40 Ways to Support Struggling Readers in Content Classrooms, Grades 6-12

by Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins

Overview

"The book′s major strengths are its ease of use and the range of approaches to address many different reading issues. You can read straight through for a host of ideas, or you can pinpoint exactly which kind of strategy to explore."
—Kristie Mary Betts, English Teacher
Peak to Peak High School, Lafayette, CO

"Bottom line: This book is reader friendly! Teachers in the content areas can quickly and easily find specific ideas to help students."
—Barbara L. Townsend, Reading Specialist
Elkhorn Area School District, WI

Help for students who are overwhelmed, feel confused, can′t remember, lack language skills, or just don′t get it.

In today′s era of accountability, teachers are expected to help all secondary students understand complex concepts and ideas and demonstrate proficiency on high-stakes tests. To promote success for struggling readers in all content areas, expert educator Elaine K. McEwan offers 40 user-friendly and easy-to-implement strategies in an invaluable text that includes three tables of contents (traditional, topical, and problem-solving) formatted for quick and easy reference.

Each of the 40 research-based and classroom-tested techniques features:

• An intriguing quotation or definition to grab your attention
• A brief description of the method and suggestions for implementation
• Recommended resources to gain a more in-depth understanding of the method
• Research citations to demonstrate the power of the method to get results

Offering cross-references and advance organizers throughout, this book provides the specific yet comprehensive information you need to support all students with reading difficulties.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452294599
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/01/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Elaine K. McEwan is an educational consultant with The McEwan-Adkins Group, offering professional development for educators to assist them in meeting the challenges of literacy learning in Grades Pre K-6. A former teacher, librarian, principal, and assistant superintendent for instruction in several suburban Chicago school districts, Elaine is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than three dozen books for educators. Her Corwin Press titles include Raising Reading Achievement in Middle and High Schools: Five Simple-to-Follow Strategies for Principals, Second Edition (2006), Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers: Using Cognitive Research to Boost K-8 Achievement (2004), Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals: From Good to Great Performance (2003), Making Sense of Research: What’s Good, What’s Not, and How to Tell the Difference (2003), Seven Steps to Effective Instructional Leadership, Second Edition (2003), Teach Them ALL to Read: Catching the Kids Who Fall through the Cracks (2002), and Ten Traits of Highly Effective Teachers: How to Hire, Mentor, and Coach Successful Teachers (2001).

McEwan was honored by the Illinois Principals Association as an outstanding instructional leader, by the Illinois State Board of Education with an Award of Excellence in the Those Who Excel Program, and by the National Association of Elementary School Principals as the National Distinguished Principal from Illinois for 1991. She received her undergraduate degree in education from Wheaton College and advanced degrees in library science (MA) and educational administration (EdD) from Northern Illinois University.

Table of Contents

Problem-Solution Table of Contents
Topical Table of Contents
List of Instructional Aids
Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Author
1. Teach the Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers
2. Engage in Teacher and Student Think-Alouds Daily
3. Teach Students How to Activate Prior Knowledge and Make Connections to New Knowledge
4. Teach Students How to Infer
5. Teach Students How to Monitor Their Comprehension
6. Teach Students How to Ask Questions
7. Teach Students How to Question the Author
8. Teach Students How to Search and Select
9. Teach Students How to Summarize
10. Teach Students How to Graphically Organize Text and Concepts by Chunking
11. Use and Teach Concept Maps
12. Teach Students How to Mark Text as They Read
13. Provide Advance Organizers Before Lessons
14. Use the I Do It, We Do It, You Do It Lesson Plan
15. Provide Models, Examples, and Nonexamples
16. Preview and Preteach Critical Concepts and Vocabulary
17. Check Frequently for Understanding
18. Assess for Learning and for Grading
19. Use and Teach Content Vocabulary Daily
20. Teach Academic Vocabulary
21. Teach Vocabulary Using Graphic Organizers
22. Reduce the Cognitive Load
23. Teach the Structure of Your Discipline
24. Use Easy Nonfiction to Build Background Knowledge
25. Determine What′s Hard for Students and Teach It
26. Provide Easy-to-Read Short Articles Based on Content Standards
27. Assign Oral-Assisted Repeated Reading of Content Text
28. Use a Variety of Oral Reading Approaches
29. Vary Your Models, Moves, and Activities
30. Design Interactive Lessons
31. Use the Cooperative Learning Model
32. Create Content-Based Cooperative Games and Activities
33. Vary Your Seating and Grouping Arrangements
34. Give Students Reasons for Reading
35. Develop and Use Scoring Rubrics
36. Increase Wait Time
37. Build In Frequent Processing Breaks
38. Use and Teach Mnemonic Devices
39. Schedule Writing in Response to Reading on a Regular Basis
40. Expect Students to Activate, Connect, and Summarize Daily
Conclusion
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"A key ingredient for success for any teacher who would help students using tested classroom techniques. "

The Bookwatch

"The book’s major strengths are its ease of use and the range of approaches to address many different reading issues. You can read straight through for a host of ideas or you can pinpoint exactly which kind of strategy to explore."

Kristie Mary Betts

"The format is easy to understand. Content-area teachers can quickly and easily find specific ideas to help students. Bottom line: This book is reader-friendly!"

Barbara L. Townsend

"The parallel structure of each chapter helps the reader anticipate what is coming next by modeling a key reading strategy."

Sandra Ness

"This straightforward, no-nonsense book lives up to its title. "

Curriculum Connections