The Essentials of Teaching Children to Read: The Teacher Makes the Difference (3rd Edition)

Why is preparation so critical for reading teachers? Because research tells us that it’s the teacher who makes the difference in effective reading instruction. Capable literacy teachers think about their teaching decisions, and they understand and meet the needs of individual students. The new edition of The Essentials of Teaching Children to Read: The Teacher Makes the Difference emphasizes the teacher’s role in literacy development, pointing out the five pillars of effective reading instruction–teacher knowledge, assessment, effective practice, differentiated instruction and family/home connections. Chapters on phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, assessment, and programs and standards are organized around these pillars for a concise look at the teacher’s role in the most important aspects of literacy education.

New to this edition….

Teacher Knowledge

• Presents background knowledge teachers need to know to understand why they do what they do in teaching reading and includes evidence-based research foundational to responsible reading instruction.

Classroom Assessment

• Offers full sections in each chapter that look specifically at the ways evaluation and assessment drive instruction
• Describes assessment tools and procedures for assessing specific reading components such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and writing.

Effective Practice

• Presents practical strategies and step by step instruction to plan for reading instruction for each reading component.
• Last two chapters are devoted to illustrating how to organize literacy materials and classrooms for grades K-3 and 4-6.

Differentiated Instruction

• Points out ways to differentiate instruction to meet the individual needs of students including for students with special needs.
• Features Getting to Know English Learners provide research-based applications to help you meet the needs of students whose first language is not English

Family/Home Connections

• Explains how teachers can connect with parents to keep them informed about their children’s learning and provides suggestions to guide parents in helping their children become successful readers and writers.