eBook downloads, eBook resources & eBook authors
A high level of literacy in both print and digital media is required for negotiating most aspects of 21st-century life, including supporting a family, education, health, civic participation, and competitiveness in the global economy. Yet, more than 90 million U.S. adults lack adequate literacy. Furthermore, only 38 percent of U.S. 12th graders are at or above proficient in reading. Improving Adult Literacy Instruction synthesizes the research on literacy and learning to improve literacy instruction in the United States and to recommend a more systemic approach to research, practice, and policy. The book focuses on individuals ages 16 and older who are not in K-12 education. It identifies factors that affect literacy development in adolescence and adulthood in general, and examines their implications for strengthening literacy instruction for this population. It also discusses technologies for learning that can assist with multiple aspects of teaching, assessment,and accommodations for learning. There is inadequate knowledge about effective instructional practices and a need for better assessment and ongoing monitoring of adult students' proficiencies, weaknesses, instructional environments, and progress, which might guide instructional planning. Improving Adult Literacy Instruction recommends a program of research and innovation to validate, identify the boundaries of, and extend current knowledge to improve instruction for adults and adolescents outside school. The book is a valuable resource for curriculum developers, federal agencies such as the Department of Education, administrators, educators, and funding agencies.
Are there students in your classroom who have hit the reading wall? Studies indicate comprehension regresses in many students once they reach middle school. Teachers need the right resources in their classrooms for engaging students in reading. This book is a veritable encyclopedia of literacy strategies secondary teachers can apply to all content areas immediately. It integrates key strategies, research from top literacy experts, and proven intervention practices.
Empowering striving writers to thrive as writers! Somehow, in every classroom during every year, there are students who keep us up at night because of the instructional challenges they face as writers. These students—our striving writers—may find success exploring different entry points and pathways than those their classmates travel. Every Child Can Write will help you lead striving writers along their journey toward growth, confidence, and success. Filled with practical strategies, classroom-management ideas,and reproducible tools, this book also offers low- and high-tech solutions for increasing writing volume and boosting self-esteem. Plus, with suggestions for differentiating instruction based on standards and student needs, it will help you: Implement principles of UDL to optimize your classroom environment and student learning; Identify and honor students’ strengths throughout your writing instruction; Maximize the power of formative assessment to set goals with students; and Integrate the most appropriate technology that empowers students and leads them to independence. As essential as writing is in elementary school, it will be even more important when your students reach middle school. Now is the time to give them the skills, practice, and confidence they need to succeed.
The Literacy How Professional Learning Series translates the latest reading research into how-to instructional practices. Based on the current and comprehensive Literacy How reading model, the Series draws upon the authors' decades of expertise and experience working with thousands of general and special education teachers. Organized for the busy educator who may be trying to find specific information, as well as for the professional seeking deeper understanding of literacy instruction and learning, the Series emphasizes Pre-K-3 conceptual and skill development. Teachers of older emerging or struggling readers will also find these tools useful."What Gillis and Eberhardt accomplish here is a rare feat. They blend a deep and complex understanding of the research concerning syntax with lessons teachers can immediately implement in their classrooms. Using an array of scaffolded activities that are at once hands-on, interactive, engaging, and accessible, this resource is essential for any teacher who is serious about developing an understanding of sentences in young children. Syntax: Knowledge to Practice brilliantly fills a void in theory-to-practice writing by arming instructors with best practices for teaching young children the essential foundational skills they need to begin their journeys as writers."William Van Cleave, W.V.C.ED, Educational Consultant and Author, Writing Matters"Gillis and Eberhardt's new handbook, Syntax: Knowledge to Practice, is a welcome resource for teachers who want to know how to teach sentence skills in engaging and effective ways. Throughout the book, the authors employ a structured yet meaning-centered approach that emphasizes the role, or function, of words in sentences. This instructional focus on fostering the sense of sentence patterns holds great promise for "helping grammar stick" in children who struggle to internalize grammatical rules."Charles Haynes, Ed.D., CCC-SLP; Professor, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston; Author, From Talking to Writing: Strategies for Supporting Narrative and Expository WritingSyntax: Knowledge to Practice is for any educator who's wondered: * How is grammar related to syntax?* How does syntax (sentence-level skills) instruction improve text comprehension and written expression?* Why should syntax be taught in the context of writing?* How should syntactic awareness be taught?* Why teach meaning links to improve text cohesion?The Literacy How Professional Learning Series will include five Knowledge to Practice e-books: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Syntax, and Reading Comprehension.Each title in the series includes:* Relevant Research--The research basis for that domain of literacy development presented against the backdrop of the Chall's stages of reading development, with key research points presented in a bullet-point style* Knowledge for Effective Instruction--Background knowledge and the principles that guide instruction for that domain* Activities for Instruction and Informal Assessment--A collection of evidence-based activities written in an objective-driven format for that component of literacy instruction (with access to printable versions) * Text Selection Skills Analyses--Stage-specific text selections (i.e., predictable, code-emphasis, and authentic) illustrate using text to advance skill application* Appendix--Recommended resources for content and more in depth information referenced in the e-book.
Research indicates that writing and reading should be taught in tandem. This content-area resource puts writing to learn into practice across curricular areas. It shows teachers how to present strategies common to good readers to increase understanding of a text. Students are taught to predict and infer, visualize, connect, question, understand word meanings, organize, clarify/monitor, and evaluate/reflect. Grades 3-12 Good writers use writing to learn, to actively work and think about content areas and achieve ownership. In fact, research indicates that writing and reading should be taught in tandem. This content-area resource puts that research into practice across curricular areas. It shows teachers how to present strategies common to good readers to increase understanding of a text. Students are taught to predict and infer, visualize, connect, question, understand word meanings, organize, clarify/monitor, and evaluate/reflect. The text is divided into 5 sections: Affective Teaching/Learning Strategies; Before Reading and Writing Strategies; During Reading and Writing Ideas; After Reading and Writing Strategies; and Planning a Lesson to Teach Incorporating Reading and Writing Strategies. Each activity/strategy offers an explanation page on how to use the idea for both teachers and students. A reproducible is available for immediate use. Grades 3-12.
Fully prepare students to begin the pivotal transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Written for individual teachers and collaborative teams, this resource outlines how to craft instruction to ensure every learner masters literacy expectations in second and third grade. Readers will gain a wealth of strategies and practices for designing standards-aligned instruction, developing quality assessment, providing timely interventions, and more. Use this resource to address specific literacy challenges found within the second- and third-grade band: Understand the role professional learning communities (PLCs) play in literacy development. Learn how teams of teachers can maximize their collective strengths to make profound impacts on student literacy and reading comprehension. Obtain instructional strategies and tools, such as the pre-unit protocol (PREP), for unpacking and clarifying literacy standards. Observe how to collaboratively score quality assessments as a team and conduct effective data inquiry and analysis. Study the powerful impact literacy has on student engagement and inclusivity in grades two and three. Contents: Introduction: Every Teacher Is a Literacy Teacher Chapter 1: Establish Clarity About Student Learning Expectations Chapter 2: Examine Assessment Options for Literacy Chapter 3: Create a Learning Progression to Guide Instruction and Assessment Chapter 4: Develop Collective Understanding of Learning Expectations Chapter 5: Respond to Data to Ensure All Students Learn Chapter 6: Differentiate Instruction With Gradual Release of Responsibility Chapter 7: Plan High-Quality Literacy Instruction Chapter 8: Select Appropriate Instructional Strategies Chapter 9: Consider Equity in Literacy Epilogue Appendix A: List of Figures and Tables Appendix B: Templates and Tools Appendix C: Process for Prioritizing Standards Appendix D: Essential Understandings and Guiding Questions References and Resources Index
In her new book, bestselling author and professional developer Carol Booth Olson and colleagues show teachers how to help young readers and writers construct meaning from and with texts. This practical resource offers a rich array of research-based teaching strategies, activities, and extended lessons focused on the “thinking tools” employed by experienced readers and writers. It shows teachers how to draw on the natural connections between reading and writing, and how cognitive strategies can be embedded into the teaching of narrative, informational, and argumentative texts. Including artifacts and written work produced by students across the grade levels, the authors connect the cognitive and affective domains for full student engagement. “This book seamlessly bridges the gap from research to everyday practice.... You get an extremely well-organized set of overarching instructional principles that are right for our era and brought to life through well-explained instructional guides and classroom activities.” —From the Foreword by Judith Langer, University at Albany, SUNY “I have always admired Carol Booth Olson’s work with secondary students and teachers. She now applies those essential principles and practices to elementary and middle school students. Bravo!” —P. David Pearson, professor emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
