Words: The Foundation of Literacy - Tapa blanda

"A powerful, enjoyable, informative, and important reading experience... I can, without reservation, recommend Words: The Foundation of Literacy to any reader and to all teachers. I congratulate the authors, Dale and Bonnie Johnson, on the creation of a work which, with widespread use, could improve listening, speaking, writing, and thinking in America." -The Reading Professor "Dale Johnson and Bonnie Johnson offer this book to teachers of primary and secondary students as a resource for them to encourage their students to go beyond 'studying for the test' and for themselves to go beyond 'teaching the test' ... They provide great enjoyment of words, striving to make learning both vocabulary and a bit of linguisitics fun." -Communication Research Trends "Dale and Bonnie Johnson have written an interesting book... Once I began reading it I read it all the way through. Tracing the history of English words and phrases along with providing sound advice for developing students' vocabulary, this interesting book is a winner. From fibble-fable to loose cannon to geek, see how words entered the language and how many have vanished from daily use. Whether read at the beach or for a university class you won't be able to put this book down." -Richard Allington, University of Tennessee "This book is an inventive, well-researched, and intriguing exploration into the complex nature of words. Drs. Dale and Bonnie Johnson offer teachers numerous informative and inspiring ways to engage their students in exploring and discovering words through playful anecdotes, engaging activities, and interesting facts. This book is full of surprises. It will spark the innate inquisitiveness of learners of all ages." -Dr. Kathleen Schlichting, University of North Carolina Wilmington "In Words: The Foundation of Literacy, noted educators and vocabulary researchers Dale and Bonnie Johnson provide teachers a wealth of novel, empirically based, and just plain fun activities and lessons for expanding students' vocabulary knowledge and love of words and language. Words is an indispensible tool that ought to be on the bookshelf-no, make that in the hands-of every literacy teacher and teacher educator." -James F. Baumann, Ph.D., Chancellor's Chair for Excellence of Literacy Education, University of Missouri Columbia

Written by respected authorities in the fields of education and literacy studies, Words: The Foundation of Literacy is a groundbreaking book for teachers, administrators, and education students. Dale and Bonnie Johnson present a fresh, inspiring reminder of why studying language (from word origins to word structure) is such a vital first step in the development of students' vocabulary, literacy, writing skills, and overall ability to learn.

At a time when high-stakes testing has squeezed substance from many curricula, Johnson and Johnson provide ways to enhance students' understanding, interest, and appreciation of language and all its subtleties. Words explores how meaning in language is created by the use and interrelationships of words, phrases, and sentences, their denotations, connotations, implications, and ambiguities. From birth, most children exhibit a natural interest in language: its sounds, nuances, and unpredictable qualities. It is important to sustain, stimulate, and recapture that natural interest in the classroom, and Words provides a multitude of creative and practical techniques for doing so.