Help for Struggling Readers Strategies for Grades 3-8

This practical book presents an array of research-based instructional strategies for use with struggling readers in the upper-elementary and middle grades. It is filled with proven ideas for engaging students and developing the key components of successful reading: vocabulary, comprehension, word recognition, and fluency. Each chapter reviews techniques for working on specific skills, provides needed materials and teacher-friendly instructional tips, and lists suggestions for further reading. The book's utility is enhanced by its convenient 8½ x 11 format and numerous reproducible charts, graphic organizer templates, and activities.

IntroductionUnderstanding Struggling ReadersA Stage PerspectiveThree Struggling ReadersAssessment and InstructionDesign of This VolumeSection 1. Decoding StrategiesGuiding Principles of Teaching DecodingPhonics in the Upper GradesTape-Recorded TextElectronic BooksSection 2. Fluency StrategiesGuiding Principles of Teaching FluencyEffective Fluency MethodsClasswide Peer TutoringSelf-Selected ReadingSection 3. Vocabulary StrategiesGuiding Principles of Teaching VocabularyFeature AnalysisGraphic Organizers Semantic MapsVocabulary VennsSemantic ScalesList\n-Group\n-LabelConcept SortsVocabulary ClustersSilly QuestionsPossible SentencesSection 4. Comprehension Lesson FormatsGuiding Principles of Teaching Reading ComprehensionDirected Reading ActivityDirected Reading\n-Thinking ActivityK-W-LListen\n-Read\n-DiscussSection 5. Questioning StrategiesLevels of QuestionsQuestion\n-Answer RelationshipsBetween the Lines (Inferential Reproducibles)Question ClustersReciprocal QuestioningQuestioning the AuthorSection 6. Other Comprehension StrategiesSpecific Skill ApproachesWalk-ThroughsThink-AloudsImagingTeaching with AnalogiesCharting New TerritoryGuiding NotesReading GuidesAnticipation GuidesReciprocal TeachingGuided Reading in Textual SettingsSummary WritingCloze VennsRiddlesPuzzlers20 More Ideas for Inferential ComprehensionSection 7. Suggested Professional ResourcesIndex

Michael C. McKenna, PhD, was Thomas G. Jewell Professor of Reading in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia until his death in 2016. He authored, coauthored, or edited more than 20 books, including Assessment for Reading Instruction, Third Edition; How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction, Second Edition: Resources for Grades K-3; and Organizing the Early Literacy Classroom; as well as over 100 articles, chapters, and technical reports on a range of literacy topics. Dr. McKenna also served as Series Editor, with Sharon Walpole, of The Essential Library of PreK-2 Literacy. His research was sponsored by the National Reading Research Center and the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. He was a corecipient of the Edward B. Fry Book Award from the Literacy Research Association and the Award for Outstanding Academic Books from the American Library Association, and a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.