Close Reading in Elementary School


Book Description

The Common Core State Standards encourage teachers to use close reading as a means to help students access complex text. Many literacy experts believe close reading has the power to create strong, independent readers. But what does that really mean, and how does it work in the classroom?This book is your must-have guide to getting started! It provides step-by-step strategies and scaffolds for teaching close reading and improving students’ comprehension of complex texts. You will learn how to teach close reading based on text type, how to transition students through increasingly challenging texts, and how to use close reading as a springboard for close writes and close talks. Special Features: • An easy-to-use framework for creating a close reading lesson • Close reading strategies for a variety of literary and informational subgenres • Ideas for teaching close reading to meet specific comprehension objectives based on the Common Core, including analyzing text structure and evaluating argument • Suggestions for helping students read with increased levels of rigor • A clear explanation of what text complexity really means and how it varies by student • Scaffolds to help students at all ability levels do a close reading • Guidelines and procedures for close talks—purposeful, focused discussions about text • Procedures for close writes that vary based on genre and student ability level In addition, each chapter includes study guide questions to help you apply the ideas in the book to your own classroom. With this practical book, you will have all the tools you need to make close reading a reality!




The Knowledge Gap


Book Description

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.




Reading Instruction for Diverse Classrooms


Book Description

This practical, teacher-friendly book provides indispensable guidance for implementing research-based reading instruction that is responsive to students' diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Structured around the “big five” core topics of an effective reading program—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—the book explains tried-and-true teaching strategies for fostering all students' achievement. Key topics include engaging diverse students in classroom discussion, involving families in learning, and assessing and teaching new literacies. Numerous classroom examples demonstrate a wide range of easy-to-implement lesson ideas and activities for students at different grade levels, including struggling learners. Issues specific to English language learners are woven throughout the chapters.




Handbook of Reading Research


Book Description

"The Handbook of Reading Research is the research handbook for the field. Each volume has come to define the field for the period of time it covers ... When taken as a set, the four volumes provide a definitive history of reading research"--Back of cover, volume 4.




The Science of Reading


Book Description

The Science of Reading: A Handbook brings together state-of-the-art reviews of reading research from leading names in the field, to create a highly authoritative, multidisciplinary overview of contemporary knowledge about reading and related skills. Provides comprehensive coverage of the subject, including theoretical approaches, reading processes, stage models of reading, cross-linguistic studies of reading, reading difficulties, the biology of reading, and reading instruction Divided into seven sections:Word Recognition Processes in Reading; Learning to Read and Spell; Reading Comprehension; Reading in Different Languages; Disorders of Reading and Spelling; Biological Bases of Reading; Teaching Reading Edited by well-respected senior figures in the field




Intensive Reading Interventions for the Elementary Grades


Book Description

Packed with easy-to-use tools and resources, this book presents intensive intervention strategies for K–5 students with severe and persistent reading difficulties. Filling a key need, the authors describe specific ways to further intensify instruction when students continue to struggle. Chapters address all the fundamental components of reading--phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, reading fluency, oral language, language and reading comprehension, and writing to read. The authors discuss the design and implementation of intensive instruction and provide effective teaching techniques and activities. Grounded in the principles of data-based individualization, the book includes concrete recommendations for determining students' particular needs and monitoring their progress. An NCTQ Exemplary Text for Reading Instruction




Making the Most of Small Groups


Book Description

Author Debbie Diller turns her attention to small reading groups and the teacher's role in small-group instruction. Making the Most of Small Groups: Differentiation for All grapples with difficult questions regarding small-group instruction in elementary classrooms such as: How do I find the time? How can I be more organized? How do I form groups? How can I differentiate to meet the needs of all of my students? Structured around the five essential reading elements - comprehension, fluency, phonemic awareness, phonics, and vocabulary - the book provides practical tips, sample lessons, lesson plans and templates, suggestions for related literacy work stations, and connections to whole-group instruction. In addition to ideas to use immediately in the classroom, Diller provides an overview of relevant research and reflection questions for professional conversations.




Teach Them ALL to Read


Book Description

"The second edition of Elaine McEwan′s book is a user-friendly guide that integrates research into practice. It carefully explains the research behind reading development and provides truly clear, no-nonsense steps to implement the best practices of instruction. McEwan does not sugar-coat how difficult teaching reading can be, but she provides powerful methods for achieving it." —Jennifer Sandberg, Curriculum/Reading Coordinator Sutherland Public School, NE Provide effective reading instruction for every student in your classroom and schoolwide! To successfully teach reading, teachers have to first believe that all children can learn to read—and then they have to turn that belief into a reality. In this thoroughly updated and revised version of her best-selling book, Elaine K. McEwan guides educators through the challenging but crucial work of teaching every child how to read. Written for all teachers as well as administrators, this resource covers strategies for nine essential components of effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, fluency, developing a reading culture, providing opportunities to read, writing, word knowledge, and comprehension. This second edition features: The most up-to-date research in reading instruction Effective instructional practices and strategies Brief vignettes and graphic organizers that illustrate and summarize key concepts A comprehensive case study of one district′s remarkable success This resource reveals precisely how educators in successful schools are teaching students to read—and how all educators can achieve the same results in their schools!




Best Practices in Literacy Instruction, Sixth Edition


Book Description

Many tens of thousands of preservice and inservice teachers have relied on this highly regarded text from leading experts, now in a revised and updated sixth edition. The latest knowledge about literacy teaching and learning is distilled into flexible strategies for helping all PreK–12 learners succeed. The book addresses major components of literacy, the needs of specific populations, motivation, assessment, approaches to organizing instruction, and more. Each chapter features bulleted previews of key points; reviews of the research evidence; recommendations for best practices in action, including examples from exemplary classrooms; and engagement activities that help teachers apply the knowledge and strategies they have learned. New to This Edition *Incorporates the latest research findings and instructional practices. *Chapters on new topics: developmental word study and the physiological, emotional, and behavioral foundations of literacy learning. *Chapters offering fresh, expanded perspectives on writing and vocabulary. *Increased attention to timely issues: classroom learning communities, teaching English learners, and the use of digital tools and multimodal texts.




Reading the Rainbow


Book Description

Drawing on examples of teaching from elementary school classrooms, this timely book for practitioners explains why LGBTQ-inclusive literacy instruction is possible, relevant, and necessary in grades K–5. The authors show how expanding the English language arts curriculum to include representations of LGBTQ people and themes will benefit all students, allowing them to participate in a truly inclusive classroom. The text describes three different approaches that address the limitations, pressures, and possibilities that teachers in various contexts face around these topics. The authors make clear what LGBTQ-inclusive literacy teaching can look like in practice, including what teachers might say and how students might respond. “Reading the Rainbow is a terrific, nuanced, practical resource that many ELA teachers should come to value. Children in their classrooms, whatever their identities, will be the better for it.” —Mombian “Reading the Rainbow invites us to enact justice in our classrooms as we honor our students’ rights and work to foster equity.” —From the Foreword by Mariana Souto-Manning, Teachers College, Columbia University “The field has been hungry for this book! It will allow elementary teachers to make immediate and impactful change in their classrooms.” —Elizabeth Dutro, University of Colorado Boulder “This is a warm and vigorous invitation for teachers to create more equitable classrooms where the full humanity of students is honored.” —Mollie V. Blackburn, Ohio State University