Literacy

The racial achievement gap in literacy is one of the most difficult issues in education today, and nowhere does it manifest itself more perniciously than in the case of black adolescent males.

Approaching the problem from the inside, author Alfred Tatum brings together his various experiences as a black male student, middle school teacher working with struggling black male readers, reading specialist in an urban elementary school, and staff developer in classrooms across the nation. His book, Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap addresses the adolescent shift black males face and the societal experiences unique to them that can hinder academic progress.

With an authentic and honest voice, Tatum bridges the connections among theory, instruction, and professional development to create a roadmap for better literacy achievement. He presents practical suggestions for providing reading strategy instruction and assessment that is explicit, meaningful, and culturally responsive, as well as guidelines for selecting and discussing nonfiction and fiction texts with black males.

The author's first-hand insights provide middle school and high school teachers, reading specialists, and administrators with new perspectives to help schools move collectively toward the essential goal of literacy achievement for all.

Love it or hate it, the five-paragraph essay is perhaps the most frequently taught form of writing in classrooms of yesterday and today. But have you ever actually seen five-paragraph essays outside of school walls? Have you ever found it in business writing, journalism, nonfiction, or any other genres that exist in the real world? Kimberly Hill Campbell and Kristi Latimer reviewed the research on the effectiveness of the form as a teaching tool and discovered that the research does not support the five-paragraph formula. In fact, research shows that the formula restricts creativity, emphasizes structure rather than content, does not improve standardized test scores, inadequately prepares students for college writing, and results in vapid writing. In Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay, Kimberly and Kristi show you how to reclaim the literary essay and create a program that encourages thoughtful writing in response to literature. They provide numerous strategies that stimulate student thinking, value unique insight, and encourage lively, personal writing, including the following:

• Close reading (which is the basis for writing about literature)
• Low-stakes writing options that support students' thinking as they read
• Collaboration in support of discussion, debate, and organizational structures that support writing as exploration
• A focus on students' writing process as foundational to content development and structure
• The use of model texts to write in the form of the literature students are reading and analyzing

The goal of reading and writing about literature is to push and challenge our students' thinking. We want students to know that their writing can convey something important: a unique view to share, defend, prove, delight, discover, and inspire. If we want our students to be more engaged, skilled writers, we need to move beyond the five-paragraph essay.

The benefits and importance of Socratic seminars are widely recognized, but little has been written on how to make them happen successfully in the classroom. In Socratic Circles: Fostering Critical and Creative Thinking in Middle and High School, author Matt Copeland provides real-world examples and straightforward answers to frequent questions. He creates a coaching guide for both the teacher new to Socratic seminars and the experienced teacher seeking to optimize the benefits of this powerful strategy. Socratic Circles also shows teachers who are familiar with literature circles the many ways in which these two practices complement and extend each other.

Effectively implemented, Socratic seminars enhance reading comprehension, listening and speaking skills, and build better classroom community and conflict resolution skills. By giving students ownership over the classroom discussion around texts, they become more independent and motivated learners. Ultimately, because there is a direct relationship between the level of participation and the richness of the experience, Socratic seminars teach students to take responsibility for the quality of their own learning.

Filled with examples to help readers visualize the application of these concepts in practice, Socratic Circles includes transcripts of student dialogue and work samples of preparation and follow-up activities. The helpful appendices offer ready-to-copy handouts and examples, and suggested selections of text that connect to major literary works.

As our classrooms and our schools grow increasingly focused on meeting high standards and differentiating instruction for a wide variety of student needs and learning styles, Socratic seminars offer an essential classroom tool for meeting these goals.Socratic Circles is a complete and practical guide to Socratic seminars for the busy classroom teacher.

“In everything we have to understand, poetry can help.” —Tony Hoagland, Harper’s, April 2013

In Poem Central: Word Journeys with Readers and Writers, Shirley McPhillips helps us better understand the central role poetry can play in our personal lives and in the life of our classrooms. She introduces us to professional poets, teachers, and students----people of different ages and walks of life---who are actively engaged in reading and making poems. Their stories and their work show us the power of poems to illuminate the ordinary, to nurture, inspire and stand alongside us for the journey.

Poem Central is divided into three main parts—weaving poetry into our lives and our classrooms, reading poems, and writing poems. McPhillips has structured the book in short sections that are easy to read and dip into. Each section has a specific focus, provides background knowledge, shows poets at work, highlights information on crafting, defines poetic terms, features finished work, includes classroom examples, and lists additional resources.

In Poem Central—a place where people and poems meet—teachers and students will discover how to find their way into a poem, have conversations around poems, and learn fresh and exciting ways to make poems. Readers will enjoy the dozens of poems throughout the book that serve to instruct, to inspire, and to send us on unique word journeys of the mind and heart.  

In his workshops with teachers over the years, Patrick Allen has encountered a long list of “counterfeit beliefs” about the process of conferring with students, including such comments as: “I don’t have time. I don’t know what questions to ask, It’s too hard, I don’t know what to write in my notes, I don’t even take notes, I don’t know how to go deep. .  .” In Conferring: The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop, Allen argues that the benefits of conferring are well-worth the effort of learning to do it well. And then he sets out to show teachers how to overcome all of their perceived obstacles, and make the somewhat intangible aspect of conferring tangible.

Just as the keystone—a symmetrical, wedge-shaped stone at the center of an arch—forms the foundation of a structure, conferring lays the groundwork for effective reading instruction. Allen defines the word confer as a verb “meaning to consult together, compare opinions, or carry on a conversation.” Conferences with students are purposeful conversations that scaffold reading comprehension strategies that guide the reader’s progress, and ultimately, through the gradual release of responsibility, create independent readers. 

Allen begins by explaining what conferring is and what it’s not, and then unpacks the essential components of the process: intimacy (the social context of conferring); rigor (the cognitive context); and inquiry (the analytical context). He  explores the guiding principles of conferring—including goal setting, instruction points, listening, rapport, challenges, and  teacher learning—and provides questions that lead teachers through the reader’s conference from start to finish.

What do we know about literature circles now that we didn't understand eight or ten years ago? What new resources and procedures can help teachers organize their classroom book clubs better? What are the most common pitfalls in implementing student-led discussion groups? And getting beyond the basics, what do mature or "advanced" literature circles look like?

In this thoroughly revised and expanded guide, you will find new strategies, structures, tools, and stories that show you how to launch and manage literature circles effectively. Advanced variations are explored and include alternatives to role sheets and flexible new guidelines for their use.

The second edition includes:

With detailed examples provided by twenty practicing teachers, Harvey Daniels offers practical and concrete suggestions for each aspect of book club management and proven solutions for problems that arise.

Take two to four kids, give them a basket of books that go together in some way, and then provide time for them to read, think, and talk together about their ideas, their questions, their wonderings. That's the simple recipe for a reading club, and Kathy Collins demonstrates the powerful results in her new book, Reading for Real. She writes, "The reading clubs I describe are a formal structure providing students with time to read and talk about books with a high level of engagement, purpose, and joy."

Just as adults join clubs to share and talk about common interests, reading clubs allow kids to immerse themselves in topics and ideas they care about -- whether it's turtles, fairy tales, a beloved author, a favorite new series, or the desire to get better at reading aloud to a baby brother or sister. While they are reading and talking about their interests and passions, students in reading clubs are also orchestrating all of the reading skills and strategies they've learned and applying them in real-life ways.

The book offers step-by-step support for implementing these classroom reading clubs, including:specific suggestions for planning cycles of reading clubs;detailed charts with a variety of teaching ideas that can be implemented immediately;ideas for mini-lessons and examples of reading conferences to support students as they learn strategies and hone their reading and discussion skills;suggestions for differentiating instruction; support for launching and fostering reading partnerships across the year;appendixes with examples of note-taking sheets and sample planning guides for several kinds of reading clubs.

While Kathy presents ideas for implementing reading clubs during reading workshop in a balanced literacy framework, the information she provides will be helpful for any teacher who wants to foster the joy of reading by offering students support and opportunities to read for authentic purposes and to have conversations about topics that interest and engage them. After all, we don't just want kids to learn to read, we want them to love to read.

• Research and listen to your students so your teaching can be more targeted
• Notice and name your students’ thinking so they can “see” what complex thinking looks and sounds like
• Set your students up to be problem solvers
• Prepare your students to do increasingly complex thinking in increasingly complex texts

Brad Buhrow and Anne Garcia are primary teachers in a diverse school in Boulder, Colorado. In Ladybugs, Tornadoes and Swirling Galaxies, you will see how they blend comprehension instruction and ELL best practices to explore inquiry as a literacy pathway for English language learners.

As teachers and students engage in learning science and social studies content they also discover multiple ways to make meaning. The book is full of photographs of student artwork—including a color insert—that reveals the children's inquiry process, and demonstrates the important role of art as a sign system in ELL literacy and language acquisition.

Brad and Anne provide explicit detail on the process they use as they move step-by-step with students from personal narrative through the independent inquiry process. They also discuss use of the Gradual Release Model, authentic assessment, and bilingual identities.

Appendices in Spanish and English help to round out this informative and charming resource.

When we open the gates to nonfiction inquiry, we open our thinking and expect the unexpected, making reading discoveries, research discoveries, and writing discoveries on our way. Nonfiction Matters offers teachers the tools to help students explore nonfiction and dig deep to reach more complete understanding of the real world and report these insights in a compelling manner.

Stephanie Harvey shows how students can read expository text, engage in research, and write authentic nonfiction that is captivating, visual, and full of voice. The inquiry projects she describes require in-depth learning: topic selection, question development, research exploration, reading for content, organization, synthesis, writing to convey meaning, and presenting findings—all skills that develop independent thinkers who know how to make decisions, solve problems, and apply their knowledge insightfully.

Full of practical suggestions to help you bring nonfiction into your curriculum, Nonfiction Matters:presents strategies for understanding expository text and conducting meaningful research;offers ideas for organizing and writing accurate, effective nonfiction from idea to finished presentation;advances the importance of teacher modeling and guided practice in instructional delivery;provides a list of inquiry tools and resources—both print and electronic;suggests ways to facilitate project-based learning and assess the projects as they develop;includes bibliographies of nonfiction children's books by subject and genre and lists of recommended magazines.

Why is nonfiction almost a guaranteed success? The key to teaching with nonfiction is passion, for children are passionate inquirers, and nonfiction fuels their curiosity and their demand for knowledge and understanding of the world.

Writing is hard work. Teaching it can be even harder. As most teachers know, writer's workshop doesn't always go as planned, and many find there are obstacles that they consistently struggle with. In his role as a literacy coordinator and teacher, Mark Overmeyer has heard the same issues raised again and again by both new and experienced colleagues. When Writing Workshop Isn't Working: Answers to Ten Tough Questions, Grades 2-5 provides practical advice to overcome these common problems and get your writing workshop back on track. Acknowledging the process-based nature of the writing workshop, this book does not offer formulaic, program-based, one-size-fits–all answers, but presents multiple suggestions based on what works in real classrooms. The ten key questions this book addresses include:

• How do I help students who don't know what to write about?
• How do I help students develop stronger vocabulary and word choice?
• How do I prepare my students for standardized tests without compromising my writing program?
• How should I assess student writing?
• How can I help my students use revision effectively?

This book is a handy reference tool for answering specific questions as they pop up during the year. Overmeyer uses student examples throughout to help teachers envision these solutions in their own classes, and he includes an array of classroom-tested ideas for helping primary and intermediate English language learners.

There may not be any easy answers to the complexities of writer's workshop, but by identifying and providing advice on the most common stumbling blocks one encounters, When Writing Workshop Isn't Working provides a solid groundwork—freeing up time and creativity for teachers to address the specific needs of their students.

When teachers and students first learn about digital stories, they often focus on the bells and whistles: images, music, sound effects, and so on. To Lisa Miller, a good digital story -- like any good story -- is all about the writing. In Make Me a Story, Lisa shows how to use digital stories to lead students through all phases of the writing process, from planning to revising and editing.

Digital storytelling uses computers and software to marry text with art -- photographs, drawings, paintings, and video -- as well as narration and music. Lisa leads teachers step-by-step through the process of writing a digital story in an accessible (even for the computer neophyte), instructional, and entertaining way. Through the projects outlined in the book, students learn how to write good stories, make art and text work together, and use technology in creative ways.

Make Me a Story discusses different types of digital stories, shows how to assess digital assignments and motivate reluctant writers, and explains how digital storytelling teaches skills supported by national education and technology standards. Teachers will find specific suggestions for writing exercises and various ways to get students thinking about how best to tell their stories. The accompanying CD includes examples of student stories discussed in the text.

Award-winning author Carolyn Coman has made a career out of writing stories for children and young adults as well as teaching writing to people of all ages. She believes that the essence of good writing, no matter the genre, is the ability to craft a solid story. In this innovative book, Carolyn provides advice, strategies, and inspiration focusing on the key elements of stories: character development, plot, voice and dialogue, point of view, and place and time.

Carolyn confesses her own struggles with writing and helps make the writing process less intimidating for students and teachers alike. “I am speaking directly to you—the writing teacher who writes, or who wants to write, or is tiptoeing toward writing scared to death. Everything in this book about writing is for you, too—every tip and exercise and encouragement.”

Maya Angelou says, "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning." On the Same Page celebrates the use of our voices in shared reading with students to help them gain deeper understanding of the texts we read. If you have enjoyed the increased engagement and motivation that accompany reading with your students and wondered how to extend those benefits throughout the day, this book offers support for using this approach as a foundation for learning across content areas.

On the Same Page explores the use of shared reading as an instructional approach for readers and writers at all levels of language proficiency. Janet Allen provides research, resources, practical ideas, and strategies for building from shared reading to increase students' literate experiences in a variety of curricular and instructional areas:strategic reading and comprehension;building background knowledge for content literacy;personal, academic, and public writing;transitions to independent reading;community knowledge and literature circles;increased vocabulary;modeled fluency.

On the Same Page is enriched with a wide range of student work as well as extensive appendices of additional resources, graphic organizers, suggested reading lists, and teaching guides for implementation of shared reading in your classroom.

It is never too early to start comprehension instruction. In fact, reading begins with meaning making. Andie Cunningham and Ruth Shagoury designed a reading program for five- and six-year-olds based on this premise.

Most of the students in Andie's Portland, Oregon, kindergarten class have little or no alphabet knowledge when they enter the classroom in the fall. English is a second—or third—language for many of the children in this low-income neighborhood. Through research-based principles, carefully structured routines, and innovative activities, even the youngest learners can develop comprehension skills from their first days in school.

The children in Starting with Comprehension are grappling with school culture for the first time and learning to work with classmates who speak a variety of different languages. These emergent readers learn to present their understanding of what they read through writing, talk, movement, and art.

Kindergartners and preschoolers are different from readers who know how to decode texts. Andie and Ruth show how comprehension skills can be nurtured and strengthened even before decoding begins. In this classroom, meaning making becomes part of community building as children link reading, thinking, and communicating.

The book you are about to read is destined to be the first, middle, and maybe even the last word on nonfiction writing for young, young children. It is certainly a text that you will return to over and over again as you do with a beloved cookbook.
—from the Foreword by Tomie dePaola

Over eighty- five percent of the reading and writing we do as adults is nonfiction, yet most of the reading and writing in K–3 classrooms is fiction or personal narrative. In Is That a Fact? Teaching Nonfiction Writing K-3, Tony Stead shows you how to open the door to the rich world of nonfiction writing that goes beyond "what I did" narratives and animal reports. And he convincingly demonstrates the importance of introducing nonfiction writing in the primary grades.

Nonfiction inspires enthusiasm in young children because they can choose topics that are of interest to them personally. Is That a Fact? explores a variety of authentic purposes for writing nonfiction, such as describing, explaining, instructing, persuading, retelling, and exploring relationships with others. You will learn how to introduce each purpose using a variety of forms, including letters, reports, poetry, captions, directions, and interviews.

Part One provides a complete overview of teaching nonfiction writing in the primary grades and includes:

Part Two provides five different explorations that were implemented in actual K–3 classrooms. Each focuses on a specific purpose for writing nonfiction and features:examples of whole-class, small-group, and independent instructional engagements;a comprehensive assessment rubric that will help teachers tailor instruction to the needs of all learners;an extensive resource section that includes lists of books in the exploration, grouped by readability levels;answers to the most commonly asked questions about teaching nonfiction writing.

The appendixes include a self-assessment questionnaire, reproducible pages for exploring specific writing forms, and letters to parents.

Children need to be introduced to the different purposes of nonfiction writing. They need to know how to plan, compose, revise, and publish nonfiction beyond narrative. Is That a Fact? guides you in achieving these goals with your students.