyping in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M. M. (2001). Children of immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Published review
Suárez-Orozco, M., & Páez, M. (2002). Latinos: Remaking America. Berkeley: David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies & University of California Press. Published review
Tatum, B. D. (1997). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? and other conversations about race: A psychologist explains the development of racial identity. New York: Basic Books. Student review
Taylor, J. M., Gilligan, C., & Sullivan, A. M. (1995). Between voice and silence: Women and girls, race and relationship. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Trumbull, E., Rothstein-Fisch, C., Greenfield, P.M., & Quiroz, B. (2001). Bridging cultures between home and school: A guide for teachers, with a special focus on immigrant Latino families. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Tyack, D. B. (2003). Seeking common ground: Public schools in a diverse society. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press. Published review
Valdes, G. (1996). Con respecto. New York: Teachers College Press. Published review
Valencia, R. R. (2002). Chicano school failure and success: Past, present and future. New York: Routledge/Falmer.
Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling: U.S.-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Published review
Weis, L., & Fine, M. (Eds.) (2000). Construction sites: Excavating race, class, gender & sexuality in spaces for and by youth. New York: Teachers College Press.
Weis, L., & Fine, M. (2005) Beyond silenced voices: Class, race, and gender in United States schools (second ed.). Albany: SUNY Press.
Published review
Zamel, V., & Spack, R. E. (1998). Negotiating academic literacies: Teaching and learning across languages and cultures. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Books about Book Clubs:
Faust, M., Cockrill, J., Hancock, C. & Isserstadt, H. (2005). Student book clubs: Improving literature instruction in middle and secondary schools. Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon.
McMahon, S. I., & Raphael, T. E., with V. J. Goatley & L. S. Pardo. (1997). The book club connection: Literacy learning and classroom talk. New York: Teachers College Press.

O'Donnell-Allen, C. (2006).The book club companion: Fostering strategic readers in the secondary classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Links and Additional Reading Lists for Culture and Education

Links

http://www.ithaca.edu/wise/topics/multicultural.htm

http://digitalequity.edreform.net/portal/digitalequity/equitydimensionrelevant


Reading Lists

http://classweb.gmu.edu/cip/g/gr/gr-refs.htm

http://www.discourses.org/Bib/biblio-multiculturalism.htm

http://educ.queensu.ca/~equity/books/race_1997_1999.html

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/references.html

http://wrt-howard.syr.edu/Bibs/Race.htm

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