Building Understanding: A Thematic Approach to Reading Comprehension

I have been teaching English as a Second Language since the late 70's and this is absolutely the best high intermediate/advanced reading text book for non-natives that I have encountered. It is extremely well thought out and designed. All of the reading selections are authentic and written by excellent authors. The units are based on very current and provocative themes such as friendship, families, gender, culture, environment. The each unit has three genres -- non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. Each of the selections within the units is progressively more challenging. Each of the units within the book are progressively more challenging. The two women who put this book together must have read an enormous amount of material because the selections are superlative! The selections are real, touching, and always generate powerful discussions in the classroom. This book is not for teachers who are looking for a crutch. This book is meaty and requires planning, love of teaching, dedication to preparation, appreciation for language and literature, as well as a desire to tackle tough topics and ideas. I have chosen this book over my department's selections, because I know it will help me take students into the deeper meanings of reading, prepare them for college work, and challenge them to think profoundly about meaningful, relevant ideas. This is not your "drill and kill and call it skill" text book. This book demands real teaching and real learning. My greatest fear is that some editor might want to "revise" and create a new edition or that it might become unavailable. I sincerely hope that not a comma is changed in this text -- at least not until I retire. Oh by the way, I could cut and paste this review for their low intermediate text, Building on Basics. I have used it too and would say much the same about it. When I have had students in the lower class, with this text, who then take my next class with Building on Understand, I see even more powerful learning take place. Brad Stocker, Ed.D.