Four Powerful Strategies for Struggling Readers, Grades 3-8

Lois A. Lanning - Educational Consultant, Connecticut

Foreword by Joseph Yukish

Other Titles in:
Literacy, K-12 | Teaching in Middle Schools | Teaching in Primary Schools

September 2008 | 176 pages | Corwin

Research-based strategies for reading instruction often concentrate on reading readiness and Reading First skills for Grades PreK-2, but this important new book focuses on instruction that works for readers still struggling with reading comprehension in Grades 3-8. Sorting through the myriad of reading strategies and skills listed in state standards, local curricula, basal readers, and professional publications, the author here identifies and emphasizes four 'power strategies' worth spending time teaching when the goal is understanding text: summarizing, making meaningful connections, self-regulating, and inferring. Covering these four strategies individually and collectively, the author examines how, why, and when to use each strategy; specific teaching techniques to use with each strategy; what efficient use of each strategy looks like; assessment measures to use with each strategy; and much more .

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

“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, Educational Consultant

Author, Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction

"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, Professor

Central Connecticut State University

"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, Fourth-Grade Teacher

Brinkerhoff Intermediate School, Mansfield, OH

"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

"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, Teacher

Danbury Public Schools, CT