What Successful Literacy Teachers Do : 70 Research-Based Strategies for Teachers, Reading Coaches, and Instructional Planners

by Neal A. Glasgow

• ISBN13: 9781412916158
• ISBN10: 1412916151
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-26
• Publisher: Corwin Pr

Summary

Presents easy-to-implement literacy strategies covering phonics, phonemics, and decoding; vocabulary, spelling, and word study; fluency, comprehension, and assessment; and technology, special learners, and family literacy.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xiv
About the Authors	p. xvi
Introduction	p. xvii
The Very Complex and Often Controversial History, Philosophy, and Theory of Reading and Literacy	p. 1
Phonics, Phonemics, and Decoding	p. 11
"Sound it out" Coach word recognition in beginning reading	p. 11
Teach phonemic awareness and phonics in the classroom and at home	p. 12
Use decoding to improve word identification problems and improve fluency	p. 14
Use drama rhymes to teach reading	p. 15
Consider visual-syntactic text formatting for digital text as a technique for increased academic achievement and long-term reading proficiency	p. 16
Vocabulary, Spelling, and Word Study	p. 19
Revisit and reconsider the role that vocabulary instruction plays in comprehension and reading motivation	p. 19
Use teacher "read-alouds" as an effective practice for enhancing two of the critical components of reading instruction	p. 22
Use semantic impressions to teach vocabulary	p. 23
Use word expert cards to teach vocabulary	p. 25
Whether you develop your own word-study/spelling approach or teach with a published program of some type, you need to match the specific system with the developmental stages of the learners	p. 26
Fluency	p. 28
With the right strategies, reading fluency can be improved in middle and high school classrooms	p. 28
Let learners read as much as possible	p. 30
We are all reading teachers and we should act as reading role models	p. 31
Keep in mind the three key elements of reading fluency: accuracy in word decoding, automaticity in recognizing words, and the use of meaningful oral expression and learn how to address them within instruction	p. 32
Comprehension	p. 35
Try a "thinking out loud strategy" to help reveal children's thought processes as they try to make sense of text	p. 35
Use information trade book retellings to improve student comprehension of expository text structures	p. 39
Explore these three ways to get students to interact with the text in reading classes: summarize, share insights, and question	p. 41
Use drama techniques such as drawing, interviewing, and story theater in the class to help students interact with the text	p. 42
Allow students to choose what they want to read	p. 44
Use paraphrasing to promote reading comprehension	p. 45
Develop critical thinking and reasoning ability through the use of fiction and nonfiction books in the content areas	p. 47
Use talk as a strategy in the reading class	p. 49
Use scaffolding to improve reading comprehension	p. 51
Teach young children "radical change" characteristics in picture books	p. 52
Interventions for Struggling and At-Risk Readers	p. 54
Don't wait for formal testing to begin interventions for students with reading disabilities	p. 54
Use early literacy intervention strategies to facilitate appropriate student behavior	p. 56
Consider consulting with the speech pathologists to create a multifaceted approach to build students' vocabulary and assist them in reading comprehension	p. 57
Consider peer tutoring, especially cross-age tutoring, as an appropriate intervention for students whose struggle to read continues to be significantly below grade level	p. 59
Make it routine practice to foster self-efficacy and motivation in your young readers	p. 62
Remember deficits in reading ability are often associated with a complex range of issues beyond academic achievement, such as lack of motivation, poor self-esteem, and difficult social settings	p. 65
Examine the effects of reading interventions on social outcomes for struggling elementary school readers	p. 68
Be patient with "slower learners" who require more reading practice than other students	p. 71
Create a partnership between general education teachers and special educators using a shared classroom literacy program	p. 73
Help for English-Language Learners	p. 75
Explore the definition of literacy and the complexity of the term when applied to bilingual and bicultural students	p. 75
In multicultural classrooms, reflect on the literacy instructional practices of the countries your students come from and how these practices affect their performance in U.S. schools	p. 78
Consider the variety of elements that support literacy intervention for young English-language learners	p. 81
Don't forget visual texts or "reading pictures," either literary or factual, can be a powerful medium for learning and can assist L2 learners' literacy development	p. 82
Use learners' native languages in literacy instruction	p. 86
For second-language learners, teach reading before testing it	p. 87
Use similarities between Spanish and English to facilitate spelling instruction	p. 88
Literacy Instruction and Assessment Across the Curriculum	p. 90
When grading a student's writing, consider what the student is able to do well before noting what needs improvement	p. 90
Consider the use of open-book tests to promote and encourage the assigned textbook reading and the skills required to quickly find and utilize information	p. 92
Move beyond the simplistic notion of a "balanced approach to literacy instruction" and explore more fully what it means to be a literate person and how we can help students	p. 94
Reexamine the nature and notion of "content literacy" and how it is reflected in your professional approach to literacy-related content activities in your classroom	p. 99
As a content teacher, learn to carefully select literacy instructional design principles that have been documented to improve comprehension of specific content, skills, and higher-order thinking	p. 102
Consider popular song lyrics as a "prereading" vehicle to help create a motivating context for more specific subject matter concepts	p. 106
Literacy and Instructional Materials	p. 108
Use your school hallways and other public areas at school to display the use of a variety of literacies as they provide insights into how literacy is practiced and valued (or devalued) in schools	p. 108
Help young boys make a positive and compatible connection between their masculinity and success as readers	p. 111
Include multicultural works when developing a quality English curriculum	p. 113
Take a look at one of the best resources for recommended literature available, the "Recommended Literature: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve" on the California Department of Education's Web site	p. 116
Use folk literature in the reading class	p. 118
Let children read and write great poetry	p. 119
Use nonfiction readings in the primary grades	p. 121
Family and Community Literacy	p. 123
Utilize a variety of print materials to inspire student reading and writing	p. 123
Encourage use of libraries to provide a more inclusive literature collection for sexual minorities	p. 125
Reflect on the complex issues surrounding school literature selection for bilingual and bicultural students	p. 126
Find the "out-of-classroom" forces that shape reading habits and reading choices of young people to better develop their personal reading interests	p. 128
Don't overlook the obvious, the public library and the library card, as motivating factors within your literacy strategies	p. 130
Literacy programs work best by involving the whole family	p. 133
Explore ways parents can help their children read at home	p. 135
Make children aware of community library literacy programs	p. 136
Rather than imposing a school literacy curriculum on parents, consider listening to the parents' voices about a shared curriculum	p. 137
Become an advocate for improved home literacy environments (HLE) for all students, especially for preschool and K-3 students	p. 139
Literacy, Technology, and the Internet	p. 141
Optimize the purchase and use of word-processing spell-checker programs to better serve the needs of students with learning disabilities	p. 141
Become just as familiar with literacy-useful software as you are with your students' favorite literature	p. 143
Look to children's "out-of-school" uses of the Internet for instructional reading strategies for the classroom	p. 145
For children with reading difficulties, text-to-speech software offers some of the benefits of shared reading	p. 150
Use the Internet to improve reading comprehension	p. 154
Use electronic pen pals (ePALS) to have students communicate with people and sites beyond the classroom	p. 155
Use CD-ROM storybooks with early readers	p. 157
Index	p. 159
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