Virtually every teacher works with at least some and sometimes many, students who struggle to read on grade level. Recent research has demonstrated success in improving the reading level of students in grades 4-9 with reading difficulties. This practice guide, developed by the What Works Clearinghouse™ (WWC) in conjunction with an expert panel,…

In this article, the authors offer four specific reading comprehension strategies that mathematics teachers of all levels can employ with their students when working on word problems: (1) visualizing; (2) retelling; (3) making connections; and (4) asking questions. These strategies, which have a substantial research base in literacy, are discussed…

This article presents a protocol for utilizing conferring strategies for reading conferences with English Language Learners (ELLs) as a means to support their reading comprehension skills and develop content area vocabulary in middle level education. The Conferring with English Language Learners (CELL) Protocol emphasizes ELLs' conversational…

The purpose of this article is to introduce text sets of picture books that address 10 ancient civilizations commonly taught in middle school and also offer instructional strategies that could be used for critical and multicultural literacy exploration. Beginning with discussion of the importance of picture books and text sets in the middle school…

Science teaching continues to move away from teaching science as merely a body of facts and figures to be memorized to a process of exploring and drawing conclusions. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emphasize eight science and engineering practices that ask students to apply scientific and engineering reasoning and explanation. This…

Significant numbers of adolescents and young adults do not adequately understand complex texts, impeding their school success, access to postsecondary learning, and opportunities within an increasingly competitive work environment. National data (National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP], 2015) have shown improvements among fourth- and…

A critical issue in education today is that many middle and high school students are not able to read on grade level (Alvermann & Rush, 2004; Biancarosa & Snow, 2010; Heller & Greenleaf, 2007; Houge, Geier, & Peyton, 2008). In an effort to deal with the problem, many schools encourage all teachers, regardless of their subject area,…

Junior high school teacher Kristie Jolley believes students become more willing and motivated to practice reading strategies when they are "comfortable within their realm of literacy." Background knowledge of video games helps students succeed in understanding and enjoying game-based texts, which she incorporates into her classroom library as…

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…

Many authors suggest that there is a coming crisis in U.S. middle and secondary schools (Moje, Young, Readence, & Moore, 2000). This crisis comes in the form of reading difficulties. While many primary schools have emphasized word recognition and decoding, decoding does not guarantee comprehension. The result is that many students who can read…