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Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, Second Edition Louisa Cook Moats, Ed. D. (20W) Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Paperback. 272 Pages. $24.95
Louisa Moats contends that language is the missing piece in teacher education, and the purpose of her book, Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, Second Edition) is to address this gap. Her premise is that to teach reading, spelling, and composition effectively, teachers must provide an explanation of both spoken and written language. Successful teaching establishes an understanding of how language works that enables children to learn words, interpret sentences, and write fluently. In order to understand printed language well enough to be able to teach it explicitly, teachers must study its systems and forms, both spoken and written.
The book is unique in providing, under one cover, a uniform depth of information in the areas of phonetics, phonology, orthography, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Each chapter includes extensive review and clarification of key linguistic concepts, activities for self-study (with answer key), general principles of instruction, sample instructional activities, and recommended resources for further instruction. The book does not endorse a particular method but supplies background information from which teachers can develop their own approaches. It is a comprehensive reference tool for the key language...