What would it take to make all the children we serve strong readers?
It's a bold question to ponder as you prepare for the coming school year. Sadly, according to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, U.S. students are not all strong readers. But authors in this summer issue, "Strong Readers All," share stories of how they successfully helped all learners improve their reading skills—by using nontraditional approaches at every grade level.
Continuing the theme of our March 2012 issue, "Reading: The Core Skill," these articles describe research, strategies, and revamped school structures. Our first two articles show how teachers can work good old vocabulary instruction much harder—while making it more fun—to help students make headway in understanding complex text.John Collinsdetails how by regularly assigning students to write "10 percent summaries" of texts, we can improve students' comprehension and persuasive writing skills, as the common core state standards will require.
Other articles profile schoolwide strategies that made a serious difference during the earliest reading years. SeeCarol and Robert Canady's pieceabout a school that added an extra hour of targeted reading instruction for all kindergarteners by forming "early literacy teams." At the opposite end of schooling,Kimberly B. Pynebrought at-risk high schoolers together with college students for "book jams" that got reluctant teens reading.
We also offer two classic articles from past issues of EL—from two trusted voices in reading instruction. ResearcherRichard L. Allingtonmaintains that with what we now know about the foundations of literacy, teachers can spot which kids are at risk for reading trouble—and intervene—from the first week of kindergarten. And middle school teacherCris Tovanishows how identifying a clear purpose for a school reading assignment sets readers up for success.
Happy summer and happy reading! We'll see you in print when our next issue year kicks off in late August.
