Bath County High School Professional Learning Community Improving Literacy Instruction and Assessment Practices Resource List 2014-2015
What follows is a compilation of suggested resource publications highly recommended for schools to use to improve literacy instruction and assessment practices. This list came through recommendations from various individuals through the Collaborative Center for Literacy Design (CCLD), Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), the Adolescent Literacy Project (ALP), the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Design (ASCD), and the Kentucky Reading Association (KRA). This list will be updated as new resources are recommended. Our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) will use this resource list for their selections each semester. As a professional reminder; don't select resources you have already utilized as this is completely counterproductive. PLCs will meet on the first Wednesday of every month to allow the administration to have silent observer involvement and create consistent work with our focus on literacy and assessment. PLCs will be asked to share updates through "Try This!" communications and sharing at faculty meetings when requested. Each PLC will discuss highlights from their work and select one concept, practice, or strategy that the PLC feels can help all teachers in the building. This will be turned into a "Try This!" email communication to go to all teachers. The "Try This!" communication will describe the concept, idea, or practice and then describe its purpose as well as clearly communicate how to use it in the classroom. This will allow everyone to learn something from each PLC's work.
Resource Description: Overview:
Power Tools for Adolescent Literacy: Strategies for Learning
Rozzelle, J. S., C. (2008).
Secondary teachers who are seeking to improve student learning will find
that this accessible, well-organized encyclopedia of research-based literacy strategies makes it easy to find and use the right strategies,
those that will increase student learning. When teachers learn literacy strategies, implement the newly learned strategies in the classroom,
show students how to use the strategies, and see student learning
increase, they realize that literacy strategies are really learning strategies. Examples from science, social studies, math, and English language arts
teachers show how to integrate reading, writing, and critical thinking across the curriculum. The authors draw on their extensive experience
working with teachers and schools to define the best practices that have
been proven to work in real schools. Each chapter explores the research foundation for a particular aspect of literacy, suggests key resources,
defines critical issues, and then provides concrete strategies for actively engaging students in reading, writing, talking, and listening. Understand
what the strategy is, why teachers should use it, and how to use it in clear step-by-step instructions complete with examples and templates.
Summarization in Any Subject: 50 Techniques to Improve Student Learning
Wormeli, R. (2005)
Rick Wormeli, a teacher certified by the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards, makes the case that summarization is not only one of the most effective ways to improve student learning, it's also one of
the most flexible, responsive, and engaging. Here, you'll find a
classroom-tested collection of written, spoken, artistic, and kinesthetic summarization techniques for both individual assignments and group
activities across the content areas. Suitable for students in grades 3-12, these techniques are easily adjustable to any curriculum and presented
with ample directions and vivid, multidisciplinary examples. They are valuable additions to every teacher's repertoire. Wormeli also clarifies the
process of teaching students how to summarize and includes a special
section on the key skill of paraphrasing. The book concludes with an assortment of original text excerpts and activity prompts--a great starting
place for teachers ready to use summarization in their own classrooms.
Academic conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Classroom Understandings.
Zwiers, J. & Crawford, M. (2011).
This publication is available online for free at
http://www.stenhouse.com/emags/0884-11/index.html
This book shows teachers how to weave the cultivation of academic conversation skills and conversations into current teaching approaches.
More specifically, it describes how to use conversations to build the following:
Academic vocabulary and grammar
Critical thinking skills such as persuasion, interpretation,
consideration of multiple perspectives, evaluation, and application Literacy skills such as questioning, predicting, connecting to prior
knowledge, and summarizing
Complex and abstract essential understandings in content areas
such as adaptation, human nature, bias, conservation of mass, energy, gravity, irony, democracy, greed, and more
An academic classroom environment brimming with respect for
others' ideas, equity of voice, engagement, and mutual support
The ideas in this book stem from many hours of classroom practice,
research, and video analysis across grade levels and content areas. Readers will find numerous practical activities for working on each
conversation skill, crafting conversation-worthy tasks, and using
conversations to teach and assess. Academic Conversations offers an in-depth approach to helping students develop into the future parents,
teachers, and leaders who will collaborate to build a better world.
Cool Tech Tools for Lower Tech Teachers: 20 Tactics for Every Classroom
Bender, W. N., Waller, L. B. (2013)
If you're just making the transition to technology, this is the resource for
you. In understandable language, this book describes how exactly you can use tools like webquests, wikis, social networking apps, and podcasts
to enhance your lessons and keep kids engaged. The authors put
technology within your reach by:
Framing each tool in the context of what you need to know
Defining the tool in easy-to-understand language; there’s no
tech-speak Guiding you through implementation step by step
Providing sample lesson plans to get you started
Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines
Buehl, D. (2011)
What does it mean to read, write, and think through a disciplinary lens? How do you develop students as readers, writers, and thinkers in the
different academic disciplines?
Doug Buehl, author of the perennial bestseller Classroom Strategies for
Interactive Learning, shows you how to:
* Teach to the match of literacy and disciplinary understanding to bridge academic knowledge gaps
* Frontload instruction that activates and builds academic knowledge
* Build inquiring minds through questioning
Writing with the U.S. Common Core State Standards in mind, Doug shows teachers in all subjects-not just the language arts-how to help
students meet literacy expectations. You also get instructional practices
to help your students ''work'' complex texts, as well as helpful information for customizing literacy practices to meet the demands of your discipline.
Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning
Chappuis, J. (2010)
This practical new book from Pearson Assessment Training Institute
organizes research-based recommendations about classroom assessment practices around three formative assessment questions: “Where am I
going?”; “Where am I now?”; and “How can I close the gap?” The
framework is sequenced so that you can easily weave assessment for learning practices into daily teaching and assessment activities.
The Seven Strategies are organized around the three big questions:
Where Am I Going? Strategy 1: Provide a clear and understandable vision of the learning target. Strategy 2: Use examples and models of strong and weak work.
Where Am I Now? Strategy 3: Offer regular descriptive feedback. Strategy 4: Teach students to self-assess and set goals.
How Can I Close the Gap? Strategy 5: Design lessons to focus on one aspect of quality at a time. Strategy 6: Teach students focused revision. Strategy 7: Engage students in self-reflection and let them keep track of and share their learning.
Texts and Lessons for Content Area Reading
Daniels, H. S. (2011)
"To have any hope of kids investing fully in the subject matter, we have to start by evoking their curiosity and get them interested in the topic. Engaging the students can't wait. If we wait for the fun stuff that might pop up later, the kids will have already jumped ship."
-Harvey "Smokey" Daniels and Nancy Steineke
Today we're all expected to be "teachers of reading"-no matter what our subject area. With Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading, Harvey
"Smokey" Daniels and Nancy Steineke support content-area and language-arts teachers alike by pairing more than 75 short, kid-tested
reproducible nonfiction texts with 33 simple, ready-to-go lessons that
deepen comprehension and support effective collaboration. Daniels and Steineke prove that with the right materials and the right lessons, you
can turn your kids into much better readers in your subject field by showing:
how proficient readers think
how skillful collaborators act
how to use quick and engaging activities that add to,
not steal from subject-matter learning.
Each real-world text was chosen for its subject-area relevance, its interest to teens, and for its "wow factor"-the texts most likely to engage
kids in discussion and debate. Step-by-step lessons accompany each text.
Watch what happens when you give your kids a combination of interesting texts, instruction in smart-reader strategies, and an explicit
understanding of good discussion skills. Meeting the standards has never been so much fun.
Classroom Discussions: Strategies for Engaging all Students
Spiegel, D. (2005)
When reading and writing become a regular part of a student's day,
learning grows. But when discussion is added to the mix, it blooms. In this book, Dixie Lee Spiegel presents discussion as a tool that leads to
engagement, reflection, and deeper learning in language arts and the
content areas. She provides dependable, effective strategies for preparing students for whole-class and small-group discussion, guiding
them as they discuss, and giving them follow-up activities that extend learning.
Teaching Boys Who Struggle in School: Strategies That Turn Underachievers into Successful Learners
Cleveland, Kathleen (2011)
Finalist for a 2012 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers! Teaching Boys Who Struggle in
School: Strategies That Turn Underachievers into Successful Learners
responds to growing concerns about a crisis in boy’s academic achievement. Kathleen Palmer Cleveland seeks to help K 12 educators cut
through the hype to get at the real problem: who is underachieving, why are they struggling, and how can educators respond to these students
needs in new and productive ways?
Cleveland presents findings from four large-scale studies about how boys
learn best and combines these findings with insights about ongoing social and learning-style factors that affect learning in the classroom, plus
lesson plans and anecdotes from real teachers working across all grade levels and subject areas.
Cleveland s Pathways to Re-Engagement represents the culmination of her substantial research and personal experience. A flexible and practical
framework for decision making in the classroom, the Pathways model seeks to
* Replace the underachieving boy’s negative attitudes about learning;
* Reconnect each boy with school, with learning, and with a belief in himself as a competent learner;
* Rebuild learning skills that lead to success in school and in life; and * Reduce the need for unproductive and distracting behaviors as a means
of self-protection.
Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom
Fisher, Douglas (2007)
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey show how to increase students'
understanding with the help of creative formative assessments. When used regularly, these types of assessments enable every teacher to
determine what students know, what they need to know, and what type
of instructional interventions are effective.
Writing Better: Effective Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties
Graham, Steve (2009)
Whether they have learning disabilities or just need extra help, struggling writers can improve their skills dramatically if they get the detailed,
explicit instruction they need. This practical guidebook shows elementary
school teachers how to make this systematic instruction part of their classroom. Educators will find a wide range of specific strategies that
include
activities for every phase of the writing process, from brainstorming and goal-setting to revising
proof of effectiveness with students who have learning disabilities (field-testing data included)
guidelines on how to teach the strategies and use them across grades
easy-to-learn formats for students, such as mnemonic devices and short step-by-step action plans
exercises specially tailored for different types of writing, including stories, explanations, persuasive essays, reports, and comparisons
everything teachers need — no additional materials necessary
Photocopiable student worksheets give teachers ready-to-use writing activities, and before-and-after examples of student writing demonstrate
how the strategies work. With these practical, scientifically validated
ideas and exercises, teachers will help struggling students develop a toolbox of skills to improve their classwork and change the way they feel
about writing.
Formative Assessment & Standards Based Grading: The Classroom Strategies Series
Marzaon, Robert (2010)
Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading offers teachers
everything they need to know to implement an integrated system of assessment and grading that will enhance both their own teaching and
their students learning. Much has been written about the benefits of
formative assessment that is, assessment that is used while instruction is occurring rather than at the end of a course or unit but most descriptions
of the practice have been general. Dr. Robert Marzano provides the specifics. He explains how to design and interpret three different types of
formative assessments, how to track student progress, and how to assign meaningful grades, even if a school or district continues to use a
traditional grading system. He brings each concept to life with detailed
examples of teachers from different subject areas applying it in their classrooms. The second book in the Classroom Strategies That Work
library, this clear, highly practical guide follows the series format, first summarizing key research and then translating it into recommendations
for classroom practice. In addition to the explanations and examples of
assessment and grading strategies, each chapter includes helpful exercises to reinforce the reader s understanding of the content.
Tools for Teaching Content Literacy
Allen, J. (2004)
Janet Allen developed the ideal support for teachers who want to improve their reading instruction across the curriculum. Tools for Teaching Content Literacy is a compact tabbed flipchart designed as a ready reference for content reading and writing instruction. Each of the thirty-
three strategies includes:
a brief description and purpose for each strategy;
a research base that documents the origin and effectiveness of
the strategy;
graphic organizers to support the lesson;
classroom vignettes from different grade levels and content areas
to illustrate the strategy in use.
The perfect size to slip into a plan book, Tools highlights effective
instructional strategies and innovative ideas to help you design lessons that meet your students’ academic needs as well as content standards.
The definitions, descriptions, and research sources also provide a quick reference when implementing state and national standards, designing
assessments, writing grants, or evaluating resources for literacy
instruction.
More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy
Allen, J. (2008)
In Tools for Teaching Content Literacy Janet Allen put a wealth of
research-based instructional tools at teachers' fingertips to help students make connections with informational resources and to read critically.
More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy extends this treasure trove with
25 new instructional strategies -- from Expert Groups to Point-of-View Guides, to Wordstorming -- using the same compact, tabbed flipchart
format. Each of the strategies includes:
a brief description of the instructional tool;
an exploration of how and why the tool would be used for
instruction in content classes;
graphic organizers; models;
step-by-step instructions to support using and adapting the
instructional strategy;
a research base that documents the origin, adaptations, and
related reading for understanding the effectiveness of the
strategy.
Like its predecessor, More Tools is a handy reference that provides instant access to succinct descriptions, practical strategies, and
manageable assessments, allowing teachers to save time and be more
flexible and confident in meeting students' needs.
When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do
Beers, K. (2002)
For Kylene Beers, the question of what to do when kids can't read surfaced abruptly in 1979 when she began teaching. That year, she
discovered that some of the students in her seventh-grade language arts classes could pronounce all the words, but couldn't make any sense of
the text. Others couldn't even pronounce the words. And that was the
year she met a boy named George.
George couldn't read. When George's parents asked her to explain what their son's reading difficulties were and what she was going to do to help,
Kylene, a secondary certified English teacher with no background in
reading, realized she had little to offer the parents, even less to offer their son. That defining moment sent her on a twenty-three-year search
for answers to that original question: how do we help middle and high schoolers who can't read?
Now in her critical and practical text When Kids Can't Read - What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12, Kylene shares what she has
learned and shows teachers how to help struggling readers. Here, Kylene offers teachers the comprehensive handbook they've needed to help
readers improve their skills, their attitudes, and their confidence. Filled
with student transcripts, detailed strategies, reproducible material, and extensive booklists, this much-anticipated guide to teaching reading both
instructs and inspires.
Adolescent Literacy: Turning
Promise into Practice
Beers, K. (2007)
In Adolescent Literacy renowned educators Kylene Beers, Bob Probst,
and Linda Rief lead twenty-eight of the most important and widely read educators across the country in a conversation about where we are in the
teaching of literacy to adolescents and how best to move forward. From
researchers to classroom teachers, from long-treasured voices to important new members of the education community, Adolescent Literacy includes the thoughts of central figures in the field today. Adolescent Literacy discusses the most provocative issues of our time.
Each of its chapters builds on the previous to create a unified story of
adolescent literacy that will help all middle and secondary teachers and
administrators envision literacy instruction in exciting new ways. In addition Adolescent Literacy'sassessment rubrics for teachers,
administrators, and staff developers make it an ideal resource for schoolwide and districtwide professional development, while its
accompanying study guide is perfect for small-group discussions. Now is
indeed the time to create a powerful vision of how to teach adolescents. The research on their learning has reached a critical mass, modern
technology has allowed them to engage in a far wider range of literate behaviors than ever before, and their world has become increasingly
connected, increasingly competitive, and increasingly polarized. Read Adolescent Literacy, consider the thoughts of leading educators, and join
a conversation about what it means to teach and learn in this dynamic
new environment. And do it soon, because the need to turn education's promise into classroom practice has never been more urgent.
Subjects Matter
Daniels, H. (2004)
Finally, a book about content-area reading that’s just as useful to math, science, and history teachers as it is to English teachers! Lively, practical,
and irreverent, Subjects Matter points the way to activities and materials that energize content and engage students across all subject areas.
This book features:
23 practical classroom activities that help students understand
and remember what they read, in mathematics, science, social studies, English, and more
a tough analysis of today’s textbooks, along with specific ways to
use them more effectively
a new “balanced diet” of reading, including 150 books of interest
to teenagers instructions for growing a rich classroom library in your subject
area
plans for setting up student book clubs and reading groups in
any discipline group-building techniques that create a productive community of
readers
a do-it-yourself exploration of the ways smart readers think
models for developing ambitious thematic units within your
classroom or with colleagues special help and materials for students who struggle
scientific proof that the book’s recommended activities do
improve reading and learning.
(Re)imagining Content Area Literacy Instruction
Draper, R. J. (2010)
Today's teachers need to prepare students for a world that places
increasingly higher literacy demands on its citizens. In this timely book, the authors explore content-area literacy and instruction in English,
music, science, mathematics, social studies, visual arts, technology, and
theatre. Each of the chapters has been written by teacher educators who are experts in their discipline. Their key recommendations reflect the
aims and instructional frameworks unique to content-area learning. This resource focuses on how literacy specialists and content-area educators
can combine their talents to teach all readers and writers in the middle and secondary school classroom. The text features vignettes from
classroom practice with visuals to demonstrate, for example, how we
read a painting or hear the discourse of a song.
How to Teach Reading: When You're Not a Reading Teacher
Faber, S. (2006)
Many high school teachers are surprised to find some of their new
students have difficulty reading or do not know how to read at all. Rarely
are teachers trained to address the fundamentals of reading instruction, and most assume that teaching reading is the sole job of elementary and
middle level reading teachers. However, today's teachers realize that regardless of what subject they teach, they must adopt the attitude that
any child who has difficulty with is one thing: their responsibility! The
good news is that many teachers already use reading strategies without realizing it. Every time a teacher breaks down a textbook into
manageable units, highlights or previews the features of a textbook, or provides specific content-related vocabulary before giving an assignment,
that teacher is modeling a reading strategy. This book was written to
reinforce those already-used strategies, and to provide teachers -- in all subject areas -- with new, practical approaches for teaching students
how to read. For any teacher who has a student who cannot read well, for any teacher who has never been taught how to teach reading, and for
any teacher who loves their students and wants all of them to be successful in life, How to Teach Reading When You're Not A Reading
Teacher is a tool every teacher will find invaluable.
50 Instructional Routines to Develop Content Literacy
Fisher, D.; Frey, Nancy (2010)
From some of the best-known authors in the field comes a book that
provides all middle and high school teachers with practical information about improving students’ reading, writing, and oral language
development. Every teacher needs to use instructional routines that
allow students to engage in all of these literacy processes. Classroom examples from science, social studies, English, math, visual and
performing arts, and core electives ensure that all middle and high school teachers will find useful ideas that they can implement immediately. This
book provides readers with examples of fifty evidence-based instructional routines that can be used across content areas to ensure that reading
and writing occur in all classes.
Improving Adolescent Literacy: Content Area Strategies at Work
Fisher, D. F., (2012)
Improving Adolescent Literacy: Content Area Strategies at Work, Third Edition, gives teachers and teacher candidates the tools they need to
help all students work toward mastery of literacy and comprehension of content area texts. Practical, straightforward, and affordable, this guide is
packed with real classroom examples of specific teaching strategies in
action and features a focus on working with English language learners and struggling readers, ideas for using different technologies to enhance
teaching, an up-to-date research base of current sources of support and additional reading, and an excellent assessment chapter showing how
various formal and informal assessments can be used in the classroom.
Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas
Heller, R. G. (2007)
Like its predecessor, Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas, Second Edition is written for undergraduate, graduate, and in-service
teachers who want to integrate literacy processes into their content area instruction. In addition to extensive updating of earlier material, this new
edition extends its coverage to include new chapters on adolescents' out-
of-school literacy experiences and their in-school preferences, digital resources for content learning, and considerations for the reading
specialist. In doing so, however, the authors have tried to maintain the brevity, stylistic clarity, and classroom focus of the earlier volume.
Teaching Flexibility. Although written with the needs of pre-service
teachers in mind, theory and research are treated in sufficient depth to
make the book suitable for graduate courses and for teacher study groups. It is also appropriate for secondary reading specialists or literacy
coaches responsible for establishing or maintaining a school-wide literacy program.
Changes in New Edition. All chapters have been reorganized and most of the text rewritten. In addition, new chapters not usually included in
content area reading texts were added. These cover: 1) adolescents' out-of-school literacy experiences and in-school preferences; 2) digital
resources for content learning; and 3) considerations for the reading specialist.
Envisioning Knowledge: Building Literacy in the Academic Disciplines
Langer, J. (2011)
This book by Judith Langer--internationally known scholar in literacy learning--examines how people gain knowledge and become academically
literate in the core subjects of English, mathematics, science, and social
studies/history. Based on extensive research, it offers a new framework for conceptualizing knowledge development (rather than information
collection), and explores how one becomes literate in ways that mark ''knowing'' in a field. Langer identifies key principles for practice and
demonstrates how the framework and the principles together can
undergird highly successful instruction across the curriculum. With many examples from middle and high schools, this resource will help educators
to plan and implement engaging, exciting, and academically successful programs.
Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College
Lemov, D. (2010)
Teach Like a Champion offers effective teaching techniques to help
teachers, especially those in their first few years, become champions in the classroom. These powerful techniques are concrete, specific, and are
easy to put into action the very next day. Training activities at the end of
each chapter help the reader further their understanding through reflection and application of the ideas to their own practice.
Among the techniques:
Technique #1: No Opt Out. How to move students from the
blank stare or stubborn shrug to giving the right answer every time.
Technique #35: Do It Again. When students fail to successfully
complete a basic task, from entering the classroom quietly to passing papers around, doing it again, doing it right, and doing it
perfectly, results in the best consequences.
Technique #38: No Warnings. If you're angry with your students,
it usually means you should be angry with yourself. This technique shows how to effectively address misbehaviors in your
classroom.
The book includes a DVD of 25 video clips of teachers demonstrating the
techniques in the classroom.
Reading Strategy Lessons for Science & Social Studies: 15 Research-Based Strategies
Robb, L. (2009)
Mentor teacher and reading expert, Laura Robb, shares 15 practical,
research-based lessons that teachers can use to help kids navigate the
special demands of the text they encounter in science and social studies classes. Strategy lessons include building background knowledge, asking
questions, visualizing, building vocabulary, synthesizing information, and much more. Includes management tips and student samples.
Front-Page Science: Engaging Teens in Science Literacy
Saul, W. K. (2011)
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force issued new guidelines for
mammograms in 2009. What does this mean for someone with a family history of breast cancer? Congress periodically votes on a piece of
legislation called the Farm Bill. What does its current iteration mean for
the safety of supermarket eggs? Understanding how the latest science affects real people patients, consumers, voters, and taxpayers is at the
heart of science literacy. From Chapter 1 of Front-Page Science Like citizen journalists, your students can get to the heart of science literacy
and challenging questions like these with the learn by doing methodology in this innovative book. Front-Page Science uses science journalism
techniques to help students become better consumers of, and
contributors to, a scientifically literate community. The book is divided into three parts: Background information and a rationale for using science
journalism techniques Concrete advice about how to teach science literacy in this framework from helping students find story angles to
teaching search strategies and interview techniques The process of
putting together and writing a news story, including how to get students started, help them when they are stalled, and respond to their drafts A
free website provides downloadable lesson plans, teacher suggestions, and a forum for exchanging ideas with others. Like Front-Page Science,
the website is part of the National Science Foundation funded Science Literacy Through Science Journalism project. By making full use of these
rich resources, you ll teach your students skills that will help them make
sense of their world not just now, but also after graduation and for years to come.
Developing Readers in the
Academic Disciplines
Buehl, Doug (2011)
What does it mean to read, write, and think through a disciplinary lens? How do you develop students as readers, writers, and thinkers in the
different academic disciplines?
Writing with the U.S. Common Core State Standards in mind, Doug
shows teachers in all subjects-not just the language arts-how to help students meet literacy expectations. You also get instructional practices
to help your students ''work'' complex texts, as well as helpful information for customizing literacy practices to meet the demands of your discipline.
Write Like This
Gallagher, Kelly (2011)
If you want to learn how to shoot a basketball, you begin by carefully
observing someone who knows how to shoot a basketball. If you want to be a writer, you begin by carefully observing the work of accomplished
writers. Recognizing the importance that modeling plays in the learning
process, high school English teacher Kelly Gallagher shares how he gets his students to stand next to and pay close attention to model writers,
and how doing so elevates his students' writing abilities. Write Like This is built around a central premise: if students are to grow as writers, they
need to read good writing, they need to study good writing, and, most important, they need to emulate good writers.
In Write Like This, Kelly emphasizes real-world writing purposes, the kind of writing he wants his students to be doing twenty years from now. Each
chapter focuses on a specific discourse: express and reflect, inform and explain, evaluate and judge, inquire and explore, analyze and interpret,
and take a stand/propose a solution. In teaching these lessons, Kelly
provides mentor texts (professional samples as well as models he has written in front of his students), student writing samples, and numerous
assignments and strategies proven to elevate student writing.
By helping teachers bring effective modeling practices into their
classrooms, Write Like This enables students to become better adolescent writers. More important, the practices found in this book will help our
students develop the writing skills they will need to become adult writers in the real world.
Building Reading Comprehension Habits: A Toolkit for Classroom Activities
Zwiers, J. (2010)
Middle and high school coaches and content teachers: Here are great suggestions for teaching comprehension skills to students at varied
reading levels and from different cultures and linguistic backgrounds.
This second edition of Jeff Zwiers' bestseller features more than 80 classroom-tested, research-based ideas. These engaging activities are organized around six strategies of reading comprehension that need to
become habits:
Organizing text information by sculpting the main idea and summarizing
Connecting to background knowledge Making inferences and predictions
Generating and answering questions
Understanding and remembering word meanings Monitoring one's own comprehension
You'll also find 35 reproducible graphic organizers and variations on the
activities to help support English learners, struggling readers, and other
students who need extra support.
Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement
Harvey, S. (2007)
Since its publication in 2000, Strategies That Work has become an
indispensable resource for teachers who want to explicitly teach thinking strategies so that students become engaged, thoughtful, independent
readers. In this revised and expanded edition, Stephanie and Anne have
added twenty completely new comprehension lessons, extending the scope of the book and exploring the central role that activating
background knowledge plays in understanding. Another major addition is the inclusion of a section on content literacy which describes how to
apply comprehension strategies flexibly across the curriculum. The new edition is organized around four sections:
Part I highlights what comprehension is and how to teach it, including the principles that guide practice, a review of recent research, and a new
section on assessment. A new chapter, Tools for Active Literacy: The Nuts and Bolts of Comprehension Instruction, describes ways to engage
students in purposeful talk through interactive read alouds, guided
discussion and written response.
Part II contains lessons and practices for teaching comprehension. A new first chapter emphasizes the importance of teaching students to monitor
their understanding before focusing on specific strategies. Five lessons on
monitoring provide a sound basis for launching comprehension instruction. At the end of each strategy chapter, the authors outline
learning goals and ways to assess students' thinking, sharing examples of student work, and offering suggestions for differentiating instruction.
Part III, Comprehension Across the Curriculum, is new. Comprehension
strategies are essential for content-area reading, where information can
be challenging, and presented in unfamiliar formats. This section includes chapters on social studies and science reading, topic study research,
textbook reading and the genre of test reading.
Part IV shows that kids need books they can sink their teeth into and the
updated appendix section recommends a rich diet of fiction and nonfiction, short text, kid's magazines, websites and journals that will
assist teachers as they plan and design comprehension instruction
Through its focus on instruction that is responsive to kids' interests and
learning needs, the first edition of Strategies That Work helped transform comprehension instruction for teachers across the country. For them, this
new edition will be a welcome extension of that work. Those coming to it for the first time will find a current and essential resource. When readers
use these strategies, they enjoy a more complete, thoughtful reading
experience. Engagement is the goal. When kids are engaged in their reading they enhance their understanding, acquire knowledge, and learn
from and remember what they read. And best yet, they will want to read more!
Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students
Kajder, S. (2010)
This book isn't about technology. It's about the teaching practices that
technology enables.
Instead of focusing on where to point and click, this book addresses the
ways in which teachers and students work together to navigate continuous change and what it means to read, write, view, listen, and
communicate in the twenty-first century.
Sara Kajder (a nationally recognized expert on technology and literacy) recognizes that students are reading and writing every day in their "real
lives." Drawing on Adolescent Literacy: An NCTE Policy Research Brief,
Kajder offers solutions for connecting these activities with the literacy practices required by classroom curricula.
Through extensive interviews and classroom experiences, Kajder offers
examples of both students and teachers who have successfully integrated
technology to enrich literacy learning.
As part of the Principles in Practice imprint, _Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students_ offers critical consideration
of students' in-school and out-of-school digital literacy practices in a practical, friendly, and easily approachable manner.
Writing Circles: Kids Revolutionize Workshop
Vopat, J. (2009)
"Ever wish there was a structure that let kids work collaboratively to generate writing topics, complete drafts, learn and practice positive ways of response, and develop published pieces? To give every kid in the class a feeling of success, a sense of what it means to be a writer? Writing Circles are here to grant those wishes."
-Jim Vopat If literature circles work with your readers, Jim Vopat has exciting news: peer-led small groups are just as effective with writers. Read Writing Circles and find out how they:
lead students from practice to progress as they write, respond, and
lead one another toward better writing motivate and engage everyone through choice-including struggling
writers and English learners develop voice and encourage risk-taking across genres rehabilitate the writing wounded and nurture growth through peer
response-not critique make teaching more efficient by reducing the need for one-on-one
conferring. Vopat helps you get started with circles and shows how they can help you achieve instructional goals. He includes step-by-step guidance for
implementation and assessment, activities that make management smooth, and minilessons that scaffold growth in skills, topic selection,
and craft. Writing Circles are a revolution, not an evolution, in writing workshop-the missing link between independent student writing and whole-group
instruction. Try them with your students; give kids the space, safety, and support they need; and see why circles are as powerful for writers as
they are for readers.