Its Not Like That Here/Teaching Academic Writing and Reading to Novice Writers: Teaching Academic Writing and Reading to Novice Writers

By Marcia Dickson

The book is both thought provoking and enjoyable to read and should be read by both novice and long-time college professors of reading and writing. - Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy None of the current books on theory deals with students from rural rather than urban backgrounds-first-generation college students whose behaviors do not match those described in the usual texts on basic writers . . . middle-class, working students who grew up in an isolation that affects the way they look at school, learning, and knowledge . . . older students who are willing to risk failure to make a better life for their families. In It's Not Like That Here , Marcia Dickson provides a clearer picture of what is actually happening in this kind of a classroom. She believes that once you identify your students' needs, you can work to overcome their problems. Her book outlines a course of study, recommends ways of using ethnographic research to draw students in, interprets reading/writing strategies that mark basic writers and readers, and offers examples of assignments as well as ways to evaluate students. Theory and practice are combined in such a way that you see how one informs the other. Dickson has invented a term to describe the type of reading/writing classroom outlined in her book: the Distanced/Personal Classroom. This classroom incorporates students' personal experiences with the theories of academics to promote a better understanding of both. It's Not Like That Here will appeal to teachers at two- and four-year colleges who hope to establish a connection between the academic and non-academic communities.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 086709351X
• ISBN13: 9780867093513
• Release Date: February 1995
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"