Expanding Reading Comprehension in Grades 3–6 Effective Instruction for All Students

Students in grades 3–6 need to use increasingly sophisticated comprehension skills and strategies as they read and build knowledge across disciplinary content areas. Grounded in research, this book presents effective practices for integrating literacy instruction with literature, science, and social studies. Chapters address text selection, vocabulary development, strategy instruction, discussion formats, writing to express and expand comprehension, assessment, and more. Ways to meet the needs of emergent bilingual and culturally diverse students are highlighted throughout. Ideal for preservice and inservice teachers and professional staff development, the book includes classroom vignettes, text boxes with easy-to-read instructional procedures, and curriculum resources. Helpful reproducible forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

See also the authors' related book on the primary grades: Developing Reading Comprehension: Effective Instruction for All Students in PreK-2.

Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl, EdD, is Clinical Associate Professor of Reading at New York University (NYU), where she serves as Director of the Literacy Program and teaches graduate courses. In addition to teaching in public elementary school classrooms for over 25 years, she has extensive experience working with struggling readers in clinical settings. Her research focuses on reading acquisition, struggling readers, and comprehension. Dr. Stahl is the author or editor of several books, and her articles have appeared in leading journals of research and practice. She is a recipient of the Jeanne S. Chall Visiting Researcher Award from Harvard University and the Teaching Excellence Award from the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
 
Georgia Earnest García, PhD, is Professor Emerita in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She served on the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth and the RAND Reading Study Group on Skillful Reading, and was Associate Editor of the American Educational Research Journal. Her work has been published in leading academic journals. Dr. García was previously a bilingual/ESL/English teacher at the elementary, middle school, high school, and community college levels. Although retired, she continues to work with teachers and schools and conduct research on the literacy development, instruction, and assessment of students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
 

1. Unifying Theory, Research, and Practice
2. Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students from Diverse Backgrounds
3. Integrating Comprehension, Thinking, and Knowledge Building
4. Selecting and Working with Texts and Digital Resources
5. Vocabulary Development That Supports Comprehension
6. Strategy Instruction for Narrative and Expository Texts
7. Dialogic Learning: The Power of Discussion, Argument, and Debate
8. Disciplinary Writing Instruction
9. How to Assess Intermediate Students’ Reading Comprehension
Appendix A. ELA College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading 
Appendix B. Curriculum Resource Materials
Appendix C. New York State ELA Test Released Questions: Generic Questions for Discussions or Writing Prompts
References
Index