The versatile and practical handbook to promote students′ literacy and learning! Scores of children across the country do not read with comprehension, and literacy has become a national priority. In Literacy Matters, internationally recognized author, educational coach, and consultant Robin Fogarty defines and reviews 15 practical literacy approaches that teachers can use across all content areas and grade levels to help students develop essential literacy skills. This user-friendly resource provides strategies for immediate implementation with an overview of the research and best practices associated with each strategy. With an easy-to-use menu that enables teachers to select the specific strategies they want to use to boost content-area literacy and comprehension, this valuable guide explores proven instructional methods such as Teaching metacognitive student thinking Creating literature circles Involving parents and community Tapping into prior knowledge Using technology to impact literacy acquisition Put these strategies to use in your classroom, and watch as your students improve their reading and comprehension, and apply these tools for success across content areas and in their lives!

Literacy can empower students, but it may also limit their understanding if taught without regard for the context of their lives. Using his encounters with students, in high school, college, and state prison classrooms, as well as his own experience, Robert Yagelski looks at the sometimes ambiguous role of literacy in our lives and examines the mismatch between conventional approaches to teaching literacy and the literacy needs of students in a rapidly changing, increasingly technological world. He asserts that ultimately, the most important job of the English teacher is to reveal to students ways they can participate in the discourse that shapes their lives, and he offers a timely look at how technology has influenced the way we write and read. The scope of this fascinating book reaches beyond the classroom and offers insight about what it means to be "literate" in an economically driven, dynamic society. Addressing earlier works on the subject of literacy, as well as the ideas of theorists such as Foucault, this perceptive work has much to offer educators and anyone seeking to understand the nature of literacy itself.

In an era when many in the science community feel that science is under attack, In Defense of Science explains why ordinary citizens need to have an understanding of science, its methods, and its groundbreaking discoveries. The authors debunk several misconceptions of science and scientists, and advocate that science is an integral part of society and everyday life. This book begins with an introduction to science and its basic concepts, including a brief and entertaining history of science and scientific discoveries, before taking on current views of science in society. It surveys the many sources of our ideas of science, including pop culture, classics of literature, news media, and political discourse. Much of the information from these sources tends to mislead, and the only way to guard against such misinformation is to become scientifically literate, and promote scientific literacy in society. The book therefore delves into the reasons that so many people do not understand basic scientific principles and do not keep up with scientific breakthroughs, and finishes by examining the current state of science education. It includes many resources for further reading, and is presented in an engaging and entertaining way.

Exploration of the ways in which literacy and its teaching has changed to reflect a new diversity of racial, social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Contributors explore the emergence of 'multiliteracies': from the more broad perspectives of policy implications to specific case studies in classroom and home settings. Simultaneously published in paperback and downloadable PDF format. Includes notes on contributors and references.

Early Literacy Matters is an innovative action guide for elementary school leaders and instructional coaches dedicated to accelerating literacy performance in the early grades, when prevention of reading difficulties matters most. As a unique father-daughter team with combined expertise in literacy education and instructional leadership, the authors share best practices for literacy success. Readers will learn how to... establish and lead a literacy team, implement embedded professional development, utilize key assessments to frame daily instruction, and illustrate specific organizational and scheduling models needed to support systemic change based on the science of reading. Each chapter features reflection questions and explicit strategies and tools leaders can implement immediately in today’s classrooms.

Literacy research has focused increasingly on the social, cultural, and material remaking of human communication. Such research has generated new knowledge about the diverse and interconnected modes and media through which people can and do make meaning and opened up definitions of literacy to include image, gaze, gesture, print, speech, and music. And yet, despite all of the attention to multimodality, questions remain that are fundamental to why multimodal literacy might matter to people and their communities. How, for instance, might multimodal literacy be implicated in wellbeing? And what of the little-researched sonic in multimodal ensembles? For centuries singing, as a basic form of human communication and tool for teaching and learning, has been used to share knowledge and pass on understandings of the world from one generation to another. What, however, are the implications of singing and its effects on people’s prospects for learning and making meaning together? In this thought-provoking book, the authors explore notions of wellbeing and what is created when skipped generations are brought together through singing-infused multimodal, intergenerational curricula. They argue for the import of singing as a multimodal literacy practice and unite theoretical ideas, practical tools, and empirical research findings from a ground-breaking seven-year study of intergenerational singing in multimodal curricula. Educators and researchers alike will find in the pages of this interdisciplinary book responses to the question of why multimodal literacy might matter and a sample curriculum designed to foster the expansion of people’s literacy and identity options across the lifespan. /div

Make the most of every instructional minute with engaging literacy activities Time—or lack thereof—may be the most precious commodity in the classroom. From covering all the necessary curriculum and imparting life skills to attending meetings and answering emails, educators are faced with real challenges when there never seems to be enough time to do it all. Although teachers don’t have the power to create more minutes in the school day, they do have the power to be effective and efficient with the time given. Molly Ness asks teachers first to examine their use of time in the classroom in order to make more space for literacy. She then introduces 40 innovative activities designed to replace seatwork. These literacy-rich alternatives for classroom transitions are presented alongside Research on instructional time in K–5 classrooms Strategies for how to maximize every minute of instruction Suggestions for improving efficiency to expand independent reading and writing time Reflective practices to help teachers examine how they use the time they have The instructional day is ripe for redesign with a thoughtful and authentic time audit. Every Minute Matters guides educators through that process by outlining literacy-rich activities to optimize transitional times and minimize lost instructional minutes.