Teaching Reading

Basic reading proficiency is key to success in all content areas, but attending to students’ literacy development remains a challenge for many teachers, especially after the primary grades. This book presents recommendations for the essential knowledge about the development, acquisition, and teaching of language and literacy skills that teachers need to master and use.

A multidisciplinary overview of contemporary knowledge about reading and related skills. The book 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. Sections include: 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; and Teaching Reading.

The new edition of this bestselling text helps elementary educators grasp the structure of written and spoken English, understand how children learn to read, and apply this foundational knowledge as they deliver explicit, high-quality literacy instruction. You’ll find expanded information on the critical elements of language, including orthography, morphology, phonetics, phonology, semantics, and syntax. See also: Speech to Print Workbook: Language Exercises for Teachers, Second Edition (opens in a new window).

A comprehensive, step-by-step program for developing phonemic awareness and fluent word recognition.

Written from a strengths-based perspective, the author explores the theoretical underpinnings of reading, language, and literacy and provides detailed information on the wide range of reading inventories and standardized tests that may be used in a reading assessment. With a focus on how to craft professional evaluation reports that illuminate a student’s strengths ― not just weaknesses ― that enables school psychologists and diagnosticians, reading specialists, and special education professionals to conduct evaluations and develop effective interdisciplinary remedial recommendations and interventions.

This 2018 revised edition provides a collection of tests for the comprehensive assessment of skills related to reading. These assessments can help teachers identify why a student is having reading difficulty and determine what the next step in instruction should be to remediate that difficulty. The assessments are intended to assist the teacher in determining the instructional needs of all students and in monitoring progress throughout the course of instruction

Cognitive scientists have known for decades that the most important factor in comprehension isn’t a set of generally applicable skills; it’s how much background knowledge the reader has about the topic. And yet, in most American elementary schools, teachers are not given the training and support they need to provide deep, rich content — about history, social studies, science, language and the world around them. In this book, education journalist makes the case for bringing content knowledge back into classrooms.

Hirsch draws on recent findings in neuroscience and data to provide new evidence for the argument that a carefully planned, knowledge-based elementary curriculum is essential to providing the foundations for children’s life success and ensuring equal opportunity for students of all backgrounds. In the absence of a clear, common curriculum, Hirsch contends that tests are reduced to measuring skills rather than content, and that students from disadvantaged backgrounds cannot develop the knowledge base to support high achievement.

A practical guide to help K–12 students enlarge their vocabulary and get involved in noticing, understanding, and using new words. Grounded in research, the book explains how to select words for instruction, introduce their meanings, and create engaging learning activities that promote both word knowledge and reading comprehension. This updated edition includes chapters on vocabulary and writing; assessment; and differentiating instruction for struggling readers and English language learners, including coverage of response to intervention (RTI). There are also expanded discussions of content-area vocabulary and multiple-meaning words.

What are today’s best practices in early literacy instruction — and what should schools and programs focus on in the near future? More than 20 experts in early literacy research explore the answers in this essential volume for program directors, administrators, and curriculum developers. Using the landmark National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) Report (opens in a new window) as a starting point, this accessible book breaks the report down into key takeaways, recommends future directions in policy and practice, and tackles emerging issues and new research not addressed in the NELP report.

Learn why RTI is today’s best approach for preventing reading difficulties. For practitioners, the book provides a complete, evidence-based blueprint for using RTI and reading profiles in tandem to plan effective core literacy instruction and help struggling readers in Grades K-6, whether they have disabilities or issues related to experience (e.g., ELLs, children from poverty backgrounds). For researchers and policymakers, the book describes ways to help ensure higher reading achievement for every student, including improvements in core reading instruction, use of RTI practices and the Common Core State Standards, and teacher preparation.

A guide to the science behind reading and its practical implications for classroom teaching in primary schools. The book explores the key technical and practical aspects of how children read with strong links to theory and how to translate this into the classroom. Bite-size chapters offer accessible research-informed ideas across all major key topics including phonics, comprehension, teaching children with reading difficulties and strategies for the classroom.

This 2020 update of Rasinski’s groundbreaking book includes coverage of the latest research on fluency, teaching strategies based on that research, new classroom vignettes, and suggestions for using a variety of texts to teach fluency such as poetry, speeches, and monologues and dialogues. You’ll also find background information, assessment tools, step-by-step lessons, and teaching tips — plus video clips showing the strategies in action.

This accessible book will give teachers the knowledge base they need to help English learners develop strong literacy skills and achieve academic success.  Aligned with IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards, this book prepares current and future educators to teach English learners the key components of language and literacy, as first described in the National Literacy Panel report.

This updated edition supports educators in bridging the gap between evidence-based reading research and actionable instructional strategies. Organized according to the elements of explicit instruction (what? why? when? and how?), the Sourcebook includes both a research-informed knowledge base and practical sample lesson models. It teaches the key elements of an effective reading program, based on the science of reading — phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension — in a practical hands-on teacher’s guide. The third edition also includes a chapter on reading instruction within a MTSS framework.

This highly practical book walks educators through designing Structured Literacy (SL) interventions for students with common types of reading difficulties — word reading, comprehension, or a combination of both. Louise Spear-Swerling offers tools for assessing students’ reading profiles and tailoring SL to their needs. The book includes case studies, sample lesson plans addressing both early and advanced stages of reading, instructional activities, and application exercises for teachers. A chapter on English language structure presents essential foundations for implementing SL effectively. The companion website features a knowledge survey about language structure (with answer key), as well as downloadable copies of the book’s 14 reproducible forms.

This accessible guide bridges the gap between research and practice, translating academic findings into practical suggestions and ready-to-use techniques. It helps educational practitioners make informed decisions about which teaching methods to reject and select, and empowers parents to ask the right questions of professionals and policymakers. This book is a timely exploration of poor teaching methods and is an innovative, fresh assessment of how high-quality literacy teaching can be provided for all.

There is a myth that English spelling is unnecessarily complex. It is spread by those who don’t understand the writing system. Using a synthesis of theory, research, and teaching experience, the fascinating nature of English spelling is systematically teased out. The examples and exercises offer an encouraging, accessible way to implement the program of study and strive to reveal the beauty of spelling. Aided by example lessons, formative assessments and unique tools, this highly acclaimed overview of spelling succeed in developing theory and practice in the writing system for teacher and student alike.

In this no-nonsense guide, primary reading expert and classroom teacher Lindsay Kemeny shares seven ways K–3 teachers can modify what they are currently doing to transform their reading instruction. Each chapter focuses on a critical area of foundational reading–from the most efficient ways to teach phonemic awareness and phonics to the most effective ways to boost comprehension. Kemeny clears up confusing terms and concepts and offers up  “do-tomorrow” strategies to help kids acquire reading skills efficiently and successfully transfer those skills to their reading. Readers will find the literacy routines and lessons Kemeny uses every day with her students detailed in the book, along with links to video demonstrations showing how she puts them into practice.

An accessible resource to help teachers understand the complex, essential, and often misunderstood skill of reading fluency. The book defines the complex skill of reading fluency, presents an overview of current research, offers practical guidance for assessing and developing students fluency, and includes specific skill-development activities In the companion Professional Learning Guide for Leaders, classroom teachers, specialists, and instructional leaders can go deeper into professional study using the tools provided.

This book offers teachers a complete framework for organizing instruction, aligned with the language comprehension strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. In-depth chapters are devoted to each facet of reading comprehension, including vocabulary, syntax and sentence comprehension, text structures, background knowledge, and levels of understanding and inference. Educators will also find practical guidance and tools for planning their units and lessons, adapting to the needs of individual students, and assessing student progress. 

Birth to age 5 is a critical period in building the foundation for later success in reading and writing. Educators play a vital role in nurturing young children’s early language and literacy knowledge and skills. However, the specific practices that support literacy development in early childhood are often different than those used with older children. The authors discuss how educators can support five important areas of young children’s early literacy development: language and knowledge; print concepts; sounds and letters; writing; and text comprehension.