Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth and Achievement in Grades K-6 » (1st Edition)

Gayle H. Gregory has been a teacher in elementary, middle, and secondary schools. For many years, she taught in schools with extended periods of instructional time (block schedules). She has had extensive districtwide experience as a curriculum consultant and staff development coordinator. Most recently, she was course director at York University for the Faculty of Education, teaching in the teacher education program. She now consults internationally (Europe, Asia, North and South America, Australia) with teachers, administrators, and staff developers in the areas of managing change, differentiated instruction, brain-compatible learning, block scheduling, emotional intelligence, instructional and assess-ment practices, cooperative group learning, presentation skills, renewal of secondary schools, enhancing teacher quality, coaching and mentoring, and facilitating large scale change. Gayle is affiliated with many organizations, including the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the National Staff Development Council. She is the author of Differentiated Instructional Strategies in Practice: Training, Implementation, and Supervision and the coau-thor of Designing Brain-Compatible Learning; Thinking Inside the Block Schedule: Strategies for Teaching in Extended Periods of Time; and Differentiated Instructional Stategies: One Size Doesn't Fit All. She has been featured in Video Journal of Education's best-selling elementary and secondary videos, Differentiating Instruction to Meet the Needs of All Learners. Gayle is committed to lifelong learning and professional growth for herself and others. She may be contacted by e-mail at gregorygayle@netscape.net. HerWeb site is www3.sympatico.ca/gayle.gregory.

Lin Kuzmich is the assistant superintendent for Thompson School District in Loveland, Colorado, where she has also served as executive director of instruction, as director of professional development, and for nine years as a principal. Before joining the Loveland District, Lin was a classroom teacher. She taught special education and reading PreK-12, high school reading, and middle school language arts, and she was also an elementary school classroom teacher, earning the Teacher of the Year Award for Denver Public Schools in 1979. For the past 10 years Lin has been involved in professional develop-ment, teaching classes at several universities, providing training for agencies and school districts throughout the United States, and authoring journal articles and government and regional publications. Her recent work has focused on data driven instruction, standards-based education, supervision and evaluation of teachers, and data driven school improvement planning. Lin works extensively with administrators and teacher leaders who want to create an environment for student achievement and growth. Lin may be contacted through Thompson School District in Loveland, Colorado.

"All-encompassing. I kept turning the pages and saying to myself, 'Oh and they included this and this and this.' I am very impressed by the range of information."
Debbie Wilks, Third Grade Teacher
Riverside Cultural Arts and History Magnet School, Wichita, KS 

"Experienced teachers will remember what they have forgotten. New teachers will find that it reinforces prior learning. All teachers will learn new ideas and strategies. This book offers ideas for teachers of all levels and teachers who teach a diverse student population."
William Fitzhugh, Second Grade Teacher
Reisterstown Elementary School, Reisterstown, MD

Choose the most effective strategies to promote literacy learning for ALL the young readers, writers, speakers, and listeners in your diverse classroom!

Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth and Achievement in Grades K-6 is the resource that gives teachers an instructional and assessment framework designed to promote the multiple competencies their learners need: functional literacy for phonics, spelling, and reading; content-area literacy for vocabulary, concept attainment, and comprehension; technological literacy for information searching, evaluation, and synthesis; and innovative literacy for creativity, growth, and life-long learning.

With a focus on research-based, data-driven, and differentiated strategies, noted authors Gayle Gregory and Lin Kuzmich offer teachers step-by-step guides to:

• Pre-assessing diverse learners for literacy skills, competencies, learning styles, and learninggaps
• Implementing a broad array of high-payoff and developmentally appropriate strategies to move all students to the next stage in their literacy learning
• Creating units, lessons, and adjustable assignments that address all four competencies in literacy learning in the differentiated classroom

With more than 100 planning models, matrixes, rubrics, and checklists included, this book is the ideal resource for all elementary teachers who want to close the achievement gap for emerging learners and insure the growth and development of all learners.