Richard Allington

Practical help for providing balanced, comprehensive literacy instruction for all students, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds and those who are struggling with reading and writing. This popular resource provides comprehensive, balanced, practical literacy instruction for all students in today’s increasingly diverse classrooms, especially students from culturally diverse backgrounds and those struggling with reading and writing. As the Common Core raises the bar for all children, Classrooms That Work helps educators meet the challenges by presenting lesson frameworks for providing reading and language arts instruction that helps all children achieve their highest literacy levels. In a clear, friendly writing style, the authors emphasize the importance of promoting the integration of phonics and literature-based process writing and reading instruction to enhance all students’ learning and reading skills. The book clarifies concepts, defines key terms, and offers just the right balance of research and practical coverage to make the content complete without being overwhelming.

The latest from well-known author and literacy expert Richard Allington is intended as the first step in preparing future teachers to provide early adolescents with high-quality literacy instruction. What Really Matters for Middle School Readers: From Research to Practice looks at the areas that struggling adolescents find most difficult—meaning, vocabulary, (especially for academic words), and inferential comprehension—and focuses on ways to foster accelerated growth. Dr. Allington stresses that through expanding the volume of high-success reading that students experience each day, as well as through the wide variety of additional classroom strategies and methodologies included in the text, middle school students can achieve a working literacy proficiency.

This insightful book reviews the current research on literacy programming, examines the latest standards for strengthening reading skills, and provides educators, families, and caregivers methods for building successful reading habits in and out of the classroom. Research indicates that children need more than classroom instruction to become proficient readers. Unfortunately, few parents realize how simple, everyday practices can build a lifelong love of reading. Educators, diligent with employing mandatory literacy standards, may overlook families and support systems as tools for improving student performance. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the various methods of reading instruction, analyzing the pedagogy behind Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), the importance of reading aloud to children, and the necessity of working the home-school connection. For the Love of Reading: Guide to K–8 Reading Promotions provides strategies and tips for setting up successful reading environments for children, including having a well-stocked library collection; engaging students through book clubs, reading lists, and prepared book talks; and involving student and adult volunteers. The author asserts that the entire school community—teachers, librarians, parents, caregivers, and administrators—must work together to promote literacy.

A part of the What Really Matters series, the Third Edition of What Really Matters for Struggling Readers examines the increasing amount of research demonstrating that we can teach every child to read. Using non-technical summaries, nationally recognized scholar and author Dick Allington delivers a concise and balanced introduction to reading remediation and intervention programs; showing teachers how to use a variety of best practices with children who are struggling readers in order to transform them into proficient readers. This new edition includes new findings on reading achievement and instruction, reading volume as it relates to reading proficiency, reader-text match, fluency development, comprehension strategies and instruction for struggling readers. Its emphasis is on explaining what the research says, why it works and how to use this information to provide intensive, expert reading instruction for all children. The continued focus on helping teachers design reading remediation and intervention programs around well-established reality and research-based components is framed within the confines of the No Child Left Behind Act. Written by authors you know and trust, each of the books in the What Really Matters series offers a succinct presentation of what matters most when teaching different aspects of the reading process. With a thought-provoking, rich presentation, Dick Allington explores complex issues teachers of reading face in today’s classrooms and brings each of the topics to life. These brief and inexpensive books are written in a lively narrative with clear organization, exceptional pedagogy, and special features. Their friendly design and compact size make the books accessible, convenient, and easy-to read.

At a time when so many pivotal education issues are closely tied to the performance of schools and NCLB policy, Schools That Work provides critical insight into how elementary schools must change to meet the increased demands of education for the 21st century. Praised as the most accessible, readable and practical book on the market, Schools That Work combines renowned authors Dick Allington and Pat Cunningham’s expertise as educators with continuing commitment to foster expert teaching in the classroom. Their dynamic analysis of systematic school reform encompasses virtually all areas of elementary school organization. With the goal of turning readers into educated, informed decision-makers, Allington and Cunningham provide a clear and concise introduction to theories of school reform and include an organizational framework to accomplish this goal. This new edition offers: A view of how schools must change if they are to meet the increased demands of education for the 21st century. Updated, expanded coverage of recent federal and state initiatives to help teachers address the problems of struggling readers and writers. A variety of activities for taking stock of the educational effort in school. New coverage of reading coaches.