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Review
| Talking Drums: Reading and Writing with African-American Stories, Spirituals, and Multimedia Resources, by Wanda Cobb Finnen. Portsmouth, N.H.: Teacher Ideas Press, 2004. 182 pages. $29.00, paper.
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| Talking Drums by Wanda Finnen is a fine resource for elementary and secondary school teachers who are seeking novel and creative means for integrating the literary, historic, and spiritual dimensions of the African-American experience. Well-written and carefully nuanced, the text covers the saga of African-Americans using both chronological and thematic approaches There are eleven practical and carefully-supported chapters on topics ranging from the Atlantic slave trade to the role of jazz in the African-American community. An elementary or secondary school teacher will find a wide array of exercises and resources for use in classes dealing with the African-American experience. The text includes exercises covering biography, geography, literature, religion, and music. The materials are developed and presented in a manner that allows for flexibility—the teacher can choose to use the lessons in unit form, topically, chronologically, or as subject-specific exercises. |
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Finnen is clearly well acquainted with elementary and secondary school curricula and presents the material is a highly effective manner. All of the chapters contain historical context, vocabulary, primary source material, reading selections, reader-response exercises, writing assignments, and references to various available multimedia resources. In addition, in the links in the text to the NCTE/IRA standards and TAKS objectives, there are specific points in the text that clearly correlate or relate to particular learning standards. The text also contains rubrics for a variety of exercises and developmental levels for educators interested in rubric-based assessments. Wanda Finnen's Talking Drums, therefore, makes an important contribution to the curriculum of African-American studies. She is to be commended for her thorough treatment of the topic and for the user-friendly format she has developed for teachers. The text, however, would benefit from a listing of subject-specific notations for those teachers interested in using the volume in a content-driven course. Nonetheless, Talking Drums is an important resource for teachers and will greatly enhance instruction on the African-American experience. |
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| Iona College, New Rochelle, New York |
James T. Carroll |
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