Comprehension, Grades K-12: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading

Radically change the way students learn from texts, extending beyond comprehension to critical reasoning and problem solving.

Is your reading comprehension instruction just a pile of strategies? There is no evidence that teaching one strategy at a time, especially with pieces of text that require that readers use a variety of strategies to successfully negotiate meaning, is effective. And how can we extend comprehension beyond simple meaning?

Bestselling authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nicole Law propose a new, comprehensive model of reading instruction that goes beyond teaching skills to fostering engagement and motivation. Using a structured, three-pronged approach-skill, will, and thrill-students learn to experience reading as a purposeful act and embrace struggle as a natural part of the reading process. Instruction occurs in three phases:

• Skill. Holistically developing skills and strategies necessary for students to comprehend text, such as monitoring, predicting, summarizing, questioning, and inferring.
• Will. Creating the mindsets, motivations, and habits, including goal setting and choice, necessary for students to engage fully with texts.
• Thrill. Fostering the thrill of comprehension, so that students share their thinking with others or use their knowledge for something else.

Comprehension is the structured framework you need to empower students to comprehend text and take action in the world.

Douglas Fisher is a professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Fisher was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, leadership, and curriculum design, as well as books such as Your Introduction to PLC+, Welcome to Teaching, How Feedback Works, Teaching Reading, and RIGOR Unveiled. Fisher loves being an educator and hopes to share that passion with others.

Nancy Frey is a professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Her published titles include The Courage to Learn, The Art and Science of Coaching, How Scaffolding Works, and The Illustrated Guide to Visible Learning. Frey is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California and learns from teachers and students every day.

Nicole Law, PhD, is a Senior Consultant and Best-Selling Author for Corwin Publishing. She presents in the areas of leadership, professional learning communities, culturally responsive pedagogy, educating multilingual learners, and multidimensional aspects for Visible Learning. In addition, she has served as a curriculum coordinator for English language learners, cultural responsivity, AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination), district equity, and mathematics and science instruction in the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Indianapolis, Indiana. In this position, Nicole created multilayered and multifaceted professional learning for teachers and administrators covering all aspects of directed programs and curricular areas.

In 2008, Nicole received the National Milken Award from the state of Indiana. Prior to her leadership role, Nicole was a science teacher, administrator, and a building principal. She has an MEd in elementary administration and supervision from Butler University and a PhD from Indiana State University.

Nicole is the coauthor of multiple best-selling publications including: Mindframes for Belonging, Identities and Equity: Fortifying Cultural Bridges, Collective Equity: A Movement for Creating Communities Where We Can All Breathe and Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading. She is also the coauthor of The Reflective Leader: Implementing a Multidimensional Leadership Performance System.

Her email is Nicole.Law@corwin.com