This is a book about problem solving--an internal tool that shapes the cognitive development of young readers and writers. At the same time, it is a book about the role of the teacher and the curriculum in structuring problem-solving opportunities. It is a book that advocates for schools to create intellectual environments that make literate thinking a top priority for children. Finally, it is a book that presents teaching and learning as collaborative processes between many people with a common goal--literacy for children. from the Introduction. How can teachers create a literacy curriculum that builds processing links between reading, writing, and spelling knowledge? In Shaping Literate Minds, Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos illustrate how processing theory can be applied to the everyday practices of classroom teaching. If instruction emphasizes the interrelationships of these three language areas, students learn how to transfer knowledge, skills, and strategies across literacy events. This is complex theory, but the authors provide clear and practical examples to support teachers as they incorporate these ideas into their classroom practices. Grounded in authentic experiences from primary classrooms, this book provides: explanations of processing behaviors among reading, writing, and spelling knowledge; observational tools that support teachers in noticing changes over time in specific literacy behaviors; guidance on creating conditions for developing self-regulated learners; authentic reading and writing samples and teacher/student interactions; figures and pictures that clearly describe how teachers can use assessment to inform and guide instruction, with links to national standards; details for establishing a school-based literacy model that includes team meetings, assessment walls, high standards, and a curriculum for literacy; appendixes with reproducible assessment checklists, report cards, task cards for literacy corners, and guided reading observation forms for team meetings. With a national emphasis on accountability, high standards, and literacy achievement, Shaping Literate Minds will help teachers and administrators implement a high-quality literacy curriculum that links to national and state goals.

How can teachers create a literacy curriculum that builds processing links between reading, writing, and spelling knowledge? In Shaping Literate Minds: Developing Self Regulated Learners , Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos illustrate how processing theory can be applied to the everyday practices of classroom teaching. If instruction emphasizes the interrelationships of these three language areas, students learn how to transfer knowledge, skills, and strategies across literacy events. This is complex theory, but the authors provide clear and practical examples to support teachers as they incorporate these ideas into their classroom practices. Grounded in authentic experiences from primary classrooms, this book provides: Explanations of processing behaviors among reading, writing, and spelling knowledgeObservational tools that support teachers in noticing changes over time in specific literacy behaviorsGuidance on creating conditions for developing self-regulated learnersAuthentic reading and writing samples and teacher/student interactionsFigures and pictures that clearly describe how teachers can use assessment to inform and guide instruction, with links to national standardsDetails for establishing a school-based literacy model that includes team meetings, assessment walls, high standards, and a curriculum for literacyAppendixes with reproducible assessment checklists, report cards, task cards for literacy corners, and guided reading observation forms for team meetingsWith a national emphasis on accountability, high standards, and literacy achievement, Shaping Literate Minds will help teachers and administrators implement a high-quality literacy curriculum that links to national and state goals.

In the era of No Child Left Behind, what literacy research is still needed? How should it be conducted? And what role does research play in determining the kinds of literacy experiences that actually take place in classrooms? This forward-thinking book brings together leading authorities to address these vital and hotly debated questions. Contributors analyze the existing knowledge on core aspects of literacy education, describe how science is currently informing practice, and identify important methodological challenges and research directions. A highlight of the book is a chapter in which Michael Pressley offers an insightful critique of Reading First as well as practical recommendations for improving future policies.

Increasingly, educators are recognizing that for children to thrive intellectually they need socially and emotionally healthy classrooms. Conveniently, this is exactly what parents have always wanted for their children--classrooms that offer and grow positive relationships and behavior, emotional self-regulation, and a sense of well-being. Using the guiding principles from Peter Johnston's best-selling professional resources, Choice Words and Opening Minds, Peter and six colleagues began a journey to create just such classrooms--environments in which children meaningfully engage with each other through reading, writing, making, and discussing books. In Engaging Literate Minds, you'll discover how these teachers struggled and succeeded in building such classrooms. Inside you'll find the following: Practical ways to develop a caring learning community and children's socio-emotional competence Powerful teaching practices from real classrooms Engaging ways to encourage inquiry and student agency Suggestions on how to use formative assessment in everyday teaching practices Helpful research behind the classroom practices and children's development Ways to help students inspire and support each other Building a just, caring, literate society has never been more important than it is today. By embracing the ideas and teaching strategies in Engaging Literate Minds, you can help children to become socially, emotionally, and intellectually healthy. Not only do these classroom practices develop the skills to achieve district benchmarks and beyond, they help develop children's humanity.

Increasingly, educators are recognizing that for children to thrive intellectually, they need classrooms that offer and grow positive relationships and behavior, emotional self-regulation, and a sense of well-being. Using the guiding principles from his best-selling resources, Choice Words and Opening Minds, author Peter Johnston and six colleagues began a journey to create such classrooms--environments in which children meaningfully engage with each other through reading, writing, making and discussing books. By embracing the ideas and teaching strategies in Engaging Literate Minds, you can help your students become socially, emotionally, and intellectually healthy. $c --From publisher's description.

Introducing a spelling test to a student by saying, 'Let' s see how many words you know,' is different from saying, 'Let's see how many words you know already.' It is only one word, but the already suggests that any words the child knows are ahead of expectation and, most important, that there is nothing permanent about what is known and not known. Peter Johnston Grounded in research, Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Livesshows how words can shape students' learning, their sense of self, and their social, emotional and moral development. Make no mistake: words have the power to open minds – or close them. Following up his groundbreaking book, Choice Words, author Peter Johnston continues to demonstrate how the things teachers say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for the literate lives of students. In this new book, Johnston shows how the words teachers choose can affect the worlds students inhabit in the classroom. He explains how to engage children with more productive talk and how to create classrooms that support students' intellectual development, as well as their development as human beings.

Grounded in social and cognitive learning theories, the second edition of Apprenticeship in Literacy: Transitions Across Reading and Writing, K-4 still details the seven principles of apprenticeship learning and helps K -4 teachers implement and assess guided reading, assisted writing, literature discussion groups, word study lessons, and literacy centers across an integrated curriculum. The new edition also features the following: Updated research emphasizing the importance of early reading as a road map for successInformation on how behaviors, from emergent to fluent, align to the Common Core State StandardsDozens of new classroom examples-;students' work, photographs, transcripts, teacher-student conferences, and reproducible resourcesLanguage prompts that promote self-regulated learnersSchedules for implementing a workshop framework in whole-group, small-group, and one-to-one settingsSuggestions for incorporating information texts into a balanced literacy programStronger emphasis on the importance of the writing processAdditional ideas on establishing routines and organizing the classroomThe theme of apprenticeship in literacy resonates throughout the book: children learn from teachers and teachers learn from one another as they promote children's transfer of knowledge across multiple contexts. The final chapter provides real-world examples of teachers working together to ensure that all children become literate.Since its original publication in 1998, Apprenticeship in Literacy has become a teacher favorite, covering all aspects of a balanced literacy program in an integrated manner and showing how all components are differentiated to address the needs of diverse learners. An apprenticeship approach to literacy emphasizes the role of the teacher in providing demonstrations, engaging children, monitoring their understanding, providing timely support, and ultimately withdrawing that support as the child gains independence.