In Easy as 1, 2, 3, authors Katherine B. Green and Jacqueline P. Towson share an approach for integrating early math concepts and shared book reading to support positive outcomes for young children, including those with disabilities. The timing of this article is perfect, as it coincides with the availability of additional free and readily…

This descriptive case study presents findings from a 2 year research study on an intervention program, "Reading with Animals," launched in a linguistically, ethnically, and racially diverse Central New York community. The local literacy coalition implemented the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (IL) program in two low-income zip codes…

Preschoolers can learn mathematics from opportunities throughout their day, such as through play and storybook readings (Clements & Sarama, 2007; Green et al., 2018; Hassinger-Das et al., 2018). In fact, the early years are an advantageous time to introduce children to formal mathematical operations, as preschoolers often have a spontaneous…

This convergent mixed-methods study investigated what urban fourth-grade students self-reported for navigating multimodal science books. Reported strategies included general reading processes, clarifying understanding, selecting portions to read, choosing an order to read the text, and interpreting the process in the text. A range of metacognitive…

Teachers value students' close reading of and text-based writing about diverse texts while eliciting their awareness of the world, privilege, and power. Carefully selected literature coupled with primary sources can bridge the classroom and society. To engage modern students in America's racialized past and present, this article guides teachers to…

Where textbooks introduce readers to history via specific terminology and short passages, trade books present historical eras through relatable characters and engaging prose. For most topics, trade books are numerous enough for teachers to select multiple titles written at distinct reading levels to differentiate for diverse learners.…

This article describes a group of second and third graders who began the school year 83% below reading proficiency. On surveys given at the beginning of the year, parents/guardians stated reading was the biggest concern for their child, and students stated they enjoyed hands-on activities, especially during science. To increase comprehension and…

Barry Gilmore, a principal at Hutchinson School in Memphis, Tennessee, has set out to create a culture of literacy at his school. In this article, he outlines 10 steps for fostering such an environment. Among other recommendations: publicly celebrate reading, create channels for booksharing, read and write across content areas, value disciplinary…

Expository, or informational, text can be defined as a type of nonfiction that describes a topic categorically by moving from subtopic to subtopic with the intent to teach content or convey information (Maloch & Bomer, 2013). One vehicle for teaching the text structure and language of expository text to preschool-age children is through…

Expository, or informational, text can be defined as a type of nonfiction that describes a topic categorically by moving from subtopic to subtopic with the intent to teach content or convey information (Maloch & Bomer, 2013). One vehicle for teaching the text structure and language of expository text to preschool-age children is through…

The linkage between reading for pleasure and language ability has been well established, but the relationship between content-based recreational reading and academic achievement in various subject areas has rarely been explored. To investigate whether reading literature, social studies, and science trade books for pleasure is related to students'…

This paper will explain what a reading teacher learned from working with a group of first-grade struggling readers in a series of shared-book experience classes. The shared-book experience approach used a variety of science-themed books that were aligned with the first-grade curriculum and appropriate for beginning readers. Considering the…

Research Findings: This study compared the effects of content-based shared book-reading instruction versus an explicit vocabulary-only condition on the vocabulary development of preschool dual language learners (DLLs). Using shared book reading as the mode of instruction, we randomly assigned 48 bilingual preschool teachers and 281…

The theme for the 60th annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) was Literacy: The Critical Role of Teacher Knowledge. This Yearbook provides a snapshot of the highlights of the meeting and sampling of some of the proceedings. The focus is on three questions surrounding the conference theme: (1) What do…