Category: Reading

Differentiated Fiction and Nonfiction Lessons

This resource-rich book of comprehensive lessons is great for teachers who want to challenge 4th and 5th graders or for middle school educators looking for a way to bridge the gap from where students are to where they need to be, says ELA teacher Erin Corrigan-Smith.

Helping Kids Rediscover the Power of Reading

In Disrupting Thinking, Kylene Beers and Robert Probst argue that educators must help students become empowered readers who read out of personal desire, not just for school work. The authors’ well supported argument uses a “Book-Head-Heart” framework, says Kevin Hodgson.

Task Card Series Can Boost Reading Skills

K-8 literacy coach Amber Bartlein reports The 100 Task Card series is set to become a staple in the classrooms she works with, for use during small group instruction, intervention and enrichment time, or to provide quick, focused practice on a specific literacy skill.

Fiction and Nonfiction: Smart Lesson Planning

Do you want a book filled with lesson plans that you can use the next day or something based in theory that will inform your teaching decisions along the way? Pam Hamilton writes you can have it both ways in these fiction and nonfiction guides by Gravity Goldberg and Renee Houser.

Teaching Reading in the Middle School

What sets this book apart from many other professional books is that it not only gives a rational for using its strategies, it explicitly offers step-by-step instructions on how to unlock elusive teaching dilemmas. Janice Rustico recommends it to literacy leaders.

The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading

Fourth grade teacher Alex Valencic looks forward to integrating Jan Richardson’s assess-decide-guide framework into his guided reading instruction. Beyond its thorough introduction, the book shows in detail how students at 5 levels of reading can develop their skills.

Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters

Veteran ELA teacher Lisa Belcher finds Disrupting Thinking to be a fabulous reminder that our students need teachers to be their guides to finding intrinsic motivation to read for more than simply finding answers to questions. Beers and Probst include helpful tools.

Help Kids Read with Skill and Passion

Reading Nancie Atwell and Anne Atwell Merkel’s The Reading Zone, 2nd edition, is like getting a letter from a good friend and mentor, says ELA teacher Amy Matthes. Find reading workshop case studies to help readers become passionate, skilled, and habitual.

Every Child a Super Reader with 7 Strengths

Every Child a Super Reader can empower students to become lovers of reading who understand what they read. Teacher Linda Biondi says its lessons and resources will help students analyze a text, appreciate the craft, and become voracious consumers of the written word.