The Brain-Literacy Connection
In Wiring the Brain for Reading: Brain-Based Strategies for Teaching Literacy author Marilee Sprenger covers familiar territory as she links recent research to teaching literacy, says reviewer Julie Dermody.
Category: Reading
Better Than Book Reports
Teachers will find creative alternatives to the traditional book report that tap into student interests and creative writing in Ban the Book Report: Promoting Frequent and Enthusiastic Reading, says reviewer Nicole Warchol.
How to Build Lifelong Readers
Reading Without Limits: Teaching Strategies to Build Independent Reading for Life, a practical guide to developing and sustaining lifelong readers, “almost brought me out of retirement,” says veteran middle grades teacher Beverly Maddox.
Close Reading Strategies
Students will take the strategies from Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading beyond their current classroom to strengthen their critical thinking and their enthusiasm about reading, says reviewer Sandy Wisneski.
Climbing Reading Ladders
Teacher Mark A. Domeier likes the concept behind Teri Lesesne’s reading ladders in Reading Ladders: Leading Students from Where They Are to Where We’d Like Them to Be, but he says they’ll have to be adapted to the realities of middle school class size.
Promote a Passion for Reading
Penny Kittle, says Kevin Hodgson, offers an ode to the power of reading to expand our intellects and a guide to encouraging our most reluctant readers in Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina and Passion in Adolescent Readers.
Getting Informational Text into Action
Get It Done by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Michael W. Smith, and James E. Fredricksen is “a treasure trove of helpful insights about why we need to care about the teaching of informational text,” says reviewer & flowchart maker Kevin Hodgson.
Turn Students into Sleuths
Wherever you are on your journey to improve text-based critical thinking & discussion, you’ll find a wealth of ideas & resources in Teaching Students to Read Like Detectives: Comprehending, Analyzing, and Discussing Text , says reviewer Joan Cansdale.
Inside Scoop on Reading Tests
Reviewer Rebecca Crockett praises Charles Fuhrken’s What Every Middle School Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests (From Someone Who Has Written Them), a book of practical, teaching-friendly advice about prepping students for reading tests.
Reading in the Content Areas
Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who? provides useful hands-on tools for frustrated content-area teachers who ask, “How can I teach reading? I’m a (fill in the blank) teacher!”, says reviewer Sharon Nelson.
