Four Powerful Strategies for Struggling Readers, Grades 3-8: Small Group Instruction That Improves Comprehension

by Lois A. Lanning

Overview

"Lanning reduces the long list of skills and strategies found in curriculum documents into four key comprehension strategies, setting out a very workable plan for enhancing reading comprehension."
—Richard Allington, Professor of Education
University of Tennessee

"These four powerful strategies come to the rescue with detailed and engaging lessons and examples for guided reading instruction. The clarity and insight make this book a must-read for elementary and middle school reading specialists and classroom teachers."
—H. Lynn Erickson, Educational Consultant
Author, Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction

Focused techniques to help struggling readers strengthen comprehension skills!

Children who struggle with reading by the time they reach third grade risk falling further behind as they progress through school. This important resource presents four targeted, research-based comprehension strategies to help struggling readers in small group settings understand what they read.

Four Powerful Strategies for Struggling Readers, Grades 3–8 shows teachers how to support students′ reading comprehension by teaching the strategies that highly effective readers use: summarizing, creating meaningful connections, self-regulating, and inferring. The author examines how, why, and when to use each strategy and what each strategy looks like in practice. The book also covers:

• A gradual-release approach that begins with teacher-directed instruction and leads to student-directed learning as skills increase
• Specific teaching techniques to use with each strategy
• Detailed lesson examples for reading instruction and content area reading
• Reflections in each strategy chapter

The underlying principles in the book make these powerful strategies relevant for all elementary teachers, literacy coaches, and instructional leaders working to help students learn to read for deep understanding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452280523
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	07/17/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Lois A. Lanning, PhD, is an independent education consultant.  She presents and works with districts at the international, national, and state levels in the areas of literacy and Concept- Based Curriculum design.

This book is a natural extension of her three previous best-selling books in the Corwin Press Publisher’s Concept-Based collection, including Designing a Concept-Based Curriculum for English Language Arts (2013), by Lois A. Lanning; Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom (2nd ed., 2017), by H. Lynn Erickson, Lois A. Lanning, and Rachel French; and Transitioning to Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction (2014), by H. Lynn Erickson and Lois A. Lanning.

In addition, Lois is the author of the bestselling book, Four Powerful Strategies for Struggling Readers, Grades 3-8: Small Group Instruction That Improves Comprehension, a joint publication between Corwin Press and the International Reading Association (2009), and a chapter in The Best of Corwin: Differentiated Instruction in Literacy, Math, and Science (2011), Leslie Laud, Editor.

Lois was a classroom teacher, K-12 reading consultant, special education teacher, elementary school principal, district curriculum director, adjunct professor, and finally, an assistant superintendent of schools for the last 12 years of her career in public schools. Lois is the recipient of numerous educational awards and recognitions.

Her hobbies include reading, biking, hiking, and traveling. Lois currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband. She has two children and two grandsons, whom she absolutely adores.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Joseph Yukish
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Foundations
Recent Findings From Comprehension Strategies
Why Four Powerful Strategies?
The Four Powerful Comprehension Strategies
Summary of Recent Findings From Comprehension Research
Reading Comprehension Instruction
Comprehension Instructional Activities and Practices
Research on the Transfer of Learning
What Is Transfer?
A Closer Look at Transfer Theory
Summmary of Reading Comprehension Instruction
2. Gradual Release to Accelerate Progress
Gradual Release Lesson Design
Conclusions and Reflections
3. Putting the Strategies Into Practice: Summarizing
What Is Summarizing?
When Does a Reader Summarize?
Why Do Readers Summarize?
Sample Lessons for the Strategy Summarizing
Summarizing Across Content Areas
Conclusions and Reflections
4. Putting the Strategies Into Practice: Creating Meaningful Connections
What Is Creating Meaningful Connections?
When Does a Reader Create Meaningful Connections?
Why Do Readers Create Meaningful Connections?
Sample Lessons for the Strategy Creating Meaningful Connections
Making Meaningful Connections Across Content Areas
Conclusions and Reflections
5. Putting the Strategies Into Practice: Self-Regulating
What Is Self-Regulating?
When Does a Reader Self-Regulate?
Why Do Readers Self-Regulate?
Sample Lessons for the Strategy Self-Regulating
Self-Regulating Across Content Areas
Conclusions and Reflections
6. Putting the Strategies Into Practice: Inferring
What Is Inferring?
When Does a Reader Infer?
Why Do Readers Infer?
Sample Lessons for the Strategy Inferring
Inferring Across Content Areas
Conclusions and Reflections
7. Conclusion
Glossary: Defining Terms
Appendix 1: Thinking About How We Use Strategies to Comprehend
Appendix 2: Focusing on Comprehension Strategies in a Small Group Gradual Release Design Lesson for Struggling Readers: Observation Form
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"From theory to practical application, this book is a snapshot of lifelong dedication to understanding what works best for kids, especially kids who struggle, and then doing something about it. "

Laura J. Mead

These four powerful comprehension strategies come to the rescue with detailed and engaging lessons and examples for guided reading instruction. The clarity and insight that Lanning brings to the complex area of reading comprehension make this book a must-read for elementary and middle school reading specialists and classroom teachers.

H. Lynn Erickson

"Lanning reduces the long list of skills and strategies found in curriculum documents into four key comprehension strategies, setting out a very workable plan for enhancing reading comprehension. "

Richard Allington

"The information is critical to the needs of children in the intermediate grades. It supports what my school district has been focusing on, and the strategies provided are clear and concise. "

Wendy Wilging

"Makes teaching comprehension strategies comprehensible, without oversimplifying the complexity of the process. Teachers will come away with the ability to readily transfer four powerful, research-based strategies to their work with struggling readers in small group settings. Lanning is the consummate teacher as she practices what she preaches to make the ideas accessible to the reader. "

Catherine Kurkjian