The Learning Communities Guide to Improving Reading Instruction

Description

This book, with its rich collection of tools to assess and improve practice, identify and apply new approaches, improve and add to the instructional repertoire, will measurably help both teachers and instructional leaders and ultimately benefit students. The authors bring deep background in reading instruction, professional development and school leadership. They give teachers a framework for understanding the strategies to promote all aspects of reading instruction in support of the ultimate goal of student comprehension. They give teachers and instructional leaders a set of "look-fors" to identify strengths and weaknesses and target areas for support. They provide models for developing self-assessments, goals and action steps and benchmarks for improvement. A professional development model for reading helps insure that this support will be effective and lasting. The themes of attending to individual needs, providing assessment-driven instruction, and creating long-term, focused professional development plans are solid and consistent throughout. Dedication Title Page Copyright Contents Foreword Preface About the Authors 1. Considering How to Lead Schoolwide Improvement in Reading Constructive Reflections 2. Personalizing Reading Instruction What Should We Consider When Planning to Differentiate Literacy Instruction? How Can We Get to Know Students’ Interests? What Is the Link Between Student Motivation, Attitude, Efficacy, and Reading Materials? How Can We Match Students to Text? How Can We Use Assessments to Personalize Reading Instruction? What Are Some Additional Ways to Personalize Reading Instruction? What Were the Big Ideas in This Chapter? Constructive Reflection 3. Managing Environments for Literacy What Do Students Need from a Literacy Learning Environment? What Types of Texts Support Rich Literacy Environments? How Do We Group Students for Reading and Writing at High Levels? How Is Time Used to Promote High Levels of Reading and Writing? What Routines Can Be Established for Independent and Small Group Work? How Is Classroom Space Organized to Promote High Levels of Reading and Writing? What Were the Big Ideas in This Chapter? Constructive Reflection 4. Ensuring Student Engagement Why Are Time, Text, Talk, and Task Important to Ensuring Student Engagement? What Characterizes Student Engagement? What Instructional Frameworks Promote Engagement? What Can We Do to Promote Higher Level Thinking and Talk About Text? How Can We Engage Students in Writing and Thinking About Their Reading? What Were the Big Ideas in This Chapter? Constructive Reflection 5. Emphasizing Active Teaching What Characterizes Exemplary Classrooms? How Can We Increase Learner-Scaffolded Versus Teacher-Controlled Instruction? How Can We Organize Literacy Instruction that Reflects the Teaching-Learning Zone? What Should Collaborative Teams Consider in Planning Effective Instruction? What Were the Big Ideas in This Chapter? Constructive Reflection 6. Targeting Comprehension How Are the Dimensions of Reading Linked? What Is the Reading Process and What Are Implications for Instruction? Why Should Reading Instruction Focus on Comprehension and Vocabulary? What Is the Difference Between Skills and Strategies Instruction? What Comprehension Strategies Do Good Readers Use and How Can We Teach These Strategies? How Can We Teach Vocabulary to Improve Comprehension? What Were the Big Ideas in This Chapter? Constructive Reflections 7. Creating Professional Learning Communities for Literacy What Are Professional Learning Communities for Literacy? Why Should We Collect Data About Current Literacy Practices? What Should We Look for When Examining Current Literacy Practices? How Can the Reading Reflection Survey Be Introduced to Teachers? How Is the Survey Used in Classroom Observations and for Self-Reflection? How Are the Data Summarized? How Can the Survey Results Be Used to Plan Professional Development? How Do We Create a Supportive Environment for School and Classroom Change? What Types of School-Based Professional Development Work? What Were the Big Ideas in This Chapter? Constructive Reflection References Index