As your school district undertakes the process of evaluating its K-12 reading program, literacy curriculum, or literacy instructional practices, this book will be your go-to resource. Pennell offers a step-by-step guide for educators, school leaders, or professional learning communities to evaluate high-quality instructional materials and…

From expert authors, this book guides educators to conduct assessments that inform daily instruction and identify the assets that emergent bilinguals bring to the classroom. Effective practices are reviewed for screening, assessment, and progress monitoring in the areas of oral language, beginning reading skills, vocabulary and comprehension in…

The idea of this book arose out of an awareness that students with language learning disabilities are completely ignored in the Egyptian school system and there are no special programs that cater to these students. They are placed in normal schools that are not prepared to deal with their unique difficulties. This book, therefore, is an attempt to…

Grounded in a strong evidence base, this indispensable text and practitioner guide 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…

Discusses the use of dialog journals (where students write down their thoughts and questions and give the journals to their teacher for response) to help college-level deaf students master the skills necessary to read advanced textbooks written in English. The journals enable a teacher to ascertain a student's weaknesses and strengths. (SED)

Explains the "Questioning the Author" approach to reading comprehension, which is designed to get students to build understanding of text ideas by becoming actively involved as they read. Suggestions are given for constructing meaning by going back and forth between the text and discussing the ideas. Some examples illustrate the process.…

The nature of brain specialization in the comprehension process is considered, and many disabled readers are shown to have a preference for right-brained styles of processing information. Three instructional strategies are suggested: prediction mapping, storydrama, and guided journeys. (CL)

Although students may read every word of an assignment, a lack of ability to make meaningful connections between words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs can make it impossible for them to interpret and apply what they read. Strategies are given for increasing reading comprehension in social studies instruction. (JN)

An alternative to the traditional high-school book report is suggested. During the process of reading selected novels, students summarize each chapter's plot, make comments, and ask questions. Upon completion of the novels, students discuss a literary device used by the author and create a cover for their report booklets. (JDD)

Discusses reasons why teaching difficult vocabulary in a selection may not improve comprehension. Emphasizes the importance of teaching vocabulary that represents ideas or concepts central to the reading selection. (MM)

Describes four types of concept maps (slash recall, linear, radial, pictorial) created and used by students at the U.S. Air Force Academy to improve comprehension and recall of reading assignments. Provides student examples of each type of map, which are often created on computers. (EV)

The story frame approach, in which teachers construct frames that become the focus of children's discussions and written assignments, can help improve educable mentally retarded children's reading comprehension skills. (CL)

Discusses literature and research concerning comprehension questions, particularly in the context of the Whole Language Movement. Notes that there are other ways for students to demonstrate their text comprehension, such as literature logs, small group discussion, and individual or group projects. Suggests several implications for the classroom.…

Reciprocal teaching uses a structured discussion based on four strategies: questioning, summarizing, clarifying, and predicting. Suggestions are presented for teachers wishing to use this technique in their classrooms. (CB)

Describes thought processes which the teacher should engage in and which should govern choice of material before writing or selecting exercises for English as a second language class. Shows how to clarify the purpose of exercises by examples. (BK)