Reading Research in Action: A Teacher's Guide for Student Success

Teachers asked for it: a practical, no-nonsense book that shows them how to use scientifically based reading research (SBRR) in their everyday classroom instruction and improve their students' literacy outcomes. Now the SBRR guide every reading teacher wants is here—straight from the experts behind the bestselling Voice of Evidence in Reading Research.

Peggy McCardle and Vinita Chhabra team with researcher and veteran educator Barbara Kapinus of the National Education Association. Inspired by questions from real teachers, the authors give K–8 educators clear and immediately useful answers about reading research and what it says about the elements of effective instruction:

• What is SBRR, and why should I use it in my classroom?
• What does research say about teaching each component of reading—vocabulary, alphabetics, fluency, comprehension, spelling, and writing?
• Why is Response to Intervention so important, and how can I put it to work?
• How can I get students engaged and motivated to read?
• What are the best classroom assessment methods?
• What does good professional development look like?

Answers to these critical questions come complete with simple, straightforward explanations of research and brief, applicable vignettes that demonstrate how to work research-based practices into classroom reading instruction. A user-friendly guide that's truly responsive to teachers' needs, this must-have book will help educators see all the benefits of instruction based on research—and use it skillfully in today's classrooms to make all their students better readers.

Peggy McCardle, Ph.D. , M.P.H., Owner, Peggy McCardle Consulting, LLC

Peggy McCardle is a private consultant and an affiliated research scientist at Haskins Laboratories. She is the former chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) , U.S. National Institutes of Health, where she also directed the Language, Bilingualism, and Biliteracy Research Program and developed various literacy initiatives. Dr. McCardle is a linguist, a former speech-language pathologist, and, in her remote past, a classroom teacher. Her publications address various aspects of public health and developmental psycholinguistics. The recipient of various awards for her work in federal government, including a 2013 NICHD Mentor Award, she also was selected in 2013 to receive the Einstein Award from The Dyslexia Foundation. Her publications address various aspects of public health and developmental psycholinguistics (e.g. , language development, bilingualism, reading, learning disabilities) . Dr. McCardle has taught scientific and technical writing and has extensive experience developing and coediting volumes and thematic journal issues.

Vinita Chhabra, M.Ed., has a master's degree in educational psychology and a background in special education, with an emphasis in reading disabilities. She has worked in the public school system, completing cognitive and educational assessments and recommending children for special education programs. She also has worked as an evaluator at the NICHD-Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, conducting assessments of children with possible reading disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and evaluating reading research data at the Yale University Department of Pediatrics. She has worked with the NRP since its inception and was responsible for researching and conducting searches of literature in reading for the NRP and coordinating and editing materials for the NRP report. She is heading the dissemination activities for the NRP and works as a liaison to joint educational activities with the National Institute for Literacy and the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, Ms. Chhabra assists the NICHD's Child Development and Behavior Branch in adolescent and family literacy initiatives, with a focus in motivation in reading and literacy. She has co-authored articles dealing with reading disabilities and is completing her doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Virginia.