Strategies to Enhance Literacy and Learning in Middle School Content Area Classrooms

This is the only book on the market that focuses specifically on content area reading for the middle grades.   The third edition of this unique resource has been thoroughly updated to include the most current research in the field of Middle School Literacy. Unlike most texts that ignore the middle school reader, this book addresses the issues that affect middle school students and teachers and their experiences with literacy instruction. Readable and teacher friendly, Reading and the Middle School Student provides not only a strong research base, but also practical teaching strategies for teachers in all of the content areas.   This book is designed to be a companion book to Rycik and Irvin Teaching Reading in the Middle Grades which focuses on reading in English/Language arts classes.  This book focuses on content area reading instruction.   Take a Glimpse Inside the Third Edition: A wealth of current student examples of strategies for middle grade students for instant use in the classroom. New issues and trends facing adolescent literacy including policy and position statements and federal action. New ELL emphasis in every chapter outlining specific strategies that can be used by middle school teachers with their English language learners. Unique focus on classroom implementation of literacy integrated with content area instruction.   About Your Authors:   Judith L. Irvin is currently a Professor at Florida State University and serves as the Executive Director of the National Literacy Project.  She has written and edited numerous books, chapters, and articles on adolescent literacy.   Douglas R. Buehl is a reading specialist at Madison East High School and District Adolescent Literacy Support Teacher, Madison, Wisconsin. He is Past President of the IRA Secondary Reading Interest Group and has published numerous articles on adolescent literacy.   Barbara J. Radcliffe  is an eighth grade reading/language arts teacher at Fairview Middle School in Tallahassee, Florida. Barbara also teaches Teaching English in the Middle School and Teaching Reading in Secondary English at Florida State University.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: ADOLESCENT LITERACY             The Neglect of Adolescent Literacy             A New Focus on Adolescent Literacy             Impact of Federal and State Mandates on Adolescent Literacy             School-wide Approaches to Improving Adolescent Literacy                         Growing as Teachers of Literacy             Purpose and Overview of the Book             Summary             Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book             References Chapter 2: LITERACY LEARNING             What Teachers See:  Symptoms of Ineffective Learning                         Metaphor #1: The Trip With No Scenery                         Metaphor #2: Ping Pong Reading                         Metaphor #3: Mindless Routines                         Metaphor #4: Consumers and Extraterrestrials                         Metaphor #5: Freeloading and First Down Punting                         Metaphor #6: World Brains and School Brains Interactive Reading and Learning                         Schema Theory Metacognition Scaffolding             Literacy Practice of Strong Readers                         The Learner                         The Text                         The Context   Reading/Writing Connections             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book   Chapter 3: LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT MOTIVATE STUDENTS Classroom Negotiations: The Teacher as Mediator             Mediated Instruction and the Gradual Release of Responsibility             Mediated Instruction and Prior Knowledge             Motivation and Engagement                         Making Connections to Students’ Lives Creating Safe and Responsive Classrooms                         Having Students Interact with Each Other and With Text             Using Classroom Discussion to Motivate Students             Classroom Talk that is Accountable                         Think-Pair-Share                         The Discussion Web Cooperative Literacy                         Directed Reading Sequence             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book   Chapter 4: ASSISTING STRUGGLING READERS The Status of Reading Proficiency in the United States             Helping Struggling Readers to Become Strong Readers                         English Language Learners             Strategies for Struggling Readers                         Interactive Reading Guides             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book   Chapter 5: THE DEMANDS OF TEXT The Transition to Informational Text             Kinds of Text                         Narrative Text                         Expository Text             Helping Students Understand Text Structure             Difficulty with Content-Area Textbooks                         Content and Strategic Knowledge                         Classroom Experiences with Textbooks                                     The Task                                     PIC: A Textbook Previewing Guide                                     Double S: Signal Words that Indicate Structure             Using and Evaluating Textbooks             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book   Chapter 6: VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE The Importance of Vocabulary Knowledge             Factors in Vocabulary Acquisition                         Knowing Words                         Morphology                         Context                         Definitions                         Size and Growth of Vocabulary             Metalinguistic Awareness             Choosing Words for Instruction                         Known Concepts                         Synonym/Anonyms or Multiple Meaning Words                         Unknown Concept             Guidelines for Instruction                         Help Students Become Independent Word Learners                         Encourage Active Involvement and Deep Processing of Words                         Provide Multiple Opportunities to Use Words Help Students Develop a Good Attitude about Learning Words Outside of the Classroom    Foster Extensive Reading Outside of Class             Vocabulary Strategies                         Possible Sentences                         List-Group-Label                         Inductive Vocabulary Search                         Concept Maps                         Word Family Trees             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book Chapter 7: USING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE The Role of Prior Knowledge in Reading                         Activating Prior Knowledge             Assessing the Knowledge Base of Students                         Misconceptions             Prereading Strategies             Building Background Knowledge When Students Know Little about a Topic                         Predicting and Confirming Activity                         Visual Prediction Guide             Activating Knowledge when Students Know Something about a Topic                         A PreReading Plan (PREP)                         Anticipation Guides             Organizing Knowledge when Students Know a Great Deal about a Topic                         Graphic Representations/Organizers                         Cloze Graphic Organizers                         Semantic or Concept Mapping             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book   Chapter 8: COMPREHENDING TEXT Strategies Strong Readers Use:  A Comprehension Model             Guidelines for Instruction             Comprehension Strategies             Teacher Guided Strategies                         Reciprocal Teaching                         K-W-L Plus                         Questioning the Author             Comprehension Monitoring Strategies A Self-Monitoring Approach to Reading and Thinking (SMART)                         Paired Readings             Study Guides                         Textbook Activity Guide             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book   Chapter 9: USING STUDY STRATEGIES TO LEARN AND REMEMBER Depth of Processing             Identifying Important Ideas                         Text Coding                         Underlining or Highlighting             Generalizations about Strategic Learning Task Understanding is Critical to Strategic Learning Beliefs About Learning Influence How Students Read and Study High-Quality Instruction is Essential Cognitive and Metacognitive Processing Should be the Instructional Focus It is Important to Teach a Variety of Research-Based Strategies             Question Generation and Answer Explanation                         Question Answer Relationships             Text Summarization                         Power Notes                         Summarizing             Student Generated Elaborations                         Elaborative Interrogations             Organizing Strategies                         Graphic Representations             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book   Chapter 10: ASSESSMENT THAT GUIDES INSTRUCTION Characteristics of High-Quality Assessments             Using High-Stakes and Other Standardized Tests             Curriculum-Based Assessment             Traditional Teacher Assessments: Grades             Authentic Assessment                         Underlying Beliefs of Authentic Assessment             Authentic Assessment Design Technology to Show Mastery             Visual Demonstrations of Mastery                         Oral Demonstrations of Mastery                         Portfolio Assessment             Managing the Grading Load                         Focus Grading                         Monday for Comments                         Code Sheets                         Alternative Evaluators                         Writing Conferences                         Holistic Scoring with Rubrics             Summary Extending Learning                         Readdressing the Talking Points                         Revisiting the Vignette                         Terms to Remember and Use                         Modifying Instruction for English Language Learners                         Beyond the Book

About the Author :
Judith L. Irvin is currently a Professor at Florida State University and serves as the Executive Director of the National Literacy Project.  She has written and edited numerous books, chapters, and articles on adolescent literacy.   Douglas R. Buehl is a reading specialist at Madison East High School and District Adolescent Literacy Support Teacher, Madison, Wisconsin. He is Past President of the IRA Secondary Reading Interest Group and has published numerous articles on adolescent literacy.   Barbara J. Radcliffe  is an eighth grade reading/language arts teacher at Fairview Middle School in Tallahassee, Florida. Barbara also teaches Teaching English in the Middle School and Teaching Reading in Secondary English at Florida State University.