choice words: how our language affects children’s learning

In the years since Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children’s Learning was first published and quickly became a beloved bestseller, countless educators and their students have been impacted by this short, but powerful book. Throughout it, author Peter Johnston provides examples of seemingly ordinary words, phrases, and uses of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in a balance of research and classroom practice, Choice Words demonstrates how and what we say (and don’t say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and for who they become as literate people.

Now, in this second edition, Peter Johnston returns to the central message of the book--that teachers’ language is their most powerful tool for impacting children’s learning and creating classroom community. With updates throughout the chapters to both the research and classroom examples, and new chapters on social-emotional learning and mindsets, this book has much to offer to both those familiar with Choice Words and those who will read it for the first time.

This book will be enlightening for any teacher who wishes to be more conscious of the many ways their language helps children acquire literacy skills and view the world, their peers, and themselves in new ways.

Peter Johnston grew up in New Zealand, taught elementary school, and came to the United States for his PhD. His fascination with, and admiration for, children’s learning and, no less, teachers’ teaching, led to his research, which explores relationships among classroom talk, children’s engagement, and literate, social and emotional development. Recent books include Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives, Engaging Literate Minds: Developing Children’s Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Lives, K-3 (with teacher collaborators) and Teens Choosing to Read: Fostering Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Growth Through Books (with Gay Ivey). Peter has received numerous awards for his research and several of his books have been translated into multiple languages. He is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.