This valuable, research-based guide gives middle and secondary English teachers the tools they need to improve the comprehension skills of all their students. Core chapters explain specific practices for fostering learning from texts; leading students to a thorough, lasting understanding of subject matter; nurturing meaningful responses to literature; explicitly teaching comprehension strategies; and engaging students in higher-order thinking. An additional chapter highlights vocabulary instruction. Throughout, attention is given to building comprehension skills in a diverse range of students, from high achievers to struggling readers and English language learners. A wealth of hands-on materials are featured, including lesson plans, scaffolded reading experiences, and a richly detailed example of a teaching unit that shows how all facets of comprehension instruction can be brought together in the classroom.

Reading comprehension is of great concern to many Americans, as evidenced by the mandate in most states today for graduation standards in reading and for assessments aligned to those standards. This book focuses on what has been learned from research about fostering reading comprehension in the middle grades, providing a broad overview of current educational and psychological research about effective strategies for teaching reading to middle grade students. Following an introduction by the editors, essays in the book are as follows: (1) "The Mind in Action: What It Means to Comprehend during Reading" (Paul van den Broeck and Kathleen E. Kremer); (2) "Comprehension Instruction in Elementary School: A Quarter-Century of Research Progress" (Michael Pressley); (3) "Explicit and Implicit Instruction in Comprehension" (Janice A. Dole); (4) "Balancing Literature and Instruction: Lessons from the Book Club Project" (Taffy E. Raphael); (5) "Building Student Capacity to Work Productively during Peer-Assisted Reading Activities" (Lynn S. Fuchs and Douglas Fuchs); (6) "A Vocabulary Program to Complement and Bolster a Middle-Grade Comprehension Program" (Michael F. Graves); (7) "Classroom Talk about Texts: Is It Dear, Cheap, or a Bargain at Any Price?" (Donna E. Alvermann); (8) "Literacy Lessons Derived from the Instruction of Six Latina/Latino Teachers" (Robert T. Jimenez); and (9) "Beyond Balance: Goal Awareness, Developmental Progressions, Tailoring to the Context, and Supports for Teachers in Ideal Reading and Literacy Programs" (Jere Brophy). (NKA)

This book is the compilation of eight research studies conducted by students from the Master's in Education with Emphasis on English Didactics at the School of Education in Universidad Externado de Colombia, and one study carried out by the professors from the same Emphasis. The articles focus on the role of teachers as materials developers in their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context and the importance of developing contextualized materials to promote students' learning processes. These issues comprise several themes such as teacher-developed materials in a Master's programme in Education with Emphasis on English Didactics, helping high-intermediate students develop argumentative skills in writing, enhancing undergraduates' reading comprehension through the awareness of reading strategies, digital storytelling to foster EFL writing, the effect of combining two corrective feedback strategies on written errors correction, self and peer assessment on students' oral performance (CALLA), communicative games to foster oral interaction in the EFL classroom, and promoting the reading process through collaborative strategic reading (CSR). This book is divided into eight chapters. Each chapter explains the corresponding research process undergone by the students. It describes their theoretical considerations, instructional and research designs, data analysis and findings, and conclusions in relation to their concern.

The changing and moving field of reading is reflected in the progression of What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction over the years, as the editors have sought to provide a solid foundation for the important work of teaching students to read. This new edition of this classic research review offers a broad and balanced perspective of the latest theory, research, and practice to provide that foundation.

This book provides innovative tools and strategies to support reading intervention for students in grades 3–8 who do not yet read with grade-level accuracy. Uniquely comprehensive, the Interactive Strategies Approach--Extended (ISA-X) has been shown to enhance intermediate and middle grade students' reading accuracy and comprehension as well as content vocabulary knowledge. Preservice and inservice teachers learn how to conduct assessments that help to identify instructional goals; monitor progress toward these goals; promote students' strategic thinking and motivation; and implement small-group instruction using thematic text sets on science and social studies topics. Numerous lesson examples and a thematic text set are included. Purchasers get access to a companion website where they can download and print reproducible materials from the book, as well as additional Web-only lesson templates and assessments, in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. See also Early Intervention for Reading Difficulties, Second Edition: The Interactive Strategies Approach, by Donna M. Scanlon, Kimberly L. Anderson, and Joan M. Sweeney, which focuses on supporting the literacy growth of beginning and struggling readers in grades K–2.