This practical book offers teachers a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction that puts students at the centre of the learning process. Based on the latest learning theories, the book provides: an overview of the nuts and bolts of reading instruction ; techniques for supporting writers ; poetry, storytelling, and drama activities that foster alternate ways of learning ; language experiences that guide students from traditional learning to our complex digital world. This book offers the background and strategies teachers need to encourage students to question, discover, and learn. Thoughtful and inspiring, the book helps educators reflect on their role as teacher and better meet the literacy needs of all their students.
How do we ensure that all students are engaged each day in meaningful, challenging, and joyful work and have equal opportunity to learn? That is the central question Regie Routman addresses in Literacy Essentials Engagement, Excellence, and Equity for All Learners. Her response is that such an outcome is only possible within a culture of empowerment in which all students and teachers feel encouraged and supported to let their voices be heard, explore their passions and interests, develop deep knowledge, and become their fullest and truest selves. Based on her ongoing teaching, leading, and coaching in diverse schools and districts, Regie offers K-12 teachers and leaders practical, easy-to-implement tools to help students develop as self-determining readers, writers, and learners including: - Take Action sections with specific suggestions for authentically teaching, assessing, and learning - Extensive research that is easily accessible and actionable - Personal stories that connect to literacy teaching and learning - Rich online resources including a comprehensive lesson plan, an easy-to-use study guide, downloadable Appendices, and more. Literacy Essentials shows what's possible when teachers and schools raise expectations for all students and create an intellectual culture based on trust, collaborative expertise, and celebration of learners' strengths.
This is Balanced Literacy: Grades K-6 Students learn to read and write best when their teachers balance literacy instruction. But how do you strike the right balance of skills and knowledge, reading and writing, small and whole group instruction, and direct and dialogic instruction, so that all students can learn to their maximum potential? The answer lies in the intentional design of learning activities, purposeful selection of instructional materials, evidence-based teaching methods, and in strategic groupings of students based on assessment data. Together, these create the perfect balance of high impact learning experiences that engage and excite learners. In this hands-on essential guide, best-selling authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nancy Akhavan help you define that balance for your students, lighting the path to implementing balanced literacy in your classroom. Their plan empowers you to integrate evidence-based approaches that include: • Instructional materials comprised of both informational and narrative texts. • The best uses of instructional delivery modes, including direct and dialogic instruction. • Grouping patterns that work best to accomplish learning aims for different learners at different stages. • Instruction in foundational skills and meaning making, including oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. • Technology used as a tool for increasing learning of a specific literary process. All the tips and tools you need to realize the goal of balanced literacy learning are included, with classroom videos that show strategies in action. Tap your intuition, collaborate with your peers, and put the research-based strategies embedded in this roadmap to work in your classroom to implement or deepen a strong, successful balanced literacy program. Grow as a reading and writing teacher while leading your students to grow as readers and writers.
"This core text introduces pre-service teachers to the essential components of literacy and describes how to effectively deliver explicit, evidence-based instruction on each component"--
Linda Chen and Eugenia Mora-Flores examine how to lead ELLs toward independence through basic frameworks and techniques you know and may already teach with. Their integrated, comprehensive approach focuses on seven specific aspects of balanced instruction that help students learn, expand, and extend their literacy skills, including: interactive read-aloud, emergent story book read-aloud, shared reading, reading workshop, writing workshop, guided reading, and word work. --From publisher's description.
"In this book, structured literacy is conceptualized as an umbrella term encompassing a variety of intervention methods, instructional approaches, and commercial programs. In addition to focusing on SL approaches to intervention, this book is organized around common poor reader profiles that have been identified in research. The chapters in this volume are written by experts who are well known as researchers but who are also highly skilled at writing for practitioners. Chapters were written with a strong foundation of research that is summarized, but with a concentration on translating research into practice, including case studies, sample intervention activities, and lesson plans. Each chapter includes application activities at the end to check for and extend readers' understanding"--
In a Fresh Look at Phonics, Wiley Blevins, author of the blockbuster Phonics from A-Z, explains the 7 ingredients of phonics instruction that lead to the greatest student gains, based on two decades of research in classrooms. For each of these seven must-haves, Wiley shares lessons, routines, word lists, tips for ELL and advanced learners, and advice on pitfalls to avoid regarding pacing, decodable texts, transition time, and more. A Fresh Look at Phonics is the evidence-based solution you have been seeking that ensures all students develop a solid foundation for reading.
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.
Practical, effective, evidence-based reading interventions that change students' lives Essentials of Understanding and Assessing Reading Difficulties is a practical, accessible, in-depth guide to reading assessment and intervention. It provides a detailed discussion of the nature and causes of reading difficulties, which will help develop the knowledge and confidence needed to accurately assess why a student is struggling. Readers will learn a framework for organizing testing results from current assessment batteries such as the WJ-IV, KTEA-3, and CTOPP-2. Case studies illustrate each of the concepts covered. A thorough discussion is provided on the assessment of phonics skills, phonological awareness, word recognition, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Formatted for easy reading as well as quick reference, the text includes bullet points, icons, callout boxes, and other design elements to call attention to important information. Although a substantial amount of research has shown that most reading difficulties can be prevented or corrected, standard reading remediation efforts have proven largely ineffective. School psychologists are routinely called upon to evaluate students with reading difficulties and to make recommendations to address such difficulties. This book provides an overview of the best assessment and intervention techniques, backed by the most current research findings. Bridge the gap between research and practice Accurately assess the reason(s) why a student struggles in reading Improve reading skills using the most highly effective evidence-based techniques Reading may well be the most important thing students are taught during their school careers. It is a skill they will use every day of their lives; one that will dictate, in part, later life success. Struggling students need help now, and Essentials of Understanding and Assessing Reading Difficulties shows how to get these students on track.
