One of the central questions facing anyone involved in education is can you actually teach anyone to think? To begin to answer this question, it is necessary to know what thinking means. Frank Smith is one of the most influential writers in education today. His work on reading in particular has had a seminal effect on classroom practice throughout the English-speaking world. At the core of all his work has been this issue of the nature of thought. In this book, he analyzes the language of thinking and then moves on to look at different aspects of the thinking process: everyday thought,...

Understanding Reading revolutionized reading research and theory when the first edition appeared in 1971 and continues to be a leader in the field. In the sixth edition of this classic text Smith's purpose remains the same: to shed light on fundamental aspects of the complex human act of reading-linguistic, physiological, psychological, and social-and on what is involved in learning to read. The text critically examines current theories, instructional practices, and controversies, covering a wide range of disciplines but always remaining accessible to students and classroom teachers. Over...

This updated edition aims to provide a framework for thinking about the act of writing in both theoretical and practical ways. A chapter on computers and writing is included, as well as more about the role of reading in learning to write, and about learning to write at all ages.

Understanding Reading revolutionized reading research and theory when the first edition appeared in 1971 and continues to be a leader in the field. In the sixth edition of this classic text Smith's purpose remains the same: to shed light on fundamental aspects of the complex human act of reading - linguistic, physiological, psychological, and social - and of what is involved in learning to read.

The text critically examines current theories, instructional practices, and controversies, covering a wide range of disciplines but always remains accessible. Careful...

In this thought-provoking book, Frank Smith explains how schools and educational authorities systematically obstruct the powerful inherent learning abilities of children, creating handicaps that often persist through life. The author contrasts a false and fabricated official theory that learning is work (used to justify the external control of teachers and students through excessive regulation and massive testing) with a correct but officially suppressed classic view that learning is a social process that can occur naturally and continually through collaborative activities. This book should...

Understanding Reading revolutionized reading research and theory when the first edition appeared in 1971 and continues to be a leader in the field. In the sixth edition of this classic text Smith's purpose remains the same: to shed light on fundamental aspects of the complex human act of reading - linguistic, physiological, psychological, and social - and of what is involved in learning to read. The text critically examines current theories, instructional practices, and controversies, covering a wide range of disciplines but always remains accessible. Careful attention is given to...