The best way for students to learn to read and to come to love reading is--surprise, surprise--by reading in quantity. Unfortunately, many of today's students read far too little. This lack of time spent reading is particularly unfortunate, as reading constitutes a bedrock skill, essential in all subject areas. Thus, we teachers need to devote…

This innovative guide shows teachers how to transform high-school English students into passionate readers with a trust-based approach that honors both student choice and teacher expertise. The authors begin with a series of reflective invitations to help teachers rediscover trust in themselves and in their students. The book offers methods for…

Children's literature often inspires the author's lessons, and reading to her primary students motivates their participation. In this article, the author presents and describes her lesson which is based on the book "Falling for Rapunzel" by Leah Wilcox. Students created a fairy tale tower in this lesson, which took place over three class periods.…

Read Across America Day was created by the National Education Association in 1998. This column presents suggestions for classroom activities that can be used to celebrate this day. Suggestions include: (1) Making a Read Across America flag; (2) Taking pictures of staff with their favorite books; and (3) Sending out ballots asking students and…

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…

In this book, author Peggy Campbell-Rush shares the strategies she relies on to teach young students not only how to read and write, but also to love to read and write. Teachers will find close to 100 tips, ideas, and activities that they can implement immediately, including: the dos and don'ts for reading aloud; putting new twists on tedious…

Children learn to love reading by sharing quality books. Intended for children's librarians, media specialists, teachers, day care providers, and parents, this book will make it easy and fun to conduct book club meetings with little preparation time. Everything needed to start a weekly book club at school or at the library is included--detailed…

The Directed Reading Using Music Strategy (DRUMS) is a type of reading strategy that can lead to the teaching of reflective thinking skills, increased reading comprehension and vocabulary, along with increased motivation for learning. Research indicates that contemporary song lyrics aid reading comprehension and can be used as motivational text. A…

Celebrating centuries of the written word--from the works of Confucius, Shakespeare, and Ben Franklin to the adventures of Nancy Drew and Harry Potter--this book offers a literary smorgasbord of milestones, anecdotes, and quotes, along with smart, fun, practical activities for exploring and enjoying a wide range of literature. More than a calendar…

Intended for teachers of preschool and up, this book combines three favorite pastimes: reading great books, exploring related activities, and cooking. The book lists 36 books relating to a holiday or observation, beginning with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and ending with New Year's Eve. It summarizes each featured book and gives a related…

Intended for use with grades 5-12, this book offers 201 titles of carefully selected novels as an antidote to students' laments about history being boring--good historical fiction that animates the data found in textbooks. The book is an expanded and updated edition of an earlier publication and includes 86 new titles, as well as 40 titles…

Intended for teachers of grades 2-6, this book offers methods to help students become lifelong readers. The book's instructions include emphasizing respect for the readers' choices of books and their own unique response to the literature. Information is intended to promote thoughtful analysis of what has been read and to validate readers'…

The materials included in this manual are organized according to the Indiana's Kindergarten Academic Standards for English/Language Arts. In each section teachers will find: (1) Indiana's Kindergarten Academic Standards for English/Language Arts Assessments: Black Line Masters of diagnostic/practice pages for skill areas, checklists, and rubrics;…

The materials included in this manual are organized according to the Indiana Grade 1 Academic Standards for English/Language Arts. In each section teachers will find: (1) Indiana Grade 1 Academic Standards for English/Language Arts; (2) Assessments: diagnostic/practice pages for skill areas, checklists, and rubrics; (3) Classroom Activities:…

The materials included in this manual are organized according to the Indiana Grade 2 Academic Standards for English/Language Arts. In each section teachers will find: (1) Indiana Grade 2 Academic Standards for English/Language Arts Assessment Tools: diagnostic/practice pages for skill areas, checklists, and rubrics; (2) Classroom Activities:…