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60 Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension in Grades K-8

By: Kathleen Feeney Jonson

Use these fun, easy-to-use activities to tackle the most challenging aspect of reading!

Based on recommendations of the National Reading Panel Report, this ready-to-use tool kit provides learning strategies to help teach the most difficult piece of the reading process—comprehension—and to actively engage students in cognitive processes, including predicting, visualizing, and summarizing. Offering a rare combination of fun and function, these strategies will inspire students to listen, laugh, and most importantly, learn. Each of the 60 strategies includes:

Grade-level recommendations
Step-by-step instructions
Graphics and examples of student work
Directions for modifying strategies for different grade levels

Full description

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Product Details

Grade Level: K-8
ISBN: 9780761988380
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2005
Page Count: 240
Publication date: December 21, 2005

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Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.

Description

Use these fun, easy-to-use activities to tackle the most challenging aspect of reading!

"Finally, someone has written a practical book filled with easy-to-read comprehension strategies. I will definitely use this book with teachers in my district to teach about and review comprehension strategies. The section on 'How Can We Learn More' is also fantastic. Thank you, Kathleen Jonson."
--Hazel Brauer, Literacy Coordinator
Jefferson Elementary School District, Daly City, CA

"This book is a comprehensive, well-organized guide to teaching reading comprehension. The clear, consistent layout of the lesson plans makes it easy for the teacher to locate and implement appropriate lessons quickly. The examples are very helpful and the templates allow a teacher to begin lessons immediately. The wide variety of lesson plans makes this guide truly useful for all grade levels."
--Myra Gamble, Reading Specialist
Spring Valley School, Millbrae, CA

Comprehension is the final goal of reading, but because it involves several cognitive processes, it remains the most difficult facet of reading development to teach. Based on the recommendations of the National Reading Panel Report, 60 Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension in Grades K-8 provides teachers with a ready-to-use toolkit of tried-and-true learning strategies designed to actively engage students in cognitive processes, including predicting, visualizing, making inferences, monitoring, synthesizing, and summarizing. Developed as specific instructional procedures with clearly delineated steps for implementation, these entertaining activities are effective in all types of classrooms. Each of the 60 strategies in the book includes:

Grade-level recommendations
Goals for each strategy
Step-by-step instructions
Graphics and examples of student work
Directions for modifying strategies for different grade levels

Literary expert Kathleen Feeney Jonson has created an exciting resource to help educators teach the most difficult piece of the reading process: comprehension. Offering a rare combination of fun and function, these strategies are sure to get students to listen, laugh, and most important, to learn.

Key features

Aligned with IRA standards
Could serve as a test prep manual for teachers seeking certification
A solid addition to our growing list of literacy titles

Author(s)

Kathleen Feeney Jonson

In her 40 years as an educator, Kathleen Feeney Jonson, Professor Emeritus, has been a teacher, taught director of staff development, principal, director of curriculum and instruction, and university faculty. She conducted numerous workshops for teachers and administrators on such topics as reading comprehension strategies, writing process, portfolio assessment, peer coaching, and beginning teacher assistance programs. Until her retirement in summer 2009, Jonson was professor of education and coordinator of the Master in Arts in Teaching Reading program at the University of San Francisco's School of Education. She published three books with Corwin Press, including The New Elementary Teacher's Handbook (1st edition 1997, 2nd edition 2001), Being an Effective Mentor: How to Help Beginning Teachers Succeed (1st edition 2002, 2nd edition 2007), and 60 Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension in Grades K–8 (2006).

Table of Contents

Preface

About the Author

Strategy 1: ABC Book

Strategy 2: Anticipation Guide

Strategy 3: Bio Poem

Strategy 4: Book Box

Strategy 5: Brainstorming

Strategy 6: Bumper Stickers

Strategy 7: Central Story Problem

Strategy 8: Character Bag

Strategy 9: Character Mapping

Strategy 10: Creating Chapter Titles

Strategy 11: Crossword Puzzle

Strategy 12: Cubing

Strategy 13: Directed Reading Thinking Activity

Strategy 14: Double-Entry Journal

Strategy 15: Exclusion Brainstorming

Strategy 16: Fishbowl

Strategy 17: Found Poem

Strategy 18: Four-Corners Debate

Strategy 19: Gallery Walk

Strategy 20: Grand Conversation

Strategy 21: Guided Imagery

Strategy 22: Hot Seat

Strategy 23: Interior Monologue

Strategy 24: Jigsaw

Strategy 25: K-W-L Chart

Strategy 26: Learning Logs

Strategy 27: Life Experience

Strategy 28: Literacy Quilt

Strategy 29: Literacy Sociogram

Strategy 30: Literature Circles

Strategy 31: Mind Mapping

Strategy 32: Open Mind Character Analysis

Strategy 33: Paired Retellings

Strategy 34: Pick-A-Pal

Strategy 35: Plot Profile

Strategy 36: P-M-I Evaluation (Pluses-Minuses-Interesting Aspects)

Strategy 37: Quaker Reading

Strategy 38: Question-Answer Relationships

Strategy 39: Questioning the Author

Strategy 40: Quickwriting

Strategy 41: Readers' Theater

Strategy 42: Read-Pair-Share

Strategy 43: Reciprocal Questioning (ReQuest)

Strategy 44: Response Log

Strategy 45: Semantic Mapping

Strategy 46: Sketch-to-Stretch

Strategy 47: SQ3R (Survey-Question-Read-Recite-Review)

Strategy 48: Stop-and-React

Strategy 49: Storyboard

Strategy 50: Story Frame

Strategy 51: Story Mapping

Strategy 52: Story Prediction Guide

Strategy 53: Story Pyramid

Strategy 54: Summary Hand

Strategy 55: Tableau

Strategy 56: Tea Party

Strategy 57: Think-Aloud Protocol

Strategy 58: Think-of-Three

Strategy 59: Venn Diagram

Strategy 60: Yellow Stickies

Resource I: Strategies Recommended by Grade Level

Resource II: Elements Addressed Through Strategies

Resource III: Strategies Used Before, During, and After Reading

Resource IV: Meta-Strategies Addressed

Index

Reviews

"This book is a comprehensive, well organized guide to teaching reading comprehension. The clear, consistent layout of the lesson plans makes it easy for the teacher to locate and implement appropriate lessons quickly. The examples are very helpful and the templates allow a teacher to begin lessons immediately. The wide variety of lesson plans makes this guide truly useful for all grade levels."

Myra Gamble, Reading Specialist
Spring Valley School, Millbrae, CA

"This is one of the most practical and comprehensive resources for teaching comprehension in the elementary classroom. It bridges the gap between theory and classroom practice. The 'what', 'why', 'when' and 'how' to teach is addressed in every lesson."

Mary E. Niesyn, Elementary School Teacher & Literacy Consultant
Reed School, Tiburon, CA

The practical ideas and clear explanations in this book will support our new and expierenced teachers create a strong comprehension component in their balanced literacy programs. The strategies will help students reach their highest potential in reading and writing comprehension. 60 Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension in Grades K-8, is a gift for our teachers and students."

Kathy Rosebrock, National Board Certified Teacher, New Teacher Coordinator
Novato Unified School District, Novato, CA

"Finally, someone has written a practical book filled with easy-to-read comprehension strategies. I will definitely use this book with teachers in my district to teach about and review comprehension strategies. The section on 'How Can We Learn More' is also fantastic. Thank you, Kathleen Jonson."

Hazel Brauer, Literacy Coordinator
Jefferson Elementary School District, Daly City, CA

Other Titles in: Middle School Teaching Methods | Elementary Teaching Methods | Literacy, K-12

Select Format:

Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.