Strategies for Effective Balanced Literacy provides a teacher-friendly guide to the critical elements of a comprehensive balanced literacy framework. Through understanding the developmental progression of word study, reading, and writing, and administering purposeful assessments, teachers can create learning environments to more effectively meet students' needs. The research-based model lessons and flexible, effective strategies help teachers find engaging ways to support all learners and support standards.
How to Reach and Teach All Children Through Balanced Literacy offers you a handbook for teaching literacy to diverse students in grades 3-8. The balanced literacy method combines the best practices of phonics and other skill-based language instruction with the holistic, literature-based approach in order to help you teach reading, writing, and speaking in a clear and approachable format. This dynamic resource offers an easily accessible research-based approach to balanced literacy that is grounded in the innovative ideas developed by authors Sandra F. Rief and Julie A. Heimburge. The book includes detailed descriptions of what a balanced literacy classroom looks like and shows how to create a program from the ground up or give your existing program a boost. The book can be used across content areas and is filled with reproducible worksheets, activities, and other handy classroom tools. Some topics covered include: Shared book experiences Reading aloud Oral language and vocabulary development Guided reading for comprehension Modeled writing Reading and writing conferences Book clubs Content area reading and writing Ongoing assessments Enhancing literacy through technology
Middle and high school students must become proficient readers and writers to successfully meet the requirements of the secondary curricula and be adequately prepared for college, employment, and citizenship. 'Literacy Across the Curriculum' is a guide for educators who are concerned with how students experience literacy instruction across the secondary school curriculum and need strategies for raising student performance levels.
This widely adopted text and K-8 practitioner resource demonstrates how successful literacy teachers combine explicit skills instruction with an emphasis on reading for meaning. Distinguished researcher Richard L. Allington builds on the late Michael Pressley's work to explain the theories and findings that guide balanced teaching and illustrate what exemplary lessons look like in action. Detailed examples offer a window into highly motivating classrooms around the country. Comprehensive in scope, the book discusses specific ways to build word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, especially for readers who are struggling. New to This Edition *Updated throughout to reflect important recent research advances. *Chapter summing up the past century's reading debates and the growing acceptance of balanced teaching. *New and revised vignettes of exemplary teachers.
Strategic grouping can transform reading instruction in the middle grades from a hit-or-miss learning experience to a targeted, responsive one. This book features a practical and field-tested model for small-group differentiated reading instruction in Grades 4-8. Jennifer Berne and Sophie C. Degener offer a clear, detailed discussion of how to position this instruction inside middle school language arts or reading classrooms and simple, effective strategies for classroom management, groupings, and assessment. The authors explain how to: (1) balance brief strategic reading lessons with whole-class work; (2) Structure and guide reading groups consistently; (3) Assess students before and during reading groups; and (4)Cue students and gauge understanding as they read. Differentiating instruction is not the flavor of the month in education; rather, it is the essential orientation for maximizing student success. "Strategic Reading Groups" gives teachers the tools they need to differentiate reading instruction in the critical middle years, as students begin to read more complex, content-filled narrative and informative texts. [Foreword by Donna Ogle.].
How parents and educators can teach kids to love reading in the digital age Everyone agrees that reading is important, but kids today tend to lose interest in reading before adolescence. In Raising Kids Who Read, bestselling author and psychology professor Daniel T. Willingham explains this phenomenon and provides practical solutions for engendering a love of reading that lasts into adulthood. Like Willingham's much-lauded previous work, Why Don't Students Like School?, this new book combines evidence-based analysis with engaging, insightful recommendations for the future. Intellectually rich argumentation is woven seamlessly with entertaining current cultural references, examples, and steps for taking action to encourage reading. The three key elements for reading enthusiasm—decoding, comprehension, and motivation—are explained in depth in Raising Kids Who Read. Teachers and parents alike will appreciate the practical orientation toward supporting these three elements from birth through adolescence. Most books on the topic focus on early childhood, but Willingham understands that kids' needs change as they grow older, and the science-based approach in Raising Kids Who Read applies to kids of all ages. A practical perspective on teaching reading from bestselling author and K-12 education expert Daniel T. Willingham Research-based, concrete suggestions to aid teachers and parents in promoting reading as a hobby Age-specific tips for developing decoding ability, comprehension, and motivation in kids from birth through adolescence Information on helping kids with dyslexia and encouraging reading in the digital age Debunking the myths about reading education, Raising Kids Who Read will empower you to share the joy of reading with kids from preschool through high school.
In this book, aimed at both parents and professionals, the authors discuss the non-evidence-based interventions that proliferate in the fields of children's speech, language, literacy, fluency, voice, communication, attention, cognition, working memory, behaviour and social connectedness. They explore the science - or lack thereof - behind the interventions and suggest evidence-based alternatives that enjoy stronger scientific support. The authors approach their topic with a deep understanding of, and empathy for, the parents and professionals who are doubtful about conventional treatments, disappointed with the practitioners associated with them, and attracted to controversial interventions.
In this much anticipated follow-up to their groundbreaking book, Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom, authors Jan Burkins and Kari Yates, together with co-author Katie Cunningham, extend the conversation in Shifting the Balance 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom. This new text is built in mind specifically for grades 3-5 teachers around best practices for the intermediate classroom. Shifting the Balance 3-5 introduces six more shifts across individual chapters that: Zoom in on a common (but not-as helpful-as-we-had-hoped) practice to reconsider Untangle a number of "misunderstandings" that have likely contributed to the use of the common practice Propose a more science-aligned shift to the current practice Provide solid scientific research to support the revised practice Offer a collection of high-leverage, easy-to-implement instructional routines to support the shift to more brain-friendly instruction The authors offer a refreshing approach that is respectful, accessible, and practical - grounded in an earnest commitment to building a bridge between research and classroom practice. As with the first Shifting the Balance, they aim to keep students at the forefront of reading instruction.
This easy-to-follow guide is filled with practical approaches to help teachers transition towards a balanced literacy framework. Designed for both newer and veteran teachers alike, this straightforward book offers simple techniques and concrete strategies to nurture reading and writing skills through Shared/Guided/Independent Reading and Writing activities. This resource gives teachers in-depth lessons plans that take the guesswork out of what is needed in the Language Arts classroom to implement the Balanced Literacy approach.
Use these fun, easy-to-use activities to tackle the most challenging aspect of reading! "Finally, someone has written a practical book filled with easy-to-read comprehension strategies. I will definitely use this book with teachers in my district to teach about and review comprehension strategies. The section on ′How Can We Learn More′ is also fantastic. Thank you, Kathleen Jonson." --Hazel Brauer, Literacy Coordinator Jefferson Elementary School District, Daly City, CA "This book is a comprehensive, well-organized guide to teaching reading comprehension. The clear, consistent layout of the lesson plans makes it easy for the teacher to locate and implement appropriate lessons quickly. The examples are very helpful and the templates allow a teacher to begin lessons immediately. The wide variety of lesson plans makes this guide truly useful for all grade levels." --Myra Gamble, Reading Specialist Spring Valley School, Millbrae, CA Comprehension is the final goal of reading, but because it involves several cognitive processes, it remains the most difficult facet of reading development to teach. Based on the recommendations of the National Reading Panel Report, 60 Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension in Grades K-8 provides teachers with a ready-to-use toolkit of tried-and-true learning strategies designed to actively engage students in cognitive processes, including predicting, visualizing, making inferences, monitoring, synthesizing, and summarizing. Developed as specific instructional procedures with clearly delineated steps for implementation, these entertaining activities are effective in all types of classrooms. Each of the 60 strategies in the book includes: Grade-level recommendations Goals for each strategy Step-by-step instructions Graphics and examples of student work Directions for modifying strategies for different grade levels Literary expert Kathleen Feeney Jonson has created an exciting resource to help educators teach the most difficult piece of the reading process: comprehension. Offering a rare combination of fun and function, these strategies are sure to get students to listen, laugh, and most important, to learn.
