This book shows content area teachers in middle and high schools how to boost student achievement by including lessons and strategies which focus on students' reading comprehension without detracting from content area focus. These mini-lessons and strategies are research-based and address the specific literacy challenges of each particular subject…

The reading and literacy focus of a unit that centers on chocolate can provide a context for using the interpretive mode of the communication standard from the "National Standards in Foreign Language Education." This article presents a thematic unit that is applicable to all languages and adaptable to any level. Inspired by Woodlands'…

A classic is a book that gives the exhilarating feeling that a part of life finally has been uncovered. It is a book that has stood the test of time, that people keep reaching for throughout the ages for its special enlightenment. Here are some suggestions to help open up the world of the classics: (1) know if what is being read is a novel, a…

Four categories of questions (requests, recall, discrimination, relating concepts, problem solving) and five categories of feedback (evaluate positive, evaluate negative, prompt, expand, refocus) are described. Planning considerations for exceptional students are discussed. (JW)

In this highly informative text, Darrell Morris offers detailed, practical guidance based on decades of hands-on experience as a reading clinician and educator. He demonstrates how to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic assessment; interpret reading scores; and provide individualized instruction that takes each student's specific strengths and…

This book presents numerous practical strategies and assessment tools teachers can use immediately to strengthen students' fluency skills in regular classrooms and in resource rooms. This new third edition offers: (1) Concise answers to teachers' questions; (2) Evidence-based strategies; (3) Practical activities; (4) Resources to develop students'…

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…

Semantic mapping is effective with expository prose but not as effective with narrative prose. To achieve a better understanding of narrative prose, yet still keep the benefits of semantic mapping, the traditional approach can be modified into a technique called "episodic mapping." Episodic mapping is based on the idea that most stories…

A neglected aspect in reading instruction is the teaching of reading comprehension and constructing meaning from text. Cognitive field theory emphasises that children construct meaning and develop rules at a subconscious level when they learn a language (Samson, Rasinski & Samson, 2003, 7). The emphasis here is on the processes that we go through,…

Teaching students how to read without compromising the time dedicated to hands-on, inquiry-based science has become vital for science teachers of all grades. Recently, the author's teaching partner and the author have taken a more active role in teaching reading strategies and assessing what students gather from expository texts while still having…

Skilled reading requires attention to many aspects of print at the same time. Some children demonstrate difficulty in attending flexibly to multiple features of print, often focusing solely on decoding or word-level information. These children often lack the insight that reading is more than decoding; they have a difficult time thinking about…

Teachers of core middle level classes are now expected to play a larger role in supporting students' reading of course materials than has traditionally been the case. University courses and high-quality professional development emphasizing content literacy can equip teachers with important insights about reading and can provide them with a…

Keeping periodic track of the progress English language learners (ELLs) are making in their second language acquisition skills is essential. Learning a second language is a complex process. It's important for educators to gauge each student's abilities and skills regularly; each English language learner will acquire second language knowledge and…

Although fluency instruction is an essential part of teaching reading, there is limited information on providing this type of instruction with students who have physical disabilities. This article examines three case studies across two students, one with cerebral palsy and the other with both arthrogryposis and spina bifida. In the first study,…

Based on the idea that word identification is a group of strategies that children develop as they learn to read, not a single letter-sound by letter-sound pathway to pronunciation, this book invites teachers to support readers as they develop and use many different world identification strategies. Chapters in the book are: (1) Using the Alphabetic…