Catalog

Well-regarded book review publications (Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly) and popular social cataloguing websites (GoodReads, LibraryThing) categorize the books they review into genres. Fiction and Nonfiction are the broadest categories. Specialized categories include Mysteries, Children’s Books, and Poetry. Of course, even these sub-genres of Fiction and Nonfiction go by different labels. For example, “Mystery” books at Kirkus Reviews are labeled Mystery and Detective. Publishers Weekly and GoodReads uses the label Mystery and Thriller. This public domain anthology, while open to expansion to include additional genres, such as science fiction or biography and memoir, provides a rich and varied collection of works for novice book critics to develop their skills as reviewers.

Thank you for participating in COD’s Teaching Squares program! Our hope is that through this process of observation and shared reflection, you will experience a renewed enthusiasm for teaching and an increased appreciation of the excellent work of your colleagues and the potential of your students.

Teaching Squares will provide you opportunities to observe, analyze, and celebrate good teaching, to relive the joy and confusion of being a student, and to formulate plans for enhancing your own teaching based on your observations and reflections and the shared reflections of your Square partners.

This handbook is a resource meant to guide you through the Teaching Squares process. In it you’ll find:

• an overview of the Teaching Squares program
• the “cornerstone” values underlying the program
• suggestions for establishing common expectations among your group
• tips on preparing for a good observation
• ideas for effectively wrapping up your experience