How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms


Book Description

Offers a definition of differentiated instruction, and provides principles and strategies designed to help teachers create learning environments that address the different learning styles, interests, and readiness levels found in a typical mixed-ability classroom.




Improving Literacy in America


Book Description

divAn alarmingly high number of American students continue to lack proficiency in reading, math, and science. The various attempts to address this problem have all too often resulted in “silver bullet” solutions such as reducing class size or implementing voucher programs. But as the authors of this critically important book show, improving literacy also requires an understanding of complex and interrelated social issues that shape a child’s learning. More than twenty years of research demonstrate that literacy success is determined by a combination of sociocultural forces including parenting, preschool, classroom instruction, and other factors that have a direct impact on a child’s development. Here, Frederick J. Morrison, Heather J. Bachman, and Carol McDonald Connor present the most up-to-date research on the diverse factors that relate to a child’s literacy development from preschool through early elementary school. Urging greater emphasis on the immediate sources of influence on children, the authors warn against simple, single solutions that ignore other pivotal aspects of the problem. In a concluding chapter, the authors propose seven specific recommendations for improving literacy—recommendations that can make a real difference in American education./DIV




Teaching Reading in Small Groups


Book Description

Meet instructional challenges effectively and efficiently by uncovering hidden time for meeting individual students' needs. With small groups, you'll work closely with more children each day with her how-tos on using formative assessment to create groups from common needs; differentiating for individuals, even in a group; and enhancing Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction.




Early Intervention for Reading Difficulties, Second Edition


Book Description

Grounded in a strong evidence base, this indispensable practitioner guide and text has given thousands of teachers tools to support the literacy growth of beginning and struggling readers in grades K?2. The interactive strategies approach (ISA) is organized around core instructional goals related to enhancing word learning and comprehension of text. The book provides guidance for assessment and instruction in whole-class, small-group, and one-to-one settings, using the curricular materials teachers already have. Purchasers get access to a companion website where they can download and print 26 reproducible forms in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Of special value, the website also features nearly 200 pages of additional printable forms, handouts, and picture sorts that supplement the book's content. New to This Edition *Incorporates the latest research on literacy development and on the ISA. *Describes connections to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). *Explains how to use the ISA with English learners. *Chapter on fluency. *Expanded coverage of morphological knowledge. *Companion website with downloadable reproducible tools and extensive supplemental materials. See also Comprehensive Reading Intervention in Grades 3?8, by Lynn M. Gelzheiser, Donna M. Scanlon, Laura Hallgren-Flynn, and Peggy Connors, which presents the Interactive Strategies Approach--Extended (ISA-X) for intermediate and middle grade struggling readers.




Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children


Book Description

While most children learn to read fairly well, there remain many young Americans whose futures are imperiled because they do not read well enough to meet the demands of our competitive, technology-driven society. This book explores the problem within the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. Recommendations address the identification of groups of children at risk, effective instruction for the preschool and early grades, effective approaches to dialects and bilingualism, the importance of these findings for the professional development of teachers, and gaps that remain in our understanding of how children learn to read. Implications for parents, teachers, schools, communities, the media, and government at all levels are discussed. The book examines the epidemiology of reading problems and introduces the concepts used by experts in the field. In a clear and readable narrative, word identification, comprehension, and other processes in normal reading development are discussed. Against the background of normal progress, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children examines factors that put children at risk of poor reading. It explores in detail how literacy can be fostered from birth through kindergarten and the primary grades, including evaluation of philosophies, systems, and materials commonly used to teach reading.
















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.