In the era of No Child Left Behind, what literacy research is still needed? How should it be conducted? And what role does research play in determining the kinds of literacy experiences that actually take place in classrooms? This forward-thinking book brings together leading authorities to address these vital and hotly debated questions. Contributors analyze the existing knowledge on core aspects of literacy education, describe how science is currently informing practice, and identify important methodological challenges and research directions. A highlight of the book is a chapter in which Michael Pressley offers an insightful critique of Reading First as well as practical recommendations for improving future policies.

How can teachers create a literacy curriculum that builds processing links between reading, writing, and spelling knowledge? In Shaping Literate Minds: Developing Self Regulated Learners , Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos illustrate how processing theory can be applied to the everyday practices of classroom teaching. If instruction emphasizes the interrelationships of these three language areas, students learn how to transfer knowledge, skills, and strategies across literacy events. This is complex theory, but the authors provide clear and practical examples to support teachers as they incorporate these ideas into their classroom practices. Grounded in authentic experiences from primary classrooms, this book provides: Explanations of processing behaviors among reading, writing, and spelling knowledgeObservational tools that support teachers in noticing changes over time in specific literacy behaviorsGuidance on creating conditions for developing self-regulated learnersAuthentic reading and writing samples and teacher/student interactionsFigures and pictures that clearly describe how teachers can use assessment to inform and guide instruction, with links to national standardsDetails for establishing a school-based literacy model that includes team meetings, assessment walls, high standards, and a curriculum for literacyAppendixes with reproducible assessment checklists, report cards, task cards for literacy corners, and guided reading observation forms for team meetingsWith a national emphasis on accountability, high standards, and literacy achievement, Shaping Literate Minds will help teachers and administrators implement a high-quality literacy curriculum that links to national and state goals.

What are the most effective methods for teaching writing across grade levels and student populations? What kind of training do teachers need to put research-validated methods into practice? This unique volume combines the latest writing research with clear-cut recommendations for designing high-quality professional development efforts. Prominent authorities describe ways to help teachers succeed by using peer coaching, cross-disciplinary collaboration, lesson study, and other professional development models. All aspects of instruction and assessment are addressed, including high-stakes writing assessments, applications of technology, motivational issues, writing in different genres and subject areas, and teaching struggling writers.

This seminal guide to school literacy programs offers an overview of the most successful strategies education leaders can use to build a powerful reading schools.

Improve reading achievement for students from diverse backgrounds with research-supported practices and culturally responsive interventions in phonemic awareness, phonics/decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

In this volume prominent scholars, experts in their respective fields and highly skilled in the research they conduct, address educational and reading research from varied perspectives and address what it will take to close the achievement gap—with specific attention to reading. The achievement gap is redefined as a level at which all groups can compete economically in our society and have the literacy tools and habits needed for a good life. Bringing valuable theoretical frameworks and in-depth analytical approaches to interpretation of data, the contributors examine factors that contribute to student achievement inside the school but which are also heavily influenced by out-of-school factors—such as poverty and economics, ethnicity and culture, family and community stratifications, and approaches to measurement of achievement. These out-of-school factors present possibilities for new policies and practice. The overarching theme is that achievement gaps in reading are complex and that multiple perspectives are necessary to address the problem. The breadth and depth of perspectives and content in this volume and its conceptualization of the achievement gap are a significant contribution to the field.

Learning to read, and to spell are two of the most important cultural skills that must be acquired by children, and for that matter, anyone learning a second language. We are not born with an innate ability to read. A reading system of mental representations that enables us to read must be formed in the brain. Learning to read in alphabetic orthographies is the acquisition of such a system, which links mental representations of visual symbols (letters) in print words, with pre-existing phonological (sound) and semantic (comprehension) cognitive systems for language. Although spelling draws on the same representational knowledge base and is usually correlated with reading, the acquisition processes involved are not quite the same. Spelling requires the sequential production of letters in words, and at beginning levels there may not be a full degree of integration of phonology with its representation by the orthography. Reading, on the other hand, requires only the recognition of a word for pronunciation. Hence, spelling is more difficult than reading, and learning to spell may necessitate more complete representations, or more conscious access to them. The learning processes that children use to acquire such cognitive systems in the brain, and whether these same processes are universal across different languages and orthographies are central theoretical questions. Most children learn to read and spell their language at the same time, thus the co-ordination of these two facets of literacy acquisition needs explication, as well as the effect of different teaching approaches on acquisition. Lack of progress in either reading and/or spelling is also a major issue of concern for parents and teachers necessitating a cross-disciplinary approach to the problem, encompassing major efforts from researchers in neuroscience, cognitive science, experimental psychology, and education. The purpose of this Research Topic is to summarize and review what has been accomplished so far, and to further explore these general issues. Contributions from different perspectives are welcomed and could include theoretical, computational, and empirical works that focus on the acquisition of literacy, including cross-orthographic research.