Recent research on disciplinary literacy has called for a paradigm shift among secondary content teachers from perceiving themselves as disciplinary content transmitters to disciplinary literacy teachers who model and engage students in reading, writing, inquiring, and doing like experts within each discipline. How do content teachers incorporate…

The American educational landscape is changing rapidly, and so are the students in American mathematics classrooms. In the New York City public schools, one of every four students is an English language learner (ELL) (New York City Department of Education 2014). Mathematics teachers find themselves teaching either in a classroom that contains all…

In this new edition of their groundbreaking book "Strategies That Work," Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis share the work and thinking they've done since the second edition came out a decade ago and offer new perspectives on how to explicitly teach thinking strategies so that students become engaged, thoughtful, independent readers.…

The Common Core State Standards represent an ambitious effort to improve teaching and learning at an unprecedented scale. Adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia, these standards are an attempt to dramatically change what students and teachers do in school, by redefining high-level, thought-provoking instruction as the norm for all…

In science classes, teachers must consider the need for explicit, systematic reading instruction for students with learning disabilities (LD) while navigating the constructivist and activity-oriented methods typically employed in science instruction. The complexity of scientific information conveyed through print may make reading science texts the…

This paper reports on an innovative and action research project which focused on the use of the dictionary and the prior knowledge of Colombian high school students to improve their reading comprehension of short scientific texts. Data collection instruments included students' work gathered during two workshops, field notes, and a questionnaire.…

Students in Ginger M. Eikmeier's high school classes link themes and terms from their readings to episodes of "The Simpsons." Because students are already familiar with "The Simpsons," Eikmeier believes that using the show supports students' comprehension and retention by activating prior knowledge. Additionally, it shows students that she cares…

Talk is the foundation for thought and understanding and the key to literacy learning. Research demonstrates that powerful metacognitive strategies can be taught to help students self-monitor their comprehension when reading print and digital texts. This article provides a repertoire of speaking and listening strategies to develop the…

The democratic aim of American education is to provide "all" students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to become informed, effective, and responsible citizens. Like civic education itself, literacy education can be embraced by all teachers across all disciplines. There are strategies that all teachers can use to help address…

The democratic aim of American education is to provide "all" students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to become informed, effective, and responsible citizens. Like civic education itself, literacy education can be embraced by all teachers across all disciplines. There are strategies that all teachers can use to help address…

It is easy for intermediate students to get the wrong ideas about the purpose of reading. Educators pay so much attention to decoding and fluency in the early years that children sometimes come to believe that flawless and rapid word recognition is the point. As texts get more demanding or unfamiliar, some of the "good readers" in classes begin to…

This book provides classroom-tested methods for engaging struggling middle grade readers--even those who appear to have given up--and fostering their success. The emphasis is on constructing respectful, encouraging learning environments that incorporate students' diverse literacies, cultural interests, and prior knowledge and skills into…

Neurologist and middle school teacher Judy Willis connects what you do in the classroom to what happens in the brain when students learn how to read, including: (1) Why a classroom has to be safe and supportive in order to overcome barriers to reading fluency; (2) How to jumpstart students who are not well prepared for reading with activities that…

Since its publication in 2000, Strategies That Work has become an indispensable resource for teachers who want to explicitly teach thinking strategies so that students become engaged, thoughtful, independent readers. In this revised and expanded edition, the authors have added twenty completely new comprehension lessons, extending the scope of the…

As students move through the grades, the demands of comprehending increasingly complex text increase, and some students begin to struggle. What are the differences between skilled and struggling readers? How can educators teach students to become more proficient readers? This Teaching Tip describes research into middle-level students' reading…