Reading Instruction That Works, Fourth Edition: The Case for Balanced Teaching

This widely adopted text and K-8 practitioner resource demonstrates how successful literacy teachers combine explicit skills instruction with an emphasis on reading for meaning. Distinguished researcher Richard L. Allington builds on the late Michael Pressley's work to explain the theories and findings that guide balanced teaching and illustrate what exemplary lessons look like in action. Detailed examples offer a window into highly motivating classrooms around the country. Comprehensive in scope, the book discusses specific ways to build word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, especially for readers who are struggling. New to This Edition *Updated throughout to reflect important recent research advances. *Chapter summing up the past century's reading debates and the growing acceptance of balanced teaching. *New and revised vignettes of exemplary teachers.

Table of Contents:
Introduction to the Fourth Edition, Richard L. Allington Introduction to the Third Edition, Michael Pressley 1. Skills Emphasis, Meaning Emphasis, and Balanced Reading Instruction: A Short History 2. Skilled Reading 3. Children Who Experience Problems in Learning to Read 4. Before Reading Words Begins 5. Learning to Recognize Words 6. Fluency 7. Vocabulary 8. Expert Literacy Teaching in the Primary Grades, with Ruth Wharton-McDonald 9. The Need for Increased Comprehension Instruction 10. Motivation and Literacy 11. Concluding Reflections Appendix: Landmarks in Development of Literacy Competence (or, What Happens When) Author Index Subject Index

About the Author :
Michael Pressley, PhD, was University Distinguished Professor, Director of the Doctoral Program in Teacher Education, and Director of the Literacy Achievement Research Center at Michigan State University until his death in 2006. An expert on effective elementary literacy instruction, he was the author or editor of more than 300 journal articles, chapters, and books. Dr. Pressley was the recipient of the 2004 E. L. Thorndike Award (from Division 15 of the American Psychological Association), the highest award given for career research accomplishment in educational psychology. Richard L. Allington, PhD, is Professor of Literacy Studies in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee. He has published over 150 articles, chapters, and books, and has twice received the Albert J. Harris Award from the International Reading Association (IRA) for an outstanding contribution to the understanding of the prevention and assessment of reading disabilities. Dr. Allington has served as president of both the IRA and the Literacy Research Association. He is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.

Review :
"This classic book works--and it works extremely well. The fourth edition provides today's teachers with the very best advice on how to teach children to read, drawing on validated instructional methods and presenting them in a balanced and thoughtful framework." --Steve Graham, EdD, Warner Professor, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University "Allington has done a masterful job of integrating current literacy research into the fourth edition of Reading Instruction That Works. The new first chapter offers a historical perspective on literacy instruction that provides needed context for the remainder of the book. This is a 'must read' for students early in their graduate coursework in reading and/or special education, and also would be ideal for a 'teachers as readers' initiative in any school in the country. It is a wonderful synthesis of the best literacy practices, based on research, and is sure to provoke lively and thoughtful discussions in university classrooms and school districts."--Carol S. Beers, School of Education, EdD, College of William and Mary "There is much to recommend about the fourth edition of Reading Instruction That Works. The authors understand readers, teachers, and the approaches to teaching that best foster reading development. Bringing different, but complementary, perspectives on reading instruction that makes a difference in students’ and teachers’ lives, they write with a combination of knowledge, insight, and passion that is all too rare. I cannot imagine reading this book and not coming away with new ideas and new enthusiasm for teaching."--Peter Afflerbach, PhD, Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland at College Park "Pressley originally envisioned this text as a ‘gateway to the literature on reading and reading instruction.' The book fulfilled this purpose in its prior editions and hits the mark once again in this updated fourth edition from Allington. Making a compelling case for teaching foundational components of reading by referencing research in an highly approachable manner, the book serves as a terrific conceptual overview as well as a practical resource. Whether used in an undergraduate course with future teachers or in a study group with current teachers, the book is a ‘must read.’ The fourth edition continues to foster informed thinking and discussion about productive word- and meaning-based reading instruction in the elementary grades."--Rachel Brown, PhD, Reading and Language Arts Center, Syracuse University -Thoroughly defines and describes each type of instruction before showing how successful classrooms provide teacher support as children apply the skills they are learning. (on the third edition)--Curriculum Connections, 4/1/2007ƒƒA valuable resource of significant information and viewpoints about the nature of the reading act, the essential aspects of learning to read and of not learning to read, and the processes needed to transform reading education in our elementary schools today. (on the second edition)--Teachers College Record, 2/1/2014