Reading Instruction for Diverse Classrooms Research-Based, Culturally Responsive Practice

This practical, teacher-friendly book provides indispensable guidance for implementing research-based reading instruction that is responsive to students' diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Structured around the "big five" core topics of an effective reading program -phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension -the book explains tried-and-true teaching strategies for fostering all students' achievement. Key topics include engaging diverse students in classroom discussion, involving families in learning, and assessing and teaching new literacies. Numerous classroom examples demonstrate a wide range of easy-to-implement lesson ideas and activities for students at different grade levels, including struggling learners. Issues specific to English language learners are woven throughout the chapters. This book will be invaluable for classroom teachers, reading specialists and coaches, teacher educators and students. It may also serve as a text in such courses as Elementary Reading Methods and Multicultural Education.

Ellen McIntyre, EdD, is Professor and Department Head of Elementary Education at North Carolina State University. Dr. McIntyre conducts research and has published widely on teacher education, literacy instruction and student achievement, and the sociocultural factors that affect teaching and learning. Prior to her university work, she was a first-, second-, and sixth-grade teacher in an urban elementary school in Kentucky that served students of poverty. Her work has focused on classroom instruction and family involvement for students from populations who have historically struggled in school. Nancy Hulan, MEd, is a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction (Literacy Focus) at the University of Louisville. She has taught diverse populations of students as a Reading Resource teacher, a Title I teacher, and a second-grade teacher in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Las Vegas. Ms. Hulan's research interests include student discussion patterns in the elementary classroom, instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse students, and teachers' decision-making processes concerning literacy instruction. Vicky Layne, MAT, is the Literacy Coach at Engelhard Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky. Ms. Layne has taught all elementary grade levels and has implemented culturally responsive instruction with diverse populations of students from kindergarten through fifth grade.

1. Reading Instruction for Diverse Populations 2. How Children Learn to Read 3. Children Who Struggle with Reading 4. Classroom Community and Discourse Practices in Research-Based, Culturally Responsive Classrooms 5. Word Study: Phonemic Awareness and Phonics 6. Fluency 7. Comprehension 8. More Comprehension Tools: Vocabulary and the Instructional Conversation 9. Writing 10. New Literacies 11. Research-Based, Culturally Responsive Reading Instruction in Second Grade 12. Research-Based, Culturally Responsive Reading Instruction in Fifth Grade 13. Family Involvement 14. What If My Students Still Need Help?: Effective Reading Interventions Conclusion