This book provides classroom-tested methods for engaging struggling middle grade readers--even those who appear to have given up--and fostering their success. The emphasis is on constructing respectful, encouraging learning environments that incorporate students' diverse literacies, cultural interests, and prior knowledge and skills into instruction. Chapters outline effective, innovative strategies for instruction and assessment in comprehension, vocabulary, text-based discussion, critical reading, and other core areas. Realistic classroom examples are included throughout, including applications of nontraditional texts. Other useful features include reflection questions at the end of each chapter. Winner--Literacy Research Association's Edward B. Fry Book Award

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative research study was to examine if a predictive relationship existed between general educators' perceived self-efficacy, attitudes toward inclusion, and the reading achievement of special needs students in an urban school district in the Midwestern United States. A convenience sample of 65 middle school reading teachers participated in the study. The theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy theory, and social cognitive theory provided a theoretical understanding of how inclusion affects the attitude and behaviors of teachers. Attitudes and beliefs affect behavior by determining what a middle school teacher does and does not do, thereby affecting what the student with a disability receives in the classroom. A simple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses according to scores generated from the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) short form and the Scale of Teachers' Attitude Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC). The results of both simple linear regression analyses determined that neither the TSES nor the STATIC were found to be significant predictors of the change in Ohio Academic Achievement (OAA) reading test scores during the 2012-2013 school years. The results of this study added to the knowledge base of the field by examining the predictive relationship between teacher perceptions of their self-efficacy, attitudes, and regarding inclusion and the reading achievement of special education students that have been included in a general education classroom for reading instruction.

Reading instruction is too often grounded in a narrowly defined "science of reading" that focuses exclusively on cognitive skills and strategies. Yet cognition is just one aspect of reading development. This book guides K–8 educators to understand and address other scientifically supported factors that influence each student's literacy learning, including metacognition, motivation and engagement, social–emotional learning, self-efficacy, and more. Peter Afflerbach uses classroom vignettes to illustrate the broad-based nature of student readers’ growth, and provides concrete suggestions for instruction and assessment. The book's utility is enhanced by end-of-chapter review questions and activities and a reproducible tool, the Healthy Readers Profile, which can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

What it really means to "read closely." What could Fern Arable, Jay Gatsby, and Winston Churchill possibly have in common? They all need masterful teachers to help students revel in their complexity. And Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher are just the two mentors to help you make that happen. Call it close reading, call it deep reading, call it analytic reading—call it what you like. The point is, it’s a level of understanding that students of any age can achieve with the right kind of instruction. In Rigorous Reading, Nancy and Doug articulate an instructional plan so clearly, and so squarely built on research, that teachers, schools, and districts need look no further. The 5 Access Points Toward Proficiency Purpose & Modeling: Teachers think aloud to demonstrate critical thinking and how good readers always know why they are reading. Close & Scaffolded Reading Instruction: Teachers engage students in repeated readings and discussions, with text-dependent questions, prompts, and cues to help students delve into an author’s ideas. Collaborative Conversations: Teachers orchestrate collaborative learning to get students in the habit of exercising their analytical thinking in the presence of their peers. An Independent Reading Staircase: Teachers artfully steer students to more challenging books, with strategic bursts of instruction and peer conferences to foster metacognitive awareness. Performance: Teachers offer feedback and assessments that help students demonstrate understanding of text in authentic ways and plan instruction based on student understanding. There’s more . . . Also included are illustrative classroom video clips available via QR codes along with an online Facilitator’s Guide with PowerPoints--making Rigorous Reading the only resource a teacher, school, or district needs to seriously stretch students’ capacity to read and comprehend text.