Now in a revised and expanded third edition, this important resource helps teachers understand how good readers comprehend text and how best to support students who are struggling. It presents effective instructional methods for learners at all grade levels, including those with reading disabilities. Every chapter translates state-of-the-art…

Comprehension is a primary ingredient of reading success--but most educators aren't taught how to deliver structured comprehension instruction in their classrooms. K-8 teachers will find the guidance they need in this groundbreaking professional resource from Nancy Hennessy, former IDA President and an expert on reading comprehension. Meticulously…

Elementary-level teacher Redford dispels the idea that instructional time should not be spent teaching content material because content is now Googleable. As research shows, background knowledge significantly influences basic comprehension, even in very young students; students need a core of background knowledge to decipher texts and understand…

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience associated difficulties in reading comprehension. This may be due to the social nature of fictional texts, which require the reader to interpret what characters are thinking and feeling and to make inferences about the cause and effect between events in a story. This paper outlines…

Despite efforts toward literacy reform, reading growth commonly flatlines in the secondary years. In "Literacy Reframed," the authors offer a game-changing new way to think about--and teach--literacy at all levels. You will gain a dynamic path forward for creating classrooms that fully support students on their literacy journeys and…

Being literate in an academic discipline means more than simply being able to read and comprehend text; it means you can think, speak, and write as a historian, scientist, mathematician, or artist. Doug Buehl strips away the one-size-fits-all approach to content-area literacy and presents a much-needed instructional model for disciplinary…

Homework is an instructional staple for most classroom teachers; however, considerable debate over the effectiveness of homework has been at the center of discussions among researchers, administrators, educators, parents, and students. Rather than continuing the battle as to whether or not homework enriches learning, it appears the more…

The author cuts through the pressurized, strategy-overloaded, fluency-crazed atmosphere surrounding reading instruction to lay out the reading and writing workshop practices that are most effective in developing readers in the primary grades. She shares the daily how-tos needed to sustain a literacy block that engages children in authentic reading…

Noting that many prereading discussions lead teachers to "mis-estimate" students' prior knowledge about a particular topic, this paper describes the Pre-Reading Plan (PReP) designed to help both students and teachers become aware of what students already know about a specific topic. Following an introduction, the first portion of the…

Anecdotal evidence from teachers who teach in bilingual or second language settings indicates that there is a potential for loss of subject matter. This loss is particularly troubling within the context of science learning. This article reviews several projects aimed at developing an understanding of the implications of bilingual instruction in…

A 2003 survey of principals found that middle and high schools were more likely to increase social studies and science instruction than decrease it. This suggests that districts are not cutting social studies and sciences entirely but merely "deferring" those subjects until the secondary grades. This strategy provides more time for reading…

The second phase of a 3-year project examining the effect of a process approach to writing instruction on students' expository reading and writing skills, a study determined the impact of three writing programs that emphasized different aspects of a process-oriented writing environment. Data were gathered from 159 fifth and sixth grade students…