Teaching Advanced Literacy Skills: A Guide for Leaders in Linguistically Diverse Schools - Softcover

Lesaux, Nonie K.; Galloway, Emily Phillips; Marietta, Sky H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1462526462 ISBN 13: 9781462526468

Publisher: The Guilford Press, 2016

Synopsis

In our knowledge-based society, K–8 students need to develop increasingly sophisticated skills to read, write, and speak for a wide variety of purposes and audiences. Including an extended case example from a linguistically diverse school (nearly 75% English learners), this book guides school leaders to design and implement advanced literacy instruction through four key shifts: strengthening the instructional core, giving data a central role, using a shared curriculum, and providing supportive and tailored professional development. Reproducible forms and templates facilitate planning and implementation of schoolwide initiatives. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

About this title

About the Author:

Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD, is the Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She leads a research program guided by the goal of increasing opportunities to learn for students from diverse linguistic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Her work on reading development and instruction, and on using data to prevent reading difficulties, informs setting-level interventions and public policy at the national and state level. The practical applications of this work are featured in numerous publications, including the book Making Assessment Matter as well as a widely circulated state literacy report, Turning the Page: Refocusing Massachusetts for Reading Success, that forms the basis for a third-grade reading proficiency bill passed in Massachusetts. Dr. Lesaux is a recipient of the William T. Grant Scholars Award from the William T. Grant Foundation and of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the United States government to young professionals beginning their independent research careers.

Emily Phillips Galloway, EdD, is Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Inspired by her work as a former middle school reading specialist and English language arts teacher, Dr. Galloway conducts research on the development of the language skills that support advanced literacy in struggling readers and in linguistically diverse adolescents. In addition, she works with large urban districts, school leaders, and educators to design literacy improvement efforts and assessment systems.

Sky H. Marietta, EdD, is the Curriculum and Instruction Specialist at Pine Mountain Settlement School, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving opportunities for children in Appalachia, and a research fellow at Berea College. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her work examines connections among language, culture, poverty, and reading achievement, with a special emphasis on rural populations and science literacy. A former elementary teacher, Dr. Marietta has worked with numerous teachers and districts on implementing efficient and informative literacy assessment systems. She is coauthor with Nonie K. Lesaux of Making Assessment Matter.

Review:

"This book has one foot anchored in current literacy research and theory and the other solidly grounded in the realities of classroom practice in today's schools. Lesaux, Galloway, and Marietta provide teachers, teacher educators, and researchers with a useful, valid framework for making important decisions about the particular pedagogical and curricular pathways that individual students should travel on their journey toward competence and confidence as readers and writers. The book gives special prominence to English language learners, the population that provides the most vexing challenge to our educational system. It will help teachers employ the considerable resources that all students bring to the classroom while developing plans to meet their considerable needs--one child at a time."--P. David Pearson, PhD, Evelyn Lois Corey Chair in Instructional Science, University of California, Berkeley

"A compelling call to action, this book shows that increasing students' literacy competencies is dependent not on more assessment, but rather on using assessment appropriately to strengthen the instructional core. The authors describe the hallmarks of advanced literacy and articulate four key shifts, including a model of professional development that reflects sustained collaborative learning. Presenting relevant research and a 21st-century definition of advanced literacy, the book offers a blueprint and practical tools for strengthening professional learning practices and instruction in classrooms and across schools. This is a 'must read' for educators committed to supporting success for all learners."--Ann Iparraguirre, EdD, ELL Instructional Lead (Manhattan), New York City Public Schools

"This is an essential, comprehensive work for educators seeking to effect change to core literacy instruction in order to diminish the need for widespread intervention. It describes strategies that can benefit the entire school community and shows how to avoid common pitfalls of reform efforts. In this time of high standards, the book provides specific guidance for advanced literacy instruction for linguistically diverse students. A brilliant how-to resource!"--Angelica M. Infante, MA, former CEO, Office of English Language Learners, New York City Department of Education

"This text is well structured to support the implementation of advanced literacies curriculum and practices....Readers will welcome the authors’ direct approach to a complex endeavor. Particular features make the book a rich, yet readily accessible reference, for example, the figures and charts that summarize key ideas. In addition, the book concludes with a practical Appendix titled ‘A Leader’s Compendium of Tools’ that provides reproducible guides for implementing and monitoring the key shifts that are the focus of the book....Teaching Advanced Literacy Skills is a refreshing and timely contribution to the literatures on literacy education and school leadership. Lesaux, Galloway, and Marietta are unswerving in their mission to promote advanced literacies for all students in our increasingly diverse nation. They expertly synthesize the latest academic research and present a comprehensive, informed guide for creating coherent and sustained literacy reform. School leaders would do well to share the ideas in this book with their faculty to gain their support as they embark on a journey toward teaching students advanced literacies. For schools already on this journey, this book provides a sound framework for checking progress and moving forward. In summary, Lesaux, Galloway, and Marietta’s text is an excellent guide for school leaders who are not simply focused on students’ short-term gains, but rather, on the long-term capacities required for success in the 21st century.”, Journal of Education Published On: 2016-01-01

About this edition

• Publisher: The Guilford Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1462526462
• ISBN 13: 9781462526468
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 196