The founder of the Benchmark School offers a researched-based interactive learning model which provides a proven approach for helping struggling students become better readers, thinkers, learners, and problem solvers.

Instructional strategies and practical examples for helping struggling readers, supported by research and backed by 45 years of practice.

Through specific examples, real-life scenarios, and diagrams, this book vividly conveys the most fundamental and effective tactics for boosting reading proficiency while enhancing student and teacher performance.

Dozens of practice pages that give older, struggling readers multiple opportunities to review and really learn common, tricky words that are not easily decodable, recognize and reinforce must-know phonic elements, and hone word-study skills. With repeated practice, students develop automaticity and help become more fluent readers.Reviews basic word-study techniques.Improves automaticity.Boosts reading comprehension.Perfect for independent practice.

Local 1-23-2005 $15.99.

A nationally recognized scholar offers a clear blend of research and practice that teachers can use to develop better methods for helping children with reading difficulties.

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.

Presents methods of helping third through sixth graders with literacy problems, covering such topics as motivation, small-group instruction, differentiated instruction, and standardized tests.

Each struggling reader has a unique combination of strengths and areas that require targeted instruction. Through their work with teachers and children in an after-school tutoring program, the authors have identified six types of struggling readers and offer here suggestions for assessment and instruction for each type. The book imparts lessons learned from the tutoring program that are applicable to the classroom and beyond, suggesting how teachers can reach out to and involve parents, caregivers, and families.

While most children learn to read fairly well, there remain many young Americans whose futures are imperiled because they do not read well enough to meet the demands of our competitive, technology-driven society. This book explores the problem within the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. Recommendations address the identification of groups of children at risk, effective instruction for the preschool and early grades, effective approaches to dialects and bilingualism, the importance of these findings for the professional development of teachers, and gaps that remain in our understanding of how children learn to read. Implications for parents, teachers, schools, communities, the media, and government at all levels are discussed. The book examines the epidemiology of reading problems and introduces the concepts used by experts in the field. In a clear and readable narrative, word identification, comprehension, and other processes in normal reading development are discussed. Against the background of normal progress, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children examines factors that put children at risk of poor reading. It explores in detail how literacy can be fostered from birth through kindergarten and the primary grades, including evaluation of philosophies, systems, and materials commonly used to teach reading.