Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students in Grades 4 to 8 gives teachers the best available teaching strategies and sample step-by-step lesson plans for constructing lively, effective reading and writing instruction for all students. With his focus on teaching successfully in today's diverse classrooms, renowned author Thomas Gunning gives teachers a head start in ensuring quality literacy instruction for all children.

The Eighth Edition of this authoritative, best-selling resource from distinguished author Tom Gunning gives aspiring and practicing teachers the help they need to become highly effective teachers--so that their students become proficient readers and writers well on their way to preparing for college and careers. Drawing on landmark research that focuses on highly effective practices, such as setting goals, monitoring progress, and teaching strategies, Gunning's Teaching Literacy Strategies for All Students is packed with step-by-step guidance for teaching reading and writing, including 30 sample lessons that cover virtually every major literacy skill and strategy, incorporating the key elements of effective assessment and instruction. The book emphasizes how to adapt instruction for struggling readers and writers, English language learners, and special needs students; stresses effective steps teachers can use to implement Response to Intervention; and familiarizes teachers with the reading and writing requirements stemming from the widely-adopted Common Core State Standards.

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.

This practical resource gives teachers step-by-step guidance for teaching students in grades 4 to 8 all major aspects of reading and writing. In response to today''s needs to tailor instruction for the middle grades, this book features sample lessons for virtually every major literacy skill/strategy and offers numerous reinforcement suggestions and generous listings of materials appropriate for the middle grades. Renowned author Tom Gunning presents the theories behind the methods, so readers will be free to choose, adapt, and/or construct their own approaches as they create a balanced evidence-based program of literacy instruction. Because language, background knowledge, and thinking skills are the foundation of basic and higher-level literacy, the text emphasizes background building, vocabulary and overall language development, and the development of key thinking skills. Given the current emphasis on "Leaving No Child Behind" and closing the literacy gap, the text explores techniques and materials for helping below-level readers and writers. Included are listings of intervention programs for older struggling readers and suggestions for helping middle school students who are still having difficulty with decoding skills. A Letter to Students, From the Author Avon, Connecticut March 14, 2007 Dear Student: Although I receive royalties from the sales of Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students in Grades 4-8 (Second Edition), my main reason for writing the text and continuously revising it is to improve the quality of literacy instruction for students. I believe that the best way to do that is to provide for pre-service and in-service teachers a text that explains effective ways to assess and instruct students. As times change and I acquire new knowledge and insights, I add to and revise the suggestions that I make. In preparation for the revision of this last edition, I worked three days a week for a year in an urban school as a hands-on consultant. I also visited a number of schools, talked with lots of teachers, and worked with groups of students in a variety of settings. These direct experiences were very enlightening. One of my chief discoveries was the importance of fostering higher-level reading and responding skills. To meet the demands of No Child Left Behind, many schools are focusing on decoding skills and literal comprehension. Unfortunately, this has led to a neglect of vocabulary development and higher-level literacy skills, which are key elements in developing the kinds of skills needed in today''s society and which are assessed in the upper grades by today''s high-stakes tests. To emphasize the importance of higher-level literacy skills, a new feature entitled "Building Higher-Level Literacy," appears at the end of each chapter. Recognizing the reality of the requirements of No Child Left Behind and high-stakes tests, I have included suggestions for preparing students to cope with demanding tests. Using lookbacks, supporting responses, and other key comprehension and test-taking skills are featured. Also emphasized is the importance of going beyond teaching students how to respond to challenging texts in discussions to also teaching them how to respond in writing, since that is how they will be assessed. Quickwrites, Macro-Cloze, Story Impressions, Think-Pair-Share, and a number of other intriguing teaching techniques have been added. Throughout the text, changes, large and small, have been made that I believe will enhance your knowledge of literacy and your ability as a teacher to build the literacy of the students that you teach. While I realize that the purchase of the text might mean a financial sacrifice, it should help make you a better teacher of literacy and your students'' better readers and writers. Although the text is costly, potential benefits are priceless. Sincerely, Thomas G. Gunning, Ed. D, Author Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students

An important goal of teachers is to get all students, especially those in the upper elementary and middle grades who struggle with academic work, engaged in reading. This book examines current research on instructional principles and actions related to engaged reading. It shows how teachers can translate this research into evidence-based actions that promote productive instructional contexts and focus students’ purposeful use of literacy in acquiring knowledge. The authors integrate descriptions of principles and actions with concrete examples of classroom instruction and thematic teaching across disciplinary contexts and demonstrate how teachers might mediate students’ reading of complex texts. The book provides readers with a vivid picture of the complexities of teaching reading in the upper elementary and middle grades. In particular, the book blends individual principles and practices into a holistic approach to creating productive and engaged learning environments for all upper elementary and middle grade learners.

To develop strong disciplinary literacy skills, middle and high school students need to engage with diverse types of challenging texts in every content area. This book provides a blueprint for constructing literacy-rich instructional units in English language arts, science, and social studies. The authors describe how to design interconnected text sets and plan lessons that support learning and engagement before, during, and after reading. Presented are ways to build academic vocabulary and background knowledge, teach research-based comprehension strategies, and guide effective discussions and text-based writing activities. Chapters also cover how to teach students to write argumentative, informative, and narrative essays, and to conduct discipline-specific inquiry. Special features include sample text sets and 24 reproducible planning templates and other teaching tools; purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Step-by-step guidance for teaching all major aspects of reading and writing. Sample lessons for every major literacy skill/strategy.