Bath County High School Professional Learning Community Improving Literacy Instruction and Assessment Practices Resource List 2014-2015

What follows is a compilation of suggested resource publications highly recommended for schools to use to improve literacy instruction and assessment practices. This list came through recommendations from various individuals through the Collaborative Center for Literacy Design (CCLD), Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), the Adolescent Literacy Project (ALP), the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Design (ASCD), and the Kentucky Reading Association (KRA). This list will be updated as new resources are recommended. Our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) will use this resource list for their selections each semester. As a professional reminder; don't select resources you have already utilized as this is completely counterproductive. PLCs will meet on the first Wednesday of every month to allow the administration to have silent observer involvement and create consistent work with our focus on literacy and assessment. PLCs will be asked to share updates through "Try This!" communications and sharing at faculty meetings when requested. Each PLC will discuss highlights from their work and select one concept, practice, or strategy that the PLC feels can help all teachers in the building. This will be turned into a "Try This!" email communication to go to all teachers. The "Try This!" communication will describe the concept, idea, or practice and then describe its purpose as well as clearly communicate how to use it in the classroom. This will allow everyone to learn something from each PLC's work.

Resource Description: Overview:

Power Tools for Adolescent Literacy: Strategies for Learning

Rozzelle, J. S., C. (2008).

Secondary teachers who are seeking to improve student learning will find

that this accessible, well-organized encyclopedia of research-based literacy strategies makes it easy to find and use the right strategies,

those that will increase student learning. When teachers learn literacy strategies, implement the newly learned strategies in the classroom,

show students how to use the strategies, and see student learning

increase, they realize that literacy strategies are really learning strategies. Examples from science, social studies, math, and English language arts

teachers show how to integrate reading, writing, and critical thinking across the curriculum. The authors draw on their extensive experience

working with teachers and schools to define the best practices that have

been proven to work in real schools. Each chapter explores the research foundation for a particular aspect of literacy, suggests key resources,

defines critical issues, and then provides concrete strategies for actively engaging students in reading, writing, talking, and listening. Understand

what the strategy is, why teachers should use it, and how to use it in clear step-by-step instructions complete with examples and templates.

Summarization in Any Subject: 50 Techniques to Improve Student Learning

Wormeli, R. (2005)

Rick Wormeli, a teacher certified by the National Board for Professional

Teaching Standards, makes the case that summarization is not only one of the most effective ways to improve student learning, it's also one of

the most flexible, responsive, and engaging. Here, you'll find a

classroom-tested collection of written, spoken, artistic, and kinesthetic summarization techniques for both individual assignments and group

activities across the content areas. Suitable for students in grades 3-12, these techniques are easily adjustable to any curriculum and presented

with ample directions and vivid, multidisciplinary examples. They are valuable additions to every teacher's repertoire. Wormeli also clarifies the

process of teaching students how to summarize and includes a special

section on the key skill of paraphrasing. The book concludes with an assortment of original text excerpts and activity prompts--a great starting

place for teachers ready to use summarization in their own classrooms.

Academic conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Classroom Understandings.

Zwiers, J. & Crawford, M. (2011).

This publication is available online for free at

http://www.stenhouse.com/emags/0884-11/index.html

This book shows teachers how to weave the cultivation of academic conversation skills and conversations into current teaching approaches.

More specifically, it describes how to use conversations to build the following:

Academic vocabulary and grammar

Critical thinking skills such as persuasion, interpretation,

consideration of multiple perspectives, evaluation, and application Literacy skills such as questioning, predicting, connecting to prior

knowledge, and summarizing

Complex and abstract essential understandings in content areas

such as adaptation, human nature, bias, conservation of mass, energy, gravity, irony, democracy, greed, and more

An academic classroom environment brimming with respect for

others' ideas, equity of voice, engagement, and mutual support

The ideas in this book stem from many hours of classroom practice,

research, and video analysis across grade levels and content areas. Readers will find numerous practical activities for working on each

conversation skill, crafting conversation-worthy tasks, and using

conversations to teach and assess. Academic Conversations offers an in-depth approach to helping students develop into the future parents,

teachers, and leaders who will collaborate to build a better world.

Cool Tech Tools for Lower Tech Teachers: 20 Tactics for Every Classroom

Bender, W. N., Waller, L. B. (2013)

If you're just making the transition to technology, this is the resource for

you. In understandable language, this book describes how exactly you can use tools like webquests, wikis, social networking apps, and podcasts

to enhance your lessons and keep kids engaged. The authors put

technology within your reach by:

Framing each tool in the context of what you need to know

Defining the tool in easy-to-understand language; there’s no

tech-speak Guiding you through implementation step by step

Providing sample lesson plans to get you started

Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines

Buehl, D. (2011)

What does it mean to read, write, and think through a disciplinary lens? How do you develop students as readers, writers, and thinkers in the

different academic disciplines?

Doug Buehl, author of the perennial bestseller Classroom Strategies for

Interactive Learning, shows you how to:

* Teach to the match of literacy and disciplinary understanding to bridge academic knowledge gaps

* Frontload instruction that activates and builds academic knowledge

* Build inquiring minds through questioning

Writing with the U.S. Common Core State Standards in mind, Doug shows teachers in all subjects-not just the language arts-how to help

students meet literacy expectations. You also get instructional practices

to help your students ''work'' complex texts, as well as helpful information for customizing literacy practices to meet the demands of your discipline.

Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning

Chappuis, J. (2010)

This practical new book from Pearson Assessment Training Institute

organizes research-based recommendations about classroom assessment practices around three formative assessment questions: “Where am I

going?”; “Where am I now?”; and “How can I close the gap?” The

framework is sequenced so that you can easily weave assessment for learning practices into daily teaching and assessment activities.

The Seven Strategies are organized around the three big questions:

Where Am I Going? Strategy 1: Provide a clear and understandable vision of the learning target. Strategy 2: Use examples and models of strong and weak work.

Where Am I Now? Strategy 3: Offer regular descriptive feedback. Strategy 4: Teach students to self-assess and set goals.

How Can I Close the Gap? Strategy 5: Design lessons to focus on one aspect of quality at a time. Strategy 6: Teach students focused revision. Strategy 7: Engage students in self-reflection and let them keep track of and share their learning.

Texts and Lessons for Content Area Reading

Daniels, H. S. (2011)

"To have any hope of kids investing fully in the subject matter, we have to start by evoking their curiosity and get them interested in the topic. Engaging the students can't wait. If we wait for the fun stuff that might pop up later, the kids will have already jumped ship."

-Harvey "Smokey" Daniels and Nancy Steineke

Today we're all expected to be "teachers of reading"-no matter what our subject area. With Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading, Harvey

"Smokey" Daniels and Nancy Steineke support content-area and language-arts teachers alike by pairing more than 75 short, kid-tested

reproducible nonfiction texts with 33 simple, ready-to-go lessons that

deepen comprehension and support effective collaboration. Daniels and Steineke prove that with the right materials and the right lessons, you

can turn your kids into much better readers in your subject field by showing:

how proficient readers think

how skillful collaborators act

how to use quick and engaging activities that add to,

not steal from subject-matter learning.

Each real-world text was chosen for its subject-area relevance, its interest to teens, and for its "wow factor"-the texts most likely to engage

kids in discussion and debate. Step-by-step lessons accompany each text.

Watch what happens when you give your kids a combination of interesting texts, instruction in smart-reader strategies, and an explicit

understanding of good discussion skills. Meeting the standards has never been so much fun.

Classroom Discussions: Strategies for Engaging all Students

Spiegel, D. (2005)

When reading and writing become a regular part of a student's day,

learning grows. But when discussion is added to the mix, it blooms. In this book, Dixie Lee Spiegel presents discussion as a tool that leads to

engagement, reflection, and deeper learning in language arts and the

content areas. She provides dependable, effective strategies for preparing students for whole-class and small-group discussion, guiding

them as they discuss, and giving them follow-up activities that extend learning.

Teaching Boys Who Struggle in School: Strategies That Turn Underachievers into Successful Learners

Cleveland, Kathleen (2011)

Finalist for a 2012 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers! Teaching Boys Who Struggle in

School: Strategies That Turn Underachievers into Successful Learners

responds to growing concerns about a crisis in boy’s academic achievement. Kathleen Palmer Cleveland seeks to help K 12 educators cut

through the hype to get at the real problem: who is underachieving, why are they struggling, and how can educators respond to these students

needs in new and productive ways?

Cleveland presents findings from four large-scale studies about how boys

learn best and combines these findings with insights about ongoing social and learning-style factors that affect learning in the classroom, plus

lesson plans and anecdotes from real teachers working across all grade levels and subject areas.

Cleveland s Pathways to Re-Engagement represents the culmination of her substantial research and personal experience. A flexible and practical

framework for decision making in the classroom, the Pathways model seeks to

* Replace the underachieving boy’s negative attitudes about learning;

* Reconnect each boy with school, with learning, and with a belief in himself as a competent learner;

* Rebuild learning skills that lead to success in school and in life; and * Reduce the need for unproductive and distracting behaviors as a means

of self-protection.

Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom

Fisher, Douglas (2007)

Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey show how to increase students'

understanding with the help of creative formative assessments. When used regularly, these types of assessments enable every teacher to

determine what students know, what they need to know, and what type

of instructional interventions are effective.

Writing Better: Effective Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties

Graham, Steve (2009)

Whether they have learning disabilities or just need extra help, struggling writers can improve their skills dramatically if they get the detailed,

explicit instruction they need. This practical guidebook shows elementary

school teachers how to make this systematic instruction part of their classroom. Educators will find a wide range of specific strategies that

include

activities for every phase of the writing process, from brainstorming and goal-setting to revising

proof of effectiveness with students who have learning disabilities (field-testing data included)

guidelines on how to teach the strategies and use them across grades

easy-to-learn formats for students, such as mnemonic devices and short step-by-step action plans

exercises specially tailored for different types of writing, including stories, explanations, persuasive essays, reports, and comparisons

everything teachers need — no additional materials necessary

Photocopiable student worksheets give teachers ready-to-use writing activities, and before-and-after examples of student writing demonstrate

how the strategies work. With these practical, scientifically validated

ideas and exercises, teachers will help struggling students develop a toolbox of skills to improve their classwork and change the way they feel

about writing.

Formative Assessment & Standards Based Grading: The Classroom Strategies Series

Marzaon, Robert (2010)

Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading offers teachers

everything they need to know to implement an integrated system of assessment and grading that will enhance both their own teaching and

their students learning. Much has been written about the benefits of

formative assessment that is, assessment that is used while instruction is occurring rather than at the end of a course or unit but most descriptions

of the practice have been general. Dr. Robert Marzano provides the specifics. He explains how to design and interpret three different types of

formative assessments, how to track student progress, and how to assign meaningful grades, even if a school or district continues to use a

traditional grading system. He brings each concept to life with detailed

examples of teachers from different subject areas applying it in their classrooms. The second book in the Classroom Strategies That Work

library, this clear, highly practical guide follows the series format, first summarizing key research and then translating it into recommendations

for classroom practice. In addition to the explanations and examples of

assessment and grading strategies, each chapter includes helpful exercises to reinforce the reader s understanding of the content.

Tools for Teaching Content Literacy

Allen, J. (2004)

Janet Allen developed the ideal support for teachers who want to improve their reading instruction across the curriculum. Tools for Teaching Content Literacy is a compact tabbed flipchart designed as a ready reference for content reading and writing instruction. Each of the thirty-

three strategies includes:

a brief description and purpose for each strategy;

a research base that documents the origin and effectiveness of

the strategy;

graphic organizers to support the lesson;

classroom vignettes from different grade levels and content areas

to illustrate the strategy in use.

The perfect size to slip into a plan book, Tools highlights effective

instructional strategies and innovative ideas to help you design lessons that meet your students’ academic needs as well as content standards.

The definitions, descriptions, and research sources also provide a quick reference when implementing state and national standards, designing

assessments, writing grants, or evaluating resources for literacy

instruction.

More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy

Allen, J. (2008)

In Tools for Teaching Content Literacy Janet Allen put a wealth of

research-based instructional tools at teachers' fingertips to help students make connections with informational resources and to read critically.

More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy extends this treasure trove with

25 new instructional strategies -- from Expert Groups to Point-of-View Guides, to Wordstorming -- using the same compact, tabbed flipchart

format. Each of the strategies includes:

a brief description of the instructional tool;

an exploration of how and why the tool would be used for

instruction in content classes;

graphic organizers; models;

step-by-step instructions to support using and adapting the

instructional strategy;

a research base that documents the origin, adaptations, and

related reading for understanding the effectiveness of the

strategy.

Like its predecessor, More Tools is a handy reference that provides instant access to succinct descriptions, practical strategies, and

manageable assessments, allowing teachers to save time and be more

flexible and confident in meeting students' needs.

When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do

Beers, K. (2002)

For Kylene Beers, the question of what to do when kids can't read surfaced abruptly in 1979 when she began teaching. That year, she

discovered that some of the students in her seventh-grade language arts classes could pronounce all the words, but couldn't make any sense of

the text. Others couldn't even pronounce the words. And that was the

year she met a boy named George.

George couldn't read. When George's parents asked her to explain what their son's reading difficulties were and what she was going to do to help,

Kylene, a secondary certified English teacher with no background in

reading, realized she had little to offer the parents, even less to offer their son. That defining moment sent her on a twenty-three-year search

for answers to that original question: how do we help middle and high schoolers who can't read?

Now in her critical and practical text When Kids Can't Read - What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12, Kylene shares what she has

learned and shows teachers how to help struggling readers. Here, Kylene offers teachers the comprehensive handbook they've needed to help

readers improve their skills, their attitudes, and their confidence. Filled

with student transcripts, detailed strategies, reproducible material, and extensive booklists, this much-anticipated guide to teaching reading both

instructs and inspires.

Adolescent Literacy: Turning

Promise into Practice

Beers, K. (2007)

In Adolescent Literacy renowned educators Kylene Beers, Bob Probst,

and Linda Rief lead twenty-eight of the most important and widely read educators across the country in a conversation about where we are in the

teaching of literacy to adolescents and how best to move forward. From

researchers to classroom teachers, from long-treasured voices to important new members of the education community, Adolescent Literacy includes the thoughts of central figures in the field today. Adolescent Literacy discusses the most provocative issues of our time.

Each of its chapters builds on the previous to create a unified story of

adolescent literacy that will help all middle and secondary teachers and

administrators envision literacy instruction in exciting new ways. In addition Adolescent Literacy'sassessment rubrics for teachers,

administrators, and staff developers make it an ideal resource for schoolwide and districtwide professional development, while its

accompanying study guide is perfect for small-group discussions. Now is

indeed the time to create a powerful vision of how to teach adolescents. The research on their learning has reached a critical mass, modern

technology has allowed them to engage in a far wider range of literate behaviors than ever before, and their world has become increasingly

connected, increasingly competitive, and increasingly polarized. Read Adolescent Literacy, consider the thoughts of leading educators, and join

a conversation about what it means to teach and learn in this dynamic

new environment. And do it soon, because the need to turn education's promise into classroom practice has never been more urgent.

Subjects Matter

Daniels, H. (2004)

Finally, a book about content-area reading that’s just as useful to math, science, and history teachers as it is to English teachers! Lively, practical,

and irreverent, Subjects Matter points the way to activities and materials that energize content and engage students across all subject areas.

This book features:

23 practical classroom activities that help students understand

and remember what they read, in mathematics, science, social studies, English, and more

a tough analysis of today’s textbooks, along with specific ways to

use them more effectively

a new “balanced diet” of reading, including 150 books of interest

to teenagers instructions for growing a rich classroom library in your subject

area

plans for setting up student book clubs and reading groups in

any discipline group-building techniques that create a productive community of

readers

a do-it-yourself exploration of the ways smart readers think

models for developing ambitious thematic units within your

classroom or with colleagues special help and materials for students who struggle

scientific proof that the book’s recommended activities do

improve reading and learning.

(Re)imagining Content Area Literacy Instruction

Draper, R. J. (2010)

Today's teachers need to prepare students for a world that places

increasingly higher literacy demands on its citizens. In this timely book, the authors explore content-area literacy and instruction in English,

music, science, mathematics, social studies, visual arts, technology, and

theatre. Each of the chapters has been written by teacher educators who are experts in their discipline. Their key recommendations reflect the

aims and instructional frameworks unique to content-area learning. This resource focuses on how literacy specialists and content-area educators

can combine their talents to teach all readers and writers in the middle and secondary school classroom. The text features vignettes from

classroom practice with visuals to demonstrate, for example, how we

read a painting or hear the discourse of a song.

How to Teach Reading: When You're Not a Reading Teacher

Faber, S. (2006)

Many high school teachers are surprised to find some of their new

students have difficulty reading or do not know how to read at all. Rarely

are teachers trained to address the fundamentals of reading instruction, and most assume that teaching reading is the sole job of elementary and

middle level reading teachers. However, today's teachers realize that regardless of what subject they teach, they must adopt the attitude that

any child who has difficulty with is one thing: their responsibility! The

good news is that many teachers already use reading strategies without realizing it. Every time a teacher breaks down a textbook into

manageable units, highlights or previews the features of a textbook, or provides specific content-related vocabulary before giving an assignment,

that teacher is modeling a reading strategy. This book was written to

reinforce those already-used strategies, and to provide teachers -- in all subject areas -- with new, practical approaches for teaching students

how to read. For any teacher who has a student who cannot read well, for any teacher who has never been taught how to teach reading, and for

any teacher who loves their students and wants all of them to be successful in life, How to Teach Reading When You're Not A Reading

Teacher is a tool every teacher will find invaluable.

50 Instructional Routines to Develop Content Literacy

Fisher, D.; Frey, Nancy (2010)

From some of the best-known authors in the field comes a book that

provides all middle and high school teachers with practical information about improving students’ reading, writing, and oral language

development. Every teacher needs to use instructional routines that

allow students to engage in all of these literacy processes. Classroom examples from science, social studies, English, math, visual and

performing arts, and core electives ensure that all middle and high school teachers will find useful ideas that they can implement immediately. This

book provides readers with examples of fifty evidence-based instructional routines that can be used across content areas to ensure that reading

and writing occur in all classes.

Improving Adolescent Literacy: Content Area Strategies at Work

Fisher, D. F., (2012)

Improving Adolescent Literacy: Content Area Strategies at Work, Third Edition, gives teachers and teacher candidates the tools they need to

help all students work toward mastery of literacy and comprehension of content area texts. Practical, straightforward, and affordable, this guide is

packed with real classroom examples of specific teaching strategies in

action and features a focus on working with English language learners and struggling readers, ideas for using different technologies to enhance

teaching, an up-to-date research base of current sources of support and additional reading, and an excellent assessment chapter showing how

various formal and informal assessments can be used in the classroom.

Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas

Heller, R. G. (2007)

Like its predecessor, Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas, Second Edition is written for undergraduate, graduate, and in-service

teachers who want to integrate literacy processes into their content area instruction. In addition to extensive updating of earlier material, this new

edition extends its coverage to include new chapters on adolescents' out-

of-school literacy experiences and their in-school preferences, digital resources for content learning, and considerations for the reading

specialist. In doing so, however, the authors have tried to maintain the brevity, stylistic clarity, and classroom focus of the earlier volume.

Teaching Flexibility. Although written with the needs of pre-service

teachers in mind, theory and research are treated in sufficient depth to

make the book suitable for graduate courses and for teacher study groups. It is also appropriate for secondary reading specialists or literacy

coaches responsible for establishing or maintaining a school-wide literacy program.

Changes in New Edition. All chapters have been reorganized and most of the text rewritten. In addition, new chapters not usually included in

content area reading texts were added. These cover: 1) adolescents' out-of-school literacy experiences and in-school preferences; 2) digital

resources for content learning; and 3) considerations for the reading specialist.

Envisioning Knowledge: Building Literacy in the Academic Disciplines

Langer, J. (2011)

This book by Judith Langer--internationally known scholar in literacy learning--examines how people gain knowledge and become academically

literate in the core subjects of English, mathematics, science, and social

studies/history. Based on extensive research, it offers a new framework for conceptualizing knowledge development (rather than information

collection), and explores how one becomes literate in ways that mark ''knowing'' in a field. Langer identifies key principles for practice and

demonstrates how the framework and the principles together can

undergird highly successful instruction across the curriculum. With many examples from middle and high schools, this resource will help educators

to plan and implement engaging, exciting, and academically successful programs.

Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College

Lemov, D. (2010)

Teach Like a Champion offers effective teaching techniques to help

teachers, especially those in their first few years, become champions in the classroom. These powerful techniques are concrete, specific, and are

easy to put into action the very next day. Training activities at the end of

each chapter help the reader further their understanding through reflection and application of the ideas to their own practice.

Among the techniques:

Technique #1: No Opt Out. How to move students from the

blank stare or stubborn shrug to giving the right answer every time.

Technique #35: Do It Again. When students fail to successfully

complete a basic task, from entering the classroom quietly to passing papers around, doing it again, doing it right, and doing it

perfectly, results in the best consequences.

Technique #38: No Warnings. If you're angry with your students,

it usually means you should be angry with yourself. This technique shows how to effectively address misbehaviors in your

classroom.

The book includes a DVD of 25 video clips of teachers demonstrating the

techniques in the classroom.

Reading Strategy Lessons for Science & Social Studies: 15 Research-Based Strategies

Robb, L. (2009)

Mentor teacher and reading expert, Laura Robb, shares 15 practical,

research-based lessons that teachers can use to help kids navigate the

special demands of the text they encounter in science and social studies classes. Strategy lessons include building background knowledge, asking

questions, visualizing, building vocabulary, synthesizing information, and much more. Includes management tips and student samples.

Front-Page Science: Engaging Teens in Science Literacy

Saul, W. K. (2011)

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force issued new guidelines for

mammograms in 2009. What does this mean for someone with a family history of breast cancer? Congress periodically votes on a piece of

legislation called the Farm Bill. What does its current iteration mean for

the safety of supermarket eggs? Understanding how the latest science affects real people patients, consumers, voters, and taxpayers is at the

heart of science literacy. From Chapter 1 of Front-Page Science Like citizen journalists, your students can get to the heart of science literacy

and challenging questions like these with the learn by doing methodology in this innovative book. Front-Page Science uses science journalism

techniques to help students become better consumers of, and

contributors to, a scientifically literate community. The book is divided into three parts: Background information and a rationale for using science

journalism techniques Concrete advice about how to teach science literacy in this framework from helping students find story angles to

teaching search strategies and interview techniques The process of

putting together and writing a news story, including how to get students started, help them when they are stalled, and respond to their drafts A

free website provides downloadable lesson plans, teacher suggestions, and a forum for exchanging ideas with others. Like Front-Page Science,

the website is part of the National Science Foundation funded Science Literacy Through Science Journalism project. By making full use of these

rich resources, you ll teach your students skills that will help them make

sense of their world not just now, but also after graduation and for years to come.

Developing Readers in the

Academic Disciplines

Buehl, Doug (2011)

What does it mean to read, write, and think through a disciplinary lens? How do you develop students as readers, writers, and thinkers in the

different academic disciplines?

Writing with the U.S. Common Core State Standards in mind, Doug

shows teachers in all subjects-not just the language arts-how to help students meet literacy expectations. You also get instructional practices

to help your students ''work'' complex texts, as well as helpful information for customizing literacy practices to meet the demands of your discipline.

Write Like This

Gallagher, Kelly (2011)

If you want to learn how to shoot a basketball, you begin by carefully

observing someone who knows how to shoot a basketball. If you want to be a writer, you begin by carefully observing the work of accomplished

writers. Recognizing the importance that modeling plays in the learning

process, high school English teacher Kelly Gallagher shares how he gets his students to stand next to and pay close attention to model writers,

and how doing so elevates his students' writing abilities. Write Like This is built around a central premise: if students are to grow as writers, they

need to read good writing, they need to study good writing, and, most important, they need to emulate good writers.

In Write Like This, Kelly emphasizes real-world writing purposes, the kind of writing he wants his students to be doing twenty years from now. Each

chapter focuses on a specific discourse: express and reflect, inform and explain, evaluate and judge, inquire and explore, analyze and interpret,

and take a stand/propose a solution. In teaching these lessons, Kelly

provides mentor texts (professional samples as well as models he has written in front of his students), student writing samples, and numerous

assignments and strategies proven to elevate student writing.

By helping teachers bring effective modeling practices into their

classrooms, Write Like This enables students to become better adolescent writers. More important, the practices found in this book will help our

students develop the writing skills they will need to become adult writers in the real world.

Building Reading Comprehension Habits: A Toolkit for Classroom Activities

Zwiers, J. (2010)

Middle and high school coaches and content teachers: Here are great suggestions for teaching comprehension skills to students at varied

reading levels and from different cultures and linguistic backgrounds.

This second edition of Jeff Zwiers' bestseller features more than 80 classroom-tested, research-based ideas. These engaging activities are organized around six strategies of reading comprehension that need to

become habits:

Organizing text information by sculpting the main idea and summarizing

Connecting to background knowledge Making inferences and predictions

Generating and answering questions

Understanding and remembering word meanings Monitoring one's own comprehension

You'll also find 35 reproducible graphic organizers and variations on the

activities to help support English learners, struggling readers, and other

students who need extra support.

Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement

Harvey, S. (2007)

Since its publication in 2000, Strategies That Work has become an

indispensable resource for teachers who want to explicitly teach thinking strategies so that students become engaged, thoughtful, independent

readers. In this revised and expanded edition, Stephanie and Anne have

added twenty completely new comprehension lessons, extending the scope of the book and exploring the central role that activating

background knowledge plays in understanding. Another major addition is the inclusion of a section on content literacy which describes how to

apply comprehension strategies flexibly across the curriculum. The new edition is organized around four sections:

Part I highlights what comprehension is and how to teach it, including the principles that guide practice, a review of recent research, and a new

section on assessment. A new chapter, Tools for Active Literacy: The Nuts and Bolts of Comprehension Instruction, describes ways to engage

students in purposeful talk through interactive read alouds, guided

discussion and written response.

Part II contains lessons and practices for teaching comprehension. A new first chapter emphasizes the importance of teaching students to monitor

their understanding before focusing on specific strategies. Five lessons on

monitoring provide a sound basis for launching comprehension instruction. At the end of each strategy chapter, the authors outline

learning goals and ways to assess students' thinking, sharing examples of student work, and offering suggestions for differentiating instruction.

Part III, Comprehension Across the Curriculum, is new. Comprehension

strategies are essential for content-area reading, where information can

be challenging, and presented in unfamiliar formats. This section includes chapters on social studies and science reading, topic study research,

textbook reading and the genre of test reading.

Part IV shows that kids need books they can sink their teeth into and the

updated appendix section recommends a rich diet of fiction and nonfiction, short text, kid's magazines, websites and journals that will

assist teachers as they plan and design comprehension instruction

Through its focus on instruction that is responsive to kids' interests and

learning needs, the first edition of Strategies That Work helped transform comprehension instruction for teachers across the country. For them, this

new edition will be a welcome extension of that work. Those coming to it for the first time will find a current and essential resource. When readers

use these strategies, they enjoy a more complete, thoughtful reading

experience. Engagement is the goal. When kids are engaged in their reading they enhance their understanding, acquire knowledge, and learn

from and remember what they read. And best yet, they will want to read more!

Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students

Kajder, S. (2010)

This book isn't about technology. It's about the teaching practices that

technology enables.

Instead of focusing on where to point and click, this book addresses the

ways in which teachers and students work together to navigate continuous change and what it means to read, write, view, listen, and

communicate in the twenty-first century.

Sara Kajder (a nationally recognized expert on technology and literacy) recognizes that students are reading and writing every day in their "real

lives." Drawing on Adolescent Literacy: An NCTE Policy Research Brief,

Kajder offers solutions for connecting these activities with the literacy practices required by classroom curricula.

Through extensive interviews and classroom experiences, Kajder offers

examples of both students and teachers who have successfully integrated

technology to enrich literacy learning.

As part of the Principles in Practice imprint, _Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students_ offers critical consideration

of students' in-school and out-of-school digital literacy practices in a practical, friendly, and easily approachable manner.

Writing Circles: Kids Revolutionize Workshop

Vopat, J. (2009)

"Ever wish there was a structure that let kids work collaboratively to generate writing topics, complete drafts, learn and practice positive ways of response, and develop published pieces? To give every kid in the class a feeling of success, a sense of what it means to be a writer? Writing Circles are here to grant those wishes."

-Jim Vopat If literature circles work with your readers, Jim Vopat has exciting news: peer-led small groups are just as effective with writers. Read Writing Circles and find out how they:

lead students from practice to progress as they write, respond, and

lead one another toward better writing motivate and engage everyone through choice-including struggling

writers and English learners develop voice and encourage risk-taking across genres rehabilitate the writing wounded and nurture growth through peer

response-not critique make teaching more efficient by reducing the need for one-on-one

conferring. Vopat helps you get started with circles and shows how they can help you achieve instructional goals. He includes step-by-step guidance for

implementation and assessment, activities that make management smooth, and minilessons that scaffold growth in skills, topic selection,

and craft. Writing Circles are a revolution, not an evolution, in writing workshop-the missing link between independent student writing and whole-group

instruction. Try them with your students; give kids the space, safety, and support they need; and see why circles are as powerful for writers as

they are for readers.