"The reading problems addressed in the book move beyond those associated with disabilities such as dyslexia or high-functioning autism. The author addresses experientially based reading difficulties caused by inadequate instruction or limited exposure to academic language/literacy. Unlike other books on response to intervention (RTI), this book presents an argument for using RTI as a method of identification as well as intervention in combination with individual students' reading profiles. The case studies and practical examples cover a broad range of reading problems (not only learning disabilities) to help make research findings applicable to a multidisciplinary audience, especially practitioners"--

Written expressly for teachers, this book is jam-packed with tools and strategies for integrating response to intervention (RTI) into everyday instruction in grades K-5. Numerous real-world examples connect RTI concepts to what teachers already know to help them provide effective instruction for all students, including struggling learners. Drawing on extensive classroom experience, the authors: *Present color-coded intervention recipes for all three tiers of RTI implementation. *Provide hands-on tools and 50 reproducibles, with a large format and sturdy spiral binding for ease of use. *Explain the core features of RTI and what they look like in action. *Describe evidence-based instructional methods for reading, writing, math, and behavior. *Show how to fit assessment and progress monitoring into the busy school day.

Accessible language and compelling stories illustrate how RTI is most effective when built on the Professional Learning Communities at WorkTM process. Written by award-winning educators from successful PLC schools, this book demonstrates how to create three tiers of interventions—from basic to intensive—to address student learning gaps. You will understand what a successful program looks like, and the many reproducible forms and activities will help your team understand how to make RTI work in your school.

Until about two decades ago, the study of writing systems and their relationship to literacy acquisition was sparse and generally modeled after studies of English language learners. This situation is now changing. As the worldwide demand for literacy continues to grow, researchers from different countries with different language backgrounds have begun examining the connection between their writing systems and literacy acquisition. This text, which derives from a NATO sponsored conference on orthography and literacy, brings together the research of 70 scholars from across the world--the largest assemblage of such experts to date. Their findings are grouped into three parts, as follows: Part I, Literacy Acquisition in Different Writing Systems, describes the relationship between orthography and literacy in twenty-five orthographic systems. This section serves as a handy reference source for understanding the orthographies of languages as diverse as Arabic, Chinese, English, Icelandic, Kannada, and Kishwahili. Part II, Literacy Acquisition From a Cross-Linguistic Perspective, makes direct comparisons of literacy acquisition in English and other orthographic systems. The overall conclusion that emerges from these eight chapters is that the depth of an orthographic system does influence literacy acquisition primarily by slowing down the acquisition of reading skills. Even so, studies show that dyslexic readers can be found across all orthographic systems whether shallow or deep, which shows that dyslexia also has internal cognitive and biological components. Part III, Literacy Acquisition: Instructional Perspectives, explores literacy acquisition from developmental and instructional perspectives and ends with a look into the future of literacy research. This Handbook is appropriate for scholars, researchers, and graduate students in such diverse fields as cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, literacy education, English as a second language, and communication disorders.

Are we missing the opportunity to reach struggling learners from the very beginning? Are we hastily—and unnecessarily— referring students to intervention programs that substitute for high-quality core instruction? What if we could eliminate the need for intervention programs in the first place? Response to Intervention (RTI) programs are only as powerful and effective as the core instruction on which they're built. High-quality instruction, then, is the key ingredient that helps all students excel, and it's at the heart of Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey's unique approach to the RTI model — Response to Instruction and Intervention, or RTI2. In Enhancing RTI, the authors argue that students learn best when classroom instruction and supplemental intervention mirror each other in both content and purpose. This book provides K-12 teachers with the knowledge and tools they need to implement a cohesive RTI2 system that helps all children learn by proactively addressing their needs. To this end, you will learn how to * Integrate and align core instruction and supplemental intervention. * Assess your own classroom instruction, in addition to your students' responses to it. * Strengthen existing school improvement efforts within an RTI2 framework. * Utilize systematic feedback to raise student achievement. Fisher and Frey maintain that the RTI2 model not only promotes active student learning, but it also, when done right, promotes a culture of hardwired excellence at all levels of instruction.

Takaki traces the economic and political history of Indians, African Americans, Mexicans, Japanese, Chinese, Irish, and Jewish people in America, with considerable attention given to instances and consequences of racism. The narrative is laced with short quotations, cameos of personal experiences, and excerpts from folk music and literature. Well-known occurrences, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the Trail of Tears, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Japanese internment are included. Students may be surprised by some of the revelations, but will recognize a constant thread of rampant racism. The author concludes with a summary of today's changing economic climate and offers Rodney King's challenge to all of us to try to get along. Readers will find this overview to be an accessible, cogent jumping-off place for American history and political science plus a guide to the myriad other sources identified in the notes.

Comprehensive and evidence-based, Structured Literacy (SL) approaches place a high value on explicit, systematic, and sequential instruction. This book brings together leading experts to present a wealth of SL interventions for different components of literacy. Chapters describe instructional strategies for supporting phonological awareness, basic and multisyllabic word decoding, spelling, reading fluency, vocabulary, oral and reading comprehension, and written expression, especially for at-risk readers and those with disabilities. Including case studies, sample intervention activities, lesson plans, and end-of-chapter application activities, the book contains reproducible tools that can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8½“ x 11” size. An NCTQ Exemplary Text for Reading Instruction See also Louise Spear-Swerling's authored volume, The Structured Literacy Planner: Designing Interventions for Common Reading Difficulties, Grades 1–9, which provides blueprints for tailoring interventions based on a learner's reading profile.