Thomas Newkirk

In this highly readable and provocative book, Thomas Newkirk explodes the long standing habit of opposing abstract argument with telling stories. Newkirk convincingly shows that effective argument is already a kind of narrative and is deeply "entwined with narrative." --Gerald Graff, former MLA President and author of Clueless in Academe Narrative is regularly considered a type of writing-often an "easy" one, appropriate for early grades but giving way to argument and analysis in later grades. This groundbreaking book challenges all that. It invites readers to imagine narrative as something more-as the primary way we understand our world and ourselves. "To deny the centrality of narrative is to deny our own nature," Newkirk explains. "We seek companionship of a narrator who maintains our attention, and perhaps affection. We are not made for objectivity and pure abstraction-for timelessness. We have 'literary minds" that respond to plot, character, and details in all kind of writing. As humans, we must tell stories." When we are engaged readers, we are following a story constructed by the author, regardless of the type of writing. To sustain a reading-in a novel, an opinion essay, or a research article- we need a "plot" that helps us comprehend specific information, or experience the significance of an argument. As Robert Frost reminds us, all good memorable writing is "dramatic." Minds Made for Stories is a needed corrective to the narrow and compartmentalized approaches often imposed on schools-approaches which are at odds with the way writing really works outside school walls.

How We Really Read and Write Informational and Persuasive Texts

Minds Made for Stories

"Tom Newkirk's call to appreciate the value of slow reading is both timely and important, especially in an era where skimming and click-and-go reading have become the norm for our students. Newkirk reminds us that our deepest reading pleasures are often found when we slow down and pay close attention, and this book clearly demonstrates how slow reading deepens the thinking of both teachers and students. A must-read for anyone concerned about the state of reading-you will enjoy reading The Art of Slow Reading slowly." -Kelly Gallagher, author of Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It "This beautiful and hugely important book overflows with advice and wisdom about reading-enjoying it, teaching it. Newkirk reminds us why words matter, that words on page or screen are not there just to be 'processed,' but to savor and enjoy, to help us think and see more clearly, to touch our hearts and help us touch the world." -Mike Rose, author of Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us (Read Mike Rose's blog) "If someone were to ask me who to read, what to read, and how to read it, I would say, without hesitating, they should read Tom Newkirk, read The Art of Slow Reading, and read it slowly, again and again. He is to reading and teaching, literacy and learning what Michael Pollan is to food and eating. Tom Newkirk gives us permission to take our time when we read, to remember why we read, and to take from that reading not just the nutrients and knowledge but the pleasure we sought to cultivate in our students-and ourselves-in the past." -Jim Burke, author of The English Teacher's Companion and What's the Big Idea? "This book challenges popular notions of reading-the idea that quick, extractive reading is the goal for students. I argue that traditional acts of 'slow reading'-memorization, performance, annotation, and elaboration-are essential for deep, pleasurable, thoughtful reading." -Thomas Newkirk This important book rests on a simple but powerful belief-that good readers practice the art of paying attention. Building on memoir, research, and many examples of classroom practice, Thomas Newkirk, recuperates six time-honored practices of reading-performance, memorization, centering, problem-finding, reading like a writer, and elaboration-to help readers engage in thoughtful, attentive reading. The Art of Slow Reading provides preservice and inservice teachers with concrete practices that for millennia have promoted real depth in reading. It will show how these practices enhance the reading of a variety of texts, from Fantastic Mr. Fox to The Great Gatsby to letters from the IRS. Just as slow reading is essential for real comprehension, it is also clearly crucial to the deep pleasure we take in reading-for the way we savor texts-and for the power of reading to change us. Tom's Washington Post article: Reading is not a race: The virtues of the 'slow reading' movement

Six Time-honored Practices for Engagement

The Art of Slow Reading

"Why has no one written about this subject before? Every teacher should read this book." Michael G. Thompson, coauthor of Raising Cain Embarrassment. None of us escape it. Especially as kids, in school. How might our fear of failure, of not living up to expectations, be holding us back? How can our fear of embarrassment affect how we learn, how we teach, and how we live? Tom Newkirk argues that this "emotional underlife," this subterranean domain of emotion, failure, and embarrassment, keeps too many students and teachers silent, hesitant, and afraid. "I am absolutely convinced," Tom writes, "that embarrassment is not only the true enemy of learning, but of so many other actions we could take to better ourselves." In this groundbreaking exploration, Newkirk offers practices and strategies that help kids and teachers alike develop a more resilient approach to embarrassment. "I contend that if we can take on a topic like embarrassment and shame, we can come to a richer, more honest, more enabling sense of who we are and what we can do," he explains. "So let's do battle. Let's name and identify the enemy that can haunt our days, disturb our sleep, put barriers up to learning, and drain joy from our lives-and maybe we can also learn how to rearrange some things in our own head so that we can be more generous toward ourselves."

And the Emotional Underlife of Learning

Embarrassment

Thomas Newkirk explores the diversity of writing done by young children, and by focusing on the work of one child between ages four and seven he illustrates how children competently use the basic structures of argument and explanation.

The Range of Children's Writing

Lad Tobin

Taking Stock reassesses the ways that the writing process has been taught, institutionalized, researched, and theorized.

The Writing Process Movement in the '90s

Taking Stock

Nancie Atwell

Presents full-colour, easy-to-use books and a CD-ROM for CLAiT 2006, which focus on enthusing students and leading them to success. The modular approach allows students to choose a book per unit or one book covering the first three units.

Thomas Newkirk

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