Literacy Techniques: For Building Successful Readers and Writers

This revised handbook is even more useful for elementary teachers who want to explore the best techniques for teaching reading and writing. The second edition of this popular guide has been totally rewritten and offers more than one hundred procedures and activities based on the latest research. In this superb collection of proven strategies, teachers will find old favorites as well as new approaches they will want to try— from using reading comprehension strategies and the writing process to working with information texts and technology.

This overview of best practices for encouraging literacy helps teachers reflect on their own teaching style as they explore innovative approaches to learning. It contains hundreds of practical ideas to meet the particular needs of every student. Each strategy includes a brief discussion of the issues and then focuses on ready-to-use ideas for any classroom. Some of the topics addressed include:

• joining the literacy club—from conditions for literacy learning and gender issues to supporting literacy growth and using parents as partners;
• structures for literacy learning— from creating a print environment and guided reading to independent reading and tutoring struggling students;
• reading strategies—from tapping into background knowledge and monitoring comprehension to encouraging oral, written, and visual response;
• writing strategies— from using notebooks and tricks of the trade to writing in genre and applying the conventions of language;
• organizing a literacy classroom— from timetabling and involving the library to essential classroom resources in all genres.

Literacy Techniques for Building Successful Readers and Writers also includes checklists and guidelines—many in reproducible form—for easy classroom use.