Perhaps no factor has a greater influence on children's literacy learning than exposure to engaging, authentic, culturally relevant texts. This concise practitioner resource and course text helps K--8 teachers make informed choices about using children's literature in their classrooms, from selecting high-quality texts to planning instruction and…

Many tens of thousands of preservice and inservice teachers have relied on this highly regarded text from leading experts, now in a revised and updated sixth edition. The latest knowledge about literacy teaching and learning is distilled into flexible strategies for helping all PreK-12 learners succeed. The book addresses major components of…

Tess is a joyful eight-year old girl with epilepsy, frontal lobe dysfunction, and dyspraxia, as well as delays in language, fine motor, and gross motor skills. However, despite her disabilities, Tess happily embraces life. With assistance from a few support professionals, Tess currently functions successfully in a regular education second grade…

Offering over 300 successful "booktalks" for librarians, teachers, and parents, this book shows how to "hook" reluctant readers onto books. The field-tested booktalks (brief "commercials" for books that give just enough information to promote reading the book) are divided into three reading levels: elementary, middle…

Describes how to use drama to help students live through and see what they are reading, thus enjoying reading more. The workshop offers strategies for reading and writing dramatic texts. A reading and writing workshop poster on a Midsummer Night's Dream is included. A reproducible sheet allows students to use their imaginations to create dramatic…

Tutoring teenagers is as much about building self confidence as teaching skills. This paper states that teenagers who have disengaged from reading probably had difficulty learning to read in the primary grades. According to most research, at this critical age, they missed the pleasure of getting lost in a story or discovering new information in…

This volume, a companion to "Talk That Book: Booktalks To Promote Reading," presents 263 new booktalks on classics and best sellers that serve a wide range of interests for all ages and reading interests. Usually, booktalking is an oral presentation of 10 or 20 booktalks lasting about 30 minutes; however, this book can also act as a…

Presents primary and intermediate level activities that use predictions to help students think deeply about books. The primary activity uses a prediction chart to encourage thinking and enthusiasm about reading. The intermediate activity uses prediction book reports to change writing about books from merely retelling, to higher-level thinking. A…

This teaching resource goes beyond songs, games, and finger plays to function as a one-of-a-kind interactive book. Teachers are given basic instructions on how to create a variety of different interactive books for their students to enjoy. Lists of materials needed to create each book are also included with the instructions. The resource book…

Discusses how to use sustained silent reading to encourage elementary students in independent reading. The strategies include making independent reading a key part of every day, being sure students know the strategies they should practice, and concluding independent reading sessions by discussing strategies. The paper presents a list of 13…

Describes how teachers can set up high-quality classroom libraries that motivate students to read. Suggestions include assessing student needs; acquiring reading materials (through book clubs and donations from students and families); and being actively innovative so the library remains fresh and dynamic (e.g., by adding shelves, offering a wide…

Responding to the America Reads Challenge and the increasing emphasis on using volunteer tutors to help all children learn to read, the activities and suggestions in this easy-to-use book are from the journal "The Reading Teacher" and are classroom tested. It provides instructional tips for teachers and tutors who are collaboratively…

Three assessment strategies to help elementary teachers gather information about their students' reading (and thus direct their teaching) include keeping running records of students' oral reading, requesting retellings of stories to determine students' comprehension, and talking seriously about reading with students to determine their overall…

To motivate students to read, it is important for teachers to teach the reader, not the reading. This article presents three strategies for accomplishing this: studying the child, not the book; focusing on students' reading lives and knowing them as readers; and thinking of students as readers. (SM)

Most educators recognize the importance of home-school connections, especially for the development of engaged and enthusiastic readers. This collection of 33 articles published in "The Reading Teacher" from 1993 to 1999 presents the "best of the best" classroom-tested ideas and approaches for increasing student motivation for…