There is something quite magical about forming a connection to a book: the way in which the words on the page can conjure feelings of excitement, fun, joy, laughter or tears, channeling the part of our being that fundamentally makes us human. The journey that children take as they travel towards becoming a competent and confident reader can be a…

For their 61st annual conference, the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) met in St. Petersburg, Florida. This year's conference theme was "Engaging All Readers through Explorations of Literacy, Language, and Culture," which was also used as the title for this year's "Yearbook." This "Yearbook"…

The most effective way to understand what a child knows about the reading process is to take a running record. In "Running Records", Mary Shea demonstrates how teachers can use this powerful tool to design lessons that decrease reading difficulties, build on strengths, and stimulate motivation, ensuring that children develop self-sustaining…

Only by exploring the past of the reading field can the literacy leaders of today make informed decisions about reading education in the future. This indispensable resource offers new insight into the development of reading education by examining the groundbreaking contributions of the "early reading pioneers"--16 reading researchers, reading…

Bringing together leading scholars, this book describes proven ways to enhance early literacy skills in 3- and 4-year-olds, especially those from low-income families. Presented are scientifically based methods and approaches that are being applied in Early Reading First programs around the country. Important topics include promoting oral language…

The activities included in this book are based on the assumption that good readers have excellent command of oral language, that they recognize signals and patterns in words and sentences and are able to guess unknown words based on this information, and that they learn to read by reading. Among the activities included in this collection are those…

The editors of "What Research Has to Say about Reading Instruction" present the most recent research on fluency and show how it can be put into practice. A resource for classroom teachers and teacher educators alike, the reader-friendly text offers a range of expert perspectives on the key aspects of fluency such as: (1) history and…

This reading text is intended to help teacher education students become successful teachers of reading in the classroom, and is designed to help them to become diagnostic teachers. The text states that diagnostic teaching is a methodology that requires that the teacher ascertain the level of functional skills and abilities of each child in the…

Intended for elementary school teachers and librarians, this book was designed to help in the development of reading programs for young children. Five sections are included: (1) planning ahead, which includes getting organized, making decorations, collecting "junque" (craft materials and other items needed for craft activities); (2) conducting…

This book is based on the following assumptions: there are recognized skills of decoding that are essential to the reading act; these skills can be identified by the knowledgeable reading teacher; there is a level of reading at which every child can best be taught; and reading comprehension is comprehension of the lexical and syntactical elements…

Constructed to aid teachers in the diagnosis of specific reading problems of individual students or groups of students, this kit is recommended for use by elementary classroom teachers, secondary content-area teachers, reading specialists at various levels, and elementary and secondary school administrators. Section one of the kit gives directions…

The authors advocate that a high-quality curriculum is an important first step toward good teaching and successful learning. Good curriculum comes from knowing what students can do, can almost do, and need to learn how to do as readers, writers, and language users. In this book, the authors combine their experience and learning in literacy…

The reading exercises in this workbook cover the general areas of basic phonics; word structure (including compound words, base words, prefixes and suffixes, contractions, possessives, and syllables); vocabulary (including word recognition, rhyming words, and word meaning); study skills (including following directions, alphabetizing, and reading a…

The reading exercises in this workbook cover the general areas of basic phonics; word structure (including compound words, base words, prefixes and suffixes, contractions, possessives, and syllables); vocabulary (including word recognition, word meaning, and rhyming words); study skills (including following directions, alphabetizing, and reading a…

The reading exercises in this workbook cover the general areas of basic phonics; word structure (including compound words, prefixes, contractions, possessives, syllabication, word meaning, similes, vocabulary in content areas, analogies, and idioms); study skills (including dictionary skills, using an encyclopedia and index, reading a map, reading…