Table of Contents

• Ensuring All Students Read, Write, Think, and Learn
• Setting the Stage: Building and Activating Background Knowledge
• Word for Word: Vocabulary Development Across the Curriculum
• Well Read: Promoting Comprehension Through Read-Alouds, Shared Readings, and Close Reading
• Why Ask? Questioning Strategies that Prompt Thinking
• Speaking Volumes: Using Collaborative Conversations to Build Students' Content Knowledge
• Picture This: Graphic Organizers in the Classroom
• Getting it Down: Making and Taking Notes Across the Curriculum
• Powerful Pens: Writing to Learn Content
• Taking Stock: Formative and Summative Assessments

About the Author

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College having been an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award, the Farmer award for excellence in writing from the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as a Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction and curriculum design as well as books, such as Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, Rigorous Reading and Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading.

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor of Literacy in the Department of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. She is the recipient of the 2008 Early Career Achievement Award from the National Reading Conference. Nancy has published in The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, English Journal, Voices in the Middle, Middle School Journal, Remedial and Special Education, TESOL Journal, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Early Childhood Education Journal and Educational Leadership. She has co-authored (with Doug Fisher) books on formative assessment (Checking for Understanding and Formative Assessment Action Plan), instructional design (Better Learning for Structured Teaching), data-driven instruction (Using Data to Focus Instructional Improvement) and brain-based learning (In a Reading State of Mind.) Nancy is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist and administrator in California, and has taught at the elementary, middle and high school levels for 2 decades. She is a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College, where she learns from her colleagues and students every day.

Reviews

“The example lessons making application of the various strategies are realistic and believable; they could be real-life classroom scenarios... I don’t know when I’ve seen a content area text go into such detail on read-alouds and shared reading, and it’s a welcome idea. The section on close reading is also valuable.”
– Howard Parkhurst, Central Michigan University

“...my students enjoy this text. It is one text that I use in teaching that my students indicate they plan to keep for future reference. [Strengths include]... concrete, practical strategies and applications for the classroom... concrete examples for vocabulary development across many content areas... the variety of writing to learn activities and prompts.”
– Laurie Henry, University of Kentucky

“The examples of vocabulary instruction in various content areas are helpful. The variety of writing strategies is helpful... I like that read-alouds, shared reading, and close reading are covered in the same chapter so that students can compare the differences... [The book] is reader-friendly and provides a nice overall of content area strategies.”
– Amy Hutchinson, George Mason University