The Learning Communities Guide to Improving Reading Instruction
- Valerie Hastings Gregory - College of William & Mary, Williamsburg VA, USA
- Jan Rozzelle-Nikas - College of William & Mary, Williamsburg VA, USA
Foreword by Richard DuFour and Rebecca DuFour
The authors bring deep background in reading instruction, professional development and school leadership. They give teachers a framework for understanding the strategies to promote all aspects of reading instruction in support of the ultimate goal of student comprehension. They give teachers and instructional leaders a set of "look-fors" to identify strengths and weaknesses and target areas for support. They provide models for developing self assessments, goals and action steps and benchmarks for improvement. A professional development model for reading helps insure that this support will be effective and lasting.
The themes of attending to individual needs, providing assessment-driven instruction, and creating long-term, focused professional development plans are solid and consistent throughout the book.
This book does a wonderful job of bridging the chasm that often exists between the separate worlds of higher education and K-12 educators. It applies powerful research findings and nontechnical, jargon-free advice for classroom teachers.