Principles of Effective Literacy Instruction, Grades K-5

What are the principles that every elementary teacher must learn in order to plan and adapt successful literacy instruction? This concise course text and practitioner resource brings together leading experts to explain the guiding ideas that underlie effective instructional practice. Each chapter reviews one or more key principles and highlights ways to apply them flexibly in diverse classrooms and across grade levels and content areas. Chapters cover core instructional topics (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension); high-quality learning environments; major issues such as assessment, differentiation, explicit instruction, equity, and culturally relevant pedagogy; and the importance of teachers’ reflective practice and lifelong learning. 
 

Seth A. Parsons, PhD, is Professor in the School of Education and the Sturtevant Center for Literacy at George Mason University. He teaches in the elementary education, literacy, and research methods program areas. Dr. Parsons’s award-winning research focuses on teacher education and development, teacher instructional adaptations, and student motivation and engagement. His work has appeared in many journals of educational research and practice.

Margaret Vaughn, PhD, is Associate Professor of Language, Literacy, and Technology in the College of Education at Washington State University. Dr. Vaughn's research explores adaptive and equitable practices to support student agency and literacy learning, including ways literacy instruction can honor and support students' cultural backgrounds and linguistic strengths. Dr. Vaughn is coeditor of Principles of Effective Literacy Instruction, Grades K–5, and coauthor of Teaching with Children’s Literature: Theory to Practice. Her work has appeared in many journals of educational research and practice.

I. Environment
1. Print- and Text-Rich Classroom Environments, Allison Ward Parsons & Christy Irish
2. Well-Managed and Efficient Literacy Learning Environments, D. Ray Reutzel & Sarah K. Clark
3. Literacy Teaching for Equity, María Paula Ghiso, H. Gerald Campano, & Ankhi G. Thakurta
II. Instruction
4. Phonemic Awareness and Phonics, Evan Ortlieb, Susan Schatz, & Kathy Ganske
5. Reading Fluency, Chase Young, Timothy Rasinski, & Shelly Landreth
6. Comprehension and Vocabulary, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, & Rachelle S. Savitz
7. Assessment, Dixie Massey
8. Appropriate Intervention, Ying Guo & Allison Breit-Smith
9. Effective Differentiation, Steven J. Amendum & Kristin Conradi Smith
10. Explicit Instruction, Dana A. Robertson
11. Using Discussion to Support Literacy Learning, Jacquelynn A. Malloy & Leslie D. Roberts
12. Writing–Reading Integration, Zoi A. Philippakos
13. Literacy in the Disciplines, Cynthia H. Brock, Vicky I. Zygouris-Coe, Andrea Hayden, Joshua Montgomery, Kathleen Kniss, & Katherine Muir Welsh
14. Arranging for Reading Engagement, Gay Ivey & Erika S. Gray
15. Authentic, Challenging Tasks, Roya Q. Scales
16. Autonomy-Supportive Classroom Environments, Samantha T. Ives, Madelyn Stephens Wells, & Seth A. Parsons
17. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Multiliteracies, Jennifer D. Turner, Chrystine Mitchell, & Olivia A. Murphy
18. Critical Approaches to Text, Grace Enriquez
19. Integrating Digital Technology, Amy C. Hutchison
20. Adaptive Teaching, Margaret Vaughn
III. Teachers
21. Reflective Practice, Mary McGriff & Michelle Rosen
22. Teachers as Lifelong Learners, Aimee L. Morewood & Julie W. Ankrum
Index