Use these lessons to build developing readers’ skill and desire to read, read, read! This book will be your guide as you support middle grade students who are reading two or more years below grade level. The lessons enlarge students’ vocabulary and background knowledge and engage them in meaningful discussions and writing about their reading. As students’ reading skill and desire to read increases, you’ll watch them complete more independent reading and ramp up their reading volume—the practice they need to improve! Guided Practice for Reading Growth provides all you need to get started. Laura Robb and poet David L. Harrison have collaborated to design twenty-four powerful reading lessons using original poems and short texts that interest your students and encourage them to think deeply. The opening chapters offer background knowledge for the lessons and teaching tips, then the bulk of this book consists of lessons—with full texts and suggested videos provided. Guided practice lessons are the instructional piece that can move developing readers forward by building their self-confidence and the reading expertise needed to read to learn and for pleasure. This unique book shows you how to: · Build students’ background knowledge by watching and discussing videos. · Use the poems to improve reading and to improve fluency through practice and performance. · Invite students to write about their reading and increase comprehension and recall. · Ask partners to discuss before, during, and after reading as meaningful talk enlarges students’ analytical thinking and understanding. · Design your own lessons for students with extra texts by David L. Harrison in the appendix. Use this book to develop students’ self-confidence and the reading skill they require to become lifelong, joyful readers!

"Struggling readers, especially those in grades 4-8, need to feel success with reading; they often develop negative mindsets and tune out and away from reading at this age. Currently, there is a large market for "low-level, high-interest" trade books to reach middle-school students who are reading far below grade level. The problem with such books, however, is that kids feel embarrassed to be seen reading them...furthering the negative mindset. And, of course, simply sticking a low-level reader with a book and asking him or her to read independently is problematic because these kids likely still need some shared and guided reading support in order to master the skills they're lacking. Yet many middle-grade teachers don't have experience teaching guided reading, so they, too, need support. This book by Laura Robb and David Harrison solves these problems by offering both original poems and short texts for students as well as lesson ideas for teachers. The poems and short texts are written specifically for students in grades 4 to 8 reading two or more years below grade level; they're written at a second and third grade instructional level, but the ideas will be complex. Plus, the poems and short texts used for shared reading will be written at a higher level because the teacher reads the text first and then students choral read it together. The book's ultimate goal is this: As students gain self-confidence by reading and discussing poetry, short texts, and books during independent reading, their successes will develop the mindset needed to continue to read independently to improve their reading skill and stamina"--

The science of reading meets the art of teaching readers Do you have the knowledge and instructional ability to effectively teach foundational skills and to support students who show signs of reading difficulties? It is a tall order — and one that challenges many new and veteran teachers. How to Prevent Reading Difficulties, Grades PreK-3 builds on decades of evidence and years of experience to help teachers understand how the brain learns to read and how to apply that understanding to Tier 1 instruction. The book includes: step-by-step descriptions of techniques for effectively teaching phonological awareness, spelling, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension specific Tier 1 activities, routines, and frameworks that build and strengthen word recognition and language comprehension links to video demonstrations and online resources clear, practical explanations of the science of reading, including the Eternal Triangle and the Simple View of Reading, to help teachers understand the fundamentals of the reading process, recognize how difficulties arise – and understand how to address them A book study guide is available on the Free Resources tab to provides group guidance on how to effectively teach foundational skills and to support students who show signs of reading difficulties. Author Mark Weakland brings new energy to teaching high-priority foundational skills. By blending the science of reading with the best instructional practices that lead to authentic reading—the ultimate goal of balanced literacy—teachers can prevent many reading difficulties in K-3 learners.

Comprehensive yet succinct and readable, Literacy in Grades 4-8, Third Edition offers a wealth of practical ideas to help preservice and practicing teachers create a balanced and comprehensive literacy program while exploring the core topics and issues of literacy in grades 4 through 8. It addresses teaching to standards; differentiating instruction for readers and writers; motivating students; using assessment to inform instruction; integrating technology into the classroom; working with English learners and struggling readers; and connecting with caregivers. Selected classroom strategies, procedures, and activities represent the most effective practices according to research and the many outstanding classroom teachers who were observed and interviewed for the book. The Third Edition includes added material connecting the Common Core State Standards to the instruction and assessment of literacy skills; a combined word study and vocabulary chapter to help readers integrate these important topics in their teaching; more on technology, including comprehension of multimodal texts, enhancing writing instruction with technology tools, and teaching activities with an added technology component; added discussion of teacher techniques during text discussions, strategic moves that help students become more strategic readers. Key features: In the Classroom vignettes; more than 50 activities,some with a technology component; questions for journal writing and for projects and field-based activities; troubleshooting sections offering alternative suggestions and activities for those middle-grade students who may find a particular literacy focus challenging.

No two students in grades 4–8 are identical, and many struggle with literacy for different reasons. Using a teacher-friendly, hands-on approach, this eminently practical book walks educators through the nuts and bolts of literacy intervention in the middle grades. Highlights include “North Star” principles to orient instruction, an assessment flowchart, and extended case studies of three middle-grades learners. The book offers evidence-based intervention practices for targeting specific literacy components, including word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Teachers are guided to plan structured but flexible interventions that promote literacy growth and engagement. Sample lesson plans and clear, engaging figures illustrate how to make literacy intervention work for all students.

Teacher candidates seeking certification to teach the middle-level grades in Texas's public schools must pass the TExES Core Subjects 4-8 exam. Written by a team of faculty experts led by Dr. Ann M.L. Cavallo, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington, REAs test prep provides extensive coverage of the four core subject areas tested on the exam: English Language Arts and Reading (806); Mathematics (807); Social Studies (808); and Science (809). In addition to a thorough review, this test prep features a diagnostic test and 2 full-length practice test batteries (1 in the book and 1 online at the REA Study Center) that deal with every question type, competency, and skill tested on the exam. REAs online tests run under timed conditions and provide automatic scoring and diagnostic feedback on every question to help teacher candidates zero in on the topics that give them trouble now, so they can succeed on test day. -- Amazon.com.

"Now revised and updated, with many new lesson plans and a new chapter on writing instruction, this trusted book guides upper-elementary teachers to design and implement a research-based literacy program. The expert authors show how to teach and assess students in differentiated small groups, and explain how instruction works in a tiered response-to-intervention model. Included are extensive reproducible lesson plans and other tools for building students' skills in word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. The convenient large-size format facilitates photocopying; purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials. Prior edition title: Differentiated Reading Instruction in Grades 4 and 5. Subject Areas/Key Words: differentiated reading instruction, intermediate grades, upper elementary students, teaching reading, small-group, differentiating instruction, differentiation, lesson plans, planning, lessons, assessments, response to intervention, RTI, comprehension, curriculum, fluency, interventions, elementary reading methods, struggling readers, teachers, vocabulary, word recognition, words, writing, decoding"--

"This innovative book shows teachers how to add value, authenticity, and accountability to independent reading programs and keep the focus on student reading. From a reproducible blank template to numerous student samples of the "Reading 8-Box", the book illustrates how students can use a single page to strengthen and monitor their comprehension, language, and thinking skills. It offers a range of graphic organizers and open-response opportunities that help deepen student thinking and response. This non-intrusive way for teachers to monitor, assess, and support students focuses on students actively engaging in their reading. This remarkable book is committed to helping teachers better understand the needs of their students so that independent reading time is purposeful and directly connected to classroom instruction."--Publisher's website.