Middle School Readers: Helping Them Read Widely, Helping Them Read Well »

Nancy Allison began her work with adolescents 25 years ago. For most of that time she has been in Title I schools in Houston where she has worked extensively with children of poverty, minority students, and English learners. As a literacy coach she has shared her success with other teachers in the Houston area for the past 16 years.

Offering students a choice of what to read is research-sound practice, and in this book Nancy offers her classroom-tested wisdom on how to make choice manageable. With Nancy s unique deskside conferences students develop their independent reading strategies and learn to select just-right books, while you as the teacher manage multiple needs and keep everyone focused. You ll find examples of conferences with reluctant readers, English learners, developing and gifted readers conferences that improve student motivation and ability.

Along with plenty of sensible advice on everything from setting up your library to doing effective assessment, you ll find:

• booklists
• reproducibles
• practical ideas for minilessons.

These and many other tools make student choice not only the best way to motivate students, but the easiest, most effective way for you to turn your whole class into readers for life.

The included study guide makes Middle School Readers ideal for individual teachers, teacher groups and preservice teachers who want to develop their student-centered instruction.

Foreword Laura Robb vi

Acknowledgments viii

1 The Teacher on the Sidelines of Independent Reading 1

A Call to Change 2

Parting Ways with the Whole-Class Novel 3

Choice: A Critical Factor in Engagement 5

Texts That Spur Growth 6

How Not to Squander Independent Reading Time 6

Handing Over Responsibility to Students 7

Dovetailing Independent Reading in the Balanced Literacy Classroom 8

The Difference a Change Can Make 11

Questions for Reflection 12

2 Planning for Engagement: Coloring and Contouring Students' Expectations 13

Students' Prior Experiences 14

Shaping Students' Concept of Reader 15

Do All Readers Lug Heavy Tote Bags? Modeling the Behavior of a Reader 15

Windows on Their World: Reading Autobiographies 17

Inviting Students into the Reader's World 20

Book Talks: Plot Teaser Moments That Motivate 20

Daily Exchanges: Sustaining Engagement, Confirming Membership 22

Engaging Students Through Small-Group Sharing 23

The Difference Engagement Can Make 25

Questions for Reflection 26

3 Clever Matchmaking Between Students and Books 27

Building a Robust Classroom Library 28

Making the Classroom Library Accessible 30

Planning for Student Choice 35

Creating Excitement About Fiction 36

Launch a Shopping Spree for a Perfect Match 38

Book Talking Nonfiction 42

Book Shopping Record Sheets: Early in the Year Assessment Tools 44

The Benefit of Time Well Spent 49

Making Good Choices in the Library 49

Teaching a Readers Expectations for Books 50

Easing the Hunt for Books 51

Questions for Reflection 55

4 Direct Instruction and Routines in the Independent Reading Classroom 57

Teaching Through Minilessotis58

Breaking Down a Complex Task: Three Types of Knowledge 58

Anchoring the Lesson in Common Texts 59

Using Anchor Charts to Hold Shared Thinking 60

Anchor Charts in Action: Lesson on Inferences 61

Reading Responses That Link Instruction and Practice 64

Teaching the Routine of Supported independent Reading Time 65

The Difference Seamless Instruction Can Make 67

Questions for Reflection 67

5 Teaching Through Deskside Conferences 69

Deskside Conferences as Vehicles for Teaching 70

The Purpose and Structure of a Conference 71

Preparing for the Conference 72

Initiating the Conference 73

Focusing the Conference 74

Checking for Understanding 76

Keeping a Record of Deskside Conferences 76

The Difference a Conference Can Make 80

Questions for Reflection 82

6 Capturing the Attention of Our Disengaged Readers 83

Dealing with "Boring" Texts: The Abandonment Conference 84

Understanding What Keeps Readers Reading 86

Dealing with Distractions 88

Assessing the Comprehension of Disengaged Students 93

Using Questions to Engage Readers 96

Questioning the Author's Intent 100

Questions as a Response to Engage Readers 101

A Conference Focused on Questioning 102

Questions for Reflection 106

7 Differentiating Instruction Through Deskside Conferences 107

Today's Reality 108

Differentiating Instruction for Independent Readers 109

Delayed Readers 110

On-Level Readers 115

Gifted Readers 119

The Rewards of Supporting Independent Readers 121

Questions for Reflection 123

8 Teaching Comprehension in Fiction Texts 124

Redirecting Growing Readers 125

Story Structure: The Basis of Questions About Fiction 127

Detecting Point of View 137

Supporting Readers of Fiction 141

Questions for Reflection 142

9 Teaching Comprehension in Nonfiction Texts 143

Bridging to Informational Texts 144

Understanding the Purpose of Nonfiction Texts 145

The Power of Pictures 146

Reading Informational Texts 147

Nonfiction Conferences 148

The True Meaning of K-W-L 149

Expecting New Learning 151

Deepening Knowledge: The Basis of Questions About Nonfiction 152

Broadening the Vision of Reading 153

Questions for Reflection 153

10 Assessing Independent Readers 154

Reading Response 155

Assessing Reading Responses 158

Reading Log 161

Assessing Reading Logs 163

Final Thoughts: The Power of Change 164

Study Guide 165

References 177